Angelology: Part 3

By Lewis Sperry Chafer

[Author’s note: This, the third installment in this series of articles on Angelology, is to be followed by at least three more and with a view to setting forth the entire field of this so-important revelation.]

The Career of Satan (cont.)

2. Satan’s Sin.

With the same clarity and extended detail the precise sin of Satan is delineated in the sacred text, and in one central passage, namely, Isaiah 14:12–17. It is true that, from the beginning, Satan has not ceased sinning; but interest is focused specifically upon his initial sin, which sin, so far as God has been pleased to reveal, was the first sin to be committed in the universe. The first sin to be committed not only bears much on our understanding of the one who committed it, but is the norm or pattern of all sin, demonstrating, as it does, the element in sin which makes it what it is—“exceeding sinful” (Rom 7:13).

By reference to a fall from heaven, this passage (Isa 14:12–17) raises the weighty question as to whether Satan is now as to his abode veritably cast out of heaven, or does he still dwell in the sphere into which he was placed when created? A popular notion, which obtains quite apart from revelation, assumes that Satan is dwelling in lower regions, if not in hell itself. In this connection, it is essential to consider again the truth that there are three heavens in view in the Bible: (a) That of the atmosphere in which ” the birds of the heavens” move; (b) the stellar spaces which, as before indicated, are the abode of angelic beings; and (c) the “third heaven” which is the abode of the Triune God, the location of which cannot be determined. The question at issue is as to whether Satan, and with him the fallen angels, are cast out of their original habitation. Certain passages shed light on this problem. Of Christ it is written that “he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven” (Luke 10:18). As to whether this was history or prophecy must be determined by the verdict of other Scriptures. Revelation 12:7–9 relates a casting out of Satan from heaven to the earth and, as there described, it is evidently future. The passage states: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” The prophet Ezekiel foresees a casting out of Satan. He writes of Satan: “Thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God” (28:16–19). This word does not disclose the time when that promise will be fulfilled beyond the fact that it is in these verses associated with the final judgments that are to come upon Satan. Certain passages assume that Satan is now in that heaven to which he has title by creation. In Job 1:6 and 2:1 it is asserted that Satan was then present in heaven. It is written: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them” (Job 1:6). Apparently, there was nothing unusual in Satan’s presence in that place, or on that occasion. He is called upon to report as to his activities; and he does so. In that report he incidentally discloses the truth that he has sufficient freedom and latitude to go “to and fro in the earth,” as well as to appear in the very presence of God on high. Christ gave to Peter this warning: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired (ἐξῃτήσατο, demand by asking) to have you, that he may sift you as wheat” (Luke 22:31). The implication is that Satan appeared personally before God with this request. Again, the Apostle enjoins: “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:11, 12 R.V.). To the same end this passage declares that the evil powers are yet in heavenly spheres. The evidences which this body of Scripture presents—and apparently there is no counter testimony—is that Satan is yet in his original abode and will be until, according to Revelation 12:7–9, he will be, as a part of the tribulation experience, cast into the earth.

It is requisite, as well, if the two great passages—Ezekiel 28:11–19 and Isaiah 14:12–17, which contribute most to the making known of Satan’s early history-are to be interpreted according to truth, to distinguish the different viewpoints of these human authors. Ezekiel in his prophetic vision stood on the threshold of angelic history and saw in prospect on to the end of Satan’s career, whereas Isaiah in his prophetic vision stood at the end of this history and saw in retrospect what he records. The truth that Isaiah thus looked backwards from the end-time accounts for the opening sentence of his prophecy which assumes that this mighty angel will have then fallen from heaven. Much that is found in this prediction is yet unfulfilled in its complete measure. The colossal undertakings of this angel as Isaiah saw them are not yet concluded.

