Satan and the other fallen angels, also known as demons or unclean spirits, are mentioned frequently in the Bible. There are many popular ideas about these evil spirits. Some think that Satan and his demons are not real, but are rather personifications of the wickedness that abides in the world. Others admit the existence of these evil spirits, but presume that they are confined in the fiery pits of an everburning hell. Still others believe that these unclean beings are free and actively promoting sinfulness in our world today. What is the truth? What does the Bible tell us about these evil angels?
God's Word clearly teaches the reality of Satan and the demons. They are presented as evil entities who affect humanity by their actions. Details about them are available in the Bible, but the facts are distributed throughout the text in such a way that one has to diligently search and study to gain a rudimentary understanding of their status and goals. In this article we will piece together what the Bible has to say about Satan and the demons, drawing conclusions from the available scriptural data.
Most of the confusion about Satan and the fallen angels comes from an incomplete understanding of what the Bible reveals. Looking at the biblical texts, we see what initially appears to be a contradiction. During his ministry, Christ frequently encountered these unclean spirits. In the Gospels, he is shown casting them out of several people. Yet the Scriptures also speak of demons being in prison, bound by "age-lasting" chains in darkness, waiting for Judgment Day. We will examine and reconcile this apparent discrepancy.
First, let's examine what the Bible reveals about the origin of Satan and the demons.
EZEKIEL 28:12 "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. 13 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 with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. 16 By the abundance of your trading [rekullatek] you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. 17 Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor . . ." (NKJV)
REVELATION 12:3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. . . . (NKJV)
LUKE 10:17 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." 18 And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." (NKJV)
From the preceding Scriptures, we can learn several things about Satan and the fallen angels. In the beginning, this "anointed cherub" was created as a wise, beautiful, and powerful angel. He apparently was one of the two cherubs who cover the mercy seat (God's throne) with their wings (see Heb. 8:5; 9:5, 23-24; Exo. 25:20; 37:9; I Kin. 6:19-28; 8:6-7; I Chr. 28:18; II Chr.3:10-13; 5:7-8). However, because of pride in his beauty, this cherub's wisdom was corrupted.
Satan is symbolically called the "king of Tyre" (Eze. 28:12). The coastal city-state of Tyre was one of the world's greatest traders during Israel's monarch period. Isaiah calls Tyre "the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth" (Isa. 23:8).
Although the Scriptures don't define the trade Satan was engaged in, it clearly tells us that because of the abundance of his trade, he sinned. Possibly Satan implemented a system of competition rather than cooperation, which eventually filled him with violence, causing his iniquity.
The word rendered "trading" in the NKJV translation of Ezekiel 28:16 is a form of the Hebrew noun rekulla, which means "traffic" or "merchandise." This particular form of rekulla is only found five times, all in Ezekiel (Eze. 26:12; 27:20, 23; 28:16, 18).
However, rekulla is derived from the root word rakal. It's relevant to note that a closely-related derivative, rakil, means "slanderer." It's used in this context six times (Lev. 19:16; Jer. 6:28; 9:4; Eze. 22:9; Pro. 11:13; 20:19). The account of Satan in Ezekiel 28 could well involve aspects of both these meanings. In the New Testament, this fallen angel is often called the "devil," or the diabolos in the Greek (Matt. 4:1, 5, 8, 11; 13:39; 25:41; Luke 4:2, 3, 6, 13; 8:12; John 8:44; 13:2; Acts 10:38; 13:10; Eph. 4:27; 6:11; I Tim. 3:6, 7; II Tim. 2:26; Heb. 2:14; Jam. 4:27; I Pet. 5:8; I John 3:8, 10; Jude 9; Rev. 2:10; 12:9, 12; 20:2, 10). Not coincidentally, the literal meaning of diabolos and its variations is "slanderer."
It's possible that through his "slander" and "gossip," Satan turned one-third of the angelic host against God. We know that Satan tried this approach in the Garden of Eden, when he misrepresented God's motives to Eve (Gen. 3:1-5). The angelic forces loyal to God eventually had to cast this "anointed cherub," along with his allies, out of heaven. From that point forward he became known in Hebrew as Ha-Satan, or "the Adversary."
