Last time we talked about how Jesus forced the Jewish leaders into a final decision. Today, we’ll see how he did the same to Satan as well.

Satan had to decide if he was for Jesus’ death or not. He, just like the Jewish leaders, had to figure out Old Testament Scripture and how it related to Jesus. One of the reasons the Jewish leaders did not accept Jesus was because he did not fulfill everything the Scriptures stated about the coming Messiah. Also, they felt the Messiah, when he came, would be praising them for their faithful following of the Torah and all the Jewish laws they kept. This is something Jesus did not do, and they could not forgive him for that and even believed him to be insulting them. They considered Jesus’ correction insulting because they believed themselves to be the learned ones. Not some self-proclaimed rabbi from Nazareth. Satan had to contemplate the same.

Would Jesus’ death prevent him from setting up his kingdom? This is likely the question Satan had to ask himself. Therefore, Satan had a dilemma. Did he or did he not want to encourage Jesus’ demise? He first had to figure out how human Jesus really was. Hence, the temptation in the wilderness.

Satan knew Jesus wanted a kingdom but found Jesus was unwilling to compromise as to how he would achieve it. After all, he offered something most humans would jump at: a way to obtain the kingdom they desired without having to suffer for it. Yet, Satan, as did the Jewish leaders, did not understand the order of kingdoms Christ had to overcome. In order to establish an everlasting peace, Jesus first had to take back the spiritual kingdom Adam had lost; then he would set up the physical kingdom on the earth.

Jesus said, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only,’” quoting from Dt 6:14: “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.” Jesus was saying serval things here. He called Lucifer his adversary (which is what the word ‘Satan’ means), and he was saying that Lucifer should be worshipping him because he was higher than Lucifer in rank, so what Lucifer wanted was never going to happen. The Creator can never worship the created. Jesus was unlike other humans who Satan was able to tempt more successfully.

So, what kind of kingdom was Jesus wanting to set up? Because of Adam’s rebellion, he lost the theocratic kingdom he was to set up on the Earth. Lucifer, the Adversary (Satan), usurped Adam’s kingdom from him. So, the kingdom was set up under Satan and not under God. Can you deny that the kingdoms of this world are more Satanic than they are godly? So, first, Christ had to take back the control Satan had on mankind before he could set up an Earthly kingdom. Therefore, his death was necessary so people could transfer from Satan’s kingdom into God’s kingdom (Jn 3:18). Christ could not set up a physical kingdom until his followers were part of his kingdom. Neither the Jewish leaders nor Satan himself likely understood this at this time.

What actually constitutes a kingdom? Three things: a ruler, land, and subjects. Jesus as the Messiah would be the king of such a kingdom. Yet, Satan currently had rights to the land (the Earth). Satan owned the earth like we own our home. The mortgage company really owns our home, but we have legal rights to claim it as ours even though the ultimate ownership is not ours until all debt is paid. Also, at this time, Christ had no subjects except for angels and perhaps Enoch, Moses, and Elijah (each of these were likely in heaven and not Sheol [see Strange Verses of Hope]). So, before anything else, Jesus had to obtain his citizenry.

So, the question now becomes, how would Jesus obtain citizens for his kingdom? Those in Sheol were not yet his even though they had put their faith into his coming. Some say Satan did not own Sheol or even go there. Yet, Scripture states that Sheol is tied to the Earth. So, why were all those who died in Sheol? It was because of sin. Adam had sinned and it passed to all who came after him (Ro 5:12). In order for Jesus to get those who had trusted in his coming out of Sheol, he had to ransom them. He had to place their sins on himself (1Jn 2:2), take them to Sheol to show their ransom as paid then take those who trusted in his coming to heaven (Ps 68:18). Then, going forward, all those who trust in him will be with him when they die (2Co 5:8).

In other words, he conquered the power that death and Sheol had over those who believed in him, and he now holds the keys to both (Rv 1:18). His first coming was about obtaining the citizens for his kingdom. His second coming will be about obtaining the land, the Earth, for his kingdom by destroying the power Satan has over the Earth. Then, he will reign over the entire Earth and all will then be part of his kingdom, just as he had intended it to be from the beginning.

Satan wanted Jesus to fail at being the Messiah and worked through whomever he could. The demon possessed tried to announce Jesus as the Messiah (Mk 3:11; Lk 4:41) as that would get the people riled up about a Messiah who would deliver them from Rome. Jesus denied them from speaking such. Satan also convinced the Jewish leaders Jesus was not their Messiah and used their pride against them. He even tried to turn some of Jesus’ disciples against him. While he was unsuccessful with Peter, he was successful with Judas (Lk 22:3; Jn 13:27).

Satan didn’t know Jesus’ plan but had to figure it out just like the Jewish leaders had to do. He guessed wrong, just as they did. He likely felt Jesus’ death would be the ultimate way to make him unsuccessful as the Messiah. Satan was wrong, and like the Jewish leaders, focused on the physical rather than the spiritual. Christ’s death made the ultimate way for people to be transferred from Satan’s kingdom into Christ’s kingdom.

So many of us are quick to judge based upon limited data. Let’s be those who look more deeply and see the heart of Jesus and what Scripture really says about him. Then, you can see clearly that he is for you and has done everything possible for you to have a wonderful future. You just have to accept it. Why not today?