Yet again, extreme contrasts are employed by these two prophets in the titles they apply to this angel. When entering upon his description of the high and holy estate of this angel as first created, Ezekiel addresses him, speaking for Jehovah, by the earthly title—“king of Tyrus”—; while Isaiah, essaying to set forth the degradation of this being, addresses him by his heavenly title—“Lucifer, son of the morning.” It would seem that these titles are thus purposely employed to the end that these two estates—that which is of the highest of all creative power, and that which is the lowest debasement of an angel—may be brought into startling juxtaposition. The title Lucifer, son of the morning is the glorious heavenly designation of this great angel before his moral fall. Lucifer means bright or shining one and is almost identical with נחשׁ, the serpent, which means the shining one. Christ bears the title, “bright and morning star” and “Sun of righteousness.” The titles “Lucifer, son of the morning” and “bright and morning star” are much the same. Christ is called “The last Adam” as a successor to the first Adam who fell. Is it not possible that, in some unrevealed manner, He is “The bright and morning Star” as successor to the fallen “Lucifer, son of the morning”? This is but one of many parallels and contrasts between Christ and Satan, between Christ and Adam, and between Satan and Adam.

The prophecy by Isaiah is as follows: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?” (14:12–17).

Thus the prophet announces the fall of this angel, the occasion of the fall, and something of his stupendous power. Of the latter, it is said that he it was who didst “weaken the nations,” “that made the earth to tremble,” “that did shake kingdoms,” “that made the world a wilderness,” “that destroyed the cities thereof,” and “opened not the house of his prisoners.” Much of this vast program is yet unaccomplished, and the authority and power which it connotes belongs to a later discussion. Again it is emphasized that Satan’s sin was intended to be a secret. This is the meaning of the words, “Thou hast said in thine heart.” Likewise, it is stated in this passage that Lueifer’s sin consisted in five awful ”I will’s” against the will of God. Feeble indeed is the power of human imagination to picture the crisis in this universe at the moment when the first repudiation of God took place in heaven. These five ”I will’s” of Satan are evidently various aspects of one sin. Writing of the acceptable characteristics of an officer of the church, the Apostle states that he must not be a novice, “lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation [κρίμα] of the devil” (1 Tim 3:6). Christ stated that Satan abode not in the truth, that he was dominated with an unholy desire, and that he was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). All these disclosures are, no doubt, but various ways of describing one sin—that of seeking to rise above the sphere into which he was created, and above the purpose and service assigned to him. This, it will be observed, is the essential character of human sin, as it is of the angels. Satan’s five “I will’s” are:

(a) “I will ascend into heaven.”

In this, the first aspect of Satan’s sin, he apparently proposed to take up his abode in the third or highest heaven where God and the redeemed abide (2 Cor 12:1–4). The abode of the angels is evidently on a lower plane; for, when returning to the highest heaven after His resurrection, Christ is said to have been seated “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion” (Eph 1:20, 21); but Satan, whose abode is that of the angels, even though his duties give him access to both earth and the higher spheres (cf. Job 1:6; Ezek 28:14), in unholy self-promotion determined that his abode should be higher than that sphere to which he had been appointed by his Creator. The redeeming grace of God will not be satisfied until some among men, who by original position are lower than the angels (Ps 8:4–6; Heb 2:6–8), are lifted to eternal citizenship in the highest sphere (John 14:3; 17:21–24; Col 3:3, 4; Heb 2:10; 10:19, 20); but Satan has no right either by position or redemption to claim that sphere as the place of his abode. His self-seeking intention as disclosed in this declaration is an outrage against the Creator’s plan and purpose.

(b) “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.”

By this statement it is revealed that Satan, though appointed to the guardianship of the throne of God, aspired to the possession of a throne of his own and to rule over the “stars of God.” The angelic beings, rather than the stellar system, are obviously in view (Job 38:7; Jude 13; Rev 12:3, 4). Evidently very much of Satan’s unholy ambition to possess a throne has been permitted; for it is revealed that he is now a recognized, though judged, king with throne-authority both in the heavenly realm (Matt 12:26; Eph 2:2; Col 2:13–15) and earthly sphere (Luke 4:5, 6; 2 Cor 4:4 and Rev 2:13, where seat is an inadequate translation of θρόνος). The sinful character of Satan’s purpose to secure a throne is apparent.

(c) “I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.”

As has been stated, “the mount” is a phrase which evidently refers to the seat of divine government in the earth (Isa 2:1–4), and the reference to ”the congregation” is as clearly of Israel. Thus this specific assumption seems to aim at a share at least (note the word also) in the earthly Messianic rule. That rule is to be from Jerusalem, the city of the great King. The Messiah, we are told (Ps 48:2), will reign from Mount Zion “on the sides of the north.” It is also disclosed that in the cross, which was set up on the north side of Jerusalem, Christ judged and spoiled principalities and powers (Col 2:15). It is possible that when thus judged, Satan’s unholy designs upon the Messianic rule were thwarted forever.

