has been said that the 'satan' figure in our Bible and in the Christian faith is an invention of Zarathustra, a Persian prophet of the 6th century before Christ, in his attempt to explain evil. It is then supposed that the 'devil' became part of Jewish thinking after Cyrus the Persian conquered the Babylonian empire which contained an exiled Israel.

The story goes that because under Cyrus Israel was permitted to return to their land they also took this foreign idea of a 'satan' figure with them and incorporated it into their holy scriptures. However this theory simply does not stand up to proper investigation.

In the quote from Job above, the phrase "sons of God" is an example of Semitic idiom in which 'son-of' or 'sons-of' turns the attached noun into an adjective: that is, 'sons of God', means 'divine beings' whom we today call 'angels'. So the above quote describes angelic accountability to the Most High being the scene for a second challenge from Satan in the book of Job concerning the moral basis of God's relationship to Job (bribing him with blessings), that is - the ethics of God's rule.

The description of Satan challenging God on moral grounds, in a writing of such antiquity as the book of Job, is most significant. By its language use and its content, the book of Job appears to even predate the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. The most probable source for the writing is via Jethro, high priest of Midian, with whom Moses spent 40 years as son-in-law and in whose general area the man Job had lived and from which his friends had come. In this Book of Job the figure of Satan and his slander are central to its whole message.

Enough of the nonsense idea of Zarathustrian influence in our Old Testament, an idea which is even used today by some modern Jewish rabbis to deny any messianic teaching in Holy Scripture as being nothing more than Persian influence on Jews looking for a hero.

In our New Testament, the Lord Jesus rebuked the Judeans who had believed in Him, but who contended with Him over their superior spiritual status as descendants of Abraham, with these withering words:

is Christ's perspective on Satan – an ingenious liar whose nature it is so to do in the destruction of people's lives. However, Satan's most significant manipulation of the evidences is not in human minds, but at the hub of the moral government of our universe: before God's judicial throne. This is where the real issue is played out in the Book of Job, and it continues to be so until Satan is cast out of that function - as the 'accuser of the brethren'. The Bible promises that Christ's return to establish His kingdom will be introduced by such an event:

This is the satanic activity that then ends. This is what Christ's prayerful intercession had countered before God, as His apostles had moved toward their greatest test with Christ's impending arrest. Jesus warned Simon Peter:

Christ's intercession opened the way for the restoration of these key men after the brutal exposure of their weaknesses during their post-arrest scattering. This activity of Satan was not new. It is presented as the unseen background in the restoration of Israel's post-exile priesthood. The prophet Zechariah reports:

So why does God tolerate it. Because God is righteous. As Judge over all and the Source of all existence, God's rules fairly, impartially, without bribes-of-blessing either way. As the Apostle Paul expressed to God's people the principle of God's discipline in His universe:

These 'angels' (literally 'messengers') of Satan are what is otherwise referred to as 'evil spirits' or 'demons'. The Bible indicates that these forces of Satan are tactically deployed according to the political and regional divisions of human society (Dan.10:13,20). These non-physical agencies of Satan work from their base 'in the heavens', that is, they are not terrestrial:

Until then, we are part of God's work in making Christ's enemies a footstool for His feet, for God said – until!

Therefore then:

Satan's accusations before the Throne continue to require rebuttal today. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Throne on High as our gracious Advocate or Intercessor for more than simply our spiritual survival. For this reason Paul instructs the believers at Rome, whom he had not even as yet met, that:

Thus, even the vicious intent of Satan is allowed to serve God's good purpose in pruning the Christian tree of those who do not bear righteous fruit (Jn.15:2), as its leaders accordingly lead: