There are two myths I want to address today. First, the idea that the devil is the equal and opposite of God. This is just untrue, and an understanding of this is important.
The second one is related and is the idea the the devil has his own domain to rule over and that domain is hell. This, too, is untrue.
So let us begin:
Satan is the equal and opposite of God.
It is a common belief in the modern age, to think of the Devil as the equal and opposite of God. I, too, even thought this way for many years until I wised up and actually started reading the Bible. It is easy to fall into this trap. We are told that God is good and that the devil is bad. Good and bad are equal but opposite so it is no small leap to then make the connection that God and the Devil are equal but opposites. Satan would love nothing more than for us to think of him as being as powerful as God. That is, after all, a large part of his entire goal. As we will see, this is certainly not the case. Our source will be the Bible itself.
There are certain places in the Bible where upon reading it, you come to know that the Holy Spirit has changed subjects midway through a discourse. One such location is found in Ezekiel 28. God is speaking to Ezekiel about the coming fate of the city of Tyre. He begins to talk about the motivation and behavior of the Prince of Tyre and then a strange thing happens. He begins to talk about someone who couldn’t possibly be a human. Ezekiel is told the reasoning behind the fall of Tyre that is to come. From the reading it is apparent that the Prince had thought himself wise beyond measure and even thought himself God. You can read this in Ezekiel 28:1-10, which includes the Prince’s final disposition.
Beginning with verse 12, God begins to speak about someone else. The King James identifies him as the King of Tyre. This is a reference to the power behind the Prince. It becomes evident quickly that this is in reference to Satan himself. We actually learn a bit about Satan’s history at the same time.
“Son of Man, start singing this lamentation for the king of Tyre. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “You served as my model, my example of complete wisdom and perfect beauty. You used to be in Eden—God’s paradise! You wore precious stones for clothing: ruby, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and carbuncle. Your settings were crafted in gold, along with your engravings. On the day of your creation they had been prepared! “You were the anointed cherub; having been set in place on the holy mountain of God, you walked in the midst of fiery stones. You were blameless in your behavior from the day you were created until wickedness was discovered in you.
(Eze 28:12-15)
The best estimates of when the book of Ezekiel was written place it at 593 BC to 565 BC. No man could have been alive when Eden was around AND still be around after the flood up to this time frame. If that isn’t enough, God says it straight out, “You were the anointed cherub”. What is more, God goes on to say “from the day you were created”.
So, is this power behind the prince Satan himself? It would certainly seem so. Continued reading in Ezekiel describes this former anointed cherub’s folly.
Since your vast business dealings filled you with violent intent from top to bottom, you sinned, so I cast you away as defiled from the mountain of God. I destroyed you, you guardian cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart grew arrogant because of your beauty; you annihilated your own wisdom because of your splendor. Then I threw you to the ground in the presence of kings, giving them a good look at you! By all of your iniquity and unrighteous businesses you defiled your sanctuaries, so I’m going to bring out fire from within you and burn you to ashes on the earth before the whole watching world! Everyone who knows you throughout all the nations will be appalled at your calamity and you will no longer exist forever.”‘”
(Eze 28:16-19)
This describes a level of hubris similar to that described of the devil or “the Day Star, Son of the Dawn” in Isaiah 14.
“How you have fallen from heaven, Day Star, son of the Dawn! How you have been thrown down to earth, you who laid low the nation! You said in your heart, ‘I’ll ascend to heaven, above the stars of God. I’ll erect my throne; I’ll sit on the Mount of Assembly in the far reaches of the north; I’ll ascend above the tops of the clouds; I’ll make myself like the Most High.’
(Isa 14:12-14)
The Ezekiel passage speaks of a power behind the human prince of Tyre. This is a statement concerning the spiritual warfare that is occurring around us all the time. It is part of the unseen spiritual world that Paul warns us about in his letter to the Ephesians.
For our struggle is not against human opponents, but against rulers, authorities, cosmic powers in the darkness around us, and evil spiritual forces in the heavenly realm. For this reason, take up the whole armor of God so that you may be able to take a stand whenever evil comes. And when you have done everything you could, you will be able to stand firm.
(Eph 6:12-13)
Perhaps the most dramatic description of this warfare in the spiritual realm can be found in Daniel 10. The entire chapter is too long to quote here but the story goes that Daniel had known that the time of exile was to be up and had been praying to God as to the disposition of his people. He had been doing this for 21 days before a messenger appeared who is obviously not a human being.
I lifted up my eyes to look—and behold!—there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was encircled with gold from Uphaz. His body was like beryl, his face flashed like lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and legs were like polished bronze, and his speech roared like that of a crowd.
(Dan 10:5-6)
Once you read down a few more verses, you find the following explanation as to why it took 21 days for the messenger to respond.
“‘Don’t be afraid, Daniel,” he told me, “because from the first day that you committed yourself to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. I’ve come in answer to your prayers. However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for 21 days. Then—look!—Michael, one of the chief angels, came to assist me. I had been detained there near the kings of Persia.