Contrary to popular opinion, the Bible reveals that Satan and some of his demons were not confined to hell after their initial expulsion from heaven. Indeed, the Old Testament shows that, before the first coming of Yeshua the Messiah, Satan and the demons continued to have access to the very throne of God.
JOB 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. (NKJV)
JOB 2:1 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. (NKJV)
ZECHARIAH 3:1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. (NASB)
The devil's primary role, as shown above in Zechariah 3:1, was the accuser of God's people. However, when Christ triumphantly returned to heaven after his crucifixion and resurrection (Rev. 12:5), Satan and his demons were once again cast out, as the ensuing passage from Revelation tells us.
REVELATION 12:7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world -- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. (RSV)
Some have incorrectly believed that this passage refers to Satan's initial expulsion from heaven. Yet the time sequence established in Revelation 12 clearly indicates that this ejection from heaven is after the first coming of Christ and before his second coming at the end of this age.
Yeshua, just before his crucifixion, stated that his triumph on the cross would allow for Satan to be cast out of heaven.
JOHN 12:31 "Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; 32 and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." 33 He said this to show by what death he was to die. (RSV)
Christ told his disciples that when he had gone back into heaven after his resurrection, the Father would send His Holy Spirit to teach them all things and bring them into remembrance of all the things that he had said to them (John 14:26). But in addition, he warned them of the coming of Satan to the earth after his departure.
JOHN 14:30 "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me." (NKJV)
The Bible shows that God uses the fallen angels to accomplish certain tasks which fulfill His plan.
I KINGS 22:19 Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. 20 And the LORD said, 'Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?' So one [spirit] spoke in this manner, and another [spirit] spoke in that manner. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, 'I will persuade him.' 22 The LORD said to him, 'In what way?' So he said, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And the LORD said, 'You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.' 23 Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you." (NKJV)
This same incident is also recorded in II Chronicles 18:18-22. The story of Saul recorded in II Samuel reveals another instance where God used an evil spirit to do His will.
I SAMUEL 16:14 Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. 15 And Saul's servants said to him, "Behold now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is skilful in playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well. . . ." 23 And whenever the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand; so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. (RSV)
I SAMUEL 18:10 And on the morrow an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand; 11 and Saul cast the spear, for he thought, "I will pin David to the wall." But David evaded him twice. 12 Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul. (RSV)
I SAMUEL 19:9 Then an evil spirit from the LORD came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand; and David was playing the lyre. 10 And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear; but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled, and escaped. (RSV)
The New Testament clearly records several instances where evil spirits possessed and took up residence within human beings. Below are a few of the examples available from the Scriptures.
MARK 7:25 But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, "Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." 28 But she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children's crumbs." 29 And He said to her, "Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter." 30 And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left. (NASB)
LUKE 9:38 Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child. 39 "And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him. 40 So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not." 41 Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here." 42 And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father. (NKJV)
ACTS 19:11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" 16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (NKJV)
One of the activities of evil spirits mentioned in the Bible is that of "familiar" or "divining" spirits. These demons appear to have the ability to rouse the dead from their ordained sleep. They also seem to be able to foretell the future, to some extent. The first mention we see of these spirits in the Scriptures is a warning from God to avoid consorting with them or the mediums that contact them.
LEVITICUS 19:31 "Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God." (NKJV)
LEVITICUS 20: 6 "And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people." (NKJV)
LEVITICUS 20:27 "A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them." (NKJV)
DEUTERONOMY 18:10 There shall not be found in thee one who purges his son or his daughter with fire, one who uses divination, who deals with omens, and augury, 11 a sorcerer employing incantation, one who has in him a divining spirit, an observer of signs, questioning the dead. (Brenton's LXX)
I SAMUEL 28:7 Then Saul said to his servants, Seek for me a woman who has in her a divining spirit, and I will go to her, and enquire of her: and his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman who has in her a divining spirit at Aendor. 8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he goes, and two men with him, and they come to the woman by night; and he said to her, Divine to me, I pray thee, by the divining spirit within thee, and bring up to me him whom I shall name to thee. 9 And the woman said to him, Behold now, thou knowest what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who had in them divining spirits, and the wizards from the land, and why dost thou spread a snare for my life to destroy it? (Brenton's LXX)
ACTS 16:16 It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, "These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation." 18 She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out at that very moment. (NASB)
As all the Scriptures above show, some demons are obviously free to propagate evil in the world. However, there are Scriptures which indicate that a portion of the evil angels are currently restrained in a type of spiritual prison.
