I know that the devil hates humans. He hates us because we remind him of The Creator, since we are made in His image. But I think that his hatred towards us is a by product of his disdain for God Himself. You see, as much as the devil is interested in bringing destruction to our lives, he is more interested in discrediting God and "showing/demonstrating", which of course he can not, that God is a liar and that God can not fulfil what He has said and promised.
The Bible shows us glimpses of the behind the scene occurrences that Lucifer, who later became Satan, and God were involved in. We read about Lucifer's creation and his purpose, which was to oversee the worship of God at His throne. you could not have been any closer to Him. We then read about his rebellion and his power of persuasion, which he used to turn the hearts of a third of the angelic host against God. That is an amazing power. I often wonder what and how he told the angels that his way was better than Yahweh's. Lucifer's radiance must have been such that the angels ignored there nature and chose to disbelieve and then to disobey. Later in the New Testament, we read about the disciples rejoicing because they were casting demons, fallen angels, out of people, then Jesus declared to them, that's no big deal, I saw the devil cast out of heaven itself.
The Bible then goes on to describe Satan's new purpose, to convince man that God is unjust and unmerciful. Since the devil and his minions were condemned to an eternal punishment in the flames of hell, he accuses God of being unmerciful. Isn't that just like us humans also. We know when were not suppose to do something wrong, yet we do it and get caught, then we cry foul.
The devil basically challenges God, as we see in the Book of Job, to punish mankind for his disobedience. From the fall in the Garden of Eden, Satan's purpose is to deceive man and then accuse them before God. Because of sin, man now also has to be judged and condemned. But now, God himself becomes man, in Jesus Christ, and vicariously dies for mankind. Upon Jesus, God pours out condemnation and His mercy towards man. He once, again proves that he does not go back on His word or His promises.
The devil really hates that. He hates Gods love and justice towards us in Christ Jesus. He will continue to use his power of persuasion to deceive mankind. He'll sometimes come as an angel of light and at other times as a roaring lion. Yet, have confidence in this, "greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world". Gods love is greater than Satan's hate. Gods love overcomes all fear. In the end, the Book says that we win. - FCS
