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Hopefully by now we have a better understanding
of God's divine
council. The gods of the ancient world were real spiritual beings with
supernatural powers. These gods are actually fallen divine beings called
"watchers" or "sons of God" in the Bible. These
watchers had rebelled against God's divine council in heaven and came to
earth in order to corrupt God's creation and deceive mankind into worshiping
them in place of God (Yahweh), who is "God of gods and Lord of lords" (Deut. 10:17).
How does this teaching on many gods square with texts such as:
"I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird
you, though you have not known Me; Isaiah 45:5 NASB
"I am Yahweh, and there is no other"-was an ancient biblical slogan of
incomparability of sovereignty, not exclusivity of existence. It was a way of
saying that a certain authority was the most powerful compared to all other
authorities. It did not mean that there were no other authorities that existed.
We see this same phrase in:
"Now, then, hear this, you sensual one, Who dwells securely, Who says in your
heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me. I will not sit as a widow, Nor
know loss of children.' Isaiah 47:8 NASB
Here the ruling power of Babylon is proudly claiming in her heart, "I am, and
there is no one beside me." The power of Babylon is not saying that there are no
other powers or cities that exist beside her, but that she was the ruling power.
Yahweh uses that phrase, "I am Yahweh, and there is no other," not to deny the
existence of other gods, but to express His absolute sovereignty over them.
Yahweh is "God of gods and Lord of lords" (Deut. 10:17).
Review
Where did we find the first use of satan in the Scriptures? It was in Numbers 22:22.
Who did the
word "satan" apply to? It was the angel of God who was called "satan."
So we saw that "satan" isn't a proper name in the Tanakh, but a function or
office with the primary meaning of, "adversary or "challenger." We also saw that
"satan" was used seven times referring to human adversaries. We saw in Job that
"ha satan" is used for one of the divine council members. So in Job "the satan"
does not appear to be the archenemy of God, but a heavenly court prosecutor.
There is really nothing evil in the author's portrayal of "the satan" in Job.
So what we learned last time was there are no passages in the Tanakh where the
word "satan" refers to Yahweh's divine archenemy, none! These verses that we
have looked at in the Tanakh blow away the assumption that the technical term "satan"
always applies to the same supernatural being, a single satan. As we have seen,
"satan" is attached to several different beings. Then we saw that there were
many gods in the Tanakh that were adversaries to God and His people.
So in the Tanakh we see that Satan is not God's archenemy, and as a matter of
fact, not an enemy at all. We also see that there are other gods who are satans;
they are adversaries to God. We also see these lesser gods fighting each
other. There is spiritual warfare going on in the Tanakh, but not to the extent
we see in the New Testament.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the
devil. Matthew 4:1 NASB
As soon as the New Testament starts we see "the devil" and "satan" as
adversaries of Jesus and God's people. Most of the New Testament references to
demon possession appear in the Gospels and represent the outburst of satanic
opposition to God's work in Christ. Demon possession seems to be something
that happened only during the time of Christ and the apostles for the purpose of
manifesting the power of Christ over the demonic world.
The New Testament shows a developing picture of Satan as an archenemy of God.
Extra-biblical works written prior to and contemporary with the New Testament
documents parallel this development. In the New Testament, the word "devil" is
used 32 times, Satan is used 33 times, Belial once (2 Cor 6:15), and Beelzebul
is used 7 times.
We see various titles used for Satan. He is classified as a dragon (Rev 20:2), a
serpent (Rev 12:9), the evil one (John 17:15; Eph 6:16) and a tempter (Matt 4:3;
1 Thess 3:5); and he prowls like a lion (1 Peter 5:8). According to Paul, he is
a ruler of the kingdom of the air-the leader of the demonic realm (Eph 2:2).
People in Paul's day believed spirits existed in the space located between
heaven and earth.
On several occasions Satan is called "Beelzebul":
"If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his
kingdom stand? "If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast
them out? For this reason they will be your judges. Matthew 12:26-27 NASB
"Beelzebul"-might mean "lord of the house" or "lord of the heights." Like the
phrase "kingdom of the air," Beelzebul probably means that Satan is perceived as
being in charge of the demons.
The Book of Jubilees portrays Satan not just as an evil force, but as the ruler
of a kingdom opposed to God (Sacchi, Jewish Apocalyptic, 224). The text portrays
Satan (called "Mastema") as the force behind the Egyptian sorcerers, and the
many rebellions against Moses in the wilderness (Jubilees 48).
So that's how the Egyptian sorcerers turned their staffs into serpents and
performed the other miracles. But you know who won that showdown, Yahweh the
"God of gods and Lord of lords":
"The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand on
Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst." Exodus 7:5 NASB
Because of the Exodus, not only did the Egyptians, but all who heard feared
Yahweh.
