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Where does Satan come from and why does he hate Christians?

angiemcafee

Updated: Oct 26, 2024


green snake lethal deadly venom
Dear Jesus, Where does Satan come from & why does he hate Christians?

***Note: The following article is not intended to instill fear, but instead freedom. From a heart passionate about informing and empowering, it is my desire that we all grow together, strengthened and uplifted in Jesus Christ. Knowledge is power and our power is found in Jesus, in the truth of His Word. He is our ultimate reward and protection. We are made strong in Him; and this battle belongs to Him, and Him alone! I can not say as eloquently as Paul, the passion I have in my heart to strengthen the body of Christ, so I leave you with his words, “For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭2:4***‭(2 Corin.4:1-2,6-10, & 15)



Dear Jesus,

Where does Satan come from and why does he hate Christians?

You know I’ve always been a sensitive soul. My parents called me tender-hearted when I was a kid because I cried all the time. I was always super aware of others’ pain, my own pain, even animals’ pain. I thought I saw, heard, felt, “ghosts”. Or at least that’s what I mistakenly thought they were. Even now, there are certain places that I just don’t like to be in, for no other reason than “it just doesn’t feel right”.

And you’ve watched as I’ve shoved this gift out of sight, trying to cover up something that has always been difficult to understanding. In my mind, as long as I pretended that I wasn't sensitive and was unaffected by the things of this world, maybe others would believe my rouse and take me for “normal”, whatever that is. But I finally came to the realization, in my 40’s, that this is the way you’ve created me; and you must have a reason or it.

Desiring to embrace those oddities about myself, I’ve been interested in the world we can’t see but know is right before our eyes. Like the invisible fourth wall in theater, I’ve felt as if there are stories lurking behind the invisible curtain of our lives. Lord, who, or what, is Satan?

"This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you."

It must be an incredible blessing to be an angel of yours! According to your Word, it sounds like there are different types of angels, primarily “holy” and “fallen”. The holy angels are those that do your work, and each type has a specific roll to fill in your kingdom. From your Word, it appears they are:

The Archangel, likely the leader of the angels (Daniel 10:12-13); the Messengers, who deliver your important messages (Daniel 8:15-18); the Elect, likely the majority of angels, unnamed (1 Timothy 5:21); Cherubim, known to protect your holiness from the corruption of sin {quite ironic that Satan was a cherubim—the one who brought sin into the world (Genesis 3:24)}; and Seraphim, they praise you, are also your messengers, and are concerned with your holiness (Isaiah 6:2-4).

And lastly, the fallen angels are those that started out holy, but sided with Satan in a heavenly battle. You threw Satan and those other “once holy angels” down to earth, where they are today, living as fallen angels, or demons, continuing their discord and instigating disunity between you and your creation.

"Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon [known as Satan], 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." Revelations 12:7-9 [emphasis added]


night sky sunset dark trees stars in the sky
"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." Revelation 12:7-9

So, Satan was one of your created beings when you called forth the angels into existence. He was wise and beautiful. Covered in precious stones, and gold, he was a guardian cherub and I’m assuming very powerful, since he “walked among the fiery stones”. I’m guessing that Satan spent a lot of time around you, since he was tasked with protecting your holiness. But it seems that pride lurked in his heart.

"You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

It surprises me that a creature so beautiful, so important, and so close to you, would desire to supersede your authority, assuming your throne for himself. To know that he became prideful and decided that he no longer wanted to serve you tells me two things: you are gracious for giving, even the angels, free will; and Satan’s pride is a clear visual of what we can become when we refuse to accept your perfect, sinless sacrifice. Sin is truly disgusting to you, isn’t it? Understandably so, it consumes everything it touches. From this point on, sin has now inhabited your created world, and we have become separated from you.

But why send them to earth? I mean, we live here. It seems counterproductive to have your children share space with fallen angels. I know you originally created heaven AND earth as your home, but when Adam and Eve sinned, it seems you left them here and you went up there (Genesis 3:8).

God said to Satan:

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

God said to Eve:

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”

and to Adam:

“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.”

