Is Satan Real?

In Short:  Yes, Satan is real. He is not just a symbol or an idea. He speaks, reasons, and acts — but Jesus is real too, and through Him, we have hope, redemption, and victory.

I’m actually really excited about diving into this question. I think it’s a perfect follow-up to our first question, “What is Christianity All About?” (which you can read here).

This is a highly debated topic. Some people believe Satan is a real being, while others see him as just an idea, a symbol of evil, or even a myth. But in the Christian faith, what we believe about Satan is deeply connected to what we believe about Jesus. I’d even say it’s almost as important. Let’s look at what Scripture says.

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Satan in Genesis

The first time we meet Satan in the Bible is at the very beginning. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve are living in the garden of Eden, walking in close fellowship with God. God has given them dominion over all creation, with only one command: do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Then the serpent enters the scene. The Bible later identifies this serpent as Satan himself (Revelation 12:9). He asks Eve a question that plants doubt: “Did God really say…?” Then he follows with a bold lie: “You will not surely die.”

Satan, although in the form of a serpent, speaks, reasons, and acts.

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Satan in Job

The next chronological encounter we see with Satan is in the story of Job. The book of Job is a historical account of a real person, so we should take the events described — Job’s life, his trials, and his conversations with God and Satan — as literal occurrences.

At the very beginning of the book, we see God and Satan having a conversation. Job as a whole can be a very complex book to understand, and it gives us quite a lot of information about Satan, but for now I just want to focus on this specific encounter.

Again, from Job 1–2 we see that Satan is a being who talks, reasons, and acts. He’s not presented as an idea or a metaphor here, but as an active participant in the story.

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Satan in Matthew

The third encounter with Satan I want to mention is in Matthew 4:1–11 (also in Mark 1:12–13 and Luke 4:1–13), where Jesus Himself encounters Satan. Jesus has been fasting for forty days and nights when the devil (Satan) comes to tempt Him. Each time Jesus is tempted, He counters Satan with Scripture.

Again, from this encounter we see a historical account of Satan where he speaks, interacts, and reasons with Jesus.

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This is by no means the only Scripture that talks about Satan. Other passages reveal more about who he is, where the name Satan comes from, his strategies, how we should respond to him, and what will ultimately happen to him. But these three encounters paint a consistent picture:

He is real. He is not just a symbol or an idea. He speaks, reasons, and acts.

As I mentioned at the beginning, a Christian’s belief about Satan is deeply connected to what we believe about Jesus — and this connection is crucial.

In the Genesis encounter, Eve eats the fruit, Adam follows, and sin and death enter the world. This moment is central to the Christian story — and it’s why believing Satan is real matters. From the very beginning, he has been actively working against God’s purposes and leading people away from Him.

And this is exactly why we need Jesus. Because of Him, we have a Savior, a perfect sacrifice who makes it possible to be reconciled to God. Without Jesus, we would remain under the weight of sin and separated from God, but through Him, we have hope, redemption, and victory over the one who opposes God.

Satan is real… but Jesus is too.