The Crushing of Satan…in AD 70
When does the Bible say Satan would be crushed? Let’s lay aside our traditions and simply allow the Bible to speak for itself…beginning with the Old Testament.
Isaiah 27 prophesied that “Leviathan that twisted serpent” would be “punished” (v. 1) when “the stones of the altar are beaten to dust” (v. 9) and “the fortified city is desolated” (v. 10). Who is Leviathan? Satan! Psalms describes Leviathan as a multiheaded serpent who would one day be crushed (Ps. 74:13–14; cf. Rev. 13:1). Leviathan is Satan; and Isaiah prophesied that Leviathan would be crushed when the city of Jerusalem and its temple were annihilated.
This event should sound very familiar because Jesus prophesied about this same event in the Olivet Discourse (in AD 33) when he said “not one stone of the temple will remain upon another” (Luke 21:6) and “the city of Jerusalem would be desolated” (v. 21). This is the same event! And when did Jesus say it would happen? “Assuredly, I say to you, this generation [in AD 33] will by no means pass away till all things take place” (v. 32).
Did it happen? Yes, in AD 70! The temple was destroyed and the city of Jerusalem was desolated. Therefore, Leviathan/Satan must have been “punished” (destroyed) too, per Isaiah.
Leviathan/Satan could not have been destroyed prior to the writing of the New Testament because Peter said in approximately AD 64 that Satan was still “roaming around, looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8)–although Paul did say Satan would be crushed “shortly” (Rom. 16:20, italics mine)!
Moreover, Leviathan/Satan could not be destroyed after AD 70 because Isaiah said it would happen when the temple was destroyed, which happened in AD 70. Keep in mind, also, that the new covenant temple of today–which replaced the one destroyed in AD 70–is the church, of which Jesus is the cornerstone and Christians are the living stones (1 Pet. 2:4–9). And this new covenant temple will never be destroyed (Matt. 16:18). To destroy this temple would be to destroy the cornerstone, Jesus, which will never happen. Therefore, the only time Leviathan/Satan could have been destroyed is when the old covenant temple was destroyed in AD 70.
Another reason we can know that the destruction of Leviathan (Isa. 27:1) happened in the first century is that Isaiah said it would happen “when sin is taken away” (v. 9). And when was sin taken away? In the first century (Heb. 9:26–28)! Since Jesus took away sin in the first century–as all Christians acknowledge–therefore, this is when Leviathan/Satan must have been destroyed too, per Isaiah.
New Testament Time Statements about Satan’s Demise
The New Testament confirms this same timing. Let’s look at some passages that specifically mention the timing of the destruction of Satan. Pay close attention to the dating of these statements:
AD 30: Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world [Satan] will be cast out” (John 12:31, italics mine). Now–not in thousands of years. This happened in Jesus’s generation!
AD 58: “The God of peace will crush Satan under your [the apostles’] feet shortly” (Rom. 16:20, italics mine). Shortly–not in thousands of years!
AD 65: The angel of Revelation said Satan would be “cast into the Lake of Fire…where he will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). And when would this happen? “Do not seal [set aside] the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand” (Rev. 22:10, italics mine). Satan’s destruction was at hand when these statements were made. In other words, it was about to happen.
AD 65: By the time John wrote Revelation, the devil “knew his time was short” (Rev. 12:12, italics mine). And “short” does not mean two thousand years!
As these New Testament passages show, Jesus and the apostles expected Satan to be destroyed in the first century.
Possible Objection: How could Satan have been destroyed in the first century when there is so much evil in the world?
First, we don’t need Satan for there to be evil. The prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked” (Jer. 17:9). Likewise, James said people are tempted when they are drawn away by their own desires, which leads to sin (James 1:14–15, italics mine). People are quite capable of evil all by themselves. We don’t need Satan for this.
Second, Revelation teaches there would still be evil after the destruction of Satan, even in the new heaven and earth (which happens after the second coming). Revelation 20 describes Satan being cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). Then, chapter 21 describes the arrival of the new heaven and earth:
“Now I [John] saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God'” (Rev. 21:1–3).
