The Book of Revelation identifies Satan as “the deceiver,” or “the one who leads astray” (ho planon; see Rev. 12:9; 20:10; cf. 20:3, 8). The idea behind this term is to entice someone to wander, like the sheep in Jesus’ parable (Matt. 18:12-13) or the saints of old forced to wander through a world not worthy of them (Heb. 11:38). As Peter Bolt writes, “The title ‘deceiver’ reflects Satan’s endeavors to lead people away from the love and security of our holy God.
Satan’s role as deceiver is grounded in his character as the father of lies (John 8:44; see Chapter 5). His nature – his every tendency – is to distort the truth so that people made as God’s imagers miss the very purpose for which God designed them. But how, exactly, does the evil one accomplish this? He sports a quiver of fiery darts and launches them strategically. Let’s briefly examine eight arrows the evil one hurls to deceive us.
1. The well-placed question. We see this in the garden of Eden, where the serpent challenges Eve’s understanding of God’s clear command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). This question subtly misquotes God – who made every tree in the garden available to Adam and Eve, except one – and leads Eve to wonder about God’s transparency. Did the Lord speak too hastily? Overstate his intentions? Or maybe try to keep Adam and Eve from enjoying the one thing that would truly make them God’s imagers?
We see the well-placed question in contemporary society. How often do we hear these questions: Doesn’t God just want me to be happy? Is Jesus really the only way to eternal life? How can my desires be wrong since God made me this way? Hasn’t society advanced beyond outdated biblical commands? Why shouldn’t I live my truth and let other people live theirs? And on it goes. Often, the first step to wandering away from God is questioning his word. When Eve allows herself to question the Lord, she ends up fallen and then banished.
2. The outright lie. Jesus makes it clear that Satan “does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). After his well-placed question to Eve, the serpent slings his barefaced lie: “No! You will not die” (Gen. 3:4).
When told forcefully and often enough, a lie may become an acquired truth. An unborn child becomes an expendable blob of tissue. The aged and infirm become pitiable objects of euthanizing in the name of “quality of life.” Gender becomes fluid. The covenant of marriage becomes an open-ended agreement. And sexual immorality becomes a liberating right that all enlightened people must celebrate. The outright lie shocks us at first. But over time, we become desensitized and, finally, accepting. The evil one wields blunt-force lies to wear us down.
3. The blinded mind. This is especially true with regard to unbelievers, about whom Paul writes: “But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the god of this age 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” (2 Cor. 4:3-4). Jesus describes this tactic in the parable of the sower. Like birds who swoop down to pluck seeds from a footpath, Satan snatches the word of God’s kingdom from unbelievers’ hearts before the truth can take hold (Matt. 13:1-9, 18-23). As John Piper notes, Satan “not only speaks what is false. He hides what is true. He keeps us from seeing the treasure of the gospel. He lets us see facts, even proofs, but not preciousness.” While the evil one keeps unbelievers in the dark, he also strives to obscure our thinking. In this way, we fail to be effective witnesses for Christ.
Tomorrow we will see the other five.
