Why doesn’t God forgive Satan?

Answer

In the early hours of October 16, 1946, ten condemned Nazi war criminals were hanged for crimes against humanity. None showed so much as a trace of remorse. No final regret or last-minute apology was uttered from the scaffold. On the contrary, one of them, Julius Streicher, whose incendiary attacks against Jews had fueled mob violence and anti-Semitic persecution, shouted, “Heil Hitler,” as he ascended the steps to the platform where the hangman waited ( Manchester Guardian , 10/17/1946). These ten were rebels to the end.

The higher the creature, the greater its capacity for evil. A madman is to be feared more than a mad dog, and a fallen angel is to be feared more than an evil man. While Hitler and his unrepentant henchmen were guilty of plunging the world into a bloody, six-year war, Satan and his army of demons have been waging a full-scale attack against God and His people since the fall of mankind. All instances of suffering can be traced to Satan. His fingerprints can be found in every cemetery, prison, abortion clinic, crime scene, drug cartel, pornography studio, and wherever human degradation is found. He wields considerable influence in every nation’s capital. He holds a seat in many corporate board rooms. He serves as a regent in most of the world’s colleges and universities. He knows his way around a movie set, a newspaper editorial board, a back-alley drug deal, and, regrettably, a growing number of church pulpits. Satan is relentless, and Scripture teaches he will be a rebel to the end.

Why doesn’t God forgive Satan? Satan does not want God’s forgiveness. He has no desire for divine mercy. Satan’s singular goal is conquest; his chief ambition is to rule the whole of creation (Isaiah 14:12–14). His methods and ploys are many:

He is the author of temptation (Genesis 3:1–5)
He is the architect of evil works (1 John 3:8)
He is a murderous liar (John 8:44)
He inspires greed and dishonest gain (Acts 5:3)
He falsely accuses God’s people (Job 1; Zechariah 3:1–2)
He is a vicious, well-armed combatant (Ephesians 6:11–16)
He can enter into and possess the lost (Luke 22:1–6)
He persecutes the saints (Revelation 2:10)
He can perform supernatural signs and wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9)

Based on the prophetic teachings of the Bible, the worst is yet to come. During a tumultuous time known as the seventieth week of Daniel (commonly referred to as the tribulation period), Satan will install a puppet ruler, the Antichrist, who will bring temporary peace and prosperity before showing his true colors (see Matthew 24; 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12; Revelation 13). Thankfully, Christ Jesus, our conquering hero, will defeat the Antichrist and put an end to his worldwide reign of terror. As for Satan, he will be bound and held captive during the Lord Jesus’ one-thousand-year reign over the earth from His throne in Jerusalem (Revelation 20:1–6).

There have been human lawbreakers who repented of their crimes and became followers of Jesus Christ while in prison. The loss of one’s liberties and the harsh realities of incarceration have motivated many to accept our Savior’s forgiveness. Because of His boundless mercy, the Lord Jesus has never turned away a repentant sinner, regardless of the magnitude of his or her crime. Yet there are those who, like the Nazi war criminals, will resist the Lord until the bitter end. And Satan, even after a thous and years in chains, will refuse to wave the white flag of surrender; on the contrary, he will be eager to resume his battle against God and His people:

And when the thous and years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the s and of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:7–10, ESV)

Why doesn’t God forgive Satan? One reason is that Satan will never repent. His heart is perpetually fixed on evil; he cannot be mended, only destroyed.