Within Christian universalism, there are two different schools of thought on how extensive the ultimate salvation and reconciliation will be. Some universalists believe that all human beings will be saved, but extend this salvation no further than all humanity, believing that neither the devil nor his angels will ever be reconciled. This is a sort of ‘soft universalism’, or as I often call it, anthropological universalism. Others believe that all rational and conscious beings will be saved, including the devil and his angels, which I call ‘full universalism’. So, which of these is more biblical? In this post, we will examine both sides of the argument and come to a conclusion based on the scriptural evidence.
Who is the devil?
Before getting into the question of whether the devil will be reconciled to God - which is, indeed, a doozy of a question - we must first examine what the Bible actually says about the nature of the devil. The word “devil” literally means “slanderer”, whereas the word “satan” literally means “adversary” - the being called the devil and the Satan (for example, seen in Matt. 4 and Rev. 12) is the ultimate Adversary and Slanderer of the people of God.
Most Christians see the devil as an angelic being who was once the greatest of God’s creations, and yet fell (almost immediately) into sin after grasping at equality with God. Now, they believe, he remains the greatest enemy of God and is always working contrary to His will. But is this what scripture actually says? There are two passages thought to teach that the devil originally was a great angelic being and then fell from grace: Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14. Let’s take a look at each of these passages.
And there is a word of Yahweh unto me, saying: “Son of man, lift up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and thou hast said to him: Thus said the Lord Yahweh: Thou art sealing up a measurement, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. In Eden, the garden of God, thou hast been, every precious stone thy covering, ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle, and gold, the workmanship of thy tabrets, and of thy pipes, in thee in the day of thy being produced, have been prepared. Thou [art] an anointed cherub who is covering, and I have set thee in the holy mount, God thou hast been, in the midst of stones of fire thou hast walked up and down. Perfect [art] thou in thy ways, from the day of thy being produced, till perversity hath been found in thee. By the abundance of thy merchandise they have filled thy midst with violence, and thou dost sin, and I thrust thee from the mount of God, and I destroy thee, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire. High hath been thy heart, because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom because of thy brightness, on the earth I have cast thee, before kings I have set thee, to look on thee, from the abundance of thy iniquity, by the perversity of thy traffic, thou hast polluted thy sanctuaries, and I bring forth fire from thy midst, it hath devoured thee, and I make thee become ashes on the earth, before the eyes of all beholding thee. All knowing thee among the peoples have been astonished at thee, wastes thou hast been, and thou art not — to the age.” (Ezek. 28:11-19 YLT)
...thou hast taken up this simile concerning the king of Babylon, and said... “How hast thou fallen from the heavens, O shining one [Lucifer], son of the dawn! Thou hast been cut down to earth, O weakener of nations. And thou saidst in thy heart: the heavens I go up, above stars of God I raise my throne, And I sit in the mount of meeting in the sides of the north. I go up above the heights of a thick cloud, I am like to the Most High. Only — unto Sheol thou art brought down, unto the sides of the pit.” (Isa. 14:4, 12-15 YLT)
The problem with seeing these passages as describing the “fall of Satan” should be obvious; they are not about the devil. Rather, they are explicitly about the king of Tyre and the king of Babylon respectively. And the first passage cannot be describing anything other than the human king of Tyre, even if it uses figurative imagery, because twice in the immediate context it says that this king is “a man” (vv. 2, 9). Likewise, the second passage, about the king of Babylon, also describes this king as a “man” (v. 16) and is said to be describing the judgment of Babylon (vv. 22-23), not of a spiritual being.
The idea that the the Adversary fell from heaven [1] likely came out of the idea that God cannot create anything that is evil, even to serve a better purpose, despite clear statements to the contrary (Job 2:10; Isa. 45:7). However, in contrast to the strained interpretations of Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 to support this doctrine, we have explicit statements that the Adversary has always been an adversary and a slanderer. It is said that he was both a murderer and a sinner from the beginning (Jn. 8:44; 1 Jn. 3:8); although this could, theoretically, be interpreted in a way that is compatible with the doctrine of the “fall of Satan”, the most clear and natural interpretation is that the Adversary was created as a sinner. So, although I would not be too dogmatic on this issue (because there aren’t many passages that discuss it), the most scriptural position seems to be that the Adversary did not fall, but was created as a sinner.
