Satan as He Wants to Be Seen

Satan is believed to have been a beautiful fallen angel. He does tempt man into sins of pride, fear, anger, and lust. However, this is not done against man's will but in accordance with it.

A careful reading of scripture reveals this widespread conception of Satan as the guardian of the throne of God appears nowhere in the Bible. Instead, scholars and popular culture alike conflated cherry-picked lines of scripture with the influential literary works of John Milton and Dante Alighieri to arrive at this conclusion.

In "Satan as He Wants to Be Seen," Bible teacher Jeffrey S. Robinson Sr. argues that the popular view of Satan or Lucifer has been greatly embellished. Instead of holding to Christ's teachings that evil and sin arise from the human heart, Satan is considered the root cause of a person's sin. The "devil made me do it" excuse is dangerous, as it absolves people of personal responsibility.

Robinson does not argue against the existence of evil spirits and the devil. Instead he reminds us evil spirits cannot make us do anything against our will. Robinson reveals Satan's popular image to be little more than the collective imaginations of brilliant men. The result of these theories keeps us from taking ownership of our actions and obstructs our path to God's love.