Who is Mr. S. A. Tan?

Who is Satan to you? Many would give answers like ‘the enemy of God’, 'evil spirit', 'name that symbolises the bad kingdom' to name a few. A friend of mine defined Satan as ‘a form or being who seductively tempt people to fall into sin.’

As for me, Satan is an angel, a creation of the Almighty God, masterpiece of perfection and purity, endowed with free will and intellect. Satan, named Lucifer, was given the authority and superiority by God, over all the angels. However, Lucifer misunderstood the authority and superiority given as the same authority over everything that God created. He wished to be like God with all the authority that was given to him (Is 14: 13-14). I believed that Satan, like many other angels, was created for the glory of God. But it was through Satan’s perverted will, that is pride, that he has chosen to go against God. He refused to submit to God and wanted the love and glory all for himself. But remember, all the glory and honour was never his. According to St. Augustine, it is impossible for a proud person not to be envious. In the case of Satan, the sin of pride followed the sin of envy towards God’s good rapport with His children (that’s us!). He was jealous to see such beautiful relationship between God with Adam and Eve in the haven of Eden. Satan and the fallen angels were, in other words, sad to see the children’s good relationship with God. Satan wanted so much to destroy this beautiful relationship that God's children experience with their Creator. He has succeeded in severing it during the time of our first parents, Adam and Eve.
Despite the fact that Satan is against Him, God is good and indeed, God is Love. He did not reject his creature. God still allowed Satan and his fallen angels to maintain their power and rank (thrones, dominions, principalities,authority and powers) even if they use their authority and superiority for evil purposes. Saint Augustine did not exaggerate when he claims that, if God gave Satan a free hand, no man would be left alive. However, God will only allow Satan and his fallen angels to limited influence upon humans. This permission or rather this authority did not come naturally on Satan but this was God-given; to inflict pain upon human’s physical body but Satan will never be able to possess the soul. Please recall in Job 1: 12, whereby there was a conversation between God and Satan about a man named Job. God has summoned Satan, or rather given the authority to Satan by saying to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power but do not lay a hand upon his person'. To know more about Job, how about looking up at the Book of Job and indulge in it? (after the book of Macabees and before the Book of Psalms). We are being affirmed here that, Satan can neither kill us nor possess our souls, but he can inflict us with pain (physical, emotional, spiritual, social, mental, to name a few) and manipulate our worldly possessions. He will try, by every means that are within the boundaries that God has made for Satan, to try to make humans into his followers in opposition to God, just as he is in opposition to God. Therefore, since the beginning of the creation to this very moment, he is vehemently and cunningly attracting and gathering humans to increase the population in his kingdom of darkness. However it is by free choice of humans that they choose to follow the Satan’s league.

We may ask, why did God allow this? St. Augustine continued to tell us that this permission is to punish us and to test us temporarily. In my opinion, God allows all this for the glory of His kingdom. Like what Jesus has said when He was questioned about the man born blind in Jn 9:1-3; so that the works of God (healing) may be made visible through him (the blind man). In other words, this man was being born blind so that, when the right time comes as according to God, the work of God can be made; healing to his blindness, that is, he is able to see again! This will eventually be a great testimony about God; how God brought a great miracle through the imperfection of this man. And for the agape love and mercy for humanity, God has brought down His Most Beloved Son, Jesus Christ into this world to reconcile man and God again after the relationship is being severed by the fall of the temptation of Satan. My friends, going back to the story of Job, we are made affirmed by St Thomas Aquinas that the power of the Satan and his counterparts is not absolute and sovereign but restricted to the limits established by the power of God. Satan, a creation of God since the beginning, will always remain God’s creation for eternity (Amen!).