So, we’re stuck with one another. Humans & demons, sentenced to live on earth together. I guess this is the best warning EVER for not entertaining the wrong crowd. In this eternity-altering example, who we spend our time with really does impact us. Free will must be so important to you that you would knowingly create a being who would later try to overthrow you and torment your children; all for the sake of “choice”. I love your heart, Lord; you did not want to create beings that were forced to worship you. So you gave humans and angels the choice to worship you, or not. Because of that blessing, we now live in a world where sin is allowed. . .for a time anyway.

With your love never being in question (since you’re the author of love and all), there must be a reason. Why not just put the demons in hell? After all, that’s who you created it for, isn’t it? Why not put them there, instead of waiting until you return? Yes, I remember, back to the judgement in the garden. So, you being omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (continuous presence), omnipotent (all-powerful), not to mention the Great Judge, you must have a reason.

Your children have chosen sin and have thus sided with Satan, in a sense, and we are all sentenced to the same fate as Adam & Eve, a life on earth separated from you. While the enemy lurks nearby, our job is to find and cultivate a relationship you. Satan’s final fate has been determined, hell. But ours hasn’t. If we belong to you, then we know our final destination is heaven. But if we haven’t decided yet, our eternal destination is still in limbo. Yet all the while there is an enemy that prowls around like a lion, seeking to steal our souls. His best tactic isn’t even direct worship, but the far more popular attitude of indecision or blind acceptance of all ideas.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10


Stone mountain tree
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

Do some people choose to “not choose” in an effort to “not take sides”? Since when did choosing a side and taking a stand for what you believe become a bad thing? After all, isn’t “not deciding” just a clever way the enemy confuses us into defaulting to his team? We think that there can be another option, but is there? In your Word, you offer only two choices: You or Satan, good or bad, love or sin. There is no third choice because there is no “kind-of, sort-of” sinner or “middle-of-the-road“ existence. We either believe or we don’t; and every choice we make is leading to one of those destinations.


"People worshiped the dragon [Satan] because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world." Revelation 13:4-8 [emphasis added]

The depiction in the Bible of Satan as a dragon is particularly evil. In Ezekiel 28 (before the earth was created), Satan was described as perfect and beautiful, but by the time we get to Revelations (the last book of the Bible), Satan is a dragon waiting to devour a baby. That’s pretty vivid imagery, and quite a troubling reminder of the toll sin demands from our lives, if allowed to go eternally unchecked. Satan is immortal, so I guess it’s safe to say he’s been at this scheme for a while. We can’t imagine our sin could ever look like his, but you, Lord, know the truth. You know how ugly and nasty and selfish and prideful, devoid of any godly love, we would become.

“Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born.” Revelation 12:4

And that’s why you died on the cross. You wanted to save us from a similar fate; a fate of pure evil, and joining the enemy in hell, as a result.

But why does Satan hate Christians?


I’m guessing the same way a good family rivalry plays out. The parents turn to hate one another, so the children eventually follow suit, opposing the other family’s offspring. But in this case, we are the children, your children, and Satan’s family is the “other” family. The enemy is completely against us, because we reflect your light, your love, and your image. However, unique to this story, the hatred is completely one-sided. He hates us, but we, most of the time, don’t even recognize the enemy’s work in our lives. He’s like a silent assassin, attacking us in stealth mode; we don’t even fight because we don’t realize he’s there…but he is.

"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." 1 Peter 5:8-9


male African lion roar mane grasslands
"Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." 1 Peter 5:8-9

We walk around with rose-colored glasses on, completely unaware of the enemies schemes. I know Satan doesn’t make us sin; he can’t. But he constantly invites us to join him in the momentary fun. Being sinners from birth, we were sentenced along with Satan in the garden. So, he’s always hanging around, ready for the opportunity to pounce.

“He [Satan] 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.” John 8:44b [emphasis added]

Thank you, Lord, for providing a way to attend my dream college. It really did give me a phenomenal education in art! And hindsight being 20/20, there were roadblocks, warning signs, and trickery afoot. In my naivety, I focused solely on my studies and my boyfriend, maybe not in that order. Since I had moved to another state, I didn’t have a home church. And I never really put the work into finding one that suited me. It was a crucial mistake.

