The Great deceiver.

It is the nature of Satan to be deceptive. Scripture says he has been a liar from the beginning. His first appearance in Scripture comes under the guise of a serpent. The credentials of this malevolent creature are announced in his introduction: "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made" (Gen. 3:1).

These words fall as a sudden intrusion into an otherwise glorious account of God's majestic work of creation. With the words "Now the serpent," the whole atmosphere of the biblical record changes dramatically. A sudden and ominous sense of foreboding enters the narrative. An uninspired author of Genesis 3 may have introduced the record of the fall by saying, "It was a dark and stormy day." But such hackneyed prose would have failed to yield the foreboding dread contained in the words "Now the serpent was more cunning."

Cunning. Craftiness. Subtlety. Guile. These are the descriptive qualifiers that paint the biblical portrait of Satan.

In the Bible, Satan is often referred to as the deceiver. Let’s explore some relevant verses:

John 8:44: Jesus says, "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.".

2 Corinthians 11:14: Paul warns, "But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ..

Ephesians 6:11: Paul advises, "Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."1.
Revelation 12:9: John describes Satan as "the great dragon… the serpent of old… the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.".

Satan’s deceptive nature is a recurring theme in the Bible, emphasizing the need for discernment and spiritual vigilance.

The Bible gives us glimpses of the unseen spirit world. It describes a created angel of great beauty and power, Lucifer, who rebelled against God and was cast down to earth long ago ( Isaiah 14:12-14 ; Ezekiel 28:14-16). He became known as Satan the devil, the serpent who deceived Eve, and he is described here as a great dragon.

He has continued his work of deception ever since the time of Adam and Eve, deceiving the whole world. He uses many different tactics, including deceiving people into believing that he doesn’t even exist.

It seems God has allowed Satan access to heaven at times through human history (Job 1:6-11), and Satan has used these times as opportunities to accuse God’s people to God. But in the end time, this passage shows Satan is again cast out of heaven and comes down “having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time” ( Revelation 12:12 ).

Satan’s hatred of God is so great that he desires the image-bearers of God to hate Him too. Today, the fundamental lie that the devil purveys in order to stifle our love for the Lord.

Leviticus 16:21-22

Scripture plainly teaches that Christ bears our sins (Isaiah 53:4, 11-12; I Peter 2:24; Hebrews 9:28). Yet, we introduce grave error if we gloss over either the Bible's general teaching on sin or whose sins, in particular, are atoned for in Leviticus 16.

One error lies in blaming Satan for the sins of humanity, then interpreting the azazel to represent Satan bearing mankind's sins. Apocryphal tradition holds that all sin should be ascribed to a fallen angel named Azazel, and even today it is commonly taught that the real cause—the actual author—of human sin is Satan. However, the Word of God shows that this is not true.

There is no question that Satan deceives (Revelation 12:9). He broadcasts his attitudes, and we all have tuned in to them. Ephesians 2:2 establishes that an evil spirit influence is at work in the world today. John declares that “the whole world lies under [his] sway” (I John 5:19).

However, “there is a spirit in man” that is the basis of mankind's reason and free moral agency (Job 32:8; I Corinthians 2:11). This biblically revealed truth means that, while a malignant spirit can affect the spirit in man, it does not force a person to act. This outside spirit gives people terrible information on which to base their decisions, but God says they have enough evidence of His power and divine nature to make them without excuse (Romans 1:20).

Romans 3:11

Paul, quoting David, writes, "There is none who seeks after God." Man is so deceived and imbued with his own system that no one knows what to look for! The Devil has so deceived the world (Revelation 12:9) that the true God is hidden. Satan is the ruler of this world because he is the source of its ways of life. All mankind worships and responds to him except for that small, elect group to whom God has revealed Himself.

1 Corinthians 15:22-25

These verses conclusively reveal that others will be called besides us, until Christ defeats all enemies of God's rule. Because every person who has conformed to the image of Satan is an enemy, God will eventually call all of mankind and confront each one about who their sovereign is! As Satan has deceived "the whole world" (Revelation 12:9), so in His time will God call the whole world.