01A.01D. God's Disposition of Satan: A Historical Overview
D. God’s Disposition of Satan: A Historical Overview 1. God’s initial disposition of Satan: a. God’s First Best Will Rejected: Although created in perfection and inhabiting a perfect universe, Satan and his followers rejected God’s perfect plan for them, choosing rebellion instead of obedience. b. Judgment and Demotion: Having rejected God and mutinied against Him, Satan and his followers were judicially condemned by God for their rebellion and removed from their positions of service to Him (John 16:11; cf. Job 4:18; Job 15:15; Job 21:22; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10). c. Judgment on the Universe: The original heavens and earth, having been contaminated by the sinful actions of the devil and his followers (cf. Job 25:5), were summarily judged by God, and plunged into utter darkness (Genesis 1:1-2). d. The Delay of Execution: Having judged the universe, God nevertheless deferred execution of Satan’s sentence pending the completion of an as yet unforeseen event: human history (cf. Genesis 6:3; Romans 2:4; Romans 3:25-26; Romans 9:22; 2 Peter 3:9; 2 Peter 3:15). This delay, which we call human history, accomplished the following:
1. The glorification of God through the successful completion of His plan (centered upon His Son, Jesus Christ) in all its particulars despite all opposition.
2. The vindication of God by demonstrating the devil’s complete recalcitrance and unwillingness to repent in contrast to God’s faithfulness toward His new creature, Man. God is thereby vindicated in His judgments (Psalms 116:11; Romans 3:4), and justified by keeping all promises of salvation to mankind despite satanic opposition (Isaiah 49:9; John 16:11).
3. The replacement of what was lost through Satan’s rebellion in a manner that has ensured the free will choice of those who replace the devil and his followers. e. First Parole: Satan was allowed the freedom to observe God’s reconstruction of the world and His commencement of the process of replacement through the creation of mankind (Genesis 3:1-7). f. The Last Olive Branch: Rather than drawing the appropriate conclusions from the creation of Man (i.e., that God is invincible and therefore that the carrying out His sentence against the devil was inevitable), Satan rejected this last, tacit overture on God’s part and used his freedom of action instead to recommence his rebellion, this time on the battlefield of human history (Genesis 3:1-7).
2. God’s interim disposition of Satan: a. Imprisonment: With the 2nd Advent of Jesus Christ, the devil and his followers will be imprisoned in the Abyss for the duration of the Millennium so as to remove all satanic influence from the Messiah’s Kingdom (Revelation 20:1-3). b. Second Parole: At the conclusion of the Millennium, Satan and his angels will be temporarily released and will stir up the peaceful world of that time for one final assault upon God (Psalms 2:1 ff.; Revelation 20:7-10). The willingness of so many human beings to reject the perfect reign of Christ and the willingness of the devil to lead them in this last futile attempt to oppose God provides the final incontrovertible proof that evil and the rejection of God is not circumstantial, but flows from the free will choice of creatures.
3. God’s final disposition of Satan: At the conclusion of the Gog-Magog revolution and just prior to the creation of the pristine and holy New Heavens and New Earth, the sentence imposed upon the devil and his angels before human history began will finally be carried out (Isaiah 14:3-23; Isaiah 24:21-23; Isaiah 34:1-5; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Jeremiah 10:11; Daniel 4:35; Luke 10:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:3; Revelation 20:7-10), and they will be consigned to the lake of fire at that point and forevermore (Revelation 20:10). The lake of fire and his final disposition in it (along with all creatures who chose to follow him instead of God) will stand as an eternal memorial to the folly of rejecting God and His mercy (Revelation 14:10; cf. Isaiah 66:24; Revelation 19:3). For by trying to replace God and His Son instead of serving them, Satan finds himself replaced by the Son who was born into the devil’s world to refute and defeat him through the victory of the cross (Luke 10:18; John 12:31; Romans 16:20; Hebrews 2:14; 1 Peter 3:22; 1 John 3:8).