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“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
The Apostle Paul revealed that the New Testament church was opposed by Satan. (Romans 16:20; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 7:5; 2 Corinthians 2:11; 11:14; 12:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Timothy 1:20; 5:15) Indicative of who he is, his name means adversary. Paul also referred to Satan as the devil. (Ephesians 4:27; 6:11; 1 Timothy 3:6-7; 2 Timothy 2:26) Indicative of what he does, it can be translated as the accuser or deceiver. It is clear from Paul’s writings that Satan oversees the fallen angels who chose to rebel against God with him before the foundation of the world. (cf. Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19; 2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 2:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; Revelation 12:9; etc.) In opposition to the New Testament church, they are arrayed in a spiritual hierarchy of evil. (Ephesians 3:10; 6:12) Consequently, the ecclesia of God is compelled to engage in “wrestling, struggle or hand-to-hand combat.”[1] It should be emphasized that the “wrestling” is spiritual rather than physical. In the history of the church, many different responses to the spiritual opposition of the devil and his angels have been proposed, penned, presented, and promoted. Without biblical precedent, however, they are ineffective and even deceptive in origin. The Bible reveals only one approach that is effective against spiritual opposition. It begins and ends with Jesus Christ. Origin The eternal kingdom of God was originally populated with angelic beings. (Job 38:7; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 148:1-6) They were created holy, immortal, and spiritual. (Matthew 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; 20:36; Hebrews 1:14) Satan was one of the most remarkable of the angelic beings. He “had the seal of perfection” and was “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” (Ezekiel 28:12) In addition, Satan is described as having been beautiful and splendorous. (Ezekiel 28:17) Possibly the most extraordinary of the angelic beings, he served God in the role of the high priest on the original, eternal earth. Despite his lofty position in the kingdom, Satan coveted the glory of the King. Therefore, he devised a scheme by which he would challenge God for His throne. The original scheme of Satan was founded on the presumption that the attributes of the nature of God could not be expressed concurrently in an unbiased manner. More specifically, Satan challenged God regarding whether He could demonstrate love, mercy, and justice in a concurrent manner. Believing them to be contradictory to one another, he resolved to test the sovereignty of God. Satan was convinced that his scheme would reveal God as vulnerable and weak and, thus, susceptible to deposition. Satan understood the potential advantage of co-conspirators. Consequently, he persuaded many angels to join him in his rebellion against God. (Revelation 12:3-4) By the “abundance” of his unrighteous “trade” (trafficking or conspiring), he convinced about one-third of the angels that his plan would succeed. (Ezekiel 28:16, 18; Matthew 25:41; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Revelation 12:3-4) As a result, they willingly abandoned their privileged citizenship in the kingdom of God and followed his lead. (Matthew 25:41; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Revelation 12:3-4) God answered the rebellious challenge of the devil and his angels in the only manner possible, in perfect accord with the attributes of His nature. Consequently, they experienced His judgment and were sentenced to punishment in “eternal fire.” (Matthew 25:41) While the judgment of the devil and his angels was immediate, God temporarily postponed their sentence. (cf. John 12:31; 16:11; Isaiah 24:21-22; Matthew 8:29; 25:41; Romans 16:20; Revelation 20:10) It allowed Him the opportunity to address their accusations and consequently, vindicate His nature. After the postponement of their sentence, God banished the devil and his angels to a state of separation from His immediate presence. Thus, they were exiled from the kingdom of God to “outer darkness” or the “domain of darkness.” (Matthew 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; Colossians 1:13) Darkness is frequently symbolic of divine judgment in the Bible. The judgmental darkness of God is characterized by death and degeneration. As a result of their banishment and exile into darkness, the devil and his angels were no longer obligated to God according to the rule of life (zoe). In the realm of darkness, characterized by death and degeneration, governance occurs by law alone. It provides necessary boundaries for the fallen. The angelic rebellion also resulted in the destruction of the angelic habitat, the original, eternal earth. Consequently, the earthly habitat of the rebellious angels was relegated to a chaotic state of ruin, emptiness, and darkness. (Genesis 1:2) Relative to the angelic rebellion and the consequent judgment of God, the devil and his angels presently exist in an unenviable position of separation from God and banishment from His kingdom. It is characterized by death, degeneration, and darkness. Their conduct in the “domain of darkness” is subject to moderation by the rule of law. |
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Vindication: Renovation
According to eternal plan, God renovated the devastated heavens and earth to be inhabited once again. He accomplished the renovation within the framework of covenant stipulation. The Renovation Covenant provided protective stipulations by which God unveiled and secured His eternal purpose and plan for the renovated earth and its inhabitants. (Genesis 1:2-31) His fulfillment of covenant stipulations as stated beforehand served to demonstrate His veracity and protect Him from any additional accusation of wrongdoing. Consequently, His sovereignty was no longer subject to challenge, and as a result, He would not be viewed as vulnerable to deposition. The chaotic earth was perfectly renovated. It lacked nothing. Therefore, God pronounced every aspect of His renovation “good,” and His holy angels rejoiced. (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31; Job 38:4-7) Although the devil and his angels had been banished from King and kingdom and exiled to a lawless existence in the “domain of darkness,” they were allowed access to the renovated earth. (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-6) Concordant with eternal plan, however, it was moderated by the rule of law. The earth in renovated form no longer served as a habitat for spiritual, angelic beings, but a new type of creature; mankind. (Genesis 1:26-30) In contrast to angelic beings, mankind was created with a physical or material body. By stipulation of the Renovation Covenant, God originally designed the human race as one collective entity. Consequently, when He said, “Let us make man (‘adam; collective noun, singular in form) in our image,” He was not referring to an individual human being but the entire human race. (Genesis 1:26) The first man, Adam, was appointed by God as the representative, covenantal head of humanity. His descendants, the entire human race, past, present, and future were designed as his covenantal body. (cf. Genesis 1:26-27) According to the stipulations of the Renovation Covenant, mankind, represented by the headship of Adam, was given legal authority over the earth and its creatures. “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth’.” (Genesis 1:26-28) With foreknowledge, God predetermined to vindicate His nature through the newly renovated earth and its human population. It was intended to occur by the willingness of its human populous to enjoy Him through intimate, shared life fellowship. Fallen Angelic Response While Satan was not cognizant of the entire plan of God, he was clear about Adam’s purpose on earth. It did not go unnoticed by him that God had replaced him in the kingdom with an inferior being. Further, it was clear to Satan that Adam had been awarded his representative authority over the earth. Within the legal guidelines of the Renovation Covenant, Satan schemed to deceive Adam into relinquishing his legal, God appointed authority over the earth. The success of his scheme would not only allow him to regain authority over the earth but demonstrate to God that all His creatures were incapable of obedience. Thus, the judgment of the devil and his angels would appear unjust, and they would be exonerated. |
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Fall of Mankind
God had warned Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was the only condition of the Renovation Covenant. Their obedience to the stipulation was the means by which they could willingly remain in covenant relationship with God. Aware of the conditional stipulation of the Renovation Covenant, Satan manipulated Eve into challenging God’s covenantal command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In the guise of a serpent, he deceived her. Tragically, she chose to believe Satan’s lie and ate from the forbidden tree. As forewarned, Eve suffered separation from God, immediate spiritual death and, consequently, began the long slow decline to physical death. Relative to Eve’s transformation, Adam was forced to make an extremely difficult choice. He could reject his beloved bride and allow her to experience her appointed destiny without him. It would be both lonely and heart-wrenching. Conversely, Adam could choose to remain in union with Eve by eating from the prohibited tree and join her in rebellious separation from God. Thus, Adam was forced to choose between God and His beloved Eve. Rather than Adam, Satan had originally deceived Eve into eating from the forbidden tree. (1 Timothy 2:14) However, by his deception of Eve, he was able to manipulate Adam into disobeying God. Eve chose to rebel against covenantal stipulation because of deception. However, Adam did so willfully. As a result, he abdicated his God-given authority to rule the earth. Relative to the fall of Adam, the divinely appointed high priest of the earth and representative/representational head of humanity, the entire human race and its earthly habitat were subjected to a fallen state of death, degeneration, and darkness. Consequently, Satan regained some of his previous status and authority. As a result, he presently and temporarily holds the legal titles of “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31) and “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). According to the Apostle John, “… the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19) Nevertheless, Satan’s present status and authority related to the renovated, fallen earth is but a distant shadow of the former glory he once enjoyed. Rather than ruling the pristine, original earth, his legally moderated authority extends only over the degenerated heavens and earth, collectively described as the “domain of darkness.” (Colossians 1:13) Under the fallen headship of Adam, the entire human race became legally unsuitable and organically incompatible with God: |
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Relative to its legal unsuitability and organic incompatibility, mankind was relegated to a fallen realm of existence apart from God:
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The fallen realm of existence is characterized by a distinct familial standing, citizenship, security, and style of governance:
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Under the fallen headship of Adam the human race was made legally unsuitable and organically incompatible with God. Therefore, mankind was necessarily separated from King and kingdom.
Vindication: Redemption Separation from God resulted in an unenviable state of existence for humanity. According to covenantal stipulation, the entire human race, inclusive of covenantal head and body, was subjected to death, degeneration, and darkness. The devil and his angels rejoiced. Their plan of deception had succeeded, and, as a result, mankind was reduced to a state of existence not unlike their own. Nevertheless, their exultation was short-lived. Satan was unaware that God had planned before the foundation of the world to remedy the fall of the human race. The Messiah or Christ (the Anointed) was central to His plan. By His sacrificial death and resurrection, Christ Jesus fulfilled His role in the Eternal Covenant. (Isaiah 53:10; Acts 2:23-24; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 1:20-21; etc.) Essential to the vindication of the divine nature, it constituted an unbiased, concurrent demonstration of selfless love, unfailing mercy, and absolute justice. New Testament Church In harmony with the gracious benefit of the redemptive Eternal Covenant, the New Testament church is comprised of people made legally suitable and organically compatible with God: |
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Made legally suitable and organically compatible with God, the new man is transferred into the living (zoe), spiritual realm of existence:
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The realm or sphere of the Spirit is characterized by a distinct familial standing, citizenship, security, and style of governance:
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In the heavenly, spiritual realm, the New Testament church has a new style of governance. (Romans 6:14-7:13; 8:3-4) Positioned under the immediate headship of Christ, it was released from the jurisdiction of the rule of law and therefore, set free from the power of the indwelling principle of sin. Further, the New Testament church was transferred into the realm and jurisdiction of the Spirit. Under His authority it is obligated to governance by His controlling influence in accordance with the gracious rule of His indwelling life (zoe).
Made legally suitable and organically compatible with God, the New Testament church was made “obedient from the heart.” Existing on earth in an eternal state of obedience, it provides a demonstration of the true nature of God, inclusive of selfless love, unfailing mercy, and absolute justice, and thereby, serves to vindicate His nature from the accusation of the devil and his angels. (Romans 6:17) Concordant with its demonstration of the attributes of the divine nature on earth, the New Testament church is a source of public humiliation for the fallen angels. It serves to reveal them as foolish, weak, and defeated. Consequently, they view the New Testament church with intense hatred. Not only do the fallen angels recognize that the New Testament church serves to vindicate the divine nature but also acts as the primary instrument for the repopulation of His kingdom during the Church Age. Through its ministry, it is made clear to them that they are being replaced in the kingdom with undeserving, inferior human beings. Thus, they view the church not only with intense hatred but also with great jealousy. It provides them with sufficient motive for war. © 2023 James Hiatt |
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