ANGELS FALL
LUKE 10:1-9
1. Now after these things the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself was about to come.
2. And he said unto them, the harvest indeed is plenteous, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send forth laborers into his harvest.
3. Go your ways; behold, I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves.
4. Carry no purse, no wallet, no shoes; and salute no man on the way.
5. And into whatsoever house ye shall enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
6. And if a son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon him: but if not, it shall turn to you again.
7. And in that same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
8. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
9. And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
LUKE 10:17-19
17. And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in thy name.
18. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven.
19. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you.
REVELATION 12:7-10
7. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels;
8. And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.
9. And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.
10. And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night.
It is difficult to escape the similarities suggested in the above passages; in terms of the time of their setting and the reference to Satan’s fall it is obvious that they apply to the same circumstance.
From the wondrous sign of the ‘Woman with child’ (Israel with Christ) to that of the dragon awaiting the Childs birth (Herod
Matthew 2), Revelation chapter 12 seems to occasion the hurling to earth of the dragon to Christ’s time on earth and the early church.Ultimately however, someone will refer to
Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14, claiming that these two passages place the fall of Satan long before Christ’s first coming and, possibly before the creation of the world.Indications are otherwise since both passages in their immediate context refer to the impending fall of two Kings and their territories: those of Babylon and Tyre. A closer look at some of the metaphors and allegories used in the two passages reveal that Satan could never be the subject under consideration, even in the remotest context. As an example, where in the Garden of Eden was Satan known to be so exalted? If anything he appeared there as a snake! Adam would fit the description better than Satan!
The account in
Genesis 2 and 3 makes no reference to what state of affair Satan enjoyed at that point in time, rather its focus was primarily aimed at Man and the circumstances enabling his fall from grace.Also Genesis makes no specific statement as to when Satan was created except what may be deduced from the fact that God created the Heavens and Earth in the beginning. That coupled with
Colossians 1:15-17 indicates that Angels must be part of the created order and could not have existed before time.Even
Job 38:6 (for those of us looking for too much in it) do not presuppose the pre-creation presence of the Angels but rather joyous spectators of the fashioning and ordering of the Earth.What the Genesis account does suggest is that Satan has been evil since Adam, since then he has been warned of his impending destruction at the hand, or rather the heel of Adam’s offspring. From that time until Christ no mention is made of any colossal struggle in heaven that ousts the devil and his angels. On the contrary, in
Job chapters 1 and 2 Satan still is allowed to present himself along with the other Angels in the presence of God!1 kings 22:22
may also attest to this being a practice of other evil spirits besides Satan.The only direct reference to any early exodus of evil angels from heaven (and that willingly!) would be that in
Genesis 6. Jude 1 and 2peter 2 may refer to the same situation as Genesis 6, they however do not detail the struggle that Revelation 12 contain. So we look again at Revelations 12 and find verse 10. And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night.Next we turn to Luke 10:9-11 and 19 & 20.
9. And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
10. But into whatsoever city ye shall enter, and they receive you not, go out into the streets thereof and say,
11. Even the dust from your city, that cleaveth to our feet, we wipe off against you: nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh.
17. And the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in thy name.
18. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven.19. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you.
20.
Nevertheless in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.It is not then in some forgotten past that the war in heaven is fought, or that the Devil and his angels were cast down but rather in the work of Christ while on earth that they were subjugated. The casting down in this time means that the power of evil is severely curtailed. The unrestricted wanderings to and fro in the earth and wanton possessing of humanity have ceased.
Christ has crushed the serpent’s head though he bruised his heel. Now the major battle has been fought and won by Christ our Lord and the mop up ensues. The evil one knows he has but a little time before his complete destruction, thus accordingly we are forewarned of his final desperation and wrath against us who remain. The book of Revelation is not about despair however but of hope and triumph!
Revelation 12: 11
11. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death
.