Dante Alighieri provides a clear image of who Satan is in the first part of the poem, The Divine Comedy, in the Inferno.  The devil is depicted in the 9th circle of hell, frozen in ice up to the chest, and freezing the surrounding areas with bat-link wings that continuously flap.  In the midst of Job, we read about Satan or, if you have read the notes at the bottom, the accuser.[i] This heavenly being is authorized by God and given authority by God to inflict suffering and pain on poor Job.  Is this character in Job the same one referenced throughout the Old Testament? What about in the New Testament?  So much of our understanding of Satan comes from thoughts and ideas outside of the Bible.  Let’s take a brief look at Satan as we are reading about him/it in the Bible this year.
 
In Job, the Hebrew word, a noun, literally means “the accuser” or “the adversary.”  In Job, the Hebrew text always has the definite article “the” prior to the noun which indicates that it is not a proper noun.[ii]  While we often see Satan capitalized in Job, there is not indication that this should be the case.  The adversary here appears to be an angel or someone else within the heavenly realm and not necessarily against God.  This adversary acts within God’s limits except for one indication that illustrates he may have gone too far. Look in Job 2:3:[iii]
 
The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason.”
 
“The adversary” is also referenced in other OT locations such as in Numbers 22 when the adversary is an angel of the Lord blocking the path of Balaam, but that is on God’s bequest because Balaam is not in line with God.  Look also in Zechariah 3:2:
 
And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you!
 
The “accuser” or “adversary” stands at the right side of Joshua here in the vision and the Lord once again steps in as this divine being has gone too far because Joshua is at this point forgiven.  The particular Old Testament reference to Satan, however, does not use the definite article and may indicate a specific person, but it is clear that there is more to the Satan of the New Testament than in this particular reference.[iv]
 
In the Gospels and in the Book of Acts, the original language is Greek and we see new names for Satan including the Devil, Beelzebul, the accuser, the ruler of the demons, and others.  One of the most famous accounts when we recall Satan in the New Testament is when Jesus is in the dessert and tempted by Satan while surrounded by wild beasts (Mark 1, Matthew 4, Luke 4).  It is not entirely clear in these accounts if this Satan is acting on his own accord or if he acts on behalf of God.[v] We also see Satan in the Gospels as the cause of those who have demonic possession, the one who snatches the seed from the soil, or when Jesus calls Peter “Satan!” 
 
The letters, especially those of Paul, recount similar personified images of “the adversary” found in the Old Testament, sometimes blocking the correct path (see 1 Thessalonians 2).  We also begin to find the account of Satan as the fallen angel.  Look at 2 Corinthians 11:14:
 
And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
 
Or 2 Thessalonians 2:9-13
 
The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false,  so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned.
 
Even here, we see some component of permissiveness on God’s account, but only in the individual’s absence or lack of acceptance of God’s love.  Satan here is also depicted as deceptive and not flat out representative of evil in looks, appearance, or action.  We do not have a red devil with a trident here but evil disguised as good in the absence of God’s love.  The letters continue to echo the Old Testament “adversary” that blocks the way of the righteous but we also see the personification of evil in some instances. 
 
Satan is certainly personified in the last book of the Bible, Revelation.  In it we see the Satan figure testing faith against false teachings of God.  This figure is, in the end of Revelation, bound by an angel of the Lord and cast into an abyss (Revelation 20).[vi]
 
What happened between the Old and New Testament with Satan?  Did Satan become more of a figure upon Jesus’ life, death, Resurrection, and Ascension?  One reason there is a larger difference between the Old Testament with a simple adversary and the New Testament, which begins to more than personify Satan but provides and actual evil force, is the influence of outside literature.  There are many non-biblical and extracanonical sources which may have influenced the image of Satan in the New Testament, including the one of Satan as a fallen angel.[vii]  Yes, outside literature enters into the narratives of our Biblical accounts. 
 
