Naming the Enemy

The Devil goes by many names. Rev. Brian Burke suggests that there are at least twenty-one names in the Bible that are used of him. Each one of them tells us something about the adversary.

The name Satan originates from a Hebrew word meaning “adversary” (satan). Satan is mentioned explicitly in three places in the Old Testament: Job 1-2, 1 Chronicles 21:1, and Zechariah 3:1-2. In each case, he tests a righteous person of God. He tests Job to see if he will stay faithful. In Zechariah, he tests the high priest and then accuses him of failure before God. In 1 Chronicles he tests King David himself, who in this instance fails.

Although the serpent is not named Satan in Genesis, we know from the New Testament that it was in fact Satan in the Garden of Eden (Rev. 12:9; 20:2). We are not surprised to find the serpent testing Eve. Then once she failed, he no doubt accused her before God. So, in these Old Testament instances, we find Satan as the adversary, as the tempter, and as the accuser. He tests God’s people. Then he accuses them. 

One of his methods of testing is by half-truths, which are deception. He tells Eve that, if she eats the fruit, her eyes will be opened and she will know good and evil. This is true, but he does not tell her that she will know evil because she will have experienced it. He tells her she will not die, and she does not die on that day. But she is deprived on that day of the eternal life she might have had. With Jesus too in Matthew 4, Satan tells half-truths. He even quotes Scripture, but his goal is to lead Jesus away from it. He uses truths to lead people away from the truth.

If the name Satan is Hebrew, the term Devil comes from the Greek diabolos, meaning “slanderer” or “accuser.” This is the name for him most natural in the Greek language of the New Testament. As we have seen, 1 Peter 5:8 pictures the Devil as a roaring lion, seeking to devour anyone he can. 1 Peter 5:8 also refers to him as the enemy. 

Again, he is a threat to believers. In 2 Corinthians 11:3, Paul is worried that he will cunningly lead the Corinthians astray like he did Eve in the Garden of Eden. Similarly, in 1 Thessalonians 3:5 is worried that he as tempter had led the Thessalonians away from the faith. Then after he has found failure in God’s people, he accuses them to the Lord. Revelation 12:10 indicates that the Devil accuses God’s people before God “day and night.” 

Finally, he is sometimes referred to as the “evil one.” In Matthew 13:19, Jesus refers to the evil one as the one who snatches away the word of God sown in the hearts of people. Once again, we see his efforts to hinder God’s work and keep people in spiritual darkness. 1 John 5:19 indicates that the whole world is under his control, under his power. 

Although the Devil goes by many names and descriptions, they all paint a similar picture. In this age, Satan does his best to lead the world astray. He will deceive, slander, tempt, and then accuse after humanity has failed. If you want to know what evil is, it is everything that he is.