Satan's Motive.
According to Scripture, the supreme motive of Satan is his purpose to
become like the Most High and, though that purpose was formed even
before the age of man, it has been his constant actuating motive from
that time until now. It is also the teaching of Scripture that this
present period of time is that in which Satan is in especial authority;
he being permitted the exercise of his own power in order that he, and
all his followers, may make their own final demonstration to the whole
universe of the utter folly of their claims and of their abject
helplessness when wholly independent of their Creator. This is
definitely predicted in II Tim. 3:9 as the final outcome of the
atttitude of the world in its independence toward God: "They shall
proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest to all men."
It has also been stated that the unsurpassed tribulation only awaits the
withdrawal of the restraining hand of God, for all the required elements
for such a condition are latent in the unregenerate heart (Rom. 3:9-18).
In this terrible period of tribulation the greatest power of Satan will
be exercised, and the wickedness of man will be revealed in his attempt
to live in whole separation from God.
Even fallen humanity would not, at first, acknowledge Satan as its
object of worship and federal head; and such a condition of society
wherein Satan will be received as supreme (as he will be in the person
of the first Beast of Rev. 13), must, therefore, be developed by
generations of increasing irreverence and lawlessness toward God. Thus
it has been necessary for Satan to conceal his person and projects from
the very people over whom he is in authority and in whom he is the
energizing power. For this reason this class of humanity believes least
in his reality, and ignorantly rejects its real leader as a mystical
person. When he is worshipped it is through some idol as a medium, or
through his own impersonation of Jehovah; and when he rules it is by
what seems to be the voice of a King or the voice of the people.
However, the appalling irreverence of the world to-day is the sure
preparation of the forthcoming direct manifestation of Satan, as
predicted in Dan. 11, II Thes. 2 and Rev. 13.
Satan's policy of deception is described as extending to all the
nations, and to the whole world: "Even him, whose coming is after the
working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with
all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they
receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved" (II Thes.
2:9, 10). "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, which is
the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world" (Rev. 12:9). "And
he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and
Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless
pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive
the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and
after that he must be loosed a little season" (Rev. 20:2, 3). "And when
the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters
of the earth" (Rev. 20: 7, 8). He who was the measure of perfection,
full of beauty and wisdom; he who made the earth to tremble; who shook
kingdoms; has been willing to be ridiculed by the world as a being
without reality, that he might, in the end, realize his own deepest
desire.
Again, his own subjects have strangely neglected the plain teachings of
Scripture on his real power and authority. To them he has been an
imaginary fiend, delighting only in the torment of unfortunate souls;
making his home in hell, and himself the impersonation of all that is
cruel and vile: when, on the contrary, he is real, and is the very
embodiment of the highest ideals the unregenerate world has received;
for he is the inspirer of all those ideals. With his own he is not at
enmity, and he, like the most refined of the world, is in no sympathy
with the grosser forms of their sin. He would hinder those
manifestations of evil if he could. And certainly he does not prompt
them; for they are the natural fruit of an unrestrained fallen nature,
according to James 1:14, 15: "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn
away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it
bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
"For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts,
adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness,
deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all
these evil things come from within, and defile the man" (Mk. 7:21-23).
The dying drunkard, the fallen woman, and the suffering of the innocent
are the evidences of Satan's failure rather than the realization of his
purpose.
His own terrible sin before God would not be condemned in the eyes of
the world, for it is that which they most idealize and praise. In his
sin he aspired to that which is highest, and proposed to realize his
ideal by his own self-sufficiency and strength. True, he has lowered his
Creator, in his own mind, to a level where he supposes himself to be in
legitimate competition with Him, both for authority over other beings
and for their worship. Yet this unholy ambition and disregard for the
Creator is a most commendable thing according to the standards of the
Satanic order. In the language of the world, Satan is simply "self made"
and every element of his attitude toward his Creator is, as a principle
of life, both commended and practiced by the world.
