The King of the Abyss and the Unholy Trinity continued Final Judgments After the great Battle of Armageddon, the Beast and the False Prophet � the leaders of the earthly rebellion against God � are �cast alive into the lake of fire� (Rev. 19:20). This fulfills the prophecy of Enoch about their latter end: Enoch 10:9 And in the great day of judgment let him [Azazel] be cast into the fire. ... 15 ...Semhazai and...the others who are with him...bind them for seventy generations underneath the earth, even to the day of judgment, and of consummation... 16 Then shall they be taken away into the lowest depths of the fire in torments; and in confinement shall they be shut up for ever. [Cf. Jude 6] It is noteworthy that Satan the Dragon steers clear of the Battle of Armageddon, and consequently is not cast into the lake of fire along with the Beast and False Prophet. Rather, he is ...cast into the Abyss...[for a] thousand years...and after that he must be loosed a little season. Rev. 20:3 Satan is judged according to the original judgment of the rebellious Watchers, because, like them when they first fell to Earth, he becomes guilty of teaching rebellion to mankind, but does not actually shed blood himself. The Watchers are to be condemned to the destruction of fire only after they personally shed innocent blood in a war of rebellion against God. After the Millennium, however, :7 ...when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle... This time, Satan becomes culpable as the leader of blood-letting armies, and therefore liable to the same doom as the Watchers: :10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Even though God knows the set dispositions of these rebels, and therefore their final end, it�s significant that he still allows them an opportunity for repentance in the Abyss-prison. Equally significant is the eternal judgment souls bring upon themselves who shed innocent blood during a rebellion against God. Conclusion The Devil, the Beast, and the False Prophet have often been called the Unholy Trinity, corresponding to the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Satan contests with the Father for authority over the heavens; Azazel with Christ for dominion upon Earth; and the False Prophet (Semhazai?) with the Holy Spirit for authority to instruct mankind about the way to live. These all contest for the hearts and minds of every creature. �Choose ye this day whom ye will serve.� ___________________________________________________________________________________________ ADDENDA: "In the Zohar (Vayeze 153a), the rider on the serpent is symbolized by 'the evil Azazel.' Here he is said to be chief of the order of bene elim (otherwise ischim, lower angels, 'men spirits'). Irenaeus calls Azazel 'that fallen and yet mighty angel.' In The Apocalypse of Abraham he is 'lord of hell, seducer of mankind,' and here his aspect, when revealed in its true form, shows him to be a demon with 7 serpent heads." � A Dictionary of Angels by Gustav Davidson. New York: Free Press, 1967: p. 63. Note how well all of these descriptions fit into my own conclusions above. (I was unaware of Davidson's book when I wrote this article.) In particular, note that Azazel 'rides the serpent,' i.e., is carried/supported by Satan: "the dragon gave him [the Beast/Azazel] his power," Rev. 13:2. Also, this demon-Beast has "seven heads," which agrees with Rev. 13:1 and 17:3. Return to Index Previous page |