Before continuing, let me point out something important. The “New Jerusalem” refers to the church. We can be sure of this for three reasons: One, Revelation describes the New Jerusalem as “a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21:2). And who are this husband and bride? Jesus and the church (Rev. 19:7–9; Eph. 5:25–27). Two, the writer of Hebrews likewise says the New Jerusalem is the church: “But you [Christians] have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant” (Heb. 12:22–24, italics mine). Three, John describes the New Jerusalem as a tabernacle where God meets with his people (Rev. 21:3). The original tabernacle was a portable sanctuary and place of worship that Moses had constructed for the Hebrews during their forty-year wandering in the wilderness. It was the precursor to the physical temple, which was a type/shadow[1] of the new covenant church (or temple). It is more than evident from these passages that New Jerusalem refers to the church in the new covenant era.
Now let’s continue reading in Revelation. After describing the destruction of Satan (20:10), the arrival of the new heaven and earth (21:1), and the New Jerusalem/the church coming down from heaven (21:3), John goes on to say: “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city [the New Jerusalem]. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie” (Rev. 22:14–15, italics mine).
Notice how there is evil outside the city (outside the New Jerusalem/the church). Keep in mind, this is after Satan is destroyed (Rev. 20:10), in the new heaven and earth (21:1)!
Third, as theologian Don Preston has pointed out, Satan’s demise in AD 70 did not mean his influence suddenly ended, any more than Hitler’s death meant his influence suddenly ended. Hitler died decades ago, yet his influence is still felt around the world. People still call themselves Nazis, draw swastikas, and hate Jews–even though Hitler died long ago. Yet Hitler was just an ordinary man. How much more would this be the case with someone of Satan’s diabolical stature? The greater one’s significance during one’s lifetime–whether for good or bad–the more one’s influence will outlive one.
The First-Century Jewish Establishment was a Type/Shadow of Satan
The Jewish establishment of Jesus’s day was a type/shadow of Satan; so when the Jewish establishment was destroyed in AD 70, that meant Satan was destroyed too.
Consider the meaning of the Hebrew word satan. In the New American Standard Version of the Old Testament, the Hebrew word satan is translated as “Satan” (capital S) eighteen times, “adversary” eight times, and “accuser” one time. The context determines the meaning. Furthermore, satan sometimes refers to people. That’s right, people! For example, 1 Kings 11:14 says: “Now the Lord raised up an adversary [Hebrew: satan] against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom.” As this passage explicitly says, Hadad was a man from the land of Edom (which today is southwest Jordan). Yet Hadad is called a “satan,” an adversary of God. In fact, that’s what the word satan literally means: an adversary of God. Moreover, as the passage clearly shows, satan can refer to a person.
It’s the same in the New Testament. The word Satan–and other similar terms such as devil and antichrist–often refer to people. Here are some examples.
Jesus called Peter Satan after Peter had suggested something contrary to God’s plan: “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men'” (Matt. 16:22–23, italics mine).
At this particular moment in time, Peter was being a satan, an adversary of God.
Jesus likewise called Judas a devil: “Jesus answered them, ‘Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?’ He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve” (John 6:70–71, italics mine).
Similarly, John called Jesus’s opponents antichrists. Actually, the term antichrist is used only five times in the New Testament, and in every case it refers to people in John’s day who were denying that Jesus was the Messiah. Here are those five times:
#1–#3: “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us…Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:18–19, 22–23, italics mine).
#4: “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world” (1 John 4:2–3, italics mine).
#5: “I [John] say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist” (2 John 7, italics mine).
These are the only references to antichrists in the entire New Testament, and contrary to sensationalist endtime preachers–and Hollywood–antichrists refer to people in John’s day (in the first century) who were denying that Jesus was the Christ, not to some super demon who will one day take over the world. That’s the stuff of endtime fiction, Ã la Left Behind, not the Bible.