So who or what is Satan?  The Bible does not give us a clear-cut answer about this Adversary or Accuser, but provides us an idea of what inhibits us or blocks us from God’s love.  Evil and the source of that which is evil is the absence of God’s love and giving into temptation, sin, is “the seeking of our own will instead of the will of God, thus distorting our relationship with God, with other people, and with all creation.”[viii]  Anything that blocks our path with God and that draws us from the love of God is not of the work of God.  Is this the particular work of a singular devil?  We do not have that direct answer but there are forces of evil that work in our world that actively try to draw us from God and they are often deceptive as we see in the letters of the New Testament.  However we name what draws us from the love of God, we should be mindful of its power and appeal, for it tempts us daily.  We ask God “lead us not into temptation,” so that we may not even enter into a situation where a decision can lead us astray and block our path.  “Don’t let us encounter the tempter, the adversary, the accuser,” we ask God. 
 
I typically like to end these posts on a high note, but I want to end on some words from the first letter of Peter:
 
Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. - 1 Peter 5:8-9
 


[i] David J.A. Clines, “Job,” in The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha: New Revised Standard Version: Michael Coogan, Marc Brettler, Carol Newsom, Pheme Perkins, Fully Revised 5th (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018).

[ii] “Satan,” in The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2009), 112.

[iii] “Satan,” 112.

[iv] “Satan.”

[v] “Satan.”

[vi] “Satan.”

[vii] “Satan,” 113–14.

[viii] Episcopal Church et al., eds., The Book of Common Prayer: And Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Cermonies of the Church; Together with the Psalter or Psalms of David (New York: Church Publishing, 2002), 848.

Confirmation is the rite in which we express a mature commitment to Christ, and receive strength from the Holy Spirit through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop.  Book of Common Prayer p. 860.

In the Episcopal Church, each diocese chooses an age by which a person is capable of making an adult affirmation of faith, taking on the promises made at baptism or even making those promises for the first time.  We typically consider someone who is about 13 to have sufficient agency to make such a decision.  Where did all of this come from?

Confirmation has been a practice in the Church since about the 5th century.  In the ancient church and today we recognize it as the moment when baptized persons receive the laying on of hands and anointing with oil of Chrism and it is part of our own baptismal liturgy.  We recognize the ability to make promises on behalf of those who cannot (infants and children) and support those who are able (adults).  The basis for our Confirmation service is our baptismal service which dates from a early third century document  by Hippolytus, The Apostolic Tradition (while some archeological evidence is still in question).  Our Easter Vigil service is an example of a liturgy in our church designed to culminate in an adult's affirmation of faith through baptism and/or Confirmation. 

Is it in the Bible?  The New Testament does not overtly talk about Confirmation but it has Scriptural roots. 

• We saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Jesus in the moment of his baptism by John in Mark 1.
• Matthew 28:18-20 speaks of baptizing, "'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'"
• Peter and John laid their hands on the people of Samaria in Acts 8 giving them the Holy Spirit.  These are the disciples who had received the Holy Spirit from Jesus. 
• Anointing was a practice given to Kings showing signs of God's anointed and is throughout the Old Testament, David's anointing by Samuel (I Samuel 16:12-13) is a good example. 
• We see "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power in Acts 10:38, laying a foundation for anointing and reception of Holy Spirit.
• On the seal, Marion J. Hatchett in his Commentary on the American Prayer Book cites ("Gen.4:15; Ezek. 9:4-6; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; Eph. 1:13 and 4:30, and Rev. 7:3; 9:4; and 14:1") p 281.

We are not limited to these scriptural references here as the rite of confirmation and baptism is immersed (pun intended) with Scriptural understanding.  As you read, look for pieces of these rites of initiation.  At Confirmation, we acknowledge and all of us renew our Baptismal Covenant professing the Holy Scriptures to be the Word of God and contain all things necessary for salvation.  We embody that knowledge in such sacramental rites as Baptism, Eucharist, and Confirmation.  We make the words come to life in our liturgy which is one of the thousands of reasons I love our tradition.  How else might we embody those words in worship and in our lives?

