THE POWER OF GOD'S OMNISCIENCE
Although the father of lies and the cause of destruction and death
implicitly features in the Passover season, his fate is, I believe,
specifically dealt with in the symbolism of the Day of Atonement.
The world does not know God and therefore does not know the nature
of the Devil, for it doesn't know what is Good in God's eyes,
and therefore has poor perception of what is Evil. The final Antichrist,
the willing servant of Satan and spiritual leader of the Neo-Babylonian
Empire still arising, will not be recognised by the vast majority
of religious and irreligious people for what he is. It is God
who reveals Himself to us and thus it is God who reveals to us
the mystery of iniquity (2Thess 2:3-12; Rev 13:1-18; Dan 11:31-45)
which is entirely of Satan ("Adversary"—who brings Death),
the Devil ("Accuser"—who is the Liar), that old Serpent,
more cunning and far more deceptive than any beastly leader who
serves the father of lies and murder—the destroyer of truth and
godliness.
The casting of lots in Leviticus 16 indicates that it is
God who reveals who is the Saviour of man, the acceptable sin
offering for the sins of the world, and who is the Destroyer who
must eventually perish in the wilderness. The weight of evidence
in the Bible, an in varied and ancient historical sources that
deal with Azazel, is so vast that to deny that the goat for
Azazel does prophetically typify Satan seems to be willing
ignorance (Perhaps you'd care to listen to the audio-tapes of
the Day of Atonement sermons of the previous two years).
Just as the omniscient Father knew that the only-begotten God,
as John 1:18 renders it (consider also Heb 11:17), would unfailingly be the Lamb of God, so
He similarly foreknew what Lucifer would do and what the solutions
would be—before the creation of the universe. I am reminded of
the lust and envy exhibited by one brother towards his righteous
brother: Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob. Do
these earthly events reflect the inspiration by the Evil
One of sons—Cain, Ishmael, and Esau—who sought what was not promised
them out of unrelenting pride and envy? For Satan, originally
a son of God Almighty, out of pride and envy sought what was not
his and was not content with what he was given. If the created
angelic beings around the Throne included the pre-incarnate Jesus
Christ and Lucifer, brothers in the angelic realm, did one envy
the other? We'll come back to these questions. I will need to
explore them further during the Feast of Tabernacles in the sermon,
Son of God, the Lamb, the Messiah—The History of Jesus Christ.
THE MASKS OF SATAN
Let's consider sections of two chapters that deal with the beginnings
of Lucifer or Satan.
HISTORY OF SATAN IN EZEKIEL 28:11-19
In the final rebellion by Satan we are told that he "was
cast into the lake of fire" (Rev 20:6)—but we are not told
exactly by whom. How is Jesus Christ involved in the overthrow
of Satan? [See Rom 16:20; 2Thess 2:8; Rev 17:13-14; 19:11-16,19-21;
20:1-3; 1Jn 3;8; Jude 9; Zech 3:1-2; 1Cor 15:24]. Is it possible
that the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ was the guardian cherub who
was appointed to keep an eye on Lucifer, called the Morning Star?
Yet this is the title Jesus Christ is given in Rev 22:16. Like
Ishmael and Esau, was Lucifer going to lose that to which he imagined
he had inheritance rights?
Ezekiel 28 continues:
The Bible reveals God's way of mocking the deceitful counterfeits
and parodies of the reality of what happened, is happening, and
will happen in Heaven in the Assembly, the Council of GOD on Mt
Zion, e.g., Rev 4 & 5; Ps 82:1; 86:8; 89:6-8; 95:3; 99:1-3;
111:1; Jer 23:18-22; Dan 7:9-14; Heb 12:22-23. These Scriptures
and many others speak of the Divine Council or Assembly of the
Angelic Host around the Throne of the LORD of hosts to
which true prophets have access by visions from God; e.g., as
John did, in Rev 1:1-3,10-20. In Job 1 and 2, we have Satan involved
in discussions in the Council of God. Most scholars and theologians
scorn the fact that these are real events in the divine realm
among numerous divine entities.
LUCIFER IN ISAIAH 14:12-19
It is common for theologians to think of Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel
28 in these kinds of words:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will make
myself like the Most High.' 15 But you are brought down to Sheol,
to the depths of the Pit. 16 Those who see you will stare at you,
and ponder over you: 'Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
who shook kingdoms, 17 who made the world like a desert and overthrew
its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?' (Jesus Christ
sets prisoners free; Mt 25:36-44). 18 All the kings of the nations
lie in glory, each in his own tomb; 19 but you are cast out, away
from your sepulchre, like a loathed untimely birth, clothed with
the slain, those pierced by the sword, who go down to the stones
of the Pit, like a dead body trodden under foot.
