The title of this blog poses a tough question. The moment Satan rebelled, why didn’t God just wipe him out of existence? After all, the infinite, omnipotent Creator could have destroyed a finite, created being that went astray. So why didn’t He?

Before answering that question, I need to frame it. And in order to do that, I need to go back to the beginning…

Although Satan shows up on the scene in the form of a serpent just three chapters into the Bible, his origin doesn’t appear in the book of Genesis. In fact, it’s found in a few places scattered across the Old Testament. Like Ezekiel 28.

Ezekiel 28 is a fascinating passage that at first glance is a prophecy against the King of Tyre, a coastal city in the Holy Land. Ezekiel is speaking judgment against this earthly king but then in verse 12 things seem to shift. Check it out:

You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you…Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. (Ezekiel 28:12-17).

Bible scholars believe Ezekiel is talking about two things at once. On a human level he is still talking about the King of Tyre in *greatly* poetic terms. But more to the point, he is teaching us about the origin of the devil…

In the beginning, God created everything — from the planets to angels to humanity. And everything was good. It seems that when God made the angelic realm, certain angels were assigned to oversee and protect certain geographic locations (see Daniel 10 and the “Prince of Persia” as one example).

Ezekiel 28 suggest that at the dawn of creation, the devil’s territory was the Garden of Eden. He is described as the “guardian cherub” (v.14). Eden was his territory, his backyard. He was full of wisdom… perfect in beauty (v.12). But his heart became proud on account of his beauty (v.17) and he rebelled against God.

Not only did he rebel against God, he convinced 1/3 of the other angels that God’s heart and character were not good. That God was holding out on them, that He couldn’t be trusted. By the way, scholars get that number from this passage: “Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.” (Revelation 12:4)

So Satan led a civil war in heaven, and his soldiers were 1/3 of the angelic realm (soon to be known as “demons”). That battle is pictured here:

Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. (Revelation 12:7-9)

After losing this battle, the devil was hurled to planet earth and went back to his old stomping grounds — to Eden — with the intent of winning the war. Yet, instead of being “the guardian cherub of Eden” this time around, he became The Satan (which means “The Adversary” in Hebrew), the adversary of God and the adversary of those made in the image of God: Adam and Eve… you and me. And he has been our adversary ever since.

And that leads to a very tough question. One second after that initial moment when Satan used his free will to rebel against God, why didn’t God just wipe him out of existence? After all, He could have. So why didn’t He?

If God did that, I can imagine things on earth would have gone a lot better over the past several thousand years. No Satan around to tempt anyone to sin. No demons afflicting anyone with sickness and disease. No stealing. No killing. No destroying (see John 10:10).

So why didn’t God do it that way? Since this blog is already pushing 900 words, I will have to put off answering this very tough question in another blog. Sorry for the cliffhanger. 🙂 Stay tuned!

***Please join us this Sunday at The Eastside Vineyard Church. We are continuing our 6-weeks series digging deep into the supernatural aspects of God.  Our current series is “God’s Will For Healing.” 10:30am. March 16. More info at tevchurch.org***