1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Paul had just gone through some things about Exodus and the rebellious Israelites again – after all, there is plenty of material there! – and he concludes the thought with this verse. But have you ever REALLY looked at it and taken it literally?

It means that when Moses went up to Sinai to get the law, he was doing so as an EXAMPLE of something else – a symbol. It meant when Abraham decided to have a son by Hagar, even though he literally did it and literally had a son, it was all part of God’s larger plan which would later be shown by Paul to be an allegory of the old covenant versus the new. It also means that when Israel led by Joshua crossed the Jordan into the Promised land, that it was an analogy – a type – of Jesus (the Greek spelling of Joshua) leading Israel (spiritual Israel) into the promised land (eternal life).

It means that ALL of those things happened to them for examples. Paul says ALL. Now we know for certain that that means every step that Israel took was divinely guided to show us a piece of God’s master plan for dealing with man. Moses striking the rock, parting the red sea, manna falling, you name it. But by the example quoted above, we also know that Abraham’s life was ALSO there for an example for us – a symbol to explain the two covenants.

So for sure, we have two groups of people – Israel and Abraham’s family – that we KNOW are there partly, if not primarily, so that WE can understand something much bigger. So what if every major group of people were just examples, recorded for us upon whom the ends of the world are come, so that we could unlock them when “knowledge shall be increased” (Daniel 12:4)? What OTHER analogies might lurk undiscovered in other people in the old testament?

Take for instance king David. Making an analogy out of him is quite easy – and it’s been done before.

Acts 13:22 And when he had removed him [Saul], he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

Now since we know that Jesus was the God of the old testament, when God said that, it means that Jesus found a man after His own heart in David – or you might say that Jesus was a kindred spirit with David. As an added reason to believe that they are “types” of one another, we have the fact that almost every psalm of David contains at least one clear prophecy of Christ – and of course, both were born in Bethlehem (1 Samuel 16:1, Luke 2:4).

2 Samuel 12:7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

As a further connection between David and Jesus, everyone knows that Jesus is the Messiah. What not everyone knows is that Messiah is just an untranslated Hebrew word which means ANOINTED! And that the very word CHRIST is Greek for “the anointed one!”

So it seems obvious that David was a “type” of Christ – a sort of biblical parable which, when understood, will tell us a great deal about Christ’s interactions with others on a much larger scale than you might think. For instance… who is it that anointed Christ?

Acts 4:24-27 …Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is. … The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom THOU hast anointed, …

This is a no-brainer, but it never hurts to establish these things beyond question; God the Father anointed Jesus as the Christ – the anointed one. Now who anointed David?

1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. …

Clearly it is Samuel. So in this relationship between David and Samuel that “happened to them for our admonition” we can infer that Samuel represented God the Father. Now comes the really cool part – who ELSE was anointed by Samuel to rule Israel beside David?

1 Samuel 9:27-10:1 … Samuel said to Saul, … stand thou still a while, … Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?

So God – through Samuel – anointed Saul over Israel. And anointed him FIRST, BEFORE David. Now this Saul was the tallest, strongest, brightest, and best person among all of God’s people…

1 Samuel 9:2 …Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.

However, as time went by, Saul was lifted up by his pride in a story which we well know, and finally…

1 Samuel 15:17 …Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?

Saul was initially quite humble, in spite of his strength and glory. In fact, when asked to be king of Israel he ran and hid! (1 Samuel 10:21). But as he realized that he really WAS pretty awesome, his pride got him to thinking he might be just as qualified to make these decisions as Samuel, and that God really didn’t mean what He had said. It came to a head when God had told him to destroy EVERYTHING from the Amalekites. Every man, woman, child, sheep and cow was to be utterly destroyed. But Saul thought he knew better than God! He saved the king, Agag, and the best of the sheep and oxen “for a sacrifice to God”. But God didn’t tell him to do that! So God told Samuel…

1 Samuel 15:11, 28 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. … And Samuel said unto him [Saul], The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.