In reading the modern translations of the ancient Babylonian myths
about Satan and the god (the Elohim) who is his
conqueror, one becomes utterly amazed at the many parallels with
Scripture. When I first read 1 Enoch I was stunned at the many
points of contact with OT and NT and how the nature of God was
vastly different to what broad Christianity teaches. Alexander
Heidel's The Babylonian Genesis is exhaustive on this subject
of the war between the gods. This book gives translations of seven
clay tablets found in the excavated ruins of Nineveh, Ashur, Kish
and Uruk (in Iraq). I'll quote from this book in the upcoming
message, History of Jesus Christ. Eliade's Gods, Goddesses
and Myths of Creation (New York: Harper & Row, 1974; pp
100-101) has this quote from the Babylonian epic myth Enuma
elish (When on high). It describes the birth of Marduk,
a parody of the Messiah, and Kingu, who lusts for what has been
given and promised to Marduk:
REVELATION 20—SATAN'S ULTIMATE FATE
CONCLUSION
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES FROM DAY OF ATONEMENT SERMONS IN
'99 & '98
Cirlot's A Dictionary of Symbols (Routledge: 1993) says
of the male goat:
The Lev 16 goat for Azazel is surely symbolic of Satan,
and the entire ritual is a parabolic prophecy of a stage in his
ultimate destiny: his being put away in the wilderness. Yet his
ultimate destruction occurs after the event of Rev 20:2. Satan
is bound for a thousand years. When the 1000 years have ended,
he will be released, will gather Gog and Magog, the whole world
again led into wholesale deception, but he is cast into the lake
of fire (Rev 20:7-10).
"LET IT BE ON YOUR HEAD!"
Anointing, by the laying on of hands, is widely mentioned in the
Scriptures and there are many examples: Gen 31:13; Ex 25:6; Jgs
9:8,15; 1Sam 9:16; 16:12; 1K 1:34; Ps 2:2; 45:7; Isa 45:1; Ezk
28:14; Dan 9:24; Amos 6:6; Zech 4:14; Matt 6:17; Acts 10:38; Heb
1:9: Rev 3:18.
However, examples closer to the notion of putting something on
the head of someone else are:
"INTO THE WILDERNESS"
CONCLUDING THE LEV 16 RITUAL
The Plan of the Almighty and omniscient GOD, the God and Father
of Jesus Christ, reveals His purposes for man, the means and fulfillment
of salvation, in the Sabbaths and three festival seasons of the
biblical calendar. The apostle Paul's last epistle, written to
his beloved helper and companion, Timothy, has these awesome and
glorious words we've all read before:
2Tim 1:8-9 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony
of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner (for Paul was in prison in
Rome for the second time, probably 66-68AD.
He was murdered at Nero's order just before the emperor suicided
after fleeing a revolt in Rome in June of 68), but share with
me in the sufferings for the Gospel according to the power of
God, 9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before
time began.
This totally-devoted servant of God and His Christ uses the same
Greek word for "purpose" in the context of predestination
of the saints in
Rom 8:28 We know that all things work together for good
to those who love God, to those who are the called according to
His purpose.
This purpose and means of salvation, Paul told Titus, was established
by the Father before time began, that is, before the creation
of the universe (See the Son of Man paper; and the
Feast of Trumpets sermon of 30/8/00 for more on the origins of
the Plan of God).
Tit 1:1-2 Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus
Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment
of the truth which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal
life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
Yes, I've mentioned this quite a few times, but we cannot underestimate
the power and magnanimity of these promises. The door to such
promise is opened by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and that was
foreordained before the creation, as the apostle Peter states
in his amazing first NT epistle to us:
1Pet 1:18-20 You were not redeemed with corruptible things,
like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition
from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as
of a Lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He was indeed
foreordained before the foundation {or creation} of the world,
but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him
believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.
The Lamb of God was foreordained to be sacrificed at a particular
time and place, namely in the first month of the biblical year
outside the walls of Jerusalem—and these are contrary to
the walls of the New Jerusalem. Those who accept the sacrifice
of the only-begotten Son of the Father murdered outside the confines
of established religion must then continue by the grace of God
to live a Way of life not leavened by sin but by the unleavened
Bread of sincerity, truth, and the Life and Power of Jesus Christ.
Such saints also seek the Water of Life, the Holy Spirit, promised
to all who repent and believe the Gospel of God. Forgiven and
led by the Power of God, these saints resist the Devil and zealously
pray for the Kingdom of God. The instruction in the Gospel, the
warnings and declarations of the Gospel, the promise of the Father
to send the Son to harvest the saints and the chaff are all aspects
of the meaning of the Feast of Trumpets. Then surely there is
also prophecy and parable about Satan in the Festivals?
There are books we enjoy reading because they are good and pleasurable;
there are books that edify and inform us; and a there are a few
books that need to be read that inform, but horrify us about the
nature of evil! Huxley's The Brave New World, Nietzsche's
Thus Spake Zarathustra and Beyond Good and Evil
fall into that category. However, Christopher Nugent's The
Masks of Satan, The Demonic in History
(Westminster: Christian Classics, 1989) is written with such acuity
of perception, precision of phrase, and with such urgency that
it terrifyingly screams out to protect man: Flee from the Devil!
Having first experienced the awareness of evil as a child in the
ambiguities of amorality in refugee camps in western Germany from
May, 1945 to April, 1950, then in numerous experiences throughout
my life, I cannot but strongly agree with these kinds of extraordinary
quotes Nugent makes:
"Satan can mask himself as an angel of truth [see 2Cor 11:13-15;
Rev 12:9]. He wants us to deny his existence, negate him to a
mere psychological entity. Satan wants us to profane the profound"
(p ix).
Wiesel, although a philosopher who survived Auschwitz, is confused
theologically, therefore he is confused on the problem of evil
and the causes of suffering on the part of the innocent.
Satan is the master of disguise and deception. And Jesus Christ
is the Face of God, which theology few understand (see Gen 32:28-30;
Mt 5:8; Jn 14:9; Col 1:15; 1Cor 13:12).
"The reality [of the demonic as opposed to the subtleties
of language and other symbols] is less easy to dismiss, and it
is recognizable in such things as the compulsion to curse, pleasure
in destruction, the self-righteous closure of the heart [i.e.,
unwillingness to reason and seek reconciliation, as Is 1:18-20
urges; unwillingness to love the brethren, as Christ does and
as Paul shows], the ironically vulgarizing divinization of disintegral
Eros [e.g., super models are no longer cars but the erotic vulgarization
and demeaning of womanhood so that women are viewed culturally
as worthy only when supposedly beautiful, bizarre, and erotic],
the Faustian lust of the mind for illicit things [i.e., making
devilish deals for illicit gains], a certain not entirely subliminal
enchantment with evil" [e.g., where beautiful women are used
to sell witchcraft; and the tolerance of the demonic] (p 1).
"Elie Wiesel, in Night, speaks of a child with 'the
face of an angel' hanged in the Nazi 'Kingdom of Night'. A despairing
Wiesel heard a voice behind him cry, 'Where is God now?' And Wiesel
heard a voice within him answer: 'Where? He is—He is hanging on
this gallows.'
If that was God, who was Satan? Maybe we should have another
look. And, if there is a demonology of masks, there is a theology
of the face" (p 2).
"[The] demonic … is false spirituality" (p 4),
Nugent so accurately affirms.
Many churches, religious and multi-ethnic groups are splitting
into ever-smaller groups with rejection of reconciliation attempts,
although 'reconciliation' sometimes results through compromises
of truth and integrity. Or there is refusal to live wholeheartedly
by every Word of God, for some prefer partial adherence to the
Word of God. These are evidence of the cancerous universal growth
of the adversarial spirit.
"Ultimately, if the greatest commandment is love [which
it is, for God is love; 1Jn 4:8,16], the procession into the demonic
must exist in a procession away from love. In sum, the Adversary
is the patron of adversary relationships" (p 5).
"When all is said and done, history is the story of the conflict
of good and evil. … and because in history, which is never
'pure', the wheat and the tare are always mixed" (p 7).
Most of us are unused to the highly-informed and very compact
writing of Christopher Nugent, a Catholic theologian and historian.
He speaks of modern society's insatiable cultural proclivity
to relish good and evil and thus "to rationalize our
incognizance of good and evil" (p 187). He says that the
"only lasting community is the communion of saints [1Cor
10:16], and it is my faith that its food is the Lamb of God"
(p 189). In his last chapter he states:
"In the beginning was a rebellion—sure as the Daystar itself,
but faint and unfathomable as a forgotten dream. The primal Fall
is a mythological event lost in the impenetrable mists of the
preternatural. This is the fall of Lucifer, fairest of the angels,
to which the text of Isaiah is traditionally accommodated. Lucifer
would 'be like the Most High', but fell low, and this archetypal
Fall can be the tragedy of us all. … Mythology, as applied
to sacred literature and sometimes to secular, is not just a fable
but a veiled truth, and it can be so blinding a truth that perhaps
it must be a veiled truth" (p 9).
"Apocalypse expresses the faith that somehow goodness is
indestructible, that love has a future, that ultimately our love
and the divine love will be one love" (p 191) [as incredibly
described by Christ: The Glory which You gave Me I have given
to them so that they may be one as We are one; Jn 20:22].
I find such words frightening. But far more fearful are the Words
of God for they are certain.
"In the light of our times one might almost say that we
must either believe in Apocalypse or believe in insanity. …
[Apocalypse] sees a communion of suffering as the prelude to a
communion of saints. …. Apocalypse makes the collapse of
Christendom, including its non-Christian variants, more meaningful"
(p 192).
"Condoning a little evil is like condoning a little cancer,
and the glamour or excitement of evil can readily lead to a numbed
acquiescence in what might be termed … 'the elect of evil,
once started, must go the whole way'" (p 194).
Because of a few obscurities in the biblical Hebrew, scholars
translate this section, especially verses 14 and 16, with significant
differences. Modern or recent translations I've referred to for
these verses are the Moffatt, Amplified, RSV, NRSV, TEV, NEB,
NAB, plus the LXX (which is the OT Greek translation done about
250BC, and the citation by Origen, who wrote
between 185 and 254AD, of this section of
Scripture (in his De Principiis, 1.V.4; [from the ANF,
(Eerdmans, 1987), Vol IV, p 258]). The Century Bible Commentary
(Ed. John W Wevers, Ezekiel, Thomas Nelson & Son, 1969),
The International Critical Commentary, G.A. Cooke, The
Book of Ezekiel, (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1960), and
Walther Eichrodt's Ezekiel A Commentary (SCM Press,
1970) also support what is here given from the RSV. However, the
KJV, NKJ, NIV, NJB and others differ with regard to verses 14
and 16. The RSV reads:
Ezk 28:11-19 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me:
12 "Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre,
and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: 'You were the signet of
perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were
in Eden, the Garden of God (The Eden of God in Heaven may have
been symbolised in the Adamic Eden, just as the tabernacle and
temple of Solomon typified things in heaven; Heb 8:5; 9:23-24;
1Chr 28:11,19; Rev 15:5-6); every precious stone was your covering,
carnelian, topaz, and jasper, chrysolite, beryl, and onyx, sapphire,
carbuncle, and emerald; and wrought in gold were your settings
and your engravings (The LXX lists 12 stones as on the high priest's
breastplate; Ex 39:8-21). On the day that you were created
they were prepared.
