One of the dangers we as Christians can fall into is theological familiarity. Theological familiarity happens when we become so familiar with a Biblical doctrine that we 1)lose our ability to be teachable on the subject, 2)because we think we have already got it figured out, 3) and because we have been taught to look at things from a certain point of view for so long, 4) and our unwillingness to consider a different perspective, even if that perspective proves a better handling and interpretation of Scripture.
Such is the case with Satan. I am sure there are many who bypassed reading these posts because they "already knew all about what the Bible has to say about Satan." Anytime a Biblical doctrine becomes "boring", or anytime we find ourselves not wanting to challenge what we believe in order to make sure we are finding truth, or seeing how we can expand on our knowledge base of God and His Word, we have become comfortable in our ignorance. Why do I say that? Because there is always more to learn.
This is why I have entitled this installment of posts "Rethinking Satan." My hopes was that the title alone would intrigue people to read on a subject that most Christians think they "know all about", and in which no more theological conversation needs to be had. I also hoped that after reading these post, you have come to realize that there is definitely more theological reflection and discussion that needs to take place about Satan. I will talk about this more at the end of the post.
Before we make some theological assertions, I want to give a brief recap of what we have talked about so far:
1) In the Old Testament, the word "satan" is used in various ways- to describe both humans and supernatural beings.
2) The "satan" figure of Job (sons of God on the divine council), Zechariah, and Chronicles may or may not be the same figure.
3) The ancient Israelites did not see the serpent in Genesis 3 as the devil or Satan as we know him today.
4) In the Old Testament, there was no arch-enemy of God named Satan or the devil.
5) Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 do not refer to Satan, but to the kings they are addressed to.
6) In the intertestamental period, the satan figure from Job, Chronicles, and Zechariah began to merge into one, who was seen as the arch-enemy of God.
7) The serpent of Genesis 3 became identified in some way with this figure.
8) In the New Testament, Satan is the arch-enemy of God, who opposes God, Jesus, and the Church
9) In the New Testament, Satan is the ruler of all the evil supernatural entities.
10) In the New Testament, Satan is also the ruler and authority over the world systems.
11) With the coming of Jesus, Satan has been cast out of heaven. He has lost his power and authority over the people of God, and his accusations no longer stand.
12) Satan is a defeated foe, but still must be contended with.
13) Satan is said to be evil "from the beginning".
14) Satan is identified as a "glorious one"- son of God, divine council member.
15) At the end, Satan will be judged and thrown into the lake of fire.
16) Finally, the implication of Scripture is that Satan is a real, supernatural entity and not a mere symbol of evil.
With reference to all this information, there are three major questions/implications we need to address.
1. Who is Satan?
As we have seen, some have suggested that he was a fallen cherub. However, this can be ruled out based on what we have studied. Others say that all we know about him is that he is an evil, supernatural being of some sort. Then there are others, like myself, who argue that Satan was a son of God, a member of the divine council.
I think that Satan being a member of the divine council fits best with the Biblical information that we are given. Considering his role on the council in Job, as well as Paul's reference to him as a "ruler", and Jude's reference as a "glorious one "(Note the function of the sons of God in Deut. 32:8 as rulers over the nations, and compare that with Daniel 10), it seems that the information points us in that direction. Also, the references to him being cast out of heaven through the work of Jesus show us that 1) he has lost his place among the divine council, and 2) he is no longer allowed to bring his accusation of believers before God and the divine council.
Though this seems like a major shift in how we think about Satan, it is not as vast as it might seem. First, we are still affirming that he is a spiritual entity. Second, instead of being a cherub, he is actually a more powerful spiritual being. Third, we are still affirming his role as tempter, deceiver, etc., Finally, we are still affirming his defeat. Therefore, the shift of our perspective on his identity is not as drastic as it first seems. Rather, the most difficult part will be letting go of our traditional thoughts in order to embrace a better, more Biblical portrayal of who he is.
2. Where did he come from?
The obvious answers is that God created him. But how did he create him? That last question was a reference to his nature. Was Satan created righteous, and then later, before creation, rebel? Or, was he created evil? Our natural sentiment is a knee jerk reaction to the possibility that God created him evil. Even though we may not like the thought, we have to consider it, especially in light of the information we have been given.
As we saw in our last post, Jesus said two things about Satan in John 8:44- 1) he was a murder from the beginning, and 2) he has never stood in the truth.
What are we to make of this?
That Satan was evil before the creation account is a given. There already exists a Tree of Wisdom (the knowledge of good and evil), and the serpent, who is either Satan or being used by him, is in the garden. So, if by "beginning" Jesus is referring to the Garden, he is not making a statement about the origin of Satan, but is referring to when he first comes on the scene to interrupt human history. Given that context, Jesus' statement about him never standing in the truth, is also not a reference to his origin, but his first interaction with human history.
Yet the word "beginning" could also be referring to Genesis 1:1, or maybe even a period of time before that. This would mean that in the very beginning, Satan was evil. The Greek indicates that he has never, at any point, stood in the truth. This means that the inference from the Greek could be taken to mean that there was never any point in time that Satan stood in the truth.
What are the theological implications of such views?
