Eph 1270-80, 674, 394, 399-403, 154, 239

DOCTRINE OF THE ANGELIC CONFLICT

A. Introduction.

1. Introduction.

a. There are two categories of fallen angels under the command of Satan.

(1) The non-operational angels.

(a) The angels of Gen 6 who were involved in the angelic attack to infiltrate the human race who are incarcerated in Tartarus.

(b) The first demon assault army incarcerated in the Abyss. They are not permitted to come out of the Abyss until the Tribulation, Rev 12.

(2) The functional angels. These are the demons who are operational today.

(3) The fact that Satan has an organization of fallen means that he is prepared to attack the human race. His organization is described in Eph 6:12, “because our warfare is not against blood and flesh but against rulers [demon general officers], against authorities [demon officer corps], against world rulers of this darkness [demon ambassadors], against spirit forces of evil in the heavenlies [rank and file demons].”

b. Demon Attacks During the Church Age.

(1) During the Church Age, demon attacks on the unbeliever are limited to two categories: demon possession, or demon influence, in which demon doctrines enter the soul of the unbeliever.

(2) During the Church Age, demon attacks on believers are limited to demon influence, in which the doctrine of demons invades the right lobe of the soul. 1 Tim 4:1-2, “But the Spirit explicitly teaches that in latter periods of time some believers will withdraw from doctrine, concentrating on deceitful spirits and the doctrines from demons, by means of hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.”

(a) Negative volition to doctrine creates a vacuum in the soul which sucks in all the false concepts that Satan has developed for you to be distracted from the plan of God.

(b) Demon influence wipes out all of the doctrine you have ever learned. It destroys your doctrinal norms and standards. Cosmic thinking includes the doctrine of demons and involvement in the cosmic system.

2. Satan’s Strategic Plan.

a. Scripture.

(1) 2 Cor 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.

(2) Eph 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.”

b. These verses indicate that Satan plans offensive action against the human race, especially against believers. Satan’s offensive action demands, on our part, dependence on the Lord and the wall of fire.

c. The mandates for defensive action against the power of Satan are very important.

(1) Eph 4:27, “Do not give place to the devil.” The believer is commanded to defend against Satan’s strategy. Defensive action is a grace function. Believers are dependent upon the grace provision of God.

(2) Eph 6:13, “Pick up and put on the full armor from God that you may always be able to hold your ground in the evil day.” The evil day is the day of attack. The Roman soldier was able to get dressed for battle in a few minutes and be ready to defend himself.

(3) Jam 4:7, “Hold your ground against the devil and he will flee from you.”

(4) 1 Pet 5:8-9, “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.” What God has provided in grace for our defensive action has no weaknesses. When we use our human strengths and abilities against Satan, we are defeated and overrun.

(5) Encouragement for defensive action against Satan is found in 1 Jn 4:4, where we are told, “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.”

3. Satan’s Offensive Action.

a. In human history, the sovereignty of God and free will of man coexist by divine decree because human history is an extension of the prehistoric angelic conflict. Satan learned in the prehistoric angelic conflict that he cannot attack the sovereignty of God, which is incorruptible, so he attacked the volition of other creatures. He came up with a plan to attack God through His creatures, since he could not attack God. Therefore, since mankind was created in history to resolve the prehistoric angelic conflict, Satan attacks at the weak point— the volition of mankind. The greatest attack on human volition occurred in the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union against the humanity of Christ. Jesus Christ was attacked constantly; he was tempted beyond anything we will ever know. Satan is always getting at God the Father through human volition.

b. Satan’s offensive action existed in the prehistoric angelic conflict.

(1) When Satan revolted against God with the thought “I will be like the Most High God,” the angelic conflict or Satanic revolution began in eternity past. All revolution begins with a thought.

(2) The result of his thought indicates that Satan has the greatest of all creature power, as noted by the result stated in Rev 12:4; for he succeeded in persuading one- third of all angelic beings to revolt with him.

(3) The result of the conflict was a great trial, in which Satan and all fallen angels were condemned to the eternal lake of fire. Mt 25:41, “...depart from Me you who have been condemned into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.”

(4) Satan appealed this judgment so that mankind was created to resolve the angelic conflict. All the witnesses in the appeal trial are members of the human race.

(5) Now Satan’s offensive strategy is directed entirely toward the volition of mankind, and specially toward believers. Satan no longer attacks the volition of elect angels. Rev 12:9, “And the great dragon was thrown down out of heaven, the serpent of ancient times who is called the devil and Satan, who deceived the entire inhabited earth; he was cast down to the earth and his angels were cast out with him.”

c. Satan’s offensive strategy in human history is directed toward the human race. Satan’s strategy is designed to attack the human race and corrupt human volition at two critical points.

(1) At the point of the gospel Satan attacks to obscure the content of the gospel and to corrupt faith in Christ alone for eternal salvation.

(a) Satan’s objective is to establish systems of religion in which the works of mankind replace the function and mechanics of the grace of God. 2 Cor 4:3-4, “But if our gospel has been veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the thinking of those who are unbelievers, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” The veil can be seen through by common and efficacious grace and is lifted by faith in Christ.

(b) Another attack on the gospel is salvation by works or faith plus something. Gal 2:16, “Knowing that a person is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus and not by the works of the Law; for by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.” Compare Rom 3:28; Eph 2:8-9.

(2) Satan attacks volition to reject doctrine. Satan seeks to obscure the importance of doctrine to the believer. This is accomplished through false doctrine, legalism, distraction, false scales of values, and many other ways. By neutralizing the importance of Bible doctrine, the believer is hindered from executing of the protocol plan of God.

d. The satanic plan for offensive action in history.

(1) From the prehistoric angelic conflict Satan learned that he cannot directly attack the essence of God.

(2) The prehistoric angelic conflict is terminated and angelic volition is no longer the issue.

(3) Therefore, Satan must concentrate his attack on human volition, which is vulnerable to Satan’s offensive strategy.

(4) In human history, Satan’s strategy is to attack God and His grace policy through human volition.

(5) Human volition is under attack in two categories.

(a) The soul essence of the human being which God imputes to biological life at physical birth. He attacks us through our soul, through what we think. He attacks the first thing God ever gave us in grace. This is an attack on grace.

(b) Satan attacks us through our body by use of the sin nature. This was a judicial imputation. Satan’s whole pattern is attack on God’s grace and judicial decisions.

(6) At physical birth, God performed an act of grace by imputing soul life to biological life so that mankind became a human being. Starting at birth, Satan attacks God’s grace.

(7) At physical birth, God performed a judicial act by the imputation of Adam’s original sin to the genetically formed sin nature so that mankind is spiritually dead. Starting at birth, Satan attacks all judicial actions of God related to mankind, just as Satan appealed the judicial act of God in the prehistoric angelic conflict.

e. Satanic offensive action against the soul essence of mankind began in the Garden of Eden and includes four general attacks.

(1) The attack on the volition of the soul. Satan has many ways of persuading us to reject God’s grace and God’s judicial activity, including our own divine discipline.

(2) The attack on the mentality of the soul, in which Satan has done a masterful job in getting people to think his doctrine, his ideas.

(3) The attack on the emotion of the soul. We cannot distinguish between good emotion, which responds to good thought, and emotional sinning. We use emotional sins to transfer garbage into the subconscious of the soul and to use garbage already there.

(4) The attack on the self-consciousness of the soul. The ultimate defense against this attack is spiritual self-esteem. Self-pity is the great attack on the self- consciousness of the soul.

f. Satanic offensive action against mankind from his sin nature did not begin until man sinned in the Garden and acquired the sin nature. There are four areas of this attack.

(1) The temptation from the sin nature’s area of weakness which results in personal sins.

(2) Temptation from the sin nature’s area of strength which results in arrogance, legalism, self-righteous arrogance, and many other things.

(3) The stimulation and arousal of the sin nature’s trends.

(a) The trend toward legalism results in Christian moral degeneracy.

(b) The trend toward antinomianism results in Christian immoral degeneracy.

(4) The stimulation and arousal of the sin nature’s lust pattern: power lust, approbation lust, social lust, sexual lust, chemical lust, monetary lust, inordinate ambition, criminal lust, crusader lust, and pleasure lust.

4. Satan’s Organization for Offensive Action.

a. Satan himself is the prince of demons; therefore, the director of all demons and all offensive action toward the human race, Mt 9:34, 12:34; Mk 3:22; Lk 11:15.

b. Under Satan’s command are millions of demons through which Satan coordinates attacks, Eph 6:12, “because our warfare is not against blood and flesh but against rulers, against authorities, against world rulers of this darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places.”

5. There are five great demon attacks in history.

a. The genetic attack of Gen 6:1-13; 2 Pet 2:4-5; 1 Pet 3:18-22; Jud 6. This was an attempt by Satan to destroy true humanity on the earth by the sexual intercourse of angels with women producing a race of half human half angelic beings. This race was destroyed in the flood. The true human race was reduced to only eight people, Noah and his family.

b. The attacks of demon possession, in which the demons occupy the bodies of unbelievers resulting in: diseases, Mt 9:33, 17:18; Lk 4:35, certain mental disorders, Mt 11:18; Lk 7:33; Jn 7:20, divination, the operation of the Phallic cult, and many other things.

c. The attacks of demon influence against mankind, in which demons penetrate the soul and personality of both believers and unbelievers. They do not actually get in the soul but provide information through human sources. This is the doctrine of demons.

d. The physical attack of demon armies during the Tribulation. There are three attacks.

(1) The attack of the first demon assault army stationed in the Abyss, Rev 9:1-12.

(2) The attack of the second demon assault army stationed under the Euphrates river, Rev 9:12-21.

(3) The attack of the third demon assault army stationed in heaven under the direct command of Satan, Rev 12:7- 17.

(4) The demon attack of the Gog and Magog revolution at the end of the Millennium, Rev 20:7-10.

e. The Satanic attack in the Gog and Magog revolution at the end of the Millennium. This is an attack in which Satan is apparently the only angel involved. He is able to persuade most of the unbelievers of the Millennium to revolt against God and the rule of Jesus Christ on the earth.

6. The Attacks of Demonism.

a. Demon possession can cause many things.

(1) Disease, Mt 9:33, 17:18; Lk 4:35, 41. All diseases are not caused by demon possession, nor are all demon possessed persons in bad health. It is a supernatural phenomena and is related to:

(a) Deafness, dumbness, paralysis, Mt 9:32- 33, 12:22; Mk 5:5.

(b) Magic, incantations, and exorcism, Ezek 21:21; 2 Kg 17:17; Dan 5:11; Ex 7:11; Deut 18:14, 21; Acts 19:13, 19; 16:16.

© Divination, oracles, prognostication.

(d) Necromancy—trying to contact the dead.

(e) Sorcery, witchcraft, and cult teaching, 1 Tim 4:1.

(2) Mental disorders, Mt 11:18; Lk 7:33; Jn 7:20. All mental disorders are not caused by demon possession. Demon possession where loss of health occurs is also a way in which demonized individuals have a message to the human race. The gift of healing was removed by 68 AD. Most of the “divine healing” going on is nothing more than Satan ordering a demon out of a person’s body to imitate the spiritual gift which no longer functions.

b. Demon influence keeps believers from executing the protocol plan of God for the Church.

