Lesson 04

The Doctrine of Angels Lesson #4 Prof. Ken L. Sarles

EXISTENCE, ORIGIN, FALL OF SATAN

1A. Introduction to Satanology

1B. objections to the Study of Satanology

1C. Objections to Dualism

1D. If Satan is real then ultimate reality is dualistic

2D. Evil is elevated to a level of equality with good

3D. But the biblical view is not dualistic. Satan is evil but he is under the control of God.

1D. Some evolutionists define evil as the "vestiges" of man's lower nature

2D. Neo‑Orthodoxy does emphasize the reality of evil, but deemphasizes the reality of a personal devil

2B. Need for the Study of Satanology

1C. You must know your enemy in order to defeat him

2C. Being uninformed or misinformed about Satan is to his advantage

2A. The Existence of Satan

1B. Demonstrated in the Old Testament

1C. Gen. 3 – The serpent in the garden.

2C. Job 1 – Satan tempts Job.

2B. Demonstrated in the New Testament 19/27 N>T> books mention Satan, of the 8 that do not mention him by name, 4 imply his existence by references to demons

1C. Luke 4

2C. Eph. 6

3C. II Peter 5

4C. Rev. 20

3B. Explained Constitutionally

1C. He is a Created Being, Ezek. 28:15

2C. He is a Personal Being

1D. Pronouns Used, Ezek. 28, 11 Cor. 11, Jas. 4

2D. Traits Described

1E. Intellect

1F. II Cor. 11:3 scheming to deceive

2F. Lk. 4:1‑12, speaking to Christ

2E. Emotion, Is. 14, desire to oppose God

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3E. Will

1F. Job 1, permitted to afflict Job

2F. Rev. 20, rebelling against God

3C. He is a Spiritual Being

THEREFORE: Since he is a spiritual being, he is 1) super-human, yet sub-divine 2) immortal

3A. The origin of Satan

1B. The Interpretation of Ezekiel 28

1C. Single Addressee View: King of Tyre Only

1D. Position% 28:2 "You are a man and not God

1E. The passage is historically conditioned, addressed to an historical person

2E. Prophetic Scripture always locks to the future, never to the past

2D. Refutation:

1E. 28:2, the "king of Tyre" is Satan, whereas the "prince of Tyre" was an actual king of Tyre

2E. The passage is both historically conditioned and Prophetic

3E. To say that Prophetic Scripture always looks to the future is begging the question: Evidence suggests that Is. 14 and Rev. 12 look backward but this * Position says they do not, therefore there are not any other Scriptures that look backward

2C. Double Addressee View: Both King of Tyre and Satan

1D. Position:

1E. 28:1‑10 is addressed to the king of Tyre, 28:11‑19 is

addressed to Satan

2E. Different terms for "prince" (nagid) and "king

(melek)

3E. Different natures, "man" (28:2), "cherub (28:14)

4E. Superlatives used, 28:12

SE. Location, Garden of Eden, mountain of God, 28:13, 14

2D. Refutation:

1E. Difference between "prince" and "king" is not that great, could be addressed to the ruler when he was a prince, then a king

2E. Satan is never mentioned in the text

3E. Superlatives all hyperbolic, describing the being the

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way he would describe himself

4E. Location is figurative for his pride

3D. Rebuttal%

1E. A literal hermeneutic would require the superlatives to stand, especially "cherub" which is never used of a man, and the precise location of the Garden of Eden

2E. Satan does not have to be mentioned to be discussed

3E. This parallels typological fulfillment in the Christological Psalms

2B. Satan in His Original State

1C. His Perfection (Ezek. 28:12)

1D. Outward Perfection

1E. "perfect in beauty." The most beautiful of the angels God created ‑ he can still disguise himself as an angel of light

2D. Inward Perfection

1E. Full of Wisdom

1F. Wisest of all the angelic beings

2F. He still has his wisdom but it is perverted, at

enmity against God.

