In 2 Nephi 9:8, Jacob states:
O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.
I find this interesting. First of all, does this mean that without a resurrection, there would be no spirit paradise or prison? When we die, our spirits are separated from our bodies but they do not reside with God until after the resurrection. If there was no resurrection, we would still be separated from our bodies and not living with God.
I have to wonder then if the location of our spirits after death has something to do with Satan’s governing authority over them. Does Satan have authority over spirits who are stuck on this earth? How does that fit into what Brigham Young stated?
“When you lay down this tabernacle, where are you going? Into the spiritual world?¢‚Ǩ¬¶Where is the spirit world? It is right here. Do the good and evil spirits go together? Yes they do….Do they go beyond the boundaries of the organized earth? No, they do not….Can you see it with your natural eyes? No. Can you see spirits in this room? No. Suppose the Lord should touch your eyes that you might see, could you then see the spirits? Yes, as plainly as you now see bodies” (Young, Brigham. Discourses of Brigham Young, ed. John A. Widtsoe, pp. 376-81. Salt Lake City, 1946.)
It would seem by Young’s statement that all spirits are on the earth. It would then seem that Satan’s authority has to do with the final destination of the spirits.
My understanding is that without the resurrection then the spirits would be subject to Satan. I don’t know why that would be, but that what the scriptures seem to say.
But the book of Moses tells us that Cain will rule over Satan. Joseph Smith says that those with resurrected bodies always rule over spirits.
So after death and final judgement poor old Satan won’t be the big guy anymore!
“My understanding is that without the resurrection then the spirits would be subject to Satan.”
Right. That’s what Jacob said. That’s what I said.
What I was trying to do is explore this idea more and find out how this is possible. The spirits currently are not resurrected; why does he not have control over them now, for instance.