SATAN TO BE DESTROYED?
Q.
Does it not say Satan the covering cherub will be destroyed in
Ezekiel 28 "...and I will destroy you, O covering cherub"
A.
Phrases and even words, sometimes whole sentences, of the Bible
must be taken in their CONTEXT. I have repeated many times on
this Website .... context, context, and CONTEXT! It is ONE of
the keys to understanding correctly any passage of the Bible. The
part sentence just quoted from Ezekiel 28 verse 16, is just that
... PART of a sentence. The rest of the sentence is "FROM the
midst of the stones of fire."
Ah-ah NOW with the little word "from" is a short word WITH A HUGE
MEANING at times, certainly here it has a huge meaning. It is a
CONNECTING word, and a word that connects to the explanation of
what the subject of the sentence is going to be destroyed FROM!
If the sentence stopped with the words "covering cherub" then yes
we would have the plain, easy to understand truth that God one
day would DESTROY the covering cherub, who became Satan the
Devil. But obviously that was not God's intention to tell you
Satan would be destroyed period! His intention is to tell you the
Devil will be destroyed FROM the midst of the stones of fire!!
The context is this covering cherub (who rebelled and became
Satan the Devil) was created to be in the very prepense of God,
the holy mountain, the throne of the God of the universe.
In the book of Job we see that the Devil still had the freedom to
APPEAR in the presence of the Lord, see chapter 1:6-12; 2:1 etc.
At the end time Satan is going to try and invade heaven with his
army of demons (fallen angels). It is at the very end time, for
when Satan does not win the battle, he comes down to earth having
great wrath and goes out to persecute the woman (true church)
that brought forth the man child who was to reign over all
nations (Jesus the Christ). We know it is the last time, the very
end time, because it also says "Now is come salvation, and
strength and the Kingdom of God and His Christ (verse 10). So the
context tells you this event is at the very end of this age, it
is the last 42 months, 1260 days that Revelation speaks about,
then comes the 7th trumpet and the Kingdom of God.
There will be ONE MORE attempt by Satan to take over the throne
of God. AFTER the 1,000 year period Satan will be allowed out of
chains, out of the bottomless pit (Rev.20:1-3) to deceive the
nations of the four corners of the earth once more, and to bring
them up to the beloved city (verses 7-9). The beloved city is
JERUSALEM, where Jesus and many saints will be living during the
1,000 years as they rule the earth (all fully explained in many
studies on this Website). Satan will be defeated for a THIRD time
as he tries to take over the throne of God.
We are now near the very end of the plan of salvation for
mankind, which God has determined. Now, after the "great white
throne" judgment period, all sin and death will be cast into the
lake of fire - now is come what many call "hell-fire." Now will
come the judgment of the fallen angels, including the great
covering cherub - Satan the Devil, as told in Jude 6.
For sure one thing he will not be allowed ever again is access to
heaven where God dwells. He will be "destroyed" FROM the "midst
of the stones of fire" (Ezekiel 28:16). Never, ever again will he
be allowed to approach the heaven of God's throne.
What else may be his judgment on that great judgment day of Jude
6? According as I read Revelation 20:10 within the context of how
that Greek phrase "ages of the ages" is used in the book of
Revelation, he is NOT to be destroyed, but will have torment for
the ages of the ages. Will he and the demons be sent to the
blackness of darkness forever, as COULD BE (notice "could be" I
said) what Jude 13 is saying? Only their judgment day will
reveal, or maybe Jesus will give us more insight when He returns,
concerning this matter.
DESTROY
and Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34
#622 in Strong's Concordance
Turn to Mark 1. Jesus is in the synagogue on the Sabbath; a man
with an unclean spirit (a man demon possessed) cries out, "Let us
alone; what have we to do with you, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art
thou come to DESTROY us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One
of God."
Did you notice the "?" marks? It is a QUESTION that the man was
asking, or the demon was asking. If you read on, you should
notice Jesus IGNORED the questions; He did not answer them!
If we take this incident as just a man (with no demon involved)
then the man was asking if Jesus was going to use His power and
might to destroy people there, maybe bring in the Kingdom of God
right then, doing what He will do when He does set up the Kingdom
of God on earth - fight and make war and destroy those who are
destroying the earth, certainly massive sin would need to be
destroyed, so many people will be destroyed by Jesus when that
time comes for Him to reign on and rule the earth. We could say
the man was getting things out of order, thinking Jesus was
coming THEN, in the very PRESENT, to destroy. He, like others,
even the disciples, could not understand the FIRST coming of
Christ, was not to DESTROY but to give LIFE, as Jesus tried to
tell them many times. On the human level this man just did not
"get it" - he could not see Jesus in that present time was come
to give life not destruction.