(1) Eph 2:2, “In which sphere [spiritual death] you formerly walked on the basis of the lifestyle of this world, on the basis of the ruler of the power of the air [Satan].” The modus operandi of the carnal believer cannot be distinguished from that of the unbeliever. The believer in the cosmic system reverts to his unbeliever counterpart in cosmic one or cosmic two, or in moral or immoral degeneracy, or both.

(2) 1 Cor 10:21, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.”

c. Satan is constantly bringing accusations against believers in the supreme court of heaven, Zech 3:1; Rev 12:10. Demons provide the portfolio of accusations for Satan. Our Lord Jesus Christ acts as our defense attorney and bases His defense on the doctrine of propitiation—the satisfaction of God the Father with the work of Christ on the Cross. 1 Jn 2:1-2, “And if any believer sins, we have a defense attorney face to face with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous one; and He himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the entire world.”

d. From the murder of Able to the murder of innocent children by Herod the Great, demons have motivated violence and murder. They have motivated human sacrifice in the phallic cult.

(1) Deut 32:17, “They sacrifice to demons [SHEDIM in the Hebrew; DAIMON in Greek].”

(2) Ps 106:36, “And they served their demons [SHEDIM], which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons [SHEDIM].”

(3) Lev 17:7, “And they shall no longer sacrifice their sacrifices to goat-demons [SEIR] with whom they fornicate.”

e. These demons motivate warfare, Rev 16:13-14. They are called angels of evil in Ps 78:49. God uses the wrath of angels to praise Him just as He uses the wrath of man.

7. Definition—the angelic conflict is the result of prehistoric creatures being in opposition to God, which began with the fall of Satan, and continued until all angelic creatures had made a decision for or against God. It refers to two trials of Satan and fallen angels, one in prehistoric times, the other during human history.

B. The Existence of Prehistoric Rational Creatures.

1. The Scripture teaches that there are two categories of rational creatures.

a. The prehistorical category called angels as in Ps 8:4-6; Heb 2:6-7; 2 Pet 2:11.

b. The historical category called homo sapien, mankind, or man.

2. Angels are created beings, according to Ps 148:2, 5. While they are superior to us by creation, we have in common with angels the structure of our souls; the two are very similar. However, in their physical beings, they are quite different. Angels were apparently created out of light. They are able to move through space at will and are invisible to the empirical investigation of mankind.

3. Therefore, angels are rational, superior, and prehistoric creatures, who have existed in the universe before man for an unknown period of time.

C. The Prehistoric Trial of Satan and Fallen Angels.

1. The angelic conflict refers to the prehistoric creatures in opposition to and revolt against God. The revolt began with arrogance, a system of evil as well as a combination of sins. Arrogance comes in many forms of mental attitude sins, and is the natural inclination of fallen creatures whether they are angelic or human.

2. The first creature to revolt against God was the most perfect creature God ever made. He was called Lucifer, the Son of the Morning. He was the most beautiful, attractive, and personable of all angelic creatures. He was created as a magnificent and beautiful cherub.

3. He became enamored with his attractiveness. He “took himself too seriously.” Because creatures had been admiring him, and because he was the object of adoration by all the angels, one day he said, “I will be like the Most High God.” When he said that, a revolt began against God.

4. The result was the prehistoric angelic conflict in which the opposition against God took the form of a revolution led by Satan. It continued for an unknown period of time. Satan led a revolt against the perfect environment of heaven in which he took one third of all angels, Rev 12:4.

5. When all angels had made their decisions for God or for Satan a trial was convened in heaven. This was the first of two trials of Satan and all fallen angels.

6. As a result of the prehistoric trial, two categories of supercreatures or angels emerged.

a. Angels who chose for God, called “holy angels” in Mk 8:38; or “elect angels” in 1 Tim 5:21. We might classify them as “saved” angels. They were holy in the sense that they executed whatever was God’s standard. They were elect in that they chose from their own volition God’s plan for them.

b. Angels who chose for Satan.

(1) Fallen angels, imprisoned because of their infiltration into the human race, Gen 6:1-9, in a compartment of Hades called Tartarus, 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6. They are called “sons of God.”

(2) Operational fallen angels who now function under the command of Satan as the ruler of this world, called “demons” or “evil spirits", Mk 5; 1 Cor 10:20-21; 1 Tim 4:1. So all fallen angels are either incarcerated in Tartarus, or functioning under the command of Satan as the ruler of this world.

7. Eventually the prehistoric angelic conflict was culminated with a trial. From Scripture we know the result of this trial. When all the angels had made their choice for or against God, a trial of fallen angels resulted in sentencing Satan and his followers to the eternal Lake of Fire.

8. The elect angels decided for God and possessed eternal salvation or an eternal relationship with God. The fallen angels were against God, and their sentence is declared in short in Mt 25:41, “Depart from Me, you who are cursed [Tribulational unbelievers] into eternal fire [judgment of baptism of fire at Second Advent] which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.”

9. Therefore, we know this sentence was passed before man was created. The eternal Lake of Fire was to be the final resting place of the devil and his angels.

10. The devil’s name (in the Hebrew, HA SATAN) means an attorney who slanders but gets away with it because of some legal loophole. The Hebrew word SATAN means a slanderer as well as an adversary. In the Greek, his name was translated DIABOLOS, which means exactly the same thing: an adversary, an attorney in opposition in law, or a slanderer.

11. When God sentenced Lucifer and all fallen angels to the Lake of Fire, it was inevitable that Satan would appeal the sentence, and at the same time impugn the character of God. The blasphemous appeal of Satan was based on some legal principle, possibly one which has come down to us today. He probably argued, “How can a loving God put his own creature into the Lake of Fire forever?

12. The actual blasphemous appeal of Satan is unknown to us, but the fact that an appeal was filed with God is deduced from the lapse of time between the sentence of fallen angels (Mt 25:41) in eternity past and the execution of that sentence at the termination of human history (Rev 20:10). The very fact that the sentence has not been carried out, and that Rev 20:10 reveals the sentence will be carried out at the end of human history, causes our conclusion.

13. Between the passing of the sentence in eternity past and the execution of that sentence at the end of the Millennium and the Gog revolution, an appeal trial is occurring in human history. Therefore, it is concluded that human history is not only coterminous with the appeal trial of Satan and his fallen angels, but human history is the actual function of that trial, and that mankind was created to resolve that trial.

14. The order of events in the appeal trial. See point Q.

a. The trial phase begins with the fall of man and continues until the beginning of the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union. Mankind was created and human history began in order to duplicate the conditions of the prehistoric angelic conflict. This provided both evidence and precedence for Satan’s appeal trial during human history. The fall of man duplicates the fall of Satan. Both falls occurred during perfect environment. The trial phase in the court of appeals is essentially Old Testament history.

b. The rebuttal phase of the Prosecution are coterminous with the Christocentric dispensations—the Hypostatic Union and the Church Age. Our Lord and the invisible heroes of the Church Age are the witnesses for the Prosecution. Satan presents his rebuttal during the Tribulation. All of Satan’s rebuttal arguments come in the form of violence and anti- semitism.

c. The closing arguments and summary of the Prosecution includes the Second Advent and the Millennial rule of Christ. This duplicates the conditions before the fall of Satan and the fall of man in the Garden. Satan’s closing argument is the Gog revolution at the end of the Millennium.

15. The answer to Satan’s appeal is twofold:

a. The perfect and eternal character of God cannot be unfair or prejudiced, and cannot pass a false sentence.

b. The negative volition of Satan and all fallen angels demands punishment from the perfect righteousness and justice of God. The soul of angels contained a superintellect, for they are much smarter than we are. They had a clear understanding of God’s provision for them to have fellowship with Him forever, and yet they rejected it.

16. To demonstrate the perfection of divine justice and the fairness of God’s sentence to all fallen angels, God invented and created man and simultaneously the principle of human history, the new creature experiment.

17. To resolve the angelic conflict, a creature called man was created inferior to angels, and confined to planet earth. Hence, planet earth is the arena or stadium for the historical extension of the angelic conflict.

18. Man possessed one thing in common with the superangelic creatures: he has a similar soul which contains a rational mind and a free will or volition, Ps 8:3-5; Heb 2:7.

19. This new creature, homo sapien, would demonstrate in a system called history the fairness of God, the perfection of His integrity, the righteousness of His judgment on fallen angels in prehistoric times.

20. The pattern of negative volition started with Satan’s original sin, described in Isa 14:12-14. Then followed angelic rejection of whatever was the issue, (probably rejection of Christ, from the Greek of Rev 12:4), in which one-third of all the angelic creatures became negative toward God and joined Satan.

21. Hence, the negative volition of fallen angels and Satan demanded the function of the justice and righteousness and God, i.e., His holiness. There followed a trial and judgment based on the perfect integrity of God. The perfect righteousness of God made Him the only qualified judge. The perfect justice of God cannot be unfair, cannot be prejudiced, cannot make a false judgment, a false decision, or pronounce a false sentence.

22. It was a fair trial. The trial was based on the fact that from their own free will angels rejected whatever divine salvation was available, not only once, but they continued to reject it for an unknown duration.

23. Therefore, man was created to resolve the angelic conflict, and to simultaneously glorify God. Although man was created inferior to angelic creatures, he still has volition like angels, and some choose for God in positive volition.

D. The volitional test of mankind duplicates the volitional test of angels.

1. Human volition and angelic volition are tested in exactly the same manner.

2. The conditions of prehistoric times have been reproduced in the history of mankind. Human history, coterminous with Satan’s trial, provides the same circumstances and the same options which belonged to angelic creatures in prehistoric times. The function of human history demonstrates the fairness of God’s sentence.

3. Mankind was created as a lower creature to duplicate the conditions of the prehistoric angelic conflict, and thereby provide evidence, arguments, and precedence for the appeal trial of Satan in the courtroom of planet earth.

4. God created both angels and humans in status quo perfection and innocence. Mankind was created perfect and given perfect environment. Then he revolted against God, causing Satan to again become the ruler of planet earth.

5. The negative volition of Satan in the Garden of God resulted in the fall of angelic creatures. The negative volition of Adam in the Garden of Eden led to the parallel fall of mankind. Man followed the exact same pattern as found in Satan’s revolution.

6. God provided a grace salvation or deliverance of some kind for all angels, so that non-meritorious volition could deliver those who were positive. The exact nature of this salvation option is not revealed in the Scripture. We only know there was a division between elect and fallen angels. God also provided in human history eternal salvation for all mankind based on faith in Jesus Christ and His efficacious saving work on the Cross.

7. As a result, both categories of creatures are similarly divided today. Angelic creatures are divided into two categories: elect and fallen, Heb 2:2; Rev 12:7. Mankind is divided into two categories: believers and unbelievers, saved and unsaved, Jn 3:18,36.

8. So in human history, man’s thoughts, motives, decisions, and actions are entered as evidence, exhibits, precedence, and arguments in Satan’s appeal trial.

9. The issue in human history is twofold: salvation and the plan of God. There is no plan of God issue in your life until you have settled the salvation issue.

