Bible Question:
Thank you for your quick response Mark. I believe my misunderstanding of the view of Satan as an actual person has arisen because I thought that Revelation 12 was the explanation of Satan being a fallen angel. Where in scripture does it describe the 'creation' or 'fall' of Satan? Thanks again. |
Bible Answer: Dear Dr., Ezekiel 28 is generally given as depicting the "fall of satan". The New Bible Dictionary may be helpful in answering your question: "John tells us that ‘the devil sinned from the beginning’ (1 Jn. 3:8), and the OT references to him bear this out. Most of our information, however, comes from the NT, where the supremely evil being is referred to as Satan or as ‘the devil’ (ho diabolos) indifferently, with Beelzebub (or Beelzeboul, or Beezeboul) also employed on occasion (Mt. 10:25; 12:24, 27). Other expressions, such as ‘the ruler of this world’ (Jn. 14:30) or ‘the prince of the power of the air’ (Eph. 2:2), also occur. He is always depicted as hostile to God, and as working to overthrow the purposes of God. Matthew and Luke tell us that at the beginning of his ministry Jesus had a severe time of testing when Satan tempted him to go about his work in the wrong spirit (Mt. 4; Lk. 4; see also Mk. 1:13). When this period was completed the devil left him ‘until an opportune time’, which implies that the contest was later resumed. This is clear also from the statement that he ‘in every respect has been tempted as we are’ (Heb. 4:15). This conflict is not incidental. The express purpose of the coming of Jesus into the world was ‘to destroy the works of the devil’ (1 Jn. 3:8; cf. Heb. 2:14). Everywhere the NT sees a great conflict between the forces of God and of good, on the one hand, and those of evil led by Satan, on the other. This is not the conception of one writer or another, but is common ground." I hope this helps, BradK |