A Profile of Public Enemy #1 (Satan) - Part 2

Christ Covenant Church

Why study Satan? 1) The Bible identifies Satan as public enemy #1, the greatest adversary (Heb., Satan = Adversary) of all sentient beings – including God. To fight him we need to know him[1] (2Co 2:11 = Paul’s use of the plural personal pronoun [“we”] when claiming they were “not ignorant” of Satan’s “schemes” implies that he and his pastoral team -and possibly those in the Corinthian church, had received in-depth teaching on Satan’s profile).[2] 2) Satan is no longer incarcerated and mounting a global misinformation/hate campaign against the last vestige of God’s people on earth (Rev 20:1-9). Our ability to prepare ourselves through its identification also demands we endeavor to possess an accurate and thorough profile of his person and history (1Th 2:14-18 w/3:1-4 = Endurance thru diagnosis). The following profile is based on the conclusions that may be drawn about Satan when considering the teachings of Scripture and traditions of the Ancient Near East (ANE).

CREATION AND PRE-CRIME CAREER

1. Satan was a high ranking, highly elite throne-guardian angel who looks like a fiery winged serpent or dragon and existed as one of several types of elohim created not only before human beings but the construction of our entire universe. [DISCUSSED]

CRIMES AND PENALTIES

2. Satan sparked an insurrection not only against God but His high priest Adam, convincing a third of the angel population to follow him in his rebellion.

2.1. insurrection against God: (Gen 3:1-5) = Verses 4 and 5 reveal that Satan’s initial inquiry was not innocent, but for the purpose of calling the equity of God’s prohibition into question (His death threat was a lie and His motives for making the one tree off limits was selfish - i.e., He did not want to share His divinity with others). By such actions, Satan was guilty of the greatest covenant sin: divine insurrection (deliberately slandering God by accusing Him or one of His anointed leaders of evil; Mat 12:22-34 “vipers” (~ little satans) = Jesus equates the pharisees to Satan – the first insurrectionist.

2.2. Though, it is often assumed that Satan’s initial rebellion took place before the creation of our world, the biblical evidence says otherwise (Eze 28:12-13a w/14-15) = Satan’s insurrection took place while at his post guarding Adam, God’s first high priest and divine council (“stones of fire” = ANE reference to a DC [Psa 82:1ff]) in God’s first temple (“Eden, the garden of God…the mountain of God” = ANE reference to divine temples [sacred gardens and mountains][3]).

2.3. insurrection…against…His priest Adam: How? 1) thru Satan’s deception of his wife. Eve had likely heard God’s prohibition from her husband (Gen 2:17 = Prohibition spoken to Adam before Eve was created; Gen 3:3 “God has said” versus “God said” may also indicate she had received the command indirectly [through her husband]). As such, what Satan was doing in his condemnation of God’s rule was true also for Adam His priest: the one who had taught this rule to his wife. Like God, Adam was (in Satan’s mind) guilty of promoting evil through the authority of his position and teaching.[4] 2) thru his (likely) open refusal to recognize Adam’s divine authority above his own (Eze 28:16-17 “By the abundance of your trade [Because of the abundance of your materials – i.e., position, possessions and stature – Eze 28:13-14] you were internally filled with violence [the need to fight against God’s justice/moral decisions]…Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor”[You let your natural gifting go to your head; You charmed yourself into believing you were smarter or more righteous than God]; Isa 14:12 “star of the morning, son of the dawn” [firstborn – or first of the Father’s strength and beauty- Eze 28:12]; Isa 14:13-14 [Satan believed he sb above God Himself – security detail to humans was therefore a huge slap in the face]; e.g., Num 16:1-3). There was also the issue of Satan’s place as the first to be created (ANE principle of the firstborn: majority recipient of the father’s possessions and rightful heir to the throne). [5]

2.4. That humans - or God’s divine council, has authority over angels is attested to in the NT (1Co 6:3; Jud 1:8-9).

2.5. Both biblical evidence and Jewish tradition suggest that those angels who fell with Satan were those under his direct command (i.e., those soldiers loyal to his command as their general - Eze 28:14 “anointed” [double entendre’ ~ expansive a reference to his wings] = A God appointed, high ranking [military?] leader). [6]

2.6. The number of angels who followed Satan in his rebellion could be 50 million (Rev 12:3-4 “a third of the stars” [angels – Job 38:7] w/Dan 7:10 and Rev 5:11 “myriads upon myriads” [10k x 10k = 100m] = 50m loyal soldier demons).

