The End of Satan

Abstract

"Then Satan will have an end, and sorrow will be led away with him." These words, which according to the Testament of Moses 1O:l were included in Moses' farewell speech, foretell the end of Satan.' Though not expressed anywhere in the Hebrew Bible, the event of his end became a subject of some discussion in Jewish apocalyptic documents, especially 1 (Ethiopic) Enoch. In the NT it is briefly alluded to in the following ways: as binding a strong man in Matt 12:29, in connection with everlasting fire prepared for him in Matt 25:41, his destruction by Christ in Heb 2:14, and his knowing his time is short in Rev 12:12. The most explicit, detailed account of his end is found in Rev 2O:I-3, 10. The purpose of this article is to explore the history of metaphors employed to describe Satan's end in Rev 20.'