“At the beginning of chapter xvi., Satan and the “Prince of Hell” are described as peacefully conversing together. All of a sudden, both are startled by “a voice as of thunder” and the rushing of winds, which bids them to lift up their gates for “the King of Glory shall come in.” Whereupon the Prince of Hell hearing this “begins quarreling with Satan for minding his duty so poorly, as not to have taken the necessary precautions against such a visit.”
The quarrel ends with the prince casting Satan “forth from his hell”, ordering, at the same time, his impious officers “to shut the brass gates of cruelty, make them fast with iron bars, and fight courageously, lest we be taken captives.” But “when all the company of the saints… (in Hell?) heard this, they spoke with a loud voice of anger to the Prince of Darkness, ‘Open thy gates, that the King of Glory may come in’”, thereby proving that the prince needed spokesmen.
“And the divine (?) prophet David cried out, saying: ‘Did not I, when on earth, truly prophesy?’” After this, another prophet, namely holy Isaiah spake in like manner, “Did not I rightly prophesy?”, etcetera.
Then the company of the saints and prophets, after boasting for the length of a chapter, and comparing notes of their prophecies, begin a riot, which makes the Prince of Hell remark that, “the dead never durst before behave themselves so insolently towards us” (the devils, xviii., 6); feigning the while to be ignorant who it was claiming admission. He then innocently asks again: “But who is the King of Glory?” Then David tells him that he knows the voice well, and understands its words, “because”, he adds, “I spake them by his Spirit.”
Perceiving finally that the Prince of Hell would not open the “brass doors of iniquity”, notwithstanding the king-psalmist’s voucher for the visitor, he, David, concludes to treat the enemy “as a Philistine, and begins shouting: ‘And now, thou filthy and stinking prince of hell, open thy gates. …I tell thee that the King of Glory comes… let him enter in.’”
While he was yet quarreling, the “mighty Lord appeared in the form of a man” (?) upon which “impious Death and her cruel officers are seized with fear.” Then they tremblingly begin to address Christ with various flatteries and compliments in the shape of questions, each of which is an article of creed.
For instance: “And who art thou, so powerful and so great who dost release the captives that were held in chains by original sin?”, asks one devil. “Perhaps, thou art that Jesus”, submissively says another, “of whom Satan just now spoke that by the death of the Cross thou wert about to receive the power over death?”, etcetera. Instead of answering, the King of Glory “tramples upon Death, seizes the Prince of Hell, and deprives him of his power.”
Then begins a turmoil in Hell which has been graphically described by Homer, Hesiod, and their interpreter Preller, in his account of the Astronomical Hercules Invictus, and his festivals at Tyre, Tarsus, and Sardis. Having been initiated in the Attic Eleusinia, the Pagan god descends into Hades and “when he entered the nether world, he spread such terror among the dead that all of them fled!” The same words are repeated in Nicodemus. Follows, a scene of confusion, horror, and lamenting.
Perceiving that the battle is lost, the Prince of Hell turns tail and prudently chooses to side with the strongest. He against whom, according to Jude and Peter, even the Archangel Michael “durst not bring a railing accusation before the Lord”, is now shamefully treated by his ex-ally and friend, the “Prince of Hell”. Poor Satan is abused and reviled for all his crimes both by devils and saints, while the Prince is openly rewarded for his treachery.
Addressing him, the King of Glory says thus: “Beelzebub, the Prince of Hell, Satan the Prince shall now be subject to thy dominion forever, in the room of Adam and his righteous sons, who are mine… Come to me, all ye my saints, who were created in my image, who were condemned by the tree of the forbidden fruit, and by the Devil and death. Live now by the wood of my cross; the Devil, the prince of this world is overcome (?) and death is conquered.” Then the Lord takes hold of Adam by his right hand, of David by the left, and “ascends from Hell, followed by all the saints”, Enoch and Elias, and by the “holy thief.”
The pious author, perhaps through an oversight, omits to complete the cavalcade, by bringing up the rear with the penitent dragon of Simon Stylites and the converted wolf of St. Francis, wagging their tails and shedding tears of joy!”
H. P. Blavatsky
The Mark Of God: Understanding Your "I AM Presence" 