The Fall of Satan: A Biblical Investigation (II)
By Ci Yi Luo—Taiwan
Adapted from Holy Spirit Monthly—Issue 423
In part (I) of this article, we explained the origin of the names
“Satan” and “devil,” and established a correct understanding of the God we worship.
He is the one and only self-existing true God and the Creator of all things
that are in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
The Fall
that occurred Between "the Creation of All Things” and “the Reconciliation
of All Things to God”
In the first
two chapters of Genesis, the beauty and goodness of God’s creation is repeated
in the phrase: "God saw that it was good"1. After God created human
beings and entrusted them with their mission, the Bible emphasizes that God
“saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good" (Gen 1:31).
However, such
goodness did not last; after our first ancestors disobeyed God, sin entered the
world and death came to all men (Gen 3).
In Colossians
1:12–22, Paul briefly outlines the essential elements of God’s salvation. From
the passage, we learn that God had not only "created all things," but
that critically, Jesus, our Savior, "made peace" through His precious
blood that was shed on the cross. His blood brought about salvation, through which
“all things were reconciled to God”2. Reconciliation is effected through water
baptism for the forgiveness of sins, enabling the redeemed to be holy. This
brief but vital description of the redemption process clearly shows a “fall”
and “salvation” between "the creation of all things” and “the
reconciliation of all things to God.” Comparing “the creation of all things”
and “the reconciliation of all things to God,” we can understand two important
points: first, these two events occurred at different time periods; and second,
the meaning of “all things” is not entirely identical within these different
time periods.
The fall of
God’s spiritual creation
Amongst “all things” that God
made, there are both physical and spiritual beings. Satan is the fallen
creature among the spiritual “things” that God created:
1. The Lord Jesus Christ’s Testimony
When the seventy whom Jesus had
sent out returned from their preaching, Jesus took the opportunity to reveal a
mystery of the spiritual realm to them. He told them: "I saw Satan fall like
lightning from heaven" (Lk 10:18).
This testimony was from Jesus’ own
knowledge as the Word made flesh. To have seen Satan falling from heaven
transcends any human experience, but Jesus witnessed this process in His role
as the Eternal One and revealed it to us. From Jesus’ statement —“Satan
fall…from heaven”—we can deduce that Satan was one of the members of heaven.
Falling out of heaven in the original text is ἐκ τοῦ
οὐρανοῦ (ek toú ouranoú)
which means that Satan originally belonged to the kingdom of God.
2. Apostle John’s Report
In addition to Jesus’ testimony,
John also reported the cause of Satan’s fall: "He who sins is of the
devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of
God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 Jn 3:8). This verse marks the point in time when the devil
started sinning, which is "from the beginning." It is important to
note that "from the beginning" (ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς - ap᾽ archís)
is not the same as "in the beginning" (ἐν ἀρχῇ - en archē).
The Gospel of John shares that “[i]n the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. All things were
made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was
life…” (Jn 1:1–4) Although the two phrases sound
similar, it is important to differentiate between the two.
In the Book of Revelation, the
Lord Jesus revealed: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the
End, the First and the Last" (Rev 21:6; 22:13). In the beginning, only God
existed. His existence is unique, as no other being can be ranked equally with
Him or indeed self-exist. "In the beginning," the Word was with God,
and the true God created the heavens and the earth. In the beginning, “all
things” were created and were sinless. This is why God declares that these were
“good” at their creation.
“From the beginning” is quite
different; it refers to a time after the beginning when all was pure and
blameless. It points to a time after sin entered the world. Furthermore, when
John says that Satan “sinned,” he uses the term ἁμαρτάνει
(hamartánei), which means “to sin and to continually
sin.” Satan sinned and has continually sinned against God since that moment in
time.
