The way of the tabernacle paints a picture of the path to salvation, which is to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Priests would enter through the gate, present the sacrifice on the brazen altar, and then purify themselves at the laver (baptism of John).

This is where the "church" typically stops in its teaching of salvation; but, like the Samaritans in Acts 8 had done before Peter and John came to them, the churchian model stops short of the most important aspect of this progression, which is entering the Holy of Holies.

The lighted menorah, altar of incense, and the bread of the presence in the Holy Place represent guidance and nourishment from the Holy Spirit as He leads the believer into the Holy of Holies, which is to receive the covenant of marriage as Messiah Yahoshua's bride.

YOU MIGHT BE A CHURCHIAN IF . . .

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The thief on the cross manifestly understood the path to salvation better than the highly educated pharisees. He provided the example of what is necessary to be born again, and he received his confirmation of that salvation directly from the Messiah Himself.

WHERE DOES SATAN DWELL?

While the topic of Satan's current dwelling place is not a matter of justification, or even sanctification, it IS a matter of spiritual fact, and the purpose of writing these things about his dwelling place is less about Satan and more about the myths and fables of the counterfeit of the faith called “christianity.” There are so many beliefs within the “church” that are strongly held, but are thoroughly debunked merely by understanding what we're told in scripture.

Is Satan's name Lucifer?

Before looking at his dwelling place, though, there is another commonly held belief in christianity that is false, and that concerns a name that was erroneously attributed to Satan—Lucifer. This false name came from the Roman Catholic Jerome, who translated the scriptures into Latin, which was the language of the pagan Roman Catholic “Church.” The Roman Catholic Latin Vulgate was a primary source for the translators of the English King James Version, even though the original scriptures were inspired in Hebrew and Greek!

In Isaiah 14:12, the KJV states, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” First, in this verse, Isaiah is speaking specifically of the king of Babylon, not of Satan. But, more importantly, the original scriptures do not have the name “Lucifer” in them. As most kings in that era did, the king of Babylon associated himself with one of the planets, as if he were a god—a heavenly being. The planet he chose was Venus, which was also called “the morning star.” When Jerome translated “morning star” in the passage, he chose a Latin word that means “light bringer,” and that word is “Lucifer.”

So, not only is the verse not actually about Satan, the Latin “Lucifer” is a translation, and as we have discussed elsewhere, names are not translated, and the translation of names is one of Satan's greatest deceptions, especially where the names of the Creator and His Son are concerned. So, “Lucifer,” merely being a translation of “morning star,” which refers to Venus, is not Satan's name. But, ask most any christian what Satan's name is, and the overwhelming majority will say, “Lucifer,” just as most of them will falsely state that Messiah's name is “Jesus.”

Is Satan in hell?

Now, where Satan dwells is a matter that is so simple to ascertain that it is dumbfounding how many christians believe fairy tales that are unscriptural, but are so widely disseminated that they are believed without so much as even a thought about them. So, when the question, “Where does Satan dwell?” is posed, most people won't even hesitate to answer, “Hell.” Some might also suggest that he is on earth; but, while he does have access to earth, and he does come to earth on occasion, his actual dwelling place usually shocks most christians, because, according to scripture, SATAN DWELLS IN HEAVEN!

Most christians believe a false narrative about Satan, and it is typically based on some version of the notion that good people (or saved people, or “christian” people, etc.) go to heaven, while bad people go to hell when they die; and, in hell, they are basically turned over to Satan for punishment—and, he is the one who inflicts pain and torture on those bad people in hell (he is the one who keeps the fires burning).

Sadly, much of what christians believe about Satan and hell has nothing to do with what we are taught in the scriptures, but is based on the 14th century epic poem Inferno by Dante Alighieri. In Dante's work, Satan resides in the center of hell, and is a great demon, half-frozen in ice, with three faces and a pair of bat-like wings. He flaps his wings to produce the cold wind that freezes those in the ninth circle of hell with him (the worst of the worst reside there with him in the epic poem).

So, this fiction of Dante has produced more common cultural thought of who Satan is and where he resides than scripture itself has! Scripture never states that Satan has any authority over hell, nor that he has ever even been there. Hell is the current place of punishment for unbelievers, but it is not the permanent location for that. We'll get to that later, but for now, let's examine what scripture tells us is Satan's dwelling place.

In the story of Job, we are shown that Satan is not only in heaven, but that he also has access to the earth—so, he can go back and forth between the two.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Yah, and Satan also came among them. Yah said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered Yah and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” Job 1:6-7

Now, it must be understood that Satan is not omnipresent—he can only be in one place at a time. Being a spirit, he can transport immediately, but he cannot be in two different places at once. So, if he is presenting himself before the Father, he must be in heaven, and cannot be on earth (or anywhere else) at the same time. What's notable here is that most christians cannot believe that Satan can even BE in heaven, let alone dwell there. So, are we given scriptural evidence elsewhere that he not only has access to heaven, but that he indeed dwells there?

How do we know that Satan actually DWELLS in heaven?

In Revelation 12:9-10, we're told, “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.”

