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ViewPoint

The Loyal Servant of the King
December 2000

The following ViewPoint was intended to provoke thought and discussion.

I recently received an eMail in which the author stated: "Under the 'blasphemy' paragraph (this is new to me) it states it is a false teaching [if one teaches] of two powers and two kingdoms. I believe the Creator is the only power, but Satan is a fallen angel and doesn't have the same power. (Christianity teaches) He is pure evil. And yet, I come to the conclusion that our lower state, the flesh mind, is at war against our spirit mind. So, in the Book of Job, the first chapter, it states that when the sons of God came before Him, Satan came also..."

I responded that my next ViewPoint topic would be about Satan - and so it is. However, we also need to talk about the concept of Good and Evil. Without doubt or argument, the concepts of Satan and Good and Evil are certainly interrelated. Therefore, Good and Evil will be the subject of next month's ViewPoint, G-d willing.

Satan
Satan (pronounced Sah-tahn) is a common noun found in the Tanach, and refers human antagonists (e.g. 1 Samuel 29:4; 1 Kings 5:18). Only in three passages do we find reference to HaSatan (the accuser, the adversary) as an angel: Zechariah 3:1-2 (he appears as an accuser); Job 1:12 (he is the "heavenly prosecutor"); and 1 Chronicles 21:1 (he functions as the seducer, taking over a negative role originally ascribed to G-d in 2 Samuel 24:1). It is important to note that Satan, though [apparently] hostile to man, remains obedient to G-d. 1

According to the Christian book, The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, "...The teaching concerning evil and a personal devil finds its full presentation only in the NT [Christian New Testament]. In the NT the term Satan... always designates the personal Satan... he is not an independent rival of God but is definitely subordinate, able to go only as far as God permits..."

However, in contradiction to what was just stated previously, the same article goes on to say: "Satan is the ruler of a powerful kingdom standing in opposition to the kingdom of God... Satan is not omnipresent, but through his subordinates he makes his influence practically world-wide [!]... animated by an unrelenting hatred against God and all goodness, Satan is engaged in a world-wide and age-long struggle against God, ever seeking to defeat the divine plans of grace toward mankind and to seduce men to evil and to their ruin." 2

Ignoring Judaism, and following Zoroastrian influence, Christianity evolves Satan as the incarnation of evil and the supreme enemy of G-d, claiming (through a misinterpretation of Isaiah 14:13-14):

1. He is cast out from heaven
2. He is the ruler of countless demons
3. His kingdom extends throughout the world
4. He continually works evil upon the earth

In correctly interpreting Isaiah 14:13-14, Judaism teaches that the prophet was describing what the tyrant [man], not Satan, says in his heart:

I will ascend to heaven;
Above the stars of G-d I will set my throne on high...
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.

The root of all evil is, according to Isaiah, man's false sense of sovereignty and, stemming from it, man's pride, arrogance, and presumption... such presumption will not last forever. 3

Satan is mostly identified with the evil impulse (Yetzer Hara), the lower passions [nefesh habahemis - the animal soul of man] which are a hindrance to man's pursuit of the nobler things [spiritual] in life. He is also identified with the angel of death. He leads astray, then he brings accusations against man, whom he slays eventually. His chief functions are those of temptation, accusation and punishment. Under the control of God, he acts solely with the divine permission to carry out his plots. Though he [apparently] assumes a will of his own in the Book of Job, he keeps within the limits which God has fixed for him. 4 (See Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7).

Clearly, Satan was created by Hashem Elokeinu (the L-RD G-d) to perform very specific tasks. Nothing in the Torah or Tanach indicates or confirms that Satan ever rebelled against G-d, nor can we find where he is described as G-d's adversary. In fact, Satan could never rebel against G-d. Why? Because according to Judaism, angels, unlike human beings, are not endowed with free will - they cannot choose to do good or evil; angels can only perform in the manner in which G-d created them to function. Therefore, Satan can only function in the manner and in the role in which he was created. Through His prophet Isaiah, G-d profoundly states, "I form light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil; I am G-d, I do all these things" (Isaiah 45:7).

The following parable will help illustrate this concept about haSatan:

A king once wanted to test his son to see if he would be a worthy heir to the throne. He told his son to remain virtuous and to abstain from loose women. The king then hired a woman to seduce his son, instructing her to use all her wiles with him.

The Zohar asks the rhetorical question: Is the woman not also a loyal servant of the king? 5

HaSatan has his role in Creation, and he performs it as only he can - exactly in the manner and role in which he was created - nothing less, nothing more. HaSatan is, in fact, the loyal servant of the King.

Consider this: If Satan was such an opponent and foe of G-d as Christianity claims, don't you think G-d is capable of eliminating His created angel with a mere breath - or thought (anthropomorphically speaking)? G-d spoke Satan into existence; G-d could simply quit speaking and Satan would simply cease to exist.

2. The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, Zondervan Publishing House, 1967.

3. Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Prophets, Jewish Publication Society, 1962.

4. Philip Birnbaum, Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts, Hebrew Publishing Company, 1991.

5. Aryeh Kaplan, Jewish Meditation, Schocken Books, 1985.

What's your opinion? Write us and share your thoughts with us... please include the words "December 2000 ViewPoint Opinion" in the subject line of your email.

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