Now we have Satan and his demons in an all out war against
God and His people. Jesus pictures Satan as a heavily armed prince dwelling
with his demonic subjects in a fortified palace (Matt. 12:25-29). Satan, along
with his demons, exercises so much power over the nations that he is termed the
"ruler of this world":
"Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
John 12:31 NASB
Did Satan rule the whole world? No, the word "world" here is used of the Roman
Empire. This is the world that he offered to Jesus if he would worship him.
Remember what we saw in Daniel,
Then he said, "Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to
fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince
of Greece is about to come. Daniel 10:20 NASB
Here we see these divine "host of heaven" allotted with authority over pagan
nations as spiritual "princes" or rulers battling with the archangels
Gabriel and Michael. Some Second Temple non-canonical Jewish texts illustrate an
ancient tradition of understanding this interpretation of the gods of the
nations as real spirit beings that rule over those nations.
(There are) many nations and many people, and they all belong to him, but over
all of them he caused spirits to rule so that they might lead them astray from
following him. But over Israel he did not cause any angel or spirit to rule
because he alone is their ruler and he will protect them. Jubilees 15: 31-32
So if Persia and Greece had a prince or watcher behind them that Michael was
fighting with, do you think that maybe Rome had a Watcher over it also? Who do
we see Michael fighting with in Revelation 12?:
And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon.
The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there
was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown
down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the
whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down
with him. Revelation 12:7-9 NASB
Where is this war taking place? Heaven. "The dragon is often
interpreted to be Satan, but here again the passage is symbolic and should not
be interpreted literally. The preferred view is that the battle represents
Christ's earthly ministry and that of His disciples. Michael (Heb. - Who is like
the LORD?) is Christ; His angels are the disciples and messengers of the gospel.
The dragon hearkens back to the serpent in the garden and is a personification
of sin and death; the dragon's angels are those who oppose the gospel."
So Michael is battling with a personification of sin and death. Angels are the
disciples? What are angels in this passage in Luke?.
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among
men with whom He is pleased." When the angels had gone away from them into
heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to
Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made
known to us." Luke 2:13-15 NASB
In Revelation the angels are in heaven, and in Luke the angels are also in
heaven and they are not disciples; they are spirit beings.
In Revelation Michael is depicted as warring on behalf of Israel (12:7) and is
called, "Israel's protector" in Daniel 12:1. Michael, is the patron angel of
Israel. So "Israel's protector" is fighting Rome's prince, Satan. It seems as
though Satan has moved from adversary in the Divine Council to the spiritual
power behind Rome. Most scholars of Revelation teach that the Beast represents
Rome and the Dragon that gives power to the Beast is Satan.
It seems as if this watcher, now known as Satan, has turned against God and
is ruling over Rome and trying to destroy God and God's people. Look at what
Paul says.
Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of
this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God's
wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to
our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for
if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 1
Corinthians 2:6-8 NASB
Are these human rulers, or spirit beings? The word "rulers" is from the Greek
archon, which is used of human rulers and spirit beings.
But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the
demons." Luke 11:15 NASB
Here "Beelzebul" is called the "ruler of the demons." And notice in Corinthians
that they are called, "the rulers of this age." That's interesting since Satan
is called:
in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so
that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is
the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 NASB
In the Greek, "of this age" is identical in both texts. So the evil spirits knew
Jesus had come to earth, they did not know God's plan. Had they known, Paul
writes, they would not have crucified the Lord.
According to Daniel, Jesus, the stone cut without hands, was to crush the Roman
Empire:
"In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will
never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it
will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure
forever. "Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without
hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the
gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the
future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy." Daniel
2:44-45 NASB
This happened in AD 70, and had the rulers known, they would not have crucified
the Lord of glory.
When Christ was on earth it was clear to the demons that their end was near.
saying, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You
come to destroy us? I know who You are-the Holy One of God!" Mark 1:24 (NASB)
This demon understood that Jesus had come to destroy them. Where do demons come
from? Nothing is said in the Bible about their origin, but there is quite a bit
of information on their destruction.
And when He had come to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two
men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs; they
were so exceedingly violent that no one could pass by that road. 29 And behold,
they cried out, saying, "What do we have to do with You, Son of God? Have You
come here to torment us before the time?" Matthew 8:28-29 NASB
The demons understood the mission of Jesus-to destroy them. Notice the final
words in this verse-"the time"-presumably the time of judgment at the
consummation of the ages. This judgment has been predicted long ago.
Just as Psalm 82 speaks of the eventual fate of these heavenly princes.
I said, "You are gods, And all of you are sons of the Most High. "Nevertheless
you will die like men And fall like any one of the princes." Psalms 82:6-7 NASB
The prophet Isaiah tells of their coming punishment in a couple of passages.
And all the host of heaven will wear away, And the sky will be rolled up like a
scroll; All their hosts will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine,
Or as one withers from the fig tree. For My sword is satiated in heaven, Behold
it shall descend for judgment upon Edom And upon the people whom I have devoted
to destruction. Isaiah 34:4-5 NASB
Like the "host" of the nations that come against the Messiah will be slain, the
"host of heaven" who rules these earthly nations will also be defeated. The
sword wielded by the Messiah, will "drink its fill in the heavens" as well as on
the earth.
