Christadelphian missionary and apologist,
Duncan Heaster, in his book The Real Devil (the
most thorough defense of Christadelphian Satanology and Demonology in print)
wrote the following to support a “non-supernatural” understanding of Satan in
the Old Testament:
When reviewing the references
to ha-Satan ("the adversary") in the Old Testament, it's
significant that a number of them occur in the context of the life of David.
There was an incident where David behaved deceitfully with the Philistines with
whom he once lived, and he is described as being "a Satan" to them (1
Sam. 29:4). That's another example of where the word 'Satan' doesn't
necessarily have an evil connotation- a good man can be an adversary, just as
Peter was (Mt. 16:21-23) and God Himself can be (2 Sam. 22:4). But we find that
David and his dynasty were afflicted with Satans, adversaries, from then on.
The word is used about human beings who were adversarial to them in 2 Sam.
19:22; 1 Kings 5:4,18; 11:14-22,25; Ps. 109:6,20 (Heb. "They say,
"Appoint a wicked man against him, let an accuser [Satan] stand on his
right hand"". David's enemies are called ישטנוני [a related word to 'satan'] in Ps. 38:20; likewise שטן in Ps. 71:13; and שטנוני in Ps. 109:4. These are all related words to 'satan'. Note that
it is stated that God stirred up men to be 'Satans' to David and
Solomon- whatever view we take of 'Satan', clearly it or he is under the direct
control of God and not in free opposition to Him.
On the topic of Psa 109:6, Mitchell Dahood
understood the Satan to be a supernatural figure, not a merely human
figure, contra Heaster (whose theology requires all instances of “Satan”
to be either non-supernatural and/or instances where the biblical authors are
subtly subverting the “supernatural Satan” doctrine):
the Evil
one . . . Satan. The identification of rāšā’ and śāṭān
is a long-standing puzzler, but a measure of coherence can be won if vss. 6-7
are seen as referring to judgment after death and vss. 8-19 as invoking
terrestrial misfortunes upon the unprincipled judge. In three biblical texts
Satan appears as a superhuman celestial figure whose role is that of prosecutor.
1 Chron xxi 1 states, wayya’amōd śāṭān ‘al yiśrā’ēl, “and let
Satan stand at his right hand.” In Zech iii 1-2, the celestial being who
challenges the fitness of Joshua ben Jozadeak to function as the high priest is
called “the Satan,” and is described as weśāṭān ya’amōd
‘al yemīnō, “standing on his right hand to accuse him,” language similar to
the psalmist’s. In the prose monologue to the Book of Job (i-ii), Satan is
depicted as one of the benē ‘ēlīm, a member of the divine
entourage, who impugns the integrity of Job. These descriptions warrant,
then, the interpretation of the Evil One and Satan as one personage who will
serve as the prosecutor at the trial of the psalmist’s adversary before the
divine judge after death.
If this
analysis proves correct, the widely held view that the designation of Satan as
the Evil One is a development of the intertestamental period will need to be
reexamined. (Mitchell Dahood, The Psalms 101-150 [AB 17A; Garden City,
N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1970], 101-2, emphasis in bold added)
Note how, according to Dahood, Satan in
the book of Job is not independent of “the sons of God,” but is a member
thereof! For more, see the section entitled The "Mormon Jesus"
being a "Spirit Brother" of Satan--what the Bible really says in
Refuting
Jeff Durbin on “Mormonism”
So, here we have possible confirmation of
(1) the Old Testament authors teaching the ontological existence of an
external, supernatural Satan, contra Christadelphian theology and (2) an affirmation
that this figure is one of the “sons of God,” both points consistent with
Latter-day Saint Satanology.
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