Now I ask you; think of someone else who was the brightest, best, and smartest that God could create; someone who was perfect in his ways until sin was found in him, and who broke God’s commandments. Someone who was lifted up because of his pride, wisdom, and beauty, and decided he knew better than God. Do any names pop into your head? Like, say…. Lucifer?

Ezekiel 28:12, 15, 17 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. … Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. … Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

Look at the similarities; both started out “perfect in their ways”, righteous and humble, until one day they sinned. Both were the brightest, best, and most beautiful in all the land, and both sinned because of their pride by glorying in their coolness. Furthermore, remember that Lucifer was put in charge of Earth with a contingent of angels to rule it (compare Jude 1:6, Revelation 12:4, Luke 10:18, 2 Peter 2:4 – the “first estate” was Earth) until his fall, and is now the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). So both of them were put in charge of God’s kingdom – one on Earth, and one in Israel.

But we know that Satan won’t always be the god of this world! For Christ is coming back to break in pieces all the nations of this world and rule them with a rod of iron under His own direct government! When that happens, God will tell him “The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou.” (1 Samuel 15:28)

And this neighbor that God gave the kingdom to was of course David, who we already established represents Christ. So again, we have a clear connection between them to support the analogy. Now let’s see what all we can build around this. For instance, it has always bugged me – Samuel anointed David in 1 Samuel 16:13 – and it wasn’t until after Saul died, between two and ten years later (we’re not sure exactly when), that David actually became king.

When Saul was anointed, He was made king in a matter of weeks. But the anointed David had to wait years – until Saul had died, many years after God had said the kingdom was “this day” torn from him! Why? We find the answer in the analogy; when Satan led the rebellion into heaven, and failed, God took the kingdom from him and gave it to Christ. But Christ didn’t take it right away.

Instead, Christ worked around Satan on this Earth, first as Melchizedek in the old testament who dealt with Abraham, and later through prophets like Moses and Isaiah. But He didn’t inherit the kingdom yet. After His death when He ascended to heaven, He STILL didn’t inherit the kingdom. Daniel tells us (Daniel 2:31-45) that He won’t inherit it until He comes and breaks in pieces all nations – which to this day hasn’t happened.

And while the anointed Christ was in Satan’s kingdom – Satan being the God of this world – Satan tried over and over again to kill him. And invariably Jesus just slipped through the crowd. For instance:

John 8:59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

And while the anointed David was in Saul’s kingdom, Saul tried repeatedly to kill him. For instance:

1 Samuel 19:10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul’s presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.

There is a complete Psalm specifically devoted to Saul, too – which applies perfectly to both he and Satan.

Psalms 52:1 <<… A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.>> Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually.

Notice up front that David is addressing this Psalm to Saul.

Verses 2-4 Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.

So far, this could apply to any wicked person, it needn’t specifically apply to Satan; however, look at the next few verses:

Verses 5-7 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah. The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him: Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.

Compare that to what God says about Satan; notice all the similarities:

Ezekiel 28:16-19 …and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. … I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. … I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

Isaiah 14:16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

Both will be laid out before everyone so that they can see and fear what God has done to this mighty man. Both will be destroyed for ever. And both oppose Christ, as the Psalm continues:

Psalms 52:8-9 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

I won’t bother to quote the places that Christ is compared to an olive tree, or how He waits on God’s name. So let’s summarize thus far; David equals Christ. Samuel equals the Father. Saul equals Satan. God/Samuel anointed Satan/Saul. Satan/Saul was lifted up by his pride, despite initial humility and righteousness, and sinned against God/Samuel, who took the kingdom away from Satan/Saul and anointed Christ/David. But Christ/David didn’t dethrone Samuel immediately, but instead allowed him to continue in power, while working from within to begin a new, righteous nation.