Furthermore, rather than the Adversary working against God’s ultimate will, there are indications in scripture that he is ultimately an agent of God’s will, and as firmly under the sovereignty of God as we humans are. According to 1 Chronicles 21:1, it was the Adversary that provoked David to take a census of Israel, apparently going against God’s will, for which David was later punished. And yet, according to 2 Samuel 24:1, it was Yahweh that provoked David to take a census of Israel! This is only an irreconcilable contradiction unless we recognize that the Adversary is, ultimately, working out God’s sovereign will as much as we humans are [2], even though he may perceive himself as working against God’s preceptive will. Furthermore, in Job 2:1-6, the Adversary is unable to lift a hand against Job until given permission by Yahweh, and Job later identifies the ultimate source of the evil against him as God (Job 2:10).
However, this does not mean that the Adversary is purposely working in accordance with God’s will. After all, in both the Old and New Testaments, the Adversary is presented as, well, an adversary. We can conclude that, although the Adversary is ultimately working towards the purposes which God has created for him (whatever they may be), he still perceives himself as working against God’s will (which in a sense is true, as he is going against God’s preceptive will).
So, rather than seeing the Adversary as a created angelic being that fell away from God and is now working against Him, the biblical picture of the Adversary is as one who was created specifically for the purpose of adversity, and is just as much under the sovereignty of God as we are. The “angels” or “messengers” of the Adversary, however, which are called “demons” elsewhere, do seem to have been corrupted and deceived by the Adversary (for example, see Rev. 12:4, 7-9). With this in mind, let’s examine the question of whether these beings will eventually be reconciled to God.
Position #1: the Adversary and his angels are beyond redemption
The first position, held by some universalists, is that only humans are able to be saved and reconciled to God, and all other beings are beyond redemption. This position is what I call ‘anthropological universalism’. This position was held by several early Christian theologians like Origen of Alexandria and Basil of Caesarea. There are a few passages that can be adduced in support of anthropological universalism:
“Then shall he say also to those on the left hand, Go ye from me, the cursed, to the fire, the age-during, that hath been prepared for the Devil and his messengers” (Matt. 25:41 YLT)
According to the traditional interpretation of this passage, the age-during fire (of Gehenna?) has been prepared for the Adversary and his angels, even though many humans (the “goats”) will go there as well. However, this is not the best interpretation of this passage based on its overall context; as I set out in another post of mine, this passage (Matt. 25:31-46) is describing the judgment of the surviving Gentile unbelievers that will remain after the end of the tribulation, with the “sheep” who helped Israel during its time of adversity being granted access to the kingdom, and the “goats” who persecuted Israel being sent far away from the kingdom in Israel and treated as slaves.
The “age-during fire” in this passage seems to be a figurative description of the adversity which the “goats” are set to experience during the Messianic age (cf. Deut. 4:20; Isa. 48:10; Ezek. 22:20; 1 Pet. 1:7; 4:12). These goats will comprise the “nations” that Christ and believers will “rule over with a rod of iron” (Ps. 2:8-9; Rev. 2:26-27; 19:15), and who will be treated as slaves, forced to obey in all things or suffer severe consequences as a reprimand for their harsh treatment of Israel (Joel 3:5-8; Zech. 14:16-19).
So then, it cannot be the punishment of the ‘age-during fire’ itself that will be prepared for the Adversary and his angels, because they will be confined to an ‘abyss’ during the time that this punishment of the goats is taking place (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Rev. 20:1-3). Rather, this fire is prepared for them in the sense that it will make ready the nations for the deception that the Adversary and his angels will perpetuate at the end of the Messianic age (Rev. 20:7-9). Thus, this passage doesn’t really provide any input on the issue of whether the Adversary and his angels will be saved.
But even if the traditional interpretation, that the ‘age-during fire’ was prepared for them in the sense that they will be punished by it, was correct, what would this really prove anyway? All that it would show is that the Adversary and his angels will be punished in fire for an ‘age-during’ period. Since the adjective αιωνιος rarely, if ever, means strictly “without end” when used in scripture, this passage would still be equivocal on the issue of whether their punishment will eventually end.
messengers also, those who did not keep their own principality, but did leave their proper dwelling, to a judgment of a great day, in bonds everlasting [αιδιοις], under darkness He hath kept (Jude 6 YLT)
This passage is somewhat stronger evidence that certain fallen angels will never be reconciled. This is because the bonds in which these angels are kept are described as αιδιος, an adjective which does mean strictly “eternal” in Greek. However, the context qualifies the period for which these angels will only be kept in bonds under darkness as only until the “judgment of a great day”, which the parallel passage of 2 Peter 2:4 supports. So then, in what sense are these bonds αιδιος? Another possible translation of this word in this context is “imperceptible” or “invisible”, based on its etymology from the words α- (“not”) and οιδα (“to see/perceive”), which would be equivocal as to whether the punishment of these angels will eventually end.
and the Devil, who is leading them astray, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where [are] the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day and night — to the ages of the ages. (Rev. 20:10 YLT)
This passage characterizes the torment of the Adversary, the beast, and the false prophet as εις τους αιωνας των αιωνων (“for the ages of the ages”). Cross-referencing this passage with others like Gal. 1:5; Php. 4:20; 1 Tim. 1:17; Rev. 7:12; 10:6; and 15:7, which describe the glory and life of God as continuing “for the ages of the ages”, it is argued that the torment of these beings will never end, for the glory and life of God are likewise unending.
