Satan is called “Beelzebub” in Matthew 12:24, a Hebrew word which literally means “Lord of the Flies”. Since flies in their larval stage of development, known as maggots, live in and grow from eggs in the midst of decaying flesh, Beelzebub paints a thoroughly graphic picture of the devil. The devil is the default ruler of a world subjected to decay and death. This is the result of mankind’s sin and effective choice to side with the devil over the Creator. That’s why the Bible calls the devil “the god of this world” in 2 Corinthians 4:4. And that’s why he is described as having the “power of death” in Hebrews 2:14. “The Lord of the Flies” is essentially “The Lord of Death”.
The role became a reality for Satan when Adam, in the Garden of Eden, chose to follow the Snake’s suggestions instead of God’s command. In doing so, Adam gave away the fullness of his God-ordained dominion and brought on the consequence of disorder and death. You can read about this in Genesis 3. The Bible speaks elsewhere of this alignment with Satan. For example, Jesus said, “Why do you not understand my speech? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do (you want to do what he desires)” (John 8:44).
The revelation of Scripture, as always, is consistent and filled with deeper meaning. If you begin to compromise your understanding of Scripture, you begin to introduce inconsistencies. For example, Christians who accept long ages of earth’s history in a concession to the assumptions of evolution have to deal with the fact that the Bible teaches that death entered the world by way of sin – a plain-sense reading of many texts in Scripture. So they need to find ways to work around the billions of deaths of precursor “ancestors” to Adam in a world filled with death before the original man could sin. They have to jump through quite a few hoops to do this.
Not only should the Bible be believed for what it says in a plain sense reading, including what it says about Satan, but most importantly, it should be believed for what it says about our God and Savior Jesus Christ. This is the wonderful, absolutely hope-affirming news – the “good” news, the gospel! Our verse above from Hebrews 2:14 puts it this way, “Forasmuch then as the children (people who become Christians) are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil”. Here is a statement of the Gospel, the Good News, that absolutely substantiates optimism – because it rests in the work of God and in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead! It breaks the hold the “Lord of the Flies”, the “Lord of Death” has on us. It is the great Hope to which our restless and anxious souls can be “anchored”!
– Mark Cadwallader, Board Chairman of Creation Moments
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