3. The initial punishments suffered by Satan for his insurrection were fourfold.

3.1. Like Adam, Satan was defrocked of his sacred rank (Eze 28:16).

3.2. Satan was not only forced to shed his glorious (dragon) body in our world, but to gaze upon the deformity God would deposit in the animal kingdom as a mocking reminder of his folly for the throne (Gen 3:14-15[7]; Eze 28:12 [“full of beauty”] w/17b “I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you” w/Jug 1:7 [Literally, “hands or thumbs…feet or big toes”] *See pic* [The mutilation of Adoni-Bezek]).

3.3. Thirdly, Satan (and his demons) were imprisoned in the deepest, darkest portion of Sheol (i.e., the Abyss, the pit, the waterless pit, or the waterless place), which is the lower spiritual realm of desolation and chaos, the wilderness and wandering place of the dead (Psa 28:1; Zec 9:11; Mat 12:43; Rom 10:7; Eze 31:15; Job 38:17; Job 10:20-22 ). [8] In Scripture this lower realm of Sheol (the new home of Satan and the demons) is known as Hades, Abaddon, Tartarus or the pit of destruction (Isa 14:15; Rev 9:1 “bottomless pit” [pit below the pit] w/11; 2Pe 2:4; Jud 1:6[9]). Beyond the aforementioned discomforts, Hades is engulfed in fire (Luk 16:23-24; Deu 32:22; Job 31:1-12)[10], a fitting distinction given that it is also the exclusive home of the dead who are damned and on their way to a second death in a lake of fire (i.e., hell, Gehenna) (Isa 30:33, 66:24; Mar 9:45-46; Luk 12:5; Rev 20:14-15).

3.4. Hades existence in superposition to planet earth (it is the “upside down” earth) is why: 1) Scripture can say that Satan and his angels were cast down to earth (Rev 12:4) – or use various idioms related to earth to identify it (Psa 71:20 “depths of the earth”; Eze 31:14, 16 “the earth beneath”; also Jon 2:6 “the roots of the mountains”). 2) Satan and the demons have access to our realm (Job 1:12-19, 2:6-7; Luk 8:26-33; Rev 12:4-12).

3.5. Though Hades had become the permanent home of Satan and his demons, Scripture indicates they also still possessed some access or ability to enter the highest spiritual realm, heaven (Job 1:6-7, 2:1-2 “before the LORD” [in heaven]). It wasn’t until Christ’s redemptive victory that the heavenly borders became permanently closed (Rev 12:8 “heaven”).

CLOSING CONTEMPLATION: 1) Why did Satan and his demons initially still have access to heaven after their insurrection?

2) Seeing that God can close the borders to earth just as He eventually did with heaven (Rev 20:1-3), why does God keep giving access to Satan and his demons to our world? 3) Has access to our world been given to the other residents of Hades (the damned dead)? And what about the dead saints? Do they have access to our realm? 4) Since Satan is king of Hades, can he harm or control the damned in Hades? 5) Are there any outposts of the heavenly realm in superposition with our world? 6) How might this teaching and the answers to our aforementioned questions enhance or help us in our understanding of the following “Scriptural equations” ([Eph 2:1-6; Phi 3:20; Col 1:13] w/1Joh 5:18-19 and 1Co 5:5/1TI 1:20) and (Rev 1:18 w/Mat 16:17-19 w/[Heb 2:14-15 and Rev 9:1, 11])

[1] “If you know the enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself, but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat…The opportunity for defeating the enemy is provided by [knowing] the enemy himself…Force him to reveal himself, so as to find his vulnerable spots.” – Sun Tzu (The Art of War)

[2] “Trying to grasp the darkest of the dark and understand it is a way to ensure we never become it (or its victim)…You don’t want to be fooled; you don’t want to become a victim, so what can you learn to avoid it." – Anne Burgess (criminal forensics nurse, founder of the FBI’s criminal profiling program; agent responsible for the capture of America’s most notorious serial killers).

