Satan is the Destroyer
Satan is the Destroyer in the Bible
Satan is the destroyer. He is the one who comes “to steal and to kill and to destroy” (John 10:10) and harass and discourage and tempt and everything else he can do against the people God has created. Here is collection of Bible verses showing that it is Satan who bring disease, death and destruction:
“For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. (Exo 12:23)
It would make no sense, if God was the destroyer, for Him to not suffer Himself to come into the houses. He is not fighting against Himself but against the destroyer.
“And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.” (Job 2:6-7)
That story can seem like God is afflicting Job but that is just another case of God being said to do what He only permitted which is clearly what happened in this case. See https://characterofgod.org/god-takes-the-blame/.
“And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?” (Luke 13:16)
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38)
“Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.” (1 Cor 10:10)
See this page for more about who the murmurers were and what actually happened
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;” (Heb 2:14)
Note that it is the devil who is spoken of as having the power of death. Some think that it is God Who kills or Who has the power of death because of verses such as:
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matt 10:28)
However, note that the word “him” is not in the original (check in the interlinear Greek). It is really unremedied, unforsaken sin which destroys. See more detail on this at Fear Him Which is Able to Destroy.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Pet 5:8)
“And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.” (Rev 9:11)
“Apollyon” means “destroyer.”
So there are a number of examples showing that it is Satan who is the destroyer. God is not a destroyer but a restorer, the One Who given life. The idioms section of this page helps to explain why there is confusion over who is the destroyer. Mark 3:4 equates killing with doing evil and God does not do evil:
“And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.” (Mark 3:4)
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April 2, 2016 @ 5:58 pm
Thanks Ray for posting these verses.
May 28, 2016 @ 12:11 am
Thanks for the hard work Ray. It would be good to include links to the above authors and subscribers to this message. For example, Pastor Adrian Ebens and Sherlene Turner have some interesting insights and further depth to this topic on their respective web sites.