Origen translates this as: "From the day when you were created
along with the cherubim, I placed you in the holy mount of God."
The TEV or Good News Bible (1976) has: "I put a terrifying
angel there to guard you. You lived on my holy mountain and walked
among the sparkling gems." The LXX (Brenton translation)
has: "From the day that you were created you were with the
cherub: I set you on the holy mount of God; you were in the midst
of the stones of fire." The question we might ask is: Who
was the guardian cherub Lucifer was with? And if you think you
know, is your answer consistent with everything else Scripture
gives on the subject and other associated matters?
14 With an anointed guardian cherub I placed you; you were
on the Holy Mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire
you walked.
Ezk 28:15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were
created, till iniquity was found in you.
And since Lucifer was created, it would seem so also was his guardian
cherub. Again, whatever answer we might give, it must not conflict
with other Scriptures.
16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence,
and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the Mountain
of God, and the guardian cherub drove you out from the midst
of the stones of fire.
Who drove Satan from Heaven? Who will expel Satan? In Lk 10:18,
the Greek may be literally translated as: "I [Jesus Christ
speaking prophetically] was seeing Satan as lightning from heaven
falling" (cf. Bock, Luke; BECNT, 1996; Vol
2, p 1006). Rev 20:1-2 says that an angel from Heaven will
bind Satan for a 1000 years. Rev 12 speaks of Michael and
the angels involved in a battle with Satan who is cast out of
Heaven (vv. 7-9). In Dan 12:1, Michael is the great Prince
who watches over the people of God, but we know that Jesus Christ
jealously watches over the people of God and has overall responsibility,
for He is the author of salvation to all who obey [Heb 5:9]; He
is High Priest of God over the Kingdom of priests [Heb 7:20-25;
1Pet 2:4-5]; He is the Shepherd of God's sheep and will never
leave nor forsake them [Jn 10:11-16; Heb 2:10-13; 13:5-6]).
Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this
testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the offspring of
David (Rev 5:5 calls Jesus the Lion of the tribe of Judah and
the Root of David; Rom 15:12; Is 11:1,10), the bright Morning
Star (which was prophesied by Balaam in Num 24:17—A Star shall
come out of Jacob; a Sceptre shall arise out of Israel; 2Pet
1:19 says the Day Star shall arise in your hearts; and
Rev 2:28 gives the promise: I will give him the Morning Star—to
those who overcome and do God's works to the end).
Jesus Christ is the prophesied Morning Star. Christ is
in us by the Spirit He sends from the Father. It is He who gives
us perception of the dawning of the Light which in nature is preceded
by Venus, the morning star, then followed by the brilliant rays
of the sun across the horizon from the East, typifying the Sun
of Righteousness arising with healing in His wings (Mal
4:2)—a prophecy of the healing we receive and then the Life
everlasting which follows.
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted
your wisdom for the sake of your splendour. I cast you to the
ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you.
18 By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness
of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought forth
fire from the midst of you; it consumed you, and I turned you
to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you. 19 All
who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come
to a dreadful end and shall be no more for ever.
Satan and his works, and his divine and earthly agents, will be
no more in prophetic history!
What are the connections between Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14? The
Oxford Companion to the Bible (editors Bruce M. Metzger &
Michael D. Coogan; OUP, 1993), comments: "Lucifer, a name
for Satan popularized in the Middle Ages [but the early Catholic
fathers generally understood the name!], derives ultimately from
the merging of the New Testament tradition of the fall of Satan
from heaven (Luke 10.18 [which most modern theologians think is
myth and which Adam Clarke similarly derided in the early 1800s])
with the originally separate biblical tradition concerning the
Morning Star (cf. Isa. 14.12)" (p 679).
"In [Ezk] 28:12-19, the subject is the king of Tyre [possibly
typifying world trade and commerce; Babylon more strongly typifies
world government and religion, and all these elements are combined
in a final Babylon in Rev 13 and 17], who is thought of as a divine
being dwelling in the mountain of the gods—clearly in dependence
upon a myth similar to what is utilised in Isa. 14—and he is cast
down to the earth by the High God because of his pride. …
[Is 14] makes use of a myth similar to that in Ezek. 28:12-19,
comparing the tyrant with 'Lucifer, son of the dawn' fallen from
heaven." (Otto Eissfeldt, The Old Testament, An Introduction,
trans Peter R. Ackroyd; Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1966; pp 96-97).