JUDE 6 And the angels who did not keep their own position, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains in deepest darkness for the judgment of the great Day. (NRSV)
II PETER 2:4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; (NKJV)
I PETER 3:19 . . . He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. (NKJV)
Clearly, the Bible teaches that there are at least two different groups of fallen angels; those who can move around freely and those who are currently locked up in "chains of darkness." For detailed information on why these angels are imprisoned, refer to "Genesis 6 - Who Were 'The Sons Of God'?."
In his Gospel, Luke records an incident between Christ and some demons who had possessed a man which gives us an insight into this issue.
LUKE 8:26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!" 29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. 30 Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?" And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss [abusson]. 32 Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. 33 Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. (NKJV)
As the Scripture above shows, the demons who inhabited this man were terrified of being banished by Christ into "the Abyss." What is this Abyss? The Jewish New Testament Commentary says of this place mentioned in Luke 8:31:
The bottomless pit, Greek abussos, 'abyss,' found also at Ro 10:7; Rv 9:1-2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3. The word is used in the Septuagint to translate Hebrew tehom, as in Genesis 1:2, 'Darkness was over the abyss.' At a later period in Judaism 'tehom' referred to the place where renegade spirits were confined" (p. 119).
Regarding the Abyss, The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary says:
In classical Greek ábyssos was an adjective meaning 'bottomless,' applied to the primeval deep of ancient cosmogonies, an ocean surrounding and under the earth. In the LXX it translates Heb. tehôm meaning the primal waters of Genesis 1:2, once the world of the dead (Ps. 71:20). In later Judaism it means also the interior depths of the earth, and the prison of evil spirits. . . . In Luke 8:31 the demons fear the primal prison deep more than the known depth of the Lake of Galilee. In Revelation the horror of infinite deeps is intensified ("Abyss," p. 8).
In the end-time prophecy recorded by John in the book of Revelation, the Abyss plays a large part in the events leading up to the return of the Messiah. During the period of the "seven trumpets," which mark the pouring out of God's wrath on an unrepentant mankind, the Abyss is opened at the sounding of the fifth trumpet.
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 [abussou]. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit [abussou], and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them. 7 The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like women's hair, and their teeth were like lions' teeth. 9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. 10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. (NKJV)
The unlocking of the Abyss releases a horde of depraved demons upon mankind. God uses them as an instrument of His wrath for five months; they are allowed to torment those on the earth who don't have God's seal on their foreheads (Rev. 7:2-8).
In his commentary on Revelation 9:1, 3, Daniel H. Stern writes:
1 The star is not Satan (despite Isaiah 14:12, Lk 10:17), but an angel, who still has the key at 20:1. The Abyss is not Sh'ol (as at Ro 10:7), but a place where demonic beings are imprisoned (vv. 2-11, 11:7, 17:8, 20:2-3). In the Apocrypha, God is called, "You who close and seal the Abyss with your fearful and glorious name" (Prayer of Manasseh 3). . . .
3 Demonic monsters are released which fly like locusts (Exodus 10:12-20; Joel 1:4, 2:4-14) and sting like scorpions (Ezekiel 2:6, Lk 11:12) (Jewish New Testament Commentary, pp. 815, 816).
In Revelation 9:11, a mysterious character is introduced into the story. He is released from the Abyss along with the multitude of demons, and is identified as their king or ruler.
REVELATION 9:11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit [abussou], whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. (NKJV)
This Abaddon (which is Hebrew for "destroyer") is the demonic ruler of the Abyss. Abaddon is the highest ranking evil angel now confined in the Abyss. Although not specifically mentioned by these names anywhere else in the Bible, Abaddon plays a major role in the events at the end of this current age. For additional information on the identity of this powerful demon and his activities in the end-time, see my articles "Who Is The 'Destroyer'?" and "The Goat For Azazel."
After the release of the demons from the Abyss, another group of evil spirits is released onto the earth.