It was a question the man asked - Jesus gave no answer.
Well, this was not just a "man" per se - it was a man possessed
by a demon. So the demon is asking the question, but it is STILL
just a QUESTION. Notice the question is not "Are you come to
destroy us right now, and not in the future?" If that had been
the question then we would know the demons knew that eventually,
sometime down the road, they would be destroyed by God. But that
was not the question, it was: "Are you come to destroy us" - a
question for the present, as Jesus stood there. Satan and the
demons ain't stupid, they know very well that IF God so decided,
He could destroy - fully un-create shall we say, the Devil and
the demons. But the Devil and the demons don't know everything
either, they do not know the day Jesus will come again, just as
no one knows but ONLY the Father, as Jesus Himself taught us,
that only the Father knows that day. So the demons don't know
everything, just as we humans don't know everything there is to
know about God. The demons knew Jesus had the power to "destroy"
them, they sure knew that fact. So in somewhat of a trepidatious
mind, this demon asks Jesus if He's going to destroy them, an
"us." (verse 24).
JESUS GIVES NO ANSWER! It is a QUESTION put to Him, it is not a
FACT!!
JESUS NEVER ADDRESSES THE QUESTION! HE COMPLETELY IGNORES THE
QUESTION!
This is NOT a verse that tells you Satan and the demons WILL BE
DESTROYED one day! Trying to prove a point, an idea, from a
question that has no answer to it, is very faulty way to get at
the truth of any subject contained in the Bible. Such reading of
verses is putting your ideas into verses that are not teaching
what you want them to teach. God has the power to destroy Satan
and the demons, the demons know that; this was a "question" only
- Jesus gave NO answer!
Luke 4:34
It is the same account as recorded by Luke.
Let me give emphasis again. Questions with no answer given, is
NOT an answer to teach a doctrine with. You cannot find truth
from someone like Mark or Luke recording a "question" from a
demon, with no answer given from Jesus. If you think you can, you
are reading into the Bible things that are just not there, and to
be blunt, that is the problem with most people, and this is why
we have so much deceptions out there, so much so that Jesus
taught that before He came again, the deceptions would be so
great that IF it was possible even the very elect would be
deceived.
TORMENT
Mat.8:29; Mark 5:7; Luke 8:28
#928 in Strong's Concordance
I'll only look at Matthew, for the others are the same.
Matthew (8:28-34) tells us about two persons (one probably the
leader of the two and did the speaking - demons have rank
positions you know, so Mark gives it as one man, so also Luke)
possessed with many demons, as Luke records. Notice what the
demons say: "What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of
God? Art you come hither to TORMENT us before the time?" (verse
29).
Here the Greek word is #928 in strong's Concordance - look it up.
It does not mean "destroy" - it means: to torture, pain, torment,
toil, vex.
Ah ah - the demons KNOW there is COMING a time when they will be
TORMENTED!! They did not say: "Art thou come to destroy is before
the time?" If they HAD said that, then we would know that it is
the plan of God to one day DESTROY Satan and the demons. But that
was NOT what those demons understood, they do understand that
there is coming a time when they will be TORMENTED! Which is NOT
the same as DESTROY - it is not the same Greek word! The demons
know God is going to fully torment them one day, and they asked
Jesus if THIS WAS THE DAY, when He stood before them as they
possessed those two men. It was TORMENT on their minds as we see
from the following verses of this episode. Those demons
"besought" "begged" "pleaded" with Jesus that if they were to
come out that they could possess the swine that were nearby.
Jesus granted them their request.
Satan and the demons KNOW their is coming a time when God will
TORMENT them. Part of their judgment - Jude 6 - will be
"torment."
And that fits exactly into Revelation 20:10 when Satan will be
TORMENTED day and night for the ages of the ages.
What greater torment could Satan and the demons have than to be
able to possess nothing - not even animals. No greater punishment
could be given to the Devil and the demons than to know that for
all eternity, ages of the ages, they will never again influence
or possess any creature or any children of God, ever again.
All the evidence in the Bible points to Satan and the demons NOT
being destroyed!
..................
Keith Hunt (February 2010)
