What is Satan's Fate?
Argument X
Wandering Stars
Question:
Isn’t Jude 13’s mention of “WANDERING STARS” referring to false teachers and not Satan and his demons?
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One of the emerging arguments presented by those who believe Satan’s ultimate fate is everlasting death and not everlasting darkness, is expressed in a new rendering of Jude 13. In the past, God’s Church has understood this verse’s reference to “wandering stars” to mean fallen angels. This understanding is based in part, on the fact that angels are referred to in Scripture as “stars” (See: Job 38:7).
Today however, many well intended believers are beginning to challenge this view. According to them, the context of Jude’s epistle makes it clear that the subject is false teachers, not fallen angels. Therefore, they reason, it is the fate of apostate teachers being addressed in this verse—not the fate of Satan and his demons. In other words, the “blackness of darkness” is what awaits heretics who have infiltrated the Church and infected it with lies. Furthermore, the “darkness” being referred to is everlasting death—not everlasting isolation.
Here is how the leaders of two prominent COG fellowships expresses this view followed by my response.
Advocates of the New Doctrine:
“Some have thought that Satan and his demons will only be temporarily punished in the lake of fire, but then their fate will be to be cast into the outer "darkness" of the remote regions of the universe, where they will be as "raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; WANDERING STARS, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever” (Jude 13).
“However, notice carefully. This verse is categorically not speaking of the fate of Satan or wicked angels. Rather, the context is clear. The apostle Jude is talking about wicked MEN—false teachers and false prophets, like Cain and Balaam! He says,”
“Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward... These [evil men] are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, TWICE DEAD, plucked up by the roots.” (Jude 11-12)
“Notice! These evil men are "twice dead." That means they will suffer the SECOND DEATH, which is the lake of fire! As we read in the book of Revelation, "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. THIS IS THE SECOND DEATH (Rev.20:14).”
A Voice of Agreement
Another prominent Church leader expressed his support of this view as follows. Notice how dismissive he is of the long held position of God’s Church
“Thus this passage in Jude describes false teachers who inveigle(1) their way into the Church of God, and seduce members to follow them! It is not even remotely discussing the final fate of Satan the devil or his demons. These false teachers are compared to "wandering stars" today, in that they wander from place to place, seducing, deceiving, and misleading people. Their eventual "fate" will be "blackness of darkness forever"—that is, to have their lives snuffed out in the lake of fire, and to be totally unconscious and dead, forever!”
My Response:
Although these ministers offer what they believe is incontrovertible evidence disproving the long held position of God’s Church, they never explain why the Church drew its conclusion in the first place. Remember, the fact that angels are referred to as “stars” in Scripture is only PART of the reason it was persuaded that Jude 13 is a direct reference to Satan and his demons. What follows is the rest of the story.
Putting Jude in Context
To better understand the Church’s long held position on this doctrine, one must appreciate the full context of Jude’s epistle—and how he expressed his message. By doing so, it will become evident that he actually revealed how these “wandering stars” CAN be identified—as well as how to understand Satan’s ultimate fate.
An Appeal to the Church
The epistle of Jude was written by the half-brother of the Messiah and is an appeal to Christians to remain faithful to the truth. When presenting this appeal, he warns of false teachers who have infiltrated the Church and perverted the gospel. He also explains that God’s people are engaged in spiritual mortal combat with these apostates and that in order to prevail in this fight they must be prepared to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints,” of which he was one (verse 3),
Jude then informs his audience that the Almighty has dealt with this kind of evil in the past, in both the human and spirit realms—and each time came out VICTORIOUS (verses 5-7). After providing this assurance, he levels an avalanche of indictments against these false teachers and declares that their fate will not be pleasant.
Jude 8-11 & 16
“Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. … [They] speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.”
“These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaks great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.”
(1) Inveigle: to win over by wiles, ENTICE
Employing Metaphors
At one point in his exhortation, Jude employs metaphorical language when describing these teachers, whom he refers to as “ungodly men” (verse 4). He does so by comparing them to things that have NO VALUE. In other words, these teachers have made themselves WORTHLESS—and will eventually be discarded and permanently removed from God’s people. Consider how he illustrates this point.
They are like “clouds without water, carried about of winds” (v. 12)
A cloud that will not give rain may be appealing to the eye, however, it performs no function of value. Furthermore, it is easily blown away by the wind and disappears. This is what will ultimately happen to false teachers. They will completely disappear.
They are like “trees whose fruit withers, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots” (v. 12)A tree with contaminated fruit loses its purpose and its value. In other words, it is good for nothing. Therefore, it is removed (uprooted). Jesus actually stated that it would also be cast into fire (See: Matthew 7:19). The point here is that this is the same fate that awaits false teachers. They too will be uprooted and completely removed—never to be seen again.