10. Under the salvation issue, if even only one person in all human history believers in Jesus Christ for salvation, then the sentence of God pronounced on Satan and fallen angels is justified and will be executed. Yet in every generation of human history, thousands have personally believed in Jesus Christ, demonstrating the perfection, fairness, and the grace of God toward His creatures; therefore, the justice of the sentence passed in prehistoric times.

11. Under the plan of God issue, if even one person in history fulfills the plan of God for his own dispensation, then God is glorified and demonstrated just and righteous in all His actions. In the Church Age, there are thousands who have utilized the omnipotence of God to execute the protocol plan of God as the tactical victory of the angelic conflict. Not only have many believers followed the plan of God pertinent to them, but many have advanced to maturity. Only mature believers can be witnesses for the Prosecution.

12. Spiritual maturity has phenomenal impact in the angelic conflict, demonstrated by the honor of being entered as evidence, through evidence testing, of God’s perfect fairness and matchless grace. Hence, the conclusion that the spiritually mature believer who passes evidence testing glorifies God to the maximum. (See the doctrines of Spiritual Maturity and Evidence Testing.)

E. The Tactical Victory of the Angelic Conflict.

1. The strategic victory of the angelic conflict in history is our Lord’s humanity being judged for our sins on the Cross. In the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union, Satan did everything in his power to destroy the humanity of Christ through temptation, attempted assassination, and to keep Him from reaching the Cross; in all of this, he failed. The work of Christ on the Cross destroyed the works of the devil. 1 Jn 3:8, “The person who keeps on doing the sin [unbelief—Jn 16:9] is from the devil because the devil has sinned from the beginning; and for this purpose, the Son of God has been revealed that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

2. The result of our Lord’s strategic victory on the Cross is the Church Age, the creation of a royal family of God designed for tactical victory over Satan. The tactical victory of the Church Age believer occurs through the execution of the protocol plan of God.

3. The same divine power available to our Lord’s humanity during the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union for His strategic victory is now available to every believer of the Church Age for the tactical victory of the great power experiment of this dispensation. Therefore, the divine power that brought about the strategic victory of the angelic conflict is now available for the tactical victory of the angelic conflict via the omnipotence of God the Father related to our portfolio of invisible assets, the omnipotence of the deity of Jesus Christ related to the perpetuation of human history through holding the universe together, and the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit related to residence, function, and momentum inside the divine dynasphere.

4. The issues:

a. Will mankind, created inferior to angels but equipped with the same free will, choose for or against the salvation work of Christ on the Cross?

b. Will believers choose to hear the teaching of the Word of God on a consistent basis, so that their defensive position against Satan is fortified with knowledge of our portfolio of invisible assets, understanding and using the problem solving devices, and executing divine mandates through the circulation of Bible doctrine in the stream of consciousness through the filling of the Spirit and metabolized doctrine in the right lobe of the soul?

c. Will believers in Jesus Christ choose to execute the protocol plan of God as over against failure to do so?

5. Out of these issues come the following principles:

a. If even one member of the human race is saved through faith in Christ, then Satan’s appeal is invalid, null and void.

b. If even one believer in the human race executes the protocol plan of God during the Church Age, Satan’s appeal is denied and the sentence to eternity in the lake of fire will be executed at the end of human history.

c. The tactical victory of every Church Age believer guarantees the divine judgment of Satan and all fallen angels, which will be executed at the termination of human history, Mt 25:41 cf Rom 20:10. The ultimate victory celebration will be Operation Footstool, Ps 110:1; 1 Cor 15:24-25; Heb 1:13, 10:13; Eph 1:22a, “He has subordinated all categories [angelic creatures] under His feet.”

d. Angels learn from every generation of the Church Age that the free will of man can and does choose for salvation as an unbeliever and for Bible doctrine and the execution of the protocol plan of God as a believer. Angels learn from every generation of human history that the free will of man does not necessarily choose against God, as did Satan and the fallen angels in the prehistoric angelic conflict. There always be those who choose for rather than against God’s great plan. In fact, elect angels “rejoice over one sinner who repents,” referring to one person who believes in Christ, Lk 15:7, 10.

F. The Consequences of the Original Sin.

1. The original sin in the Garden of Eden resulted in Adam’s real spiritual death perpetuated to the entire human race, Rom 5:12-21.

2. As a result, Satan became the ruler of the world, superseding Adam in that role. Satan is described as the ruler of this world in Jn 12:31, 14:30, 16:11; 2 Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2.

3. While Satan gained control of the world through the fall of man, he did not necessarily gain control over the volition of mankind. Spiritual death does not hinder the power of decision aided by the ministry of God the Holy Spirit in common and efficacious grace.

4. The existence of free will in the human race perpetuates the angelic conflict in two areas:

a. Evangelism. Mankind as a free agent in the devil’s world can believe in Jesus Christ and have eternal life, or he can reject salvation and have eternal condemnation, sharing the judgment of Satan and his fallen angels.

b. The protocol plan of God for the Church Age. As royal family of God, every Church Age believer can execute the protocol plan of God and glorify God as a part of the tactical victory of the angelic conflict or he can live in the cosmic system and follow the trends of his own personality. Every Church Age believer is given a maximum amount of divine omnipotence to execute the protocol plan of God. Through rejection of Christ or the plan of God, mankind chooses the plan of Satan, which runs the gamut from religion to legalism, socialism, all forms of arrogance, emotionalism, and living the psychological life.

5. Because of the extension of the angelic conflict into human history, the sovereignty of God and the free will of man coexist by divine decree. The sovereignty of God makes the decision and the omnipotence of God provides the fantastic power for us to accept or reject.

6. Whether we are positive toward Christ and the protocol plan of God or not, no matter how we fail or suffer, there is no way we can hinder the glory of God. God will be glorified by either our failure or our success. The difference is how you live now and your blessings now and in eternity. Freedom guarantees inequality. The greater the freedom, the greater the inequalities. This is especially true in the spiritual life. Heaven is a perfect place, and there will be great inequality. Some people use their freedom to succeed in God’s plan by using divine power and living a spiritual life; some choose to use human power and live psychological lives.

G. The Consequences of Choosing the Plan of God. In the Church Age, the results of choosing the plan of God by believing in Christ and by fulfilling the protocol plan of God are threefold:

1. Phase one—salvation.

a. In choosing the plan of God at salvation through faith in Christ, regenerate mankind becomes positionally superior to angels through the baptism of the Spirit and resultant positional sanctification. This not only makes us royal family of God, but also a new spiritual species, making it possible for the first time in history for all believers to live a spiritual life of freedom instead of a psychological life of slavery.

b. The regenerate member of the human race is now positionally higher than angels, since we are in union with Christ who is now seated at the right hand of the Father and higher than angels. This only happens in the unique Church Age, Heb 1:4-14. This is why angels are the servants of Church Age believers, Heb 1:13-14.

2. Phase two—the believer in time, experiential sanctification, and godliness.

a. Through the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God by means of the utilization of divine omnipotence, the believer not only receives his escrow blessings for time but he glorifies God through the tactical victory of the angelic conflict.

b. You can put another nail in Satan’s coffin now by being positionally superior to angels, and by living in your palace, you can be superior to angels experientially.

3. Phase three—the believer in eternity.

a. At the resurrection of the royal family of God, believers become physically superior to all angelic creatures through the possession of a resurrection body. No other believers from any other dispensation are given their resurrection bodies at this point.

b. For seven years, during the Tribulation until the Second Advent, Church Age believers in resurrection bodies are a demonstration to demons that their position was totally wrong and that God’s judgment of them is totally right. The demons react strongly to this, seen in their three invasions of planet earth during the Tribulation.

c. If we were given physical superiority now in time, there would be no contest in the angelic conflict; for we must be an inferior but rational form of creation to resolve the angelic conflict.

H. Angels observe human history.

1. Elect angels rejoice over the salvation of one person, Lk 15:7,10.

2. In the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union, angels observed every part of the First Advent and incarnation of our Lord, 1 Tim 3:16, “observed by angels.”

3. In the dispensation of the Church Age, angels observe members of the royal family of God in their failure or success to execute and fulfill the protocol plan of God, 1 Cor 4:9; Eph 3:10; 1 Tim 5:21; 1 Pet 1:12.

4. So it is no wonder that Satan has organized a tremendous demon army to hinder Church Age believers from fulfilling the protocol plan of God. Satanic observation is noted in his organization of fallen angels to resist evangelism and the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God. Fallen angels are organized to resist and oppose positive believers, Eph 6:12-17; Job 1:6; 2:1-3; 1 Pet 5:8.

5. Satan’s major objective is twofold:

1. To blind the minds of unbelievers so they won’t accept Christ.

2. If they do believe in Christ, hinder their function and execution of the protocol plan of God, distract them in every way possible, and keep them from making Bible doctrine their number one priority.

6. Satan has organized an almost fool-proof system to get us out of our palace into cosmic systems one and two. So demons don’t just sit in the stands and watch us as do elect angels; the demons are on the playing field observing.

7. Satan has various functions as the ruler of fallen angels.

a. Satan is the enemy of unbelievers, Lk 8:12; 2 Cor 4:3-4; 2 Thes 2:7-10; Col 2:8.

b. Satan is the enemy of the Church Age believer, 2 Cor 2:11; Jas 4:6-10; 1 Pet 5:6-9; 2 Cor 11:3; Eph 6:10-17.

c. Satan is the enemy of the Church, Rev 2:9, 13, 24.

d. Satan is the enemy of Bible doctrine, Matt 13:9, 39.

e. Satan is the enemy of Israel, Rev 12:4, 13, 15.

f. Satan is the enemy of the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union, Rev 12:4.

g. Satan is the enemy of nations, Rev 12:9, 20:3, 8.

h. Satan is the chief antagonist of the extension of the angelic conflict into human history, Heb 1-2.

i. The application of the omnipotence of God to Satan is found in 1 Jn 4:4, “Greater is He who is in you [omnipotence of the Father indwelling and omnipotence of the Holy Spirit in divine dynasphere] than he who is the world [Satan and his cosmic system].”

I. The extension of the prehistoric angelic conflict into human history answers basic questions about life.

1. Why man? Mankind was created to resolve the prehistoric angelic conflict. Consequently, mankind was created to glorify God as an inferior creature to angels. The Cross is the strategic victory of the angelic conflict, Col 2:14,15; Heb 2.

2. Why sin? To resolve the angelic conflict.

a. Homo sapien must have the same free will as angels have. This free will can choose for or against God, as did the angels in eternity past. This free will is the source of all human sin. The primary source of temptation is the old sin nature, but the source of sin is volition. In the original sin of man in the Garden of Eden, there was the function of negative volition against a specific prohibition.

b. At the Cross, all human sin was judged while human good was rejected, Tit 3:5. The efficacious saving work of Christ on the Cross is the basis for the strategic victory of the angelic conflict, Col 2:14-15; Heb 1:4-14, Heb 2. Therefore, Christ is the issue, not sin and not human good.

c. The emphasis on volition in salvation continues throughout the life of the believer in time. Just as we use our volition to sin, so also we use our volition to choose for or against the plan of God.

