Why does God allow Satan to enter Heaven?

[Chad]

Was reading something the other day and this came to my mind. If God cast Satan (Lucifer at the time) out of Heaven, why does He allow Satan access to heaven still?

Below well written article taken from: Does Satan still have access to Heaven? Why does God allow Satan to enter Heaven, as recorded in the Bible?

Satan was originally one of God's holy angels, but he rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven (Luke 10:18). That was only the first stage of his judgment. Satan's kingdom was vanquished at the cross (John 12:31–32). Later, he will be bound in the abyss for one thousand years (Revelation 20:1–3) and then will be cast into the lake of fire for eternity (Revelation 20:10).

Until his final judgment, Satan is "the prince of this world" (John 14:30), but it seems that he still has restricted access to the heavenly realms. In Job 1:6, Satan stands in the presence of God. There is a similar situation in 2 Chronicles 18:18–21 involving a "lying spirit."

Since God is holy and absolutely without sin (Isaiah 6:3), and since He will not even look on evil (Habakkuk 1:13), how can Satan be in heaven? The answer involves God's sovereign restraint of sin. In Job 1, Satan stood before God to give an account of himself. God initiated the meeting, led the proceedings, and remained in absolute control (verse 7). The result was that Satan's power was limited (verse 12) and God was glorified.

Here are some other facts to note: 1) Satan does not have open access to God's presence. He is summoned by God. 2) The visits are temporary. His time before God's throne is limited. 3) In no way is the purity of heaven tainted by the brief, God-ordained presence of a sinful being, "quarantined," as it were, by God's regulatory power. And, 4) Satan's access is only granted prior to the final judgment. After the judgment, God creates a new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1), wipes away all tears from our eyes (verse 4), reveals the New Jerusalem (verse 10), and promises the complete absence of sin (verse 27).

When we say, "God cannot allow sin into heaven," we simply mean that God cannot allow human beings who are still in their sin to live in His presence. But it is possible for God to command a sinful being to stand (temporarily) in His presence in order to commission him (Isaiah 6), to exact an account from him (Job 1-2), or to judge him (Revelation 20:11–15) without compromising His holiness.

God's holiness will eventually consume all sin. Until that day, His holiness regulates sin, and that means that Satan, on certain occasions, is briefly summoned before his Creator to give an account of his actions.

 

[Torah613]

@Chad, the Hebrew word Satan (שָּׂטָן‎) means an opposer, enemy, thwart or an adversary. The first time שָּׂטָן‎ appears in the Bible is Bamidbar / Numbers 22:22:

וַיִּֽחַר־אַ֣ף אֱלֹהִים֘ כִּֽי־הוֹלֵ֣ךְ הוּא֒ וַיִּתְיַצֵּ֞ב מַלְאַ֧ךְ יְהֹוָ֛ה בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ לְשָׂטָ֣ן ל֑וֹ וְהוּא֙ רֹכֵ֣ב עַל־אֲתֹנ֔וֹ וּשְׁנֵ֥י נְעָרָ֖יו עִמּֽו

God's wrath flared because he was going, and an angel of Adonai stationed himself on the road to thwart him, and he was riding on his she-donkey, and his two servants were with him.

שָּׂטָן‎ is almost never a proper noun. Here are a few other times this word appears:

Shmuel Aleph 29:4

וַיִּקְצְפ֨וּ עָלָ֜יו שָׂרֵ֣י פְלִשְׁתִּ֗ים וַיֹּ֣אמְרוּ לוֹ֩ שָׂרֵ֨י פְלִשְׁתִּ֜ים הָשֵׁ֣ב אֶת־הָאִ֗ישׁ וְיָשֹׁב֙ אֶל־מְקוֹמוֹ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הִפְקַדְתּ֣וֹ שָׁ֔ם וְלֹֽא־יֵרֵ֤ד עִמָּ֙נוּ֙ בַּמִּלְחָמָ֔ה וְלֹא־יִֽהְיֶה־לָּ֥נוּ לְשָׂטָ֖ן בַּמִּלְחָמָ֑ה וּבַמֶּ֗ה יִתְרַצֶּ֥ה זֶה֙ אֶל־אֲדֹנָ֔יו הֲל֕וֹא בְּרָאשֵׁ֖י הָאֲנָשִׁ֥ים הָהֵֽם׃

But the Philistine officers were angry with him; and the Philistine officers said to him, “Send the man back; let him go back to the place you assigned him. He shall not march down with us to the battle, or else he may become our adversary in battle. For with what could that fellow appease his master if not with the heads of these men?

That being said, the angel called Satan is not a fallen angel. Rather, he is an angel of God who goes to tempt people to sin and to prosecute them before the heavenly court. Satan has no free will and can do nothing without God telling him what to do. In Iyov / Job, the Hebrew word is HaSatan (The Adversary). The prefix ה is the definitive article. The commentators note that the heavenly court is meeting on Rosh Hashanah, the day that the world is judged.

The idea of dual powers (God and Devil) is completely alien to the Hebrew Bible. Satan is 100% subordinate to God.

 

[Quantrill]

When we say, "God cannot allow sin into heaven," we simply mean that God cannot allow human beings who are still in their sin to live in His presence. But it is possible for God to command a sinful being to stand (temporarily) in His presence in order to commission him (Isaiah 6), to exact an account from him (Job 1-2), or to judge him (Revelation 20:11–15) without compromising His holiness.

