Satan and His Authority

With that in view, let us consider the nature of the God who made us, and this creation, to help us perhaps give a biblical answer to the reason why Satan was created and the authority he was created with.

Above all else, God is holy.

• Isaiah 6:1-3 – In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!”
• Revelation 4:6-8 – Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

The expression of the heavenly creatures that both the prophet Isaiah the prophet and John the Apostle heard being proclaimed was “holy, holy, holy”. Holy means set apart. Our God, the Heavenly Father, is completely other from us. Now, there are some who think this is only because we are fallen, and perfect union with the Father will be restored in heaven, after the resurrection. I am not going to get too much into that only to say that I don’t believe this is correct. There will always be a part of the Godhead that is separate from us. He is God. We are not. Jesus told the disciples if they had seen Him, they had seen the Father (John 14:9). Moses wanted to see God, and was told no. The Apostle Paul tells us that no man has ever seen nor can see God, who dwells in “unapproachable light” (1 Timothy 6:16). It is in Jesus that the “fullness of God” dwells in bodily form (Colossians 2:9). Our point of contact to the Triune God is Jesus Christ! There is no other.

The reason it is important to grasp this concept is because it means that God the Father must have a vehicle through which to access any of His creation. This is where Jesus and the Holy Spirit come in, though it is only Jesus who has a corporal body that can be seen or touched. However, other angels were also used by God to minister to man on His behalf. This is primarily in the relaying of messages straight from the throne room of God, most notably of course, the giving of the Ten Commandments on Sinai. With this understanding, I would like to look at the cherub of Ezekiel 28, as I do believe it gives us the clearest, scriptural example of the purpose for why Satan was created and placed in Eden to begin with.

• Ezekiel 28:12-15 – “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald [bāreqeṯ] with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels [tōp̄] and pipes [neqeḇ] was prepared for you on the day you were created. “You were the anointed [mimšaḥ] cherub who covers [sāḵaḵ]; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery [‘ēš] stones [‘eḇen]. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.”

Man cannot have direct contact with the Living God, except through an intermediary. This was true from the very beginning. Part of it has to do with the idea we have already discussed regarding heavenly bodies versus earthly bodies. Even when man was perfect in his ways, which Adam and Eve most definitely were, he was earthbound. We, in this creation, were made for the earth! Certainly, the first man and woman had glorified bodies, and they weren’t corrupted by sin, but they were nevertheless made for this space, and not heaven. For one-to-one relationship with God the Father, the agency has always been the Son. In our fallen state, salvation and a redemptive return to that relationship is likewise obtained through the mediation of Jesus, God in the flesh.

Angels too were designed to serve some purpose in ministering from heaven to earth on behalf of mankind. That’s their entire function, according to Scripture. Whatever the specific roles of angels viz-a-viz their relationship to man, we know it was, and remains, to serve them, in some capacity. This is most important to understand: Satan was created to serve an intermediatory function of some kind between God and Adam and Eve. Attempting to discover what that was is entirely speculative, but I do believe a biblically grounded opinion can be rendered that will tell us where his special authority came from, and the ultimate purpose he serves in God’s created order.

The Anointed Cherub

When reading Ezekiel 28 it is striking that the anointed cherub was designed with timbrels [tōp̄] and pipes [neqeḇ] as part of its body. Most commentators who have thought this chapter referenced Satan have suggested that because of this reference to what appears to be musical instruments, perhaps he was some sort of leader of worship in heaven. I think this is a mistake if one considers the context and the meaning of these two terms. Neqeḇ doesn’t refer to an instrument at all, though most people read it as such when they see the word “pipe”. The word in Hebrew means groove, socket, hole, or cavity. Specifically, it is a technical term relating to jeweler’s work, and relates to the settings that are made to hold gems in place. This is important, in the verse that precedes its mention, we are told that the cherubim in question was covered in precious stones!

The second term that is alleged to refer to an instrument is tōp. While it is certainly true that this can be a tambourine, what must be noted is that it simply refers to something that is beaten. It comes from the root verb tāp̄ap̄ which means to beat, play upon, drum as upon a timbrel or other object. It is important to note that the thing being beaten doesn’t have to be a tambourine! The term is just referencing something that is beaten. Well, considering that the context is describing the physical appearance of the cherub in question, then it makes sense that whatever it is that is beaten is something that is likely part of its body, not an accessory. We know from Scripture that Cherubim have wings!

• Ezekiel 1:22-26 – The likeness of the firmament above the heads of the living creatures was like the color of an awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads. And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body. When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings. A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings. And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it.
• Ezekiel 10:5 – And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even in the outer court, like the voice of Almighty God when He speaks.
• Revelation 14:2a – And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder…

In these passages we find that when the cherubim flap their wings they make noise, like the “noise of many waters”. This is obviously a reference to waterfalls, or waves crashing, but thankfully we have Scripture that absolutely confirms this view.

• Psalm 93:3-4 – The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters than the mighty waves of the sea.

Have you ever heard waves crash into a shore? Have you ever been near a waterfall as the water crashes into rocks and other waters below? A thunderous roaring sound is created by the beating of wave upon wave. Now I want you to get a visual of a cherub beating its wings and creating a similar sound. This is what they do. This is part of how they are made. It would seem then that Ezekiel is referencing the beating instrument that is the wings of the cherub, and not a tambourine. This will become more important as we discuss where this covering angel is said to have been placed when he was created.

Ezekiel tells us that the “anointed cherub who covers” was on the “holy mountain of God”. Now, it might be contended that this is a reference to a heavenly place, but this is unlikely because this specific term is nowhere used of a heavenly location, rather, it is used of a specific place on earth. A place where heaven meets earth if you will, Mt. Sinai.

• Exodus 3:1 – Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain [har] of God [‘ĕlōhîm].

The term har ‘ĕlōhîm appears only in Ezekiel 28 and Exodus 3. Exodus tells us that the term is used for Mt. Sinai.  This strongly suggests that it was on this same mountain that Lucifer, pre-fall, performed his duty. Further evidence of this is that it was on this mountain that the elders of Israel met with the Lord and had a meal in his presence, with a description of precious stones under His feet!

Exodus 24:9-11 – Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone [sapîr], and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So, they saw God, and they ate and drank.

It should be readily apparent that the sapphire stones referenced in Exodus 3 are not necessarily the same thing as the stones of fire mentioned in Ezekiel 28, but a thorough study would show that they are indeed referencing the same thing. What I want the reader to understand is that the term “fiery stone” where our cherub of record is said to have been operating in his original, created state, is very likely a reference to the view that would have been afforded anyone who was before God where the precious stones glistened and brilliantly shown in the light of His presence, much like Ezekiel saw. The specific stone that was most often mentioned as being in the presence of God was a sapphire, but the term in the original Hebrew simply referred to a gem, or something hard, and not necessarily a particular blue gemstone. Thus, I think it a very good assumption to hold that the cherub of Ezekiel 28 was most definitely in the very presence of God, where he performed a very specific duty that he was uniquely fashioned for.