3. Why chaos on planet earth?

a. There will always be chaos and evil as long as Satan rules this world. The chaos is only terminated by the Second Advent of Christ and His millennial reign.

b. Satan does not have the power or the ability to control all the inhabitants of the world nor the ability to produce perfect environment on the earth.

c. Satan cannot improve on the laws of divine establishment. He cannot duplicate God’s protocol plan. Satan does not have the power to provide for mankind in the way that he wants to, nor to delegate the necessary authority to the human race. He cannot duplicate God’s grace provision in the portfolio of invisible assets.

d. Arrogance, which was invented by Satan, is not the means for establishing the Satanic kingdom on earth. Arrogance results in chaotic activism, crusades of morality, human good, evil, socialism, Bolshevism, Menshevism, violence, distortion, and disaster.

e. Although Satan is the super-genius of all time, the world is too much for him to rule. He has never been able to handle it. So the chaos that exists is simply an expression of Satan’s failure to pull together under his great power the successful rulership of this world.

f. He’s been trying for centuries to duplicate the Millennium. He has inevitably failed, as illustrated by the presence of sin, evil and human good in the world. Every Satanic program and attempt to bless mankind in his kingdom always results in some form of evil, human good, crusader arrogance, social engineering, socialism, communism, plus all the folly of rulers.

g. It’s questionable as to whether Satan is really happy with all the resultant evil in the world, manifest in degeneracy, since Satan is trying to prove that he’s good and that he can come up with a system as good as God’s good.

h. The inevitable consequences of man’s involvement in Satan’s cosmic system is chaos psychologically, socially, personally, nationally, and internationally. Man’s folly in rejecting God’s plan—first at salvation, then in protocol plan of God—brings chaos, unfairness, evil and disaster into the world from both believers and unbelievers. Angels watch to see if believers will get sucked into Satan’s plans and operations for the improvement of cosmos diabolicus or if the believer will remain in the protocol plan of God and have historical impact through the pivot.

i. The works of Satan can only be destroyed or nullified by the believer’s function inside the divine dynasphere under the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit. The Cross broke the back of Satan, while the believer’s function inside the divine dynasphere destroys his philosophical attitude toward life.

j. This is why the believer involved in the cosmic system actually becomes the disciple of Satan, because he is not in the divine dynasphere which destroys or nullifies the work of the devil.

k. The function of the believer’s volition in converting temptation from the old sin nature into sin results in cosmic involvement.

4. Why human suffering?

a. Because man is a sinner and because Satan is the ruler of this world, it is inevitable that we all come under the law of volitional responsibility, which explains ninety percent of the suffering in the world. The angelic conflict explains much of why we suffer.

b. Under the law of volitional responsibility, we commit sins and make bad decisions that cause suffering. This suffering comes from our own volition, even if done in ignorance.

c. There are two spheres of suffering.

(1) Psychological suffering which comes from bad judgment and sin.

(2) Spiritual suffering which comes from sin and negative volition toward doctrine.

d. Because we as believers sin after salvation, it is inevitable that we will come under the power and influence of Satan’s cosmic system. In cosmic one, we sin through arrogance and all the mental attitude sins that come from arrogance. We suffer from both immoral and moral evil.

e. Suffering is a challenge in two ways.

(1) Under the law of volitional responsibility and divine discipline, punitive suffering is designed to orient us to the reality of sin and failure, and the need for rebound. Self-induced misery and a tremendous amount of suffering comes from the law of volitional responsibility. When God finally adds divine discipline, it is because we have carried our volition to the point where we have become a danger to ourselves and to the human race.

(2) Under suffering for blessing, the believer is challenged to use the problem solving devices, like the faith-rest drill, Hope 2, Hope 3, virtue-love, spiritual self- esteem, and spiritual autonomy, in order to grow in grace, to orient to the plan of God, and to advance to spiritual maturity where we can glorify God in the angelic conflict.

f. Suffering for blessing is directly related to the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God under three categories.

(1) Providential preventative suffering is added to spiritual self-esteem to strengthen it to the point of spiritual autonomy.

(2) Momentum testing is given to strengthen spiritual autonomy for the advance to spiritual maturity.

(3) Evidence testing is given for the mature believer to glorify God to the maximum.

g. The grace of God has taken suffering, usually caused by our own free will and the rulership of Satan over this world, and He has converted this into a system of suffering for blessing where people can use their volition in two ways.

(1) By believing in Christ.

(2) By perpetual, daily decisions to learn Bible doctrine. This is how punitive suffering is converted into suffering for blessing.

h. Suffering for blessing is directly related to the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God and to the tactical victory of the angelic conflict. Only the believer in Jesus Christ is qualified to match our Lord’s strategic victory in the great power experiment of His Hypostatic Union with the tactical victory of the angelic conflict.

i. So there are many reasons for suffering. Apart from spiritual growth, all reasons are directly related to the extension of the prehistoric angelic conflict into human history.

j. Suffering is an extension of the angelic conflict to see if the believer will learn from metabolized doctrine, utilize the dynamic grace provision designed in eternity past, i.e., the portfolio of invisible assets, and receive blessing under angelic observation. Will the believer use his volition, use his concentration under the power of the Holy Spirit, use his priorities to put doctrine first? The great battlefield in life is not where you take your body and what you do physically, but the great battlefield is what you think. And you can’t think without doctrine.

5. Why the Church?

a. The Church, or the royal family of God, came into existence as a result of our Lord’s strategic victory in the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union. Our Lord’s third royal title which resulted from His strategic victory was given to Him after His resurrection, ascension, and session. It was the only case where our Lord had a royal warrant without a royal family.

b. Therefore, God the Father interrupted the Jewish Age with its ritual plan and substituted the Church Age with its protocol plan. In the Church Age, the angelic conflict intensified.

c. All the issues of the angelic conflict are resolved before the resurrection of the Church. Therefore, the Church Age is the most difficult yet exciting time in history; for God’s plan for the Church is superior in every way to God’s plan for previous and future dispensations.

d. Never before in human history and never after the Rapture of the Church has so much divine power been available to each believer. Never before or after the Church Age does everything depend on the believer. As goes the believer, so goes history in this dispensation.

e. The Church is not an organization; it is an organism. The Church is every believer in union with Christ, the royal family of God.

f. Christ, while absent during the Church Age, is head or ruler over the Church, Eph 1:22; Col 2:10.

g. With doctrine, the Church is the greatest power bulwark against Satan’s rule of the earth. When Satan makes splinters out of the Church by denominationalism, the bulwark is gone, having been replaced by human power and human organization which can never be a substitute for divine power and divine organization. This is what happened during the Middle Ages. Eventually the denomination became the State.

h. The great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union overflows into the Church Age as the challenge to Satan. The strategic victory of our Lord in the angelic conflict terminated His residence on earth. He left behind the Church to challenge Satan, with the potential to attain the tactical victory of the angelic conflict. Tactical victory occurs when a pivot of mature believers turns the course of history.

i. In the Church Age, if enough believers grow to spiritual maturity to form a pivot, there will be prosperity in certain portions of the earth. But if believers reject doctrine and do not grow in grace, then Satan dominates and two forms of power exist.

(1) Angelic power, manifest by a lot of demon possession among unbelievers and a lot of demon influence of believers.

(2) Human power, organized for influence and control.

j. Therefore, Jesus Christ is represented by the royal family of God on earth. In this way, we function as royal ambassadors under the protocol plan of God. Our Lord will have representation on earth until the Second Advent when the devil’s kingdom comes to an end.

k. Application—Jesus Christ doesn’t come down to the earth today to bail you out as He did with believers in the past. Why not? Because you have a portfolio of invisible assets and the protocol plan of God. As royal family of God, you do not need Christ present. If God performs a miracle, it’s an insult, for it can never be compared to your portfolio of invisible assets. To ask Him for a miracle is blasphemous.

l. During the Old Testament, Jesus Christ was present many times on earth, including His incarnation which occurred in the dispensation of Israel. In the Millennium He will be on the earth ruling for 1000 years. But today, it is not necessary for our Lord to be here, because the provision for the royal family of God is infinitely greater than any grace provision of any other dispensation in history.

m. God’s grace provision of the portfolio of invisible assets plus the protocol plan of God in time duplicates the grace provision of eternity past and the prehistoric angelic conflict. If even one believer in the Church Age utilizes this grace provision through metabolized doctrine, the Prosecution can use this believer as evidence to prove that Satan’s appeal is not valid.

n. So we are the very center of the angelic conflict. All the demon activity, wars, invasions, and violence of the Tribulation, is absolutely nothing compared to your challenge in the Church Age.

o. The invisible impact of history resides in you, dependent upon your routine, your daily perception of doctrine. God is demonstrating during this phase of the Church Age the most important lesson of the prehistoric angelic conflict. As a winner, you demonstrate the validity of the sentence to fallen angels in eternity past.

p. All historical changes for great blessing and true prosperity exist because believers have fulfilled the protocol plan of God, advanced to spiritual maturity and in their escrow blessings receive blessing by association to their personal periphery, and historical impact in the pivot which they have joined.

q. The Church Age exists to challenge Satan during the absence of Christ from the earth. While Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, the Church exists to challenge and to utilize divine power to defeat Satan’s purposes.

r. Because of the great power experiment of the Church Age, this dispensation is the crossroads of history, the intensified stage of the angelic conflict, the final blow to Satan’s power on earth in the spiritual realm.

s. Satan’s power on earth in the physical realm will never be broken completely until the Second Advent of Christ. In the meantime, we live in the most exciting, wonderful, and unusual period of history.

t. The fact that the United States is declining today is a reminder that God has a purpose for your life in all of this, and a challenge for you to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

6. Why two kinds of spirituality?

a. Since the Lord is absent, the ministry of Holy Spirit or life in the divine dynasphere under the enabling power of the Spirit and metabolized doctrine, is designed to produce the character of Christ, as per Eph 5:1, “Be imitators of Christ”; also see Gal 4:19 cf. Gal 5:22-23 and Phil 1:21. Actually, to produce the character of Christ is to produce the thinking of Christ, and the Bible is the mind of Christ, 1 Cor 2:16. The spirituality of the royal family of God is related to the operational divine dynasphere, and therefore, is not characterized by emotion or ecstatics, Rom 16:17-18; 2 Cor 6:11- 12.

b. During the Millennium when Christ is present on the earth, the indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit is designed to appreciate Christ who is present. Therefore, it involves emotion and ecstatics as a legitimate form of spirituality. Believers will have the same filling of the Spirit that we have but it will be expressed in different ways.

J. Scriptural Documentation, Hebrews 1.

1. Heb 1:1, “In the past, God spoke to our forefathers [ancestors] through the prophets at many times and in various ways.”

2. Heb 1:2, “However, in these last days [Church Age] He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He has designed the ages [dispensations].” All the other dispensations revolve around the dispensation of the Church.

3. Heb 1:3, “Who [Jesus Christ] being the radiance [flashing forth—humanity of Christ] of His [God the Father’s] glory, and the exact image of His essence [deity of Christ]; furthermore, He sustained all things by the Word of His power. After He had provided purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in the highest place.” That’s when Christ received His third royal warrant, and when the angelic conflict shifted gears into its intensified stage.

4. Heb 1:4, “So He [Jesus Christ in His humanity] became superior to angels, since He has inherited a superior title to theirs [third royal title].” Our Lord became the victor of the angelic conflict as an inferior creature to angels.

5. Heb 1:5, “For to which of the angels did He [God the Father] ever say, [Ps 2:7] `You are My Son [deity of Christ], this day I have given birth to You [humanity of Christ in Hypostatic Union]?’ And again [2 Sam 7:14], `I will be His Father and He will be My Son.’”

6. Heb 1:6, “And again [Second Advent], when He brings His first-born into the world he says, [Ps 97:7], `Let all the angels of God worship Him.’”

7. Heb 1:7, “And speaking of angels He says, [Ps 104:4] `Who makes His angels spirits, and His angelic ministers a flame of fire.’” Angels are created being just as we are.

8. Heb 1:8, “But speaking of His Son, He [God the Father] says, [Ps 45:6-7] `Your throne, O God [Jesus Christ], is forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of Your kingdom [Second Advent, Millennium, and eternal kingdom].’”

9. Heb 1:9, “You loved righteousness and hated evil [impeccability of Jesus Christ]; therefore, God [Father], Your God, has anointed You above your associates with the ceremonial oil of optimum happiness.’” This same optimum happiness belongs to every believer who advances to maturity.

10. Heb 1:10, “And, [Ps 102:25-27] `In the beginning, O Lord [Jesus Christ], You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.’” Jesus Christ is the creator of the universe.

11. Heb 1:11, “They [the galaxies] will perish, but You will remain; they all will wear out like clothing.”

12. Heb 1:12, “And You will roll them up like a robe [end of the Millennium]; like a garment they will be changed [new heavens and earth], but You will remain the same, and Your years will never end.’” This refers to the perpetuation of Jesus Christ in Hypostatic Union forever.

13. Heb 1:13, “But to which of the angels has He [God the Father] ever said, [Ps 110:1] `Sit down at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’” God could not say this to deity, and He never said this to an angel; He said this to the humanity of Christ, making the humanity of Christ superior to angels. We, being in union with Christ, are now positionally superior to angels. We cannot take advantage of our position now on earth unless we live in the divine dynasphere—our very own palace designed for us in eternity past by God the Father.

14. Heb 1:14, “Are they not all ministering spirits [elect angels that serve you] sent out to render service to those who will inherit salvation?” This includes your guardian angel. Because you are positionally superior to your elect guardian angel, that invisible angel serves you right now.

K. Blessings and Rewards to Elect Angels.

1. As a result of the prehistoric angelic conflict, certain elect angels receive blessings and rewards comparable to our escrow blessings. Some are our servants, but others are already in the eternal state receiving fantastic awards.

2. Angels must have had some similar opportunity to advance spiritually. This is illustrated by the fact that some elect angels have wings and others do not. Most angels do not have wings; those who do have a high rank.

3. So it’s obvious that certain elect angels achieved something comparable to our spiritual maturity during the prehistoric phase of the angelic conflict, and that they now have something comparable to our eternal blessings.

4. Hence, the differentiation among elect angels indicates perhaps winners and losers among elect angels in prehistoric times. Maybe it’s the losers who serve us.

5. Certain parallels between elect angels and the royal family of God are obvious, leading to the conclusion that certain elect angels fulfilled God’s prehistoric plan to a far greater degree than others.

6. Since eternity has already begun for angelic creatures, there are degrees of rank and privilege among elect angels, being divided into two major categories.

7. The Angelic College of Heralds. In the Angelic College of Heralds, there are three ranks, just as there will be many ranks for us in eternity: highest royalty, lesser royalty, and those in heaven with no rewards.

a. The Lord Jesus Christ is “the angel of the Lord.” Gen 16:7-13, 22:11-18, 31:11-13, 48:15-16; Ex 3:1ff cf. Acts 7:30-35; Ex 13:21, 14:19; Jud 6:11-23, 13:9-20.

b. Rank two are the Seraphim—angels with six wings, Isa 6:2.

(1) Immediately under our Lord Jesus Christ are the highest ranking angels, called SERAPHIM, who apparently fulfilled something similar to our protocol plan of God. Seraphs are the highest ranking, having six wings. These would be comparable to the spiritual maturity believer who has passed evidence testing.

(2) At the conclusion of the prehistoric angelic conflict, a new rank was created for angels whose modus operandi during the prehistoric phase glorified God: SERAPHIM. The seraph rank was created as a reward for the greatest elect angels during the prehistoric angelic conflict. Apparently, there were no seraphs until the prehistoric angelic conflict was over.

(3) There are two categories of Seraphim in the college of heralds: the powerful angel category of Rev 5:2; and the four angelic heralds of Rev 4:6-8.

(4) The King of Arms, the highest ranking seraph, had a special ministry to Isaiah, Isa 6:6, “One of the seraphs [King of Arms] flew with a burning coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar with tongs.” The King of Arms was a herald with a special message for Isaiah, according to Isa 6:7.

(5) Rev 5:5, “I saw a powerful angel [King of Arms] announcing with a magnificent voice, `Who is worthy to break the seals and open the doomsday book?’”

(6) In Rev 8:3-5, the King of Arms is portrayed as the angel with the golden incense shovel, having authority over the fire of the altar and the processing of all imprecatory prayers of the Tribulation.

(7) In Rev 10:1, the King of Arms is described as “I saw another angel, a powerful one coming down from heaven. He was wearing a crown [strategic victory of Jesus Christ at First Advent] and rainbow over his head [promises of God for perpetuation of human race during historical phase of angelic conflict], and his face was like the sun [grace provision in historical disaster] and his feet like columns of fire [wall of fire for positive believers under spiritual self-esteem].”

(8) In Rev 14:18, the King of Arms is described as “another angel, he had authority over fire and he came from the altar.”

(9) In Rev 18:1, he is described again as “another angel, who had great authority descending from heaven, and the earth was illuminated by means of his glory.”

(10) The King of Arms is the “strong angel” of Rev 18:21.

(11) He is also mentioned in Rev 19:5,17. So he plays a very prominent part at the end of human history, just as he did during the prehistoric angelic conflict.

(12) The second rank in the seraph order is the officers of arms. At least two officers of arms are found in Rev 14:15, 20:1-3, the angel who incarcerated at the end of the Millennium.

(13) The third rank in the seraph order is the full rank of Herald. Comprising the angelic staff, these would be comparable to our G1, G2, G3 and G4 designations.

(14) There are four seraph angels with this rank, found in Rev 4:6-8, described as having “six wings, and full of eyes in front and behind.” The six wings are an insignia of rank, while the eyes represent maximum perception of doctrine during the prehistoric angelic conflict.

(15) Isa 6:2, “Seraphs stood above him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face [virtue, integrity, humility], with two he covered his feet [respect for divine authority and God’s plan], and with two he flew [modus operandi of good decisions, comparable to our spiritual self- esteem].”

c. Rank three are the Cherubim—angels with four wings, Ezek 1:6, 10:5.

(1) Prior to the prehistoric fall of Satan, the highest category of angels were CHERUBS. Their insignia of rank is four wings.

(2) The highest ranking cherub in eternity past was Satan, called “the anointed cherub” in Ezek 28 and Isa 14.

(3) These angels include the cherubs who guarded the gates of Eden, Gen 3:24; the four cherubs of the chariot of fire, Ezek 1, 10; Satan; the angel of the golden shovel, Rev 8:3; Ps 18:10; and the messenger with the restraining order, Rev 7:2.

(4) These angels are the pursuivant heralds. The pursuivant in the Anglo-Saxon college of heralds was used as a messenger for kings and princes in peace as well as in war. Following this Anglo-Saxon analogy, there are four categories of pursuivant who are attendants to the king: 1) rouge croix 2) blue mantle 3) portcullis, and 4) rouge dragon.

(5) These angels are used to illustrate the variations of rank in both Ezek 1:1-4, Ezek 10, and in Rev.

e. Rank four are the wingless pursuivant heralds. Wingless heralds are the fourth category of super-royalty among elect angels.

(1) The angelic messenger who spent the night with Lot and then destroyed Sodom was a pursuivant messenger, Gen 19:13.

(2) The destroying angel of 2 Sam 24:16.

(3) The destroying angel of Ps 78:49.

(4) The executioners of the city, Ezek 9:1ff. The man clothed in linen, Ezek 10:6.

(5) The four angels who restrained the four winds and the weather machine, Rev 7:1.

(6) The angels with the seven trumpets, Rev 8:7ff.

(7) The angels with the seven plagues, Rev 15:1ff.

8. The Order of Battle Among Elect Angels.

a. The Lord Jesus Christ is “the Lord of the Armies.”

b. The Archangels, Michael and Gabriel, are mentioned throughout the Bible. A pseudopigrapha book of Enoch mentions Raphael and Urael.

(1) Michael commands the army of angels who defended Israel. He is called the Prince of Israel in Dan 10:21. In the past, Michael fought with Satan over the body of Moses, 2 Pet 2:11; Jude 9. Michael defended Israel in the Tribulation, Dan 12:1; Rev 12:7.

(2) Gabriel is not only an archangel or army commander, but an officer of arms in the college of heralds and is often mentioned with Michael. Gabriel was commissioned to explain to Daniel the vision of the ram and the he-goat in Dan 8:16, and the prediction of the seventy week eschatology in Dan 9:21. Gabriel was sent to Zechariah to announce the birth of John the Baptist in Luke 1:11. Gabriel was sent to the virgin Mary to announce the birth of Jesus Christ in Luke 1:19,26. In the book of Enoch (9,20,40), Gabriel is one of the chief angels placed over all powers.

c. The angelic general staff is mentioned in Rev 4:4,10, 5:11. They are the “twenty-four elders.”

d. The rank and file army of elect angels is called TSABAOTH, “hosts." The “Lord of hosts” is Jesus Christ, the supreme commander of this army of angels.

e. So there is a lot we do not know about elect angels. But there are enough hints given in Daniel, Isaiah, Revelation, Zechariah and Luke so that we understand that there are tremendous differences in rank among elect angels.

9. In conclusion, remember that at the conclusion of the prehistoric angelic conflict, two things happened:

a. Elect angels received their rewards, in great variations. The differentiations among elect angels indicate winners and losers, just as among believers; thus the parallels.

b. The fallen angels went to trial and received their sentence of judgment to the Lake of Fire forever. Satan appealed, and out of that appeal comes the creation of human history to resolve the angelic conflict.

L. Operation Footstool—The Ultimate Triumph of the Angelic Conflict.

1. Ps 110:1, “The Lord [God the Father] said to My Lord [Jesus Christ at His session], `Sit down at My right hand, until I make your enemies [Satan, fallen angels] a footstool for Your feet.’” This prophecy is so important that it is quoted six times in the New Testament. It is quoted four times in the New Testament under a polemical concept; i.e., to settle a Jewish controversy regarding Christ as the Messiah to Israel, and the dispute about the Hypostatic Union.

a. Mt 22:41-46. When questioned by the Pharisees about the Sonship of Jesus Christ, our Lord quotes this passage, saying how could David call His son “my Lord.”

b. Mk 12:35-37 is quoted by Jesus when He was in the temple answering a dispute with the scribes.

c. Lk 20:41-44 is quoted by Jesus when He was questioned by the Sadducees (Lk 20:27).

d. Acts 2:24-36 is Peter’s famous message on resurrection on the Day of Pentecost.

e. Heb 1:13, 10:13.