Over the course of 10 years, the enemy systematically pulled me away from you. I’m sure you were disappointed in me; we had gotten to know one another, maybe not as deeply as we do now, but it was a start. And then I became interested in all the things the world had to offer. Like a blind mouse being led away by a chunk of invisible cheese, I followed him. Slowly, too slowly for me to recognize. And the invisible assassin led me blindly away from you.

A decade later, I no more recognized myself than I did you. I was a completely different person. I remember calling out to you in distress, wondering if this was what you had for my life. You simply said, “No.” I’ll never forget that day. In the midst of my ignorance, carefree attitude, and fractured focus toward our relationship, you still spoke to me. You called me back by answering my prayer. You leaned down to pull me up.


“When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me. . .

The Lord will vindicate me; your love, Lord, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands."

When I think of all the times the enemy has pulled the puppet strings of my life, it makes me furious.

In Job 9:24b [emphasis added], Job says: “If it is not he [God], then who is it?” Frustratingly, Job is lamenting over your power and incomprehensible nature (it really can be hard to understand you sometimes, Lord—I can’t wait till we are in heaven and I can talk to you face-to-face). Job begs for his friends to understand his plight when he asks them a very direct question, if God is not against me, then WHO IS? And it’s a very good question!


"Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”


“You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” [Satan replied, emphasis added]


The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Job 1:8, 10b-12a


This passage can be difficult to understand. On one hand, it shows that you have absolute power over all. . .even, and especially, Satan. But it also shows how you allow the enemy to harm Job, who at the beginning of the book you stated as being “blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.” (Job 1:1) To be honest, this feels both comforting and scary. But I’m reminded of the verses about your goodness and how you work all things for the good of those who love you (Romans 8:28). I also remember how you use the enemy to prove your children blameless. Just like you were tempted by Satan in order to be proved perfect, we too, are tested (Matthew 4:1-11). Not to show our perfection (that doesn’t exist), but to show our dependence on you, which highlights and overshadows the sin in our lives. So, in essence, you use Satan to do your will, refining your children and exposing the enemy for who he is. I also feel relief at the end of Job in how you blessed him for not cursing & turning away from you. You blessed him twice as much after his trial than before {and he was doing pretty awesome before it (Job 42:10-17)}.

You’ve taught me that the enemy and his fallen angels are always there to try to diminish our light and pull us out of the joy of your presence. They try to kill our hearts, our passions, and tarnish us so that we feel too dishonorable and too damaged to serve you. They cast doubt in our minds, turning us toward you with suspicion. They laugh at our failures and berate our successes. They try to steal our victories, no matter how big or small. They tell us you don’t love us, and encourage us to quit, allowing depression to swallow us whole. How agonizing it must be for you, Lord, to behold the evil unleashed on YOUR creation; while still waiting till all your kids come to know you, before you lock the enemy in his eternal, burning cell (Romans 8:18-25).

King David hated your enemies, those who opposed you (Psalm 139:20-24). As understood in your Word, we are to love you first and then our neighbors (Matthew 22:37-39). Is it possible that David saw a deeper reality than we do? That he was not actually hating other humans, but rather the enemy working THROUGH them? If we could see the parts of this world that you can see, would Satan and his legion of fallen angels be there, ready to incite hurt and misery on us all? Manipulating us to blame ourselves, each other, and worst of all, you?

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12


old building fire burned dirty dirt abandoned
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12

Thank you, Jesus, for teaching me that the enemy is a liar. That the deterioration of our society is driven by Satan’s strategy to make most people believe he doesn’t even exist. Thank you for teaching me that the enemy will not stop until he has caused discord, dissention and disorder in the church, your church. That he is always working at making your children fight one another, to distract, discourage and divide. Thank you for showing me how the enemy aims to confuse us, sending us in circles so that we cannot do the work and live the life you’ve designed for us. Thank you for teaching me that the enemy, pointing out our past sins, is nothing more than a sad, broken record, looking to sabotage our future. Thank you for showing me what the enemy’s attacks look like in my life, so that I can recognize and fight against them, with you, in prayer. And thank you, Lord, for saving us from an eternity of fire and separation from you.


"And he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished. The Lord Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.’” Zechariah 5:3-4

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." Matthew 25:41




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