Job & the High Priest
When Satan appears in Sacred Scripture—at least when he is identified by that name—he is most often described as a tempter who endeavors to lead men astray (e.g., 1 Chron. 21:1; Mark 1:13; Matt. 4:10; Luke 22:31; John 13:27; Acts 5:3; 1 Tim. 5:15).
Sometimes, however, the Bible portrays Satan as a kind of prosecuting attorney, or at least an accuser, who testifies in a quasi-forensic setting, bringing legal cases against the servants of God or trying to show them in a bad light. In fact, among the Bible's final references to him, Satan is called "the accuser (ho katégor) of our brothers, who accused (ho kategorón) them day and night before our God" (Rev. 12:10).
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Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor emeritus of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, and the author of numerous books, including, most recently, Out of Step with God: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Numbers (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2019).
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