Understanding the ministry Satan was created to fulfill will go a long way towards understanding the authority that he was created with, and which he maintains to this very day. Ezekiel 28 describes this cherub in a most intriguing manner that reveals the specific functional role he served. He was established as the “anointed cherub who covers“ upon the mountain of God. This evokes images of the cherubim who covered the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant, where the presence of God would literally come down.

• Exodus 25:17-22 – “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering [sāḵaḵ] the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.

The purpose of these cherubim was to cover the place where the light of God’s presence would come down. This was because anyone who looked upon God would die! In the sacrificial system that God erected, the High Priest had to bring the blood before God, once a year, to atone for the sins of the nation of Israel. The High Priests would go into the Holy of Holies and stand before the Lord once a year, with smoking incense and present the blood of a goat on the Day of Atonement. The smoke from the incense, along with the wings of the cherub, made it impossible for the priest to accidentally see the glory of the Lord! Of course, this ceremony was a type and shadow of what was accomplished by Jesus in the heavenly tabernacle when He presented His blood, to God, once for all (Hebrews ch. 3-8).

• Hebrews 8:4-5 – For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

Everything Moses had fabricated for the Tabernacle was representative of something he was shown as existing in heaven. Every aspect of the Tabernacle has deep, prophetic significance. The hammered gold cherubim that were on top of the Ark were not ornamental pieces. They represented something, namely, that to gaze upon God is not allowed to any living creature. His glory is shielded from view. You may have seen depictions of the cherubim in movies, or drawings, but the fact is that no one has any idea what they actually looked like. All we know is that two of them were fashioned of one piece of pure gold, positioned opposite one another, facing each other, with wings extended on top of the mercy seat to shield the place where the glory of God would appear.

Ezekiel gives us a description of at least some cherubim.

• Ezekiel 10:14, 20-22 – Each one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub, the second face the face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. And the cherubim were lifted up. This was the living creature I saw by the river Chebar… This is the living creature I saw under the God of Israel by the River Chebar, and I knew they were cherubim. Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. And the likeness of their faces was the same as the faces which I had seen by the river Chebar, their appearance and their persons. They each went straight forward.

You will note that Ezekiel clearly connects the living creatures he saw in chapter one with the cherubim here. There, the living creatures are said to have four faces: a bull, a man, a lion, and an eagle, and possessing four wings. These are the same creatures described as being around the throne room in Revelation 4, except there, they are described as being separate creatures, with a face occupying a single body, and each creature possessing six wings.

• Revelation 4:6-8 – Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”

It would seem then that all cherubim are found around the throne of God and are connected to His very presence and seem fairly generic in form. However, the cherub of Ezekiel 28 is described in a most unique fashion. He is said to be “anointed”.  The word is mimšaḥ, in Hebrew. It means anointed but given that it comes from the root word māšaḥ, which means “to smear”, as when oil is spread out, the sense connoted in the term is that of expansion, or something outspread, such as might occur with outstretched wings over the mercy seat! It is the only time the word appears in Scripture.

Considering that many cherubim were seen by Ezekiel around the throne of God, just being in that space doesn’t necessarily make one more special than another. However, Ezekiel 28 tells us the anointed cherub “defiled [its] “sanctuaries by the multitude of [its] iniquities”. The word for sanctuaries is miqdāš. This is exactly what Moses was told to build, when he was commanded to construct the Tabernacle.

• Exodus 25:8 – And let them make Me a sanctuary [miqdāš], that I may dwell among them.

Given all that is known about the cherubim around the throne, the position of two cherubim over the mercy seat, and considering that the cherub of Ezekiel 28 was literally kicked out of the sanctuary of God, that was upon the mountain of God, it would seem that this particular cherub had the enviable position of being one of two angelic beings who had the honor of being right next to God Almighty. They were as close as possible to the very presence of God. Since, we are told the cherub was in Eden, it is likely that when Adam and Eve would come to commune with God, he was there, covering the light of God’s glory, along with his partner. The Bible tells us that God dwells between the cherubim.

• 1 Samuel 4:4 – So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who dwells between the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

This is just one passage, but the refrain is repeated in many places. Even within the Temple’s Holy of Holies, Solomon placed two huge cherubim that he carved from olive wood and overlaid with gold (1 Kings 6:23). Cherubim, or at least a particular subset of them, are angelic beings that specifically act as a screen between God’s physical, tangible, awesome presence and mankind! Any cherub that had this duty would indeed be special. I think it beyond coincidental that Michael, whose name means “like unto God”, is the only angelic being that is on equal footing with Satan. Could it be that he was the other cherubim that covered the glory of God, within the heavenly Holy of Holies? It’s speculation for sure, but it fits. If my conjectures are accurate, he and Lucifer were as close as any creature could possibly be to our Holy God. That’s a very exalted position indeed.

The Fall of Satan

Having established with a high level of certainty based upon a fair amount of circumstantial evidence that Satan was very likely created to be one of the two celestial cherubim that originally covered the tangible presence of God from man in the Garden of Eden when the Lord would come down and have physical contact with Adam and Eve, we will endeavor to look at how and why he fell.

There is only one place in Scripture where we are told what motivated Satan to do what he did in the Garden, and it is found in Isaiah 14.

• Isaiah 14:12-17 – “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit. “Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of his prisoners?’

I am fully aware that there are scholars who deny that Satan is the subject of this text. However, those who reject this reading do not have a belief in the comprehensive theological thread of Scripture, neither do they have an answer for what is being said in this text that makes any sense of what is said. Like Ezekiel 28, the discussion about Lucifer is likely a prophetic window into the spirit behind the earthly king of Babylon that is being dealt with in the text. In both cases, the spirit is that of the serpent of old, the Devil. As with all things, there is a spiritual root, and the Holy Spirit uses these passages to expose that root for our edification and education.

According to Isaiah, it was arrogant pride that was the sin of Lucifer. If Lucifer is the anointed cherub of Ezekiel 28, as I contend, then considering his station and his ministry, as recorded there, it appears that because of his position and the incredible physical beauty he was designed with that he decided he could actually become God! The NT hints at this.

• 1 Timothy 3:6 – … not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.

The Devil was destroyed because of his pride! From the context in which this warning is given, it seems his destruction came very early in his existence, as his downfall is used as an example for people who are new in the faith. This makes absolute sense of the biblical record we have already covered. Satan was perfect in his creation, and that occurred sometime within the seven days of Creation (I think it was the second or fourth day). Then between that time and the Fall of Man, he fell into his delusions and hatched his plan to destroy man, or maybe get man to turn him into their god? We just don’t know. Whatever the reasoning behind the Serpent’s actions in Eden, his plans were immediately upturned when God cursed him, while also condemning man.  However, even in his cursed and fallen position, Satan retained the authority and dominion that he was created with!