(d) “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.”

The meaning of this assumption will probably be discovered in the use of the word clouds. Of upwards of one hundred and fifty references in the Bible to clouds, fully one hundred are related to the divine presence and glory. Jehovah appeared in the cloud (Exod 16:10); the cloud was termed “the cloud of Jehovah” (Exod 40:38); when Jehovah was present the cloud filled the house (1 Kings 8:10); “Jehovah rideth upon the clouds” (Ps 104:3; Isa 19:1); Christ is to come, as He went, upon the clouds of heaven (Matt 24:30; Acts 1:9; Rev 1:7); so the ransomed people appear (Israel, Isa 60:8, and the Church, 1 Thess 4:17). Satan’s “Man of Sin” will exalt himself “above all that is called God, or that is worshipped” (2 Thess 2:4), and by this assumption Satan is evidently seeking to secure for himself some of the glory which belongs to God alone.

(e) “I will be like the most High.”

This, the fifth and last of Satan “I will’s” against the will of God, may be considered as a key to the understanding and tracing of his motives and methods. In spite of an almost universal impression that Satan’s ideal for himself is to be unlike God, he is here revealed as being actuated with the purpose to be like God. However, this ambition is not to be like Jehovah, the self-existent One, which no created being could ever be; but to be like the Most High, which title signifies the “possessor of heaven and earth” (Gen 14:19, 22). Satan’s purpose, then, is to gain authority over heaven and earth. The essential evil character of sin here, as everywhere, is an unwillingness on the part of the creature to abide in the precise position in which he has been placed by the Creator. In pursuing this life-purpose as imitator of God and counterfeiter of God’s undertakings, Satan, apparently with sincerity, recommended to Adam and Eve that they, too, “be as gods.” The original word here translated gods is אלהים and the plural form of אלהים evidently accounts for the plural gods. What Satan really said was, “Ye shall be as Elohim.” In response to that suggestion, which only reflected Satan’s own supreme ambition to be like the Most High, Adam entered upon the same course of unholy repudiation of the divine purpose. So universal has this form of sin become that man thinks he has accomplished much when, if ever, he, through divine grace, reaches the place where his will is surrendered to God—the place, indeed, from which man should never have departed. In the strange, inexplicable permission of God, Satan’s ideal man, the Man of Sin, will yet declare himself to be God, sitting in the temple of God (2 Thess 2:4); but this appears to be the climax of man’s unholy assumption and constitutes the sign of the end of the age (Matt 24:15).

Satan’s sin may thus be summarized as a purpose to secure (1) the highest heavenly position; (2) regal rights both in heaven and on earth; (3) Messianic recognition; (4) glory which belongs to God alone; and (5) a likeness to the Most High, the “possessor of heaven and earth.” This sin was constructive in character rather than merely negative. Satan did not say, I will not do what the Creator appointed me to do; he rather said, I will do that which I have myself designed to do. Satan had an undertaking of his own contriving to introduce. It is reasonable to believe that this, having been permitted of God to the end that Satan might be judged for all his iniquity, is the very thing which Satan has done, namely, the construction of this cosmos system.

There can be no adequate estimation of the immediate effect of Satan’s initial sin, first upon himself, and then upon that vast host of spirit beings who, in allegiance to Satan, “kept not their first estate”; nor of the final effect of that sin upon the entire human race whose federal head adopted the same satanic repudiation of God.

3. Satan according to the Old Testament.

Outside of Genesis, chapter 3, where Satan is introduced under the designation serpent, he appears but four times in the Old Testament and under the Hebrew appellation Satan. In 1 Chronicles 21:1 a record is made of the truth that Satan moved David to number Israel contrary to the will of God, and this act on Satan’s part well illustrates his purpose and character. Both Psalm 109:6 and Zechariah 3:1, 2 disclose the same satanic design. In the former of these two passages, Satan’s presence is invoked as a judgment on the enemies of Jehovah; while, in the second, Satan is seen standing in an attitude of readiness to resist the divine purpose in behalf of Joshua, the high priest. It is Jehovah who directly rebukes Satan, which truth has its parallel in Jude 9 where it is said that Michael calls on Jehovah to rebuke Satan for his opposition. The remaining Old Testament reference to Satan is the illuminating account of Jehovah’s controversy with Satan over Job. As this Scripture makes claim to an extended consideration under the next division of Satanology, no further attention will be given it at this point beyond the recognition that Satan here, as always, appears as the opposer of God.

