Whom Does Satan Target?

As he did in Eden, Satan also today targets the inexperienced. Young people are a particular favorite for attack. Satan is not happy when a young person, or indeed anyone, volunteers to slave for Jehovah. God’s enemy wants all who dedicate their lives to Jehovah to fail in their devotion and loyalty. Satan promotes the idea that a career in his world will satisfy a person, but Christians should take into account the importance of satisfying their spiritual need. “Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need,” taught Jesus. Dedicated Christians live for God’s will, not Satan’s. Their delight is in the law of Jehovah, and they meditate on it day and night. However, many of today’s educational courses allow little time for a servant of Jehovah to meditate and to satisfy his spiritual need.

COMMENTARY

Satan does not just target the inexperienced. Nor are young people his favorite. They are simply more vulnerable to his wiles.

The Scriptures reveal that the Devil primarily tries to mislead the leaders of God’s people. Look for instance at the man David. There are only a couple of references to the Devil in the entire Hebrew text (not counting Job) and one of them is in the account where Satan successfully incited David to take a census of Israel, the results of which were disastrous.

The other mention of Satan is in prophecy, specifically in the 3rd chapter of Zechariah, which states: “And he proceeded to show me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Jehovah, and Satan standing at his right hand in order to resist him.”

And then there was Judas. He, of course, was one of Jesus’ own handpicked apostles. Yet, the Scriptures say that on the night when Jesus instituted the memorial of his death Satan entered into Judas. 

Paul revealed that certain prominent men in the Corinthian congregation, whom he dubbed “superfine apostles,” were actually agents of the Devil who were merely disguised as ministers of righteousness.

And ultimately Satan empowers a Judas-like faction called the man of lawlessness, who exerts a deluding influence over all Christians, promoting a faux parousia, until such time as the manifestation of Christ brings him to nothing. Jesus foretold that among his own appointed slaves some will ultimately be found to be evil.

The Watchtower implies that Satan cannot exert an influence over the leadership of the organization. But that notion is unsupported  by the Scriptures.