Satan’s Unique Spiritual Authority

 To fully understand the created order of God, which has been a theme from the very beginning of this study, it is vital to comprehend that every creature God has made was endowed with authority due their station. Not a single creature can operate outside the authority structure of God without immediate consequence from God. 

Satan seems to have been master and commander of the earth, if the NT authors are to be taken at face value. But where is this theology derived from in the OT Scripture? In the story of Job, he presents himself before God as coming from walking around on the earth which might imply that he was in charge on the earth. Without contradiction, he offered all the kingdoms of the earth to Jesus if He would but bow before him (Matthew 4:8-9). As was mentioned earlier in this study, he must have had jurisdictional authority over these in order for his offer to qualify as a true temptation for Jesus. Satan was not only in charge, of the earth, as it were, he also seems to have some control over life and death, at least where unbelievers are concerned, as Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us. These truths are amply shown in the Bible, at least in the NT. 

• Luke 4:5-7 – Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world [oikoumenē] in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority [exousia] I will give You, and their glory [doxa]; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
• John 12:31-33 – Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler [archōn] of this world [kosmos] will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
• John 14:30 – I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler [archōn] of this world [kosmos] is coming. He has no claim on me…
• John 16: 8-11 – And when he comes, he will convict the world [kosmos] concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler [archōn] of this world [kosmos] is judged.
• Acts 26:18 – …to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power [exousia] of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
• Revelation 2:13 – “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne [thronos] is. And you hold fast to My name and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
• Revelation 13:2 – Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power [dynamis], his throne [thronos], and great authority [exousia].

Without question, Satan has a position of authority in the earth! His awesome authority, which is unmatched in the angelic world, has led to another great theological error in Christianity: that Satan somehow assumed this authority, and thus mastery of this earth, when Adam fell in the garden of Eden. It is reasoned that because Satan is called the god of this world, that Adam transferred the dominion of the earth God had given him in Genesis when he rebelled against God’s command to not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in Eden. Well, despite Satan having a throne, with authority, in the earth, this does not mean that he got it from Adam and Eve! As has already been discussed, he was created with the power and authority he possesses, and it was done for a purpose.  

If Satan’s fall and that of his angels was foreseen and foreknown, then that means that the reason for which God created them is a part of the larger story of God’s redemption and grace in the creation. They serve a purpose, and that purpose is linked to the spiritual authority with which Satan was endowed from the beginning.

The Purpose of Satan 

It is not enough to determine who Satan was, why he was created, or why and how he fell. The real theological questions that must be resolved is why was he allowed to remain after his fall? Why does he exist today with so much spiritual power and access to God Himself? Since he was cursed when he rebelled, why didn’t he and the other angels get immediately condemned to Hell [geenna], a place specifically created for their eternal punishment (Matthew 25:41)?! Wouldn’t the world be a profoundly better place without him and his minions in it? Why has God allowed this to continue? In an effort to find answers to these things, many bizarre and wholly unbiblical theological renderings of Satan have been injected into Christian thought, and one of the things it has done is create an image of Satan this gives him far more power and authority than what he actually possesses and the other is that God’s justice has been called into question. 

I believe the answer to these dilemmas lies in two related matters regarding God and His Creation: the plan of redemption, and God’s justice. God knew, before He created anything, that man was going to rebel. Redemption was always the plan of the Lord God, from the beginning of time. Thus, He fashioned His creation with the plan of redemption woven into it! All the evil that would come into the world because of sin, has always had a solution. The ultimate consummation of the plan of redemption will be a new heaven and a new earth, but what of the here and now? Redemption of our bodies necessitates God not judging us for our sins, committed in the body, immediately. Thus, grace and mercy are a part of the very fabric of this creation. Scripture tells us this. 

• Romans 8:18-25 – For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

The Apostle Paul clearly stipulates that creation was subjected, by God, to futility, or the curse of sin, until every person who would ever become a redeemed believer in Jesus was brought forth! But if God is going to wink at sins being committed in the earth, then how can He be declared just? Ultimately, this is where Jesus comes in, and every Christian understands this: He bore our sins in His body on the tree, to pay the punishment for them. Yet, God’s justice must play out here. It must be shown this side of heaven. It cannot merely wait for eternity, otherwise we cannot say God is just, and we know He is perfectly so. The Bible makes this point over and over again. Our fleshly beings are incapable of following or loving God. They are part of the created order that has been corrupted by sin. 

• Romans 8:7-8 – Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

However, the Apostle clearly stated that this flesh man, that cannot please God, and is in fact set against God, is found in him, even as a born again, sanctified believer! 

• Romans 7:21-25 – I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

Just because we are saved, does not mean that sinful thoughts, sinful desires, sinful behaviors dissipate. Why? Because our flesh, which is part of this creation, is still with us. We are not dead! This is why Paul said he died daily. The hope of resurrection is the hope of a new body, undefiled by sin! In the meantime, a just and holy God, must be able to engage with and access a totally corrupted creation. How does that manifest itself? How does redemption and grace work in the created order of God?  

The first way it manifests itself is in the way God deals with sin. Outside of doing something outside the authority structures God has ordained in nature, God simply does not mete out punishment for sins immediately. This manifestation of God’s grace, which is readily seen every day, unfortunately does not turn more people to Him. Rather, it has the opposite effect. 

• Ecclesiastes 8:11-12 – Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil. Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.

The sad truth about sinners, both human and angelic, is that since the judgement of God against sin, which is death, is not immediately carried out for every sin committed when it is executed most people just slide further into their sin and rebellion. Sin, like a cancer that has no cure, just gets stronger and more consuming the longer it remains unrepented for, and unacknowledged. Yet, despite this truth, God knows those who will turn, who will yield, who will cry out for mercy and repentance, and so, He does not mete out the punishment for sin immediately. He extends his grace. Obviously, this grace is not extended to angelic beings, who, we are told, cannot be redeemed. 

• Hebrews 2:14-16 – Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power [kratos] of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.

So, if God offers no redemption to angelic beings who rebelled against Him, why has He allowed them to be here? It is one thing to say that God doesn’t deal with man’s wickedness immediately in order to save some, but since no angels who have sinned against Him can be saved, why not just get rid of them?  