If we adapt the first view, that Jesus' statement is referring to Satan's first interaction with human history, nothing really changes from the traditional view. We just assume that at some point Satan was good and then turned evil. This means we are still left with those nagging questions of how- How did a being created in perfect holiness rebel in the presence of God? This is a much more difficult question than the traditional understand of how Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden- at least in the Garden, they had a tempter. But not so with Satan in heaven.
If we adopt the second view, the mystery of how he became evil goes away- he never became evil because he was created evil. Though this solves one theological problem, it creates another. Namely, why would God intentionally create such a vile being? It seems a logical impossibility, based on God's character. Thus, the charge of God being the author of evil is again raised. But this really isn't that different than the traditional argument. In the traditional view, much argumentation and philosophical ideas must be employed to get around the idea that God is the author of evil because he created Satan, knowing full well that he was going to rebel. In the traditional view, arguments have arisen that God still created him in order to make His wrath and judgement known.
But would such conclusions be any different if we hold to the second view - that God indeed created Satan evil? No, they would not. First, he still created Satan. whether He created him to be evil right away, or evil eventually, the fact is that He still created him. Holding the traditional view of the fall of Satan does not help in this argument. Second, it could still be argued that God created him to make His wrath and judgment known.
So, these two views really aren't that different. With that being said, while the outcome of each view is not different, the implication is. Is there a difference between God creating something good that will become evil, and creating something evil from the start?
Or, were Satan and the rest of the angels created in the same state as Adam and Eve? With the potential for both good and evil, depending on which way they chose, and once they chose, they were confirmed in this state?
At this point, I don't have the time to go into detail on the answers to all these questions, or to say if they can even be answered well. I also know that there are many more arguments concerning God's relationship with evil. I am by no means going into detail, I just want to raise some questions to get you thinking, and to see that the theological development in this area is far from over.
What do I think about it? Honestly, I don't know. I go back and forth with these passages. Some days, I see in them a reference to human history, while other days, I see them as a reference to Satan's history. Some days I think he had to be created good, or at least with the capacity for good and evil, while other days I think he was created evil.
Are there any other passages that can help? Maybe there is one. And ironically, it is found in Job. Job 38:4-7, "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth...when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." These verses indicate that if Satan was a son of God, then there was a point in which he was rejoicing over the work of God, something he could not and would not do if he were evil.
Yet, this interpretation can be challenged on several points: First, while some scholars affirm that Satan was on the divine council, and that he is indeed a glorious one, he was not in the category of "sons of God." Second, this doesn't fit with what Jesus was saying in John 8:44, since from the creation narrative, Satan is already evil and in the Garden. Third, we are never given information in Scripture on the fall of Satan from a pristine condition. You would think that this would be such a significant event, that it would bear mentioning in Scripture. Yet because there is no mention of what would seem like a highly significant event, we cannot say it ever happened.
Again, where does this leave us? I'm not sure, and I may never be sure. I still plan on studying this more, but at this point, this is where I am at:
1) I believe that Satan was not only on the divine council, but was a son of God- thus his title of ruler, which was a function given to the sons of God.
2) Because Scripture never speaks of a fall of Satan from a perfect condition, I cannot say that something happened in which Scripture is silent.
3) Based on Job 38, it would seem possible (not probable, or for certain) that Satan could have been good at one point.
4) But John 8:44 keeps point 3 above in tension for me.
So yeah, basically I don't have a decisive answer, but will still investigate this further.
3. How has he lost his power and authority...but still have it?
As we saw in our study of the New Testament, Satan is presented as the ruler of this world who has been cast out, defeated, and stripped of his authority and power. Yet elsewhere he is presented as having sway and power over the world and those of the world (world-principle and people that are hostile to Christ), and as having the power to keep people from believing the gospel. So what's going on?
Because of sin, Satan is indeed the ruler of this world, and is able to influence, deceive, and blind. With the coming of Christ, he really did lose that authority and power. So why does he still function that way? It has to do with what theologians call the already/not yet of the Kingdom of God. In essence, the Kingdom of God has come, but not in its fullness. What this means for Satan is that he has been defeated. He has lost the power over death, the church, and the people of God. The church is God's Kingdom manifested on earth, and even though not perfect, shows what it looks like to be out from under the rule of the wicked one, and under the rule of God. Yet because the Kingdom has not come in its fullness, Satan is still allowed (allowed is the big word here) to rule and have authority in this world over nations and unbelievers, and is even allowed to assail the Church. However, because his authority and rule is only what God allows, God can override that rule and authority to change the direction of nations and draw people to salvation. Christ has defeated Satan, and God can apply the victory to whatever persons and whatever nations he wants to. In the end, when the Kingdom has fully come, God will destroy Satan's rule forever.
There is still more to discuss, but we will save that until near the end of the entire series, when we talk about spiritual warfare.
I hope this discussion of Satan was beneficial for you, and I hope it will lead you to further study and theological reflection.
In the next post, we will transition and talk about the Watchers/sons of God of Genesis 6 and the idea of fallen angels.
The Psychic and The Supernatural: Rethinking Satan- Theological Implications and Closing Thoughts3/25/2015
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