Satan is commonly portrayed in Christianity as first and foremost the enemy of God: a cosmic rebel whose hatred of humanity is merely an extension of a deeper war against the Creator. Yet this familiar picture is much clearer in later Christian imagination than it is in Scripture itself. When the biblical texts are read directly, Satan certainly disobeys God, challenges divine judgments and acts contrary to God's purposes. But the actual objects of his hostility are consistently human beings.
The distinction is important: