Dr. Mike Jones

How Much Authority Does Satan Have To Cause Evil And Suffering?

Question: Dr. Mike, how much authority does Satan have to inflict evil, suffering, and pain, on us?

A: Theologically, we know that God’s Word teaches us that He allows Satan limited authority in the earth realm, until the ‘Day of Judgment,’ according to Revelation 20:10, “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

One passage that shows Satan’s limited amount of authority is Job 1:7-12, “The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming around on the earth and from walking around on it.” The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God].” Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not put a hedge [of protection] around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands [and conferred prosperity and happiness upon him], and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch (destroy) all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that Job has is in your power, only do not put your hand on the man himself.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.”

[At times] Satan physically inflicts us or those that are close to us, with sickness and diseases, various tragedies, and persecution, and though, we know God to be sovereign, the first couple of questions out of our mouths are, “Why Lord?,” or, “Where are You, Lord?”

Satan’s desire/design is to totally annihilate a believer, through whatever evil method that he finds accessible. That’s why the Bible says in John 10:10, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” [Simply stated, Satan establishes his ‘angels of light’ in the earth, to steal another man’s [Christ] property and to lord over them. These false teachers do not come in by the right door, but seek to deceive, and steal the hearts of the sheep, away from Christ, though they are not able to do it. And once they steal/snatch the hearts of mankind, their objective is to then, kill and destroy the souls of mankind by their false doctrines.]

Saints, always remember, that bad things do happen to God’s people; and we’re not to question, why? because of, Romans 5:3-5, “We  glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” Simply put, tribulations, can cause believers to love our God more, resist Satan even more, and grow stronger in our faith. God wants us to have the ‘Joseph syndrome,’ that says to our enemies, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.”

This is why God instructed Apostle Paul to write in Romans 8:28, “And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.” Therefore, the assumption is that Christians will experience “good and bad” things, in this life. And just like the triune God worked together as Father in creation, Son in redemption, and Holy Spirit in the church, “good and bad” things will work together in sanctification, and in glorification, for the good of the saints, as He conforms us to His Son, Jesus the Christ.

Let’s conclude on the latter portion of the question – the quest to discover where did ‘EVIL’ originated. As Christians, we unequivocally acknowledge that Holy God is omnipotent (meaning, His power is infinite), omniscience (meaning, all-knowing: He’s aware of the past, present, and future. Nothing takes him by surprise), and we affirm that God is good.

And, if He’s all those attributes and more, then, we must conclude, there has to be a place for the existence of evil, even though, God [Himself] only does that which is ‘GOOD.’

Even though, God doesn’t do evil, nor did He create evil, but, because He’s all-knowing, we have to conclude, that whatsoever comes to pass, is ordained of God; and if evil exist, and we know that it does, then we have to conclude, if God is sovereign (meaning, that He has the power, wisdom, and authority to do anything He chooses within His creation), then, His decision to allow evil to exist is a good decision. [This doesn’t explain how evil came into being, only why evil exist in the world. We also know that it exists in mankind, due to our sin nature, and that it brings great pain and suffering into the world. Last but certainly not least, we know that our God is sovereign over evil and will not allow it to have the last word in His creation.