We are told in Isaiah 34:4 that "the host of heaven will wear away" (Hebrew:
maqaq, literally: "waste away," "decay"). In Zechariah 14:12, the same Hebrew
root word maqaq is used to describe the fate of those who come against Jerusalem
at the end of the age. There is a similarity between Isaiah 34:4 and 2 Peter
3:10-12 that deserves some attention. Peter speaks of an end-time fire in the
heavens, which will melt and dissolve the elements:
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass
away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the
earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be
destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and
godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of
which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with
intense heat! 2 Peter 3:10-12 NASB
Obviously, the "elements" "stoicheion" is not about atoms or
destruction of the universe.
The Greek word stoicheion, translated: "elements" in 2 Peter 3, is understood by
many scholars to refer to "heavenly spirits." This understanding can be seen in
several passages written by the Apostle Paul. But let's look first at a text
that doesn't use it this way:
So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental
things of the world. Galatians 4:3 NASB
Galatians is focused on the problem of Jewish converts wanting to require
Gentile believers to obey the Law. In Galatians 4, Paul speaks to both Jews and
Gentiles, so he could be using the term in different ways with each audience.
Galatians 4:1-7 likely addresses Jewish converts ("those who were under the Law"
v5); stoicheion in verse 3, therefore, most likely refers to the elements of the
Law. The use of "stoicheion" in Hebrews 5:12 seems to also refer to principles
of the Jewish Law. But the Gentiles were not under The Law and did not know the
true God. Therefore, Galatians 4:8-11 could be seen as addressing Gentile
converts:
But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it
that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which
you desire to be enslaved all over again? Galatians 4:9 NASB
The Gentiles weren't enslaved to The Law, so what were they enslaved to? In the
context of Galatians 4:9-11, stoicheion could be interpreted as: "heavenly
spirits," or "astral deities."
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit,
according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world,
and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8 ESV
So here it is "stoicheion of the kosmos." Elements of religious training doesn't
seem to fit here.
Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels,
going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,
and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit
together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you
were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations-Colossians 2:18-20 ESV
Here in context "stoicheion of the kosmos" would best fit with heavenly spirits.
The Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible states,
"Given the predeliction of many people in the Greco-Roman world for astral
religious beliefs and practices, it could also be argued that the elements are
planetary or other celestial bodies; or that the elements refer to spiritual
beings: such as angels or demons who control earthly affairs and determine human
destiny." (Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible; [2nd extensively rev.
ed., p. 817]. Leiden; Boston; Koln; Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge: Brill; Eerdmans.)
A number of interpreters, perhaps even a majority, have concluded that "ta
stoicheia tou kosmou" refers to spiritual powers of some sort. The Testament of
Solomon, a Jewish-Christian work, testifies to a belief in star spirits called
stoicheia. Seven bound spirits appear before Solomon and reveal their identity:
"We are the stoicheia, rulers of this world of darkness [kosmokratores tou
skotous] . . . our stars in heaven look small, but we are named like gods" (T.
Sol. 8:2-4). Does the word kosmokrator ring a bell?:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual
forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 NASB
"World forces" comes from the Greek kosmokrator, which, according to Strongs
Concordance means: "a world ruler, an epithet of Satan." Thayer's says it means:
"Lord of the world, prince of this age, the devil and his demons." This is its
only use in the New Testament, but it is used in Testament of Solomon of
spiritual beings.
If we understand the usage of stoicheion by Peter to be the same as Paul's usage
in the Scriptures cited above, we can see that Peter was simply reemphasizing
what the prophet Isaiah had said about the fate of the spiritual powers aligned
against God. Isaiah stated the "host of heaven" would be dissolved; Peter
said that these same "elemental spirits" would be dissolved by fire.
The "host of heaven" are the same spiritual "principalities," "powers," and
"rulers" Paul speaks of in Ephesians 6:12. These heavenly "powers" are mentioned
many times in the New Testament:
"But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED,
AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and
the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matthew 24:29 NASB
We know that this is speaking of AD 70 and the destruction of Jerusalem:
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor
any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which
is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 NASB
who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and
authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. 1 Peter 3:22 NASB
In Hebrews 2:5, the author indirectly establishes the rulership of their world
by powerful angelic beings:
For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are
speaking. Hebrews 2:5 NASB
By saying that God will not subject the "world to come" to the rule of angels,
the author implies that their current world was being ruled by spirit entities.
But that world ended in AD 70, and we now live in the "age to come." Satan and
his demons have been defeated:
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord
Jesus be with you. Romans 16:20 NASB
Satan, the Roman heavenly spirit ruler, was destroyed, the battle is over.
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day
and night forever and ever. Revelation 20:10 NASB
The battle is over, Christ is victorious. Those gods who rebelled against God (Yahweh)
have been judged.
Adapted in part from David B. Curtis