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).
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
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).
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
28.3—May/June 2015
Of Bicycles, Sex, & Natural Law
Describing Human Ends & Our Limitations Is Neither Futile Nor Unloving by R. V. Young
27.2—March/April 2014
on C. S. Lewis & the New State Paganism by W. E. Knickerbocker
32.2—March/April 2019
Reality Shows, Even in a Popular TV Series by C. E. Smith
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
