This is the second installation of a two part series written by Wayne Jackson. This appeared in the April, 1977 edition of The Christian Courier which was published by the East Main Street Church of Christ in Stockton, California and edited by Jackson.
THE ORIGIN OF SATAN: Though the Bible gives no detailed account of the origin of Satan, sufficient suggestions are found to draw some reasonable conclusions. The devil did not exist eternally, hence did have an origin as the following indicates.
First, it is certainly clear that Satan is not of the nature of Deity. Deity is all powerful (Genesis 17:1). Deity cannot be restrained (Job 42:2). On the contrary however, the devil is clearly not omnipotent as evidenced by the following: (a) His power to afflict was limited (Job 1:12; 2:6). (b) When rebuked by the messenger of God, he had to remain silent (Zechariah 3:2). (c) His authority over world kingdoms was "delivered" to him (Luke 4:6). (d) He had to ask for the apostles (Luke 22:31). (e) He can "snatch" no one from the Lord's hand (John 10:28). (f) When resisted, he flees (James 4:7). (g) When cast into Hell he will be powerless to resist (Revelation 20:10). Moreover, Scripture plainly affirms that He that is in us (God) is greater than he (Satan) that is in the world (I John 4:4). So, to sum it up, Deity is all powerful but Satan is not. Thus, he is not of the Deity class.
Secondly, all things and beings that are not of the Deity class are the result of creation. "For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers" (Colossians 1:16). This would include Satan as he originally was. It might be mentioned also at this point that all created things had their origin at some time during the creation week of Genesis 1. This Moses states in Exodus 20:11. This included the great host of angels. Incidentally, the angels, "must have been created at the very beginning of the first day of creation, for Job 38:6-7 tells of their singing and of their shout of joy at the creation of the earth" (John C. Whitcomb, Jr., The Early Earth, p. 43).
THE FALL OF SATAN: All things, as they were originally created, were good. "And God saw everything that He made, and behold, it was very good" (Genesis 3:1). "by the application of the term 'good' to everything that God made, and the repetition of the word with the emphasis 'very' at the close of the whole creation, the existence of anything evil in the creation of God is absolutely denied and the hypothesis entirely refuted, that the six days work merely subdued and fettered an ungodly, evil principle, which had already forced its way into it" (C.F. Keil, The Pentateuch, I, p. 67). This means that the being known as Satan was not created as Satan (an adversary). He was created good, but became bad.
If Satan was created good but is now evil, it is obvious that he fell. The Bible seems to indicate that the devil was the very first sinner. John wrote, "...for the devil has sinned from the beginning" (I John 3:8). W.E. Vine says, "There is stress upon the phrase 'from the beginning.' Sin began when Satan first sinned." (The Epistles of John, p.56) See also Guy N. Woods' commentary on this passage.
There are several indications in the Bible that a rebellion occurred in Heaven at some remote period of antiquity. In the book of Job, Eliphaz says of God, "He puts no trust even in His servants; and against His angels he charges error" (4:18). Barnes notes, "Language like this would hardly be employed unless there was a belief that even the holiness of the angels was not incorruptible, and that there had been some revolt there among a part, which rendered it possible that others might revolt also..." (Commentary on Job, p. xiii). Two passages in the New Testament speak of such a rebellion. "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment..." (II Peter 2:4). "And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of that great day..." (Jude 6). Angels were obviously subject to some kind of heavenly law, for they sinned and sin is transgression of law (I John 3:4). All evidence points to Satan as the instigator and leader in this revolt. Also, let it be noted that not all of these rebellious spirits were confined in a place of punishment (cf. Ephesians 2:2; 6:12).
In I Timothy 3:6 Paul prohibits a novice being appointed an elder, "let being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil." There is some discussion among scholars as to how the genitive tou diabolou (of the devil) should be taken. Some see it as subjective in the sense of "the devil's trap of condemnation" into which the novice falls. The expression "snare of the devil" in verse 7 is relied upon to be taken as an objective genitive, suggesting the sense, "Lest he be involved in the condemnation which the devil incurred," or the "judgment pronounced on the devil..." (Expositor's Greek Testament, IV, p.114). Alford, Wiesinger and others strongly argue that krima (judgment, condemnation) in verse 6 can only be used of a judgment into which the devil came. If this be correct, we have here a specific allusion to Satan's original fall.
Perhaps a word should be said about certain passages which are thought to shed light on Satan's fall, but which on closer examination, are hardly conclusive in that regard.
