What is Satan doing now?

Question 08123.

The present work of Satan is one of those subjects where Christians tend to know either too little or far too much, and I have met both. Some treat him as a figure confined to Eden and Revelation with nothing much happening in between, while others see his fingerprints on every flat tyre.

Scripture is neither vague nor sensational about it. The New Testament describes his current activity with some precision, and knowing what it is helps enormously in recognising it.

The Work of Satan in Accusing God’s People

Revelation 12 names him the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them day and night before our God. That is present tense activity, and it is arguably the most personal part of the work of Satan as far as believers are concerned.

Zechariah 3 shows the pattern in a single scene. Joshua the high priest stands in filthy garments with Satan at his right hand to accuse him, and the Lord rebukes the accuser, removes the filth and clothes him with pure vestments. The accusation was accurate. It was also answered.

This is why so many Christians live under a low, persistent condemnation that never quite resolves into anything they can name. Conviction from the Spirit is specific and leads to repentance and relief. Accusation is vague, relentless, and leads only to despair. Learn to tell them apart. See his role as the accuser.

Deceiving the Nations

Revelation 12 also calls him the deceiver of the whole world, and 2 Corinthians 4:4 says the god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel. That blinding is the most consequential part of the work of Satan in this age.

It explains something every evangelist knows. People who are entirely capable of understanding a complicated argument about anything else find the gospel opaque. The obstacle is not intellectual. There is an active interest in keeping them from seeing.

It also explains why prayer matters so much in evangelism. If the problem is blindness rather than ignorance, then better arguments alone will not fix it, though God certainly uses them. Only God can open eyes.

Opposing the Gospel and Its Workers

Paul writes that he wanted to come to the Thessalonians again and again, but Satan hindered them. He does not elaborate, and I have always found that restraint instructive. He names the opposition and moves on.

The parable of the sower shows the same activity at ground level. The birds that snatch the seed from the path are explained by Jesus as the evil one coming and taking away what was sown in the heart. The work of Satan concentrates precisely where the word is being planted.

That should shape our expectations rather than discourage us. Opposition around gospel work is not a sign that something has gone wrong. It is a sign that something is happening.

Tempting and Applying Pressure

He is called the tempter, and the account of his approach to Eve and to Jesus shows the method. Scripture is quoted, God’s word is questioned, God’s goodness is subtly impugned, and the desirable thing is placed where it can be seen clearly.

In the case of believers he works with material we supply. James says each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire, which means the work of Satan here is less about creating appetites than about arranging the circumstances in which existing ones are hard to refuse.

That is why Paul tells us to give no opportunity to the devil. The opportunity is usually something we have left lying about, and dealing with it removes more of his leverage than any amount of rebuking.

Counterfeiting and Corrupting

Paul warns that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and that his servants disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. That single sentence should govern how we assess spiritual claims, because it means the danger rarely looks dangerous.

The work of Satan in the church is therefore mostly done through teaching rather than through anything overt. Paul speaks of deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, and the effect is described as departing from the faith rather than as anything dramatic.

So the question to ask about a ministry is not whether it feels powerful but whether it is true. Power that is not tethered to Scripture is exactly what we have been warned about.

What the Work of Satan Does Not Include

It is worth listing the things people attribute to him that Scripture does not. He is not omnipresent, so he is not personally attending to you. He is not omniscient, so he does not know your thoughts. He is not creating, since that belongs to God alone.

He is not in hell, which is a common misunderstanding drawn from Milton rather than the Bible. He has never ruled there and he will one day be thrown into the lake of fire as a prisoner rather than presiding over it.

And he is not winning. The work of Satan in this age is conducted by a defeated enemy under judgement, which is why Revelation 12 explains his fury by saying he knows his time is short.

Where He Has Access

Job 1 and 2 show him appearing before God with the sons of God, and Revelation 12 describes a future expulsion from heaven, which I understand to occur at the midpoint of the Tribulation. Until then his accusing access continues, which fits the present tense of Revelation 12 exactly.

That may sound alarming until you notice who answers the accusations. 1 John 2:1 says we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and Romans 8 asks who shall bring any charge against God’s elect.

The accuser speaks and the Advocate answers, and the Advocate’s evidence is His own blood. That arrangement has never once failed. For the timing of his expulsion see his role in the Tribulation.

How We Respond

Recognising the work of Satan is not the same as fighting it, and the New Testament’s instructions are refreshingly plain. Resist him, firm in your faith. Stand in the armour. Be watchful. Forgive quickly so as not to be outwitted. Keep company with the truth.

Notice what is missing from the apostolic instructions. No formulae, no specialists, no techniques, nothing requiring a conference. The ordinary Christian with an open Bible, a clear conscience and a praying church is fully equipped.

And keep the proportions right. The New Testament spends far more time on Christ than on the enemy, and so should we.

Working Through Systems as Well as People

One aspect of the work of Satan that we often miss is its scale. John writes that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one, and Paul speaks of the course of this world and the prince of the power of the air in the same breath in Ephesians 2:2.

That suggests influence not simply over individuals but over the atmosphere of an age, the assumptions everyone breathes without noticing, the things that seem obvious to a culture and turn out on inspection to be lies. Ideas do a great deal more damage than apparitions.

It also means that resisting him will sometimes look like refusing to think the way everybody around you thinks. Romans 12 tells us not to be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewal of the mind, and that is warfare language even though it does not sound like it.

A Warning About Fascination

I want to close this survey with a caution, because listing the work of Satan at length carries its own danger. It is possible to become so interested in the enemy that he takes up space in your thinking that belongs to Christ, and I have watched believers drift into a kind of gloomy expertise about darkness that did them no good at all.

Paul says we are not ignorant of his designs, and ignorance is what he is guarding against. He does not say we are experts in them, and there is a considerable distance between the two. The New Testament writers name the enemy where it is necessary and then return immediately to the Lord.

So take what is useful here, apply it where it touches your life, and then go and read a Gospel. The best defence against an unhealthy interest in the work of Satan is a healthy preoccupation with Jesus.

So, now what?

Learn to recognise the two things that touch you most directly. Vague, grinding condemnation is accusation and it should be answered with the gospel rather than with more effort. Sudden opposition around gospel work is interference and it should be met with prayer rather than surprise.

Then get on with the ordinary business of obedience, which inconveniences him more than anything else we do. What has been accusing you lately, and have you taken it to your Advocate or simply tried to carry it?

And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.’

Revelation 12:10 (ESV)