While preparing for a sermon on Satan, I came across a striking 6th-century mosaic from the Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna. It’s considered one of the earliest visual depictions of Satan—but not in the way you might expect.

At first glance, you may assume Satan is the figure in red on the left. After all, isn’t that how we’ve come to imagine him? Red tights. Horns. Pitchfork. Fire in the background. But that’s precisely the problem.

The figure in red is actually the Archangel Michael. The one in blue on the right—calm, almost serene—is the figure representing Satan.

How do we know? Because this mosaic is a visual retelling of Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats from Matthew 25:31–46. In the parable, Jesus speaks of the final judgment where He, the Son of Man, separates people as a shepherd separates sheep from goats—sheep on His right to inherit the kingdom, goats on His left to receive judgment.

“He will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.” (Matthew 25:33)

In the mosaic, the sheep are placed before Michael, who stands at Christ’s right hand—those welcomed into eternal life. On Christ’s left, the goats stand beside the blue-robed angel, destined for separation from God.

The brilliance of this mosaic is its restraint. There’s no grotesque caricature or theatrical flair. Satan isn’t monstrous—he’s almost indistinguishable. And that’s the point.

Satan doesn’t always show up in red tights. He often appears as something nearly good, nearly right. Almost true. This is what makes him more powerful – he masquerades as the truth (2 Corinthians 11:14).

If you saw this image without knowing the parable, you might mistake the angel in red for the deceiver. Only with the lens of Scripture can we rightly discern what we’re seeing.

The enemy’s goal is not to scare you away—it’s to subtly mislead, to whisper lies, to distort truth just enough that you follow a path you believe is right…until it’s not.

That’s why knowing Scripture matters. Not just vaguely, but deeply. If we don’t know the truth, we won’t recognize the lie. If we don’t know the Shepherd’s voice, we won’t realize we’re listening to the deceiver.

In this mosaic, both angels are similar in stature, form, and gesture. Both seem capable of influence. But only one leads to life. The other, to destruction.

Your life is full of voices. Some will guide. Some will corrupt.
Discernment isn’t about instincts or trusting your gut—it’s about intimacy with God’s Word.

So let me leave you with this question: Do you know the Shepherd well enough to recognize the counterfeit?