(Dan 10:12-13)
Given the description of the messenger from verses 5-6, it is obvious that he possessed a great deal of power; more-so than any human being. Therefore, it is not likely that any human prince or king would have the ability to detain him for even one hour much less 21 days. No, this is a peek into the battle that was occurring in the spiritual realm that Paul warns us about in Ephesians. Furthermore, this isn’t a one-time occurrence because as we read further we find that this angel reveals that he has business to attend to after talking to Daniel.
“Then he said, ‘Do you understand why I came to you? Soon I’ll return to fight the prince of Persia. I’m going forth to war—and take note—the prince of Greece is coming. I’ll inform you about what has been recorded in the Book of Truth. No one stands firmly with me against these opponents, except Michael your prince.
(Dan 10:20-21)
There is an unseen world around us and it is populated by spiritual beings and it is not dormant. Perhaps you have felt the effects of this spiritual warfare yourself. Whenever you sit down to try to read The Word, notice how the distractions begin to grow. Suddenly the phone rings, or people walk into the room with questions or your mind just can’t focus. All week you feel fine but when Sunday morning rolls around, you have what seems like an endless number of excuses not to go to church. I can’t tell you the number of distractions I endured whenever I began work on this paper.
We are not naturally equipped to deal with this realm. We do know that it was created by God, as stated in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians[i] and that should give us a great deal of comfort. In addition, we aren’t left without any recourse. Paul tells us what we can do to defend ourselves against this in that passage quoted above from Ephesians 6[ii]. He uses the analogy of donning a suit of armor. He does not mean literal armor but spiritual armor. Arm yourself with the word of God and do not forget your best most potent weapon in that arsenal, prayer[iii].
Satan rules over Hell; Jesus rules over Heaven.
This brings us to a second related myth. Popular culture tells us that that the devil rules over hell while Jesus rules over heaven. This is patently untrue and we have the evidence again from the Bible.
We discussed the spiritual realm and the battles that go on there. It is populated by the angels and princes behind the earthly powers of the physical realm. Peter warns us about one of the spiritual realm’s chief adversarial denizens, Satan himself.
Be clear-minded and alert. Your opponent, the devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
(1Pe 5:8)
Satan is not living in Hell at this time. Peter tells us he is clearly on the prowl “like a roaring lion”. As stated before, God’s word is our only defense against him. The book of Job indicates that the devil even still enjoys face to face talks with God in heaven[iv]. Job 1 even indicates that Satan wanders “wandering all over the earth and walking back and forth throughout it.” His temptation of Christ in the wilderness as related in the gospels shows that the kingdoms of this world are indeed owned by the devil. This is evidenced by the fact that Jesus does not dispute Satan’s ownership of all the kingdoms of this world[v] for if Satan did not actually own them, the offer would not be an actual temptation.
We also find in the book of Revelation that Jesus owns the keys to death and hades[vi]. It is not until after the tribulation years that Satan is thrown into the pit and bound. It is not until after The Millennial Kingdom that he is thrown into the fiery pit to burn forever and ever[vii].
In conclusion, the evidence clearly shows that Satan is not an equal but opposite of God. He is, instead, a creation of God, while powerful, not equal. He was not created to be evil, Lucifer became prideful and he continues to rebel against God. That pride caused his fall and will, in the end, cause him to burn from within and without. Satan also does not rule over hell. Jesus rules over everything. Satan only temporarily rules over this world because we, humans, relinquished that responsibility in the garden, though his final destination is indeed the fiery pit.
[i] The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether they are kings, lords, rulers, or powers. All things have been created through him and for him.
(Col 1:15-16)
[ii] Stand firm, therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and being firm-footed in the gospel of peace. In addition to having clothed yourselves with these things, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one, also take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
(Eph 6:14-17)
[iii] Pray in the Spirit at all times with every kind of prayer and request. Likewise, be alert with your most diligent efforts and pray for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that, when I begin to speak, the right words will come to me. Then I will boldly make known the secret of the gospel, for whose sake I am an ambassador in chains, desiring to declare the gospel as boldly as I should.
(Eph 6:18-20)
[iv] One day, divine beings presented themselves to the LORD, and Satan accompanied them. The LORD asked Satan, “Where have you come from?” In response, Satan answered the LORD, “From wandering all over the earth and walking back and forth throughout it.”
(Job 1:6-7)
[v] Once more the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, along with their splendor. He told Jesus, “I will give you all these things if you will bow down and worship me!”
(Mat 4:8-9)
[vi] When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. But he placed his right hand on me and said, “Stop being afraid! I am the first and the last, the living one. I was dead, but look—I am alive forever and ever! I have the keys of Death and Hades.
(Rev 1:17-18)
[vii] and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were. They will be tortured day and night forever and ever.
(Rev 20:10)