There are a few times in the Word of God when we are allowed to see beyond the visible world into that which is unseen by human eyes. The first two chapters of the book of Job show us two of these occasions. In these chapters we see Satan being allowed access to God’s presence, when he is seeking to do his evil work in this world.
We might wonder how this can be, that Satan, with all his evil strategies, would be allowed to converse directly with God and to attempt further evil. But Satan is still an angel, although a fallen one, and has a certain amount of power that God has not yet taken away from him. Scripture calls him “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2), showing us the sphere in which he carries on his malicious activities. He clearly moves above this earth, although his activities are with those on this earth. He is unseen by human eyes, but his effects on those in this world are certainly seen.
The Spheres of Heaven
Perhaps we ask the question, Where is the region of his activities? The Word of God refers to the “third heaven” (2 Cor. 12:2), and from this we can deduce that three heavens exist. The third heaven is clearly the dwelling place of God, into which the Apostle Paul was caught up. Certainly nothing sinful can enter that place; it is a place of uncreated glory. But in Genesis 1:1 (JND) we read, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This refers to the first two heavens. I would suggest that the first heaven is the atmosphere above the earth, for we are told that when God created birds, He said, “Let fowl fly above the earth in the expanse of the heavens” (Gen. 1:20 JND). This leaves a second heaven, to which man does not have access, but we might call it the sphere of spiritual activity. It is the place where the Lord met with a number of evil spirits in the time of Ahab, king of Israel (detailed for us in 1 Kings 22:19-23). It is the same place where Satan met with the Lord in Job 1-2. It is also the place where Satan constantly accuses believers to God today and where the Lord Jesus does His work for us as our Intercessor (Rom. 8:34).
To complete the picture, we know that in a coming day, probably in the middle of the tribulation week, Satan and his angels will be cast out of heaven and denied access to God’s presence from that point on — see Revelation 12:7-12. Satan then knows that he has only a short time until he is bound in the bottomless pit for 1000 years, and for this reason he comes down to the earth “with great wrath.”
The Designs of Satan
In the case of Job, Satan had evil designs in mind for him, thinking that if he could only afflict Job severely enough, he would react in the wrong way and curse God. On the other hand, the Lord had a lesson to teach Job, and for this reason He allowed Satan to initiate serious trials in Job’s life. As we know, first of all his property and his children were taken from him by violent means, and then later his health was taken away in a most miserable way. But in both cases Job “passed the test,” so to speak, and Satan was defeated. He had no more to say, and we do not hear of him again in the book of Job. But then the Lord took over and allowed Job to face the withering accusations of his three friends. It was this that provoked Job even more than all the evil Satan had inflicted upon him, and he lost his patience with them. Then the Lord brings in Elihu, a younger man, who had the mind of the Lord and who was able to bring truth before Job and eventual blessing out of all Job’s sufferings.
The Purposes of the Lord
What do we learn from all this? Doubtless Satan carries on this kind of evil today, but like Job, we are not directly aware of it. No doubt he accuses us constantly to the Lord, and the Lord may allow him to cause trouble in our lives too. It is instructive to notice that this went on in King David’s life. We read that “the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah” (2 Sam. 24:1). However, in 1 Chronicles 21:1, we find out what went on behind the scenes, for we read that “Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.” Satan was the instigator of this numbering of the people, and the Word of God uses the word “provoked” to describe Satan’s effect on David. Satan had no care for the people of God, and wanted (if possible) to destroy them. He knew that numbering the people would displease the Lord and bring down His government upon them. But the Lord was over all this, and Satan could not provoke David without the Lord’s allowing him to do it. The Lord’s purposes of love and goodness were in it all, for both David and the people of Israel had evidently become lifted up in pride. But God’s purposes are always blessing and never destruction. Yes, it is true that Israel suffered under the government of God for their sin, and it is recorded that “the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men” (1 Chron. 21:14). However, as a result of all this, the future site for Solomon’s temple was purchased by David and secured at that time for this purpose. At that time, David wanted it only as a place to build an altar unto the Lord, but the Lord knew that this was the place where His temple would be built. Truly we can say, with the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:33, “How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” With all of us, surely the Lord “worketh all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph. 1:11). Satan may have sinister designs against us, but the Lord will ultimately use it all for His purposes and for our blessing.
W. J. Prost