If Satan is the devil, is God responsible for all evil?

[Judas Thomas]

Many Christians equate Satan with the Devil – and insist they are one and the same. But let’s assume for the sake of argument that this identification is correct:
That Satan, the Accuser, is also the Devil – the personification of evil.

Then the question becomes unavoidable:
If Satan is the Devil – and God is sovereign over Satan – isn’t God ultimately responsible for all the evil Satan causes?

You can’t have it both ways. Either:

God permits Satan’s actions and uses him as a tool (as seen in Job 1),
or

God is opposed to Satan but somehow powerless to stop him, which undermines divine sovereignty.


Most orthodox positions choose the first: God is in control, and Satan operates only with divine permission. But that leads to an unsettling conclusion:

> All suffering, deception, war, and religious strife are part of a divine script – a cosmic drama where Satan plays his role under God’s direction.



If that’s the case, then:

Human suffering becomes a prewritten element of God’s plan.

Religious wars, mass delusion, genocide, and even the “end times” become part of a divine performance.

Human dignity, free will, and the meaning of moral choice are reduced to scripted reactions in a play authored by God.


Is this really consistent with the God revealed by Jesus?

A God who:

Weeps with the brokenhearted (John 11:35)

Wishes that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9)

Warns against religious pride (Matthew 23)

Calls us to love even our enemies (Matthew 5:44)


How can such a God deliberately authorize a supernatural evil force to mislead, destroy, and cause misery?

This theological trap stems largely from a medieval synthesis of biblical and extra-biblical tradition. In the Hebrew Bible, haSatan is not the devil – he is God’s prosecutor, not his opponent. The devil, as a figure of ultimate rebellion and chaos, developed later and was merged with Satan.

If we don’t distinguish between Satan (God’s tester) and the Devil (false god, deceiver), we end up with a theology where:

Evil is part of God’s plan.

People are judged for roles they were assigned.

And the Gospel becomes a rescue from God himself – not from sin or injustice.


The dignity of human life suffers under this view.
It becomes a divine chess game, where our pain serves some “higher purpose” we can never challenge – because Satan is doing God’s will.

So I ask:
If Satan is the Devil, and God is his master, how do we avoid making God the author of all evil?

And if we can’t… isn’t it time to revisit the assumptions?

 

[Muna]

John was actually one such christian who equated Satan with the devil

Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years

Jesus also calls the devil (in Matt 4:8) Satan (in Matt 4:10)

Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them

Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Mat 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

It is written that Jesus says to "the devil" Get thee hence, "Satan".

You can safely assume Jesus Christ and John (follower of Christ=christian) are clear about the devil being Satan.

Jesus is called a "tried stone"

The Spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted of Satan (Mark 1:14)

The LORD gave Satan permission to try Job (Job 1:12, Job 2:6, Job 23:10)

Jesus shares Satan's expressed desire to sift Simon, and Jesus prayed for his faith, who would later strengthen his brethren writing to them saying

Though now for "a season", if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

1Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ

Job also said,

Job 23:10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

As far as evil goes, Job says,

Job 2:10 What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?
In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

And on the account of Job's suffering James writes,

James 5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

James 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Tribulation worketh patience (Romans 5:3)

Jesus also says here to one of the churches

Rev 2:12 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

So as far as suffering goes in this life, we will all suffer in this world in one way or another, you really cannot get around suffering some pain, loss or death in some form (we will all die and so will lose someone we love and suffer that loss). That comes with our humanity, our mortality. Suffering as far as it depends on our own actions, Peter writes, "For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing." Who also wrote 1Peter 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.

As far as wars and fightings among themselves James writes

James 4:1-2 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

Jesus and John do not make these distinctions you try and make between Satan and the devil, the scriptures provided are clear that they are the same. You ignore these while doing on these wild rants.

 

[Judas Thomas]

John was actually one such christian who equated Satan with the devil

Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years

Jesus also calls the devil (in Matt 4:8) Satan (in Matt 4:10)

Mat 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them

Mat 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Mat 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

It is written that Jesus says to "the devil" Get thee hence, "Satan".

You can safely assume Jesus Christ and John (follower of Christ=christian) are clear about the devil being Satan.

Jesus is called a "tried stone"

The Spirit of God led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted of Satan (Mark 1:14)

The LORD gave Satan permission to try Job (Job 1:12, Job 2:6, Job 23:10)

Jesus shares Satan's expressed desire to sift Simon, and Jesus prayed for his faith, who would later strengthen his brethren writing to them saying

Though now for "a season", if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

1Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ

Job also said,

Job 23:10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

As far as evil goes, Job says,

Job 2:10 What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?
In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

And on the account of Job's suffering James writes,

James 5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.

