Lesson for December 10, 2023
The Battle for Your Soul
Lesson 10
The Angelic Conflict
The battle for our souls has its roots in eternity past when Lucifer (Satan) and one third of the angelic host rebelled against God in an attempt to overthrow Him. We call this rebellion the Angelic Conflict. God was not overthrown, and the result was Satan, and the fallen angels were sentenced to the Lake of Fire for all eternity. The sentence was not immediately carried out, which means Satan appealed the sentence and the resolution of the conflict became the creation of the human race. Therefore, the Angelic Conflict refers to two “trials” of Satan and the fallen angels, the original trial in prehistoric times and the appeal trial during human history. (Matthew 25:41)
The rebellion began with what is called “the five I wills of Satan” that caused him to rebel against God: 1) Pride – when Satan said he would ascend into Heaven and take over the throne of God and replace God. 2) Inappropriate ambition – when Satan said he would exalt his throne above the angels of God and rule over all the angels. 3) Power lust – when Satan said he would sit in the mount of the congregation, meaning he wanted to be worshipped as God. 4) Ego lust – when Satan said he would ascend above the heights of the clouds and displace God as the Sovereign of the universe, usurping God’s authority. 5) Power madness – when Satan said he would be like the Most-High, wanting to counterfeit God in every aspect. (Isaiah 14:12-15)
There are two categories of fallen angels under the command of Satan: 1) the angels of Genesis 6 who were involved in the angelic attack to infiltrate the human race and who are imprisoned in darkness until the final judgment at the end of the Millennium. (Jude 6; Matthew 25:41) 2) the angels who are demons. The fact that Satan has an organization of fallen angels means that he is prepared to attack the human race. His organization is described in Ephesians 6:12, “Because our warfare is not against flesh and blood but against rulers [ranking officers], against authorities [officer corps], against world rulers of this darkness [ambassadors to world powers], against spirit forces of evil in the heavenlies [his entire army].”
During the Church Age, demon attacks on unbelievers is limited to two categories: 1) demon possession, in which a demon enters the body of an unbeliever and 2) doctrines of demons entering the soul of unbelievers. During the Church Age, demon attacks on believers are limited to demon influence. I Timothy 4:1-2, “But the Spirit explicitly teaches that in latter periods of time some believers will withdraw from doctrine, concentrating on deceitful spirits (demons) and the doctrines from demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.”
Satan has a strategic plan that counterfeits God’s plan. II Corinthians 2:11, “That no advantage be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his strategies.” The implication is that Satan can very easily take advantage of us unless we understand something of his strategy, unless we understand why we are here.
Ephesians 6:11, “Put on the full armor from God so that you might always be able to hold your ground against the strategies of the devil.” These verses indicate that Satan plans offensive action against the human race, against both unbelievers and believers. Therefore, dependence on God the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine (our two power options) is required for defensive action. Ephesians 4:27, “Do not give place to the devil.”
Believers are commanded to defend against Satan’s strategy. Defensive action is a grace function of learning Bible doctrine as a line of defense in your soul. Ephesians 6:13, “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.”
James 4:7, “Hold your ground against the devil and he will flee from you.” You can hold your ground only by means of Bible doctrine and the filling of the Holy Spirit. What God has provided in grace for our defensive action has no weaknesses. When we attempt to use our human strengths and abilities against Satan, we will be defeated. Encouragement for defensive action against Satan is found in I John 4:4, where we are told, “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”
I Peter 5:8-9 in corrected translation, “Attain spiritual self-esteem, be alert. Your enemy the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some believer to devour. Therefore, hold your ground against him standing firm in doctrine….”
When Satan revolted against God with the thought “I will be like the Most-High God,” the Angelic Conflict began. The result of this thought indicates that Satan had great power since he succeeded in persuading one-third of the angels to rebel with him. (Revelation 12:3-9)
Satan’s strategy is designed to attack human volition. At the point of Gospel-hearing, Satan seeks to obscure the truth of the Gospel with human works for salvation. Satan’s objective is to establish systems of religion in which human works replace the grace of God. The only way that the obscurity can be removed is by faith in Christ. (II Corinthians 4:3-4; Galatians 2:16; Romans 3:28; Ephesians 2:8-9)
Satan also seeks to obscure the importance of Bible doctrine to believers. This is accomplished through the false doctrine of religion. By neutralizing the importance of Bible doctrine in the life of believers, they are hindered from fulfilling the plan of God. Satan has been successful throughout history in getting people to believe his false doctrines and think human viewpoint. Control the thinking, the attitudes, and the actions is Satan’s strategy.
When angels had made their final decision for God or for Satan, the trial in Heaven began. As a result of this trial, two categories of angels emerged. The first category of angels is those who chose for God, called “holy angels” in Mark 8:38 and “elect angels” in I Timothy 5:21. They were elect in that they chose from their own free will God over Satan.
The second category of angels is those who chose for Satan, called “demons” in
I Corinthians 10:20-21 and “fallen” in Jude 1:6. When God sentenced Satan (Lucifer), and all fallen angels to the Lake of Fire, it was inevitable that he would appeal the sentence, and at the same time call into question the character of God.
The blasphemous appeal of Satan went something like this; how can a loving God sentence His own creations into the Lake of Fire forever? The actual words of the blasphemous appeal of Satan are unknown to us. The idea of an appeal trial is deduced from the fact that the sentence of Satan and his angels has not yet been carried out. However, the sentence will be carried out at the end of the Millennium, according to Revelation 20:10.
To demonstrate the justice and fairness of God, mankind was created. Mankind was created inferior to angels and confined to planet earth. However, we do possess at least one thing in common with the angelic creatures – free will. (Psalm 8:3-5; Hebrews 2:7) We are here to demonstrate the fairness and justice of God regarding His judgment on Satan and the fallen angels by winning the battle for our souls!!!