Christian Living

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●WHY DID THE DEVIL FALL?
●WHEN DID THE DEVIL FALL?
●WHO IS IN THE DEVIL’S ARMY?


WHY DID THE DEVIL FALL?

So here is a living creature, a cherub, who was created by God perfect (prosperous and having no defect).

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. Ezekiel 28:15

He was given a special commission to that of being a protector, a guardian of God’s sacred places, and of God himself. And then he threw it all away.

What was it that sparked this downward trend?

It all began in his heart. His heart was lifted up because of two things, his beauty (the costly jewels that formed the ornaments of his attire2) and splendor (brilliant appearance).
(from Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament: New Updated Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.)
It sounds like this creature became self-infatuated (possessed by a foolish passion for oneself3). This infatuation with himself corrupted (destroyed the integrity of) his wisdom (administration; duties). Another word the perception that he held about his divinely appointed duties, and by inference his divinely appointed position, had changed. It was as if at this time in a figurative sense that he ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He no longer continued in divine perception, but entered into self-perception. Everything now was about him. Everything became distorted, and yet perceived in his own heart to be right.

17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

This fallen mindset caused him to look at everything differently. He probably thought that the supreme God had kept this type of perception from him, because this way of looking at things according to him was the right way to look at things. It was now his mission to infiltrate the other heavenly creatures trying to convince them that God had kept this particular type of perception of life away from them with the hope of convincing them in joining him in a coup in order to dispose Him from his throne.

The devil is now intent on sitting on the mount of the congregation (sitting where God sits, on this throne).

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: Isaiah 14:13

And when he does, he reasons that he will be like the most high in position, albeit, but not in perception.

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

The scriptures indicate that he was able to corrupt about a third of the heavenly creatures known as angels.
What are the physical characteristics of these creatures and what is there purpose? We will take a look at them in an upcoming chapter?

And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: … Revelation 12:4

Eventually the time came for this coup to take place. The thoughts (plans) of his heart, which were now going to be carried out, are descriptive of the word “iniquity” (an act or deed that is against what is right4).

Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. Ezekiel 28:15

A battle took place in heaven. How long it lasted for is not clear. What would it all mean if Satan won? Probably that the most high and all of the heavenly host that were loyal to him would become his prisoners. Heaven would be corrupted. As for mankind there would be no redemption. Even though many would say that the world that we live in can’t get any worse; I would beg to differ had the Devil somehow succeeded in usurping God’s throne. One thing that would be missing is that there would be absolutely no God fearing people on this earth. This would make living here a literal hell on earth. Although some might say that the cause of all of the world’s problems is religion.

In the next chapter we will briefly attempt to answer the question, when did the Devil fall?


WHEN DID THE DEVIL FALL?

According to Ezekiel 28 the devil was in the Garden of Eden and at this particular time was sinless, having no defect. He was operating in his divine calling. So when did he fall?

13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Could there be a clue about his fall hidden in the six days of creation?

Please go to Gen. 1.

Eden; And There He Put The Man Whom He Had Formed
Gen 1:1-26; 2:7, 21-22
In the beginning, when God (the Eternal Powers) began to create, He created everything in the universe out of nothing, including the earth.

In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1

Initially, the earth was enveloped in darkness and considered as the grand mass of matter without arrangement. And then the Spirit of God moved in preparation for the six days of creation.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Genesis 1:2

Over a period of six days these are the things that happened.

On day 1 God brought forth light, separating it from the darkness.
On day 2 he made the atmosphere.
On day 3 he caused the lands and oceans to appear; having prepared the soil of the land to bring forth plants and fruit trees.
On day 4 he divided the light from the darkness bringing about days, years, and seasons. This seems to give credence to the idea that each day of creation was not necessarily to be thought of as a twenty four hour day. The twenty four hour day became a reality on day 4.
On day 5 he created every living creature of the sea, followed by the creation of fowls (birds), cattle (animals capable of domestication), creeping things (serpents-snakes; reptiles-lizards, turtles; rodents-mice, squirrels, beavers; and insects), and the beasts of the field (wild animals).
On day 6 he created man and woman.

There is a clue hidden in one of the six days of creation concerning the fall of the devil. In order to extract this clue we need to take a look at Gen 2.
These verses appear to be saying that following the creation of man, God planted a garden in Eden. Another word the Garden of Eden was made after the creation of man. Was this the case?

And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Genesis 2:5-8

In accordance with a well-known characteristic of Hebrew composition, the writer, having carried his subject forward to a convenient place of rest, now reverts to a point of time in the six days antecedent to man's appearance on the earth. In anticipation of his arrival, it was needful that a suitable abode should be prepared for his reception5.
The idea that is being expressed here is that the Garden of Eden was one of the geographical areas that came to fruition on day 3. During this time God planted (put something into the soil so that it could grow) this particular garden (a fairly large area under cultivation) in a place called Eden (a well-watered place). He brought about a mist that watered the whole face of the ground causing it to bring forth grass, shrubs, flowers, vegetables, and trees.

By this rendering, we can deduce that it appears the earliest time that the Garden of Eden was prepared was on day 3. The devil could have been in this place without sin at this early time in the six days of creation. Since it appears that the devil had already fallen when he deceived Eve on Day 6, then his fall occurred probably sometime between day 3 and day 6.

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Genesis 3:1

I hoped that this has provided for you a glimpse as to when the fall of the devil took place.

No matter what subject we study, God’s word will provide for us information on whatever it is that we would like to know more about. Go to Him in prayer and ask for guidance by means of the Holy Spirit in finding verses and insight that will provide a more thorough understanding about said topic.

The fall of the devil did not just comprise him only, but also involved other heavenly creatures. What are their names? What are their physical characteristics? What is their nefarious purpose?

We will take a look at this in the next section.


WHO IS IN THE DEVIL’S ARMY?

The devil’s coup has failed. However, he had succeeded in convincing one-third of the angels to join him. He must be a master influencer. Think of it, these angels were originally serving God.

Is the devil an angel albeit a high ranking one? Is there a hierarchy in the devil’s forces of evil? Is there a description of these enemy forces?

There is.

Please go to Eph. 4.

For We Wrestle Not Against Flesh And Blood
Suggested Reading: Eph 6:10-16
The apostle considers every Christian as being engaged in warfare against numerous, powerful, and subtle foes; and that therefore they would need much strength, much courage, armor to put on, and the skills in order to know how to use it. For our warfare is a hand to hand, foot to foot, personal individual struggle against the devil and his forces in the high places (the lower atmosphere).

The devil has a hierarchy of enemies, who are against us. These can be referred to as the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, whose titles are described as that of rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers6.
The word rulers refer to the word “principalities” (archas) in the verse below. These are the pre-eminent ones under their leader the devil. They are also known as beings of the first rank and order in their own kingdom. Are they cherubim? Are they angels? Are they some other heavenly creature? As of yet this is not clear.
The word “authorities” refers to the word “powers” (exousias). Many believe that this word refers to the demons of Satan in the lower atmosphere7.
The words “cosmic powers” are believed to be associated with the words “rulers of the darkness of this world”. These rulers (kosmokratoras) can also be called world rulers. They appear to have dominion over widely extended territories of geography, presiding over these regions of sin and ignorance8 with which the earth abounds.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Are there any other characteristics about these heavenly creatures (e.g. principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world) that we can find out about through the study of these same words that are found in other scriptures? There are quite a few scriptures which refer to these forces of evil such as Col 2:15, Rom 8:38, Eph. 1:21, and 1 Cor 15:24. From these verses I could only find out a little bit more about the word “powers” (exousias). This word can also refer to angels or evil spirits, who have dominion over men along with the idea of being messengers sent on various errands9.

So, with this in mind let’s take a look again at these forces of evil that are called principalities, powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world.

●Principalities: Beings of first rank and order.

●Powers: angels or evil spirits, who have dominion over men along with the idea of being messengers sent on various errands10.

●Rulers of the darkness of this world: world rulers, who have dominion over widely extended territories of geography, presiding over these regions of sin and ignorance11 with which the earth abounds.

So now that we know what these spiritual forces are called along with their responsibilities, the next couple of questions that we can seek to answer are: Are all of these forces of evil angels? Is the devil, a cherub, also a high ranking angel?

In the next chapter we will look at the leader of the spiritual forces of godliness. Do you know what his name is? Is he an angel?

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