The Prince of Hell, Satan, & The Gospel of Nicodemus

#Christ #bible #KingofGlory

Have you ever heard of the Gospel of Nicodemus? It’s a very interesting early Christian writing.

Eduard Lohse references a line from the Gospel of Nicodemus in his commentary on Colossians. It records a dialogue between Hades and Satan. Hades asks Satan: “Through what necessity did you contrive that the King of glory should be crucified, so that he should come here and strip us naked.”

The Gospel of Nicodemus Chapter 18 “THEN the prince of hell took Satan, and with great indication said to him, O thou prince of destruction, author of Beelzebub's defeat and banishment, the scorn of God's angels and loathed by all righteous persons! What inclined thee to act thus? Thou wouldst crucify the King of Glory, and by his destruction, hast made us promises of very large advantages, but as a fool wert ignorant of what thou wast about. For behold now that Jesus of Nazareth, with the brightness of his glorious divinity, puts to flight all the horrid powers of darkness and death; He has broke down our prisons from top to bottom, dismissed all the captives, released all who were bound, and all who were wont formerly to groan under the weight of their torments have now insulted us, and we are like to be defeated by their prayers…O prince Satan, thou great keeper of the infernal regions, all thy advantages which thou didst acquire by the forbidden tree, and the loss of Paradise; thou hast now lost by the wood of the cross; And thy happiness all then expired, when thou didst crucify Jesus Christ the King of Glory. Thou hast acted against thine own interest and mine, as thou wilt presently perceive by those large torments and infinite punishments which thou art about to suffer.”

Select Sources:

Bass, Justin. The Battle for the Keys: Revelation 1:18 and Christ’s Descent into the Underworld. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2014

Beale, Greg K. Colossian and Philemon (BECNT). Grand Rapids: Baker, 2019

Heiser, Michael S. Demons: What the Bible Really Says about the Powers of Darkness. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020

Heiser, Michael S. The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015

Lohse, Eduard. Colossians and Philemon (Hermeneia). Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971

Longman, Tremper, III, and Daniel G. Reid. God Is a Warrior. Studies in Old Testament Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995