Hell and the Devil:
In the Bible, the Apocrypha and the
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Copyright
2004 by Robert C. Jones
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"Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW
INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright Ó 1973,
1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by
permission
of Zondervan Publishing House."
Table of Contents
Characteristics
and character of Satan
Hell
in the Christian Apocrypha
Other Christian History & Theology courses
"Put
on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's
schemes. For our struggle is not against
flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the
powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly realms." - Apostle Paul (Eph
Introduction
Perhaps one of the least understood aspects of the Bible is
its teachings on Hell and the Devil.
There are a number of reasons for this:
- Some
people find the topic disturbing, so they'd rather not discuss it!
- To understand what the Bible says about these topics, one must have a good Concordance (and possibly a good Commentary), as the information is quite dispersed all throughout the Bible
- Much of our somewhat hazy knowledge of these topics comes from non-Biblical sources, such as Milton's Paradise Lost, or Dantes Inferno
- Some Christians claim that Satan and Hell aren't real - that somehow they are just metaphors for evil. (The New Testament seems pretty clear that both are real!)
This course attempts to examine and categorize the Biblical references on the topic of Hell and the Devil. To round out the discussion (and fill in the blanks from the inter-Testamental period) I’ve also included references to:
§ The Dead Sea Scrolls, which refer often to an ultimate battle between the “sons of light” and the “sons of darkness”. The latter forces are led by Belial, one of the New Testament names for Satan.
§ The Apocrypha – the set of 12-16 books, most of which appeared in the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint, but not in Hebrew versions of the Old Testament. Today, they appear in some Bibles (Roman Catholic, NRSV, Orthodox, etc.) but not all (NIV, KJV, etc.).
§ 1 Enoch - 1 Enoch is a 1st or 2nd B.C. Jewish work whose relative importance has been raised in recent years because at least 20 fragmentary copies of 1 Enoch have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. 1 Enoch does not appear in the Septuagint, and is not generally considered to be part of the collection of books known as the Apocrypha.
§ Christian Apocrypha – There were many apocryphal Acts, Gospels, and Apocalypses written in the first three centuries A.D. Some people refer to these as the Christian Apocrypha – non-Gnostic works that didn’t make the New Testament canon. And while we shouldn’t view them as divinely inspired or authoritative, they do help us trace the development of Christian thought on the subject of hell. I refer to two of them in this course – the Revelation of Peter, and the Apocalypse of Paul.
While no Divine inspiration is claimed for the non-Biblical sources quoted herein, they are useful to trace the development of Jewish and early Christian thought on the topics of “Hell and the Devil”.
Quiz on Hell and the Devil
1. T/F The name "Lucifer" is a common synonym in the Bible for Satan
2. T/F The Bible describes in detail the various levels of Hell
3. T/F The Bible gives the proper names of fallen angels other than Satan
4. T/F "Hell" is a Hebrew word for "abode of the dead"
5. T/F The Old Testament word used to describe the abode of the dead is "sheol"
6. T/F Nowhere in the Bible is Satan specifically equated with a serpent
7. What archangel does Satan and his minions fight, as described in Revelation?
8. T/F The word "antichrist" is used in the Book of Revelation
9. T/F The New Testament doesn't differentiate between physical illness and demonic possession
10. What is the only name given by a demon(s) in the New Testament?
11. T/F Exorcisms in the Gospels succeed because of a special magical ritual designed by Christ
12. T/F There are no "second chances" once one is assigned to Hell
13. T/F The Hebrew word for "Satan" can also be translated as "accuser", "adversary", or "opponent"
14. T/F There are no exorcisms described in the Apocrypha or the Dead Sea Scrolls
15. There are references in the Dead Sea Scrolls that refer to hell as a place for the damned
Satan
We begin this course with a look at the Devil – Satan. We’ll examine his various names, his fall from heaven, his characteristics, and ultimate demise. We also tackle the question of whether Satan appears in the Old Testament.
Names of Satan
"Satan" is a Hebrew word meaning accuser, adversary, or opponent. While the name Satan appears 53 times in the scriptures (NIV), Satan is also referred to under a number of other names, such as "devil", "evil one", "the destroyer", etc. The table below lists many of the names of Satan.
|
Name |
Sample Reference |
Notes |
|
Satan |
Zec 3:1 |
Adversary or accuser |
|
Beelzebub |
Mat |
"Lord of the flies"; Jewish nickname for Satan |
|
Devil |
Rev 12:9 |
Gr. "diabolos" - "Slanderer" |
|
Abaddon, Apollyon |
|
"Destruction" or "Destroyer" |
|
Angel of the Abyss |
|
|
|
Evil One |
John 17:15, Eph 6:16 |
|
|
Accuser |
|
Will be hurled down |
|
Great Dragon |
Rev 12:9 |
|
|
Red Dragon |
Rev 12:3 |
|
|
Ancient serpent |
Rev 12:9 |
See Genesis 3 |
|
Belial |
2 Cor |
Heb.. "useless", "worthless", "wicked" |
|
Ruler of the kingdom of the air |
Eph 2:2 |
|
|
Prince of demons |
Mat |
|
|
Prince of this world |
John 12:31 |
|
|
Father of lies |
John 8:44 |
|
|
God of this age |
2 Cor 4:4 |
|
|
Lucifer |
Isa |
Latin trans. of Hebrew word for "morning star" |
The Dead Sea Scrolls often refer to Satan as Belial (see
also 2 Cor
“At the beginning of the undertaking of the sons of light, they shall start against the lot of the sons of darkness, the army of Belial…so that wickedness shall be laid low without any remnant; and there shall be no survivor of the sons of darkness.” (The War of the Sons of Light with the Sons of Darkness, translation from Burrows)
The Dead Sea Scrolls also occasionally refer to Satan as Melkiresha, which means “my king is wickedness”. Geza Vermes views that this is in distinction to Melkizedek, which means “my king is justice”.