REVELATION 9:13 Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed -- by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. 19 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. 20 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 . . . (NKJV)
In this passage of Scripture, we see that to further punish those who will not obey Him, God authorizes the release of four powerful demons who have been held for just this occasion. Their mission is the destruction of 1/3 of mankind. To accomplish this feat, they are given an army of 200 million evil spirits. Just as Christ and his angelic army later ride white horses (Rev. 19:11, 14), these demons also ride "horses." Fire, smoke, and brimstone issue from the mouths of their horses, and with these plagues possibly a billion and a half people are killed.
Both Abaddon, the evil spirit currently ruling over the Abyss, and the four angels now "bound at the great river Euphrates" appear to be high-ranking and powerful demons. Many biblical passages allude to the fact that both good and evil angels have different levels of authority.
DEUTERONOMY 32:8 When the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God. 9 And his people Jacob became the portion of the Lord, Israel was the line of his inheritance. (Brenton's LXX)
The passage of Scripture shown above is from the third-century B.C. Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint. When God divided the nations at the tower of Babel, he apportioned rulership of the world among the angels, reserving only Israel for Himself. He gave the angels varying levels of authority over the nations of mankind.
In the Masoretic Text (the official Jewish version) of the Old Testament, verse 8 reads "the children of Israel" instead of "the sons (or angels) of God." However, this statement makes little sense in the context of Moses' statement. A copy of the book of Deuteronomy found among the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran verifies the Septuagint rendering of this verse, indicating that the official Jewish version was altered at a later date.
The book of Daniel gives us further verification of this angelic authority over humanity.
DANIEL 10:5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude. . . . 12 Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one [or "first"] of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. (NKJV)
The passage above gives us a fascinating inside glimpse into the order and activities of the spiritual realm. The angel that visited Daniel was sent to give him an understanding of what would happen to his people (the Jews) in "the latter days." However, this angel was delayed for 21 days because "the prince of the kingdom of Persia" stood against him. Here we see a three-week spiritual battle described by one of the participants, a holy angel! Indeed, if Michael, who is described in Dan. 12:1 as "the great prince who has charge of your people," had not helped in this fight, Daniel's messenger might not have been able to deliver his information.
DANIEL 10:20 Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Now I must return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I am through with him, the prince of Greece will come. 21 But I am to tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth. There is no one with me who contends against these princes except Michael, your prince." (NRSV)
After conveying his message to Daniel, the angel states that he must return once again to do battle with "the prince of Persia." But he says that he will also have to combat "the prince of Greece" after he has finished with "the Prince of Persia." The picture derived from this brief account is one of continual spiritual warfare between the different factions of spiritual beings who have been given dominion over the nations of this world. For additional information on Michael, the spiritual prince over Israel, refer to my article "Christ in the Old Testament."
The apostle Paul takes this idea one step further by showing that mortal Christians are also involved in this spiritual warfare.
EPHESIANS 6:12 For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers [kosmokratoras] of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (RSV)
Friberg's Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament (Friberg) defines the word kosmokratoras as "one holding power over the world; plural in the NT for devilish forces, spirit-beings who control parts of the world system, world rulers (EP 6.12)." Paul here clearly states that the fallen angels hold sway over the world! Paul goes on to describe the "whole armor of God" that is needed to defeat these wicked angels in the heavens and spiritual world rulers.
The author of Hebrews indirectly establishes the current rulership of our world by angels in Hebrews 2:5.
HEBREWS 2:5 He [God] did not appoint angels to be rulers of the world to come, and that world is what we are talking about. (Jerusalem Bible)
By saying that God has not appointed angels to rule the coming world, the author implies that the current world is being ruled by angels. Indeed, the Bible clearly teaches that Satan (called the "king of Tyre" in Scripture) is the supreme ruler and "god" of this present world.
II CORINTHIANS 4:4 In their case the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God. (RSV)
MATTHEW 4:8 Again, the devil took him [Christ] to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; 9 and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." (RSV)
JOHN 14:30 "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world [Satan] is coming. He has no power over me; 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. . . ." (RSV)
JOHN 16:11 "Concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged." (RSV)
JOHN 12:31 "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out." (NKJV)
What is the destiny of Satan and the demons? What do the Scriptures say will be their ultimate fate? Revelation 19 describes the battle between the forces of the Antichrist and Yeshua at the end of this age. After the defeat and destruction of "the beast" and "the false prophet," the Bible reveals that Satan himself will be captured and imprisoned for a thousand years.