(1) Isaiah 14:12 contains a reference to "Lucifer" (KJV) an epithet of the king of Babylon (verse 4). Jerome and others of the church "fathers" took this to be a reference to Satan and such a notion is popular today, but there is no evidence of an allusion to the devil in this passage.
(2) Some have asserted that Ezekiel's "lamentation over the king of Tyre" (28:11-19) is a picture of Satan and his fall in Eden. But as Ellison notes: "Those who implicitly hold this view have generally little idea of how unknown it is in wider Christian circles, or of how little basis there is for it in fact." (Ezekiel: The Man and His Message, p. 108)
(3) When the 70 disciples returned from a preaching tour they declared: "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name" to which He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Luke 10:17-18). Though some see this as a reference to the devil's initial apostasy, Plummer says: "The aorist (tense of the verb "fallen") indicates the coincidence between the success of the Seventy and Christ's vision of Satan's overthrow...; it refers to the success of the disciples regarded as a symbol and earnest of the complete overthrow of Satan" (ICC on Luke, p. 278).
(4) In Revelation 12:7-9 John sees a vision of war in heaven between Michael and his angels and the devil and his angels, the result being that Satan was cast down to earth. In harmony with the nature of the book and its general context, this is a symbolic description of the battle between the church of Jesus Christ and the forces of Satan. That it does not refer to a fall back near the beginning of time is clear from the fact that Satan was "cast down" or overcome, "because of the blood of the Lamb" (12:10-11). It is not impossible though, that an ancient conflict might have formed the basis of the imagery here employed, even though the reference is not specifically to such an event.
SATAN'S MISSION: The devil's mission very simply stated, is to destroy the human race in Hell. It is little wonder he has been denominated by inspiration as the "Destroyer" (Revelation 9:11). He attempted the ruin of humanity by the temptation of Christ (Matthew 4:1-11) and the seduction of His holy apostles (Luke 22:31). Though that plan failed (with the exception of Judas), he now nevertheless, "walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (I Peter 5:8).
But how does this enemy work today? Though Satan was permitted to operate supernaturally in former ages of history (as in the case of demon possessions of the 1st century - Matthew 12:22-29; cf. Exodus 7:11, 22; II Thessalonians 2:9), which was apparently for the purpose of enabling the Lord and His disciples to demonstrate the superiority of divine power over Satanic power, he cannot operate in a miraculous fashion today. If the devil could miraculously dominate men today, there would be as Rubel Shelly has observed, "a manifest 'imbalance' of spiritual power among men with the scales tipped to Satan's advantage." (Occultism, p. 7). Professor L.M. Sweet affirms that there is no evidence, "that Satan is able to any extent to introduce disorder into the physical universe or directly operate in the lives of men." He continues, "it is perfectly evident that Satan's power consists principally in his ability to deceive. It is interesting and characteristic that according to the Bible Satan is fundamentally a liar and his kingdom is a kingdom founded upon lies and deceit" (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, IV, p. 2694).
The New Testament affords evidence aplenty for this. For instance, the Deceiver: (1) Delights in blinding the minds of the unbelieving that the light of the gospel should not dawn upon them (II Corinthians 4:4). (2) To accomplish this he does not hesitate to transform himself into an angel of light, along with his ministers who pretend to be ministers of righteousness (II Corinthians 11:14-15). (3) When people are inclined not to believe the truth, the devil takes the gospel from their hearts (Luke 8:12). (4) He is full of trickery. He has his snares (I Timothy 3:7) and employs his wiles - "a deliberate planning or system" (Ephesians 4:14; 6:11; M.R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, p. 859). (5) Those converted from the power of Satan unto God are thus turned from darkness to light (Acts 26:18). (6) Accordingly, Christians must constantly be on guard, "that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his devices" (II Corinthians 2:11).
Though we must never underestimate the power of Satan, it is equally certain that we must likewise never overestimate him. By employing the same weapon as used by Christ ("It is written" (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10) we can become, "more than conquerors through Him that loved us" (Romans 8:37). Jehovah can grant us victories over the Destroyer and his kingdom (Romans 16:20; I John 5:4) and by His might we take courage and press on!
SATAN'S DESTINY - The Lord Jesus Christ will be completely victorious over Satan. He was manifested, "that He might destroy the works of the devil" (I John 3:8). The eternal punishment of Hell, "is prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41). And into that horrible place he will be cast and be, "tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10). The promise of Genesis 3:15 will then be totally fulfilled; "...he (the woman's seed, i.e., Christ) shall bruise your (the serpent's) head..." What great rejoicing will then occur!
No comments:
Post a Comment