2. The occasion for this prophecy is the death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and session of the humanity of Christ in the Hypostatic Union. This prophecy was fulfilled at the end of the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union.

3. The resurrection of the humanity of Christ is the climax to the great power experiment, the manifestation of divine omnipotence that sustained the humanity of Christ during the Hypostatic Union. The omnipotence of God the Father returned our Lord’s human spirit from heaven to His body in the grave. The omnipotence of the Holy Spirit returned our Lord’s human soul from Hades to His body in the grave. (See the doctrines of omnipotence and spiritual death).

4. The deity of Christ is omnipresent, imminent, and transcendant. The humanity of Christ is limited to one spot. Only the humanity of Christ could sit down; deity does not sit. Being omnipresent, it’s impossible for deity to sit in one spot.

5. The session of Christ was the occasion for receiving His third royal patent based on the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union and the resultant strategic victory in the historical angelic conflict.

6. Operation Footstool is the ultimate triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ in Hypostatic Union. It is a triumph over fallen angels, including Satan, and is a very important part of the historical extension of the angelic conflict.

7. The ultimate triumph of our Lord in Hypostatic Union is directly related to the great power experiment of the incarnation.

8. Operation Footstool has two phases, one at each end of the Millennium.

a. At the Second Advent of Christ, following the Tribulation, the time of great demon activity.

b. After the Gog revolution at the end of the Millennium, Satan’s last revolt at the end of human history.

9. As a result of the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union and the resultant strategic victory of our Lord in the angelic conflict, Operation Footstool will begin at the Second Advent and terminate at the end of the Millennium.

10. Eph 1:22, “He [God the Father] has subordinated all [both angelic and human creatures] under His feet.” Two categories of creatures are subordinated under our Lord at Operation Footstool

. a. All fallen angels, who will reside in the Lake of Fire as a result of Operation Footstool Phase 2.

b. All members of the human race who have rejected Christ will also reside in the Lake of Fire forever.

11. In Isa 66:1, Jesus Christ speaks as the God of Israel. “Heaven is My throne and earth is My footstool.”

a. As a result of the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union and our Lord’s strategic victory of the angelic conflict, heaven is the throne of our Lord Jesus Christ in Hypostatic Union. His throne during the dispensation of Israel was in the Holy of Holies, between the cherubs. Now He sits at the right hand of the Father. So Isa 66:1 is a prophecy which identifies what the footstool is.

b. As a result of the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union and the strategic victory of our Lord in the angelic conflict, earth will become our Lord’s footstool under two categories:

(1) The Second Advent and millennial reign of Christ. When our Lord returns at the Second Advent, He will throw all fallen angels off the earth and incarcerate them and Satan for 1000 years.

(2) The judgment of fallen angels and unbelievers among mankind, which occurs at the end of the Millennium after the gog revolution.

12. Isa 66:1 is quoted and applied in the New Testament. There are two applications of Isa 66:1.

a. Matt 5:34-35, “But I say to you, make no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God [the Son], nor by earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, nor toward Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.” In other words, don’t use profanity or take an oath by heaven. You have no right to do so, for that’s the throne of God the Son. This is a reference to the triumph of our Lord Jesus Christ in the angelic conflict. Earth as the footstool of His feet is a reference to the Second Advent and Operation Footstool. Our Lord will rule from Jerusalem as His headquarters, Zech 14.

b. Acts 7:48-50, “However, the Most High [Jesus Christ as the God of Israel] does not dwell in a house made with human hands. As the prophet says [Isa 66:1], `Heaven is My throne; the earth is the footstool of My feet. What kind of a house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord. `Was it not My hand which made all things?’”

(1) This refers to the Church Age when Jesus Christ, the Shekinah Glory, no longer lives in sacred buildings, i.e., tabernacles and temples. This message was given in Jerusalem where the Temple still stood.

(2) Heaven is His throne because He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Earth is the footstool of His feet, for “His feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives” at the Second Advent, Zech 14:4.

(3) “What kind of a house will you build for Me?” In other words, you can’t build a house for Him! But the Holy Spirit does in this dispensation only. The Holy Spirit indwells your body to make your body a temple for the indwelling of Christ. God the Holy Spirit indwells your body to construct a temple - a temple made, not with human hands, but by God, in order that Christ as the Shekinah Glory may indwell you.

13. Operation Footstool cannot occur until the Church Age is completed. Never before in all of human history has Jesus Christ, the Shekinah Glory, indwelt human bodies.

14. The anticipation of Operation Footstool is given in Heb 10:12-13, “But He [Lord Jesus Christ], having offered a sacrifice as a substitute for sins for all time [strategic victory of the angelic conflict], sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies were made the footstool of His feet.”

a. The Levitical priests offered thousands of sacrifices. Our great high priest offered one sacrifice— Himself.

b. The efficacious, substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the Cross provided eternal salvation for the human race at that moment, and it stands for all time.

c. Note that there is one sacrifice for all time. Yet believers talk about all their sacrifices for God. How can we compare anything we ever do with the one great sacrifice of our Lord on the Cross? How can we call anything we do a “sacrifice?" We don’t sacrifice. Our Lord sacrificed once for all time! We’re so graced-out; how can we even think in such terms? Understanding our Lord’s work on the Cross, we cannot even use the word “sacrifice” in connection with ourselves. Sacrifice is a word that belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ only.

d. At the end of the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union, our Lord Jesus Christ had won the strategic victory of the angelic conflict and was invited to sit down by God the Father. When He sat down, He received His third royal warrant.

e. Our Lord’s “enemies” are fallen angels, unbelievers, and believers in the cosmic system. But the enemies referred to in Operation Footstool are strictly fallen angels and unbelievers.

f. Sitting at the right hand of the Father, our Lord is waiting:

(1) For His royal family to be formed. When the royal family is completed, He comes to meet us in the air, saying, “Welcome to heaven, royal family.”

(2) Then He owes Israel almost seven more years.

(3) Then He hits the earth with the Second Advent, where Operation Footstool begins.

15. The relationship between the two phases of Operation Footstool is presented in 1 Cor 15:24-25. Verse 24 presents the first phase of Operation Footstool; verse 25 presents the second.

a. Verse 24, “Then comes the end [of Tribulation by Second Advent] when He delivers the kingdom of God, even the Father, . . .” Jesus Christ supersedes Satan as ruler of the world, delivers the kingdom to the Father, who in turn gives the rulership of the world to Jesus Christ for the last dispensation as His prize for the strategic victory of the angelic conflict; “when He [Jesus Christ] has abolished all rule [of Satan] and all authority [dictatorships of Tribulation] and all power.” Removal of demons, corrupting human power, and the influence of Satan’s cosmic system from earth.

b. Verse 25, “For He must rule [1000 years] until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” This is the termination of Operation Footstool. At this time, there is the last judgment of fallen angels, Rev 20:10, and the last judgment of all unbelievers, Rev 20:11-15.

16. The first phase of Operation Footstool is the Second Advent, and includes two categories of judgment.

a. The judgment of prehistoric, rational, supercreatures, i.e., angels. Satan and fallen angels are judged, removed from the earth, and incarcerated for 1000 years, Rev 20:1-3. Our Lord Jesus Christ replaces Satan as the ruler of this world for 1000 years.

b. The judgment of historical, rational creatures, i.e., unbelieving mankind. The unbelievers who survived the Tribulation are collected into two groups for their judgment, called the baptism of fire, Mt 3:11-12.

(1) These unbelievers are divided into two groups: Jews and Gentiles. That distinction is made because the Tribulation is a part of the dispensation of Israel.

(2) Jewish unbelievers of the Tribulation are removed from the earth and cast into Torments, the compartment of Hades for all unbelievers since the beginning of time. All unbelievers remain in Torments until their second resurrection, when “Hades delivers up its dead,” Rev 19. Then they are cast into the Lake of Fire. Ezek 20:33-38; Mal 4:1 teach about this phase.

(3) Gentile unbelievers of the Tribulation are removed from the earth and cast into the fire of Torments, Mt 25:31-46.

c. The pattern for the removal of unbelievers of the Tribulation is found in Mt 24:36-41. “Two shall be in the field; one shall be taken, and one shall be left.” The one that is left is the believer going into the Millennium, which starts with believers only. The one taken is the Jewish unbeliever, put into Torments. At the end of the Millennium, he will be resurrected, judged, and cast into gehenna, or the Lake of Fire.

d. Parables teach the baptism of fire.

(1) The wheat and the tares, Mt 13. The wheat represents believers going into the Millennium. The tares represent the Jewish and Gentile unbelievers who are gathered into bundles and put into the fire.

(2) The good and the bad fish, Mt 13:47-50.

(3) The ten virgins, Mt 25:1-13.

e. The prison for unbelievers of the Tribulation is Hades. Hades, in the heart of the earth (Eph 4), used to have four compartments. Now only three compartments are occupied.

(1) Paradise, where all Old Testament believers resided until the resurrection of Christ, at which time they were transferred to the third heaven. This compartment is now empty. There is a “great gulf fixed” between Paradise and the rest of the compartments.

(2) Torments, where all unbeliever humans are located since the beginning of time, where they remain until the Great White Throne Judgment.

(3) Tartarus, where the demons who infiltrated the human race in Gen 6 have been imprisoned and will remain until the last judgment.

(4) The Abyss, for operative demons after Gen 6. During human history, certain angels have violated the rules of the angelic conflict and have been put into the Abyss. In fact, this is where Satan and the fallen angels operative during the Tribulation are incarcerated during the 1000 years of the Millennium.

f. The Rapture is the antithesis of the Second Advent. At the Rapture, believers are taken from the earth, and only unbelievers begin the Tribulation. At the Second Advent, unbelievers are taken from the earth, and only believers begin the Millennium.

g. So the perfect environment of the Millennium includes the elimination of two categories of creatures: fallen angels are imprisoned in the Abyss for 1000 years, and unbelievers of the Tribulation are imprisoned in Torments for 1000 years, Lk 16:23.

h. There are two judgments at the end of the Millennium for those in prison during the Millennium. Both fallen angels and unbelievers end up in Gehenna, the Lake of Fire.

17. The second phase of Operation Footstool occurs at the end of the millennial rule of Jesus Christ.

a. At the end of the Millennium, Satan is released from prison, Rev 20:7.

b. He immediately starts an international conspiracy, called the Gog and Magog Revolution, Rev 20:8. The conspirators are unbelievers of the Millennium.

c. In the seige of Jerusalem, the Gog and Magog revolutionists are destroyed by God, Rev 20:9.

d. Satan is then judged and cast into the Lake of Fire, where the false prophet and dictators of the Tribulation are already located, Rev 20:10. Fallen angels are already there, for they were dealt with at the beginning of the Millennium.

e. Then follows the last judgment of all unbelievers of the human race, Rev 20:11-15. This fulfills the principle of judgment found in Jn 3:18 and Jn 3:36.

