God is often viewed two very different ways in the Bible—as the Almighty getting revenge on His enemies in the Old Testament and as a loving Father who sent his only Son as a sacrifice for our sins in the New Testament. How do we reconcile these two portrayals of God–his lovingkindness and his justice/intolerance for sin with the question of whether God still loves Satan?
The Bible and Christian doctrine support the idea that Satan is God’s enemy and that God will ultimately take revenge and destroy Satan and his angels. Satan is now functioning in conflict with God’s purposes in the world. Christians with this mindset believe Satan is behind every evil scheme on this planet—idolatry, cults, false religions, and that in his loathsome plans, he is trying to destroy God's kingdom. Christian leaders warn their followers to be wary of the evil one’s power and trust that Satan will ultimately be destroyed by God.
Other Christians have trouble accepting this fire and brimstone view of God. They believe Satan is God’s enemy, yet are cognizant that God’s Son, Jesus, said to love your enemies in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:43-45). Does God follow His own Son’s message to the masses and love His archenemy, Satan? After millennia of Satan’s sponsoring evil deeds—from The Fall in the Garden of Eden, through Sodom and Gomorrah, and continuing in endless wars in the Old Testament and modern history—it's an almost mind-bending yet fascinating question to wonder whether God still loves Satan. Let's look into this question more below and first explore who Satan was when God created him.
Who Was Satan Before His Fall?
God loved Satan before Satan fell from grace. Originally named Lucifer, which means “morning star,” Satan had overzealous pride in himself as a cherub covered with jewels on the holy mountain of God. Ezekiel prophesied that the Sovereign Lord said to Satan, “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth" (Ezekiel 28:17).
Satan’s downfall, then, was his pride. He was obsessed with his own beauty, intelligence, and power, and thought his position equal to God's. After Satan was banished from Heaven, he spread his evil ways through the world and continues to operate for evil.
Can Fallen Angels Like Lucifer Be Redeemed?
Again, we look to Jesus’ ministry to find an answer to this question. In New Testament scripture, sinful actions based on evil thoughts are forgiven by Jesus. Jesus’ acts of forgiveness suggest that perhaps God can forgive Satan for his evil ways. Perhaps God still loves Satan.
For example, Peter, the disciple whom Jesus said was the rock on which He would build his church (Matthew 16:18), denied he knew Jesus when Jesus was about to be crucified (Luke 22:54-62). Peter’s denial was certainly a huge fall from grace. After denying Christ, Peter wept bitterly but remained faithful to Jesus in spirit. Peter is taken back into Jesus’ fold when Jesus appears after His death at the Sea of Tiberias, where He helps the disciples catch fish and prepares breakfast for them.
At the seaside breakfast, Jesus asks Peter three times, the same number of times Peter denied knowing Christ, if he loves him. Peter answers in the affirmative, “Yes, my Lord, you know that I love you” (John 21:1-17). Jesus redeems Peter in this episode from the New Testament and even commissions him to be a leader in his new church. Peter receives love and forgiveness for his sinful action before Jesus’ crucifixion.
There was trouble with Peter’s faith walk before this event. When Jesus tells the disciples of His impending death and resurrection, Peter exclaims, “’Never, Lord!’ he said. ‘This shall never happen to you!’” Jesus rebukes Peter, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Matthew 16:21-23). Jesus sees Peter’s unbelief as inspired by Satan (Luke 22:31), yet Jesus lovingly retains Peter as His disciple. We constantly see that Jesus is in the business of redemption–could it be that there is a possibility that God will redeem Satan for his fall from grace as well?
Grace from God is seen in Old Testament history as well. God’s chosen people of the Nation of Israel worshipped a golden calf and grumbled that they would never arrive in the Holy Land. They also worshipped the false gods of their Babylonian captors. God redeemed them in their moral and physical wilderness, giving them chance after chance to repent and come back to Him. Is God willing to give Satan a second chance, too?
Of course, Satan is a more extreme opponent of God than the straying Israelites or a confused disciple. Satan set out to destroy goodness in the world when God banished him from heaven. Does God draw the line of His love and forgiveness with Satan, then?
In the article "Where Did Satan Come From?” Ed Jarrett writes that Satan’s purpose, ordained by God, is to test our faith. Just as countries at war strengthen each other’s position, Satan’s evil designs challenge God’s people and ultimately draw them closer to God. Our encounters with evil refine us, as fire refines gold (1 Peter 1:6-7). Some even speak of trials in the Christian life as being "tested by fire." In an almost paradoxical way, then, God uses even Satan's evil acts for the good of his people. Again, this raises more questions than it perhaps helps to answer: Does this mean there are redeeming qualities about Satan?