The whole revelation of Satan’s rebellious world-power is not found in the Old Testament, but is reserved for the New Testament. Such a disclosure was doubtless withheld as being too demanding upon those of the Old Testament to whom a fuller revelation of truth had not come. There is a progress of doctrine concerning things evil as there is concerning things good, and these two developments could not lose their interrelation and balance. In the Old Testament, Jehovah is Himself presented as permitting that which occurs, which is always the basic fact (Exod 10:20; 1 Sam 16:14; Isa 45:7; Amos 3:6). The divine permission here, as ever, in no way relieves those who sin of the responsibility for their sin. The very first title by which this great angel is introduced in the Bible is not fully clarified as to its meaning until as late as Revelation 12:9 (cf. 2 Cor 11:3).

4. Satan according to the New Testament.

At the opening of the New Testament the student is confronted with the extreme activity of Satan and the demons. It would seem that all possible opposition resident in the fallen angels was marshalled for the encounter. As certainly as the eternal purpose of God in redemption was about to be actualized, the more violent contrariety is set up by the powers of darkness. Such utmost effort on Satan’s part is according to revealed truth, but also is according to reason. There is but one situation to compare with this, namely, the period that will be immediately preceding the second advent of Christ when, as announced in Revelation 16:13, 14, “the spirits of devils, working miracles, go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.” This situation is more completely portrayed in the second Psalm, as also in Revelation 19:17–21. The true character of that coming conflict is divulged when it is thus observed that these warring kings will be demon-possessed.

Satan’s activity as described in the New Testament may be given a two-fold classification—that which arises through his authority as a king over evil spirits, and that which arises through his world dominion. In reply to those who accused Him of casting out Satan by the power of Satan, Christ said that the house that is divided against itself cannot stand, and asked the question—If Satan cast out Satan how can his kingdom stand? This passage is mentioned only to bring forward the truth that Satan has a kingdom of evil spirits. This statement by Christ is more than implication; it is a direct assertion and its reality must be heeded. So, also, Satan is said to be the “god of this world” (Eph 2:2) and in authority over this world to the extent that he gives its kingdoms to whomsoever he will (Luke 4:6). It is probable that every activity of Satan will be found to be related to one or the other of these spheres of authority.

At the threshold of Christ’s ministry on earth, Satan met Him in the wilderness. There is mystery concealed in this encounter which, it is probable, extends to realms of angelic reality. It also penetrates into the hypostatic union of the two natures of Christ. The temptation is apparently within the sphere of His humanity and suggests the exercise of the human features—body, soul, and spirit—in their adjustment to the presence and exactings of His Deity. Into that sphere of relationship the human mind may not enter; yet the clear statement which the Bible sets forth should be accepted. Without doubt these supernatural issues are within the range of Satan’s understanding, and afford a wide field for conflict which human experience cannot parallel. The features of the situation are faithfully presented. Christ being filled with the Spirit, He is led of the Spirit into the wilderness and there undergoes a testing which continued forty days and nights. As a climax to this testing, Satan presents a threefold suggestion. The first involved the breaking down of that separation which Christ faithfully preserved between His Deity and His humanity. If the common demands of food and drink were supernaturally supplied by His Deity, He would not be in all points tested as are His followers in this world. The second test involved a short cut, apart from sacrifice, to the possession of the kingdoms of this world. These are covenanted to the Son (Ps 2:8, 9) by the Father and the securing of them as to title formed a part of His triumph in the cross. To some degree Satan has personal interests to serve; for there is a wide difference between exchanging the kingdoms of the world for the worship of the Son of God as compared with going to a doom which deprives him of everything but the lake of fire. In the third instance, there is offered to Christ the securing of a recognition from the people apart from the path of suffering and shame. In all three testings Christ met Satan’s proposals with the Word of God, and demonstrated the fact that the action which Satan suggests is not the will of God. The first Adam was overcome by Satan; the Last Adam drove Satan from the field. As Son of God with His Deity in view, the outcome would not be otherwise; as a man with His humanity in view, the victory is measureless and forms a pattern for all the saints of God in all the ages.

