Satan

Also known as: a great red dragon / devil / dragon / great dragon / that old serpent / that wicked one / the Devil / the devil / the dragon / the serpent / the tempter · Family: evil · Role: tempter · First appears: Matthew 4

In Matthew 4 and Luke 4, Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness after Jesus fasted, commanding him to turn stones into bread and demanding worship in exchange for power and glory. Jesus rejected him, commanding, “Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Satan then departed, though Luke says he left Jesus for a season. In Mark 8, Jesus rebuked Peter as Satan for opposing the things of God.

In Luke 22 and John 13, Satan entered Judas Iscariot, after which Judas Iscariot agreed with the chief priests to betray Jesus for money. Satan desired to sift Peter as wheat, hindered Paul from visiting believers, and was associated with a messenger who buffeted Paul. His works are to be destroyed by Jesus, those who submit to God and resist him cause him to flee, and God will bruise him under believers’ feet. Satan was also linked with Cain, empowered the coming of the man of sin through deceptive signs and wonders, and disputed with Michael the archangel over Moses’ body, where Michael the archangel invoked the Lord’s rebuke.

In Revelation 12, Satan—also called the dragon and the old serpent—fought Michael and his angels in heaven, was defeated and cast to the earth, and persecuted the woman, sending a flood after her. “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,” and the dragon gave the beast power, a throne, and great authority, leading people to worship both. Unclean spirits came from the dragon, the beast, and False Prophet. After being bound and sealed in the bottomless pit for a thousand years, Satan was released, deceived the nations, and gathered Gog and Magog for battle. He was then cast into the lake of fire and brimstone with the beast and False Prophet, where he is tormented forever.