Can Satan Read Minds and Transcend Time?

In Ephesians 6: 10-17, the apostle Paul called on Christians to put on the full armor of God, noting the spiritual warfare that bubbles beneath the surface of all we can see.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Our human experience and evil in the world confirm the existence of an ever-present spiritual battle, yet what do we know of our adversaries? Are dark forces powerful? Can they read our minds and are they bounded by our linear time? The short answers are yes and no. They are powerful and they have the ability to influence us, but they do not have the ability to read our minds or transcend time as we know it. In 1 Kings 8:39, we learn that God alone knows our human hearts and in John 2:25, we learn that Jesus also can read minds to know what we are thinking.

If Satan had the ability to read minds and transcend time, he could have read Jesus’ mind and would have known that Jesus was referring to His own body and the resurrection when He said “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” He would not have stepped into Judas to betray Jesus, because when Jesus atoned for our sins, He freed us from the binds of sin and hell. Satan lost that day.

Jesus also made it clear that the Father alone transcends time. When speaking to His apostles about the end times, Jesus referred them back to the prophetic words of Daniel and the abomination that causes desolation in Matthew 24.

“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.  For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you ahead of time….But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” 

So rest assured that the dark forces of this world are limited in reading our minds or transcending time. Only the LORD has those abilities and He works through us to defeat evil in our lives and in this world. And despite our sins, the LORD never abandons His children. He is with us now and forever.

“I have told you these things, so that in me, you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Thank you for your time.