If Satan was cast out of heaven, why does Job 1:6 seem to suggest he’s got access to it?

First, I believe Satan was cast out of heaven after he led Adam and Eve into rebellion. The devil then basically set up the earth as a staging ground to fight God. The apostle Paul says Earth is now a theater to the universe (1 Corinthians 4:9), meaning the universe is watching what’s happening on this tiny planet.

But when you get to Revelation 12, where it mentions the war between Michael and the dragon and how the dragon is cast out, it’s not all regarding future prophecy. Some prophecy looks back, and this is an example of that. Satan did not just come to Earth when Revelation was written. He started working here with his fallen angels when man fell. So Revelation 12 is a prophetic picture looking backward.

I also believe Satan could have been cast out of heaven in degrees. When Christ completed His ministry and said, “It is finished,” (John 19:30), Satan’s access to heaven was even more limited. Yet Satan still works as an accuser of the faithful and, in some way, he can discourse with God. The Lord is everywhere, so Satan can shake his fists at God in heaven and say, “The only reason Job serves you is because you protect him,” and be heard. Satan also accused Joshua the high priest in Zechariah, so he still accuses. But he can’t go into the gates of heaven and tempt the angels anymore.

Someday, after Christ returns, Satan will be bound in chains: “I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of the dragon … who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up” (Revelation 20:1–3). I sure look forward to that day!

Key Bible Texts

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. (Job 1:6 KJV)