They are like “raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame” (v. 13)Each wave of a violent storm at sea is loud and even frightening. It is as if it is screaming out for attention. However, a wave lasts only a matter of seconds and is gone—and so is its noise. The point is that false teachers are no different—they too will eventually be silenced forever.
Understanding the Metaphor
At this point it is important to understand that Jude is not suggesting that false teachers are literally clouds, or trees, or waves of the sea. Furthermore, he is not suggesting that they are literally carried away by winds, or literally plucked up by the roots, or that they literally “foam.” In truth it is the cloud that is blown away, the tree that is plucked up, and the sea that “foams.” However, in each case the result is the same—they all disappear—never to be seen again. This is why the analogy works—because false teachers will also be silenced and removed forever.
Wandering Stars
We now come to the metaphor at the center of this argument. In verse 13 Jude likens false teachers to “wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” Notice that the “blackness of darkness” is reserved for wandering stars—the same stars he compares false teachers to. This now begs two very important questions.
1) What did Jude mean by “wandering stars”?
2) What did he mean by “the blackness of darkness”?
The solution to this puzzle is actually provided by Jude himself—in the very next verse. There, he explains that Enoch, the seventh preacher of righteousness, “prophesied of these” (Wandering Stars) and declared that they would be judged by God, with the rest of the ungodly. Jude actually quotes the book of Enoch verbatim when making this point.
Enoch 1:9, Jude 14-15
“And behold! He comes with ten thousands of His holy ones. To execute judgment upon all, and to destroy all the ungodly: And to convict all flesh of all the works of their ungodliness which they have ungodly committed, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”
Here, Enoch and Jude direct their words at the ungodly, such as false teachers who have infested the Church and perverted the truth. But why did Jude liken them to "wandering stars"? Furthermore, what does this metaphor have to do with Enoch?
At this point it is interesting to note that the book of Enoch does not directly prophecy against apostate teachers, but it does directly prophecy against FALLEN ANGELS and specifically identifies them as “STARS.” as well as “ANGELS” and the “HOST of HEAVEN.” Furthermore, when doing so, Enoch forcefully declared that:
- Fallen angels would be imprisoned in a place BEYOND the end of the UNIVERSE.
- That they would suffer unimaginable PAIN.
- That they would be imprisoned FOREVER and,
- That the place of their eternal confinement would include DARKNESS.
First consider how Enoch describes the location of their confinement.
Enoch 18:11-15
“And I saw a deep abyss, with columns of heavenly fire, and among them I saw columns of fire fall, which were beyond measure alike towards the height and towards the depth. And beyond that abyss I saw a place which had no firmament of the heaven above, and no firmly founded earth beneath it: there was no water upon it, and no birds, but it was a waste and horrible place. I saw there seven stars like great burning mountains, and to me, when I inquired regarding them, the angel said: ‘This place is the end of heaven and earth: this has become a PRISON FOR THE STARS and the HOST OF HEAVEN.”
Then in chapter 21, Enoch reveals the length of their confinement. He even identifies the name of the “holy angel” who revealed it to him.
Enoch 21:7-10
“And from thence I went to another place, which was more horrible than the former, and I saw a horrible thing: a great fire there which burnt and blazed, and the place was cleft as far as the abyss, being full of great descending columns of fire: neither its extent or magnitude could I see, nor could I conjecture. Then I said: 'How fearful is this place and how terrible to look upon!' Then Uriel answered me, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: 'Enoch, why hast thou such fear and afright?' And I answered: 'Because of this fearful place, and because of the spectacle of the pain.' And he said unto me: 'This place is the prison of the angels, and here they will be imprisoned FOREVER.'”
Later in his book, Enoch states that these wandering stars will ultimately reside in DARKNESS. Here is how he expressed this point.
Enoch 88:1
“And I saw one of those four who had come forth first, and he seized that first star which had fallen from the heaven, and bound it hand and foot and cast it into an abyss: now that abyss was narrow and deep, and horrible and DARK.”
A Final Thought
When these long standing ministers argue that Jude’s epistle never addresses the fate of Satan and his demons, they are hugely mistaken. The point to this very important epistle is that false teachers are like clouds that give off no rain—then disappear, trees that bear no fruit—then disappear, waves that pound the ocean—then disappear, and Wandering Stars (defiant angels) who rebel against their Creator—then disappear into the blackness of darkness forever. In each case the object of the metaphor is removed. This is Satan’s fate. He will be expelled to a place outside the universe—never to come in contact with God’s Kingdom or His people again. In other words, he will disappear.
Argument XI
Refuting Luke 20:36
DIRECTORY