We don’t get a lot of detail about pre-Genesis
Satan in our Bibles, though few things have had a more dramatic and
far-reaching influence on our world than his interference in God’s creation.
There is no straightforward literal retelling of the history of Lucifer’s
rebellion to be found in either Old Testament or New. Rather, we are treated to
a series of vignettes that cast light on various aspects of the demonic rebel
heart. They illuminate Satan’s real nature by comparing him to historic figures
and to the sort of people we know very well indeed: characters that populate our
literature and people whom we can observe all around us.
But Satan is also a deal-maker, a trafficker, a trader and a businessman. Perhaps we are less inclined to think
of these things as intrinsically evil.