Job: What Does Satan Do Now?

Job 1-2 and Revelation 12

Job’s life seemed picture-perfect. God was at work in Job’s heart, allowing him to be characterized as a man who was “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1). He was blessed with a loving wife, a large family, a thriving business, and abundant wealth. He was described as “the greatest of all the people of the east” (Job 1:3). If you are wondering, this was not a description from his employees who wanted a raise! This is how God described Job! Everything was great in Job’s life…until it wasn’t. Satan showed up and everything changed.

Last time, we learned that Satan was the most beautiful and powerful of all the created angels. However, he took one too many selfies. Pride drove his desire to be like God, leading him to rebel against the Almighty. He was cast out of heaven and took one-third of the angels with him. Now, he and these demons roam the earth like a hungry lion seeking someone to devour (1 Pet. 5:8). Genesis 3 describes his first victims as he led Adam and Eve into the lie of self-worship.

In Job 1-2, we gain a front-row seat to a dialogue between God and Satan, where God permitted the evil one to afflict Job with emotional and physical suffering. Why would God allow that? We’ll consider this next time. For today, let’s see how Scripture describes our greatest enemy.

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul calls Satan the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). One day, Satan will be destroyed, but for now, he is allowed to roam the earth. Jesus called him “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31). He is described as the “evil one” (Matt. 13:19) and the “god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4). Jesus said this about Satan:

John 8:44
…He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

At the risk of oversimplifying, let me divide Satan’s work into three areas. We know Satan is a master deceiver, striking us at our weakest points with wickedly effective and enticing schemes. He is filled with “trickeration,” a word my friend Craig Wolfley was fond of using. We can break down his actions into three primary objectives in his battle against us.

Satan works to blind unbelievers.

2 Corinthians 4:4
…The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Satan plots to keep unbelievers blinded. He uses culture to cater to our needs and provides attractive things that deliver false satisfaction to our hearts. The unbeliever desires to be their own god, so Satan works tirelessly to ensure that ample opportunities are available. Don’t get me wrong; He doesn’t love unbelievers. Satan has no love in him. He blinds the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from “seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” Jesus is the light that has come into the world, but Satan’s goal is to lure people away from the Light and hold them captive so they will have “loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil” (John 3:19). Satan works overtime to make the wrong path look like the desired path.

Satan is the “tempter” (1 Thess. 3:5).

Here is where the devil confronts the believer. This is what he did to Eve. He convinced Eve that God was lying to her; God was holding out on her. Eve yielded. This is what Satan did to Jesus. He tempted Jesus to act independently from God, to take advantage of God’s grace, and fulfill his purpose apart from God’s plan (Matt. 4:1-11). Jesus stood firm.

The tactics Satan used with Eve and presented to Jesus are the same strategies he employs against us. Satan knows he can’t blind us to the Light because our eyes have been opened and our hearts transformed. We are now and will always be children of the King. However, Satan can cause us to fall (1 Cor. 10:12). He can render us ineffective, putting us on the sidelines. While he can’t remove us from the team, he works to keep us out of the game.

We must be on the alert in order “not to be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs” (2 Cor. 2:11). He desires to devour us, so he sneaks around like a roaring lion to take us down (1 Pet. 5:8). That’s why we must “put on the whole armor of God” to “stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11).

Satan is the great accuser.

We have seen Satan as the accuser in Job’s story. Satan accused God of buying Job’s love. “Take all the blessings away,” Satan charged, “and Job will curse you to your face.” In Zechariah 3:1, Satan stood by the high priest to accuse him, and God rebuked Satan for his actions (Zech. 3:1-2). John wrote of this in his Revelation.

Revelation 12:10
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.

One day, Satan will be destroyed forever, but currently, he stands before God, accusing us “day and night.” He attempts to do to us daily what he did to Job. God, who is sovereign over all, is either allowing him to move against us or holding him back, according to God’s perfect plan. That’s what we’ll discuss next time.

Let’s conclude with a timeline of Satan’s whereabouts:

1. Satan was expelled from heaven (Eze 28:16).

2. He has access to God (Job 1:6-12; Rev. 12:10).

3. In the tribulation period, this access will end. Satan will be restricted to earth (Rev 12:7-13).

4. During the millennium, he will be imprisoned in a bottomless pit (Rev 20:1-3).

5. After a brief release at the end of the millennium, he will be cast into the lake of fire forever (Rev 20:1-3, 7-10).

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Read Job 1-2 and Revelation 12. Consider Satan’s work and his eternal demise.

Talking to God
Ask God to give you the strength to resist Satan’s schemes.

Have Questions?
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