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Questions From Readers

● When Jesus Christ was on earth he stated: “I began to behold Satan already fallen like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18) Does this mean that by that time Satan the Devil had already been ousted from heaven?—O. B., Australia.

No. We are not Scripturally justified in taking that view of Jesus’ statement recorded at Luke 10:18. Christ was evidently referring to a future event but was moved to do so on the basis of current happenings.

Earlier “the Lord designated seventy others and sent them forth by twos in advance of him into every city and place to which he himself was going to come.” (Luke 10:1) Upon successfully completing their assignment the seventy disciples returned with joy, saying: “Lord, even the demons are made subject to us by the use of your name.” (Luke 10:17) This was a marvelous display of God’s power over the demons! After such a grand report Jesus was fittingly moved to utter his significant words respecting Satan’s fall, words denoting mastery over that wicked one.

That by his words recorded at Luke 10:18 Christ was not referring to any past literal falling of Satan from heaven becomes apparent upon considering what is said elsewhere in the Bible. At Revelation 12:7-9 we are told about the hurling of Satan and his angels from heaven down to the earth. But this did not occur prior to or during the days of Jesus’ human life on earth. It should be noted that the entire book of Revelation consists of prophetic material. It is not a compilation of past history. Revelation 1:1 indicates this, in stating: “A revelation by Jesus Christ, which God gave him, to show his slaves the things that must shortly take place. And he sent forth his angel and presented it in signs through him to his slave John.” The apostle John received the revelation on the Isle of Patmos toward the end of the first century of our Common Era, completing the writing of it about 96 C.E. That was many years after Jesus Christ made the statement recorded at Luke 10:18.

A careful examination of Revelation chapter 12 indicates that the ouster of the Devil and his wicked angels from heaven was to follow the birth of God’s kingdom. (Rev. 12:5, 10) As has often been proved Scripturally in the columns of The Watchtower, the heavenly kingdom with Christ as King was established in 1914 C.E. Not long after his installation, Jesus Christ, or Michael, took action and “war broke out in heaven.” Michael and angels under him battled with Satan and his angels, casting them out of heaven and down to the earth.

It appears, therefore, that Jesus had in mind Satan’s ultimately being cast out of heaven when he said: “I began to behold Satan already fallen like lightning from heaven.” This fall was assured by the fact that the seventy evangelizers though mere men on earth had cast out demons in Jesus’ name. To Jesus this was a sign that Satan was sure to fall from heaven in God’s due time. To Jesus it was as if he already saw Satan cast out and fallen from heaven. So even then he could speak of this future event as a certainty, as though he saw it already accomplished. Christ himself, by dying in faithfulness and being resurrected as a mighty spirit creature, would be granted the power to fulfill that prophecy by ousting Satan and the other demons from heaven. In fact, later the exalted Jesus Christ would also abyss and finally destroy these wicked spirit creatures.—Rev. 20:1-3, 7-10; Heb. 2:14; Rom. 16:20.

● Looking for omens is condemned in the Bible. (Deut. 18:10) How, then, can we explain Genesis 44:5, which indicates that Joseph, who had God’s favor, possessed a cup by means of which he read omens?—A. J., Rep. of the Congo.

Joseph was Egypt’s food administrator, a high official of a pagan land. Because of a severe famine, his brothers had come all the way from Canaan to obtain food supplies in Egypt. (Gen. 42:1-7) Years earlier, they had sold Joseph into slavery. Now, though they did not realize it, they were requesting food from their own brother. Joseph had not yet chosen to reveal himself to them. Instead, he was determined to test them. Genesis 44:5 should be viewed with this in mind.

Evidently, Joseph was proceeding according to a certain design, representing himself, not as their brother who had faith in Jehovah God, but as an administrator of a pagan land. In line with his purpose, Joseph commanded the man over his house to fill their bags with food, place each one’s money in the mouth of his bag and put Joseph’s silver cup in the mouth of the youngest one’s bag. (Gen. 44:1, 2) Joseph’s brothers had not gone far when he told his servant: “Get up! Chase after the men and be certain to overtake them and to say to them, ‘Why have you repaid bad for good? Is not this the thing that my master drinks from and by means of which he expertly reads omens? It is a bad deed you have committed.’” (Gen. 44:3-5) Joseph, acting in a manner consistent with what he sought to achieve, told the man who was over his house what to say. He had him describe the cup as “the thing that my master drinks from and by means of which he expertly reads omens,” possibly in order to show the great value of this particular cup and thus heighten the seriousness of the event.

When Joseph confronted his brothers, he continued with his subterfuge, asking them: “Did you not know that such a man as I am can expertly read omens?” (Gen. 44:15) Later, no longer able to control himself, Joseph revealed his true identity.—Gen. 45:1-15.

Hence, the cup was evidently all part of the subterfuge. We may be sure that Joseph, as a worshiper of Jehovah, did not really use the cup to read omens, just as Benjamin did not actually steal it.