This brings us to another way in which redemption and grace manifest itself in this corrupt creation. As we already learned, sin brings about corruption and death, and unless punishment is meted out it will grow unrestrained, because the results of it are not felt immediately. It is God’s desire to save all who will turn that causes Him to not mete out death immediately to those who sin. This was true of Adam and it’s true of everyone else. Yet, this is a double-edged sword, because it often leads to impunity in humanity, unless there is cataclysmic, temporal destruction upon some. Yet, God CANNOT do it. By His very appearance into this time-space He would destroy everyone, including those who might be believers, along with those whom He knows will, in time, be redeemed themselves by turning from their sins. Our flesh is contaminated. God needs an instrument to bring about divine punishment on earth. Could it be that is why Satan was made at all? 

Knowing he would sin and rebel, just as he saw Adam and Eve would fall, what if part of His divine plan was that He would utilize Satan, in his fallen state, as the means to bring about judgement, a type of spiritual scourging, while ensuring it was always limited to what God would allow. Satan is created himself, hence his presence won’t bring about instant death for anyone. He’s not awesome in majesty, nor does he dwell in inapproachable light like God the Father does. 

Think further. If God in His omniscience and foreknowledge knew that the Fall of Man was coming even before Creation commenced, then He certainly knew of Satan’s rebellion beforehand, and yet, He created him anyway! At no time has God ever been surprised or caught off guard. This means, God created Satan and those angels who rebelled with Him, for a purpose, and it is this purpose that keeps them in the earth, even to this day. Every aspect of creation was created by and for the purposes of God, and ultimately for the glorification of the Father through Jesus Christ. 

• Colossians 1:16 – For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones [thronos] or dominions [kyriotēs] or principalities [archē] or powers [exousia]. All things were created through Him and for Him.

When we really take to heart what the Bible teaches us, it is rather sobering. Satan, an entity that hates man, serves a purpose that ultimately points to Christ! But what could that be? What is the one thing that has true power over mankind? What is the one thing that every man actually fears? Death!!! The Bible clearly connects the Devil to death, but, as we have already shown, Jesus has the keys of Death and the Grave, not Satan. But Jesus is in the business of saving mankind, not killing him. He is not even in the business of condemning people (John 12:47). It must be said that death will come all mankind, even if everything else was perfect! This is because of the curse of sin. So, God doesn’t need to send an angel to kill people, per se, everyone is already dying. In fact, each has an appointed date with death (Hebrews 9:27). What we see God doing throughout Scripture is sending angels to execute judgements upon man, whether that manifests in famine, disease, destruction, or death, it is the judgement of God that is in focus. God judges man for the express purpose of getting him to turn from sin and be saved! Who is the instrument of this judgement? Satan. 

• 1 Chronicles 21:1 – Now Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.
• 2 Samuel 24:1 – Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”
• 1 Corinthians 5:5 – In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
• 1 Timothy 1:19-20 – having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
• Revelation 12:12 – Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

What all of these verses show us is that the Devil is the agent of divine judgement upon mankind! It is not ever done to destroy totally, rather it is done to get people to turn to God! I particularly appreciate the dual passages from 1 Chronicles 21 and 2 Samuel that give the same story of David’s census of Israel. The one describes the anger of the Lord being aroused against Israel, but the other tells us that anger is manifested in the person of Satan! This seems absolutely incredible, but when you consider what has been shared regarding the holiness of God, and the tendency of mankind to get complacent regarding sin, it makes perfect sense. The two examples of the Apostle Paul make it clear that the ultimate purpose of God in using Satan to bring about physical pain and suffering is to turn people away from their sins and repent! 

Satan plays a similar role in how God deals with Christians or believers.  

• Job 1:6-12 – Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So, Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” So, Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So, Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
• Job 2:1-7 – Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.” So, Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.” So, Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
• 2 Corinthians 12:7 – And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger [angelos] of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.

The Bible says that Satan is the individual that is specifically used to inflict pain and torment on believers, not non-believers. The primary purpose for this is to get them to either not become too arrogant or to go deeper in their walk with and understanding of God, as with Job. We might find this a hard truth, but it is what Scripture teaches us. Getting too comfortable in this life, or thinking too highly of ourselves is most unwise, and can in fact lead to sin. Satan is a sort of cleansing agent then, to keep people’s attention turned to God, even if they be believers already. Considering he hates mankind, I think he rather relishes inflicting pain and torment, but it is comforting to know that he is always held in check, and whatever reason he may be loosed, God’s purpose is ultimately for our good. 

It is my contention that the Devil is the instrument of God’s temporal destruction and death upon the earth, in the guise of what we call the Angel of Death. This concept comes mainly from Christian traditions, rather than anything explicitly written in Scripture. However, there is one character mentioned in the Bible as being the lord over the angels of the bottomless pit who could match this description: Abaddon. 

• Revelation 9:11 – And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit [abyssos], whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.

Abaddon means “destroyer”. Scholars of all sorts argue about the identity of this spiritual being. Considering what we have already established about the demonic world, I am fairly confident in asserting that this is Satan. However, there is further proof given of this fact from the Bible. 

• 1 Corinthians 10:9-10 – …nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed [apollymi] by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed [apollymi] by the destroyer.

The Apostle Paul relates the destruction of the Israelites who murmured against the Lord in the wilderness at the hands of serpents. I will go into just what these vipers were in great detail, but suffice to say they were demons, and they were sent as a judgement by God! As we have learned, all demons, whether those loose on the earth, or those locked up in the Abyss, are under the authority of Satan, and no one else. So, I think it is fairly certain that He is the king of the fallen angels housed in Tartarus. But, as our earlier study showed, Hades is the place of the human dead, not the bottomless pit. However, there is a connection between the destroyer and the death of people in the OT. 

• Exodus 12:23 – For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer [šāḥat] to come into your houses to strike you.

 The story of the Passover, as recorded in Exodus 12, is where the idea of the Angel of Death comes from. Here the Hebrew verb šāḥat is translated as a noun by most English translations. This is not the only place this occurs. Jeremiah, when calling for Judah to repent, or else be destroyed, specifically uses the same term. 

• Jeremiah 4:7 – The lion has come up from his thicket, and the destroyer [šāḥat] of nations is on his way. He has gone forth from his place to make your land desolate. Your cities will be laid waste, without inhabitants.

Who is the destroyer of nations? According to our study on Isaiah 14, it is Lucifer! It is Satan who prowls about like a lion, even today, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Jesus has the authority over life and death that God alone possesses. Many Christian theologians believe that Satan had this authority before Jesus took it from him, as a result of the fall. The Bible never says this! God, and God alone has always had the power of life and death, and this means Jesus, because Jesus has always been God! Yet Satan is intimately connected to this power, though he has no agency of his own. 