1 Enoch refers to Satan as Azazyel or Azazyeel.
Characteristics and character of Satan
The Bible contains a number of descriptions of the character, capabilities and limitations of Satan. Satan is described as the great deceiver, and the great tempter of mankind. Christ triumphed over Satan through the cross.
Reference |
Notes |
|
Characteristics
of Satan |
|
|
Mat 4:1-11 |
Satan is a tempter -
Christ is tempted by Satan, but remains sinless |
|
Mat 17:14-18 |
Can bring sickness to
mankind |
|
1 John 5:19 |
Ruler of this world |
|
Rev 13, |
Satan can control
politicians |
|
1 John 3:8 |
Christ appeared to
destroy the Devil's work |
|
|
Christ triumphs over
the Devil through the cross |
|
1 Cor |
Satan can tempt, but believers
have the power to resist |
|
Mat |
Satan can affect even
the Apostles |
|
2 Cor |
Satan masquerades as an
angel of light |
|
2 Cor 12:7 |
Satan can be used by
God for good |
|
John 12:31-33, Heb 2:14-15 |
Christ's death and
resurrection is the beginning of the end for Satan |
|
Rev 16:12-14 |
Satan and the demons
perform miraculous signs |
A book of the Dead Sea Scrolls entitled Curses of Belial describes Belial and his followers:
“…council of the Community shall all say together, Amen, amen. Afterwards [they] shall damn Belial and all his guilty lot. They shall answer and say, Cursed be [B]elial in his hostile design, and damned in his guilty dominion. Cursed be all the spirits of his [lo]t in their wicked design, and damned in their thoughts of unclean impurity. For they are the lot of darkness and their visitation is for eternal destruction.” (Curses of Belial, 4Q286, translation by Vermes)
The Dead Sea Scrolls’ Manual of Discipline (a.k.a. Community Rule) lists characteristics of Satan and his followers:
“But to the spirit of error belong greediness, slackness of hands in the service of righteousness, wickedness and falsehood, pride and haughtiness, lying and deceit, cruelty and great impiety, quickness to anger and abundance of folly and proud jealousy, abominable works in a spirit of fornication and ways of defilement in the service of uncleanness, and a blasphemous tongue, blindness of eyes and dullness of ears, stiffness of neck and hardness of heart, walking in all the ways of darkness and evil cunning.” (Manual of Discipline, Burrows translation)
The Fall
The Bible contains several references to the Fall of Satan and his angels from heaven. However, the time and reason for the Fall is not absolutely clear. Did the Fall occur before Adam & Eve, or after?
Many commentaries and theologians view that the Fall is described in Isaiah 14:12-20 and Ezekiel 28:12-19. Others view that neither set of verses concerns Satan or the Fall. If we assume that the passages do indeed describe Satan and the Fall, then we learn that Satan (or the “morning star”, translated as Lucifer in KJV) had a special place of honor guarding the throne of God. Because of his pride, Satan tries to set himself up as higher than God, and is cast out of heaven (to earth) as a result.
Revelation 12, which describes a
war between Satan and the Archangel Michael, may indicate that a third of the
angels in heaven were ejected along with Satan.
|
Reference |
Notes |
|
The Fall of
Satan and the Angels |
|
|
Isaiah 14:12-20 |
"Morning star" is translated as "Lucifer" in KJV |
|
Ezekiel 28:12-19 |
Satan once had a special place of honor guarding the throne
of God |
|
Luke 10:18 |
"I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." |
|
2 Peter 2:4 |
Angels that sinned are placed in hell, awaiting judgment |
|
Jude 1:6 |
Fallen angels are held in darkness for Judgment Day |
|
Revelation 12:4 |
May indicate that Satan took a third of the angels with him |
|
Revelation 12:7-12 |
War in heaven between Archangel Michael and Satan |
1 Enoch gives a somewhat different view of the cause of the Fall, amplifying on Genesis 6:1-4, which states:
“1When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.” 4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.” (NIV, Gen 6:1-4)
1 Enoch describes it this way:
“It happened after the sons of men had multiplied in those days, that daughters were born to them, elegant and beautiful. And when the angels, the sons of heaven, beheld them, they became enamored of them, saying to each other: Come, let us select for ourselves wives from the progeny of men, and let us beget children…Then they took wives, each choosing for himself; whom they began to approach, and with whom they cohabited; teaching them sorcery, incantation, and the dividing of roots and trees. And they conceiving brought forth giants…” (1 Enoch, Chapter 7, Laurence translation)
1 Enoch further goes on to identify one particular angel that holds all the blame:
“All the earth has been corrupted by the teaching of the work of Azazyel. To him therefore ascribe the whole crime.” (1 Enoch 10:12, Laurence)
1 Enoch (Chapter 87), like Revelation 12, also discusses the Fall of the angels in terms of stars falling from heaven.
The end of Satan
The Bible is clear about the ultimate disposition of Satan and his minions. Matthew 25:41 tells us that an “eternal fire” has been prepared for Satan and his angels. In Revelation 20:10, Satan is thrown into a lake of burning sulfur – forever.
|
Reference |