[3] For further study see, G.K. Beale, The Temple And The Church’s Mission; L. Michael Morales, Who Shall Ascend The Mountain Of the Lord?

[4] Given the context, the question of insurrection naturally arises for Adam and Eve. Were they not also guilty of insurrection? Insubordination “yes”, insurrection, “no. Though their actions demonstrate a lack of trust in God’s integrity (at least with respect to the woman since Adam was not a part of the conversation with the serpent and may have eaten the fruit simply due to a failure oversight w/respect to his wife and what she was offering him to eat), they cannot be considered deliberately accusing God of evil by such actions (i.e., the criteria necessary to be guilty of insurrection).

[5] According to ancient Jewish tradition, Satan’s fall was precipitated by his refusal to show honor to Adam as his superior since he was created before the humans. (Satan speaking to Adam about why he betrayed him): “When God blew into you the breath of life and your countenance and likeness were made in the image of God, Michael brought you (Adam) and made (us) worship you in the sight of God, and the LORD God said, ‘Behold Adam! I have made you in our image and likeness.’ And Michael went out and called all the angels, saying, ‘Bow down to the image of the LORD God, as the LORD God has instructed.’ And Michael himself bowed first, and called me and said, ‘Bow before the image of God, Yahweh.’ And I answered, ‘I will not bow down to Adam. … I will not bow to one inferior and subsequent to me. I am prior to him in creation; before he was made, I was already made. He ought to bow down to me.’” – The Life of Adam and Eve/Apocalypse of Moses

[6] “And Michael himself bowed first, and called me and said, ‘Bow before the image of God, Yahweh.’ And I answered, ‘I will not bow down to Adam. … I will not bow to one inferior and subsequent to me. I am prior to him in creation; before he was made, I was already made. He ought to bow down to me.’ When they heard this, the other angels who were under me refused to bow to you…And the LORD God was angry with me and sent me with my angels out from our glory; and because of you, we were expelled into this world from our dwellings and have been cast onto the earth.” – The Life of Adam and Eve/Apocalypse of Moses

[7] Assuming Satan’s opposition to Adam as his superior, the irony in God’s judgment becomes obvious. Satan’s glorious physical form on earth will not only be forfeited but replaced by a caricature creeping around in the space below man’s feet (licking the dust off the heel of his boot which crushes his head). “God turned to the serpent and said, ‘Since you have done this, and become a thankless body until you have deceived the innocent hearts, cursed are you among all beasts. You will be deprived of the food of which you did eat and will feed on dust all the days of your life. On your breast and your belly will you walk and be robbed of hands and feet. There will not be left on you and ear or wing, or one limb of all that with which you did ensnare them in your malice and caused them to be thrown out of paradise. I will put enmity between you and his seed. He will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel until the Day of Judgment.’” - The Life of Adam and Eve/Apocalypse of Moses

[8] These two ideas deep darkness and chaos are picked up in Genesis 1:2 as earth’s primordial or un-materialized chaotic state, most likely referring to what would later become known as (or used as) Sheol – the place of the dead. Notice it is also described as being “a waste and emptiness” (NAS, Fn), further reinforcing that this is a desolate place (wilderness), or place lacking the necessities for physical life to exist – i.e., a place of death (hence why it is referred to as a waterless place or pit without water [a dry well]). “There is considerable evidence in the Old Testament that an intimate relationship exists between the concept of ‘wilderness’ and that of the primordial chaos…that part of reality that cares not for human life and provides not for its sustenance, posing instead the constant threat of extinction.” – Wallace M. Alston (“The Concept of Wilderness in the Intertestamental Period”).

[9] Other verses related to Hades/Abaddon/pit of destruction or demonstrating that it at least initially (see next Fn) represented a subset of Sheol/Abyss (Job 26:6, 28:22; Psa 40:2, 55:23, 88:1-11; Pro 15:11; Act 2:31; Rev 1:18).

[10] Before Christ’s redemptive victory, Sheol consisted of two neighborhoods, Hades for the wicked (damned) and Abraham’s bosom for the righteous (Luk 16:22-23). Since His victory, the latter “prison” no longer exists (Zec 9:11 w/Eph 4:8-9) expanding the borders of Hades to encompass all of Sheol. Given 1John 5:18-19, it should be assumed that these pre-Christ saints were protected from Satan during their stay in Sheol.