Question:
I heard you say that Satan was not cast out until the resurrection of Jesus. Did God keep him in heaven for those four thousand years?
Answer:
The Scriptures clearly indicate that there are several successive castings down of Satan. In the opening passages of the Bible, we find him in the Garden of Eden, transforming himself into the appearance of a serpent. It is likely that the serpent at that time was much more beautiful and charming than any creatures of that kind we see today, as we immediately read of the curse pronounced upon the serpent because Satan chose that form through which to operate.
When man was created, God appointed him as the ruler over the entire earth. However, when man sinned, he surrendered that dominion to Satan, the deceiver. Thus, we find that when the tempter approached Christ, he claimed dominion over the kingdoms of the world, offering it to Christ if the Master would simply bow down and worship him (Matthew 4:8-9). The Lord acknowledged him as the prince of this world in several passages in the Gospel of John—not that he was a rightful prince, but because he had usurped authority here, and the Master was contesting this claim. The entire plan of salvation is designed to rescue individuals from the bondage of Satan’s snares and to restore to them the lost dominion. As the Lord approached His death on the cross, He declared, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out” (John 12:31). This scripture suggests that while Satan had already been cast out of heaven and, with his fallen angels, invaded this earth, a further casting down was to occur through the cross of Christ.
Before this time, it appears that Satan was allowed to attend the councils of heaven. Job 1:6 and 2:1 speak of “the sons of God” coming together, with Satan appearing among them. The “sons of God” must have been the Adams of all inhabited worlds. In the genealogy of Joseph, the husband of Mary, as outlined in the third chapter of Luke, we see his lineage traced back to Seth, “who was the son of Adam, who was the son of God.” Here, Adam is given the distinction of being called “the son of God,” meaning that the father of the human family was a direct creation of the Creator Himself. Since Satan overthrew Adam by leading him into sin and claimed to be the prince or ruler of this world, it seems that when the sons of God gathered together, as recorded in Job, he attended to represent the earth over which he had usurped control. This was permitted because if Satan had been completely barred from such privileges or destroyed at the onset of his sinful career, the intelligences of God’s universe would have been unable to understand the divine justice involved. However, after his horrific actions in attempting to destroy Christ during His time on earth and through the tortures He endured from Gethsemane to the cross, the entire universe could see Satan’s true character. As a result, he experienced another casting down. It is understood that he is now prohibited from attending the great councils of the children of God, as he evidently did during the old dispensation. A further casting down awaits him, as indicated in the twentieth chapter of Revelation, where an angel is sent to confine him to this earth; at that time, he will remain a prisoner until his final destruction.
In conclusion, we see that the casting down of Satan involves at least three distinct steps: first, when he and his angels were cast out in the beginning; second, when his true character was revealed to the universe through the sufferings and crucifixion of Christ; and third, when he is chained to this earth at Christ’s second coming. The final disposition will occur when he meets his doom in the lake of fire, as recorded in Revelation 20.