Each night we have read a Psalm or a portion of a Psalm since we began this challenge.  Are they accessible to you?  Do you gloss over them?  Do you digest them as a complex, layered meal of emotion and meaning?  What is the longest book in our Bible, the Psalms, about?  It is read in church every Sunday...why? 

The Book of Psalms is a collection of poetry and songs over a period of hundreds of years.  The title of the book itself translates similarly from the original Hebrew and Greek into "singing," or "stringed instrument accompanying," or something similar.  This is a book intended to be sung, perhaps an early hymnal!   This is why there is so often music set to them during our church services. 

There are five distinct sections of Psalms and within those sections, subsections of categories.  It is an organized and eclectic gathering of ancient prayers and sayings intended for individual and corporate use.  You may be able to tell that some of them may be personal prayers and some you can see being sung in a worship setting.  In the Episcopal Church, we incorporate them into our Sunday services and, when practiced, daily prayer services.  They have been an important part of worship for thousands of years from the Jewish tradition into the Christian.  Jesus knew them, studied them, worshiped with them, and cried out in agony one of the Psalms on the cross. 

Our Lectionary and we often shy away from some of the language of the Psalms.  "That is too violent!"  Or "why is that in here?!"  So often, the Psalms may say and offer in prayer what we feel bashful to say in public or out loud.  Think about the times you may have cried out to God.  Were your words always perfect for liturgical practice?  They cry out in authentic words of humans in pain, humans in thanksgiving, and humans in every emotion.  They so often say what we may not be willing to say. 

I have found these words comforting and gave breath to my emotion and prayer needs that I could otherwise not have voiced.  They transcend time when I recognize that Jesus said these same words in his own language and sang them.  We have read the majority of the Psalms by this point.  How might you go and read one when you feel in need or grateful?  "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me," are the words of Psalm 22 said by Jesus on the Cross.  How might you use them to cry out to God this Lent? 

The portrayal of Paul in the Acts of the Apostles illustrated a man chosen by God.  This is a man who persecuted the church and put to death many of the first Christians and then transitioned to, perhaps, the greatest advocate.  He was literally blinded and given sight in the Lord.  We are not entirely sure of the accuracy of Paul's description in Acts as the author of Luke and Acts may have altered his description and travels.   We now read Romans, an authentic letter of Paul.  What are we getting into?

There are 14 letters often attributed to Paul in the New Testament, however, current consensus labels only 7 of them as actually written by Paul.  These seven letters are Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon.  In fact, the oldest New Testament document (1 Thessalonians) is written by Paul (yes, older than all of the Gospels).  I love Paul's theology, however, one must read each of his writings in context of the audience, culture, and person.  The book in which we read now, Romans, is perhaps his most theological and revealing and as N.T Wright has noted, is laid out in a chiastic structure.  The very center of the book provides his central theology with balanced arguments on either side.  He no doubt finds baptism in Christ a central characteristic.  But does all of this make sense for me to follow today?

Remember as you read these Scriptures, that they are letters written from Paul to a particular group of people.  He probably did not know that they would end up canonized for our reading 2,000 years later.  I encourage you to read the opening introduction to each letter in your study Bible and if you do not have one, let me know and we'll get information to you.  As letters, Paul may be writing to address particular concerns for a community that may not be a particular concern to us today.  As you approach some problematic texts in his letters, keep this in mind.  As you become more familiar with Paul, think about what he might say to our particular community based upon what he said to these.

Paul was the antithesis of a Christian in his early life, not of the chosen Israel, Roman citizen, and persecutor of the church.  As one of the strongest proponents with the most canonized Scripture, he is an example of God's love and mercy extended and speaking through people outside of native Israel.  Paul received God's grace, God's mercy, and became an example to the point of martyrdom in around 65 CE.  God's love is extended beyond a single people.  We have evidence in these Scriptures of such movement of God in humanity and God continues to move in and through us.  What is God saying to you through these ancient letters?  What might Paul of today say to us?