God vs. Satan? If He is really all-powerful, why doesn’t God just kill Satan?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

The Bible affirms that Satan is a created being (Ezekiel 28:13; Psalm 148:2, 5), not a cosmic power equal to God. He cannot act apart from God’s sovereign permission (Job 1–2), which shows that the world is not a battle between good and evil but is a universe that is completely and comprehensively under divine control. God uses Satan’s schemes to display His own justice, mercy, and glory (Genesis 3:15; Proverbs 16:4). Therefore, Satan’s continued existence is part of a purposeful delay in judgment so that God may extend mercy (2 Peter 3:9).

In the New Testament, Satan’s defeat was sealed through Christ’s death and resurrection (John 12:31; 1 John 3:8), and his final destruction is foretold (Revelation 20:10). Until then, God allows him limited freedom to oppose believers (Luke 22:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Peter 5:8), all within God’s sovereign plan. The Bible makes clear that God’s authority over Satan is complete and final.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• From the Old Testament we learn that Satan is a created being. For example, the LORD used Satan to exemplify the arrogance of the king of Tyre. In the middle of that passage, He alluded to Satan’s creation, saying, “You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared” (Ezekiel 28:13). See also Psalm 148:2 and 148:5, which speak about God creating all of the angels, including Satan.
• Indeed, Satan isn’t even able to lodge attacks against God or His people without specific permission from God. In the book of Job, God offered Job to Satan as an example of someone who is righteous (Job 1:8). Satan reasoned that Job only acted righteous and would curse God the moment something bad happened to him (Job 1:9–11). God gave Satan permission to persecute Job to prove him wrong. However, God defined the terms, first saying, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand” (Job 1:12) and then expanding the permission after a frustrated Satan returned in failure saying, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life” (Job 2:6). Satan is only ever able to do what God allows him to do. Rather than thinking that reality is a struggle between God vs. Satan, we need to understand that Satan is “God’s devil” as Luther was fond of saying. By that he meant that Satan was under full control of God at all times.
• While Satan has been cast down, he still has freedom to roam (Job 1:7) and cause mayhem (Job 2:7). This included God allowing Him to tempt the first two humans whereby sin entered humanity (Genesis 3:1).
• When Adam and Eve first sinned, the rest of creation would have rightly expected immediate justice. Instead, God kindly clothed them (Genesis 3:21) and promised a future redeemer (Genesis 3:15). By allowing Satan to continue to exist on earth, God’s perfect justice and glory will be shown to everyone as He offers mercy and grace to those who accept His Son.
• While sin requires death (Genesis 2:17), the rest of history has been the display of God’s great patience and mercy as He has allowed sinful men and women to rebel against Him while He worked out His plan of salvation. This has included allowing Satan to continue to be an instrument of great sin and pain in the world.
• While on this side of heaven, we will never understand how Satan’s destructive behavior glorifies God, we know that God is perfectly good (Psalm 136:1) and that He is working everything, even Satan’s freedom, to show just how powerful and good God is.
• There will be a day when Satan is finally punished (see the New Testament). As we learn in Proverbs, “The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble” (Proverbs 16:4). Even Satan serves a purpose, part of which is “the day of trouble,” that is, the day of Satan’s ultimate destruction. At that time, when God’s patience with sinful men and women is at an end, we will see just how great His wrath and hatred of sin and Satan is!

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• Jesus told Peter, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31–21). Though Jesus allowed Satan to tempt Peter, He went on the offensive, praying that God would not allow Satan to prevail. So, we see Satan given permission to tempt to sin yet on a leash at the same time.
• At the start of His ministry, The Spirit took Jesus out for a confrontation with Satan (Matthew 4:1). Jesus withstood all his attacks. When He was done with Satan, He said, “Be gone, Satan!” (Matthew 4:10b) and Scripture says, “Then the devil left him” (Matthew 4:11a). Satan was used for a purpose but, when God was done with Him, he had to obey Jesus and leave. This shows God’s authority and Satan’s submission.
• Those who ask why an all-powerful God doesn’t just destroy Satan may not understand that he already is defeated. Speaking about His impending death, Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out” (John 12:31). While Satan was always slated to be defeated, Jesus’ death was the final nail in his coffin.
• First John 3:8 indicates that “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” Satan has been allowed to do a lot of damage, but Jesus came to stop him.
• Because of this sure defeat of Satan, Paul could encourage the Romans saying, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).
• Though we are still waiting for Jesus’ return, “the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God permits Satan and sin to continue to exist so that God can demonstrate His mercy by giving unbelievers time to repent.
• Until that final destruction, Satan is still an active force of evil in the world. For example, we learn that God allows Him to blind the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4), pass himself off as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14–15), and prowl around looking for someone to destroy (1 Peter 5:8).
• Jesus will return and establish His kingdom on earth. At that time, Satan will be bound for a thousand years (Revelation 20:2–3), greatly reducing evil in the world. Then, after that time, God will allow Satan free again for the purpose of setting him up for his final destruction. Satan will organize a coup against Jesus (Revelation 20:7–8) but be stopped without Jesus lifting a finger (Revelation 20:9). At that time, “the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

The Bible shows us that not only does Satan lose in the end–he has already lost. What is left is for him to receive his final, eternal punishment. So Satan exists now not because God isn’t all-powerful but because God allows evil to demonstrate His mercy through His offer of an escape from His just wrath (Romans 5:9). Even today God continues to hold back his final judgement against sinners (Satan and unbelieving men and women) to give time for repentance. No repentance will be offered to Satan—He will go to Hell—but it is extended to every single man and woman alive today so they can avoid Satan’s fate.

The real question isn’t why God hasn’t yet destroyed Satan but why He tolerates our sin. Satan and the demons were immediately and eternally separated from God, yet when Adam and Eve sinned, God promised a way to escape the punishment they deserved.

Jesus is that way (John 14:6). As fully God, He is perfect. As fully man, He is just like us, except without sin. Only sinful men and women deserve death (Romans 6:23a). However, though Jesus did not have to die, He willingly did so to be a sacrifice (Hebrews 9:14). When He did, the Father poured out His wrath for sinful men and women on Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21). Because of that, anyone who believes in Jesus and trusts Him as Lord (Romans 10:9) already has his or her punishment paid by Him and will be saved.

After Satan is sent to Hell, Revelation 20 notes that anyone not found in the book of life—not a disciple of Jesus—will follow Satan into Hell. Knowing that, people should worry less about Satan’s presence and more about their own eternal state.

UNDERSTAND

• Christ defeated Satan on the cross, but Satan has been allowed, temporarily, to roam the earth.
• God has permitted Satan to do evil but it is limited.
• God is in control, and Satan cannot do anything without God permitting it.

REFLECT

• How does knowing God’s ultimate control over Satan impact you when you’re faced with temptation?
• What have you learned about the Lord through the suffering you’ve experienced?
• How does knowing the future destruction of Satan impact your faith journey?

ENGAGE

• How might evangelism be impacted by highlighting God’s sovereignty?
• What Bible passages about Satan’s defeat could be especially helpful to those who are suffering?
• How can Christians use God’s defeat of Satan and mercy toward humankind as a way to help others to know God better?