Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The great deceiver often works under cover of darkness, patiently stalking his prey, invisible to them. His senses are much sharper than ours, and he sees us when we do not even know he's there, always stalking us. Lifted up in their pride, he and his demons dared to hunt God's throne but were soundly routed. Now, as our adversaries, they hunt God's people, trying to pick off the weak, the ailing, and those who have grown weary and dropped back from the herd. Once he attacks, he causes great pain but does not go immediately for the kill; he pins us down and wounds us first. Think of him as a lion, quietly and invisibly stalking you, always looking for a way to maneuver you into a position by yourself where he can leap out of nowhere to maul you.

Satan originates and spreads demonic wisdom that is earthly, sensual, and produces confusion, disorder, disharmony, instability, and evil things. Satan undergirds selfish ambition, bitter envy, and self-seeking within Christian congregations, judging by worldly standards to make personal gain the highest goal. Satan stirs conflict by taking advantage of human desires that run head-on into one another, leading people to act on unlawful desires and satisfy themselves according to the world's values. Satan is the ruler of this world and the spirit of the world works through him to produce confusion, division, and war. Satan is a wily and powerful adversary described as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, stalking people who are vulnerable because he is invisible and soundless yet more intelligent, clever, and powerful than they are. Satan aims to undermine confidence, sow discord, and push people to stop believing and revert to carnality. Satan tries to lead into self-indulgence by turning God-given feelings such as anger into a toehold for sin when they are nursed for the wrong reason. Satan has a massive ego and arrogant attitude that leads him to attack repeatedly over and over from new angles, including strengths as well as weaknesses, and even personally. Satan is the wicked one who takes advantage of fear to remove the fear of God and manipulates through cynicism such as the principle that a man will do anything to save his skin. Satan speaks lies as naturally and spontaneously as God speaks the truth. Satan insinuates thoughts that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, giving rise to desire and then to action, and twists even true statements with a perverse angle to lead into sin.

Satan's pride originated in his judgment of his own beauty and splendor. This attitude corrupted his wisdom and set him in motion against God. He possessed perfection, wisdom, and beauty yet misjudged his value. His pride brought him into open conflict with God and resulted in his being cast down to earth. He functions as the prince of the power of the air and as the spirit who works in the sons of disobedience. God titles him king over all the children of pride. Satan means Adversary because he opposes God and those under his own influence. Additional names given to him are Abaddon meaning Destruction and Apollyon meaning Destroyer. His pride produces only contention and yields no good fruit. This nature drives competition taken to the level of life and death among those he influences.

Satan was created by Almighty God as a perfect, powerful anointed cherub, not as an enemy, to serve God's purpose by leading the angels in their service on Earth before mankind existed (Ezekiel 28:14-17; Jude 6). Iniquity arose when his heart was lifted up because of his beauty, and pride corrupted his wisdom. He said in his heart that he would exalt his throne above the stars of God and be like the Most High (Isaiah 14:13-14). He drew other angels into rebellion, was defeated, and was cast back to earth, where he and his demons still war against God and His creation, especially man. Job 41:34 names him king over all the children of pride, ruling the unconverted masses through fear and control. He is the god of this age, a murderer and liar, and the father of lies, who speaks from his own resources (John 8:44). His ultimate aim is to destroy God, and along the way he induces men to sin so they receive death as its wages. He works through his spirit, whose driving forces are deceit, hatred, anger, competition, and destruction, all wrapped in overweening pride. People absorb these into their thinking and become like him in attitude and conduct, so that the whole world lies under his sway (I John 5:19).