The Revelation
2. When Christ was on the cross, He witnessed the hatred in the heart of Satan, but to this day Satan is not aware that he has been caught in a sin.
Satan was perfect in all of his ways, which is to say that Satan did not openly rebel against God. There may have been hatred within Satan, but the devil did not openly commit any sin until iniquity was found within him.
Ezekiel 28:15-16 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
It was said that Christ would reveal the thoughts of many hearts. These are the hearts of Satan and his angels which hide evil as described by David and Solomon.
Luke 2:34-35 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also, ) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
If Christ revealed the thoughts of many hearts, then it must be true that someone was hiding their thoughts. It is also said that through His death Christ will destroy Satan.
Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
If the devil were openly evil it would not be necessary for Christ to do anything to destroy Satan; Satan would already be condemned by his own actions. If Satan's hatred is hidden within his evil heart it would be necessary for that evil to be exposed. Christ must have exposed or witnessed the evil in the heart of Satan. This exposure must somehow be connected to the death of Christ.
It must first be understood that Satan did not know Jesus was the Son of God.
Matthew
4:3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God,
command that these stones be made bread.
1
Corinthians 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known
it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Christ drove the money-changers out of the temple because He was overcome by a great love for the house of God.
John
2:15-17 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of
the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and
overthrew the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things
hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples
remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
Psalms
69:9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them
that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
Satan falsely accused Christ before the throne of God.
Psalms
35:21Yea, they open their mouth wide against me; they say: ‘Aha, aha, our eye
hath seen it.
Psalms
109:2 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened
against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.'
Satan can not be condemned for falsely accusing Christ since Satan is repulsed by love and he could not have known that Christ was motivated by love, but this does show that Satan believed Christ was condemned by the Law and would face eternal death.
Psalms
41:7-9 All that hate me whisper together against me: against me do they devise
my hurt. An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now
that he lieth he shall rise up no more.
Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread,
hath lifted up his heel against me.
Psalms
21:11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device,
which they are not able to perform.
Satan believed that Christ was condemned by the letter of the Law, yet Christ was perfect under the spirit of the Law, which meant that the death of Christ was inconsistent with the Law. According to the Law Christ should never have died. This is why God turned His Face from the death of Christ.
Matthew
27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli,
lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Psalms 10:1 Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times
of trouble?
With the Face of God turned away from the crucifixion, and with the belief that Christ was condemned by the Law, Satan felt it was safe to unload his hatred on Christ.
Psalms 71:10-11 For mine enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my
soul take counsel together, Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take
him; for there is none to deliver him.
Psalm 64:1-5 Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of
the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection
of the workers of iniquity: Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their
bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: That they may shoot in secret
at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. They encourage
themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who
shall see them?
Luke 2:34-35 And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold,
this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a
sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy
own soul also, ) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
Notice that Satan and his angels feared not. This is because God had looked away. But Christ was able to communicate with spirits, which we are not able to see. Christ demonstrated His ability to discern and communicate with unseen spirits on many occasions before He was crucified. Christ felt and witnessed the hatred of Satan when He was on the cross. This is why Christ seemed to fear the cross.
Luke 22:42-44 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Christ
did not fear death since He knew He would rise again. (In fact, the Spirit of
Christ did not die on the cross; He knew that only His body would die so there
was no reason for Christ to fear death). Like God, Christ is repulsed by evil;
and while He was on the cross He would have all the hatred of hell directed at
Him…more hatred than we can imagine. This evil is repulsive to Christ as is the separation from God that He experienced
while He was on the cross.
Christ witnessed the evil of Satan, and this is why He is called the faithful
witness.
Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Notice what Christ said about those who hate Him.
John 15:22-25 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
“They
have no cloke for their sin” is reference to the fact that the evil of Satan
and his angels is no longer hidden but has been witnessed by Christ. “Their
Law” is reference to the fact that Satan has acknowledged and supported the
Law by his condemnation of humanity. Christ often stated that we are judged as
we judge others, so the devil is condemned by his own words.
The phrase, “hated me without a cause” was used on several occasions by King
David.
Psalms
35:19 Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let
them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.
Psalms 69:4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine
head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty:
then I restored that which I took not away.
Psalms 109:3 They compassed me about also with words of hatred; and
fought against me without a cause.
Psalms 119:161 Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart
standeth in awe of thy word.
The
devil condemns humans and he demonstrates his hatred of humanity, but his hatred
of humanity is hatred with a cause. Satan accuses and condemns humans for their
sins, which is hatred with a cause just as it is perfectly reasonable for us to
denounce a murderer. Christ was perfect and without sin. The hatred directed at
Christ by Satan was hatred without a cause. It was not the just condemnation of
sin; it was pure hatred and evil and Satan has no excuse for it. Now Satan is
revealed to have violated the Law by hating God.
Even after the death and resurrection of Christ the devil has not yet been cast
out of Heaven because there is only one witness against him, and the Law
requires two witnesses.
Numbers
35:30 Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth
of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him
to die.
Deuteronomy 17:6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he
that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he
shall not be put to death.
Christ
is the faithful witness, but if He is the only witness how can Satan be
condemned by the Law? The answer to this is a hard doctrine for most Christians
because of the concept of the trinity that began in the early days of
Christianity. The gentiles who were converted to Christianity began the concept
of the trinity, but this concept is completely alien to Judaism. Jewish
followers of Christ wrote the gospels, and they mention the “Father”,
“Son”, and “Holy Ghost”, but the gospels never actually say that these
are three separate Gods.
There is only one God. “Let us make man in our image” is only one
translation of the original text, yet in other places the Old Testament clearly
states that there is one God. This is also confirmed in the New Testament.
Malachi
2:10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal
treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our
fathers?
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,
and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
The “Holy Ghost” is simply another name for God, and it signifies the new relationship between God and humanity after the resurrection of Christ. More than this, the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is the presence of God in the spirit world since God the Father created and transcends the spirit world. Christ is the Son of God, but this means that when Christ was born, the one God of Heaven sent a small part of Himself into the world. This is why Christ is called “Son of God” and not “Brother of God”. God created the spirit of love within each of us, but the Spirit that came into the body of Christ was not merely created by God; it was a small piece of the essence of God, and Christ became a separate Being. After He was resurrected, Christ returned to Heaven to sit at the right hand of God.
Psalms 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Christ
will not be at the "right hand" of God for all eternity, but only until His
enemies are made His footstool. The relationship of Christ at the right hand of
God will come to an end, and the enemies of God will be made His footstool.
These are two different events, but they occur at the same time because one
causes the other. Christ will no longer sit at the right hand of God because He
will go back to God. Christ will again be one with God, and there will again be
one God. The memories and experiences of Christ will be part of God. At that
time there will be a second witness against Satan, and that second witness will
be God. This is how the enemies of the Lord will be made His footstool, and
Satan will be condemned by the Law and ultimately destroyed.
The two witness rule may not seem necessary, but it is important that Satan
have no loophole or argument he can use on the Day of Judgment. What is most
important is that God is witness to the sin of Satan once Christ returns to God.