2E. Blameless

1F. Innocent, uncorrupted

2F. Close, intimate relationship with the Father

2C. His Privileges (Ezek. 28:13)

1D. Privilege of Place

He was in Eden, the garden of God

2D. Privilege of Possessions

1E. Seal of Perfection

2E. Every precious stone

3E. Gold in fine workmanship

3C. His Position (Ezek. 28:14)

1D. In Relation to the Ranks of Angels

1E. Anointed cherub who covers

2E. Of the highest order of angels

3E. Especially anointed by God, perhaps as leader of all the other angels

4E. Guardian of God's glory and honor

2D. In Relation to the Abode of God

1E. On the Holy mountain of God‑ not Mt. Sinai, this is figurative for God's presence

2E. Walked in the Midst of the Stones of Fire‑ obscure,

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probably pictures immediacy of access to God

4A. The Fall of Satan

1B. The Origin of His Fall

1C. The Importance of Ezek. 28:15

1D. Indefinite as to time, manner, cause of the fall: "you

were blameless ... until unrighteousness was found in you"

2D. 28:17 "your heart was lifted up because of your beauty"

*3D. Pride caused his fall, but the cause of his pride is not given.

2C. The Question of Theodicy – The Origin of Evil

1D. An Improper Theodicy

1E. Monism

IF. The universe is made up of only one substance

2F. The origin of the universe is singular – One entity > Good and Evil

3F. Therefore: Evil, as such, really doesn’t exist.

2E. Dualism

1F. The universe is made up of two substances

2F. Evil exists independently of good and is equally as powerful a force

3F. POINT: This leads either to license or legalism

2D. A Proper Theodicy

1E. Character of God

IF. God is immutably holy, righteous and perfect

2F. At no time can God even be in the presence of sin without judging it or contemplating it’s future judgment.

3F. Therefore: God is not the author of sin. He is constitutionally unable to perpetrate or promote sin. Ps. 5:4; Jas. 1:13

2E. Control of God

IF. Eph. 1:11, God is absolutely sovereign

2F. Is. 43:13, God is in complete control "there is none who delivers out of my hand"

3F. Therefore: Evil is not outside God’s control He controls evil for His own purposes, yet He is not the author of evil.

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3E. Choice of God

"God from all eternity did, by the most wise and

holy counsel of his own will, freely and

unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass;

Yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin,

nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures

nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes

taken away, but rather established."

Westmin. Conf., chap 3, sec 1

(By divine permission, God decreed the entrance of sin

into His created order without His moral culpability

or agency.)

2F. Evil is privative: it is the absence of good

just as darkness is the absence of light,

therefore, by definition, evil always existed

potentially as the privation of God's

righteousness. This is not dualism because

evil is only potential, not actual. (Proper view of

Theodicy)

4E. Choice of Satan

1F. He was perfect but not incorruptible

He was untempted, uninfluenced from without,

living in a perfect environment, but was capable

of falling. There was no enticement or

inducement to sin

2F. He was corruptible and became corrupted

"Thus the true cause of the blessedness of the

good angels is found to be this, that they

cleave to Him who supremely is. And if we ask

the cause of the misery of the bad, it occurs to

us .... that they are miserable because they have

forsaken Him who supremely is, and have turned

to themselves who have no such essence. ...If

the further question be asked, What was the

efficient cause of their evil will? there is

none. For what is it which makes the will bad,

when it is the will itself which makes the

action bad? And consequently the bad will is

the cause of the bad action, but nothing is the

efficient cause of the bad will ... For when the

will abandons what is above itself, and turns to

what is lower, it becomes evil ‑ not because

that is evil to which it turns, but because the

turning itself is wicked. Therefore it is not an

inferior thing which has made the will evil, but

it is itself which has become so by wickedly and

inordinately desiring an inferior thing."

Augustine, City of God, Book XII, Sec. 6

5E. Confined by God

IF. God has restrained sin in time, from the fall of

Satan until the new heavens and the new earth, a

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temporal interlude between eternity past and eternity future. 2F‑ II Thess. 2:6‑7

6E. Condemned by God

1F. Rom. 8:3, all sin has been condemned

2F. God has already judged sin and will ultimately in the future, removing presence from His new creation

3F. God's grace is fully revealed in

own Son as a substitute judgment

2B. Reason for His Fall

1C. A Consideration of Isaiah 14

1D. Single Addressee View: King of Babylon Only

1E. Position:

IF. Unusual language of 14:12‑17 parallels Canaanite mythology

2F. There is a parallel with astrology and star worship

3F. Addressee is called a man (14:16) and compared with other kings

4F. To fall from heaven means to fall from a great political height (14:18‑19)

5F. "Son of the dawn" could refer to a pagan deity

6F. "Mount of the Assembly" may refer to a mountain north of Ugarit

7F. Jews would be familiar with this genre

2E. Refutation:

1F. An over reliance on the contemporary culture of biblical times

2F. The double referent would explain "man" in 14:16

3F. The descriptions have to be interpreted figuratively rather than literally therefore the single addressee view departs from a normative hermeneutic

4F. BUT:

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2D. Double Addressee View: Both the King of Babylon' and Satan

1E. Position:

1F. Pattern is the same as in Ezek. 28

2F. King of Babylon in 14:4‑11, Satan viewed in 14:12‑17

3F. Babylon is the enemy of Israel (Rev. 17:5, 18:2)

4F. Language fits the description of Satan as in Ezek. 28

5F. "Star of the Morning" 14:12 is compared to angels and stars

2E. Refutation:

1F. The genre of the passage should be determined by comparison with Ugaritic literature

2F. The passage should be historically understood. A comparison with Revelation is forced

3E. Rebuttal:

1F. The immediate context and the biblical context

outweighs the cultural context

2F. Ezek. 28 is stronger than Is. 14. If Ezek. 28 is

a reference to Satan, that strengthens the case

for Is. 14.

2C.The 5 "1 Wills" of Isaiah 14:13‑14

1D. "I will ascend to heaven"

1E. As the highest of angels Satan had access to the throne of God

2E. BUT he wanted to abide in the third heaven, residing

above the sphere that had been ordained for him.

3E. POINT:

2D. "I will raise my throne above the stars of God"

Satan was not satisfied to guard the throne of God. Instead, he wanted a throne of his own and to replace God's rule over the angels'.

3D. "I will sit on the mount of the assembly"

1E. The "Mount of the Assembly" is the center of God's

kingdom rule on the earth from Jerusalem in the

north, Is. 2:2, Ps. 48:2

2E. Apparently, Satan desired to rule over the earth as

well, even though the earth may not have been created yet

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3E. Otherwise, it would parallel the previous "I will"

4D. "I will ascend above the heights, of the clouds"

1E. 100 out of the 150 references to clouds refer to the divine presence.

2E. This seems to indicate that Satan is seeking to secure for himself some of the glory which belongs to God alone.

5D. "I will make myself like the Most High"

1E. The devil wanted to be like God in sovereignty and authority, as possessor of heaven and earth BUT not in character

2E. There is an ascendency in each of the 5 "1 Wills" from being in heaven to possessing authority, to being in the place of God.

3B. The Effects of His Fall

1C. Rebellion Against God

1D. Evil Became a Reality

2D. The Peace was Disrupted

1E. God's rule had been disrupted

2E. For the first time there was a personality that opposed God's way

3E. Peace and Righteousness could no longer exist at the same time.

3D. The Battle Began

1E. With the fall of the other angels (Rev. 12) the battle lines were drawn

2E. For the 1st time there were creatures giving their allegiance to something other than their Creator

2C. Corruption of Nature

1D. The faculties and powers remained, but they became twisted in their intent and use

2D. POINT:

3C. Perversion of Character

1D. The character of Satan is typified by everything that is in opposition to God's character

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2D. All of Satan's power is directed toward perverted ends

3D. His purpose is to disrupt God's plan and destroy God's work

4C. Spread of Sin

1D. To the Angelic Realm

1E. Isaiah 14 ‑ Satan expresses his desire to rule over the angelic realm (14:13)

2E. Ezekiel 28 ‑ vs. 18, may refer to Lucifer convincing other angels to follow him

3E. Revelation 12 ‑ vs. 4, a possible reference to a 3rd of the angels who joined in Satan's rebellion against God

2D. To the Human Realm

1E. Genesis 3 ‑ Temptation of Eve, Fall of Adam as the federal head spread sin to the entire human race

2E. Romans 5 ‑ In Adam all die, both sin and death are universal in the human race

4B. The Time of His Fall

1C. Before Genesis 3

1D. The serpent who deceived Eve was Lucifer in his fallen condition

2D. Therefore:

2C. Before Genesis 1

1D. Affirmative

1E. The chaos and darkness of Gen. 1:2 can only be explained as the result of the fall of the devil and his angels

2E. There is no record of Satan's fall from Gen. 1‑3

3E. Therefore:

2D. Negative

1E. To say that Satan's fall was not recorded in Gen. 13, therefore he fell before Gen. I is an argument

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from Silence. It's possible that God chose not to

reveal it.

2E. It's an unwarranted assumption to say that man was created by God to teach evil angels a lesson or that the primary reason for the existence of creation was because of angelic warfare.

3D. Rebuttal