How much power does Satan have?

Question:

My real question is does satan have the power to control the elements. If he does how much power? Where in the Bible did your answer come from?

Answer:

The word “element” is defined as “one of the four substances (air, water, fire, earth) formerly believed to compose the physical universe; weather conditions caused by activities of the elements, especially violent or severe weather)” (Merriam Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary).

We are told to submit ourselves to God and to put on the protection that He offers us, because we are dealing with a powerful enemy. Ephesians 6:10-13 says, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” I Peter 5:6-9 says, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith…”

As to exactly what Satan can do, we know at least two things. First, he cannot do everything. Only God is all-powerful. Satan is not God, but is a fallen cherub. Cherubs are a type of angel. Ezekiel 28:13-15 says, “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”

In the end times, we see that certain angels are granted power over Satan’s. Revelation 12:7-9 says, “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 20:1-3 says, “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”

So we clearly see that Satan’s power is limited. As to how limited, we do not know, except we know that he can only do what God allows him to do. Such is the case with Job. Job 1:6-12 says, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And THE LORD SAID UNTO SATAN, BEHOLD, ALL THAT HE HATH IS IN THY POWER; ONLY UPON HIMSELF PUT NOT FORTH THINE HAND. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.”

The dictionary defined the elements partly as “one of the four substances (air, water, fire, earth).” In that case, God gave Satan power over some “elements” that day. We see in Job 1:16, “While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The FIRE of God is fallen from heaven, and HATH BURNED UP THE SHEEP, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.” Then in verses 18, 19 we see, “While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And, behold, there came A GREAT WIND from the wilderness, and SMOTE THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE HOUSE, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.” So there are some examples of elements (fire and wind) over which Satan was given control on that day by God.

Satan is a powerful foe, but we are reminded in I John 4:4, that, as Christians, “…greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” The scary thing is in regard to people who are not saved. II Timothy 2:25,26 says, “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” If the unsaved only realized what takes place behind the scenes, and the cold, wicked hand that controls them, they would flee to the Savior.