This is directly related to what he was created for. If he, along with Michael, were the two cherubim stationed above the heavenly mercy seat, as I have posited, then they were the ultimate gatekeepers to keeping the “face” of God, his glory, hidden from Adam and Eve. To look directly upon God is to invite death upon oneself. It has always been this way and will forever be this way. God dwells in inapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16), but His ministering Spirits have always represented a touch point to the living God. Satan, being one of those instruments, but in corrupted form, now is used by God as a means of carrying out divine punishment for rebellion, but in a way that prevents the complete destruction of people, which would occur, were God to actually reach out His own hand. 

The Seraphim

 It has been posited by almost every Christian theologian, and almost any secular source I can find, that the Seraphim are a special classification of angelic being, distinct from the Cherubim. This may be true, but I don’t think it is. If you look carefully at their description in Isaiah below and compare it with what was presented earlier about the cherubim, of whom Satan was definitely a part, you see some striking similarities. 

• Isaiah 6:1-7 – In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So, I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.”

Revelation 4 tells us that the living creatures that John saw around the throne had four faces, and six wings. He doesn’t mention seraphim at all, yet he is undoubtedly looking at the throne of God, just as Isaiah. The setting of Ezekiel’s vision is also the throne room of God, and as I have already pointed out, the living creatures John saw are almost exactly the same as the cherubim that Ezekiel described in chapters 1 and 10, save his cherubim only had four wings.  As further proof that the cherubim Ezekiel saw were in fact seraphim as well, note his description of them. 

• Ezekiel 1:13-14 – As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning.

The obvious conclusion is that they are the same creatures, in the same place, but with slight variations from each other! Seraphim are cherubim, and vice versa. They are not different creatures. This is significant in explaining who Satan was and what happened to him when he fell. In our study of the cherub of Ezekiel 24 we learned that upon his rebellious action against God, he was consumed by a fire coming out of himself! In the context of the mercy seat, where I surmise that the Anointed Cherub was stationed, this is most intriguing. In the story of Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron the first High Priest, God smote them with fire coming from His presence because they offered profane incense before the Lord on the altar of incense! To come before God in an unworthy manner, is to invite death upon oneself. In particular, fire is the means by which this death comes about, thus the expression, “our God is a consuming fire” (Deuteronomy 4:24).  

Imagine if you would, Adam had not sinned, and Satan had not fallen when he did, and someone would have come before the Lord in an unworthy manner? Would they have died in such a manner as Nadab and Abihu? Absolutely. And who would have carried out this judgement? In the story of Aaron’s sons, we are told it came from the presence of the Lord, or Yahweh. When God moves directly against someone, it is swift, and it is final! However, the cherub of Ezekiel 24 has not been completely destroyed. Why? Because the fire that had consumed him, came from within him! It did not come from the Lord, though he was in the very presence of God. This perfectly describes what it might look like of a seraph [śārāp̄]. The noun comes from the Hebrew verb śārap̄, which means “to burn”. Hence, they are properly called the burning ones. If Satan was a seraph, and I believe he was, being a cherub in the throne room of God, then what occurred was essentially a self-immolation, due to sin. 

Since the passage in Isaiah 14 is the only place in Scripture we are told about the mysterious Seraphim, it can be hard to learn more about them. Thankfully, the throne room of Heaven is not the only place where we see seraphim appear. In several places, they are synonymous with vipers! 

• Numbers 21:6-9 – So the Lord sent fiery [śārāp̄] serpents [nāḥāš] among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. Therefore, the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So, Moses prayed for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent [śārāp̄], and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” So, Moses made a bronze serpent [nāḥāš], and put it on a pole; and so, it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
• Deuteronomy 8:15 – who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery [śārāp̄] serpents [nāḥāš] and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock;
• Isaiah 14:29 – “Do not rejoice, all you of Philistia, because the rod that struck you is broken; for out of the serpent’s roots will come forth a viper, and its offspring will be a fiery [nāḥāš] flying serpent [nāḥāš].
• Isaiah 30:6 – The burden against the beasts of the South. Through a land of trouble and anguish, from which came the lioness and lion, the viper and fiery [nāḥāš] flying serpent [nāḥāš], they will carry their riches on the backs of young donkeys, and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people who shall not profit…

What these passages teach us is that Seraph is not merely a title for heavenly beings. If you look at the use of the terms “fiery” and “serpent” are interchangeable. According to scholars, the name, when applied to these poisonous snakes, refers to their bite. Hence, the “fiery” nature has to do with something that is in them, namely their venom, and its effect on people when bitten. Specifically, in the wilderness story of Numbers 21, it represented the sin of those who rebelled and its consequence, death. The bronze serpent that was forged pointed to Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary for the sin of all mankind, and all anyone has to do is look to Him and be saved (John 3:14). As sin comes from within and kills the person, so too, Satan’s sin came from within him and destroyed him. However, as we laid out in our discussion on Ephesians 6:12, the fall of the heavenly seraphim extends to other parts of creation in their encouragement of mankind to commit acts of rebellion against God, and thus their spiritual venom continues to, as it were, “bite” the souls of untold multitudes today. 

But we see something else in the personification of venomous serpents as the demonic minions that must be pointed out, as it pertains to the purpose of Satan. In the Numbers 21 story, they are sent, by God, as a punishment. The idea that God would send punishment via demons is something seen throughout the Bible, but we already mentioned one great example from Revelation 9. There, an angelic being releases the rebel angels of Genesis 6 from their prison in the bottomless pit to judge the world. These angels are specifically described as biting with the bite of a serpent! 

• Revelation 9:3,10,19-21 – Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power… They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months… For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm. But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

In this text, it is positively asserted that these demons are out bringing great death upon mankind, and the means by which they inflict pain upon the world is likened to a serpent’s bite. Thus, we see that God uses the fallen angels as a means of divine punishment, but only as a means to bring people to repentance. It is not God’s will to destroy mankind. He wants to save! So, it appears that the instrument of that punishment is those rebellious angelic beings who have fallen, because by using them, God ensures a limited punishment. This explains why God did not just get rid of Satan and the rest of the seraphim who sinned against Him. They still have a part to play in this story!

The Serpent of Old

In the previous discussion of the seraphim, it was shown that the terms śārāp̄ and nāḥāš are used interchangeably when describing vipers. Nāḥāš is a word that specifically, and always means snake. However, it is not the only word that is used in Hebrew. The other is tannîn. 

• Genesis 1:21 – So, God created great sea creatures [tannîn] and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
• Exodus 7:9-12 – “When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then you shall say to Aaron, ‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and let it become a serpent [tannîn].’” So, Moses and Aaron went into Pharaoh, and they did so, just as the Lord commanded. And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent [tannîn]. But Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers; so, the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For every man threw down his rod, and they became serpents [tannîn]. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
• Isaiah 13:22 – The hyenas will howl in their citadels, and jackals [tannîn] in their pleasant palaces. Her time is near to come, and her days will not be prolonged.”
• Ezekiel 29:3 – Speak, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Pharaoh king of Egypt, O great monster [tannîn] who lies in the midst of his rivers, who has said, ‘My River is my own; I have made it for myself.’

