Neither God nor his Word give place to the Devil.

Western tradition has enshrined what Gallagher calls a “Satan maximalist” approach to the evil spiritual beings mentioned in the Bible, finding the devil and his army of fallen angels everywhere. But what does Scripture actually say about Satan and his wicked companions?

Not much, it turns out.

Gallagher calls readers to critically examine the traditional view of Satan and the demonic taking into account the full testimony of Scripture. What emerges is a vision of evil that includes a being known as Satan, but whose power and scope of influence are smaller than tradition usually suggests. The chief enemy of God is not nearly as powerful nor mentioned as frequently in the Bible as is often thought.

The Bible does not center on a conflict between good and evil spiritual beings. Early Christians were not obsessed with Satan, and the New Testament writers chose not to speculate about his origins or motivations. Instead, they focused on godly living that would allow believers to stay in step with the Spirit and avoid every appearance of evil.

Edmond L. Gallagher (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is a professor of Christian Scripture at Heritage Christian University in Florence, Alabama. He has published widely on the Bible in early Christian history. He is a member of several academic societies, including the Society for New Testament Studies and the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies. He and his wife, Jodi, have six children.

“Drawing on the ancient Near Eastern context, Second Temple Judaism, and early Christian interpretation, Edmon L. Gallagher unveils how disputed and uncertain many widely accepted views are. Gallagher walks us through the texts about the unseen realm and provides an account that is more restrained in his conclusions in contrast to what one might often hear from Christian pulpits. Reading this book is a healthy exercise in exegetical and theological caution. I appreciate where he ultimately lands—God is sovereign, Christ is victor, and we do not fear the unseen forces. I recommend the book as an alternative perspective to the dominant popular conceptions of the heavenly realm.”

—John Mark Hicks, professor of theology, Lipscomb University

“‘The world, the flesh, and the devil.’ For decades (if not centuries), Christians have been warned to take all three antagonists seriously, or even to blame mishaps on one of the three members of this evil triumvirate. But what do we really know about the third? Enter Ed Gallagher’s fascinating and readable study of the devil and all his friends. Journeying through a wide range of resources from the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Book of Enoch to Paradise Lost, Gallagher adeptly shows that many of our ideas about Satan—that he has a name (Satan), that he was an angel who fell from heaven, that he is locked in a cosmic battle against God, that he rules over hell with a pitchfork, and so on—are more features of interpretive imagination than they are clear teachings of the Old or New Testament. Gallagher lands on what he calls a minimalistic view of this ancient supernatural antagonist, but minimalistic in two ways: The Bible says less than we think about his origins and minions, and the scope of his power is far more limited than popularly thought. But the upshot of this book is not for us to take the satan less seriously (i.e., ‘The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist’) but to provide comfort to all Christians, perhaps especially those who have an overclocked fear of demons and the supernatural: Christ has defanged the devil and will one day punish him forever. Even if the reader disagrees with Gallagher at points, this book is still immensely valuable for those interested in digging deeply into scriptural teaching on the supernatural realm.”

—Gregory R. Lanier, PhD, Professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary

“This book calls for us to seek those things which are above, to move away from an incessant focus on fear to an overwhelming confidence of faith. The central story of Scripture is about the faithfulness of God, seen in the finished work of Jesus Christ and the ongoing power of his Holy Spirit. What little may be gleaned concerning the dark powers pales in comparison with the One who dwells in unapproachable light. Gallagher writes with a pastor’s heart, assuring us that the repeated refrain of Scripture is that Christ has won, is faithful to his promise, and empowers us to live in the light of God’s glorious grace. May we heed the call of this important book, to avoid searching in the darkness for the shadowy vestiges of what is defeated in Christ, and, instead, give our attention to the One who deserves all our focus, love, and praise.”

—Nathan Guy, PhD, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Theology, and Ethics; Director, David E. Smith Healthcare Ethics and Human Dignity Initiative, Harding University; Preaching Minister, West Side Church of Christ

“Devilishly good. Gallagher’s treatment is critically astute, engagingly written, and pastorally sensitive. He argues that the Bible gives less importance to, and fewer details concerning, Satan and his minions than many Christians have traditionally wanted to affirm. Central to the biblical testimony is instead a principled minimalism, a decisive downgrade of the demonic realm.”

—Stephen B. Chapman, Associate Professor of Old Testament, Duke Divinity School; Editor in Chief, Journal of Theological Interpretation

“In this engaging book, Edmon Gallagher explores how beliefs about Satan and evil spirits developed within Christian Scripture and tradition. Writing with both scholarly depth and pastoral sensitivity, Gallagher helps Christian readers see that Satan and his ‘friends’ play a surprisingly minor role in the biblical narrative. This welcome study invites Christians to reconsider their assumptions about evil and to refocus their attention on the sovereignty and centrality of God in the story of redemption.”

—H. Clay Smith, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies, Harding University

ISBN: 9781684263226

Pages: 320

Dimensions (inches): 6 x 9

Weight (pounds): .5