There is a saying and it goes like this, “No sympathy for the devil.” Have you ever heard that one? Satan the evil one was cast out of heaven. Some might think we should have some sympathy for him and his great loss. But we know there is no hope for the devil. But the devil doesn’t really care if we feel sorry for him or not. Satan wants to destroy us. Satan’s goal in life, as our enemy, is to deceive all of us into hell with him. He hates us.
So this question today was submitted by someone here, for the series we’re going through, God Questions, Real Answers. So today we’re attempting to answer this question: Why doesn’t God love the devil?
So doesn’t God love everyone? Sure. God wants everyone to be saved. But what about Satan? Doesn’t God love Satan as well? Why does God condemn Satan? It’s a very interesting question. And we’re really talking about God’s character when we talk about this question. Is it wrong for God to not love the devil?
Well, let’s talk about this. And for this we have to go back to the very beginning of the universe and time and space. Before God made the Earth, the solar system, and the galaxies, and so on, God lived in this heavenly realm, this alternative reality, in a timeless state, with creatures he’d created called messengers, or as we refer ot them, angels.
One of these angelic beings was named Lucifer. Lucifer means “the morning star.” And we get this picture of Lucifer from places like Isaiah and Ezekiel, where the fall of Satan is referenced when talking about kings who are beautiful and proud. So Lucifer was a beautiful angel of God, I believe a leader in the angelic armies. But Lucifer was so beautiful that Lucifer turned inward and saw his own beauty, and eventually this led to corruption in his heart. Lucifer became so prideful at his beauty and power that he started to think he should be in charge instead of God. And apparently Lucifer hated the fact that God created humanity, and gave humanity unique authority over the Earth and assigned angels to be the helpers of humanity. Because we as humans have authority over angels. The Bible says we will judge angels.
So Lucifer became prideful, and began to turn other angels to his side. And apparently God sort of let this play out. And eventually Lucifer had deceived and gotten one third of the angels to join him. And it says in Revelation 12:7-9:
And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world - he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (NRSV, Revelation 12:7-9)
And Jesus himself said, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning.” (NRSV, Luke 10:18)
So Lucifer rebelled against God, started a general insurrection against God, fought against God, and was defeated, and thrown down to the Earth. Lucifer then became Satan, which means in Greek or Hebrew “the adversary.” So we have Satan and his demons, which were those that followed his rebellion, and we battle against them as the church of Christ on Earth. And they are constantly attacking us, but all we have to do is speak the name of Jesus and they flee in Jesus name.
Additionally, and again we don’t know the exact order of events, but Satan came as the serpent in the garden, to tempt Adam and Eve to sin against God. And of course we know that Adam and Eve listened to the lies of Satan and ate the forbidden fruit. And all of humanity fell into sin as a result.
Now, here’s the question. Despite the fact that Adam and Eve lived with God in the garden of Eden, they sinned against God, and were cast out of the garden. And the earth became an evil fallen place. But, despite this, we today still have the chance to repent, turn away from our sins, and put our faith in Jesus Christ, and follow Him.
That door is open right now. It’s open from the moment we are born, to the moment right before we die. Anytime in there, we can receive Jesus Christ. But, after we die, the time period is up. The window is closed, the door is closed, and final judgment is rendered.
But if Adam and Eve, and the rest of humanity could still be forgiven for their sins and turn to faith in God, then why couldn’t Satan or his demons do the same thing? Couldn’t Satan put his faith in Christ, repent of his sins, and then be saved? The answer to that is no, actually.
For some reason, demons cannot be redeemed. Perhaps it’s because they lived in the direct presence of God. They were with God. None of us have seen God. But these angels lived with God in heaven. Maybe it’s because they are angels, they are not humans, so the rules are different for them. I don’t really know. But God doesn’t love the demons or the Satan. They are only evil. There is no good in them. And they will play on our sympathies to deceive us. Believe it.
There are many thousands and thousands of people out there who worship Satan, and think that Satan is going to share his kingdom with them when they get to hell. But guess what? When they get to hell, Satan is going to tell them, “You think I’m going to share my power with you? I hate you as much as I hate Christians.”
The Bible tells us something very important: It says, hate what is evil, cling to what is good. And it says woe to those who call good evil and evil good. Sometimes we take this concept of “love” a little too far. Sometimes we take our sympathies just a little too far. We have an enemy, with an army, Satan and his demons. They are doing everything they can to make sure we don’t get to heaven. Don’t pity them. Don’t fear them. Fight against them in the name of Jesus Christ. Because they will be fighting against you. There is no hope for the devil. And God doesn’t love the devil. Our adversary is dangerous, and we need to fight him, not pity him. He doesn’t pity us.
Did God once love Lucifer? I’m sure God loved Lucifer dearly. And I’m sure it’s heartbreaking to God to see Lucifer become Satan and try to destroy the humanity he loves and made. But there window is closed for Satan. But it’s open for you and me.