What may be suggested as to Satan’s later attacks upon Christ by the words, “And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season” (Luke 4:13), is not easy to trace; but, that other attempts were made, which may have characterized much of the life and work of Christ in all the days before the cross, is certain.

5. Satan Judged in the Cross.

When tracing his career, the cross as a judgment of Satan and all his hosts of spirits is the next event in order, and again the theme reaches out into the larger realms where the life and services of angels is situated. Issues are involved which lie outside the earthly sphere. For this reason the theme should be approached with caution. That which is revealed is to be received as God’s revelation and from this certain general conclusions may be drawn. In His death, Christ dealt with sin as a principle or as a whole, and while it is the joyous privilege of a human being to know that his personal sin is met to the satisfaction of God in the death of Christ, it is evident that the thing achieved by Christ is as boundless as the universe and as timeless as eternity. The Colossian Epistle contains two notable passages which enunciate the limitless character of Christ’s work upon the cross. Having in 1:15–18 assigned to Christ the creatorship of all things and the preëminence above all His creation, the passage goes on to state: “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature; for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” The scope of this reconciliation which the cross provides is as limitless as that realm which includes both heaven and earth. The term reconciliation is not the equivalent of restoration, nor salvation. Its precise meaning is to change thoroughly, and its achievement is seen in the fact that the divine estimation of all things has been changed completely by the cross. When it is said, as in 2 Corinthians 5:19, that God has reconciled the world unto Himself, it is not by so much declared that all men are saved, or that all will be saved. Thus, and with a similar meaning, the reconciliation of “all things,” as asserted in Colossians 1:20, does not intimate that all things in heaven and on earth are now perfected in the sight of God, nor that they necessarily ever will be. The reconciliation which is now wrought by the cross has provided a ground for the redemption of those before chosen of God and a ground for the judgment of those who reject His provisions for them. The Scriptures do not even hint that fallen men who continue impenitent, nor that fallen angels, will be rescued from their doom (Matt 25:41; Rev 20:12–15). It is probable that what is thus involved cannot be reduced to the level of human understanding, but the truth that Christ’s death extends a benefit to things in heaven and to things on earth is made clear. Satan and his hosts are judged. Their fallen beings and their evil deeds have come up for divine judgment, and are now judged, though the execution of that judgment is yet future. Though the heel of the Judge of all things was bruised, it is also as certain that the head of the serpent has been bruised. It is impossible that one shall be bruised without the bruising of the other.

