How do we view satan (intentionally spelled with a lower-case “s”)? I mean really picture him in our minds? Don’t we typically visualize satan as being in charge of some hellish kingdom with his minions, cracking the whip on the poor souls doomed there for eternity? He’s basically the king of hell, right? Is that a biblical concept of satan and of hell?
What we need to understand about hell is that it is real, it is a place of torment, and it is a place of punishment and everlasting destruction. See Luke 16:23, Revelation 20:14 (both of which use the Greek word hades — Ἅιδης — sometimes translated “hell”), Mark 9:43-48 (where the Greek word is gehenna — γεεννα), Revelation 20:10, and 2 Thessalonians 1:9.
Not many people argue with that. There are some who will argue the very existence of hell, but the Bible makes it clear that hell is very real. Where another source of confusion lies though, is in regard to satan’s role in hell.
After the Day of Judgment, satan will not be the king of hell, he won’t be in charge of hell, and he will no longer be the “prince of this world” (John 12:31, John 14:30). In fact, he will be in more torment than anybody else in hell! As a roaring lion on earth, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8), he will be beaten with “many stripes” for eternity (Luke 12:47-48) in the place that was never created for humans anyway — it was created for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).
5 comments on “What’s wrong with this picture?”
PS~
1) I was aware that your “king of hell” question was rhetorical, and all that matters is that we are saved, and not going to Hell. I want the other readers clear about the enemy, and his limitations, his places of abode and his limited unholy power, compared to God and praying saints on Earth.
2) I mentioned that Hell is not in Satan’s charge, but also clarified that scripture never mentions Hell like it does the Lake. Hell is not tolerable to Satan, anymore than the Lake will be.
3) Readers can understand that Satan fell to Earth, not Hell. The bible never says Satan has been to hell.
4) But because we are not always clear about the enemy’s homes, we can’t dispel certain heresies such as he is in charge of Hell. Satan is not in charge of Hell simply because God never says Satan is. God does say Satan fell to Earth, not Hell. And Hell is so awful a place Satan would never want to go there. Satan is not in charge of Hell NOT because we feel Hell is the Lake, or the Lake is Hell, and why would Satan be in charge of a place now that he won’t be in charge of later. As soon as we feel that way, we miss the simplicity of the reason why. Hell is not a place the bible says Satan has ever been, and Satan is limited even as the “prince of the world”, because of the King Jesus.
Satan has never stepped his unholy foot onto the old testament saint’s side of Sheol, in Abraham’s Bosom. Satan has never set his unholy foot back in heaven. Satan has not stepped into the torment side of hell, and he is not in charge of that place, anymore than he will be in his furture abode, the Lake of Fire.
We do have this on good authority with God’s word to us.
~Thank you,
Christopher
Whatever eternal fire is we both won’t be there, but it’s like this, my friend: Abraham’s Bosom is in Heaven, the “soul” contents of that side of Sheol are in Heaven. Hades will be in the Lake of Fire, as we note together now in Revelation 20:14.
The torment side of Sheol is still filling up, but will be emptied after judgment into the Lake of Fire. Hades, as a location, isn’t going into the Lake, it’s contents are.
Why does this clarification matter? Because we miss truth, and layers of truth God shared with us, for good reasons. And sometimes we miss simple points. Once we understand that Hell and the Lake are two separate places we can then understand which one gets emptied and which one is “eternal”.
Entire counterfeit doctrines and programs have been constructed by men who say Satan has been to Hell, which even today are leading people from truth about what Jesus did on the cross,as in when some teach the heresy that Jesus and Satan fought in Hell after the crucifixion. This is false.
Not being clear about two distinct places means lots of information God gave to us is going to be missed, or misunderstood, or mishandled. No matter what the biblical topic, I cannot say “whatever” and minimize meanings (as I believe I know enough to be saved in the end) by essentially disregarding the full meanings of things.
Christopher, thanks again for your comments. I believe God has revealed to us all truth, and I believe we should strive all our life to understand His truth. However, there are parts of Scripture that people will always disagree on, and debate on, but are not matters of salvation. Yes, clarification matters, and truth matters, but God has chosen not to base my salvation or yours on our complete understanding of the truth. I will continue to study until the day I die, as I trust you will. I don’t intend to “minimize meanings”, but wherever satan’s eternal destination, he not only will no longer be “prince of this world”, but he will not be prince or lord or ruler of anything. God is over all, and that is eternal. Whatever power satan has is his because the Father gave it to him, and he one day will receive one thing I cannot look forward to — justice. He will receive justice; I will receive mercy through Jesus. That’s what matters. If we continue to disagree on satan’s destiny, and the Lake of Fire, and Sheol, and Hades — well, we just will.
Hello–I hope this note clarifies scripture for you. Truly. So God bless you.
It is the Lake of Fire that was created for Satan and the fallen angels. The Lake is NOT hell. These are two separate places, and verses describing a place created for Satan and the fallen angels is speaking about the Lake of Fire–I wish all could avoid NIV and other paraphrasal (lackadaisical) interpretations of our scriptures. They just are NOT helpful.
Satan has never been to hell, will never go there, and also would never want to go there (I’m sure). He lived in Heaven, then on the earth (in the atmosphere) as he still does today. Later , he will live in the Abyss (also not hell, nor the Lake), until released back on Earth. Then he will go into the Lake. The anti-christ will already be there waiting for him.
Satan is not in charge of hell, he just tries to send souls there. Satan would never set foot there, even if he could. He went from Heaven to Earth. Also, he has never been allowed into the Abraham’s bosom side of Sheol, where old testament saints had spent time.
The biggest mistake Christians keep making is to confuse hell with the Lake of Fire, and then because Satan (the prince of this world) sends souls there sometimes, we get messed up about WHO is in charge of hell. That would be the same WHO that is in charge of Satan. God Almighty.
Hope this note clarifies. It is the Lake of Fire that is the place of everlasting destruction, not hell. And no, Lake and hell are NOT synonymous. God is in charge of Satan, and hell runs itself–Jesus emptied the Abraham’s Bosom side after the cross, and He will empty the torment side (on the other side of the chasm) during the Great White Throne Judgment, and fill the Lake of Fire. With souls, and with the bodies of those souls.
~Christopher
Chistopher, thank you for your very well thought-out and insightful comment. I disagree with some of your points, but mostly I agree. In my opening paragraph, my question “He’s basically the king of hell, right?” was intended as a rhetorical question, merely re-stating popular modern belief. Later in the article though, I stated what I believe to be Bible fact, and that is that “After the Day of Judgment, satan will not be the king of hell, he won’t be in charge of hell, and he will no longer be the ‘prince of this world’ (John 12:31, John 14:30).” Your point that God will be Lord of all then, as He is now, is another point on which we agree.
As to whether the Lake of Fire is hell or not, I won’t argue the point. In fact, let’s just leave out of the discussion the two Revelation 20 passages in the post. The main verse on which I base my belief on this point is Matthew 25:41, where Jesus says that “eternal fire” was prepared for the “devil and his angels”. You can call “eternal fire” what you want, but I believe Jesus was talking about hell when he said this — and it’s not just the NIV that translates it this way. The KJV, ASV, NASV, and others translate it this way.
Whatever “eternal fire” is, satan will be there, and I don’t plan to be. That’s all that matters.