Over the past month I’ve written several blogs centering on the tough question: Why Didn’t God Destroy Satan? (Click HERE for Part 1). In this blog I wanted to focus on a related question. It comes from the same passage we’ve visited several times in this series:

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)

That passage describes the beginning of spiritual warfare. And while there are many fascinating details in it, there is one that is easy to overlook. It’s found in the last sentence: He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. When Satan lost the battle, he was kicked out of heaven and God exiled him to our planet.

Why did God hurl Satan and his demons to earth instead of exiling them to a planet like Neptune, far way from the garden of Eden and Adam and Eve. Or better yet, why didn’t God just send Satan and the demons directly to hell?

After all, if God followed either of those paths, 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?

A tough question, isn’t it? 🙂

Here are my thoughts (which are once again inspired by the book Servant God). It comes down to the “key thought” I originally shared in Part 2 of this series:

Key Thought: The battlefield in the spiritual war isn’t primarily fought over a plot of land — whether it’s a plot in heaven or in our bodies. The primary battlefield is our minds. And the battle is about the goodness of God: “The central question in the cosmic conflict revolves around the trustworthiness of God’s character. This war over God’s character is the real ‘Mother of all Wars.’” (Servant God, p.31)

And it’s because of this — because the war is ultimately over God’s character — that God didn’t simply exile Satan to Neptune or send him directly to hell the moment he rebelled.

Because if God went that route, it could have been seen as proof to the rest of the angelic realm that Satan was right. That God was a power-hungry dictator who would silence the opposition. That God would eliminate anyone that would ever dare question Him. That the freedom God supposedly gave was a farce. That He was ultimately a puppet-master who allowed you to move and think freely… until you used your freedom in the wrong way… and then he’d quickly pull your strings.

And the rebellion would have deepened. Instead of just 1/3 of the angels falling to the Kingdom of Darkness, it very well may have led to all of them defecting, choosing to hate and fight against God instead of loving and serving Him.

So God exiled Satan to earth. He gave Satan his stage. So that God could show all of creation (first the angels and then humanity) that He truly is good and the devil is not. That He can be trusted while the devil is a liar. That God is love while the devil is all things opposed to love. And just how did God make these things known? In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets many times and in many different ways. But now in these last days God has spoken to us through his Son . . . The Son reflects the glory of God and shows exactly what God is like (Hebrews 1:1-2,3). Jesus shows us exactly what God is like — His heart and His character — a God who is good. A God who can be trusted.

Think about it.

***”But What About… When People Aren’t Healed?” I am passionate to preach on this tough question as it’s often ignored in the healing-prayer movement. Please join us on April 6th at 10:30am at The Eastside Vineyard Church. More info at tevchurch.org***