The second passage in Colossians is exceedingly explicit, though all that it announces may not be understood by dwellers in this sphere. It reads: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col 2:14, 15). The human imagination might picture all this as being brought to pass in a final assize, but here it is taught that its achievement through the cross of Christ is a present reality. Since the theme is as vast as the sphere and destiny of the angels, it is the part of wisdom that the student shall approach its consideration with due humility. The truth that Satan was judged in the cross of Christ is confirmed by two recorded statements by Christ: “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out” (John 12:31); “Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged” (John 16:11). These were made immediately before the crucifixion and relate Satan’s judgment to Christ’s anticipated death. To these statements may be added Hebrews 2:14 which declares: “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.” Thus by explicit teaching the Bible reiterates the truth that Satan and his hosts came to judgment, even being spoiled, unveiled, triumphed over, judged, and cast out by Christ in His death. Such, indeed, is the historical fact; though it yet remains to discover something of the issues of that judgment with its immediate and future results. Of the immediate results, it may be repeated that a distinction must be drawn between a judgment gained which is in the nature of a legal sentence not yet executed, and the final administering of the penalty. The evidence is conclusive that the sentence is not yet executed since throughout this age following the cross Satan is, by divine authority, given the designations “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2) and “the god of this world” (2 Cor 4:4). He evidently is permitted to continue as a usurper until the time of his execution. An illustration of Satan’s present relation to this world may be taken from the history of Saul and David. It is natural that David, the first to occupy the Davidic throne, should be a type of Christ predicted to be the last and most glorious occupant of that throne (Luke 1:31–33). As there was a period between the anointing of David and the final banishment of Saul, in which Saul reigned as a usurper, though under divine sentence and David was the God-appointed king; in like manner there is now a similar period in which Satan rules as a usurper, though under sentence, and the actual occupation of Christ’s throne is still future. In this period Satan, the rejected monarch, still rules; hunting to the death all those who have allied themselves with Christ, the God—anointed King. On this so important period of Satan’s career and the peculiar character of it as typified in Saul, Mr. F. C. Jennings writes: “Thus you remember that God permitted Israel to choose their first king, and they chose Saul; as to whom we are told ‘from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.’ Why are we told this? Have we exhausted its significance when we picture to ourselves the towering height of that human king? I am sure not; but rather would the Spirit of God, provide a perfect figure or type of him, who, exactly in the same way, towered over his fellows: in other words, was, as the other Scriptures we have glanced at show, the most exalted of all created spiritual intelligences. But Saul disobeys, or to use language that shall suggest the parallel I desire to keep before us;—‘iniquity was found in him’; see Ezek. xxviii:15; and he was set aside from his kingly office: the kingdom was rent from him (I Sam. xv:27, 28), and then God anointed another king of His own choice: A shepherd king, David! Now no one questions David being a type of the beloved Son of God; why should not Saul afford us also a type of His opponent? He surely does. But, and this is the point that must be carefully noted and weighed,—Saul retains the throne of Israel, and is still recognized as the king, long after he is divinely rejected; the sentence is pronounced, but judgment is not at once executed, whilst David, the now true king, is ‘hunted like a partridge upon the mountains, or finds his refuge in the cave of Adullam!’ God does not at once intervene by power, and take the dignities of the kingdom from Saul,—although he has lost all title to them—and put them in David’s hand: the power is Saul’s,—the title is David’s. The latter is king de jure, the former de facto. Do you not see the marvellous and clear analogy? Satan too, whilst he may have forfeited all title to the throne of the earth—we shall consider this more carefully directly—still cleaves as did Saul, to its power and dignity; claims, as did Saul, all the power of its government; whilst the true David, to whom all belongs in title, is, as it were, in the cave of Adullam, where a few ‘discontented’ ones, those who are not satisfied with such a condition of things—have found their way to Him, and own Him, even in the day of His rejection, as rightful Lord of all. Therefore whilst Satan is the prince of this world at the present time, we are led by the analogy of the inspired history, as by every clear Scripture, to regard him as its usurping prince: a prince in power, but not in title. Yet whilst now a usurper, as Saul was: still since he was, also as Saul, divinely anointed as king, the dignity of that anointing still lingers on him, so that Michael recognized that dignity—not speaking evil, but reverently (even as David spoke of Saul ever as ‘the Lord’s Anointed’) and saying ‘the Lord rebuke thee.’”[1]

Returning to the central truth as recorded in Colossians 2:15, it will be remembered that the specific crime which caused Satan’s fall, the fall of the angels, and the fall of man, though being prompted by pride (1 Tim 3:6; Ezek 28:16, 17) and leading on to a career of iniquity, is that this mighty angel assumed to oppose the plan and purpose of God both for himself and for other creatures. He introduced a philosophy of life, a mode of procedure, which is directly opposed to the revealed will of God. It is a lie in the sense that it contradicts that which is infinitely true. What form of judgment a holy God must impose upon such an immeasurable offense is not for men to determine. The judgment properly has in view the crime itself. Such, indeed, is the reason for an unending confinement in the lake of fire. Satan declared, “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God...I will be like the most High.” This, it is evident, is the essential feature of Satan’s program. In line with that purpose, he wrested the scepter from Adam and has held sway over the vast majority of the human family throughout all its generations. They being separated from God, as described in Ephesians 2:12, possessed no way to God until the sacrifice of Calvary was made. It is true that to the small company of people, Israel, as to the patriarchs, was extended the cure of sin by blood sacrifice; but the great mass of humanity remained without hope and without God in the world. It would seem, therefore, that the basis of Satan’s dominion over humanity was largely the fact that they were not eligible to any higher relationship. On this basis, had God approached any fallen human beings, Satan would have pleaded God’s own holiness as the reason why God should not so act. Satan is committed to his infernal philosophy and to the defense of those who have embraced it. At least he will not surrender them apart from the most drastic resistance within his power. As long as man’s unholiness was not yet taken to the cross, the conflict was largely in Satan’s favor. In Isaiah 14:17 it is written of Satan that “he opened not the house of his prisoners.” This statement is illuminating. However, when referring to what Christ would do by His sacrifice, the same prophet goes on to say that Christ would come “to proclaim liberty to them that are captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound” (Isa 61:1; cf. Luke 4:16–21). The incarceration to which these Scriptures refer is more serious and extensive than anything that obtains in human governments. No suggestion will be found here that those justly in prison for crime are to be released from that judgment. The bondage came with the repudiation of God on the part of the responsible head of the race. These prisoners are not only bond-slaves to sin, but are in bondage to the evil one. He it is who energizes all the sons of disobedience (Eph 2:2); Satan had bound in physical distress a “daughter of Abraham” (Luke 13:16); by him had been exercised the “power of death” (Heb 2:14, 15); and the Apostle witnesses frequently to the activities of Satan (cf. 1 Cor 5:5; 7:5; 2 Cor 12:7; 1 Thess 2:18). The incomparable invitation—-“Whosoever will may come,” and, “Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out”—are possible only through the redemption which Christ has wrought. The door is open wide. The gospel is to be preached to “every creature.”