These are not all the Scriptures that use tannîn, but from those listed you can see that that the term is used to describe sea monsters, which some translations label “whales”, jackals, also called dragons, and serpents. In other words, tannîn likely refers to any type of reptilian creature, whether in land or sea. But what of nāḥāš? Why use it? Is it a synonym? The short answer is yes, but the longer answer is that the use of differing terminology tells us the deeper spiritual significance at work behind why God uses certain words to refer to things, and in this case, it tells us a great deal about Satan and where his authority in this place comes from.

If you go back to the Garden of Eden, a place we are told Ezekiel’s cherub was, you will find that the Devil is called the Nāḥāš. 

• Genesis 3:1-4, 13-15 – Now the serpent [nāḥāš] was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent [nāḥāš], “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” The serpent [nāḥāš] said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” … And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent [nāḥāš] deceived me, and I ate.” So, the Lord God said to the serpent [nāḥāš]: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

There are some modern theologians who argue that the serpent mentioned here is not the Devil, but some other entity. However, the Bible makes absolutely certain that the nāḥāš who was in the Garden of Eden is Satan himself.  

• Revelation 12:9 – So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Satan’s presence in Eden, as a serpent, tells us a great deal about him. First, it tells us that his physical form – remember, angels have bodies – is serpentine, or reptilian, in some manner. Many have tried to say that the serpent mentioned here was an actual snake that was merely possessed by Satan. That is not what the text says, nor does it even suggest it. I am not saying it’s not possible, only that it requires adding something to the biblical text that is not there. This is something that must never be done when it comes to the Word of God. However, many have a problem with the idea that the Devil himself could have been an actual physical creature on the Earth. There is no reason for this to be problematic. We have already shown in many places from Scripture that Satan has an intimate connection with the earth. He walks upon it and goes to and from it to the second heaven with regularity. Yet, to have the authority on earth that he possesses, he must have a position in the earth, and thus he must be related to it in some way similar to that of mankind.  Thus, it makes all the sense in the world that the Devil had a physical body that was seen by Adam and Eve. 

The second thing his appearance in the Garden tells us is given by the manner in which the Nāḥāš is described. We are told it is craftier than all the cattle of the field. This then means that the Devil was afforded a place among the beasts of the field, and thus, though an angel, he was lower in position than Adam at the beginning, as it pertains to the earth! Scripture tells us, in no uncertain terms, that the animals of the earth, whether on land, sea, or sky were placed under the dominion of man. Satan, being part of the angelic host, was an inhabitant of the heavens, or firmament. Yet, his being described as a member of the cattle of the field tells us, he also had an abode in the earth. As an archangel, he had great authority in the heavenly space, but on earth, he was beneath Adam! This dual positioning explains why Satan has an exousia here in the earth: he was fashioned for it! 

Exousia is a jurisdictional term. You must have jurisdictional authority over an area before you can legally exercise power there. The angels of Genesis 6 did not have such authority when they engaged in their sexual perversions with the daughters of men. Thus, God punished them immediately! Satan engages in activity on the earth all the time, and yet, he’s allowed to. Why? Because he has the necessary authority to do so. He was made for the earth! When he led the rebellion against God, those who followed him were cast to the earth, where he has an authority. Thus, they were cast into his realm, his kingdom. 

The very term used to describe Satan in the Garden speaks to the dual realities he was created for. As we already explained, nāḥāš is not the only term used for physical serpents. Why is the Devil not called a tannîn? It has to do with the specific, spiritual meaning behind nāḥāš. This term, without exception, always refers to a spiritual being. In particular, it pertains to fallen creatures. On the other hand, tannîn is always a reference to real, physical snakes, with no bearing upon anything spiritual. A nāḥāš is a tannîn, but the reverse is not necessarily true. The greatest proof of this is found in the encounter of Moses with the priests of Egypt. The Bible says that each side threw down their rods and they became tannîn. Yet, the story goes onto to say that Moses’ rod actually ate the rods of the priests! This was something the latter could not actually replicate. The reason the rod of Moses actually came to life is because it had become a nāḥāš, and not a mere tannîn. 

• Exodus 7:15 – Go to Pharaoh in the morning, when he goes out to the water, and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent [nāḥāš] you shall take in your hand.

The reason the Egyptian priests couldn’t copy Moses is that they could not actually bring their rods to life; their staffs only appeared to be alive. As I covered earlier in this book, all life exists because of the divine wind of God, or rûaḥ of God. Animals, humans, and angelic beings all live because of this. It is impossible to replicate it, thus, God gave life to Moses’ serpent, whereas that of the priests only appeared to be living tannîn. Other places in Scripture clearly illustrate the fact that whenever a nāḥāš is present, then a supernatural being is also being signified. Not only were the seraphim of Numbers 21 nāḥāš, but the bronze serpent, which was forged by Moses, and signified Christ becoming sin, was also a nāḥāš. This holds true elsewhere in God’s Word. 

• Job 26:13 – He stirs up the sea with His power, and by His understanding He breaks up the storm. By His Spirit He adorned the heavens; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent [nāḥāš].
• Job 41:1, 33-34 – “Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, or snare his tongue with a line which you lower?… On earth there is nothing like him, which is made without fear. He beholds every high thing; he is king over all the children of pride.”
• Isaiah 21:1 – In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent [nāḥāš], Leviathan that twisted serpent; [nāḥāš] and He will slay the reptile [tannîn] that is in the sea.
• Isaiah 65:25 – The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s [nāḥāš] food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord.
• Amos 9:3-4 – “Though they dig into hell, from there My hand shall take them; though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down; and though they hide themselves on top of Carmel, from there I will search and take them; though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea, from there I will command the serpent [nāḥāš], and it shall bite them…

In the previous passages you see a clear connection between nāḥāš, tannîn, and an actual, physical sea monster called the Leviathan. Many scholars see a connection between this creature and the great dragon of old, Satan. I agree with those who do, primarily because of how it is described in Job, as the king over all the children of pride, and because of the obvious eschatological language in Isaiah 21 that describes the final destruction of this serpentine beast. 

All of the evidence taken together suggests that Satan was an angelic creature, whose physical form was that of a dragon. That he was made for the earth, but with access to the heavenly realm, and that his primary purpose on the earth was to act as a shield to the glory of God whenever He came down to meet with Adam and Eve on Mount Sinai. This explains his unique jurisdictional authority on the earth. It also explains why he has such power on the earth! He was an angelic being who was placed here, rather than heaven. However, he was not the lord of Adam at first, rather he was subservient. The Devil’s lordship came after the fall of man and is only able to be maintained through deception, by keeping men bound to sin. Those who continue to live in sin are slaves to it, and through that enslavement are totally open to control by Satan and his demonic hordes.