God’s Son Jesus experienced Satan’s refining power for forty days in a kind of spring training for His ministry on earth (Luke 4:1-13). Jesus resists Satan’s temptations by quoting scripture—a tool every Christian can employ. The temptation of Christ steeled Jesus’ witness, as Satan’s temptations may do for all Christians. God may love Satan—in some sense—for this attribute of testing our faith.
God’s Relationship to Satan after His Fall from Heaven
There are Bible characters and contemporary figures who do not withstand the temptations of Satan. Scripture has harsh words for the evil people ruled by the powers of Satan. For example, the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah describe God’s scorn for the works of Satan carried out by ancient, evil kings.
Isaiah addresses the king of Babylon, who overtakes Jerusalem in his lust for power, comparing him to Satan: “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens . . . I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit” (Isaiah 14:12-15). This prophecy from Isaiah reads like a script of Satan’s life.
Another ancient king’s life is mocked in Ezekiel 28. The king of Tyre’s life and ultimate doom is prophesied in terms of Satan’s life: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, . . . You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God.” In verses 16 and 17, the prophet describes God casting Satan, and figuratively the king of Tyre, out of heaven for the sin of pride (Ezekiel 28:12-14; 16-17).
The New Testament also has passages referencing Satan. Paul warned early Christians of Satan’s power in Ephesians 6:12: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Paul is speaking with God’s authority in warning Christians of Satan’s evil powers and, in the same passage, encourages them to put on the "full armor of God" to "withstand the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:11).
Paul continues to be direct in mentioning Jesus’ role in overcoming the evil one in 1 John 3:8: “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” Paul, like Jesus, saw Satan’s power in the evil deeds of people such as Ananias, who lies to the Holy Spirit and keeps money that doesn’t belong to him (Acts 5:3).
New Testament scripture expresses confidence, however, that God will destroy the forces of evil led by Satan. 1 John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” This alludes to the final showdown of God and Satan described in the book of Revelation.
Satan’s Ultimate Destiny
The New Testament Gospels and Pauline letters warn believers of Satan’s powers of evil. The book of Revelation, on the other hand, foretells the demise of Satan and his angels at the hands of God. Revelation describes how God and His church will be victorious over Satan in the end times.
Satan’s destiny, as described in Revelation, says that following the second coming of Christ, Satan will be bound in chains and cast into a pit. Satan will remain in the pit during the 1,000-year millennial kingdom over which Christ will rule (Revelation 20:1-3). After the 1,000-year reign of Christ, Satan will be thrown into a lake of fire for all eternity (Revelation 20:10). The Revelation of John sees God exacting strict revenge on Satan; the text does not give any hint that God may redeem Satan or that he may have a different fate.
Conclusion: Does God Still Love Lucifer in Any Sense?
In a feel-good society and church culture, it is not pleasant to imagine the violence of God toward Satan in the Book of Revelation. These vengeful actions are part of scripture, however, and John was inspired by God when he wrote Revelation. There are other passages of the Bible that also speak of a stern, judgmental God. After all, God cannot be truly just and loving if he does not punish sin.
In the Gospels, Jesus explains God’s judgment when he tells the parable of separating the sheep from the goats—those worthy of heaven because of their service on earth and those who did not serve God’s less fortunate (Matthew 25:31-46). In verse 41, Jesus says he will tell the unfaithful servants, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” This passage clearly states that evil, selfish people will join Satan in a final destiny of eternal fire.
Jesus also advises His followers how to find the glorious, eternal life and avoid “destruction.” Matthew 7:13-14 says, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Again, we see a God who is selective, who rewards good and punishes evil.
There is hope and power for people to live righteously. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” And all Christians have received grace through the redeeming act of Jesus’ death on the cross. We are given second and third chances (and on and on) to turn our lives around and be faithful to God, just as He abided by His chosen people in the Old Testament.
And what of Satan? Is his cosmic power to wreak evil on God’s kingdom a threat that God will eventually eliminate? Is it likely that Satan’s pride and attempt to be equal to God will lead to his ruin? If Satan never changes his path, he may indeed meet the destiny outlined in Revelation. God does not love evil. He cannot be God and love Satan, a source of evil since before time began.
Image created using AI technology and subsequently edited and reviewed by our editorial team.