Thus it is seen that Christ’s judgment of Satan which was wrought through the cross had primarily to do with Satan’s original crime and with the God-repudiating philosophy which that crime represents. The principle of evil was judged. The cross-judgment reaches out to a lost world for whom Christ died and becomes the basis of the gospel of salvation.

Investigation into the very extensive body of Scripture which bears on Satan’s activity and influence upon both the saved and unsaved in the present age must be passed over at this point and included in later divisions of this general theme.

6. The Execution of Satan’s Judgments.

The execution of those judgments which were secured against Satan by Christ through the cross is anticipated in the Word of God in three stages or successive events. These are to be considered quite apart from three judgments already past, namely, (a) the moral degradation and corresponding loss of standing which was due to that fall; (b) the sentence pronounced against him in the Garden of Eden; and (c) the judgment of the cross. The future three-fold execution of judgment upon Satan may be stated thus:

a. Satan Cast Out of Heaven.

The casting of Satan out of heaven and the confining of him with his angels to the restricted sphere of the earth is described in Revelation 12:7–12. This passage reads: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Beyond the disclosure of the central truth that Satan and his angels will be cast out of heaven, this passage unfolds much vital revelation. The means that will be employed to cast Satan and his angels down is none other than the authority and power of the holy angels under the leadership of Michael. These fallen angels, being overcome, are as exiles from their native spheres, confined to the earth. A song of rejoicing ascends in heaven because of the relief which the absence of these fallen angels secures. All this is most suggestive. Likewise a woe is addressed to the earth in view of the calamity which their presence imposes upon the dwellers of earth. It is in connection with this exile that Satan’s great wrath is stirred, and it is then, apparently, that he becomes aware that the cause which has engaged him from the first has been lost forever. The presence of Satan and his hosts restricted to the earth and in measureless wrath could hardly be cause for joy on earth. On the contrary, this situation is one of the most essential contributing factors in that Great Tribulation which is predicted for those very days (Matt 24:21; Dan 12:1). That this tribulation falls heaviest upon the nation Israel is asserted here (cf. Rev 12:13–17), as in all the Scriptures.

