WHEN DID SATAN FALL?

First let me explain that the Hebrew word satan means “accuser.” That has caused a number of commentators to state that when it occurs in the Bible, especially as “the satan,” it designates not a personal name but an office such as a prosecuting attorney. That may very well be true. However, unless that heavenly position is a rotating one with different angels occupying it for only certain terms of office, it is logical to propose that only one supernatural entity is being referred to, namely Satan.

Secondly, I have dealt partially with the question above in several earlier posts. But I thought it might be convenient to put those thoughts together in one place. With that said, it appears that there are at least seven different proposed occasions during which Satan's fall might have happened or will happen. And actually, one could summarize Satan's whole career as one giant downward progression.

Before the Second Creation

You may well ask at this point: “What second creation?” That is because this is an idea made popular by the Scofield Reference Bible and known as the Gap Theory. It was formulated in an attempt to hold on to a literal seven-day creation while accepting the fossil evidence for a much longer time period in the earth's prehistory. It proposes that millions of years transpired between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2 during which time Satan reigned over primitive man and dinosaurs roamed the earth. God decided that Satan had done a poor job of stewardship and so he wiped out that creation, cast Satan out of heaven, and re-made the earth into the creation we know today.

As Todd Beall understates the situation: “There are several major problems with this view.” Besides being rank speculation as to what might have happened between two verses that certainly read as if they are telling a continuous story, this view states quite incorrectly that “formless void” in Genesis 1:2 always refers to a condition occurring after a judgment by God. Also, the proponents of the Gap Theory translate that verse from the Hebrew quite inaccurately as “the earth became void.” Proponents present as ammunition Isaiah 45:18, which states that God did not create a void earth. But as all modern translations correctly render that verse, it merely says that God's purpose was not to stop with the creation of an empty earth, but to fill it with inhabitants.

As further justification of their view, the gap theorists then go even further afield by citing the prophetic taunt songs found in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. I discuss these in more detail in the appropriately titled post “Taunt Songs: Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28: Job 28-29.” The prophets make fun of two different earthly kings of the pagan nations in exaggerated terms and predict their downfall. Although portions of these poetic diatribes may possibly be viewed as dim types of Satan and his fate, they certainly cannot be said to refer directly to him. To do so, as the gap theorists do, is to depart completely from the strictly literal interpretation of the Bible to which they claim to subscribe.

Fortunately, as Beall explains, less and less people are still holding to this tenuous proposition today.

While in Eden

Assuming that the serpent in the Garden was Satan in animal form, one could postulate that the curse on him in Genesis 3 to be condemned to eating the dust of the earth meant that he had just been kicked out of heaven permanently. Others even go further and state that he was at that point condemned to live under the earth although one has to stretch the text quite a bit to make that point.

A more logical interpretation of the curse in Genesis 3 is that since the serpent had allowed Satan to speak through him, this animal was condemned to slither in the dust of the ground from then on rather than walking on legs as he had up to that time (a fact which interestingly enough has been confirmed by fossil findings in recent years). If that interpretation is correct, then this passage says nothing whatsoever concerning Satan's fate. And actually, if being a prosecuting attorney is Satan's role in God's plan, then it is even possible, though not probable, that he is acting according to orders from God Himself in order to test the first human couple.

Just Prior to the Flood

Another possible occasion for Satan's fall is when the “sons of God” (believed to be angels) left heaven in order to cohabit with women on earth. (Genesis 6) There is speculation that these “fallen angels” (although they voluntarily left rather than having been expelled) must have been led to desert God at the same time that Satan was kicked out. There is little to recommend that particular point of view other than the unsupported attempt to associate it with the fallen angels mentioned in Revelation. Alternative interpretations of this obscure passage are discussed in the post “Genesis 6:1-4.”

At Jesus' Birth

One has to go to the Book of Revelation for this possibility, and it depends somewhat on an amillennial interpretation of that apocalyptic book. Assuming, as many scholars do, that the incidents in Revelation are presented in seven cycles which repeat the same basic time frame over and over again using different imagery each time, then Revelation 12 appears at the start of yet another recap of history from Christ's birth to the Last Judgment.

