Saturday, June 15, 2013

Does Satan Have a Conscience? And Why It Matters (part2)

Though the consciences of demons now lay accumbent, they will be awakened once they are finally cast into the lake of fire.  To foreshadow this, it seems that at times there were sparks or glimpses given to Satan and demons by God that caused great fear and consternation.  Their consciences did not alarm them unless acted upon by God to transpire beforehand the proceedings of the great judgment day.  Examples of this are: Satan in the Garden of Eden, Satan before God in the opening chapters of Job, and the demons crying out to Jesus in the gospels.
I have always found it remarkable how Satan reacted to God’s judgments in Genesis three.  In fact, he did not react at all.  We are not told anything as to how Satan responded to God’s righteous pronouncements.  He was cursed and then God moved on to Eve.  There is more to be seen, we need to dig a little deeper.  In this narrative we witness the mind, subtly, cunning, motives, and inner-workings of Satan.  He knows God and what was spoken by God to Adam.  He can also discern between good and evil, he is aware of the difference.  Because of his depraved nature he can contradict God’s word and audaciously lie in order to tempt Eve.  He is aware that if and when they fall, they will be like God.  This being like God is equated to knowing good and evil.  Adam and Eve already knew good from evil; they were created in the image of God and had his law written on their hearts.  Once they fell they would then know evil experientially. 

It is interesting that the devil was silent when judged.  We expect him to cry out or whine.  “Unfair”.  “My penalty is too great, I cannot bear it.”  This is what we anticipate, but it does not come.  He is silent before a holy and sovereign God.  What could he say or what could he do?  Satan was powerless to lessen his sentence.  To whom would he appeal?  There is no greater court or office.  The God of gods has spoken and decreed his curse.  And isn’t it amazing that in cursing the devil God reveals his glorious gospel (3:15)?  Whenever God judges there is always mercy and grace (not to all unconditionally, but to whomever God chooses).  It is revealed in germ form that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent.  How marvelous!  Satan will be defeated.  All of his malice and evil will be undone.  God is reconciling everything to himself.  This is indeed honey out of the lion; something sweet taken from the strong.
The point being made is that Satan stood before the Almighty God and knew himself to be sinful and deserving of his condemnation.  Aware of his wrong and God’s justice, the Usurper simply complied.  He stood before God speechless, but can we say with absolute certainty that his conscience was also silent?  If he knew that he had sinned and was worthy of hell, and that the only reason he was still alive or not cast into hell at that moment or any instant before was only because God was and is sustaining him and waiting for a future predetermined time, then doesn’t it follow that his conscience was awakened but inexplicit?  Can’t we suspect that his conscience was transacting the business of the judgment ahead of time?  This was only a taste of what was to come.  That’s why he was silent; what could he say?  The omnipotent God of the universe made His ruling.  There are no mistrials.  None of the evidence was missing or contaminated.  God is omniscient so nothing went unseen or unnoticed.  The verdict is in, Satan is accursed.

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