Let's read the text of Is 14:12-19 in the RSV:
Is 14:12-19 How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star
(helel=Lucifer, from Latin, 'bringer of light'), son of
Dawn (ben shachar)! How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, 'I will
ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my
throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far
north (zaphon).
Theologian and teacher, Alec Moyter, who has devoted most of his
life to a study of Isaiah, says in his 1993 commentary:
"Behind the phrase the mount of assembly lies the
mythological idea that the gods lived on mountains. The assembly
is the gathered pantheon [i.e., all the gods and angelic beings].
On sacred mountain (yarkete zaphon) see the NIV
mg. [which says that Mount Zaphon, like Mount Olympus, is considered
home and meeting place of the gods; Ps 48:1-2] (The Prophecy
of ISAIAH, IVP; p 145)."
The Interpreter's Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1956;
Vol 5, pp 261-2) says in part:
"The use in these verses of material derived from Canaanite
myths is unmistakable, and the point is made that the meaning
of what the tyrant has done is set forth in the myth of Helal,
the Day Star or "Lightgiver" (cf. Vulg. "Lucifer"),
son of Shahar, Dawn. … We know that there was a god
Shahar in Canaanite (Ugaritic) mythology, the god of dawn or of
the morning star and "Helal, son of Shahar, is mentioned
apparently in one of the texts from Ugarit. Another clearly mythological
element is the mount of assembly [of the gods] in
the far north {Zaphon}, the point around which the
constellations turned, where was located the summit of the heavenly
mountain and the throne of the Most High (cf. Ezek. 28:14;
Pss. 48:2 {Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth,
is Mount Zion on the sides of the North (Zaphon), the City of
the Great King}; 82:1,6). The passage before us preserves
the Canaanite form of the nature myth, telling of the attempt
of the morning star to scale the heights of heaven, surpassing
all other stars only to be cast down to earth by the victorious
sun."
THE WAR OF THE SONS
The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT,
499) briefly mentions this myth:
"In Isa 14:12-15 there is a Canaanite version of the Greek
Phaethon myth as mediated and influenced by Phoenician culture
during the "heroic age." The development of the Canaanite
version is complex and has affinities with the Ugaritic myth involving
Athar, son of Athirat, who was unable to occupy the throne of
Baal. It was Phaethon who attempted to scale the heights of heaven
and as the dawn star was ever condemned to be cast down into Hades
(sheol). Even if one does not accept McKay's argument [McKay
is a scholar who claims Helal is the Dawn Goddess],
it is important to note the following philological oddities":
Then the TWOT speaks of har mo'ed (mount of assembly) in Isa
14:13 which is comparable to the Ugaritic Mount of Lala, also
called Zaphon, where the Canaanite gods assembled for council.
In an article on the DEVIL in The Dictionary of Deities
and Demons in the Bible, which also makes it clear that Azazel
was regarded as the arch demon (pp 130-131,246-247), these extraordinary
remarks are made:
"During and after the Babylonian Exile (about 605-538BC),
Israel was influenced by the cosmological dualism of Persian Zoroastrianism
(Zoroaster, or Zarathustra, was a type of anti-christ in
Iran at the time of Buddha in India, Confucius and Lao-tse in
China, Thales, Parmenides, Heraclitus in Greece, and Jeremiah,
Ezekiel and Daniel were contemporaneous). This system posited
two warring camps of spiritual beings headed by twin but opposing
siblings, the Zoroastrian God and the Devil, who fought for the
loyalty of humans in deadly combat. [Zarathustra, however, was
a mix of good and evil; a false messiah disguised by the Devil].
To assist in the battle the two had produced armies of lesser
spirits, the angels and the demons. (Other ancient documentations
show that each of them organised and appointed hierarchies among
their respective angelic servants. See Col 1:16; Heb 1:2-3). In
one important text, 'the Evil One' declares to God: "I shall
destroy you and your creatures forever and ever. And I shall persuade
all your creatures to hate you and to love me." Creation
was their battlefield and the present age was the time of spiritual
warfare. At the end of this age of conflict, there would be a
final battle in which the Devil and his hosts would be defeated
and destroyed in a fiery hell, and a new creation and a new age
would begin in righteousness." …
Some may be wondering why I'm giving so many difficult references
which are not from the Bible. The entire Bible is written in God's
omniscient context of all history and culture that is 2000 years
and more before us. The Bible deals with eternal and divine issues
in the knowledge that all peoples of all ages and cultures must
be addressed. Pagan beliefs and myths from ancient Babylon, Egypt,
Persia, Greece, Rome, India, China, and all nations are all perversions
of truths through demonic inspiration of leaders of culture and
religion across the ages. Mircea Eliade's Cosmos and History
and James Frazer's The Golden Bough are excellent in illustrating
this in all major and many smaller cultures. The saints need to
at least understand that these parodies of truth existed and then
help overthrow all lies and perversions of God's truths of His
Plan of Salvation. The writers of the Bible are aware of these
myths and counterfeits of truth conceived to turn people away.
The myths are designed to distort biblical knowledge and to cause
scorn and disbelief, whereas Scripture is designed to reveal knowledge
of God and cause belief in what God does and purposes.
