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Does Satan have any power; can he cause storms or earthquakes? The good news is that he has no power to cause any physical damage to the earth or people who live on it. Then where does his power lie? It is in his ability to communicate to get humans to walk contrary to God’s word as shown in Ephesians 2:1-2: 1And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.
Many times when reading the Bible it appears that Satan has physical power, but in truth he does not. The story of Job is what people use to point to where Job appears to be physically plagued by Satan. A careful reading of the first chapter shows that Satan has no physical power to harm anyone. Job 1:9-11: 9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
Here Satan came to God and tried to convince Him that Job’s righteousness is based on the prosperity he has received from God’s protection and blessings. The phrase, “stretch out Your hand” shows that it is God who brings disaster to Job in his present position. It is clear that Satan must grovel before God in attempting to bring calamity to Job. If Satan could do this with his own power he would have carried it out without giving any thought to God. Would there be any reason for God to comply with Satan’s request unknown to Satan. Based on Satan’s observation of Job would God act frivolously? Job 1:5 gives the answer – 5 So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly.
This shows Job thought that by sacrificing for his sons and daughters he could take away their sins. Sacrificing was instituted to be a personal realization of sin that needed to be repented of. Can anyone repent of a sin for another? Doing these things points to the fact that Job had a high opinion of himself which God intended to correct. He was self-righteous to the point that he thought he could take away his children’s sins by his sacrificing without their active participation. By the sacrifice of a prized animal the sinner is showing God that he recognizes his sin with the intent of changing his ways, showing God his sincerity by his actions.
Hebrews 10:4 shows this, 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
God made it clear to Moses that all repentance was personal, Leviticus 1:3 – 3 ‘If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord. Continuing in Micah 6:6-8: 6 With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
The story of Job is not a one-time event of Satan accusing God’s chosen. Revelation 12:10 shines a light on what God is allowing and what Job must endure - 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
It should be of great comfort to know that Satan has no physical power to inflict injury on anyone. However, he does have a convincing way of selling his way of life to mankind. God designed humans with a compelling desire for life. It’s the drive that dictates how men think and act as shown in Genesis 3:17-19: 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
By eating of the tree they were told not to, Adam and Eve were saying to God - “We don’t need to live your way, we can fend for ourselves.” They defied God’s way of life. Who was it that convinced them that they did not need to follow the dictates of their Maker? It was Satan! This is where his power lies – by convincing men to do his will. In Revelation 12:15 Satan is seen sending an army after God’s people – 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. - The word flood is a euphemism for an army. It cannot be a flood of water because Satan has no power over the physical. His power lies in his ability to convince people to do his bidding.
Satan will convince the ruling authority to send an army to bring God’s people back, or to destroy them if they are unwilling to return. Only God has physical control over everything He created. He will cause a great earthquake to swallow up the approaching army showing that He alone has this power.