But of whom was that new nation – Israel for David, Spiritual Israel for Christ – to be constructed? Whom did Christ call? The mighty, the noble? Paul says not many mighty or noble were called (1 Corinthians 1:26). No, instead Christ called the prostitutes and tax-collectors. The worst sinners He could find. The people who NEEDED Him, and who KNEW they had no hope without him. Now look at whom David found to join his army:

1 Samuel 22:2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.

Compare that to…

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Both David and Christ were captains of men because they could be trusted. Because “…He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.” (2 Samuel 23:3). Both had proved this by being good shepherds.

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

1 Samuel 17:34-35 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

Both risked their life for their sheep. And their followers. And God the Father resides in Heaven, and doesn’t spend much time on Earth because we’re too evil – and because of that, He doesn’t spend much time around Satan. In fact, since Satan sinned and was cast out of Heaven, it appears that he hasn’t been back there: “…neither was their place found any more in heaven.” (Revelation 12:8).

(Note that Job chapters 1 and 2 which portray Satan before “the Lord” don’t necessarily contradict that statement – the “Lord” there is the “Lord” of David (Psalms 110:1), Jesus, who was subject to another “Lord” (also Psalms 110:1), God the Father. So you might think of the scene in Job 1-2 as taking place in Jesus’ “office”, as opposed to the throne room of God the Father.)

So if Satan hasn’t been to the Heaven where the Father lives since his sin, it lets us draw yet another parallel! For from the day of Saul’s sin, Samuel didn’t see him again until the day he died!

1 Samuel 15:35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

Samuel died without ever seeing Saul again. However, there is a unique event recorded whereby Samuel did see Saul again, on the day of his death. Saul’s death, that is. The day before Saul died, he found a witch and held a séance with her to talk to the dead Samuel. I won’t delve any deeper into that subject here, for that’s a pretty big story on it’s own. But suffice it to say that she shook her chicken bones and eye of newt over the fire and Samuel came up out of the flames and said…

1 Samuel 28:15-19 …Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; … God is departed from me, and answereth me no more … Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD… and to morrow shalt thou and THY SONS be with me: …

And the next day Saul died. Whether this was actually Samuel’s spirit or not is immaterial – what matters is that it was recorded in the Bible and everything “Samuel” said came to pass. So picture this now – Samuel anoints Saul king, Saul is lifted up by pride and sins; Samuel tells Saul the kingdom is torn away from him and anoints David. David then works under, around, and ultimately against Saul, narrowly avoiding being killed by him in the process; and assembles a new kingdom out of the rejects of the present one. And all this time, even though Samuel is alive for much of it, Samuel never sees Saul again until the day Saul dies, at which point he repeats that the kingdom is torn from him and given to David, and prophesies of his death, and the death of his sons, the next day.

Compare that to this story… the Father anointed Lucifer king over the Earth. Lucifer was lifted up by pride and became Satan. The Father kicks Satan out of Heaven and anoints Christ king in his place. Christ then works around, under, and against Satan on this Earth, but without removing him from power as the “god of this world”. Several times avoiding being killed by him, and once… not avoiding it. And meanwhile, assembling a new spiritual kingdom out of the rejects of this life. During all this time Satan only interacts with Christ, not with the Father. God the Father doesn’t see Satan again until the day of his (Satan’s) death. Satan will be bound at the beginning of the millennium for a thousand years, loosed, then God prophesies that…

Ezekiel 28:17-19 … I will lay thee (Satan) before kings, that they may behold thee … and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. ALL they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

Isaiah 14:16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;

The final destruction of Satan will be AFTER “ALL THEY that know Satan” have seen him, and thought “Is THIS Satan? HE caused all this trouble on the Earth??” Since everyone ever born has “known” Satan and his works, this means that Satan must live through the period of the second resurrection, until the very end, …

1 Corinthians 15:24-26 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put ALL ENEMIES under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

And after everything else has been destroyed, all sin has been routed from the universe, the Devil having been witness to the process and all nations having had their chance to see him without deception and powerless, the Devil/Saul is finally brought before the Father/Samuel for judgment; at that point He is destroyed, cast into the lake of fire along with his “sons” and “never shall they be any more”.