Some are confused about God vs. Satan as if they were co-equals like the ancient Iranian religion Zoroastrianism believed. In that ancient religion, two opposites were portrayed as co-equals, one good and the other evil, and the world was in the middle as their battleground.
Some western philosophers, such as Plato and George Hegel (19th century), proposed a method of using opposites to evolve a third condition (called the Hegelian Dialectic). It's much like two sides in a war sitting down to the negotiating table and agreeing to terms proposed by both sides. Each side has to compromise in order to produce the result. We see this historically with the draw between the two sides of the 1950's Korean War, with agreement of the 38th parallel as a border between North and South Korea. We even see it daily with the operation of trade unions in industry, company management and union management making agreements about the work, pay and benefits, etc.
Those who support philosophical ideas like Hegel and Plato's theories on co-equal forces of good vs. evil in this world do so without the knowledge in God's Word. It is easy to see how those may want to define the idea of opposites in this present world, simply because one can see the positive and negative forces even in today's creation, i.e., good vs. bad, Yin vs. Yang, even electrical negative and positive, etc. So they tend to believe that good vs. evil are just natural opposites in nature, and that the idea of ultimate good existing only just isn't a reality. Some even believe that there really is no such thing as good or evil, but that there are only forces that act in opposites. Those who think like that don't really understand this world though, not having spiritual understanding from God.
In 1 John 3:8, Apostle John said that the devil sinned from the beginning. But in Ezekiel 28, God using the prince and king of Tyrus to point to Satan himself, God showed that He originally created Satan a good cherub to guard His throne, and that Satan originally was "perfect in his ways" in God's Garden of Eden, serving God. That means he had not sinned against God yet in coveting God's throne for himself. And that was in another time before... Adam and Eve when Satan committed the very first sin. That reveals that Satan, the devil, that old serpent, is NOT... co-equal with God.
In Isaiah 10, with God using the king of Assyria to point to Satan, God calls him "the rod of Mine anger", showing that He is using... Satan as a punishing rod upon the wicked. And when He is done with that punishing rod, God shows there that He will destroy that rod, i.e., Satan. That certainly does NOT... show Satan as being co-equal with God, nor co-equal with Christ Jesus.
Isa 10:5-25
5 O Assyrian, the rod of Mine anger, and the staff in their hand is Mine indignation.
6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of My wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
God did send the flesh kings of Assyria upon the ten tribe northern "kingdom of Israel" per 2 Kings 17, but notice here later God is pointing to the future, past that, to the time of His eternal Salvation for His Israel.
7 Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
8 For he saith, "Are not my princes altogether kings?
9 Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?
10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
11 Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?"
God is quoting Satan who is bragging about what he has done. Satan even brags about what he did to Samaria, pointing to his removing the ten tribes of Israel out of those lands, and replacing them with strangers from Babylon. And he claims he will do the same thing to Jerusalem.
His claim to do the same thing to Jerusalem is an anchor point. Satan used Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to destroy Jerusalem later after the kings of Assyria removed the ten northern tribes. The kings of Assyria never destroyed Jerusalem. This is another way we can know God is really pointing to Satan here using "the Assyrian" title.
12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed His whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
That is yet another way we can know God is using the "king of Assyria" to point to Satan here in Isaiah 10. When will God finish "His whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem"? On the very LAST DAY of this world with Christ's future return, that is when. The flesh king of Assyria has long since been dead, so this has to be pointing to Satan for the future end of this world. It is also pointing to how God is using Satan as a punishing rod upon the rebellious for this present world.
13 For he saith, "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:
14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped."
God is repeating what Satan has said of how he has conquered and destroyed upon this earth.
15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.
The above then is God's reply to Satan's boasting. Can the axe boast against the one who uses it? can the saw exalt itself against the one doing the cutting with it? as if the wooden rod could defeat the one who lifts it up, or if the rod could lift itself up, as if it were not wood. That is to show how God is using... Satan as a punishing rod. Back when I was growing up, if us kids got out of line, mama went out and cut a switch off a tree and whipped us with it, and when she was done with it, she threw it in the fire. That's similar to what God is going to do with Satan once God is done using him as a punishing rod upon the rebellious.
16 Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among His fat ones leanness; and under His glory He shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.
17 And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;
18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth.
19 And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.
That's a description by God that once He uses Satan as a punishing rod upon the rebellious of His people and the world, then He is going to kindle a burning (i.e., the "lake of fire"), and it will devour and burn Satan's thorns and briers in one day (symbolically). Did you know Satan is metaphorically referred to as the 'bramble' of Judges 9? A bramble bush is extremely dry, so when the least little flame touches it, it goes up like gasoline. That's the type analogy God uses here about Satan's eventual destruction in the future "lake of fire" (Rev.20).
20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
23 For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.
24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, "O My people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.
25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and Mine anger in their destruction.
KJV
The remnant of Jacob returning is about the future time when Jesus comes to gather His elect. The remnant of Israel refers to Christ's elect that He gathers representing His Church, believing Gentiles gathered with them.
