# What if Satan Repented? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 6, 2020, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137 "2020-06-06T02:03:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/21 "2020-06-06T12:43:43Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > Where do you get the idea that Job’s suffering has anything to do with repentance? > [@](#): > > Job 33:. 29 “God does all these things to a person— > twice, even three times— > 30 to turn them back from the pit, > that the light of life may shine on them. (And not to mention Job does repent) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/22 "2020-06-06T12:45:57Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > I did some research on this, and it’s still ongoing, but the short answer as I read it is that Satan has no reason to repent at this time, he likes living in his sin, if Satan repented after his 1000 years inprisonment in the abyss, it would justify Satan’s system that enslaved the entire world, as it would have lead to repentance. Also I believe that Satan will eventually repent after ‘ages of ages’ of torment. Perhaps a age beyond the lake of fire. This is because God allows suffering for the purpose of repentance as expressed in Job. There would be no need to cause Satan to suffer for ages of ages if repentance was not possible. Would this research come from an impartial source? ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/23 "2020-06-06T12:51:08Z")
Here is some more of my work on universal reconciliation, just to note the intended audience would be those who ‘believe’ : > [@](#): > > Part of it stems from my belief that God is good to all (PS 145:9), and it appears that suffering has a purpose which God uses to bring about a greater good, thus justify the suffering. A person can suffer for themself, or other people as Jesus did, also John 9:3 (suffering not because of sin), Gen 50:20 (saving of many lives). In Job 33:29-30 (and many verses leading up to this) we see God’s reasoning for allowing suffering (to be saved from the pit/repentance), I will also add the parable of the lost son. > > But suffering without a purpose would therefore appear to be both pointless and cruel, and God is not pointless nor cruel, thus when beings doomed to ultimate destruction, once those beings can no longer influence anyone any longer, it would seem to serve no purpose to have them to continue to suffer, unless there was a greater good to come about. > > Destruction/non-existance of these beings I feel have problems on 2 fronts. It would indicate that God is not able to save a being who is at the level of a ‘son of God’ (Job 2:1), and therefore God would have been ‘defeated in purpose’ by basically a child. And we know God’s purpose won’t be altered. The second level I feel is the next paragraph. > > The Bible speaks of a time limit of their (Satan, Beast and false prophet) suffering, ‘Ages of ages’ in Revelation after their influence over the world is done. And while it is commonly said that the Greeks did not have a word for ‘forever’, they has a word for destruction if they wanted to state that they would totally cease to exist. > I think we can also look at the Word in 1 Tim 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9, Ez 18:23 that God desires all to be saved and none to be lost for another hint. Would not this also apply to demons and Satan? > > We know here on earth we do see intense suffering. This suffering we do see appears what we basically need for man, but appears fairly light for demons if at all, we see this in Matt 8:28-32. The two men were obviously suffering, though the demons indicated that they would prefer to stay in this world. This would indicate that there is another level of torment that these demons were worried about once cast out. We also can get that when the pigs took on these demons the pigs were so tormented that they killed themselves in the process of their discomfort. > > I also like to look at the beginning, I would contend that God knew that man and angels (demons/Satan) would get mixed together in this world (also the parable of the weeds in Matt 13:24-29), as he knew us, before he created the world (Eph 1:4-5). This is in agreement with desiring none to be lost and God’s purpose will not be altered. In Gen 1 and 2 we see when creation was complete God saw everything and said it was ‘very‘ good. This was the only day of creation when God said very good as opposed to the other days that were good and the one day God didn’t comment on. This very good day was day six, I do believe God saw that things were complete for his purpose at this point and even took a sabbath rest on the next day. Universal reconciliation would be very good, enough to rest from the act of creation. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/24 "2020-06-06T12:57:07Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Would this research come from an impartial source? The sources I used is the bible, usually the NIV, sometimes the NASB and New World as I have 2 JW in my audience and they are very into their version, and the interlinear versions of Hebrew and Greek texts available on the internet, usually this one [John 1 Interlinear Bible](https://biblehub.com/interlinear/john/1.htm) And would occasionally look up meaning of the original words using google. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/25 "2020-06-06T13:12:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Job 33:. 29 “God does all these things to a person— > twice, even three times— > 30 to turn them back from the pit, > that the light of life may shine on them. > [@kanicbird](#): > > (And not to mention Job does repent) Um… but that’s the false argument made by one of Job’s friends. They claim that he must have sinned, so he deserves all the suffering he gets. Hence the phrase “Job’s comforters”. Then later God himself appears in a whirlwind and says that Job’s friends are a bunch of pricks, and they were talking crap (or words to that effect). 😃 But he says he’ll forgive them if Job asks him to. The only thing that Job repents for is denouncing God for being unjust - _after_ the undeserved suffering was inflicted on him. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/26 "2020-06-06T13:17:40Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > The sources I used is the bible, usually the NIV, sometimes the NASB and New World as I have 2 JW in my audience and they are very into their version, and the interlinear versions of Hebrew and Greek texts available on the internet, usually this one [John 1 Interlinear Bible](https://biblehub.com/interlinear/john/1.htm) > And would occasionally look up meaning of the original words using google. Seeing as how the Bible is supposed to be the inspired word of God, would you call it impartial? Also, doesn’t this source give conflicting information as to Satan’s role and motivation? ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/27 "2020-06-06T13:30:43Z")
