Few Christians will 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
- Genesis 6:1-2 The “sons” of God came to the Earth, but this passage doesn’t mention Satan.
- Genesis 3:4 God told Adam and Eve that they would die if they ate the forbidden fruit, 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. If the devil was questioning what God said, that would be foolish, but it wouldn’t be a lie.
- Job 41:3-4 Satan is before the throne of God, not in open rebellion, but speaking softly and seeking a covenant with God.
- Luke 10:18 Jesus stated that He saw Satan fall from Heaven, but this could have been a vision of a future event.
- John 12:31 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 liar. Jesus did not say that the devil was exposed as a liar. The Son of God came into the world to expose the devil.
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.
Satan secretly hates God
- 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, but at some point, his sin was or will be exposed.
- Job 41:1-2 God catches Satan with a “hook” meaning Satan does not openly rebel, but he is caught in a trap.
- Psalms 21:8 Christ exposes the devil’s hatred of God.
- 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. This caused the real suffering of Christ.
- 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 22:12-13 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.
Satan’s hatred of God is exposed
- John 15:22-25 There is someone who did not have sin before Christ came into the world. The sin that they now have is hatred of God.
- Hebrews 2:14 Christ destroys the devil through death.
- Genesis 3:15 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. Jesus appeared to be a human responding to the physical pain. The Lord suffered more than all of humanity combined because of the evil He was forced to confront.
- Revelation 1:5 Christ witnessed the sin of Satan, and this is why He is called the faithful witness.
- Revelation 1:16 As a witness, Christ testifies against the devil, and that testimony is figuratively a sword coming out of His mouth.
Why the devil let his guard down
- Mark 13:32 Jesus said that 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. 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 but would be a different consciousness of God if the Holy Spirit exists at a different level of reality.
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 even from the inhabitants of Heaven. This all had to be kept secret from humanity as well, which is why the Bible is so enigmatic.
- Isaiah 49:2 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 still 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.
- Revelation 12:12 Satan is clearly cast out of Heaven at the time of the end.
- Luke 17:29-30 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 Messiah in Heaven will cause the devil to be cast out of Heaven into the Earth.
