The prince of this world

In the Gospel narratives of the New Testament, Jesus sometimes mentions “the prince of this world”. He is not talking about Himself, but rather, the devil or Satan. In the Gospel of John, there is an angry exchange between Jesus and “the Jews” (probably followers of the party of the Pharisees). Jesus says:

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (Jn 8:44)

This is a very revealing account, for we discover two of Satan’s most distinctive attributes from the most authoritative source, Jesus Himself. Satan is: (1) a murderer, and (2) a liar.

We see the second of these traits first, historically speaking. Yes, once again, we’re in the Book of Genesis:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Gn 3:1-6)

And this one lie brought about Original Sin and the ruin of mankind. And murder swiftly followed, with Cain dispatching his brother Abel in a fit of jealousy when God approved Abel’s offering but not Cain’s (Gn 4:1-8).

These episodes alone should make us realise that Satan is an extremely dangerous opponent.

But what is Satan’s back-story?

Before God created mankind, He created the angels in Heaven, spirit-beings with free will. The greatest of these was Lucifer, first among all created things and second only to God Himself. Lucifer became proud (Christians recognise pride as the foremost deadly sin), and rebelled against God, drawing a large number of angels with him. These were all thrust out of Heaven, becoming “fallen angels” or demons. We learn of this from hints and glimpses in the New Testament:

I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. (Lk 10:18)

Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. (Rv 12:7-9)

So we see that Satan was cast down to earth, and here he continues his rebellion. Evil cannot create anything new, only twist, distort and destroy the goodness of God’s creation. Forgive me for some plain speaking, but I am afraid it sorely needs to be said.

• God created them male and female (Gn 1:27): Satan introduces transgenderism, a mockery of God’s intention for the human race.
• God blessed Adam and Eve and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number…” (Gn 1:28): Satan introduces sexual deviancies in direct contravention of God’s plan for mankind.
• God grants the blessing of new life, children conceived in the womb of the mother: Satan has masterminded the abortion industry which annually slaughters vast numbers of human beings in an industrial operation across the world.

Satan’s master plan for you is to destroy the bond that unites you to your Creator God who loves you. Satan takes advantage of your God-given free will to ensnare you in the tentacles of sin. He wants your soul in his vile kingdom after you leave this world. But the good news is that:

• God is infinitely more powerful than Satan.
• If you reach out to God, He will help you (directly, and through human intervention) to escape from Satan’s trap.
• Despite Satan’s evident superhuman intelligence, God does impose limits on what Satan can do to you.

So now you’re asking, why does the all-powerful God even allow this jumped-up fallen angel the free reign He does permit him? Can’t God see the total shipwreck Satan is causing to His beautiful creation?

Errr, yes, obviously. But remember, God knows everything that will ever happen in time. He already knows everything Satan will ever do – something Satan himself is unaware of, not being privy to future information. The insane, supernatural, truth is that everything Satan does helps God to achieve His objectives.

It’s beyond ironic that Satan is busy scurrying around with his demons in their rebellion, all of which only helps God to achieve His own incredible end to the human story.

But my advice is, don’t point this out to Satan, or taunt him, or engage with him in any way. That way you reduce Satan’s opportunities to get a hold on you. Keep your prayers for God only, Father, Son and Spirit, His holy Mother Mary, and His Saints. Many Catholics say this prayer, originally written by Pope Leo XIII:

Holy Michael, Archangel, defend us in the day of battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray: and do thou, Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust down to hell Satan and all the wicked spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

If you’re trapped in sin, don’t despair (because that’s what Satan wants). No-one on earth has the right to judge you: we are all sinners in God’s eyes. Jesus has already paid the price for our sin, once and for all, by His death on the cross. Our duty is to make an honest attempt to avoid sin, and to beg God for forgiveness with tears in our eyes.