THE DESTRUCTION OF SATAN.
By N. W. Vincent
Of all God’s adversaries, we think Satan will suffer the most excruciating and prolonged tortures. If the Bible teaches that his end is destruction, how false to teach that all that are overthrown at last in his rebellion, must live as long as God exists, simply to sin, and to suffer ever-increasing tortures! It is true we read in Rev. 20:10, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.” The verb rendered “shall be tormented,” is plural in the Greek, showing that whatever is affirmed of Satan is equally affirmed of the beast and the false prophet. That the expression, “forever and ever,” εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, reaches only to the beginning of the ages of universal holiness and peace, and is limited to the time in which the wicked are actually dying the second death, we believe is clearly shown in the preceding verse, which says, “And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” That this destruction is the end of Satan, as well as of all that obey not the gospel, is uniformly taught throughout the Scriptures. 1. The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head. Gen. 3:15. 2. Christ took on him flesh and blood, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Heb. 2:14. 3. He has sinned; and “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Eze. 18:4. 5. As he is guilty of sin he falls under the universal, irrevocable penalty; and “the wages of sin is death.” Rom. 6:23. 6. He is proud, and has done wickedly; therefore he shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn him up, that it shall leave him neither root nor branch. Mal. 4:1. 7. He is the chief transgressor; and “the transgressors shall be destroyed together; the end of the wicked shall be cut off.” Ps. 37:38. 8. He is the first and chief enemy of God; and “the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs; they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.” Ps. 37:20. 9. As he comes down to the inhabiters of the earth he has great wrath, “because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Rev. 12:12. 10. Under the symbol of the king of Tyrus, we think that prophecy shows that Satan will be brought to ashes upon the earth. Eze. 28:11–18; Mal. 4:3. 11. Satan, with all evil-doers, will be cast into the lake of fire (which is the second death), that is to be prepared for the devil and his angels; and he will be burnt up, cut off, ground to powder, and destroyed forever; he will utterly perish in his own corruption, will be rooted out of the land of the living, and “will be as though he had not been.” Ps. 52:5; 2 Pet. 2:12; Rev. 20:15; Obad. 16. Then death, the last enemy, will be destroyed. Satan will have been bruised under the saints’ feet, and his works burnt up. Then the restitution of all things will be complete, all things will become new; and in the possessions bought with the blood of the Lamb and gloriously redeemed, the righteous will dwell forever. In the new earth and heavens what need of a hell? “For righteousness only shall ever there dwell.”