Christians will seldom question a belief that has prevailed for many centuries. The problem is that widely held Christian beliefs are sometimes not supported by the Bible.
The devil is still in Heaven
This is to show chapter and verse, when and why the devil is cast out of Heaven.
- Genesis 6:1-2 The “sons” of God came to the Earth, but this passage doesn’t mention Satan.
- Genesis 3:1-5 God told Adam and Eve that if they ate the forbidden fruit they would die, but Satan said they would not surely die. It isn’t clear if Satan was questioning what God said, or if he was questioning what Eve said that God said. Part of what the devil said is confirmed in Genesis 3:22.
- Job 41:1-4 Satan (referred to as a dragon) is not in open rebellion but speaking softly and seeking a covenant with God. The devil secretly hates God, and he knows that will be his undoing unless he can get a covenant with God.
- Luke 10:17-18 Jesus stated that He saw Satan fall from Heaven. He said this in response to disciples casting out demons. Jesus is talking about the ultimate exorcism, but He doesn’t actually say it occurred in the past. This could have been a vision of a future event.
- John 12:27-31 It had to be a future event since Jesus would later say that the prince of this world “shall be” cast out.
- John 8:44 Jesus said the devil was a murderer and a liar. Jesus did not say the devil was exposed as a murderer and a liar. The devil cannot openly sin. The devil cannot battle God. That would be like a character in a novel doing battle with the author. Satan hates God, but all he can do to God is to destroy the humans to grieve God. The devil denies his hatred of God which means he is a liar and a murderer.
Satan’s secret iniquity
- Ezekiel 28:14-15 Satan was perfect in his ways until iniquity was found in him. This means the devil was not in open rebellion. At some point, his hatred of God was or will be exposed.
- Matthew 27:46 Christ clearly stated that God had forsaken Him. When Christ was dying on the cross, God looked away. When God looked away, the powerful demonic spirits openly cursed God not knowing that Jesus is Lord.
- Job 41:1-2 God catches Satan with a “hook”. Satan does not openly rebel, but he is caught in a trap. The trap involves his tongue which refers to the devil’s expression of his hatred for God.
- Psalms 21:8 Christ exposes the devil’s hatred of God.
- Psalm 64:2-5 There is an attack on someone who is perfect while no one is watching. This would be an attack on Christ when God turned His face from the crucifixion.
- Psalm 22:12-16 In addition to being surrounded by dogs (Roman soldiers), Christ is also surrounded by large bulls who gap upon Him with their mouths.
- Luke 2:34-35 Simeon was speaking to both Mary and Jesus. The heart of Mary was pierced, but it was the piercing of the soul of Jesus that revealed the thoughts of many hearts. It wasn’t only Satan who openly cursed God at the crucifixion. There are other powerful demons still in Heaven. It is their hatred that was revealed.
Satan is exposed
- John 15:22-25 There is someone who did not have sin before Christ came into the world. The sin they now have is hatred of God.
- Hebrews 2:14 Christ destroys the devil through death.
- Genesis 3:14-15 Satan bruises the Messiah’s heel, so the devil harms Jesus in some way. An Achillies’ heel is a person’s only weakness. The only weakness of the Lord is His revulsion to evil.
- Deuteronomy 21:23 The curse on anyone who hangs from a tree is pointing to the supernatural suffering of Christ. Satan had no idea that Jesus was able to discern the evil spirits and their hatred. Jesus appeared to be a human responding to the physical pain. The physical pain was nothing to the Lord. The Lord suffered more than all of humanity combined because of the evil He was forced to confront to redeem us.
- Revelation 1:5 Christ witnessed the sin of Satan, and this is why He is called the faithful witness.
- Revelation 1:16-18 As a witness, Christ testifies against the devil. That testimony is figuratively a sword coming out of His mouth.
Why the devil let his guard down
- Mark 13:32 Jesus said only the Father knows the time of the end, but God the Father would not be keeping a secret from God the Son. Christians focus entirely on the end-time aspect of this statement which distracts them from what Jesus is saying. God the Father “knows” (is one with) all moments on the timeline. Only God the Father transcends time.
God the Father (outside of time) and God the Son (moving in time) would be a good explanation for the Trinity, but there is a third member of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit would have to exist in time like the Son of God. Another consciousness of God, the Holy Spirit exists at a different level of reality than the Son.
The Holy Spirit is in Heaven, while the Son of God is at a level of reality that transcends Heaven referred to as the Right Hand of God. This transcending level of Heaven has been kept secret from the inhabitants of Heaven. It had to be kept secret from humanity as well, which led to theological errors.
- Isaiah 49:1-2 The Messiah’s mouth is like a sword, and the Messiah has been kept hidden.
- Psalm 91:1 The Messiah is in a “secret place”.
Satan doesn’t know that Jesus is the Lord
The devil is in Heaven, but Jesus transcends Heaven. When Satan openly cursed God, he had no idea that Jesus is Lord. He still doesn’t know.
- Isaiah 27:1 In a passage where God slays a dragon, the context suggests that this takes place at the time of the end. This connection is made clear in the last few verses of Isaiah 26.
- Revelation 12:7-12 Satan is clearly cast out of Heaven at the time of the end.
- Luke 17:28-30 When it is revealed in Heaven that Jesus is the Lord, and He is at a transcending level of Heaven, then the devil will know he is doomed. A great disaster, like what happened to Sodom, will happen when the Son of man is revealed. The revelation of the Son of God in Heaven will cause the devil to be cast out of Heaven into the Earth.