Satan’s Kingdom

 It has now been firmly established that Satan clearly has some sort of jurisdictional authority in the earth owing to what he was created to be, and this authority is most definitely exercised over the kingdoms of the earth since he could offer it to Jesus, otherwise the temptation would not have been valid. This has led many to believe that Satan is the Master of earth. He is not. The Bible tells us, in no uncertain terms, that the earth belongs to God! 

• Psalm 24:1 – The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.

Not only does the whole world belongs to God, only He, and He alone does whatever He wants to in it. Everything else must submit to His will.

Psalm 135:5-6 – For I know that the Lord is great, and our Lord is above all gods [‘ĕlōhîm]. Whatever the Lord pleases He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deep places.

These Scriptures, coupled with the fact that Jesus declared all authority had been given to Him in heaven and on earth, thus establishing His equality with God the Father should really put to rest any idea that Satan has or ever had any kind of real power in the earth. For those who still doubt, look at what Apostle Paul had to say about it. So, where is his kingdom in relation to this earth?

Dominion is the power or right of governing and controlling. In other words, sovereign authority. It implies mastery or rulership by someone. A king has dominion within his kingdom. It might shock you to know this, but Satan doesn’t have an earthly kingdom or dominion! He never has, and he never will. The exousia he possesses, which allows him access to this earth, is exactly like that of a sheriff within a king’s region of rule. He has certain, prescribed powers to arrest, and maybe even punish criminals, but nothing more. It is the king who has absolute power in his domain. But what of the throne Satan possesses? It indicates a seat of power, but it is different from a kingdom, in which one exercises dominion or mastery. However, it does prove that the Devil has those over whom he has complete control. Who might these be? The demons! 

• Luke 11:17-18 – But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.

The mention here of Satan’s kingdom, which is repeated again in Matthew 12:25-28, is the only time it is ever referenced in the Bible. His kingdom is only over the demons! It’s not over mankind. As an archangel, this makes sense. All the angels who followed him in his rebellion now serve him alone! He is their master and lord. So, why do Christians persist in thinking that he is the lord of the earth?

Most of this confusion stems from not understanding the difference between varying types of authority, as we have discussed, but it also comes from a profound misconception of what the term “ruler of this world” means when applied to Satan. Most just assume it means that Satan is in charge of the world. What we are really being given is a reminder of the exousia he was created with, and its connection to the earth. We are not being told the world is his kingdom. The Greek word used for “ruler” in the passages that describe the Devil as such, with regard to the world, is archōn.    

Satan’s power over man is mostly illusionary and is entirely owing to his ability to get them to engage in sinful acts, thus enslaving themselves to sin, and through it, to his influence. We see this clearly in many of the Bible passages that many associate with Satan’s power. 

• 2 Corinthians 4:4-5 – But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god [theos] of this age [aiōn] has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
• Colossians 1:13 – He has delivered us from the power [exousia] of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love…
• Ephesians 2:1-3 – And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince [archōn] of the power [exousia] of the air [aēr], the spirit [pneuma] who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 

• 1 John 5:16-20 – If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death. We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one [ponēros] does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one [ponēros]. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

Satan is described as the “god” of this age, or time. The Devil’s description as a god here is merely another way of declaring he is THE chief of the false gods. No one is above him, and no one in the demonic realm has any real authority outside of him. His jurisdictional authority relates to darkness, a point we will get to shortly, and he, being the first sinner, is synonymous with wickedness! 1 John 5 is not always translated as “wicked one”, as it is in the NKJV printed here. The Greek term, ponēros is an adjective, that acts as a noun here, similar to pneumatikos is used in Ephesians 6:12. Since both uses in this passage are in the singular masculine form, some translators insert the word “one”, because of the truth that Satan is at the root of all wickedness in the world today. Anywhere you see evil, you see the influence of the prince of darkness and his minions. I believe Apostle Paul calling Satan the “power of the air” directly connects to the part of the creation that I believe Satan was given his jurisdictional authority in, the firmament. 

The aēr mentioned in Ephesians 2, that Satan is said to be the master over, is the same air believers will meet the Lord in at the Rapture, when Christ returns to call His people home before pouring out judgement upon the earth (1 Thessalonians 4:7)! This is a term, that in ancient Greece, signified the immediate air, or atmosphere of the earth. In other words, the firmament of the skies that God created from the beginning. It is to be distinguished from the upper air, or heaven of heavens. In ancient times, this was referred to as the either. It would be equivalent to Heaven in our modern nomenclature. It is not outer space! The ancient people didn’t have space travel, the great expanse of the universe, where the planets are located was considered the realm of the gods, or heaven. We know better of course, but it is important to understand the way ancient people thought about things, for better context when speaking of the terms they used. So, to an ancient Greek or Roman, the ether was what we would call outer space, but to them it was what we would consider the second heaven! From the vantage point of earth, the stars seem to be a part of the firmament, our upper atmosphere. This was seen as the home of the pagan gods, what the Bible calls the bene ha’elohim. It was to be distinguished from the lower atmosphere, which consisted of the air we breathe, in that it was considered a spiritual place. However, the lower atmosphere, or air, was connected to it as well. 

If you go to Genesis, you see two things in the story of Creation that hint at, not only the timing of the creation of the angelic hosts, but also Satan’s realm of authority in the physical cosmos. 

• Genesis 1:6-8 – Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” Thus, God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament heaven [šāmayim]. So, the evening and the morning were the second day.
• Genesis 1:14-19 – Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens [šāmayim] to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule [memšālâ] the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule [memšālâ] over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So, the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

I personally think the angels were likely created on either the second or fourth day of creation. The reason I believe this is because of what is written in these passages. When God formed the world, since He foreknew the fall of man, and that of Satan, He created everything with a prophetic view to the redemption narrative – the cross was not an afterthought, it was always the plan! This is why the earth is brought out of the water, for example. Just as the old creation was birthed from water, the new creation is birthed out of the water of baptism, with the water symbolizing being buried with Christ, as rising with Him. To that end then, there are two very powerful things to be brought out from these passages about the second and fourth days of Creation. 

First, though God described the entirety of Creation as being “good” when he had finished it, it is conspicuous that the Second Day is the only day whose creation is NOT described as “good” in and of itself. I believe this is due to what was created on that day, namely the realm of Lucifer’s exousia! The firmament described here would be equivalent to the aēr over which the Apostle Paul states Satan is the ruler. Could it be, that the Holy Spirit’s refusal to describe this day’s creation as “good” was because it portended the emergence of this realm as the place over which the greatest rebel against God was to exercise his authority? I think it is highly likely. 