James 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Tribulation worketh patience (Romans 5:3)

Jesus also says here to one of the churches

Rev 2:12 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

So as far as suffering goes in this life, we will all suffer in this world in one way or another, you really cannot get around suffering some pain, loss or death in some form (we will all die and so will lose someone we love and suffer that loss). That comes with our humanity, our mortality. Suffering as far as it depends on our own actions, Peter writes, "For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing." Who also wrote 1Peter 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.

As far as wars and fightings among themselves James writes

James 4:1-2 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

Jesus and John do not make these distinctions you try and make between Satan and the devil, the scriptures provided are clear that they are the same. You ignore these while doing on these wild rants.

You're answer was good, until that last sentence. It's not a wild rant, if you support the conclusion.
Your conclusion is: "Yes God allows evil and sin to test us. Innocent people suffering and dying is part of a bigger plan by God." People going to God or to hell, based on roles assigned by God, not by their own free will and morality, is the consequence of this theology.

You do have a theology, based on scripture, so I will not deny it.

The doctrine that falls however is the one of a benevolent God, who is exclusively good and only does good, as your theology admits God is responsible for everything, the good and the evil.

You solve the theodizée dilemma by denying God is benevolent.

God is almighty and all knowing, but not benevolent. He doesn't only allow evil to happen, he's the source of all good and evil through his son Jesus Christ and his evil servant Satan. Is that true?

 

[Big Boy Johnson]

If Satan is the devil, is God responsible for all evil?

No, God is not responsible for all evil.

But, He did take it upon Himself to bring forth His plan of salvation that will establish precedent resulting in all evil being eliminated in the end.

God is sovereign over satan – isn’t God ultimately responsible for all the evil satan causes?

God gave dominion over the world to Adam.

Adam bowed his knee to satan

This resulted in satan becoming the god of this world.

This is why Jesus took upon Himself flesh becoming a man to become the second Adam or "last Adam" to take back the authority that God gave to Adam that Adam gave to the devil when he committed high treason against God by obeying the devil which by default made the devil Adam's lord because everything produces after it's own kind.

God permits Satan’s actions and uses him as a tool (as seen in Job 1),

No, God is the One Who put the hedge of protection around Job, and Job is the one that started walking in fear which is sinful behavior resulting in the hedge of protection being broken.

The devil is not working for God, he is self employed

All suffering, deception, war, and religious strife are part of a divine script – a cosmic drama where Satan plays his role under God’s direction.

That's false doctrine the gnostic dreamed up and the calvinists teach and is not biblical without doing some scripture twisting with assistance from the devil who seeks to make people think it's God putting evil upon them when it's the devil actually doing it.

John 10:10
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

James 1:13
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

Proverbs 26:2
the curse causeless shall not come

How can such a God deliberately authorize a supernatural evil force to mislead, destroy, and cause misery?

Only those deceived by the devil think this, like calvinists

isn’t it time to revisit the assumptions?

I never visited these lies to began with

 

[Muna]

You're answer was good, until that last sentence. It's not a wild rant, if you support the conclusion
Your conclusion is: "Yes God allows evil and sin to test us. Innocent people suffering and dying is part of a bigger plan by God." People going to God or to hell, based on roles assigned by God, not by their own free will and morality, is the consequence of this theology.

You do have a theology, based on scripture, so I will not deny it.

The doctrine that falls however is the one of a benevolent God, who is exclusively good and only does good, as your theology admits God is responsible for everything, the good and the evil.

You solve the theodizée dilemma by denying God is benevolent.

God is almighty and all knowing, but not benevolent. He doesn't only allow evil to happen, he's the source of all good and evil through his son Jesus Christ and his evil servant Satan. Is that true?

I think @BigboyJohnson gave a far better response than what I could ever give to any of this.

 

[St. SteVen]

The dignity of human life suffers under this view.
It becomes a divine chess game, where our pain serves some “higher purpose” we can never challenge – because Satan is doing God’s will.

So I ask:
If Satan is the Devil, and God is his master, how do we avoid making God the author of all evil?

And if we can’t… isn’t it time to revisit the assumptions?

Good topic, thanks.

My position is that God is responsible for His creation.
Even if He didn't create evil, He created the possibility.
And in doing so, He knew full well that it would happen.
Fortunately, He also provides deliverance from evil.
A situation that should draw us to Him.

[

 

[pandaflower]

How does something exist if not of the Creator?

 

[Muna]

How does something exist if not of the Creator?

It shows God made the serpent in Genesis

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.

Job says His hand did form the crooked serpent

Job 26:3 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

The Psalms tell us the LORD made leviathan

Psalm 104:36 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made
to play therein.

So we have leviathan (who he has made) the piercing and crooked serpent that his hand has formed mentioned together here as being the same as the dragon

Isaiah 27:1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

And then here, the dragon, which is that old serpent that the LORD had made is also called the Devil and Satan

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan,

That about covers them in the above.

 

[pandaflower]

It shows God made the serpent in Genesis

Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.

Job says His hand did form the crooked serpent

Job 26:3 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

The Psalms tell us the LORD made leviathan

Psalm 104:36 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made
to play therein.

So we have leviathan (who he has made) the piercing and crooked serpent that his hand has formed mentioned together here as being the same as the dragon

Isaiah 27:1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.

And then here, the dragon, which is that old serpent that the LORD had made is also called the Devil and Satan

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan,

That about covers them in the above.

True. God is over all and through all and in all.

 

[Muna]

True. God is over all and through all and in all.

Here are two verses that speak of all in all.

Ephes 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

1 Cr 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

 

[ScottA]

Many Christians equate Satan with the Devil – and insist they are one and the same. But let’s assume for the sake of argument that this identification is correct:
That Satan, the Accuser, is also the Devil – the personification of evil.

Then the question becomes unavoidable:
If Satan is the Devil – and God is sovereign over Satan – isn’t God ultimately responsible for all the evil Satan causes?

You can’t have it both ways. Either:

God permits Satan’s actions and uses him as a tool (as seen in Job 1),
or

God is opposed to Satan but somehow powerless to stop him, which undermines divine sovereignty.


Most orthodox positions choose the first: God is in control, and Satan operates only with divine permission. But that leads to an unsettling conclusion:

> All suffering, deception, war, and religious strife are part of a divine script – a cosmic drama where Satan plays his role under God’s direction.



If that’s the case, then:

Human suffering becomes a prewritten element of God’s plan.

Religious wars, mass delusion, genocide, and even the “end times” become part of a divine performance.

Human dignity, free will, and the meaning of moral choice are reduced to scripted reactions in a play authored by God.


Is this really consistent with the God revealed by Jesus?

A God who:

Weeps with the brokenhearted (John 11:35)

Wishes that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9)

Warns against religious pride (Matthew 23)

Calls us to love even our enemies (Matthew 5:44)


How can such a God deliberately authorize a supernatural evil force to mislead, destroy, and cause misery?

This theological trap stems largely from a medieval synthesis of biblical and extra-biblical tradition. In the Hebrew Bible, haSatan is not the devil – he is God’s prosecutor, not his opponent. The devil, as a figure of ultimate rebellion and chaos, developed later and was merged with Satan.

If we don’t distinguish between Satan (God’s tester) and the Devil (false god, deceiver), we end up with a theology where:

Evil is part of God’s plan.

People are judged for roles they were assigned.

And the Gospel becomes a rescue from God himself – not from sin or injustice.


The dignity of human life suffers under this view.
It becomes a divine chess game, where our pain serves some “higher purpose” we can never challenge – because Satan is doing God’s will.

So I ask:
If Satan is the Devil, and God is his master, how do we avoid making God the author of all evil?

And if we can’t… isn’t it time to revisit the assumptions?

Isaiah 45:7​

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.​

Indeed, there is a misconception of just what that means, having to do with what the world actually is, as opposed to what most think it is.

The world is not a created addition to the kingdom of God (as most would think), but is rather an "image" (Genesis 1:26)--the illusion of times, as a revelation giving form by the power and light of God--like a projection. But what it is, is merely that "half hour of silence in heaven" (Revelation 8:1) where God gives revelation by incremental time "but each one in his own order" (1 Corinthians 15:23)--apart from God in the midst of "outer darkness" (Matthew 8:12), from which many never return except for the Judgement.

In other words, this world is the promise of death made by God, where He "divided (past tense) the light from the darkness" (Genesis 1:4).

"Then comes the end" (1 Corinthians 15:24).

 

[David Lamb]

Many Christians equate Satan with the Devil – and insist they are one and the same. But let’s assume for the sake of argument that this identification is correct:
That Satan, the Accuser, is also the Devil – the personification of evil.

The bible equates the devil with Satan:

“So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” (Re 12:9 NKJV)

“He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;” (Re 20:2 NKJV)

 

[Big Boy Johnson]

God is over all and through all and in all.

God is in evil?

 

[Davy]

Many Christians equate Satan with the Devil – and insist they are one and the same. But let’s assume for the sake of argument that this identification is correct:
That Satan, the Accuser, is also the Devil – the personification of evil.

Then the question becomes unavoidable:
If Satan is the Devil – and God is sovereign over Satan – isn’t God ultimately responsible for all the evil Satan causes?

Those who make that error of thinking is because they have not properly understood what happened with Lucifer's original rebellion in the 'old world'. There are 3 world earth ages written of in God's Word (per 2 Peter 3). We have been in the 2nd world earth age since Genesis 1:2 forward.

A Summary (and this is not speculation; it is The Word of God, but requires at times going into the Hebrew):

1. Genesis 1:1 = God's 'original perfect' creation in the "beginning". Lucifer the devil was created perfect in his ways and followed God. There was NO sin, no EVIL.

2. Like Apostle John said, the devil sinned from the "beginning" (1 John 3:8). It was Lucifer's job to guard God's Throne. He was created a covering cherub, which is what that means. Lucifer wanted to be GOD (still wants that today too, and to be worshiped as GOD.)

3. Genesis 1:2 = God ended that 'old world', the 1st world earth age before Lucifer rebelled. Per the Hebrew, the KJV phrase "without form, and void" actually means the earth had become a waste and an undistinguishable ruin. The Hebrew word tohu is used for something in a previous good state that went bad. Most English translations in that verse do not properly bring the Hebrew meaning into English. For example, in Jeremiah 4:23-28 God used that "without form" (Hebrew tohu) idea again, and there He is describing a destruction He did upon the earth long ago by His fierce anger. That was because of Lucifer's original rebellion and fall.

4. Romans 8:18-25 = Apostle Paul says God made His creation subject to vanity, and in bondage of corruption. Paul is pointing to the destroyed state of the earth at Genesis 1:2 when God ended that old world because of Lucifer's rebellion against Him.

5. Genesis 1:6-9 is God moving the flood waters He used to end that 'old world' to create today's sky atmosphere (firmament) around today's earth. Then He moved the waters left upon the earth around until the dry land appeared, again. The earth had already been created at Genesis 1:1.

6. 2 Peter 3 = Apostle Peter covers some this too, pointing to 3 world earth ages, "the world that then was", "the heavens and the earth which are now", and the future "new heavens and a new earth". The first one Peter said many are "willingly ignorant" of. Most think Peter was talking about the flood of Noah's day, but the Israelites were not ignorant of the flood of Noah, which means Peter was pointing to a different flood that made the 'old world' perish by water.

 

[Davy]

Understanding how evil came into existence:

In The Old Testament, like Isaiah 30:31-33, God uses the title of the flesh king of Assyria as a TYPE for Satan the devil. There God points to Tophet, which was a perpetual burning garbage pit outside Jerusalem, as it is being used symbolically to represent the future "lake of fire" destruction of the devil. (see also Valley of Gehenna). God calls the devil there "the Assyrian", because only the devil and his angels so far have been sentenced to perdition in the future "lake of fire". The actual flesh king of Assyria has not been judged to perish yet, no flesh born man has, not even Judas Iscariot.

In Isaiah 10, God calls "the Assyrian" the "rod of Mine anger", which points to how God uses the devil and thus evil against the rebellious for THIS PRESENT WORLD TIME. The devil in the old world is who brought in the idea of evil and wickedness by coveting God's Throne and drawing a third of the angels into rebellion with him. The devil did the very first sin, ever, before Adam and Eve. That's why John said the devil sinned from the beginning.

And since the devil brought in the concept of evil and iniquity, God uses it for this present 2nd world earth age time against the wicked. That does NOT... mean God is the originator of the concept of evil, just because He uses it in this fallen world because of what the devil did.

 

[quietthinker]

If Satan is the devil, is God responsible for all evil?​

It's the question that was answered in Jesus' incarnation.

 

[XtraPercept]

In this we can be certain, the Master never has, never does, and never will speak falsehood. He is Absolute Certainty.

Every word He speaks will endure forever. All things false will be annihilated when this work is complete. And it is false to despise the truth, but the truth you have will endure through the flames.

Satan is a transliteration of a Hebrew word for "adversary" and not a proper name in the original Scriptures.

Can the plans of the Father be frustrated? Does He struggle? This would imply limitation upon the Omnipotent and Ubiquitous.

You will hate the Truth until you despise a lie.

 

[David Lamb]

If Satan is the devil, is God responsible for all evil?​

It's the question that was answered in Jesus' incarnation.

Sorry, why do you say "IF Satan is the devil?" The bible says he is:

Re 12:9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Re 20:2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

 

[ProDeo]

Evil is part of God’s plan.

Nope, evil is the opposite of God, a nasty byproduct of free will.

The Plan - the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Decided between God the Father and God the Son before creation.

God foreknew.

And decided to create in spite of.

At the cost of God the Son, a part of Himself.

 

[XtraPercept]

And decided to create in spite of.

The Master has no spite in Him.