The short answer is: Absolutely not. We will explain the reason for this conclusion in this and the next Q&A.
It is important to fully understand that Satan and his demons, as well as God’s holy angels, are not all-powerful. They can only do what God allows them to do. Even in the spiritual created realm, God has placed limitations, as far as power, authority and ability are concerned.
One example is when Gabriel appeared to Daniel to deliver to him a message from God. Gabriel struggled for three weeks to get past the prince of the kingdom of Persia, a very powerful demon. When the archangel Michael came to help, Gabriel was able to free himself from the demon and to reach Daniel. We read in Daniel 10:10-13, 20-21:
“Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands. And he said to me, ‘O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.’ While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling. Then he said to me, ‘Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia… And now I must return to fight the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come… No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince.”
We see, then, that in the spirit world, there are limitations on power and strength. Gabriel was not able, apparently, to overcome the prince of Persia on his own. In addition, it appears that Satan–formerly called Lucifer–and Michael have the same power, as both are of the same rank of cherub. We also read in Jude 9: “Michael, the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!'”
This implies that Satan and Michael are of the same rank and power. We also read that both seem to be placed over angelic hosts under their leadership. We read in Revelation 12:7-9 about a war in heaven: “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
As Michael leads two-third of God’s angels, while Satan leads only one-thirds of the angels who had become demons (compare Revelation 12:4), Michael’s army is more powerful than Satan’s. In addition, angels do not have the same knowledge, in spiritual matters, as God’s disciples (Ephesians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:12). (For more information, please read our free booklet, “Angels, Demons and the Spirit World.”)
All of this shows that there are limits to what Satan is able to do and what he cannot do.
To address the question of Satan’s power as to true healing, it is interesting to consider how God and Satan are named in the Bible.
God is called Elohim (Mighty Ones) in Genesis 1:1; El (Might, Power) in Genesis 14:18; Eloah (Mighty One) in Nehemiah 9:17; LORD (YHWH–the Eternal or the Ever-Living One) in Genesis.2:4 and Exodus 6:3. He is called Lord (Adonai) in Genesis 15:2; the God of Sight (El-Roiy) in Genesis 16:13; the Rock (Cela, Tzur–strength) in Psalm 18:2; the LORD of Hosts or YHWH-Sabaoth ( Lord of Armies) in 1 Samuel 1:3; and YHWH-tsidenu (The LORD our righteousness) in Jeremiah 23:6. Finally, he is called YHWH-rapha (The LORD who heals; or the LORD your Healer) in Exodus 15:26.
This is not a complete list but it gives a good broad spectrum of who and what God is.
By contrast, let us look at some of the names and designations of Satan:
His name is Appollyon and Abaddon (destroyer and destruction; compare Revelation 9:11); the accuser (Revelation 12:10); the adversary (1 Peter 5:8); the angel of the bottomless pit (Revelation 9:11); Beelzebub (ruler of demons, Matthew 12:24); the deceiver (Revelation 12:9, who pretends to be an angel of light, compare 2 Corinthians 1:14); the enemy (Matthew 13:39); the Evil one (John 17:15); a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44); a murderer (John 8;44); and the wicked one (Ephesians 6:16).
This suffices to get the drift of who and what Satan is, and that his motives and actions are totally contrary to God’s. While God wants to help people, Satan wants to destroy them. As we saw, one of God’s names is the LORD our Healer. God is our Healer; He wants to do good to us. On the other hand, Satan is mankind’s destroyer. He is incapable of giving good gifts to man, and God has not given him the power to heal anybody..
We can obtain healing today because Christ suffered for us. We read in Isaiah 53:4-5: “Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him; And by His stripes we are healed.”
Compare also Matthew 8:16-17 and 1 Peter 2:22-24.
In addition, note in Psalm 103:3 that it is God “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases.” In this context, forgiveness of sin is equated with our healing. Satan cannot forgive sin, nor would he ever want to. Satan was the first sinner and transgressor of the spiritual laws of God.
When we get sick, we have the clear and unambiguous instruction from God as to what procedure to follow in order to obtain God’s healing.
We read in James 5:14-15: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
We are to call upon the elders, that is, true dedicated ministers of God, to obtain healing. But it is not the minister who heals. The minister has no magical powers to heal; he is only an instrument in God’s hands to facilitate the process which God has instituted and instructed us to follow, to test the sick person to see if he or she follows the instructions as laid out in James. (For more information, please read our free booklet, “Sickness and Healing–What the Bible Tells Us.”)
God uses His ministry in this regard, as He has used angels in times past to assist in healing (compare John 5:1-4). But God has never used, nor will He ever use Satan or his demons in the process of healing.
God is our Creator, Protector and Healer. Satan is the deceiver, liar, murderer, destroyer and accuser of the brethren.
God as the Creator placed limitations on His creation. He did not give Satan the power to heal. And still, don’t we hear all the time of miraculous healings which do not seem to originate with God? How is this to be explained?
This question will be addressed in the next Q&A.
Lead Writers: Rene Messier and Norbert Link