Related to this thought, and something that solidifies the theory for me, is the description of the Fourth Day of creation. Here we find the creation of the host of heaven. Throughout Scripture, these are used synonymously with spiritual entities.  

• Deuteronomy 4:15-19, 26 – “Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure: the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth or the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth. And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host [ṣāḇā’] of heaven [šāmayim], you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the Lord your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage…I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in it but will be utterly destroyed. 

What this text tells us is that the luminary objects seen in the heavens were worshipped as gods! This was covered in detail in our study on the kosmokratōrs. There are also a lot more Scriptures that could be used to illustrate this point, but the previous one is sufficient, and it also perfectly illustrates how there is a spiritual connection to not only the firmament but to the earth and the creatures upon it. We have already shown this to be true of certain, physical creatures, such as snakes, and it is abundantly true of mankind, who was fashioned in the very image of God. But why should people be drawn to worshipping lights in the skies? I believe the answer is that as humans and certain animals have a direct link to the divine, so too the realm of the physical heavens. The Fourth Day of Creation directly lays out this truth. We are told that the lights were placed in the heavens and that one was given dominion over the night! 

It has already been demonstrated that Satan has no dominion on earth, but what of the heavens? As has been amply demonstrated, Satan is the archōn, or ruler of the kosmos. That latter term is one that is intricately linked to the universe writ large, so, both the upper and lower atmospheres, in other words, the spiritual, that is second heaven and the physical heaven, the sky. The earth, or land, would be a part of this, and beneath it, but it was specifically set apart from it on the Second Day, and then God did something truly astonishing on the sixth day. He made a man and gave him dominion of the earthly area! Not only that, He then gave him dominion over all the animals upon it, which would have included the Devil! Now do you see why Satan would have been so enraged at man, and why he would have set out to get rid of him? 

There are those who might say that the description of the moon and the sun as “ruling” the heavens is merely metaphorical or allegorical language. However, the Scriptures are replete with examples of this kind when discussing the actual powers of, not only Satan and his angels (some of which have already been shared), but God’s angelic hosts as well! 

• Judges 5:19-20 – “The kings came and fought, then the kings of Canaan fought in Taanach, by the waters of Megiddo; they took no spoils of silver. They fought from the heavens; the stars from their courses fought against Sisera.
• Psalm 121:5-7 – The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
  He shall preserve your soul.
• Job 38:7 – When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
• Isaiah 40:25-26 – “To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing.
• Revelation 8:10-11a – Then the third angel sounded: And a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood.
• Revelation 9:1 – Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit.
• Revelation 12:3-4a – And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth…
• Revelation 16:8 – Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire.

It is readily observable from the preceding verses that the hosts of heaven are synonymous with angelic beings. There are those who will have a problem with this by claiming that Job 38:7 establishes a different timeframe for the creation of the stars, though Genesis 1 is very clear. They contend that the celestial bene ‘ĕlōhîm, a linguistic variant of the bene ha’elohim of Genesis 6, were praising God at the foundation of the world, thus their creation predated that of the earth! However, there is zero biblical evidence for a pre-Adamic world, or another earth before this one, and Job doesn’t supply them one. Instead, those who argue for that view ignore what Scripture clearly teaches and twist the passage in Job to their own ends. In context, it is highly uncertain that God is even saying what most English translations have Him saying there. 

• Job 38:4-11 – “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? “Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band; when I fixed My limit for it, and set bars and doors; when I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop!’

God is putting Job to the test by asking questions of him regarding where he was when He, God, was creating the world. If the bene ‘ĕlōhîm are shouting for joy at the foundations of the world, then obviously, they had to pre-date its formation! However, it is astonishing that scholars make such claims when one considers that it is a rank assumption to think that the way in which the translations come to us might be suggesting something that is not at all accurate! Consider the fact that biblical Hebrew does not have question marks, like we have in English. Therefore, the translators assumed certain things about the text when adding our punctuation marks, and thus, can cause us to read something in a way that the actual, underlying verses do not promote. To that end, read this Brenton translation of the Greek Septuagint of the same verses. 

• Job 38:4-11 – Where wast thou when I founded the earth? tell me now, if thou hast knowledge, who set the measures of it, if thou knowest? or who stretched a line upon it? On what are its rings fastened? and who is he that laid the cornerstone upon it? When the stars were made, all my angels praised me with a loud voice. And I shut up the sea with gates, when it rushed out, coming forth out of its mother’s womb. And I made a cloud its clothing and swathed it in mist. And I set bounds to it, surrounding it with bars and gates. And I said to it, hitherto shalt thou come, but thou shalt not go beyond, but thy waves shall be confined within thee.

Do you see how drastically different this translation renders the part of the text about the angels? It has God simply making a declaration about the creation of the stars, and that causing the angelic hosts joy, rather than any implication that they were rejoicing about the foundations of the earth being formed! Which one matches the theology of the rest of Scripture? I’ll take the Brenton version as it fits the rest of what is known from the Bible! 

Along with Job 38, Psalm 121 is particularly intriguing in light of what I am proposing as it specifically refers to the sun and the moon as agents of potential harm! If the words of the Fourth Day of creation are taken at face value, and overlayed upon the theological truths already presented, it seems that the lesser light of the night, the one that rules the darkness of the cosmos, as viewed from earth, is Satan! When we consider that Lucifer literally means “light-bearer” or “light-bringer”, this makes even more sense. Most of Christian theological opinions are that the term refers to Venus, the morning star. However, that is primarily due to tradition, and not what is written. The Hebrew word that is translated “lucifer” is hêlēl. It has no reference at all to Venus, but the term was viewed by the translator of the Latin Vulgate as analogous to a similar name for the Greek god Phosphoros, the patron god of Venus. 

I find it far more compelling to think that the moon is illustrative of Satan and the power he wields over the hosts of heaven when all is shrouded in darkness, because it doesn’t produce any light of its own. Rather, it reflects the light of the sun! Its dominion is the night skies, where it shines brighter than any star. The Creation story tells us that God separated night from day, and it is Satan who is called the “power of darkness”. 

• Luke 22:53 – When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power [exousia] of darkness.”

It was Satan who was behind the effort to kill Jesus (1 Corinthians 2:8). It was Satan who entered Judas leading him to betray Jesus (John 13:27). It is he, as the “god of this world”, who blinds the eyes of people to the truth of the Gospel, keeping them in spiritual darkness. He is the lord of the night! What the Fourth Day of creation powerfully illustrates is that Satan, along with all the other angelic hosts, were likely made on this day and that their entire purpose was to be God’s celestial messengers, the very thing all angels were designed for! It also shows that Lucifer was given his dominion on this day, a dominion that only applies to the heavens and specifically to the darkness; a dominion he maintains to this day!