However, just because God’s glory and life will continue for the ages of the ages does not mean that they will end after that time. It is worth noting that other things categorized as “for the ages of the ages” in scripture, such as the dominion and reign of Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 4:18; Heb. 13:21; 1 Pet. 4:11; Rev. 1:6; 5:13; 11:15) and the dominion of the saints (Rev. 22:5), are explicitly said to end in 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 when Jesus will abolish all rule, power, and authority and hand over the kingdom to God, voluntarily subjecting Himself to the Father. In fact, an argument can be made from this passage that the torment of the Adversary, beast, and false prophet will end:
Premise 1. Christ will reign for “the ages of the ages” (Rev. 11:15).
Premise 2. The reign of Christ will eventually come to an end (1 Cor. 15:24-28).
Premise 3. The torment of the Adversary, beast, and false prophet will continue for “the ages of the ages” (Rev. 20:10).
Conclusion. The torment of the Adversary, beast, and false prophet will eventually come to an end.
Although Revelation 20:10 does not necessarily prove that the torment of these three beings will end - any more than Philippians 4:20 proves that the glory of God will come to an end - it is at the very least equivocal on this issue, because we know that other things characterized as lasting “for the ages of the ages” will also end.
Position #2: the Adversary and his angels will be reconciled
The second position, which I call ‘full universalism’, is that the Adversary and his angels will be reconciled along with the rest of humanity. Full universalism was believed by several of the theological heavyweights of early Christianity, including Gregory of Nyssa and (at first) Jerome of Stridon. This position finds its greatest scriptural support in Colossians 1:15-20:
[Christ] is [the] image of the invisible God, [the] firstborn of all creation, because in him was created the all things, in the heavens and upon the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or lordships or rulers or authorities, the all things has been created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and the all things has been established in him. And he is the head of the body, the assembly, who is the beginning, a firstborn out of the dead, so that in all things he may become [the one] having preeminence, because in him all the fullness [of God] was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile the all things to Himself, [he] having made peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether the [things] upon the earth, whether the [things] in the heavens.
According to this passage, the “all things” which will be reconciled to God are the same all things described earlier as “the all things in the heavens and upon the earth, the visible and the invisible”, that is, clearly all beings without exception. This is confirmed by the use of the definite article throughout this passage, which shows each instance of τα παντα to be referring to the same set of ‘things’. This is also the same “all things” which Christ is preeminent over, elsewhere said to be all things in the heavens and upon the earth, whether living or dead (Matt. 28:18; Rom. 14:9 cf. Eph. 1:10).
Since, per Revelation 12, both the Adversary and his messengers are currently in the heavens, the “all things in the heavens” that will be reconciled certainly includes them. And furthermore, the fact that Jesus is most certainly preeminent over the Adversary - in fact, that is one of the very reasons that He came, to gain power over and nullify the authority of the Adversary (Jn. 12:31; Heb. 2:14; 1 Jn. 3:8) - makes it even more clear that the Adversary is part of the “all things” being considered in this passage. But if the Adversary is part of the “all things” which are created in Him, and which He is preeminent over, then he must also be part of the “all things” which will be reconciled to God through Him.
Furthermore, Paul states that one category of the “all things” that will be reconciled is the rulers (αρχαι) and authorities (εξουσιαι) in the heavens. And yet this is almost exactly the terminology he uses elsewhere to describe the demonic forces which we currently our enemies:
Put on the panoply of God, to enable you to stand up to the schemes of the Adversary, because ours is not the wrestling with flesh and blood, but with the rulers, with the authorities, with the world-rulers of this darkness, with the spirituals of evil, in the heavenlies. (Eph. 6:11-12)
There can be little doubt that Paul had the same idea in mind when writing about the “rulers” and “authorities... in the heavens” in both his epistle to the Colossians and to the Ephesians. But this means that the same demonic forces that are currently our enemies, including the Adversary, will eventually be reconciled to God. Even if, as non-universalists argue, this Colossians passage is simply describing a potential reconciliation [3], this is still incompatible with the mainstream position that neither the Adversary nor his angels even have the possibility of being saved.