18. An analogy is made between Operation Footstool and a Roman triumphal procession in Col 2:15, “having disarmed demon archons [our Lord Jesus Christ gives the command to Michael to chain the demon archons] and the demon commissioned officers, He [Christ at the Second Advent] made a public display of them, having celebrated a triumphal procession over them [Satan and all fallen angels] by means of it [strategic victory of the Cross].”

19. So what happens to fallen angels? As far as we know, only Satan is released from the Abyss at the end of the Millennium. The fallen angels are a part of a triumphal procession. They are incarcerated in the Abyss until the last judgment, when they will come out, be judged, and cast into the Lake of Fire.

M. The Angelic Conflict and Evidence Testing.

1. Evidence testing is Satan’s cross-examination of every witness presented by God in the historical appeal trial of all fallen angels. In human history, man’s thoughts, motives, decisions, and actions are entered as evidence, exhibits, precedents, and arguments in Satan’s appeal trial. Every believer who attains maturity is an argument or witness for the Prosecution against Satan. Evidence testing, then, is Satan’s cross-examination of every witness presented by God.

2. No believer qualifies as a witness until he has attained spiritual maturity which is tantamount to the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God.

3. There are three stages of spiritual adulthood: spiritual self-esteem, spiritual autonomy, and spiritual maturity. Each category receives its corresponding category of suffering for blessing: providential preventative suffering for spiritual self-esteem, momentum testing for spiritual autonomy, and evidence testing for spiritual maturity. Each stage of spiritual adulthood is a prerequisite for passing a category of suffering for blessing. No believer ever receives more suffering than he can bear. No believer ever receives evidence testing until he has attained spiritual maturity.

4. The ultimate in the life of the believer is attaining spiritual maturity, at which point many things occur. His escrow blessings for time are conveyed to him, along with many blessings of influence. Plus, the mature believer receives the highest honor God can convey to a believer, evidence testing. Passing evidence testing, as the highest category of suffering for blessing, results in the doubling of your escrow blessings for time.

5. Every believer who attains spiritual maturity is a witness for the prosecution, either in the formal trial of Old Testament history, or in the rebuttal phase of the First Advent and Church Age, or in the closing argument and summary phase of the Second Advent and the Millennium.

6. To qualify as a witness for the Prosecution (God), the believer must execute the following standard operating procedures: spiritual self-esteem plus providential preventative suffering equals spiritual autonomy; spiritual autonomy plus momentum testing equals spiritual maturity; spiritual maturity plus evidence testing equals glorification of God to the maximum in the historical trial of Satan and all fallen angels.

7. Evidence testing is defined as Satan’s attempt, through cross-examination of suffering, to discredit those believers who attain spiritual maturity.

8. There are two categories of evidence testing:

a. Relationship with God test, illustrated by our Lord Jesus Christ in Mt 4:1-11.

b. Relationship with life test, illustrated by Job.

9. These tests, administered to the mature believer, are permitted by God as a part of Satan’s appeal trial in history. They are administered by Satan under certain divine restrictions.

10. Either of these tests are administered only to the mature believer, for only he is a witness for the Prosecution. The mature believer does not take both tests. The one he receives is a matter of the sovereignty of God.

11. The pattern of the relationship with God test is found in three unique temptations to our Lord Jesus Christ during the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union. These were temptations to His humanity only, for as God He could not be tempted. The three parts are:

a. Relationship with the Holy Spirit, Mt 4:1-4.

b. Relationship with the Word of God, Mt 4:5-7.

c. Relationship with the plan of God, Mt 4:8-10.

12. Because of its characteristics, the relationship with God test belongs to the rebuttal phase of the historical trial of Satan and all fallen angels. This is because there is no relationship with the Holy Spirit on the part of all believers, except in the Church Age, starting with the First Advent of Christ and His incarnation. So this test was for our Lord, and is now for the royal family of God in the Church Age.

13. Job took the relationship to life test. After receiving his escrow blessings for time, it was all swept away in the first part of Job’s relationship to life test. The three parts of his test were:

a. Loss of prosperity, Job 1.

b. Loss of health, social life, and attractiveness, Job 2:1-10.

c. Loss of friends and maligning, Job 2:11 through the end of the book.

14. These were all temporary losses, for Job received back double in all three categories after passing evidence testing. Job passed the first two parts, but took six tries to pass the third part. Job came back to occupation with Christ in order to pass the third part of evidence testing.

15. While evidence testing comes quickly, without any notice or warning, and always occurs at a time when least expected, since the believer has reached a peak in his spiritual life, it is completely and totally undeserved suffering. It is very, very severe. However, God never puts on the believer more suffering than he can bear. Only the negative believer functioning under the punitive law of volitional responsibility piles on himself more than he can bear.

16. Scripture gives us a pattern of how evidence testing occurs, Job 1:6-12, 2:1-7; Zech 3:1-2. In Zech 3:1-2, Joshua, the high priest, had attained maturity and was entered as a witness for the prosecution, whom Satan was cross-examining. “Then He showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord [Jesus Christ], and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord [Jesus Christ] said to Satan, `The Lord [God the Father] rebuke you.’”

N. The Two Trials of Satan and Fallen Angels.

1. There are two trials of Satan and fallen angels.

a. The prehistoric trial.

b. The historic trial.

2. The prehistoric trial occurred in eternity past. We do not know how long it existed. In this trial, angelic creatures were divided into two categories:

a. Pro-God angels called “elect angels,” who possess eternal salvation.

b. Anti-God angels called “fallen angels,” who were sentenced to the Lake of Fire in eternity past. The sentence is quoted in Mt 25:41, where our Lord was speaking about unbelievers who would receive the baptism of fire. “He said to them, `Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into eternal fire [baptism of fire at Second Advent. What He added next showed that this eternal fire existed before man existed.] `prepared for the devil and his angels.’” This was a reference to the prehistoric sentence passed by God as a result of the prehistoric trial.

c. The sentence has not yet been carried out because Satan, acting as a defense attorney, appealed the sentence. Therefore, all fallen angels reside either in Tartarus, the Abyss, or on earth.

3. The second trial is historic. When Satan appealed his case, he was granted a new trial as a result of his appeal. The appeal trial of Satan and all fallen angels runs concurrently with human history. It is divided into three phases.

O. The Four Phases of Satan’s Appeal Trial.

1. In the formal trial, the Prosecution (God) presents His case, and the defense (Satan) cross-examines many of the witnesses (mature believers entered as evidence, Heb 11). This phase is now over. Satan presented his case, e.g., the infiltration of fallen angels in Gen 6, the cross- examination of the high priest, and Job.

2. The rebuttal phase of the trial first starts with the two rebuttal arguments of the Prosecution: the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union, resulting in our Lord’s strategic victory of the angelic conflict, and the great power experiment of the Church Age, in which some mature believers win the tactical victory of the angelic conflict. The Church Age is the most intensive time of the angelic conflict. When any Church Age believer utilizes the omnipotence of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit to advance to spiritual maturity, there is a tactical victory in the angelic conflict. This is followed by the rebuttal arguments of the defense: the violence of the Tribulation. Violence is all that’s left to Satan, a demonstration that Satan lost in the strategic victory of the angelic conflict by our Lord, and in the Church Age by the tactical victory of a few believers in every generation.

3. The closing arguments and summary: for the Prosecution, the Second Advent and Millennial reign of Christ. In contrast to the terrible violence during the Tribulation, the millennial reign of Jesus Christ will be one of perfect environment in every way. For the defense, the violence of the Gog and Magog Revolution at the end of the Millennium.

4. Then there is a post-historic sentence carried out against Satan and all fallen angels when they are cast into the Lake of Fire forever, Rev 20:10. Unbelievers of the human race are resurrected and cast into the Lake of Fire forever, Rev 20:11-15.

5. Phase One—The Formal Trial.

a. This formal phase of Satan’s appeal trial is coterminous with Old Testament history. It starts with the record of Old Testament history, beginning with the fall of mankind and continuing to the beginning of the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union, the First Advent and incarnation of Jesus Christ.

b. Mankind was created and human history began to duplicate the conditions of the prehistoric state which led to the fall of Satan and the taking with him of at least a third of all angelic creatures. Since the issue was angelic volition, and since volition is an attribute of the soul, mankind was created with a rational soul similar to angelic creatures, but without their physical attributes and capabilities.

c. Therefore, since mankind is a rational being, and not exactly like angelic creatures, his thoughts, motives, decisions, and actions are entered as evidence, exhibits, precedence, and arguments for either the Prosecution or the defense.

d. Precedence includes the fact that mankind, like angels, was created perfect, and all the other parallels of human history to angelic prehistory.

e. The formal trial of Old Testament history includes arguments presented by both the Prosecution (God) and the defense (Satan).

f. The formal trial provides both evidence and procedure for Satan’s appeal trial during human history. The fall of mankind in the Garden duplicates the fall of Satan in the Garden of God, according to Ezek 28. In both cases, the fall occurred under conditions of perfect environment.

g. The trial phase of Old Testament history includes both angelic participation and interference into the affairs of mankind, as seen in Gen 6 and Job 1:1-3. Angelic observation is also a part of this phase, as occurred with Abraham, Moses, David.

h. The trial phase is tantamount to the Theocentric dispensations of the Old Testament. The rebuttal phase is tantamount to the Christocentric dispensations. i. With the fall of Adam, Satan became the ruler of this world. That in itself is the explanation for a tremendous amount of suffering in this world, because Satan, though brilliant and a genius, does not have the capabilities of producing the perfect environment he intends to produce before the Second Advent and millennial reign of Christ.

j. In human history, God has duplicated everything that Satan used as an objection in the original trial. Apparently, a part of that is suffering. For, as presented in eternity past, it is Satan’s theory that mankind, like angels, will not be able to handle suffering, especially if they think it is unjust. And that the only reason anyone ever stays with God is because He blesses them.

k. But the Prosecution demonstrates that this isn’t true, as in the life of Job. Job proved that his love and loyalty to the Lord was because of doctrine, not because of blessing. God has permitted great suffering to other Old Testament believers also. But the suffering didn’t reduce them to miserable, crawling creatures. It merely demonstrated the power of Bible doctrine in their souls and the fantastic ability from doctrine to have great happiness under every circumstance of life.

l. Old Testament Case Histories.

(1) Every Old Testament believer who attained spiritual maturity was an argument or witness for the Prosecution, and entered as evidence. Abraham is a perfect illustration of the advance through each of the three stages of spiritual adulthood, culminating in his evidence testing when he was commanded to offer Isaac. Joseph is also a clear illustration of the three stages; also Moses, Elijah, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and Job.

(2) Evidence testing is Satan’s cross-examination of every witness presented by God. Every spiritual maturity believer is presented.

(3) It is concluded from Job that God permits Satan to cross-examine the mature believer.

(4) From some recorded dialogues between God and Satan in heaven, we know a great deal about how evidence testing occurs. Three Old Testament passages describe enough detail for us to draw some conclusions: Job 1:6-12, Job 2:1-7, and Zech 3:1-2.

