Question: If we are to love our enemies, should we love Satan and the Antichrist? | thebereancall.org

TBC Staff

Question: Since we as Christians are meant to love our enemies, does that mean we are also to 1) love Satan? 2) love the Antichrist? 3) love the false prophet who assists the Antichrist? 4) love (the many) false prophets and (the many) antichrists in general? Or are we supposed to pray for them and hope for their salvation?

Response: To not love an entity such as Satan does not require that we in turn “hate” him. Satan’s fate is absolutely fixed concerning his judgment—he will be cast into the Lake of Fire—and that won’t be affected by any prayers of ours. Such is also true of the Antichrist and the False Prophet: “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Revelation:19:20).

As a consequence, we can see that the admonition of Jesus to “love our enemies” (Matthew:5:44) is directed to our relationships in this world. We are called to love God and also love people, including our enemies—all of whom are made in God’s image, although they’re not living up to that, and may not even be saved. We are never told to love angels (or demons) in Scripture, nor were they created in God’s image, as people are. 

God has already judged that there will be no forgiveness for Satan and neither does Satan seek forgiveness. On the contrary, he remains the adversary. Even after his temporary release at the end of the millennium, he immediately goes about his destructive ways, showing that his choice has been made and his judgment just.

We can certainly, however, pray for false prophets and teachers. The hatred expressed by the world for us is not really directed to us. As Jesus said in John:7:7, “The world cannot hate you, but Me it hateth, because I testify of it that the works thereof are evil.”