Next time, we’ll look at what occurred once Jesus got to the temple. I hope you join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

We’ve gone through several blog posts on this topic. We now come to the end of this particular series. Here is a summary of what we have discussed.

•Sheol / Hades was originally for both righteous (those who accepted their coming Messiah by faith as the payment for their sins) and unrighteous; temporary; both face future resurrection at different times

•Sheol / Hades was divided into at least three sections

Upper Part: Righteous were in a place of comfort; after crucifixion, Christ went here for 3 days and was then resurrected to overcome death; he then took the occupants to heaven

•Lower Part – Pit: Wicked were in a place of punishment/torment; they remain there today

•Abyss: Certain angels were in a type of ‘prison’ known as Tartarus; currently still there

•Gehenna is equivalent to the Lake of Fire mentioned in Scripture; occurs after Great White Throne Judgment at the end of Christ’s Millennial Reign on earth and equates to our concept of “eternal hell”

•Paradise is anywhere Jesus Christ is in His glorified state

•Enoch, Moses & Elijah were the only ones taken to Heaven prior to Christ’s first coming and they served as hope and assured those looking forward to their Messiah’s coming they would one day be with Him

•Today the righteous go directly to heaven and are with Christ who has chosen to always be in glorified human form to identify with us for eternity

•Christians today will be resurrected at the Rapture or be changed to their glorified state and return with Christ at the end of the Tribulation Period

•Christ will reign on earth for 1000 years in a theocracy; the curse will be lifted; he will reign with righteousness and justice (i.e., an iron scepter); all creatures live in harmony, both those glorified and non-glorified will live together, those glorified will help Christ rule and administer His kingdom; those born will have free will; Israel will lead earth in worship of Christ; temple will be built to show what Christ did, to show what death is, and to atone for sin until those accept Christ through faith, and cleanse inanimate objects used in worship of a holy God

•Satan is released at the end of the Millennium; he uses human nature against mankind and gets many followers; they attack Jerusalem and are destroyed.

•The current heaven and atmosphere are destroyed by fire

•The unrighteous are resurrected and face the Great White Throne Judgment and are cast into the Lake of Fire (eternal hell)

•New Heaven and atmosphere are created; the New Jerusalem descends out of heaven to earth

•Those already glorified enter into eternity as glorified beings

•It is likely those humans in the Millennium will enter eternity as human and become the nations mentioned in Rv 21; they may be able to have children

•The propensity to sin is removed (perhaps like what Christ did for angels)

•Nations will bring God’s glory to him; likely meaning that science and life will continue similarly as we know it but credit for all discoveries will be given to Christ

•All our talents and gifts Christ has given us today will be used for his honor and glory

If this is the first of these posts you have read, I hope you will go back through each one to better understand each of the above bullets. I hope you can see that God cares for us and loves us. Although his love will continue forever, his longsuffering and mercy will not last forever. That is why he gives us so much warning and never gives up on us. He is coming. I trust you will be ready. He definitely wants you to be.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

There probably isn’t a more controversial topic in the Bible than the topic of hell. It seems everyone is okay with heaven being in the Bible but get really upset around the concept of hell. Some say hell is not even mentioned in the Bible, others say it’s there but is not a place of torment, while others say the term is just about one sleeping until that person is resurrected.

Although controversial, I thought we should look at this topic and try to keep an open mind. After all, if it is a true concept then we really need to know about it. If it isn’t true, then we certainly want to be sure of that also. So, why is it such a controversial topic? It seems one of the biggest controversies is nomenclature. Remember the Old Testament is predominantly written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. So, if one only looks at these original languages, the word hell is not there, as the word came from the translation of these original texts into English. In Hebrew, the term is Sheol; in Greek it is Hades.

To me, one of the first questions is, if we are concerned about the English translation not keeping the original word, why are we not upset that the Greek translation did not? Translators try to find words which people will understand or words that convey the original author’s intent. Hades seemed to be a good analogy for Sheol for a Greek society to understand. They’re not exactly the same in meaning but do convey the concept of an underworld where the dead would reside. Both are spiritual places and are therefore “hidden” from those alive. Some claim that is what the definition of Hades means, i.e., hidden. In that case, the word hell may have come from the word hel also meaning “to hide.” It is a term sometimes used to describe how potatoes are stored in an underground shed for the winter (to hell potatoes) or to cover a roof (to hell a roof). Hel was also the Norse god of the underworld just as Hades was the Roman god of the underworld. From this perspective, Hades and Hel have more in common than does Sheol and Hades. Yet, we know from New Testament scripture (Ac 2:27 compared to Ps 16:10) Hades was used interchangeably for Sheol.

The second question is, if Sheol and Hades were to be translated as Hell, why were these terms not always translated as Hell? Is there a terminology issue? There are other terms like Gehenna and Tartarus which were also translated as Hell. Why is that? Is that significant? There are also other terms used that seem similar but were not translated as hell, such as Lake of Fire and Abyss. Are they related? Then, there are terms used in place of Sheol and Hades that were not translated as hell, such as depth, grave, pit, and death. Why?

Is there a reason for these seemingly mistranslations? Was this a bias of the translators or were they trying to be helpful? Let’s see if we can tease this out and make some rational sense of it all. These are the questions I would like for us to explore over the next several posts. I hope you join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens