The Angelic Conflict - Part Three

After the Fall

With the fall of Adam and Eve the entire human race was separated from God, plunged into depravity, and set on the path to destruction. But the purposes of God were not hindered by disaster at the dawn of human history any more than they are hindered by disaster today. From eternity past, God had a plan for the universe. God implemented a plan by which sinful human beings could glorify Him. His plan includes eternal life for all those who will submit to His plan. His plan would be a perfect demonstration of Love, Righteousness and Justice. His plan would center around the cross.

Early Satanic strategies

Satan's goal is to thwart God's Divine Plan for History. Through prophecy and the Word of God, man and Satan have understood the plan of God to include several key elements.

God promised way back in Genesis 3 that he would provide a way of Salvation through The Messiah, the seed of the woman. Throughout the Old Testament we find out more and more about how God will accomplish this. It is revealed that the messiah will be fully human, so from Cain to Noah, Satan repeatedly tries to eliminate the human race and the pure bloodline needed for a human Messiah. The angelic infiltration of Noah's day was a global attempt at destroying the human race. See Angelic Infiltration

The promise and prophecy of the Messiah begins in Genesis 3. In GEN 12:1-3, the promise is narrowed to the seed of Abraham, in GEN 49:8-12 to the seed of the tribe of Judah, in ISA 7:14 to the seed of a virgin, and, finally, in MAT 1:23 to the seed of Mary, Jesus the Messiah.

As part of His strategy, God established a Race, a Nation, and a Religion to accomplish His plans. Satanic attack is everywhere in the OT as the Devil tries to destroy Israel and the Jews. As God makes prophecies and announces His Plan's to all, Satan implements counter strategies in an attempt to prove God a liar or show God as somehow incapable of carrying out His plans.

This angle in the devil's strategy is the explanation, in major part, for the terrible persecution of the Jewish people. You see, God has made many promises to the Jews, all recorded in the old testament. He promised Abraham the land of Israel, and even laid out the boundaries of that promised land. To David he promised a line that would rule forever, and there are many other unconditional guarantees that God has given the Jews.

If the Jews can be eradicated, Satan wins! Thus, he has sponsored the systematic destruction of the Jewish race on many occasions using the Assyrians, the Chaldeans, The Philistines, The Babylonians and more recently the attacks of Hitler, The Communist Russians, the Arab nations and Islam. These attacks are tantamount to murdering the witnesses of a trial, so that they cannot testify.

Principle: It is critical that America support and protect the Jews. God swore that those who curse the Jews, He will curse, and those who bless them, He will bless. Genesis 12:3 Gen 24:35; 27:29; Num 24:9

The Attacks against Christ.

A new series of Satanic attacks began at the incarnation of Christ. When the Holy Messiah child was born, Satan and His followers knew that the prophecies were about to be fulfilled. The Father and His angelic armies stood ready to defend any attack on the Holy Messiah child. Lucifer and his legions of demons could hardly believe what God was attempting to do! To what length will He go to save mankind? Is the King of the universe really going to personally suffer and die for this sad and inferior species? Does this tiny baby really think He can make it all the way to Calvary?

The attempts to kill Christ began when Satan tried to use Herod to murder the baby Jesus Mat 2:13,16. On several occasions, Satan tried to kill the adult Jesus by using angry mobs John 10:31, the Pharisees Mat 12:14 and the chief priests Mat 26:3,4.

Satan knew that if he could kill Christ before His time, the plan of God would be stymied. If Satan could keep Christ from the Cross, then he would be victorious. The brutal beatings by the Roman guards were a final attempt to thwart the mission of Salvation. No ordinary man could have survived the torture that Christ received.

Jesus made it alive to the cross where He fulfilled His mission to redeem mankind. He suffered the penalty for our sins and then He said "It is Finished!" Mission accomplished. The promise of Genesis 3 was realized and Satan could not stop it. The crucifixion was the pinnacle of human history and the definitive victory of a much older conflict between God and Satan.

It is quite significant that angels are recorded as present at all the major events in the life of Christ: His birth Lk.2:13-14, temptation Matt.4:11, resurrection (Lk.24:4), ascension (Acts 1:10-11), and return (2Thes.1:7) - a fact which underscores angelic interest in this the most crucial phase of God's plan.

Ultimate Defeat

Satan's indictment of God's love is baseless, for God has clearly demonstrated that he loves every man. "He so loved the world that He gave his only Son..." to be our substitute and endure the agony of divine judgment for sin. The passages in the Bible which reveal God's love for us are many. Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:16; 1 John 4:10; Revelation 1:5

The issue comes down to this: Will man, who is inferior to the angels, yet equipped with volition, with free will identical to theirs, choose for or against the plan of God.

If even one member of the human race, with volition identical to the angels in eternity past, accepts the Word of God this proves both the absurdity and the arrogance of Satan's objection. If an inferior creature responds to the Word of God, then a superior creature certainly should have! Once again, the superior creatures-- namely, Satan and his angels-- are under indictment for their rejection of the will of God.

Angelic Observation

Is it any wonder why the Angelic hosts are so interested in our lives here on earth? We are told that the apostles "were made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men (1Cor.4:9). Scripture records for us how the elect angels in Heaven rejoice over one sinning believer who turns from the path of sin back to the plan of grace, back to the path of growth and blessing in the Spiritual Life. Luke 15:7-10, Luke.12:8-9; Rev.3:5.

Why do the elect angels rejoice? Because every time a believer in the Angelic Conflict makes an uncoerced, unpressured, volitionally free decision that is compatible with the will of God, God is both honored and glorified in time and it vindicates His righteous judgment against Satan and the fallen angels in eternity past!

Likewise, every member of the human race that accepts Jesus Christ as Savior serves to resolve the Angelic Conflict, and that decision of faith, that volitional choice made in the absolute freedom of his or her own soul, confirms the immutability of the elect angels' position.

Thus angelic interest in human affairs transcends the completion of their duties and ministries on our behalf (Heb.1:7 & 14). As they observe human beings escaping the slavery of sin, choosing for God and trusting Him in spite of all opposition, they are "learning" something very important about Him: they see His righteousness, His justice, His power and His love on display in the mission, sacrifice and victory of Jesus Christ as it relates to His creation.

Believers are in a War

When you remove all the side issues, distractions, and peripheral circumstances, there is one single issue at work in history; The struggle between good and evil. Virtually every decision you make is, in one way or another, a choice for one or the other. Granted, the distinctions are many times blurred, but this is in keeping with the nature of this titanic conflict.

This is how it comes down in the angelic conflict. There are no fence sitters, no neutrals. You either serve God, or you serve the forces of darkness. Every thought in every human soul falls on one side of the line or the other.

Satan is "The Father of Lies", whose modus operandi is deceit, misdirection and propaganda. His strategy was made clear in the garden when he seduced woman into disobeying God. He plays to the old sin nature, man's flaws and weaknesses, to affect his plans. Our lusts are his greatest ally and through our actions he tries to discredit God, whenever and wherever possible.

The creature we're dealing with is extremely powerful, and evil beyond anything we can imagine. Add to this ominous reality that he loathes the human race. His contempt of us is an obsession. In his immense arrogance he is the epitome of prejudice, hatred, premeditated malice. We are bugs he is pleased to step on, and the only humans that prosper in his system are those that he can use. In Satan's eyes, we are an invention of God designed to establish his guilt, and demonstrate God's righteous ruling.

The devil has no concern for our welfare or safety. Any devious act is justified, in his view, to win this conflict at our expense. What do you suppose would become of us if Satan were to win? He would wipe us out in a heartbeat!

We as believers are on the hot seat, for it is we, the lowest of all created beings, whose testimony will send Satan to hell for eternity. It is small wonder, then, that we warrant such concentrated attention.

To be continued in The Angelic Conflict - Part Four

Compiled and Condensed from the writings of several authors and pastors including J Hampton Keathley , Robert Mclaughlin, Robert Dean, Gene Cunningham, Ric Web, R.B. Theime and Lewis Sperrry Chafer.

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