Though hiding himself, Satan has had the satisfaction, under
limitations, of governing the affairs of men; and the delight, to a
large extent, of receiving their worship. The greatest care was taken in
the law governing God's ancient people that they should not offer their
sacrifices unto devils, which was the practice of surrounding nations
(Lev. 17:7; Deut. 32:17). In violation of these special laws, Rehoboam
instituted special priests for the devils (II Chron. 11:15), while the
worship of devils, according to the New Testament, is to continue
throughout the age: "But this I say, that the things which the Gentiles
sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not
that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of
the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's
table and the table of devils" (I Cor. 10:20, 21). "And the rest of the
men that were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works
of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold,
and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see,
nor hear, nor walk" (Rev. 9:20).
Again: Satan's ambition is leading him to make this age of his special
opportunity as near perfect as his wisdom and power will permit. And in
this connection it may be noted that Satan's ambition was not to become
a fiend, but rather to become _like_ the Most High. He will, therefore,
strive for all that is moral and good: yet at the same time do all in
his power to draw men from their natural reverence of God, that, in due
time, they may acknowledge himself without fear. The Satanic ideal of
this age is, then, an improved social order, a moral and cultured
people, who are devout worshippers of himself, though for the present
they may imagine they are worshipping Jehovah through their empty
religious forms and ceremonies, while they are really in a state of
God-dishonoring unbelief, and all their thoughts are energized by Satan
alone. The Satanic message for this age will be reformation and
self-development, while the message of God is regeneration by the power
of the Spirit.
Satan, in his imitation of the Most High, is also working toward a
universal kingdom of morality and peace upon earth, which will be
temporarily realized under the reign of the Beast (Rev. 13). The
difference between Satan's ideal and the purpose of God, apart from the
utter folly of the one and the glorious certainty of the other, is of
both method and time. According to the Satanic program, the present
order of society, with himself on the throne, is to be developed into an
ideal brotherhood, in which all men will practice that which is moral
and good. According to the program of God, this is an evil age of
darkness and pollution, in which the folly of Satan and man is to be
proven, and out of which He is to gather the heavenly people for His own
name. The kingdom of righteousness is then to follow, being ushered in
by Christ-enthroning and Satan-dethroning events. There will then be a
perfect humanity and social order for "all shall know the Lord from the
least unto the greatest" and "righteousness and peace shall cover the
earth as the waters cover the face of the deep."
The master passion of Satan leads him, not only to strive for the
success of his own projects, but also to wage an unceasing warfare
against Jehovah. These two lines of activity are inseparable; for he
cannot establish and develop his own kingdom, and, at the same time,
permit his subjects to be translated out of his kingdom into another,
especially when they remain in the midst as a living power and testimony
against him. Nor can he reasonably allow the accomplishment of any of
the projects of God; for it is predicted that at the completion of these
his own doom will be at hand. The present time is, therefore, to Satan,
the struggle for his own existence, as well as the realization of all
that has been his ambition in the ages past. The warfare is no mere
passing amusement for him, for he, in desperation, is facing a terrible
and awful judgment if he cannot succeed in his purpose.
The spectacle now presented to all enlightened beings of the universe,
is that of a mighty celestial being, the god of the earth, who is by
creation the full measure of perfection, both in wisdom and beauty,
making his last and most desperate warfare, both to realize his own
ambition and to thwart every movement of the Most High; knowing that in
failure there is no ground for mercy, but only the terrible destruction
that has been so long predicted. He knew when he formed this
God-dishonoring purpose that it must either wholly succeed or he himself
fall into terrible judgment. On the other side of the conflict there is
perfect calmness and certainty as to the end, for the judgment and
sentence are past; yet every true believer is implored to be instant in
season and out of season in the present projects of grace, that the
sufferings and separations of earth may be cut short in righteousness.
Well may believers study their own motives in service in view of these
vastly differing programs; and question whether there is in them a
humble willingness to co-operate in the present purpose of God in
preparing the Bride for the returning King: or whether they have
carelessly fallen in with the Satanic ideal, which rejects the coming
Kingdom of Christ by an unholy attempt to establish the present kingdom
of Satan.
The program of Satan, which the world calls "optimistic" rests on the
Satanic purpose of a reformed society: the program of God, which is
called "pessimistic" in that it discredits this age, rests upon the
infinite wisdom, love and power of God; and is so certain and near that
the believer is taught to watch, wait, and be ready for the first Divine
movement toward this glorious end.