What Do You Know about Satan?

The title question might grab your attention, but the real question is, “How much do you need to know about Satan?”

The latter question may be easier to answer than you think, and the answer is not full of speculation. You need to know only what God has revealed about Satan. The simple reason is that only God is trustworthy. After all, Satan is a deceiver, so he might not tell the truth about himself. Are humans more reliable? Where would a person go to obtain knowledge about Satan? If our knowledge of Satan is not from God, how can it be trusted?

People have many questions about Satan. Surely, we are not to be experts in evil. So, trust that God has given us all that we need to know.

The Bible refers to Satan in several ways. One key verse is found in Revelation 12:9.

And the dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world….

The dragon figuratively represented Satan. We also learn that the serpent of old was Satan. That is none other than the serpent who deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. He is also called the devil. There are other ways Satan is identified or described:

• Jesus called him the father of lies because speaking lies is his nature. (John 8:44)
• He is referred to as the prince of the power of the air and in this capacity he is “the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:2)
• Satan is undoubtedly the one Jesus referred to as “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31).
• Jesus referred to Satan as “the ruler of demons” (Matthew 12:24-29), to which the Jews gave a derogatory nickname that has various spellings and meanings: Beelzebul, Beelzebub, Beelzeboul.

The devil is described by Peter as a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8). He may roar at times, but when a lion is prowling, “seeking someone to devour,” he is silent and cunning. (Similar behavior is seen in common feline house pets.) Peter’s defensive instruction is to “resist him, firm in your faith.” James is a little more expressive:

Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

—James 4:7

The Apostle Paul wrote about spiritual forces of wickedness that exist in the heavenly places, or heavenlies. This is not ‘heaven’ but a non-material existence for spirit beings, both good and evil. That may explain how Satan was able to approach God and make accusations regarding Job. It may also explain how Satan knew who Jesus was when he came to Him to tempt Him, and how demons recognized Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God. (See Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:24; Luke 4:41.)

Based on the references to Satan in the books of Job and Revelation, Satan is restrained. God has authority and power over Satan. That is how God can assure us that we will not be tempted beyond what we are able to endure. (See 1 Corinthians 10:13.) In addition, Satan and his demons will ultimately be destroyed in the lake of fire, a reference to hell.

Of the many questions that remain about Satan, they amount to nothing in light of the fact that Satan is a real influence in the world today. We must recognize that he is a liar and his deceit can be very subtle. Our defense is in training our minds and our hearts with the word of God, the truth.

Mark Stinnett

January 26, 2025

Discipline with Integrity

I don’t know how well it will work, but I know that it’s right. (I am thinking about discipline as it applies to children in the home.)

My leading statement might not instill great confidence. However, there is a reason for making the statement: Kids make choices. By that, I mean that even perfect parenting will yield varied results. You might remember what God said to one of his prophets: “You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you.” (Jeremiah 7:27) Like the people of God at the time of Jeremiah, children do not always listen, even when parents do everything right. Like all humans, children make choices and their independence grows with age.

Parenting is not hopeless, however. There are principles of discipline that should be followed. But first, what is discipline? 

In the Bible, discipline starts with simple instruction. It also includes training by modeling and by hands-on attempts by the child. Discipline also includes verbal correction, rebuke and physical consequences that may range from removing privileges, applying unwanted circumstances, and yes, even spanking. So, discipline is a very broad category.

There are a few principles that apply to all types of discipline in all kinds of circumstances:

• Make no idle threats. Never threaten a consequence that you cannot carry out or that you know you will not carry out. When you lie to your children about discipline, your children will also learn to lie.
• If you agree to something, do it. If you do not keep your word, children learn that it is ok to say things and not really mean what they say. That is simply a lengthy way of describing a lie. Children see through lies.
• If it is morally right in the Bible, then it should be right in your home. Model what is right and demand it in your children.
• If it is morally wrong in the Bible, then it should be wrong in your home. Among other things, the Bible teaches that children are expected to honor and obey their parents, and tell the truth. Parents who do not discipline a child for lying, disobedience and/or dishonor have placed themselves above God. Children will see that their parents do not regard God’s word highly.

The way parents discipline their children will reflect their view of God and His word.

Discipline has two primary goals:

• First, discipline is the means by which a parent keeps a child on the path of righteousness. Much can be learned from the book of Proverbs where discipline is a prominent theme. Ultimately, righteousness leads the child to the cross of Christ where he/she is then encouraged to follow Jesus.
• Second, discipline in the home trains a child to be self-disciplined. A child who has learned self-discipline is far more likely to be happy, creative, successful, and well-adjusted as an adult. A complete lack of discipline promotes instinctive behavior like that found in wild animals.

People differ in their viewpoint of child discipline and how it is to be applied. However, Integrity in discipline is about following God’s instruction in spite of everyone else’s opinions.

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, 

but he who hates correction is stupid.

—Proverbs 12:1 (NIV)

Mark Stinnett

January 19, 2025

Here We Go Again!

In the church mail box came a mailer with the following message: “Inside: Two bombshell events the Bible says are dead ahead!” On the back was a chart that grossly misinterpreted some of the prophecies in Daniel as if they would be fulfilled in our day. They will NOT!

Yet again, an end-of-time/‘rapture’ forecaster has interpreted biblical prophecies to point to a time in his present day. I have never once heard one of these prognosticators shout to their generation: “Warn your great-grandchildren; in yet 100 years the prophecy will be fulfilled.” I have never heard one of them prophesy to another nation about things 200 or 300 years future. Never. It is always going to happen in the near present...and time and time again, the predictions have failed.

The Good

The good thing is that we can read the Bible and apply simple principles of interpretation to discover the divinely revealed truth. We can know the audience to which God’s prophecies were directed. In addition, we can determine either when or what kinds of conditions would make the fulfillment of the prophecy recognizable.

As for the prophecies in the book of Daniel, God actually named three of the four nations (all world empires) that would receive divine judgment: Babylon, Persia, and Greece. The fourth nation to receive God’s judgment would follow Greece, so, obviously, Rome. God also revealed a rather startling message to Daniel about his own people, the Jews. God told Daniel that the Jews would be judged. God judged the nation of the Jews in dramatic fashion in 70 A.D.

The overall message of the prophecies in Daniel is encapsulated in Daniel 2:44-45. The prophecy was about a future kingdom that was not of this world, in other words, the kingdom of God. The simple message: There would come a time when the people of God would no longer be ruled by men and the kingdoms of men. All of that is now history. Fulfillment of the new kingdom prophecy is described in Acts 2. It is a spiritual kingdom, not of this earth, just as Jesus said.

The Bad

The misapplication of biblical prophecy may give some people false hope. Taken at face value, those who teach that there will be a rapture before the final end of the world give false hope. Those who have no interest in God recognize that they will probably be spared and given yet another chance. So why turn to God now!?

At the same time, it scares some people. In the mailer that I received, warnings were given that included the use of digital currency, travel restrictions, worldwide vaccines. One must use a wide brush with broad strokes of biblical interpretation to paint conclusions such as those. Again, they are human interpretations!

The Ugly

At least as bad, perhaps worse, these kinds of predictions undermine the true message of Scripture when the modern-day prophets get it wrong. A watching world, concludes, “Here we go again! It’s another one of those Bible-believing quacks.” It gives Christianity a black eye and for those who already have a healthy skepticism, they lose interest in the Bible.

And by the way, the mailer gave a phone number and Internet address for a product catalog. Millions will be missing! Billions will die! But get your product catalog today! (Eye roll.)

The Bible says...

But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

—2 Peter 1:20-21

Mark Stinnett

January 5, 2024