Some western philosophers, such as Plato and George Hegel (19th century), proposed a method of using opposites to evolve a third condition (called the Hegelian Dialectic). It's much like two sides in a war sitting down to the negotiating table and agreeing to terms proposed by both sides. Each side has to compromise in order to produce the result. We see this historically with the draw between the two sides of the 1950's Korean War, with agreement of the 38th parallel as a border between North and South Korea. We even see it daily with the operation of trade unions in industry, company management and union management making agreements about the work, pay and benefits, etc.
Those who support philosophical ideas like Hegel and Plato's theories on co-equal forces of good vs. evil in this world do so without the knowledge in God's Word. It is easy to see how those may want to define the idea of opposites in this present world, simply because one can see the positive and negative forces even in today's creation, i.e., good vs. bad, Yin vs. Yang, even electrical negative and positive, etc. So they tend to believe that good vs. evil are just natural opposites in nature, and that the idea of ultimate good existing only just isn't a reality. Some even believe that there really is no such thing as good or evil, but that there are only forces that act in opposites. Those who think like that don't really understand this world though, not having spiritual understanding from God.
In 1 John 3:8, Apostle John said that the devil sinned from the beginning. But in Ezekiel 28, God using the prince and king of Tyrus to point to Satan himself, God showed that He originally created Satan a good cherub to guard His throne, and that Satan originally was "perfect in his ways" in God's Garden of Eden, serving God. That means he had not sinned against God yet in coveting God's throne for himself. And that was in another time before... Adam and Eve when Satan committed the very first sin. That reveals that Satan, the devil, that old serpent, is NOT... co-equal with God.
In Isaiah 10, with God using the king of Assyria to point to Satan, God calls him "the rod of Mine anger", showing that He is using... Satan as a punishing rod upon the wicked. And when He is done with that punishing rod, God shows there that He will destroy that rod, i.e., Satan. That certainly does NOT... show Satan as being co-equal with God, nor co-equal with Christ Jesus.
Isa 10:5-25
5 O Assyrian, the rod of Mine anger, and the staff in their hand is Mine indignation.
6 I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of My wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
God did send the flesh kings of Assyria upon the ten tribe northern "kingdom of Israel" per 2 Kings 17, but notice here later God is pointing to the future, past that, to the time of His eternal Salvation for His Israel.
7 Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.
8 For he saith, "Are not my princes altogether kings?
9 Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?
10 As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;
11 Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?"
God is quoting Satan who is bragging about what he has done. Satan even brags about what he did to Samaria, pointing to his removing the ten tribes of Israel out of those lands, and replacing them with strangers from Babylon. And he claims he will do the same thing to Jerusalem.
His claim to do the same thing to Jerusalem is an anchor point. Satan used Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to destroy Jerusalem later after the kings of Assyria removed the ten northern tribes. The kings of Assyria never destroyed Jerusalem. This is another way we can know God is really pointing to Satan here using "the Assyrian" title.
12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed His whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.
That is yet another way we can know God is using the "king of Assyria" to point to Satan here in Isaiah 10. When will God finish "His whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem"? On the very LAST DAY of this world with Christ's future return, that is when. The flesh king of Assyria has long since been dead, so this has to be pointing to Satan for the future end of this world. It is also pointing to how God is using Satan as a punishing rod upon the rebellious for this present world.
13 For he saith, "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:
14 And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped."
God is repeating what Satan has said of how he has conquered and destroyed upon this earth.
15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.
The above then is God's reply to Satan's boasting. Can the axe boast against the one who uses it? can the saw exalt itself against the one doing the cutting with it? as if the wooden rod could defeat the one who lifts it up, or if the rod could lift itself up, as if it were not wood. That is to show how God is using... Satan as a punishing rod. Back when I was growing up, if us kids got out of line, mama went out and cut a switch off a tree and whipped us with it, and when she was done with it, she threw it in the fire. That's similar to what God is going to do with Satan once God is done using him as a punishing rod upon the rebellious.
16 Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among His fat ones leanness; and under His glory He shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.
17 And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;
18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth.
19 And the rest of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them.
That's a description by God that once He uses Satan as a punishing rod upon the rebellious of His people and the world, then He is going to kindle a burning (i.e., the "lake of fire"), and it will devour and burn Satan's thorns and briers in one day (symbolically). Did you know Satan is metaphorically referred to as the 'bramble' of Judges 9? A bramble bush is extremely dry, so when the least little flame touches it, it goes up like gasoline. That's the type analogy God uses here about Satan's eventual destruction in the future "lake of fire" (Rev.20).
20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.
23 For the Lord GOD of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land.
24 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, "O My people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift up his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt.
25 For yet a very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and Mine anger in their destruction.
KJV
The remnant of Jacob returning is about the future time when Jesus comes to gather His elect. The remnant of Israel refers to Christ's elect that He gathers representing His Church, believing Gentiles gathered with them.
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