Spiritual Warfare
How it Started
October 3, 2021
Have you ever played the game, KING OF THE HILL? Someone’s on top of the hill and you do your best to push them off and then you’re the top dawg. You’re the king of the hill. It’s great when you’re battling to get the king off the hill, because you have a lot of allies. But once you’re the king, you lose those allies. Suddenly, they’ve all turned on you.
Well, we’re starting week 2 of our look at spiritual warfare. Last week was kind of an introduction and today we’re looking at how it all started. Where did evil come from, how did satan get his start? Was he really an angel? Is he a myth? And hopefully more will get answered this morning.
I’m going to give you my thoughts. Now, I’d like to say my thoughts are always 100% correct. But there is a lot out there that we just don’t know when it comes to satan and the start. There are some scriptures I’ll mention where I disagree with theologians about their meaning.
In the end, I’m not sure it matters. Because we need to know that satan and evil are real; yet, God has given us the resources to combat evil and be victorious. That’s really the most important point I may make. Today may be more of a Bible Study with lots of scripture flowing all over the place than a typical sermon.
When I think about the beginning of evil, I think about a king of the hill battle. We have God and all of His angels together. Then satan decides he’s not happy with his position and we begin a king of the hill war. satan and his followers, fighting for the top position on the hill or what we might call heaven. We saw that in a passage from last week. If you recall, we looked at Revelation 12, and in that passage we read this . . .
7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back,
8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and satan, the deceiver of the whole world — he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
So, we can see that there was a war in heaven. Not on earth, in heaven. It was a revolt by satan and his gang battling against the archangel Michael and God’s angels. Obviously, we know the story . . . satan lost and was kicked out of heaven.
That’s what scripture tells us in a number of different places. But, we wonder why, how, and when. The where has already been answered. This was a cosmic battle in heaven. It’s a battle we can’t see, and frankly, I don’t believe we can even start to fathom what that looks like.
Let me give you one quick statement, which should be a given, but I’ll say it anyways . . . the Bible is our authority. All I’m trying to do is read the scripture, understand it and help us grow in who Christ is calling us to be. We start and we end with scripture. It’s what they say in Latin sola scriptura . . . which means scripture alone - - scripture is our only authority for faith and practice.
We really don’t know when the angels were created. Were they created before the world was created or after? Yet, I think the book of Job gives us some answers. As God responds to Job and his friends, God said - - -
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy? - Job 38:4-7
Most scholarship believes this passage symbolizes the fact that all angels were created before God laid the foundation of the world. We see that in verse 7 when God tells Job, the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy when the foundation was laid.
When satan appeared in Job 1, he appeared before God with the sons of God as well. It’s believed the sons of God are heavenly beings, often referred to as angels. So, with that in mind, I believe the angels, which includes satan were created before the foundation of the world. Remember, angels are created by God. The good angels are what the evil angels once were. They were all together and there was no fighting in heaven when the world was created. They all got along!
But sometime between the creation of the world, between Genesis 1 and Genesis 3, which we’ll look at in 2 weeks, satan and his angels fell from grace. They didn’t fall, they were pushed out of heaven.
In Hebrew, the word satan in Hebrew is pronounced ????????. There is always an article before the word, and it means “the adversary or accuser.” That’s Hebrew. In the Greek, we see 3 words used. Revelation 12:9 reads -
9 The great dragon was hurled down — that ancient serpent called the devil, or satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. - Revelation 12:9
When you hear the word dragon in Revelation, it’s the word drákon = dragon.
When the word devil is used, it’s diábolos = slanderer / false accuser. d?aß??? When satan is used, it’s satanâs (Sata?a?) - which means adversary, one who opposes another.
That’s a little background. Now, what happened? There’s a lot of differing opinions regarding the what and how! I’m not going to get into all the details and examine it all during the message, but I’ll give you the 2 main schools of thought. I’ll tell you what I think and we’ll keep moving along.
One theory comes from the OT. It comes primarily from Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. A little background - Isaiah was a prophet to the southern kingdom during the time the northern kingdom was taken captive by the Assyrians. He was a prophet from around 740 - 680 BC.
