Does Satan Heal Sickness & Disease?
The Bible definitely teaches that Satan can afflict others with sickness and disease, but what about Satan “healing” people? It also teaches that He is a deceiver, and the father of lies.(Revelation 12:9, John 8:44). It tells us that included in the activities of Satan are “false miracles” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).
All sickness and disease are linked to Satan through the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden. Man was not affected by sin or disease as originally created in Eden. Satan’s lies and deceptions led to the Fall of Man, and sickness, disease and death entered God’s creation.
If God has given Satan the power to afflict us, it follows that Satan also has the power to stop afflicting people if it served his evil purposes (e.g. trapping people in Christian Science or other anti-Christian belief systems for the rest of their lives). When Satan stops afflicting people for his purposes, that particular illness has been removed, and this is a false miracle. When God comes and frees someone miraculously from the bondage of Satan (e.g. disease, addictions, sickness), against Satan’s will, then this is a true miracle of God.
The works of God never contradict the Truth of God found in the Bible. The works of Satan are accompanied by lies which lead people away from God, which helps us discern false miracles. If someone is healed, but that healing leads them to deny that Jesus is God, or deny the existence of sin or evil, then they have been deceived by a false miracle, and their mortal body is temporarily better, but their eternal soul is in danger of eternal destruction! (Matt 10:28) Jesus warned us specifically about “false messiahs” and miracles that will deceive others. (Matt 24:24)
The Bible gives us at least 2 examples of Satan directly afflicting people. The 1st example is in the book of Job, Chapters 1 & 2, where God allows Satan to afflict Job. First God allows Satan to attack Job indirectly by destroying his possessions and killing all his children. Then God allows Satan to attack Job’s health, afflicting him with painful sores all over his body and separating him from his wife, who encourages Job to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9). What is the intent of all this suffering directed at Job? It is to destroy Job’s faith and separate him from God! (Job 2:4-5)
It is not stated explicitly, but at the end of the book of Job, Job’s health has been restored, and he has been given more children and material blessings. God apparently withdrew His permission for Satan to afflict Job. I am sure Satan would have preferred to kill Job and destroy all his material blessings! (Job 42:10-17)
The 2nd example is in Luke 13:10-17, when Jesus heals a crippled woman and says in verse 16: “Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” This is a true miracle of God; Satan’s desire was to keep this woman bound as a cripple for her entire life. Jesus, the Lord of Lords, comes and frees her from her crippling illness, but more than that, Jesus shows that He is Satan’s Lord also!
In conclusion, I believe the Bible teaches that Satan does afflict us with illness, but can also withdraw that affliction if it will deceive us and separate us from God. Satan’s main purpose is to separate us from God. If He can separate us from God by afflicting us, or withdrawing the affliction via a false miracle, then he has achieved his goal: the destruction of our soul! Christian Science is a means used by Satan to separate people from God, and destroy their souls.
by Tom Stewart
6/7/17