"Two types of Zoroastrianism of the period had postulated
different myths of origin for the great Spirits of Light and Darkness:
the first held that the two were co-eternal twins without source,
essentially two opposite gods; the second [myth] claimed that
Time (Zervan) as source had generated the two in eternity past
as opposing aspects of the original and ambiguous One."
"These [rebellious demons] were led by a great opponent …
viewed as a rebellious angel followed by his hosts of demons,
who assumed characteristics of the great mythic opponents of the
heavenly gods, destined to defeat. He could be opposed by a great
champion of righteousness, the angel of the LORD (cf. Zech 3:1;
Jub. 17:14-18:16), or Michael the archangel (cf. Jude 9),
or in later Christian thought, by Jesus …. The leader of
this band of fallen angels, Azazel, … was identified as the
Devil" (Editors: van der Toorn, Becking, van der Horst; Leiden:
Brill, 1999; pp 245-246).
In the chamber of fates, the abode of destinies,
This symbolism reminds me of Rev 12, where the Woman clothed with
the Sun, crowned with 12 stars, the moon under her feet, gives
birth to the Son of God, whom the Dragon wants to destroy, whom
the Dragon wants to seduce by offering Him rulership over the
earth, which is already promised to the Son of the Father, but
which the Adversary wants all for himself.
A god was engendered, most potent and wisest of gods.
In the heart of Apsu [the Deep] was Marduk created,
In the heart of holy Apsu was Marduk created.
He who begot him was Ea, his father;
She who conceived him was Damkina, his mother.
From among [rebellious] gods, her [Tiamat's] firstborn, who
formed her Assembly,
This Babylonian epic, which shows Tiamat, the Earth Mother,
as mother and wife to Kingu, also says that Marduk was made head
of the Council of the gods, but the Mother of Chaos, suggesting
Mystery Babylon, the Mother of Harlots, who sets up her
own counterfeit power structures, appoints an Adversary, Kingu,
against Marduk, in jealousy against his appointment by the father
of the gods as head and favourite. For scholars to accept that
the biblical accounts and the parodied heathen accounts reveal
real entities responsible for truth and evil would mean that they
would have to change their belief systems, change their codes
of behaviour, their governmental ideas, their cultures, and make
them all conform to what the true God reveals. But like the Devil,
their rebellion must go to its conclusion—to destruction and death.
She elevated Kingu, made him chief among them.
The leading of the ranks, command of Assembly,
The raising of weapons for encounter, advancing to combat,
In battle the commander-in-chief—
These to his hand she entrusted as she seated him in the Council:
'I have cast for thee the spell, exalting thee in the Assembly
of the gods.
To counsel all the gods I have given thee full power.
Verily, thou art supreme, my only consort art thou!
Thy utterance shall prevail over all the Anunnaki!' [i.e.,
all the rebellious gods]
Just as ancient myths and epics reveal some truths and many errors,
it is very evident that they also expose the religious and cultural
confusion all over the earth and throughout history as to the
true identity of the righteous Father and of His beloved messianic
Son who came as the Lamb of God, and who will come as Prince of
Peace, King of kings, and Conqueror of all evils. The world still
eats from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and
is incapable of seeing and tasting the Tree of Life. The
adversarial way breeds confusion, alienation, war, destruction,
and death. The Way of the Son of God is Life and Peace, Knowledge
of God, Life filled with the Love of God, and Life that lives
the supreme excellencies of all that is good, true, and eternal.
In Rev 20:1-3,7-10 we read: Then John saw an angel
coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit
and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the Dragon, that
Serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for
a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and
shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive
the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But
after these things he must be released for a little while.
How shocking it is that after a millennium of Christ's rule with
the saints—this is the result!
7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released
from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which
are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather
them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.
9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the
camp of the saints and the beloved city.
How bizarre that the forces of evil, after extensive universal
evangelism by the Order of Melchizedek, the Kingdom of priests,
can besiege the capital city! Is it any wonder that God in His
rage then acts in this way?
And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10
The Devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone where the beast and the false prophet were. And
they will be tormented day and night forever and ever
(aionais ton aionon is generally used
in phrases such as in Gal 1:5 to whom be glory for ever and
ever, and which obviously means 'without ever ceasing').
But does it mean 'eternally', without ever ceasing, as in Rev
19:3, which speaks of the smoke of Babylon rising forever
and ever? Jude 7 speaks of Sodom and Gomorrah suffering
the Divine justice of eternal fire (which is now not visible),
whereas 2Pet 2:6, using the same example, states that the
ashes (and we don't know where they are today) are a copy
or example of God's judgment upon those who afterwards
would live unrighteously. In this case, it is the knowledge of
this—as an example—which is an eternal witness. Hence there is
some allowance of meaning to Rev 20:10 to say that, once the destruction
is complete, its memory and awareness will still continue on for
as long as there is any threat to righteousness. And we know that
when the Holy City comes, and the Father, the earth and heavens
will pass away, and there will be new heavens and earth, with
no more decay or death. Then there shall be no smoke from fire
nor the smoke of delusion.
May I make a couple of references from I Enoch (the R.H. Charles
translation; and please note that there is general agreement among
scholars that I Enoch pre-dates Jesus' ministry by more than 100
years). These references confirm Scripture and perhaps add detail
to Azazel's fate.