This explanation makes a lot of sense when one considers the parallels in this chapter with the Gospel accounts of Jesus' birth. Thus, it begins with a vision of a pregnant woman who gives birth to a male child who is to rule as king over all the nations. This child is in danger of being killed until God removes the mother and child to the wilderness where they will stay for a short time. Simultaneous to these events, Satan and his stars (i.e. angels) begin to make war on God in heaven and are thrown down to earth. These two sets of events are described according to the alternating literary pattern shown below:

Satan and angels fall to earth (Rev. 12:3-4a)

    He attempts to kill the child Jesus (Rev. 12:4b)

        God protects the child (Rev. 12:5-6)

Satan and his angels fall to earth (Rev. 12:7-9)

                Hymn of praise (Rev. 12:10-12)

    He attempts to kill the woman (Rev. 12:13)

        God protects her (Rev. 12:14)

    He attempts to kill the woman (Rev. 12:15)

        God protects her (Rev. 12:16)

    He attempts to kill the rest of her children (12:17)

The hymn in the middle marks the change-point in this passage. Before it, Satan's attack is directed against Christ himself. But after that fails, he turns to attack the “woman” (possibly standing for the church in these verses) as well as her children (i.e. believers).

During Jesus' Earthly Ministry

In Luke 10:18, we have the first definite reference to Satan's fall in the Bible. When the apostles return after miraculously curing people and casting out demons, they are totally amazed. Jesus' explanation to them is: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from the sky” That comment makes no sense at all if Christ is referring to some ancient event that he witnessed in his pre-incarnate state or something that will happen in the distant future. It has to refer to something that had recently transpired.

It also is very consistent with Jesus' somewhat cryptic statement recorded in all the Synoptic accounts (Matthew 12:22-32; Mark 3:20-27; Luke 11:14:23), which similarly occurred in the context of Jesus' activities as an exorcist of evil spirits. When Jesus' opponents accuse him of casting our demons using Satan's power, part of his reply is, “How can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man?” In other words, Satan is beginning to lose his evil power over those on earth.

Before the Tribulation

I must admit that I wasn't even aware of this belief until very recently. But then, I do not really follow all the complicated details of the dispensational scheme regarding the order of future events. Thus, Walvoord explains, “This same power of Satan is further revealed in the Great Tribulation when he empowers the world ruler (Rev. 13:4). Satan will have been cast out of heaven at the beginning of the Great Tribulation and will then be more active than ever (Rev. 12:9, 13, 15, 17).” The most charitable thing I can say about that idea is nothing at all.

During the Millennium

If one takes the position, as do some premillennialists, that the events in Revelation are all described in chronological order, will occur in the future, and are to be taken as literally as possible (three huge and probably incorrect assumptions), then one can make the case that at least one giant downward step for Satan is when he is locked in a holding pit for 1,000 years before being temporarily let out.

Note that the above figurative explanation of Satan's limitations during this time period is followed by a literal explanation in Revelation 20:3: “so that he would deceive the nations no more.” Amillennialists take this to mean that during the church age, Satan no longer has completely free reign to deceive the world with false idol worship and demon oppression. In that respect, it is exactly the same as Jesus' statement while on earth that the strong man has been bound.

At the Last Judgment

And pretty much all can agree that Satan and all his followers will suffer the ultimate fall when they are condemned to spend eternity tormented in the lake of fire and sulfur. (Revelation 20:10-15)

In closing, there is one major objection to the first three possibilities for the timing of Satan's fall. If it occurred at the latest just before the flood, how does one explain the following incidents happening after that time period?

    Job 1-2: Satan is obviously in heaven at this point, acting in his role of prosecuting attorney. This time he is accusing both Job and God by his words. All indications are that this event took place in the early patriarchal period.

    Jude 8-9: Assuming that one accepts the historical veracity of these verses, they describe Satan and Michael disputing over Moses' body. And even Michael feels that he is not in any position to condemn Satan for his actions.

    I Chronicles 21:1: Next to occur chronologically is the interesting incident in which Satan tempts King David to number the people. We might think that this is just Satan acting on his own until we compare this verse to the parallel account in II Samuel 24:1 in which it states that God was the one doing the tempting. The best way to harmonize these two accounts is to say that it is exactly parallel to the situation described in Job 1-2 where Satan is allowed to do something, but only with God's express permission.

    Zechariah 3:1-2: This last example is by far the most damning to any theory stating that Satan was cast out of heaven in pre-patriarchal times. In this passage, Satan is still up to his old tricks while living up to his official role as a heavenly prosecuting attorney. He accuses the high priest Joshua (not to be confused with the more famous Joshua) before God, and God the Judge rebukes him for making an unfounded accusation. What makes this passage so significant is that it indicates Satan is still in heaven as late as 520 BC.

So in conclusion, the best guess by far as to when Satan was ejected from heaven is some time between Jesus' birth and his early ministry on earth.