The casting out of the Satanic hosts from heaven means much, also, to “the brethren” whom Satan has not ceased to accuse before God night and day, and it is a most vital truth which is added in the words, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.” The question may be raised at this point as to what it is that constitutes Satan’s opposition to God’s ways with men? No little resentment may exist against the truth that redemption has not been extended to fallen angels as it is extended to fallen men. It would seem that Satan still exercises some of his original responsibility, as the defender and promoter of righteousness on which the throne of God must ever rest. Satan’s ministers are “ministers of righteousness” (2 Cor 11:15); but reference is made in this text to personal or self-promoted righteousness. The redemptive plan proposes to constitute sinners righteous before God through the merit of Christ which He released and provided for the lost in His death. The constituting of sinners to be righteous through the saving work of Christ is easily believed to be a point of satanic opposition against God. There is nothing else about the gospel which Satan would resist or concerning which he would “blind the minds” of them which are lost (2 Cor 4:3, 4). The one who specializes in self-promoted righteousness has always been the least able to comprehend and the greatest objector to the doctrine of imputed righteousness. Certainly it is not to be counted as strange if Satan himself is, like those among men who are energized by him, opposed to that which is the abiding fruit of redeeming grace. The accusations which Satan has hurled against the brethren have no doubt been concerning actual sin and unrighteousness on their part. It is inconceivable that he would charge them with that which is wholly untrue. Such a course would fall by its own weight. It is rather that Satan is as offended by the arrangement whereby saints are preserved in spite of their unworthiness as he is by the imputing of righteousness to meritless sinners in the first place. The Scriptures offer an illustration of this unassailable position of those who are redeemed. God said to Balak through the unwilling prophet Balaam, I have “not beheld iniquity in Jacob,” nor “perverseness in Israel.” There was plenty of evil in this people, but, when attacked by the foe of divine grace, Jehovah delighted to declare that He did not see or behold that on which the enemy based his accusations. God does not assert that these wicked things do not exist; He states that He, having covered them with redeeming blood, does not see or behold what the enemy points out. However, when dealing with these whom He has redeemed, Jehovah is tireless in His effort to separate them from all their evil ways. Of this great truth the Psalmist writes: “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?” (Psalm 130:3). That He does not mark iniquity is possible only through redemption and is never a matter of mere graciousness. The wrath-attitude of Balak is a reflection of the attitude of Satan who energized him. In like manner, the evil which was condemned in Cain is not immorality, but rather the satanic ideal of self-worthiness as a basis of divine acceptance. The blood sacrifice of Abel, looking on to the fruits of redemption, provided a perfect relationship to God to which no fallen being could ever attain by works of personal righteousness.

The saints are to be rewarded before the judgment seat of Christ in heaven. At that time no mention is to be made of sins already washed away by the blood of the Lamb. Such silence as to canceled sin could not be in heaven until the accuser is cast out. Great joy will be the portion of those who thus enter into the full realization of divine forgiveness and acceptance.

b. Satan’s Judgment at the Second Advent of Christ.

As a part of that which transpires at the glorious return of Christ—which coming terminates the Great Tribulation (Matt 24:30), and ends the reign of the Man of Sin (2 Thess 2:8–10)-Satan is bound by a great chain and cast into the abyss. This event is described by these words: “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season” (Rev 20:1–3). In this passage, as in that previously cited, there is much revealed beyond the fact that Satan is bound and cast into the abyss and sealed. It is asserted that Satan is the deceiver of the whole world, and assurance is given that the earth will be free from these deceptions for a period said to be “a thousand years.” His wrathful presence in the earth during a preceding period has contributed much to the agony of the Great Tribulation. Thus, also, his restraint from all activity contributes much to the peace and righteousness on the earth for the thousand years. The human mind could not comprehend all that is involved in these disclosures. Farther on in this context it is revealed that, at the end of the thousand years, Satan will be loosed for a “little season.” It is written: “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the ‘breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them” (20:7–9). The nations are said to be again deceived and that deception plunges them once more—and for the last time—into war. It is predicted that war shall cease during that kingdom age of peace (Isa 2:1–4), aiod that it is immediately resorted to upon the release of Satan from the abyss. This twofold truth that there is no war on earth when Satan’s power and deceptions are withdrawn and that it is immediately revived as soon as these deceptions are again cast over the earth, demonstrates clearly the cause of all war in the earth. It is the last war, for God Himself intervenes with supernatural judgments and destruction.

A corresponding Old Testament prediction adds much to the disclosure that Satan will be in the abyss. It is said in Isaiah 24:21–23: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.” If, as seems justified, the “high ones that are on high and the kings of the earth that are [then] upon earth” is a reference to fallen angels and their principalities and powers, it is made clear that the fallen angels, along with their chief, are also placed in the abyss. Where else could they be at such a time? It is generally true that in the Scriptures a king and his kingdom are closely related and whatever befalls one befalls the other (cf. Dan 2:37, 38). On this principle of interpretation, it may be assumed that these fallen angels accompany Satan on to the end of his career. It will be observed that some of these are already in chains awaiting the final judgment which shall come up on all evil spirits (Jude 6; 2 Pet 2:4); and it is of great significance that, as witnesses at least, the saints will be associated with Christ in this judgment (1 Cor 6:3).

c. Satan’s Final Judgment.

The Scripture itself will best describe the last step in the execution of Satan’s judgment: “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Rev 20:10).

Dallas, Texas

Notes

1. Satan, pp. 25-27.