“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” (Job 1:6-7)

This startling piece of information does not fit with the common idea that Satan was cast out of heaven prior to Genesis 3 or as described in Luke 10:18. Many suggest that the same event is in view in Revelation 12:7-9 when Michael led the battle against Satan, casting him and his demons to Earth to become “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) and confining him to Earth, where he worked feverishly to assemble the ultimate human army to defy the Creator.

If that is so, then the rather nonchalant appearance of Satan in Job 1:6 among the “sons of God” in the throne room seems very much out of place.

Perhaps the arrogance of Satan is based on the freedom he believes he has as one of the chief angels, “going to and fro” with apparent impunity, “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Whatever may be the actual state of Lucifer’s freedom under the sovereignty of almighty God, Satan responds to God’s question regarding Job with little fear of contradiction or any concern for personal rebuke.

Please remember: Satan was a created being with such majesty and beauty (Ezekiel 28:15-17) that he believed he could overthrow the Creator Himself (Isaiah 14:12-14). This short passage, which appears no other place in the Bible, gives us unique insight into the nature of the angelic world and the sovereign confidence of the One who knows “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10). HMM III

Adapted from The Book of Beginnings by Dr. Henry M. Morris III.