1En 54:4-6 I [Enoch] asked the angel of peace who sent
for me: 'For whom are these chains being prepared?' 5 And he said
to me: 'These are being prepared for the hosts of Azazel, so that
they may take them and cast them into the abyss of complete condemnation,
and they shall cover their jaws with rough stones as the Lord
of spirits commanded. 6 And Michael, and Gabriel, and Raphael,
and Phanuel shall take hold of them on that great day, and cast
them on that day into the burning furnace, that the Lord of Spirits
may take vengeance on them for their unrighteousness in becoming
subject to Satan and leading astray those who dwell on the earth.'
The Day of Atonement reminds us of Christ our Passover Lamb and
that the adversarial counterfeit of Jesus Christ, Satan the Devil,
who masquerades as an Angel of Righteousness, is exposed by God
and is destined to perish. May all those who resist the Devil
be witnesses to the final destruction of the author of evil, and
may we all rejoice and exult together in the victories over all
sins which the God and Father of Jesus Christ provides. Liberty,
freedom, safety, peace, harmony, prosperity, love, and worship
of God—in their fullest sense—cannot be freely and permanently
practised, will forever be interrupted, disrupted, distorted,
unless Satan, who is the god of this world—the goat that
is not recognised for what it is—is finally destroyed by the Son
of God, the One who shall carry out this righteous judgment. If
Satan were to be saved, he would have to repent first. None deal
with this reality. If Satan, the originator of sin, were to be
saved by a merciful God, then no human or spirit could go into
the lake of fire. Satan is an unrepentant liar, a deceiver, slanderer,
accuser, murderer, destroyer, and blasphemer, whose end is determined.
This Day symbolises that coming end and the end of recurring evils.
Meanwhile, all those whose names are in the Book of Life are afflicted
by the weaknesses of the flesh and the human spirit which Satan
so easily exploits. However, we, with repentance and acceptance
of Christ's sacrifice, are forgiven by the willing sin-offering
of the Son of God. Empowered by the Spirit of power, of love,
and sound-mindedness (2Tim 1:7), we must fully recognise our total
dependence on the Bread of Life, the Water of Life, and the Power
of God. These are the only ways to eternal life that also promise
the same to all who will wholeheartedly—with consciences cleaned
from all sins by the comprehension of the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ—turn
to God. May the grace of God be with us all.
1En 55:4 'You mighty kings who dwell on the earth, you
shall have to behold My Elect One, how he sits on the throne of
glory and judges Azazel, and all his associates, and all his
hosts in the name of the Lord of Spirits.'
THE AZAZEL ENIGMA
It should not be surprising that since there are many gods and
many christs (Matt 24:24; 1Cor 8:5; 1Jn 2:18), so there should
be many different perceptions of who and what Azazel is—another
aspect of the work of Christ, or another perspective on Satan?
In The Story of Christianity The Early Church
to the Dawn of the Reformation, Justo Gonzalez summarises
the beliefs of one of the early Catholic fathers, Origen (ca.
185-254), about Satan, which I'll quote as representative of some
persistent modern belief:
"In the present world, the devil and his demons have us captive,
and therefore Jesus Christ has come to break the power of Satan
and to show us the path we are to follow in our return to our
spiritual home. Furthermore, since the Devil is no more than a
spirit like ours, and since God is love, in the end even Satan
will be saved, and the entire creation will return to its original
state, where everything was pure spirit [This concept is derived,
says Gonzalez, "from the Platonic tradition" that "all
human souls existed as pure spirits—or "intellects",
as Origen calls them—before being born into the world"]"
(HarperCollins: 1984; pp 80-81). Origen identifies Azazel as "the Averter", and
the same as the "destroying angel" in Israel's departure
out of Egypt (De Principiis, III.2). A New Eusebius
(Edited by J. Stevenson, [SPCK: 1960]) has letters 183-185 (pp
215-217) which confirm these anti-biblical beliefs cited by Gonzalez.
Mircea Eliade's Cosmos and History summarises much of the
best history on the subject.
… in 1Enoch reference is made to Semjaza, who is
bound by Michael to await Final Judgment, and to Azazel, …
in Jubilees (cf. 10.1ff.) he is called Mastema; and in the Testaments
of the XII Patriarchs and also in the Dead Sea Scrolls he appears
as Beliar (or Belial), who in the end will be bound and cast into
eternal fire (cf. Test. Jud. 25.3). The message of writer after
writer is that, though these demons and their leaders may array
themselves against God in defiance of his will, nevertheless their
'doom is writ'. The 'Day of the Lord' will bring its judgment
on men and demons alike (D.S. Russell, The Jews from Alexander
to Herod [OUP: 1967], p 139). Also see his The Method and
Message of Jewish Apocalyptic [Westminster Press: 1964], pp
249-257, which has similar comments.
In broad outline, the ceremony of expelling demons, diseases,
and sins can be reduced to the following elements: fasting, ablutions,
and purifications … this expulsion can be practiced under
the form of the ritual sending away of an animal (type "scapegoat")
or of a man … regarded as the material vehicle through which
the faults of the entire community are transported beyond the
limits of the territory it inhabits (the scapegoat was driven
into the desert" by the Hebrews and the Babylonians) (Harper
Torchbooks: 1959; p 53 & ff.).