May be of interest: [Encyclopedia Britannica article on ‘Satan and the origin of evil in Christianity’](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity/Satan-and-the-origin-of-evil) (Britannica is always worth reading) [Catholic Encyclopedia article on the Devil](https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04764a.htm) [Catholic Encyclopedia article on Evil](https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05649a.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/28 "2020-06-06T14:00:02Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Seeing as how the Bible is supposed to be the inspired word of God, would you call it impartial? Also, doesn’t this source give conflicting information as to Satan’s role and motivation? The OP strongly implies looking at this within the context of the mythology of the Bible, by using terminology and naming as common when discussing it within that framework. Your point here and in an earlier post is like arguing “well, that’s just because it was in the script, man” , when discussing why the guy in Fightclub doesn’t realize at first he’s multiple characters. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/29 "2020-06-06T14:15:24Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > Um… but that’s the false argument made by one of Job’s friends. > > They claim that he must have sinned, so he deserves all the suffering he gets. Hence the phrase “Job’s comforters”. > > Then later God himself appears in a whirlwind and says that Job’s friends are a bunch of pricks, and they were talking crap (or words to that effect). 😃 > > But he says he’ll forgive them if Job asks him to. > > **The only thing that Job repents for is denouncing God for being unjust - _after_ the undeserved suffering was inflicted on him**. Bold mine, you missed the point, that was not the reason for Job’s repentance. Notice what Job was doing in the beginning and then what he was doing in the end, there was a great difference, Job changed. The difference is Job was offering sacrifices by himself for his sons and others, thus those people enjoyed going on uncorrected by God, as Job paid for their sins out of his flocks, even without them knowing. In the end they brought their offerings from their flocks for Job to sacrifice on their behalf. Also Job had 4 friends, not 3, one didn’t have to repent. But that quote in Job 33 was God talking anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/30 "2020-06-06T14:29:58Z")
One could posit that angels do not have free will… but in that case, how could one of them rebel in the first place? Surely, if Satan had enough free will to rebel, then he also has enough free will to repent. On the other hand, these are eternal, not temporal, beings we’re talking about. A human can have one decision at one time, and then a different decision at another time, because to a temporal being like a human, different times are different. But to an eternal being, all times are alike. Every moment is the moment when Satan chose to rebel, just as every moment is the moment when Gabriel or Michael chose not to rebel. They can’t change their minds later, because there is no later. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/31 "2020-06-06T14:34:03Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > The OP strongly implies looking at this within the context of the mythology of the Bible, by using terminology and naming as common when discussing it within that framework. > Your point here and in an earlier post is like arguing “well, that’s just because it was in the script, man” , when discussing why the guy in Fightclub doesn’t realize at first he’s multiple characters. This “script” has more than one writer, so even if we propose to stick to canon for the purpose of this discussion, confusion abounds. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/32 "2020-06-06T14:37:58Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Bold mine, you missed the point, that was not the reason for Job’s repentance. Notice what Job was doing in the beginning and then what he was doing in the end, there was a great difference, Job changed. > > The difference is Job was offering sacrifices by himself for his sons and others, thus those people enjoyed going on uncorrected by God, as Job paid for their sins out of his flocks, even without them knowing. In the end they brought their offerings from their flocks for Job to sacrifice on their behalf. > > Also Job had 4 friends, not 3, one didn’t have to repent. But that quote in Job 33 was God talking anyway. a) That’s a poor argument, since God himself says repeatedly in the beginning that Job is “blameless and upright”. b) No, Job 33, is NOT God talking. It’s Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/33 "2020-06-06T14:42:16Z")
In _Job_ there is a pretty clear message that it is a foolish idea to speculate about what God might or might not do, or why, or wherefore. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/34 "2020-06-06T14:43:45Z")
dup ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/35 "2020-06-06T15:02:14Z")
The Satan of the Old Testament did the bidding of God and therefore has nothing to repent for in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/36 "2020-06-06T15:22:43Z")
At what point, and officially for which sects, did Satan develop from a metaphorical tempter into a Miltonian figure rebelling against God (to the extent this is supposed to be possible)? ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/37 "2020-06-06T15:32:34Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The Satan of the Old Testament did the bidding of God and therefore has nothing to repent for in the first place. So if Satan does God’s will by punishing bad people, that makes Satan good, right? ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/38 "2020-06-06T15:36:10Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > The Satan of the Old Testament did the bidding of God and therefore has nothing to repent for in the first place. In that case, folks from that era who gave in to temptation could plead entrapment on Judgement Day. Due to the nature of eternity, this already has and hasn’t happened. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/39 "2020-06-06T15:38:49Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > So if Satan does God’s will by punishing bad people, that makes Satan good, right? If we are talking Biblical canon, then yes. If we are talking about the concepts of “good” and “evil” that we have developed over the last few millennia, then I’m afraid the entity that most needs to repent is God. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137/40 "2020-06-06T16:13:00Z")
Satan’s role as a punisher of evil didn’t evolve until the concept of hell was incorporated into Christianity. Jewish tradition doesn’t have eternal punishment for anyone and is pretty vague on the afterlife in general. In Judaism, Satan is a general tempter entity. Sometimes it seems to be a person or angel, like in Job, sometimes it’s just a kind of force of nature. Either way, he’s not a big deal in the overall mythology because Judaism isn’t a religion focused on sin and punishment. Our guilt is mostly about how often we call our mothers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-if-satan-repented/855137.md?page=3)