God's holiness will eventually consume all sin. Until that day, His holiness regulates sin, and that means that Satan, on certain occasions, is briefly summoned before his Creator to give an account of his actions.

Yes, the spiritual war takes place also in the heavenlies as well as on earth. And before satan sinned, earth was just as much a part of heaven as the rest of creation. Which means the "I wills" took place in Heaven. (Is. 14:12-14) This is why God will create a new heaven and new earth. (Rev. 21:1)

Quantrill

 

[B-A-C]

I don't know if there is currently a war in heaven, but there has been, and will be again.

Rev 12:7; And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war,

Ezek 28:16; "By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire.

 

[Chad]

That being said, the angel called Satan is not a fallen angel. Rather, he is an angel of God who goes to tempt people to sin and to prosecute them before the heavenly court.

This is false. Satan was formerly Lucifer before he was cast out of Heaven. He took 1/3 of the angels with him in that event, hence they are all "fallen angels". The name, Lucifer, means 'day star,' or son of the morning.

"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning...For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'" Isaiah 14

 

[heirship]

When you try to interpret scripture lineally you can't seem to make everything fit much lease assign the term Satan only to a created being that we are in battle with. But if you can see the picture that is being painted by the use of the word in all the scriptures a clearer meaning will emerge.
The Old Testament language has no tense or maybe one tense which is present tense. So scriptures like the one in Isaiah with says I will cast you from heaven literally says I cast you from heaven. The whole symbolism of Satan being cast from heaven is not a historical event or a future event but something that is taking place all the time and right now! Satan means accuser Lucifer as light bearer is the one whom exposes all fault or shines light on our shortcomings

 

[B-A-C]

Satan was cast from heaven because of sin and pride.

Ezek 28:13; "You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared.
Ezek 28:14; "You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
Ezek 28:15; "You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created Until unrighteousness was found in you.

Satan may have been righteous at one time, but at some point "unrighteousness was found" in him.

Ezek 28:16 "By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire.
Ezek 28:17 "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you.

God cast Satan from heaven. Jesus was there to see it.

Luke 10:18; And He said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.

No doubt Satan does God's bidding from time to time. Sometimes wittingly, sometimes unwittingly.
But at the end, make no mistake.... Satan will pay for his sins.

Rev 20:10; And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

It seems unlikely God would throw Satan unto the lake of fire (to be tormented forever and ever) if he was doing what God wanted him to do all along.

 

[Blunder_Duck]

Was reading something the other day and this came to my mind. If God cast Satan (Lucifer at the time) out of Heaven, why does He allow Satan access to heaven still?

Below well written article taken from: Does Satan still have access to Heaven? Why does God allow Satan to enter Heaven, as recorded in the Bible?

Satan was originally one of God's holy angels, but he rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven (Luke 10:18). That was only the first stage of his judgment. Satan's kingdom was vanquished at the cross (John 12:31–32). Later, he will be bound in the abyss for one thousand years (Revelation 20:1–3) and then will be cast into the lake of fire for eternity (Revelation 20:10).

Until his final judgment, Satan is "the prince of this world" (John 14:30), but it seems that he still has restricted access to the heavenly realms. In Job 1:6, Satan stands in the presence of God. There is a similar situation in 2 Chronicles 18:18–21 involving a "lying spirit."

Since God is holy and absolutely without sin (Isaiah 6:3), and since He will not even look on evil (Habakkuk 1:13), how can Satan be in heaven? The answer involves God's sovereign restraint of sin. In Job 1, Satan stood before God to give an account of himself. God initiated the meeting, led the proceedings, and remained in absolute control (verse 7). The result was that Satan's power was limited (verse 12) and God was glorified.

Here are some other facts to note: 1) Satan does not have open access to God's presence. He is summoned by God. 2) The visits are temporary. His time before God's throne is limited. 3) In no way is the purity of heaven tainted by the brief, God-ordained presence of a sinful being, "quarantined," as it were, by God's regulatory power. And, 4) Satan's access is only granted prior to the final judgment. After the judgment, God creates a new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1), wipes away all tears from our eyes (verse 4), reveals the New Jerusalem (verse 10), and promises the complete absence of sin (verse 27).

When we say, "God cannot allow sin into heaven," we simply mean that God cannot allow human beings who are still in their sin to live in His presence. But it is possible for God to command a sinful being to stand (temporarily) in His presence in order to commission him (Isaiah 6), to exact an account from him (Job 1-2), or to judge him (Revelation 20:11–15) without compromising His holiness.

God's holiness will eventually consume all sin. Until that day, His holiness regulates sin, and that means that Satan, on certain occasions, is briefly summoned before his Creator to give an account of his actions.

Don't forget the trials of Job. Read Job 1.
There's an old saying about Job, God's faithful servant.
Job suffered so that God could win a bet with the Devil.
And that is true. It was all for God's glory. To be assured of Job's faithfulness. Which, when you think about God being eternally knowing, all knowing (omniscient), was really unnecessary.

Biblical Texts to Show God’s Zeal for His Own Glory

Thirty-two evidences from Scripture that God loves his own glory most.

www.desiringgod.org