Frazer's The Golden Bough has numerous examples among peoples
in the ancient Orient, in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe
of "scapegoat" ceremonies. One example is of the ancient
Egyptians who slew a bull, formerly divine, and laid their misfortunes
upon his head (ibid. Chapters LV-LVIII).
"The he-goat is a kind of scape-goat—a symbol of the projection
of one's own guilt upon someone else, and of the consequent repression
of one's conscience. Hence the traditional significance of the
he-goat as an emissary, and its evil association with the devil.
It is also, like the bull, a father-symbol" (p 143).
These and numerous other sources identify the Lev 16 Azazel
with Satan. But there are many who would disagree. Such disagreement
chooses to ignore the cultural background involved and the numerous
ancient beliefs and prefers its own ideas imposed upon the Scriptures.
Such disagreement does not coherently explain how Satan shall
be dealt with. There is bias among scholars against Azazel
being identified with the Devil, for Satan, as an entity, cannot
exist. Supernaturalism has to be denied, as does the existence
of a primary agent of evil—the Dragon, who is the master of counterfeit
and delusion.
What can we find in Scripture about the laying of the sins
of all on the head of the goat? Is this concept addressed
elsewhere, and if so, how?
Lev 20:9 For everyone who curses his father or his mother
shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his
mother. His blood shall be upon him.
The principle expressed here is clear and consistent, as the following
verses also show:
In Josh 2:19 (The two spies said to Rahab in Jericho) "So
it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house
into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will
be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood
shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him."
The following also express the same concept: Deut 5:9; Lam 5:7;
Ezk 18:13; Hos 12:14; Matt 23:35-36; Acts 5:38. So it would seem
reasonable to suggest that the laying of the sins of the nation
upon the head of the goat for Azazel, for removal into
the wilderness, signifies removing the guilt and blame from the
congregation and putting it upon the goat for Azazel. The
guilt and blame for sin is not Christ's responsibility to bear;
His responsibility was to be the Lamb of God, the sin offering,
the willing sacrifice. Is not blame and guilt upon Satan, the
father of lies, of murder, idolatry, rebellion, chaos, destruction,
death? Does not Satan's fate have its symbolic place in the Festivals?
In 2Sam 1:16 David said to (the Amalekite who killed Saul),
"Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified
against you, saying, 'I have killed the Lord's anointed.'"
In 2Sam 3:29 we read David's response to Joab's revenge
murder of Abner: "Let it rest on the head of Joab and on
all his father's house; and let there never fail to be in the
house of Joab one who has a discharge or is a leper, who leans
on a staff or falls by the sword, or who lacks bread."
In Ezk 33 is outlined the responsibilities of God's watchman
to warn: vv 4-5 Whoever hears the sound of the trumpet
and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away,
his blood shall be on his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the
trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself.
But he who takes warning will save his life.
And in Acts 18:6 we read: But when they [Jews in the synagogue
in Corinth] opposed him [Paul] and blasphemed, he shook his garments
and said to them, "Your blood be upon your own heads; I am
clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."
What is the significance of the goat for Azazel being sent
into the barren wilderness? Israel's 40 years in the howling
wilderness was to be a time of victory but was a failure for
all those adults who started out of Egypt. Christ and John the
Baptist had their victories in the wilderness. But does this apply
in the Lev 16 scenario?
The goat that was selected from the herds of the congregation
is taken and left in the wilderness away from the congregation.
If you resist the Devil, he will flee from you (Jas 5:7; Eph 4:27).
Lev 16:26 The one who sets the goat free for Azazel
(le'azaz'el) shall wash his clothes and bathe his body
in water, and afterward may come into the camp.
The man, probably selected from among the priests, has been contaminated
(Hag 2:10-14), and must be washed (by the water of the Word).
Lev 16:27-34 "The bull for the sin offering and the
goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to be
the means for forgiveness in the Holy Place, shall be carried
outside the camp. And they shall burn in the fire their skins,
their flesh, and their offal. 28 Then he who burns them shall
wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he
may come into the camp. 29 This shall be a statute forever for
you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you
shall afflict your souls (by fasting), and do no work at all,
whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells
among you. 30 For on that day the priest shall symbolically
remove sins for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean
from all your sins before the LORD. 31 It is a Sabbath of solemn
rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute
forever. 32 And the priest, who is anointed and consecrated to
minister as priest in his father's place, shall carry out the
parabolic ritual depicting the removal of sins, and put on
the linen clothes, the holy garments [as all of those who are
a Kingdom of priests will do under the direction of the High Priest
of God who will also remove Satan]; 33 then he shall carry
out the means for forgiveness for the Holy Sanctuary, and
he shall carry out the means for forgiveness for the tabernacle
of meeting and for the altar, and he shall carry out the means
of forgiveness for the priests and for all the people of the
assembly. 34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you in
how forgiveness of sins for the children of Israel—for all
their sins—is carried out, once a year." And he did
as the LORD commanded Moses.