If God Is All-Powerful, Why Hasn’t He Destroyed Satan?

If you’ve ever had questions about the nature of God, the Bible, theology, or any other Christian topic, you’re certainly not alone. In fact, there’s a whole community of believers on Ebible asking the same kind of questions and engaging in thoughtful discussion.

One of the more abstract and hard to comprehend aspects of God is his omniscience and omnipotence. In other words, if God is all-knowing and all-powerful, why doesn’t he just fix all the problems in the world? Namely, why doesn’t God destroy Satan and put an end to the pain and heartache?

Let’s see what a few members of Ebible have to say about this subject. You can view the original question here!

S. Michael Houdmann, Got Question Ministries

One of the mysteries of the Christian life is why God didn’t destroy Satan immediately after Satan sinned. We know that God will one day defeat Satan by throwing him into the Lake of Fire where he will be tortured day and night forever (Revelation 20:10), but sometimes we wonder why God has not destroyed Satan already. Perhaps we will never know God’s exact reasoning, but we do know certain things about His nature.

First, we know God is absolutely sovereign over all creation, and this includes Satan. Certainly, Satan and his demons wreak havoc in the world, but they are only allowed a certain amount of freedom. We also know that God has planned everything from the beginning of time to the end. “The LORD of hosts has sworn: ‘As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand'” (Isaiah 14:24).

Second, “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Whatever God has planned for Satan, that plan will be the best one possible.

Third, we know that to question God’s plan and its timing is to question God Himself, His judgment, His character and His very nature. It is not wise to question His right to do exactly as He pleases. The psalmist tells us, “As for God, His way is perfect” (Psalm 18:30). Whatever plan comes from the mind of the Almighty is the best plan possible. It is true that we can’t expect to understand that mind perfectly, as He reminds us, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ says the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts'” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Philip Ramirez, Musician and Bible Student

A vital issue was raised in the garden of Eden, when Satan led Adam and Eve into disobeying God. Satan questioned God’s right to rule by calling God a liar who withholds good from his subjects… insinuating that God is a bad ruler. When Adam and Eve sinned, they effectively said “We don’t need God as our ruler… we can decide for ourselves what’s right and what’s wrong.” How would God respond?

Your question is one way: Why didn’t God simply destroy Satan and the rebels and make a fresh start? Remember: God’s original purpose for mankind was to fill the earth with the offspring of Adam & Eve. Besides that, getting rid of the rebel Satan wouldn’t have answered the question raised about God’s right to rule. So, in the manner of Jesus’ illustrations, let’s consider the following…

Imagine that a teacher is telling his students how to solve a difficult problem. A clever but rebellious student claims that the teacher’s way of solving the problem is wrong. Some students think he’s right, and they also become rebellious. What should the teacher do? If he throws the rebels out of the class, what will be the effect on the other students? Won’t they believe that their fellow student and those who joined him are right? All the other students in the class might also lose respect for the teacher, thinking he’s afraid of being proved wrong. But… suppose the teacher allows the rebel to show the class how he’d solve the problem.

God has done something similar to what the teacher does. Remember that the rebels in Eden were not the only ones involved. Millions of angels were watching. (Job 38:7; Daniel 7:10) How God handled the rebellion would greatly affect all those angels and eventually all intelligent creation. So, what has God done? He has allowed Satan to show how he would rule mankind. God has also allowed humans to govern themselves under Satan’s guidance.

The teacher in our illustration knows that the rebel and the students on his side are wrong. But he also knows that allowing them the opportunity to try to prove their point will benefit the whole class. When the rebels fail, all honest students will see that the teacher is the only one qualified to lead the class. In a similar fashion, God knows that all honest-hearted humans and angels will benefit from seeing that Satan and his fellow rebels have failed and that humans are incapable of governing themselves.

Lynn Wells, Ebible Supporter

As a born-again Christian, at 56, I see the world SO differently now. I can see the miracles, I can see the demons, I can see how Satan uses EVERYTHING at his disposal to lie, steal and destroy us… because he hates us. We are God’s beloved, and he knows he has lost and what his ultimate demise is to be. Free will is the one thing God gave us that He respects the most, and He gave it to us and satan, with limits of course for our Lord is ALL powerful, whereas satan has only limited powers on earth! One thing I do know is that while God loves us, He hates sin. There can be NO sin in heaven whatsoever!

As we walk with Christ, we become Christlike but it is a walk that takes time too, what is referred to as sanctification. In obedience and humility, we love our Lord God and are continuously cleansed by the Holy Spirit each and every day we continue in that walk. We are born into sin, ergo that black spot is a part of us. We need to learn to love and appreciate the righteousness that God gives us through our relationship with Him, Jesus and the Holy Ghost. So in short, I see this earthly time of life as a “training ground” for heaven… to become perfect enough in living in God’s ways here, to be able to reside with our Lord God in heaven.

So in short, satan exists to glorify God in all things and in all ways!

View the original question here!