REVELATION 20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit [abussou] and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit [abusson], and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. (NKJV)
ISAIAH 24:21 So it will happen in that day, that the LORD will punish the host of heaven on high, and the kings of the earth on earth. 22 They will be gathered together like prisoners in the dungeon, and will be confined in prison; and after many days they will be punished. (NASB)
REVELATION 20:7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be loosed from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, that is, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city; but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (RSV)
Satan's final rebellion against God will be thwarted, and God will finally deal with the devil. The tenth verse of Revelation 20 describes how God handles Satan. Just what does this verse tell us about the fate of the Adversary?
The first part of the answer lies in the Greek word basanisthesontai, translated "tormented" here. Understanding the true meaning of basanisthesontai, which comes from the verb basanizo and the noun basanos, is one of the major keys to accurately interpreting Revelation 20:10.
According to Friberg, basanisthesontai means "strictly, rub upon the touchstone ([basanos]), a Lydian stone used to test the genuineness of metals; hence, test or make proof of anything . . ."
The history found in the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament of how the meaning of these words evolved over time is very helpful in correctly understanding this verse:
. . . The testing of gold and silver as media of exchange by the proving stone, was first developed by the Babylonians, then came to the Aramaeans and Hebrews by way of Lydia . . . and from them to the Gks. In non-biblical Gk. [basanos] is a commercial expression, or is used in relation to government. It then acquires the meaning of the checking of calculations, which develops naturally out of the basic sense of [basanos, basanizein] . . . In the spiritual sphere it has the figur[ative] sense, which is closely related to the original concrete meaning, of a means of testing . . .
The word then undergoes a change in meaning. The original sense fades into the background. [Basanos] now comes to denote "torture" or "the rack," espec[ially] used with slaves . . . [Basanos] occurs in the sense of "torment" . . .
The change in meaning is best explained if we begin with the object of treatment. If we put men instead of metal or a coin, the stone of testing become[s] torture or the rack. The metal which has survived the testing stone is subjected to harsher treatment. Man is in the same position when severely tested by torture. In the testing of metal an essential role was played by the thought of testing and proving genuineness. The rack is a means of showing the true state of affairs. In its proper sense it is a means of testing and proving, though also of punishment. Finally, even this special meaning was weakened and only the general element of torture remained (vol. I, pp. 561, 562, emphasis mine).
The meaning of Revelation 20:10 is that Satan (and implicitly, all those who haven't submitted to God by the end of the Millennium) will be cast into the lake of fire. There Satan and the wicked will be punished for their rebellion. In addition to punishing, the lake of fire will also test, prove, and refine those in it. This process is not eternal, however.
To verify this, let's look closely at the final phrase "forever and ever." Friberg says that this phrase, translated from the Greek eis tous aionas ton aionon, literally means "into the ages of the ages." The Greek nouns aionas and aionon are plural forms of the Greek aion, which simply means an "eon" or "age." This word refers to an indefinite period of time; however, it does not convey the idea of eternity.
This Greek phrase is used numerous times in the Scriptures (see Gal. 1:5; Phi. 4:20; I Tim. 1:17; II Tim. 4:18; Heb. 13:21; I Pet. 4:11; Rev. 1:6, 18; 4:9, 10; 5:13, 14; 7:12; 10:6; 11:15; 15:7; 19:3; 22:5). Most people assume that this phrase means "eternity"; however, some scholars realize that this connotation was not present in the original "Koine" Greek of the New Testament. In his work on the original meanings of aion and aionios, Louis Abbott writes:
The Greek phrase eis tous aionas ton aionon, "for the eons of the eons," occurs about twenty times in the Greek New Testament in this combination. The ASV margin and some other versions, lexicons, dictionaries, and commentaries translate the phrase correctly.
Windet, in De Vita Functora Statu, of 1633 says (p. 170), "eis tous aionas ton aionon, of the New Testament meant a finite period."
At 1 Cor. 15:25, where the Greek text shows, dei gar auton basileuein achri hou the pantas tous echthrous hupo tous podas autou, "For He must be reigning until He should be placing all His enemies under His feet." This clearly states that Christ's reigning is limited. There is no Scripture to contradict the statement when aion and aionios are correctly translated.