In Isaiah 14, Isaiah speaks about the fall of Babylon and Assyria and other regions. In this passage, Isaiah states - -
12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!
13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’
15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.
That sounds like satan’s revolt against God. As if he was trying to be bigger and better and more powerful than God. Then we look at Ezekiel 28, and Ezekiel is a prophet during the southern kingdom’s exile, covering around 590-570 BC.
In Ezekiel 28, we read - - -
12 “Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering ... On the day that you were created they were prepared.
14 You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you.
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. - Ezekiel 28
Now, that sounds like a perfect picture of satan. He was created by God, he was in the garden, he had power and authority in heaven, he was blameless . . . until - unrighteousness was found in him.
Many theologians and commentators believe Isaiah and Ezekiel are not only talking about their present times, but also about satan. So, for many people that becomes the how and what of the fall of satan.
It’s believed he wanted power, as he sought to ascend higher than God, higher than the stars. Some believe as the scripture says, he became vain, prideful about his beauty and position.
Apparently, he was able to gain a great number of angels to follow him, which led to their expulsion from heaven, as well. Since that day, satan devotes himself to opposing the work of God in every way possible and seeks to destroy all of the good that God has created.
So, it would seem like a no-brainer to see all of the imagery, but many say “I’m a no brainer.” That’s a joke. Because I don’t agree with the interpretations of these passages. There’s lots of reasons which I really won’t get into, but the jury is kind of split on this. It’s almost easier to take these passage as is and move on from there. But I don’t see it.
I believe Isaiah and Ezekiel were speaking about current issues and their falls using wonderful poetry and imagery.
We can see the fall of satan and his angels in other NT passages.
As the disciples return from healing people, Luke tells us —
17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”
18 And Jesus said to them, “I saw satan fall like lightning from heaven. - Luke 10
As Peter talks about those who are unrepentant of their sin, he stated ---
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; - 2 Peter 2:4
In Jude 6, we read ---
6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day. - Jude 6
John also wrote - - -
1 And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. - Revelation 9:1
So, we see, that satan and his angels, now called demons have been cast out of heaven. It’s believed there were 1/3 of the angels who were cast out. We see that in Revelation 12, when John wrote - --
4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. - Revelation 12:4
The final point for today is maybe a question you’ve thought of personally, as it pertains to our own sin, or to sin in the world . . . The question is - - -
Why did God allow satan and the demons to sin? I mean, why not just destroy them. Kill them all and be done with it. You know, picture a movie, one of my favorites is Braveheart, call on the arch angel William Wallace and away you go.
But that’s not what happened and that may trouble some and even though we really don’t know God’s thinking, as Isaiah 55 tells us - -
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:8-9
We have to understand, really, believe that we can’t put God in a box. God ways are not understandable to us. We can’t always fathom what He’s up to, what the plan is, but that’s where our faith comes in. We trust that there is a good, a better plan ahead of us by God, even when it’s not our plan.
In the end, God doesn’t give us an explanation as to why satan fell. Just as it is with people, there were angels who loved God and sought to worship Him, and some that when given the chance to rebel, took it. We don’t know why God chose to do things this way. All I know is that I trust God’s plan. In His infinite wisdom, He deemed it to be the best way. The Bible makes it clear that God did not tempt the fallen angels to fall, for God doesn’t tempt us to do evil.
Yet, why didn’t God, being omniscient and omnipotent prevent the fall of the angels? Again, the Bible does not tell us God's reasons for doing what He did. But we know people, as well as angels can choose to rebel against God.
Maybe the best way to understand why God allowed the angels to sin and not just destroy them is to understand that if God did, it would send the wrong message to other angels and even us. God would then appear as if He forces His creation, angels and people to obey Him without using our free will. Then we would only come to God because of fear of punishment, not out of a love relationship.
The beauty comes in the words of Jesus in the great passage to Nicodemus in John 3 - -
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. - John 3:16-17
Friends, yes, there is spiritual warfare, hopefully that gives you some background, but always hold onto the hope we have in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. That will always be the right and best decision in your life.