At this point in the Book of Revelation, the bride has already been raptured, and the tribulation (wheat harvest) is happening on the earth. At this same time (3 ½ years into the false peace treaty the antichrist brokers), the antichrist will be assassinated (which we see in chapter 13), and Satan, having now been cast out of heaven, will enter the lifeless body of the antichrist, resurrecting him, and preparing for the face-to-face battle that will occur between him and Messiah at Armageddon.

But, something very important to see in this passage is that Satan is the accuser of the brethren, and he accuses them before the Father “day and night.” If someone is doing something “day and night,” then that must be his preeminent occupation. We see in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” The Greek word that is translated “prowls around” is a word that means “to be occupied with,” so it's not speaking of where Satan is, but what he does.

Of course, we know from Ephesians 2:2, that Satan is the “prince of the power of the air.” The power of the air refers to the demonic beings that are all around us—Satan's army, or his demons. The word “prince” there actually means “commander.” So, Satan commands his legions of demonic soldiers to wage his spiritual war against mankind. But, because we see that he still accuses the brethren before the Father day and night, and also that his demons will be cast out of heaven at the same time that he is, it should be understood that he commands them mostly from heaven, and his demons have access to him there.

Wasn't Satan cast down from heaven around the time that Christ came to earth?

BUT, and this might seem like a strong argument that some would assert, is there anywhere in scripture that supports the understanding that Revelation 12 is yet to come, and is not referring to Messiah's first coming—His incarnation? Many christians falsely believe that this passage has already occurred, which, of course, would mean that Satan no longer accuses the brethren before the Father, which is ludicrous. But, there IS a passage of scripture that shows us that Satan was still in heaven AFTER Messiah's resurrection.

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. Zechariah 3:1

Many christians have no idea who this passage is talking about, because they've been deceived into believing that Messiah's name is “jesus.” The “Joshua” here, as we can see in the original Hebrew, is יְהוֹשֻׁ֙עַ֙ , and the pronunciation of that name is “Yahoshua.” It is Messiah. The scene is heaven right after Yahoshua rose again from the dead. If you will recall, Mary tried to hold onto Him in the garden, and He told her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'” John 20:17

He had to ascend to His Father to be given His glorified body, just as the Old Testament saints who resurrected with Him, and were seen walking around Jerusalem, had to do. They were the wave offering of the barley harvest, and, now, as the Great High Priest, it was His duty to perform that wave offering. We see further into the passage that the Father calls Him “a brand plucked from the fire,” and refers to the "filthy garments” in which He was clothed.

He was a brand plucked from the fire, because, as the Passover Lamb, He was not only slaughtered, but He also suffered the burning fires of hell, which is where His bride's sin had to be atoned. As we're told in Revelation 1:18, He has the keys to death and hell, and hell is where He got them. As for His “filthy garments,” He covered His bride with His garment (righteousness), and took her filthy garment upon Himself (He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of Yah in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21). After His ascension back to His Father is when He received His glorified body, just as those who resurrected with Him did.

Again, this shows us that Satan was in heaven AFTER Messiah rose again from the dead. So, I would challenge those who do not want to believe that Satan is in heaven to provide a year, and a reason, after the resurrection, that Satan was cast out of heaven. Such an event does not yet exist, as it will not happen until during the tribulation.

As previously mentioned, not only is Satan not in hell, hell will be destroyed with this earth, and when the new heaven and new earth are created, the lake of fire will be created as well. At the end of the tribulation, which is when Armageddon occurs, Messiah will establish His earthly reign for 1000 years. During that time, Satan will be sealed in a pit, and he will not be released until near the end of that 1000 years. He will then be released for a short time to see who he will be able to deceive. After that 1000-year period, this earth will be destroyed after hell gives up its dead to be judged. It is at that time that Satan, his demons, and all the unbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity (Revelation 20:10-15).

Here's an important side note: the unbelievers are in hell because of their unbelief alone, as they have not yet been judged according to their works, and they are already in hell. Every human will be judged, unbelievers for punishment, and believers for reward. This is further evidence that eternal destiny is not based on works, good or bad, but on belief. Reward and punishment are based on works. So, anyone who claims that people who commit [insert a sin of the flesh here] will not go to heaven, don't understand the basis of eternal life or eternal punishment. More on that HERE.

Isn't Satan a horned, red, demonic looking creature with a pitchfork?

One final thing: another crafty deception that Satan has foisted upon mankind is the false notion that he is an ugly creature—red, with horns and a pitchfork, or any other various artistic depictions of scary looking demonic creatures. 2 Corinthians 11:14 tells us that Satan comes to us as an angel of light. He appears to be the most beautiful and desirable things in the world to us. He is in that which looks most satisfying to our emotions—our flesh. And, typically, he does that by counterfeiting the good things of Yah.

So, rather than seeing Satan as some sinister looking horned red demon, it should be understood that his true work on earth can be seen in the warm feelings around the tree on christ-mass morning, or in the joyful sounds of a Sunday “church” service. These are Satan's counterfeits, and they have deceived mankind for centuries by making people think they are honoring their Creator, but they are actually doing things that He abhors—cheap imitations of what He ordained. Those things are no different than the beautiful golden calf at Mount Sinai.

 

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