Job 38:4-7 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. (5) Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? (6) To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, (7) when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”
In the previous section we stated that Satan has no authority over the church, and so in this section we want to discuss how the Lord delivered us from the devil’s authority. Therefore to begin with, in this section we want to discuss the biblical truth that Satan was deceived into believing that Jesus had committed sin and what the ramifications of that truth were. As we will see in this section, it was vital for God to convince Satan that Jesus had committed sin, for unless God could do that His plan of salvation for mankind would never have succeeded. So why was it essential for Satan to be convinced that Jesus had sinned? In order for us to answer that question we need to go back to the beginning of creation. After God created all the angels, it was at that point that He then created the earth. That truth is confirmed to us in the above quoted passage of scripture which is a record of God’s discourse with Job, in which the Lord reveals that when He created the earth that all the angels of God shouted for joy, thus confirming to us that the angels were present when God created the earth. All the angels of God would have included Lucifer and his angels, for they were still a part of God’s kingdom at that time. All of these events took place long before God created Adam and Eve.
Revelation 2:12-13 “And to the pastor of the church in Pergamos write, 'these things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: (13) “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.”
When God created the earth He placed it under Lucifer’s dominion. Someone said but I thought God gave Adam dominion over the earth. In order for us to understand how it is possible for God to have given dominion over the earth to both Lucifer and Adam we first need to understand God’s creation of the earth. Unlike the heavens which have only one dimension, God created the earth with two dimensions and both dimensions were created at the same time. And so whereas the heavens only exist in the realm of the spirit, the earth has both a spiritual and a physical realm and the two dimensions exist parallel to each other. Therefore God gave Lucifer dominion over the spiritual realm of the earth, while He gave Adam dominion over the physical realm of the earth. And so we see that because angels are celestial beings, Lucifer and his angels were given the spiritual dimension of the earth to dwell in, whereas because mankind are terrestrial beings, they were given the physical dimension of the earth to dwell in. God called both the spiritual and physical realms of the earth Eden, which is why the scripture states that God placed Adam in Eden the Garden of God (Genesis 2:15) and which is why God also described Lucifer as dwelling in Eden the garden of God (Ezekiel 28:13). When God gave Lucifer full dominion over all of spiritual earth He set up Lucifer’s throne on the earth. That truth is confirmed to us in the account of Lucifer’s rebellion against God, when he stated that he would ascend into heaven and exalt his throne above the angels of God (Isaiah 14:13). In the above quoted passage of scripture the Lord Jesus also confirmed this truth to us by mentioning that Satan’s throne is located in the region of Pergamos. The fact that Satan still has his throne indicates that his dominion of spiritual earth has not yet ended. As an aside, obviously Satan’s throne is not located in the region of Pergamos in the physical realm but rather in the parallel location in the spiritual realm.
Genesis 1:1-10 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (2) … and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. … (9) Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so. (10) And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good.”
We have mentioned that God created the earth in two dimensions i.e. a spiritual realm and a physical realm, and the creation account in Genesis gives us some insight into how God did this. When God created the physical earth He covered it in water and darkness and left it in that state until the proper time came for it to be revealed. The reason God did that was because He created the physical dimension of the earth for men and not for angels, and the time for Adam to be created had not yet come. When the proper time did eventually arrive however, God then proceeded to reveal the physical earth, which is why God says in the above quoted passage of scripture “let the dry land appear”. In other words the land was always there, it was just hidden under the water and darkness that had covered it from the beginning of creation.
Job 38:16-18 “Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths? (17) Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the doors of the shadow of death? (18) Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.”
We have seen thus far that God created the earth with two dimensions i.e. a spiritual dimension and a physical dimension. We have also seen that God gave Lucifer dominion over the spiritual dimension of the earth. Scripture teaches us that the spiritual dimension of the earth is divided into three separate regions. The first region is located just above the earth, and is referred to as “the air” (Ephesians 2:2) or the first heaven (1 Corinthians 12:2). It is in this region that the angels with the highest level of authority in Satan’s kingdom are located. The apostle Paul refers to these angels as spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). The second region is located on the earth, and as we have already seen it is in this region that Satan’s throne is located. It is also in this region that the angels with the second highest level of authority in Satan’s kingdom are located i.e. the rulers of the darkness of this world. The third region is located under the earth, and for the purposes of this discussion it is this region which we want to explore. Scripture teaches us that this region is where Death is located (Revelation 6:8), which is why the Gates of Death are placed at its entrance. This region is then further sub divided into two separate regions, both of which are located beyond the Gates of Death. In the above quoted passage of scripture the Lord mentions these regions when He speaks about the Gates of Death and the depths. The depths that God speaks about in this passage refers to these two regions, the first of which our Lord Jesus called Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16) or Paradise (Luke 23:43). God created this region as a place of comfort and rest for the saints when they died. The second region, which is located below Abraham’s Bosom, has various names ascribed to it i.e. Hades, Sheol, Hell and the Bottomless Pit. Apollyon is the angel who rules over this region (Revelation 9:11). God created this region as a place of torment for the wicked when they die. Scripture teaches us that there is a great gulf fixed between the two regions, which prevented the occupants of either region from crossing over between them. And so we see that because Lucifer was given dominion over the regions under the earth that he was therefore given dominion over Death, Hades and Abraham’s Bosom. So what happened when Lucifer rebelled against God? The answer to that question is that he transitioned from being and angel of light to become an angel of darkness and God changed his name to Satan and he was cast out of (the third) heaven (Luke 10:18). Because Lucifer’s angels had joined him in his attempted rebellion (Revelation 12:4), they too transitioned from being angels of light to become angels of darkness, more commonly known as demons. Nevertheless what did not change is the dominion that God had given them, for scripture teaches us that the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). And so whereas before it was Lucifer who had dominion over the regions under the earth, now it was Satan who had that exact same dominion. It is for this reason that scripture refers to Satan as having the power of death (Hebrews 2:14). The word translated “power” in that passage can also be translated “dominion”, which is in fact a better translation in this passage; because it conveys to us the truth that Death fell under Satan’s dominion. This is also the reason that Satan held the keys to Death and Hades (Revelation 1:18).
Michael E.B. Maher
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