Some of what I’m about to write will sound crazy to some of you. And I’ll start by saying that I’m not claiming any of this as 100% fact. I’m posting this as a “what if…”. An alternative to the views on demons, satan, and sin we’ve typically been presented by the church.
This all began when I was doing research for my next writing project and quickly spiraled into something more. Without giving too much away about the writing, I wanted to present Satan and his dealings in a different light than one would normally view him. So I began to research the origins of Satan and what views of him there are.
If you make it to the end of this post (even if you just skim it) I would love to dialogue with you about it either in the comments or by email: nick@scarytino.com[note]or on facebook if we’re friends there. it’s your call really.[/note]
Before I begin I want to list three presuppositions this article will take.[note]I have to do this because these beliefs are debatable to some, but for this discussion we will assert them as fact.[/note]
1. Adam and Eve were literal people and committed the original sin.
2. There was a flood that Noah saved certain people from.[note]Whether it was global or regional is irrelevant to this discussion.[/note]
3. Demons and evil spirits exist.
My search began by looking into the origins of Satan and our view of him came from. The view I began with could be described as such
Satan is a literal being who lead a rebellion against God in the heavens. As such, he was cast out of heaven and now roams the earth decieving people (beginning with Adam and Eve.)
Through my research, I began to question whether this was indeed the view of Satan that one should take.
It is commonly understood, even by those who hold such a view that the word “satan” means “accuser” or “adversary.” What’s interesting, though, is the difference view of what a “satan” is between the Old and New Testaments.
Israel didn’t have a view of a single Satan like we do today. Most of the time “satan” is used in the Old Testament it is “a satan.” Which leads one to believe there are more than one. In Job specifically, “a satan” is a member of the heavenly court.[note]Job 1:6[/note] Now, if there is one Satan, this story would have had to have taken place prior to his banishment from heaven (a discussion we will get to later). But it’s interesting that this satan is in direct communication with God and is even given permission by God to do something. We see other instances of a satan acting as a messenger from God.[note]2 Samuel 24:1 states the Lord commanded David to number Israel, but the later writings in 1 Chronicles 21:1 attribute this command to “a satan.”[/note]
This isn’t really getting anywhere, other than the fact that the Old Testament had a slightly different view of Satan than the New Testament. So let’s look at why Satan fell. It’s commonly understood that Satan tried to overthrow God and that’s why he was cast out of heaven. People look to Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 to support this theory. However, both passages are directed at earthly kings.[note]We won’t touch on the allusions to other ancient religions found in Isaiah.[/note]
So now we’re left with Jesus’ comment on him seeing Satan fall[note]Luke 10:18[/note] and a discussion of the dragon being hurled to earth.[note]Revelation 12:9)[/note]. Unfortunately, neither of these really tell us when or why this happened. However, it should be noted that in Revelation, John is speaking of a future vision and not something past. And Christ, if believed to be omnipresent like God, could be referring to this future event in his speech.
But the real concern with this topic comes when we look closer at how we view it all. According to modern thought, Satan was an angel who fell, and now tempts everyone on the earth. BUT! That’s not how it was viewed in ancient times. Nor is it how things are explained in the Bible. 2 Peter 2 speaks of God casting the disobedient angels into chains until judgment.[note]2 Peter 2:4[/note] We see this again in Jude 6. Peter even speaks of Christ speaking to the “spirits in prison.”[note]1 Peter 3:19[/note] So where did the New Testament authors get this view of the fallen angels? And what does it mean for our view of Satan?
The concept comes from an extrabiblical source that, potentially should be included within the Biblical texts.
The Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch is an apocalyptic work that was viewed as authoritative for a long period of time. We see it quoted multiple times in Jude, leading one to believe Jude thought it was authoritative. We also see Matthew 24:36-44 making more sense to people who understood parts of the Book of Enoch than we do today. The Book of Enoch also gives us the “son of man” figure we see in many of Jesus’ parables, as well as the first example of the Messianic Adam figure which Paul borrows and uses extensively. Perhaps then, the Biblical authors used and understood the Book of Enoch. If so, what can we learn from it that will help us understand their writings?