Another passage that supports the idea that the Adversary and his angels will eventually be reconciled to God is 1 Corinthians 15:24-28:
...then the consummation, when he may deliver the kingdom to the God and Father, when he may nullify all rule and all authority and power. For [it] is necessary [for] him to reign until He may put all the enemies under his feet. [The] last enemy is being abolished: the death. For He subjected all things under his feet. Now when it may be said that all things have been subjected, [it is] clear that the [One] having subjected the all things to him [is] excepted. Now when the all things may be subjected to him, then also the Son himself will be subjected to the [One] having subjected the all things to him, so that God may be the all things, in all.
According to this passage, all of God’s enemies will be subjected to Christ and put under His feet. Of course, the Adversary and his angels are to be included in the category of “the enemies” which will be subjected to Christ and put under His feet. However, throughout the Pauline corpus, the notion of subjection to Christ is always connected to reconciliation, not a subjection of destruction. For example, see Php. 2:9-11 and 3:21, which present the subjection of all things to Christ as a glorious time in which all will bow to Him and acknowledge Him as Lord, and Ephesians 1:21-23, which connects the subjection of all things with the same subjection by which Christ is head of the church, namely, reconciliation.
However, even if we did not have these other passages that present subjection to Christ as reconciliation, the final verse of this passage should remove any remaining doubt, as it says that after this subjection God will be “the all things, in all” (τα παντα εν πασιν). For God to be “in all”, all beings must first be reconciled to Him, including the enemies that have been subjected under Christ’s feet. Therefore, Paul’s prophecy in 1 Cor. 15:24-28 provides further evidence that the Adversary will be reconciled to God, at the end of the ages of the ages for which his torment will continue (Rev. 20:10).
Finally, the last passage that supports the idea that even rebel angels (including the Adversary) will eventually be saved and reconciled is Ephesians 3:8-11:
To me, the less than least of all saints, was given this grace: to preach the incomprehensible riches of the Christ to the Gentiles, and to enlighten all [as to] what [is] the administration of the secret, the [one] having been hidden from the ages in God, the [One who] created the all things, so that now the manifold wisdom of God may be made known through the assembly to the rulers and to the authorities in the heavenlies, according to a purpose of the ages which He made in the Christ, Jesus our Lord.
Compare this to what Paul wrote at the end of the same epistle to the Ephesians:
Put on the panoply of God, to enable you to stand up to the schemes of the Adversary, because ours is not the wrestling with flesh and blood, but with the rulers, with the authorities, with the world-rulers of this darkness, with the spirituals of evil, in the heavenlies. (Eph. 6:11-12)
There can be no doubt that Paul was writing about the same demonic forces, the “rulers and authorities in the heavenlies”, when he wrote the first passage as the second. However, he expects that in the oncoming ages when the body of Christ will be seated with Christ in the heavens (Eph. 2:6-7), we will also be evangelizing the same demonic forces which are currently our enemies. This is inconceivable if it is impossible for fallen angels to be saved, which is the mainstream position of Christianity.
Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians shows that at the very least it is possible for fallen angels to be reconciled to God, which in turn implies that they will be reconciled to God. This is because according to God’s very nature, His sovereignty over all and love for all, He must effect the reconciliation of any being that has the potential to be reconciled to Him (as I argued in my last post).
These three texts provide very strong scriptural evidence that both the Adversary and his fallen angels will be reconciled to God along with the rest of humanity. Not only do we have explicit statements that all of the rulers and authorities in the heavens (referring to demonic forces) will be reconciled to God through Christ (Col. 1:16) and that all of God’s enemies will be subjected and reconciled, thus making God the all things in all (1 Cor. 15:24-28), but we are also told that one of the duties of the body of Christ is to evangelize these demonic forces (Eph. 3:8-11). In contrast, the texts that are used to argue that the Adversary and his angels will not be saved are fairly equivocal on this issue. Because of this, I think we can be certain from scripture that all of God’s enemies, including the Adversary, will be reconciled to Him in the end.
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[1] It should be noted that, although the fall of the Adversary from heaven is described in scripture (Lk. 10:18, Rev. 12) this is depicted as a future event that will occur close to the time that the Messianic kingdom is established on earth.
[2] For scriptural support of this position, see Job 23:13-14; Ps. 33:14-15; Prov. 16:1, 4, 9, 33; 19:21; 20:24; 21:1; Isa. 45:5-7; Jer. 10:23; Lam. 3:37-39; Dan. 5:23; Acts 17:25, 28; Php. 2:13; Jas. 4:13-15; Rev. 17:17.
[3] This interpretation is hard to reconcile with the grammar of this passage, since the verb “to reconcile” is not in the subjunctive mood (which would introduce an element of uncertainty) but in the infinitive mood.
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