Dr. William Barclay concurs in his commentary (p. 166-169) on The Letters to the Corinthians. If the Greek words eis tous aionas ton aionon mean endless time, as translated in the KJV, "forever and ever," we have a contradiction in Scripture, for Rev. 11:15 says, in the same version: "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever." That contradicts 1 Cor. 15:25, which says: "He must be reigning till . . ." If Rev. 11:15 is translated "eons of the eons," or "ages of the ages," there is no contradiction. The ASV says (1 Cor. 15:24-25), "Then cometh the end, when He shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; When He shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He hath put all His enemies under His feet;" consequently, the reigning of Christ Jesus and the saints (Rev. 22:5) will be "for the eons of the eons" or "for the ages of the ages" (An Analytical Study of Words, ch. 5).
A correct understanding of "into the ages of the ages" shows that Satan, as well as those who worship the "beast" (Rev. 14:11) will be refined in the lake of fire for an indeterminate, probably lengthy, but still finite, amount of time. The use of the phrase "day and night" in Revelation 20:10 also bears this out, since time ceases to exist in eternity.
One final point. Some believe that God created Satan to be evil and to fulfill a specific purpose here on the earth as the adversary and tempter of mankind. Those who teach this doctrine primarily cite two Scriptures in support of their position: Isaiah 45:7 and John 8:44. First, we'll examine Isaiah 45:7.
ISAIAH 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil [ra']: I the LORD do all these things. (KJV)
On the surface, this verse appears to give a scriptural basis for the belief that God created Satan with an inherently evil nature. However, when we research this passage, a different picture emerges.
The KJV does imply that God was the creator of evil. However, this same version also renders the Hebrew word ra' (translated "evil" in this passage) as "adversity" and "affliction" elsewhere.
If we look at this verse more closely, we can see what YHVH is saying through Isaiah. God is obviously differentiating between two opposites with the first pair of things He mentions ("light" and "dark"). To stay consistent, the second pair of things God lists ("peace," shalom in Hebrew, and "evil") must also be opposites. Yet we know the opposite of evil is good. However, "adversity," another valid translation of ra', is the opposite of shalom, which can mean "prosperity," "safety," and "contentment" in addition to "peace."
Many modern versions translate this phrase more accurately than the KJV, as the following examples show: "I make peace and create calamity" (NKJV); "I make weal and create woe" (RSV); "I make good fortune and create calamity" (Jerusalem Bible); "author alike of prosperity and trouble" (NEB). Understood correctly, one cannot use this verse to "prove" that God created Satan to be the evil enemy of mankind.
Now let's examine John 8:44 to see if it substantiates this doctrine.
JOHN 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." (NKJV)
The key point here is the meaning of "the beginning." There are many possible beginnings. If "the beginning" refers to the origination of Satan's existence, then it is evident that God must have created him evil. But if "the beginning" is not referring to Satan's creation, but another "beginning," then God could have made him perfect initially, just as Ezekiel 28:15 tells us. I believe "the beginning" Christ mentions here is the beginning of humanity, when God inaugurated His divine plan for mankind at creation week (Gen. 1:3-2:3). The Scriptures show an evil Satan appearing shortly after creation in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3).
Simple logic and belief in God's perfect nature should show us that Satan was not originally created evil. If God had created Satan to be the evil tempter and adversary of mankind, then He could not equitably punish Satan in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10) for the things he has done to humanity. To do so would be patently unfair, and God's Word tells us that He is just and fair (Psa. 7:11; Isa. 45:21; Rev. 15:3). So, contrary to this humanly-devised doctrine, we can be assured that the Scriptures do not teach that Satan was originally created by God as the evil adversary of humanity.
The Bible gives quite a bit of information about Satan and the fallen angels. To understand the truth, all that information has to be assimilated. Satan is the currently the "god" of this world; as such, he is the highest ranking evil spirit. Other demons under Satan have authority over the various nations of the earth. Spiritual conflict is unseen but ongoing, with the loyal angels sometimes battling the fallen angels to fulfill God's will. The demons will be unleashed on the earth during the end of this age, when God's wrath is vented on a sinning and unrepentant humanity. In the end, however, Christ will return and subjugate all who won't submit to God's authority, including Satan and the fallen host. Their punishment will be age-lasting destruction and refinement within the lake of fire.
Bryan T. Huie
Updated: September 28, 1998
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