The most important part of Enoch for our discussion rests in chapters 6-16. It describes the fall of the angels we see in Peter and Jude. They saw how beautiful women were and took them for their own.[note]This also explains Paul’s instructions for women to cover their heads “because of the angels” in 1 Corinthians 11:10.[/note] Their punishment for disobeying was to be enslaved. The children of these unions were giants who were violent and ended up eating and destroying much of humanity. The angels stayed on the earth and taught man the ways of war and metal work and magic.
Before you go throwing all this out as crazy writings of crazy people, remember much of this is verified in Genesis 6, which you would probably believe (at least to some degree).
Disliking all of this, God sent the flood to destroy the earth. He spared Noah (consistent throughout all of Biblical narrative and Enoch). What we don’t see in the Biblical account is what came of the Giants. The Enoch story tells that God destroyed them, but because they were a mix of human and spirit they couldn’t have a home in heaven. So they roam the earth as evil beings, causing violence and oppression.[note]15:11[/note]
Now, we see constantly throughout the New Testament a trend of viewing the world as having an evil force and presence oppressing humanity. This isn’t something that’s found at all in the Old Testament, so it’s perplexing where they got the idea from. UNLESS they view Enoch as authoritative and view the spirits of the giants as the evil force within the earth.
“But what about all the uses of “Devil”/”Satan” in the New Testament as a being?” Well, diabolos, the word used in nearly all instances of “Devil”/”Satan” is not a proper noun. It’s an adjective that means an accuser/slanderer/opposer of God.[note]Strong’s G1228[/note] So, even within the New Testament we barely see a trace of a single Satan figure and, rather, see discussion of someone/thing accusing.
Galatians is also a very interesting book in this discussion, as it deals primarily with the forces of evil in the world. And, again, that’s not found within the Canonical Old Testament, so where did Paul get it from? And he never explains it either. Perhaps it is because both he and his audience knew and understood Enoch well.
Before I wrap this up I want to throw something else into the mix. Where did Sin come from? Most people would agree that Adam and Eve committed the first sin, and the serpent tempted them. Even Enoch says there was no sin in the world until man created it. However. Who was the serpent that tempted them? It couldn’t have been Satan as commonly thought, at least not within this view.
My first thought was perhaps Genesis 3 happened after Genesis 6.[note]Before you jump down my throat remember this: many parts of the gospels are presented out of order. We also have two separate accounts of Creation in Genesis 1 and 2 so allowing a little liberty in the ordering of the story isn’t completely unwarranted.[/note]
At first, I thought I was crazy for thinking that. BUT Irenaeus, one of the church fathers, firmly believed this. He, also, largely believed and honored the Enoch traditions. Before you assume he’s some crack job, it’s worth noting that he’s the reason we have all four gospels today.[note]He fought the idea that either one was better than the other, but helped weed out of the false ones.[/note]
And this idea fits because, contrary to popular belief, it is never stated that Adam and Eve were required to stay in the garden. They were given reign over the entire earth. There is also no timeline between creation and the fall. Perhaps they multiplied, angels came and did their thing with women, God killed the giants and enslaved the angels, and the spirits the giants created tempted Eve.
This fits with Irenaeus’ thoughts on the matter. We also see almost every ancient religion’s gods (like Baphomet above) portrayed with animal characteristics. And some would argue that these gods are simply the even spirits released with the death of the giants. The serpent is also never said to be a creature God created with the earth, just that he is wiser than everything God created. So, could the serpent not have been one of the spirits released by the death of the giants that tempted Eve? From there, Humanity continued to fall and God killed everyone save Noah. But the spirits remained and are what we consider demons today.
To recap, all this leads one to believe:
- There is no one literal Satan
- Demons are not fallen angels, rather, the spirits released by the death of the giants- the products of angel and human relations
- Original sin happened later in history than we typically believe and was a result of the evil spirits, and not Satan.
Again, I’m not saying any of this is 100% fact. It’s based a very preliminary study of the subject matter, but it is interesting to say the least and I wanted to share it with you all. I welcome any questions, comments, or concerns about it as well.
