What motivates satan?

Originally posted on June 12, 2006 – by Andre Piet

On the weblog of my esteemed cousin Hartman Out, a discussion developed concerning satan’s fate and his motives. If you’d like an objective impression of that discussion, click on this link (offline, 2025). If you’re content with a selective perspective, read the contributions below.

… I regard satan as someone with a congenital defect. He always lies (“the father of the lie”; John 8:44) and lives in the illusion (= lie) that this works to his advantage. The painful experience of the lake of fire is necessary to awaken him from his ‘dream.’

From the beginning, satan has lived in the illusion that God is hostile toward the world. That, in my view, explains all of his ‘toxic’ behavior (including his role as accuser). I do not believe in intrinsically evil creatures – beings that are fundamentally corrupt. “For every creature of God is ideal” (1 Tim. 4:4) – just not yet ‘complete,’ and thus flawed. Sin exists only by virtue of a LACK of understanding. Sin is always foolish – for it always ends up losing.

Conciliation always contains the element of nullifying – namely, of enmity. After conciliation, the enemy has disappeared as an enemy. But conciliation is more than that. The enemy is gone AND AS A CREATURE TRANSFORMED INTO A LOVER. That is the essence of the word ‘conciliation’ (katallage).

There are two possibilities: either God has a purpose with the evil in the world, OR He does not. In the latter case, evil is a mishap, and God does not have everything under control. That doesn’t seem very promising for the future… Who guarantees me that things won’t go wrong again? I wholeheartedly believe that with God NOTHING ever goes wrong. He did not make a mistake when He created the destroyer. “YHWH has made EVERYTHING for its own response,
Even the wicked for the day of evil” (Prov. 16:4).

God is only light, and in Him is no darkness at all, Scripture teaches (1 John 1:5). The same Scripture also teaches that God forms the light and creates darkness (Isa. 45:7). Why cancel one out in favor of the other? Why not believe both? What is contradictory about these two statements? In fact: it is perfectly logical. If God wants to reveal His light, He needs a dark background to make it visible. All evil is necessary evil. If it weren’t, the good God would have prevented it.

Someone who can be an enemy can also become a lover. All that’s needed is the exposure of the illusion (= the lie). Leave that to God! You can be sure the lake of fire has a disillusioning effect on someone who, from the beginning, thought he would come out on top…

The devil is a devil because he slanders God. That is what the word ‘devil’ means. Why does he slander God? Perhaps because he thinks it will benefit him? Perhaps because he believes God does not have good intentions for His creation? Whatever his motive may be, in all cases he lacks understanding of God’s love. If he knew God, he would also know that God intends good for ALL His creatures.

Delen: