Satan does not like opportunities of God’s grace and favor. His ordered human-centered system is anti-God and anti-Christ, and he sits at its head. Much of this world is religious, cultured, refined, and intellectual, but it is still anti-God and anti-Christ.
But, his power in the dark world is not equal to God’s power. The power he has is only the power he has been given or is allowed to use. Job 1:6-12 reads, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.” Satan is told to consider Job and agrees to have his way with him within clear boundaries. Satan is the accuser, always seeking to destroy by causing others to deny God through trials, persecutions, or temptations. He is the source of sickness and death and could possess people in “the last days” as shown in the New Testament.
However, the Devil has been defeated and bound while Christ reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. Christ has the keys of death and Hades, the spoils of the battle. Now, he is limited like nothing before. But, he is still the father of lies and deception, and he tempts us to do evil.
Another text that describes the limits placed on Satan is found in 1 Cor. 10:13. It reads, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as man can bear: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to endure it. No one will be tempted above what they are able to bear. With every temptation, there is a way of escape. Essentially, the knowledge and use of the Word is the power to overcome. As Jesus did in the wilderness when tempted by him, so must we do. The key is being aware of his devices, having the discernment to see his deception and the spiritual fortitude to say to him, ” IT IS WRITTEN!”