I HAVE A THREE-FOLD THEORY

Theory Part One:  Prophecy is God revealing what He knows in advance of something happening, so that when it occurs, mankind will believe His Word.  It is not necessarily based upon what God is going to do, as much as it is based upon what man will do, and how He intends to respond.  For example, Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, written hundreds of years prior to the Crucifixion of Christ, describe in great detail what will happen to God's Son.  Then, following His Resurrection from the dead, Jesus reminded His disciples that His death, burial, and resurrection, were foretold in the Scriptures:

"Then He said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:  ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?  And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" (Lk. 24:25-27).

Theory Part Two:  Because Satan is "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4), and his desire is to destroy all that stands in his way of achieving total world domination, he uses deceit, theft, and murder, to accomplish his goal:

"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it" (Jn. 8:44).  "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy..." (Jn. 10:10).

Theory Part Three:  God is like a dam that holds back a huge reservoir of water, which represents the potential destruction of all that lies below.  The reservoir is filled with Satan, fallen angels, demons, and fallen man, all longing to destroy that which is of God, and therefore, is good.  A perfect example of this is found in the story of Job.  Satan repeatedly solicits permission to destroy Job and all that he has (Job 1 & 2).  At first, God limits Satan's power to attacking all that he has - his family, his servants, and his possessions.  When that does not cause Job to reject God, the Lord then limits  Satan's attack to Job's health, but does not give him permission to take his life.  Death, after all, is the work of Satan: 

"And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life" (Job.2:6). "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2:14). 

From these three theories, I draw at least two conclusions:  1)  Satan can do nothing apart without God's permission; and 2)  As bad as this world is, we should thank God for limiting the evil that desires to destroy us!  Praise God!