As these examples show, terms such as Satan, devil, and antichrist often refer to people. They can also refer to a group of people. For example, Jesus called the Jewish establishment (of his day) the synagogue of Satan: “I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan” (Rev. 2:9). Jesus also equated his Jewish accusers to sons of the devil: “You [scribes and Pharisees] are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do” (John 8:44). Jesus also equated the political establishment of his day to the devil: “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested” (Rev. 2:10).
Likewise, Paul equated his Jewish adversaries with Satan in 1 Thessalonians 2:16–18. In verse 16, Paul said the Jews forbade him from speaking to the Gentiles, yet two verses later, in verse 18, Paul said Satan hindered him. Logically, then, Paul was equating his Jewish adversaries with Satan.
As these examples show, Jesus and the apostles often equated the Jewish establishment (of the first century) to Satan. The reason they did this was that that Jewish establishment had a long history of opposing God. They killed God’s prophets, and they pushed for the killing of the Messiah himself (Matt. 21:33–45, 22:1–14, 23:31–36). Therefore, when that Jewish establishment–which was a type/shadow of Satan–was judged/destroyed in AD 70, that meant Satan had been judged/destroyed too.
Perhaps the following explanation will help. When a group of people unite and work together for a common cause–such as the Jewish establishment in Jesus’s day–the sum total becomes greater than the individual parts. Working together, the members can achieve much greater results than working apart. The members motivate each other, encourage each other, help each other, dare each other, conspire together, embolden each other, combine their brainpower, combine their physical strength, and so on. Working together, the members can achieve much greater results than they ever could have working apart. Moreover, such a group can almost be said to have a mind of its own because, collectively, it thinks up things to do that the individuals never would have thought of working apart. Such a group can properly be described by personification. Such a group–if it is evil–could properly be called by such names as Satan, the devil, or the Antichrist.
“Collective evil, e.g. of a lynch mob, reaches a higher peak than that of the individuals in the mob. However, the “corporate” nature of evil is not unrelated to the evil or sin within the individual persons, even though it is finally greater than that. And therefore it can be properly described by personification. Just as a company, an institution, a government may have some kind of “personality” greater than all the individuals within it, so it is with human sin and evil. We look at the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust and wonder how individual human sin could be responsible for it…because the total achievement of evil in it seems far greater than that of the all the evil in people alive in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s put together…[The] sum total of any group of people, spirit of living and being, is often greater than the sum of the individual parts [and can properly be described by personification].”[2]
This may help explain how Jesus and the apostles could equate the Jewish establishment of their day to Satan, the devil, and the Antichrist. And when that Jewish establishment was judged/destroyed in AD 70, so was its personification (Satan, the devil, and the Antichrist).
For these reasons, I think we can be confident that Satan was in fact crushed in AD 70. For more about this topic, my book The End Is Here: How the New Testament Prophecies Were Fulfilled, available Summer 2024.
By Alex Polyak, Director of The Bible Fulfilled 6/27/24
[1] A type/shadow points forward to, or foreshadows, a greater event, person, or reality. Once that greater event/person/reality appears–which is called the “antitype”–the type/shadow loses its significance. For example, physical circumcision was a type/shadow of the greater spiritual circumcision of the heart (Col. 2:11). The law was a shadow of the better new covenant realities (Heb. 10:1). Saturday Sabbath/rest from physical labor was a type/shadow of ultimate rest in Christ (Heb. 3:7–4:16). The annual Passover sacrifice of a lamb was a type/shadow of Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross (1 Cor. 5:7). The physical temple was a type of the spiritual temple of which Jesus is the cornerstone and Christians are living stones (1 Pet. 2:4-9) The physical city of Jerusalem was a type of the heavenly city from above (Gal. 4:25-66). These kinds of old covenant types and shadows pointed forward to the greater new covenant realities.
[2] Dr. Ron McRay, Satan, the Devil and the Adversary (2013), 192–193.