3. Peter and Jude’s Explanations
Peter and Jude also left us
information about fallen angels in the spiritual world. Peter tells us that
“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" (2
Pet 2:4). Jude also explains this truth: “the angels who did not keep their
proper domain…left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under
darkness, for the judgment of the great day" (Jude 6). If we compare these
two passages, we receive a clear understanding of the fallen angel:
|
Bible verse:
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2 Peter 2:4
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Jude 6
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Angel committing sin and
its connotations:
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Even angels sinned
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The angels who did not keep
their proper domain, but left
their own abode
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Mortal sin:
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God did not spare them
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God has reserved in
everlasting chains
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Being detained in a place prior to Judgment
Day:
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Cast them down to hell and
delivered them into chains
of darkness
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Under darkness
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Final judgment:
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To be reserved for judgment
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For the judgment of
the great day
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From these two verses, we can see
that the angels sinned because they "did not keep their proper domain, but
left their own abode.” In other words, they disobeyed God, as they failed to
maintain their assigned positions as well as to fulfill their duties and
responsibilities.
God does not spare a fallen angel.
Jude received the revelation and used the expression "He has reserved in
everlasting chains” to depict God’s punishment for mortal sins. While the
fallen angels await Judgment Day, they will be reserved in everlasting chains
in darkness, able to move around in the kingdom of darkness but having no
opportunity to be reconciled with God. Before Judgment Day,
"darkness" will be their only destiny—in other words,
"hell" or the "dark pit." This "hell" or
"dark pit" does not refer to the “hell” of eternal condemnation, the
"lake of fire burning with brimstone" that will occur after the
Judgment Day. Instead, it refers to a kingdom of darkness reserved for fallen
angels.
This punishment occurred because
Satan was “puffed up with pride” (1 Tim 3:6), and his trick tempted Eve to try
to "be like God." These points triggered Satan’s ultimate downfall in
the spiritual world.
4. Paul’s Warning
When explaining God’s creation,
Paul said: "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. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Col
1:16). All things created by God are good, and it is important to understand
that the “all things” He created include "principalities or powers."
In Ephesians 6:11–12, Paul warns
the believers to “[p]ut on the whole armor of God
that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of
wickedness in the heavenly places." From his words, we learn that
“principalities” and “powers” have become equal to the rulers of darkness and
the representation of evil that we, as believers, fight against.
“Principalities
or powers” within the spiritual world—their origin and destruction
Information in the Bible provides
insight into the origin and destruction of the “principalities or powers”
within the spiritual world.
The “principalities or powers”
within the spiritual world originated from God’s creation as we have seen in
Colossians 1:16.
1. The “Principalities or Powers” Became the
Believers’ Spiritual Enemies
The “principalities or powers”
were part of the “all things” created by God, and were originally good. Later,
however, they became the enemies of the redeemed believers, and were at par with
the “rulers of the darkness of this age” and “spiritual hosts of wickedness in
the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12).
2. The Salvation of the Lord Jesus Prevailed over
the “Principalities or Powers”
Because of our merciful Father’s
great love for us, He was manifested in the flesh3. Through the cross, Jesus
“disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them,
triumphing over them in it” (Col 2:15). Ephesians 1:21 states that after Jesus
resurrected from the dead, He became "far above all principality, and
power." This was only possible through His broken body and shed blood (Heb
10:20-22); His blood redeemed the church “to the intent that now the manifold
wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and
powers in the heavenly places” (Eph 3:10). Therefore, in confidence and joy,
Paul testifies that through Jesus’ blood and because of His intercession on our
behalf to reconcile us to God, we are “more than conquerors through Him who
loved us” (Rom 8:37–38).
3. The “Principalities or Powers” Were Destroyed
The opening of the Lord’s Prayer
hopes for the name of our Father in heaven to be made holy, for His kingdom to
come, and for His will to be done (Mt 6:9–10). We know that these will come to
pass when Jesus’ revelation to John is fulfilled: "The devil, who deceived
them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the
false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and
ever" (Rev 20:10). Though worded differently, Paul declares that when the
end comes, Jesus “[will] deliver(s) the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts
an end to all rule and all authority and power” (1 Cor 15:24), which brings
together the two passages from Matthew and from the Book of Revelation.
[To be continued…]
In the final installment of this article, we will examine the work of
Satan and his limits, how Jesus has triumphed over Satan, and how evil will
eventually be destroyed.
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