Contrary to many people’s assumption that Satan is not in Hell, he still has access to God’s throne.
Some believe that the Devil is trapped in hell, or that he lives with angels and the ghosts of the damned in the underworld. This isn’t so, though. It may interest you to know that the devil still has access to God’s throne, and they still have conversations, according to the Bible.
Indeed, the devil is an outcast, but he is not necessarily an outcast who does not have access to his home. The devil roams the earth and the heavens, according to the Book of Job. From every place created by God, he runs, searching for the next thing to do. The query, then, is where is he currently living?
And though some think the devil is bound in a trap, he is not. As free as an eagle, the devil is. While one day he will be bound in a trap, I will still refer to the contents of the book of Job until then, where God called the devil and they had a conversation about Job.
It seems from the material of the discussion that the devil was in direct touch with Heaven. And it leaves me thinking if, in this universe, we are not just puns. In reality, I have been asked this question by many and I always end up putting my faith ahead of my curiosity.
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the abyss and a great chain. And he took hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were done.
The substance of the above verse makes it plain to us that while the devil will be bound for a thousand years at some point in a pit, that time is not now. I want you to know, for those who believe the devil is trapped in hell, that the Bible does not teach us that way. We are taught to believe that the devil is walking the world at the moment, not yet imprisoned.
Now, if the devil were indeed imprisoned in hell, or if he were living in hell, he would not have been willing, as stated in the Book of Job, to present himself before God. We need to recognize that the devil continues to be a very critical part of the universe. Yes, all that is wrong with the world is the devil. But if we take into account the fact that the universe now possesses right and wrong, good and bad, then it means that the devil is crucial to the world’s flow.
This, in fact, suggests that the devil comes into the picture when God wishes to make choices or test those individuals. “And it came to pass on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, that Satan came among them also” (Job 1:6). A summary of how the heavens work is clearly given in the verse above.
The way we think it is, it doesn’t exactly work. Typically, one would think that the devil should be taken out of the sky, but clearly, God knows his strategy, and the reality is, it’s for him to know and to play along with us.
Job chapter 1:7-12:
7 The Lord asked him, ‘What did you do? Satan responded, “I walked here and there, wandering around the world.”
8 “have you seen my servant Job?”
“asked the Lord. On earth, there is no one as faithful and good as he is. He worships me and takes care not to do bad things. 9 (b)Satan responded, “If he got nothing out of it, will Job worship you?”
10 You have always protected him, his family, and everything that he possesses. You bless everything he does, and you have given him enough cattle to fill the entire property. 11 But now imagine you take away everything he has — he’s going to curse you to your face! 12 “Well,” the Lord said to Satan, “all that he has is in your control, but Job himself must not be harmed.” So Satan left.
To answer the question as to where the devil is dwelling:
The devil had been thrown down from heaven to earth. So, theoretically, we’re expected to assume that he exists on earth. Since the devil had keys to the heavens earlier, though, it is in a way difficult to revoke that keys. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the forces, against the rulers of this darkness of the earth, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the celestial places (Ephesians 6:12).
The Bible teaches us that in a place outside this world, the devil and his angels dwell. We battle against the supernatural hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places by saying. This indicates that in the clouds, the devil dwells.
What we need to recognize, though, is that in the plural, the heavens are named so we can have more than one heaven. The heavens can be divided into about seven, according to some scriptures, with the highest being the throne of God (this will be mentioned in my next article).
So, logically speaking, the devil may have been sent from the first heaven to a number of other heavens under God’s throne. But then again, there is the idea that the devil is present on earth as well. So, yes, the devil lives on earth, just as he lives in the sky. Yahweh said to Satan, “Where did you come from?” Satan responded to the LORD, “From going up and down upon the earth, and from going up and down upon it” (Job 1:7).
The warning in Peter’s book must not be forgotten:
“Be sober, be vigilant: the devil, your foe, walks around like a raging lion, seeking whom he can devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
It is necessary to remember that the devil is not limited to one aspect of the existence of God. He’s got access to the planet and to the clouds. This is evident from the verses above, some of which identify him as dwelling on earth, and others identify him as dwelling in heaven.
But we have to recognize that none of these scriptures say that the devil is in hell or trapped in the pit of the abyss. Not yet, at least.