(5) In Zech 3:1-2, Joshua the high priest had attained spiritual maturity in the time of Zechariah, and was entered as a witness for the Prosecution. “Then he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord [Jesus Christ], and Satan standing at His right hand to accuse him [Joshua]. And the Lord [Jesus Christ] said to Satan, `The Lord [God the Father as Judge] rebuke you [Satan].’”

(6) For details regarding Job, see the doctrine of evidence testing.

6. Phase Two—The Rebuttal Phase of the Trial.

a. The Arguments for the Prosecution. The rebuttal arguments for the Prosecution are two-fold:

(1) The great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union, the First Advent of Christ, the strategic victory of the angelic conflict.

(2) The great power experiment of the Church Age and the tactical victory of every Church Age believer who attains spiritual maturity. He is entered as evidence by means of evidence testing.

b. So the rebuttal phase is tantamount to the two Christocentric dispensations.

c. This means there are two categories of witnesses in the rebuttal phase of the trial:

(1) The chief witness is our Lord Jesus Christ, the only witness in the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union. He might be classified as the strategic witness.

(2) The other witnesses are the invisible heroes who are manufactured through the execution of the protocol plan of God in the Church Age. Mature believers become tactical witnesses.

d. Our Lord accomplished the strategic victory of the angelic conflict through His salvation ministry on the Cross, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.

e. The First Advent, Strategic Victory, and the Great Power Experiment of the Hypostatic Union.

(1) The First Advent begins the rebuttal phase of the historical trial of fallen angels. The First Advent and resultant Hypostatic Union also terminates our Lord’s Old Testament appearances in theophanies. The humanity of Christ replaces all theophanies.

(2) During the First Advent, the humanity of Christ was tempted but remained impeccable through His residence, function, and momentum inside the prototype divine dynasphere.

(3) Because of His impeccability, our Lord was qualified to go to the Cross and be judged for the sins of the world, 2 Cor 5:14,15,19; 1 Tim 2:6, 4:10; Tit 2:11; Heb 2:9; 2 Pet 2:1; 1 Jn 2:2.

(4) Our Lord accomplished this in spiritual maturity, which means He fulfilled the Father’s plan for the First Advent through consistent residence in His very own prototype divine dynasphere under the enabling power of the Spirit and momentum from metabolized doctrine.

(5) The momentum of our Lord’s humanity in the prototype divine dynasphere established a precedent for the modus operandi of Church Age believers as the royal family of God.

(6) Perpetual residence in the divine dynasphere under the enabling power of the Spirit and momentum from metabolized doctrine caused the humanity of Christ to reach spiritual self-esteem. His spiritual self-esteem plus providential preventative suffering resulted in the Lord’s attainment of spiritual autonomy. His spiritual autonomy plus momentum testing resulted in the Lord’s attainment of spiritual maturity. His spiritual maturity plus evidence testing (Matt 4:1-11) resulted in the Lord’s attainment of the strategic victory of the angelic conflict.

(7) Through the unique pressures of evidence testing, our Lord maintained His impeccability; He went to the Cross and was judged for our sins. 1 Pet 2:24, “He carried our sins in His own body on the Cross.” 2 Cor 5:21, “He who knew no sin was made sin for us.”

(8) Our Lord remained perfect while on the Cross bearing our sins. Therefore precedence is established and entered as evidence in the efficacious saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ, which not only provided salvation for the entire human race, but completely destroyed Satan’s appeal case.

(9) The provision of eternal salvation for mankind by the work on the Cross duplicates a similar but unknown issue of volition in the prehistoric angelic conflict.

(10) Through personal faith in Christ, mankind duplicates the decision of elect angels in eternity past. Therefore, every time a person believes in Jesus Christ, it builds a case against Satan as part of the rebuttal of the Prosecution.

(11) Through resurrection, ascension, and session, our Lord received His third royal patent, associated with His Hypostatic Union and His subsequent strategic victory on the Cross. Prior to His resurrection, He endured more suffering than any member of the human race.

(12) The First Advent finds the humanity of Christ made lower than angels, but through His resurrection, ascension and session, He is now higher than angels; a situation we will enjoy in the future in our resurrection body.

(13) So the results of our Lord’s strategic victory are very important. Eph 1:22, “He [God the Father] subordinated all categories [angels, elect and fallen] under His feet, and He appointed Him ruler over everything pertaining to the church.” Christ is ruler over all angels, over Israel, and over the Church.

7. The Church Age: Tactical Victory, Great Power Experiment of the Church Age.

a. When God the Father awarded our Lord His third royal title, He was in a position with no royal family. Therefore, the dispensation of Israel was interrupted and the Church Age was inserted in order to form a royal family of God to accompany our Lord’s third royal warrant.

b. The second rebuttal argument of the Prosecution is therefore based on the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God by Church Age believers in a similar type palace as our Lord’s humanity occupied during the incarnation. This we call our operational type divine dynasphere.

c. The Church Age is unique, a time of the most fantastic blessings delineated under the portfolio of invisible assets. The Church Age is the time of the greatest plan God ever devised for man.

d. The strategic victory of Christ is followed by the tactical victory of a few believers in every generation of the Church Age by their advance to spiritual maturity in the protocol plan of God.

e. So the Prosecution’s rebuttal arguments center around the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God. Those Church Age believers who attain spiritual maturity are entered as evidence in the rebuttal phase.

f. Remember that evidence testing is defined as Satan’s cross-examination in an attempt to discredit believers who have reached spiritual maturity. The believer who passes evidence testing has achieved the ultimate in the plan of God and he glorifies God to the maximum in the historic extension of the angelic conflict.

g. This second rebuttal argument of the Prosecution is terminated by the Rapture of the Church. The royal family of God is transferred to heaven where we as human believers in resurrection bodies become physically superior to angels. Until then we are positionally superior to angels, being in union with Christ, with the potential to become experientially superior to angels through residence, function and momentum inside our divine dynasphere resulting in the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God.

8. The Rebuttal Argument of the Defense: The Tribulation.

a. With the completion of the royal family of God and the Rapture of the Church, Satan begins his rebuttal argument: the violence of the Tribulation.

b. The Cross broke the back of Satan’s appeal. All he has left is violence. This explains all the violence and persecution in the Church Age, in the Tribulation, and in the Gog Revolution. Inevitably, Satan’s only answer is violence. The concentration of violence in the Tribulation and its resultant misery is Satan’s only rebuttal.

c. Satan, understanding eschatology, uses all his power and authority over demons and negative mankind to set aside God’s sentence of the prehistoric trial, and to seek to frustrate the future of Israel and her unconditional covenants. The violence includes demon invasions.

d. When anyone seeks to solve problems by violence, they always fall into Satan’s pattern. (The exception is war, which is an inevitable factor for the maintenance of freedom.)

e. In order to deliver believers from all the destructive violence of the Tribulation (Rev 6-19), Christ returns in His Second Advent. The Second Advent of Christ terminates the rebuttal phase of the defense.

9. Phase Three: The Closing Arguments and Summary for the Prosecution include the Second Advent and the Millennium.

a. The Second Advent of Christ.

(1) The Second Advent begins Operation Footstool. This is mentioned eschatologically in Ps 110:1, when God the Father says to God the Son, “Sit down at My right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.” This is such an important eschatological passage that it is quoted many times in the New Testament: Mt 22:44; Mk 12:36; Lk 20:43; Acts 2:35; Heb 1:13, 10:13.

(2) At the Second Advent, Satan and all fallen angels are incarcerated for 1000 years, so that all violence ceases. There is no violence in the Millennium. Col 2:15, “Having disarmed demon archons [generals] and authorities [captains, majors], He made a public display of them, having celebrated it in a triumphal procession over them [Operation Footstool] by means of it [strategic victory of the First Advent].”

(3) Our Lord Jesus Christ supersedes Satan as the ruler of this world under His third royal title, King of kings and Lord of lords, the Bright Morning Star. He rules for 1000 years under perfect environment. When He returns to the earth, Christ brings with Him His royal family of God in resurrection bodies.

(4) Our Lord regathers regenerate Israel and fulfills their unconditional covenants: the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic, and New Covenants to Israel. Israel is restored as a client nation to God, which causes Israel to again become a part of the case for the Prosecution. This is when the baptism of fire occurs, when the wheat and the tares are separated.

b. The Millennial Reign of Christ.

(1) The perfect environment of the Millennium duplicates the perfect environment of the prehistoric universe before the fall of Satan as evidence that it was the decision of Satan and fallen angels that destroyed their perfect environment.

(2) In the perfect prehistoric environment, God provided for the angels perfectly in every conceivable way. He also provided them with a soul possessing free will or volition.

(3) From the volition of Lucifer came the first sin of any rational creature: arrogance. This explains Satan’s fall. He became enamored with his beauty, with his genius, with his ability, with all the attention and approbation he received. As a result, he revolted against God and said, “I will be like the Most High God,” Isa 14:12-14.

(4) Through the repetition of perfect environment of the Millennium for 1000 years, the Prosecution demonstrates that, in reality, perfect environment without a relationship with God is absolutely useless and meaningless. The only ones for whom perfect environment has meaning are elect angels and believers in Jesus Christ. You must have a relationship with God for any environment to be meaningful.

(5) God also demonstrates that perfect environment is not the solution to man’s problem. The solution resides in man’s mental attitude, in his thought pattern, and in his resultant decisions all directed toward relationship with God.

(6) Just as Satan and certain fallen angels revolted against perfect environment in eternity past, so unregenerate mankind will revolt against the perfect environment of the Millennium.

(7) The Bible describes this perfect environment of the Millennium in many ways: “The lion and the lamb shall lie down side by side.” “The swords will be turned into plowshares, the spears into pruning hooks; man will learn war no more.” “The child will put his hand in the cobra’s den and pet cobras.” “The desert will blossom like a crocus.” “A child will be a child for 100 years.” In most cases, except for capital punishment for criminals, death will take a holiday and everyone will live through the entire Millennium. Everyone will have perfect health. There will be no such thing as starvation. Though there will be a little crime (inevitable since the old sin nature still exists), there will be no jails since the enforcement of capital punishment will tremendously discourage most crime.

(8) The conspiracy at the end of the Millennium is such a surprise, considering this long period of perfect environment. Yet millions will reject the Gospel and Bible doctrine during the time of the best and most extensive presentation of truth throughout all human history. But as at the beginning of human history, so at the end: man rejects God and His perfect environment and joins Satan’s conspiracy.

(9) So the final argument for the Prosecution is that creature life cannot be sustained in perfect environment without a permanent, eternal relationship with God. All true problem solving, true happiness and blessing in life demand a permanent and eternal relationship with God.

10. Phase Four: The Closing Argument for the Defense is the Conspiracy, Violence, and Gog Revolution that follows the Millennium.

a. Satan is released from his incarceration only to incite a conspiracy. You’d think he would have learned something while locked up for 1000 years, but like all forms of arrogant criminality, time in jail doesn’t teach a thing. He can only retaliate with more violence and another revolt against God.

b. Once released, the first thing Satan does is to gather all the unregenerates and pockets of negative volition to start a conspiracy. Satan discovers there are many unbelievers in the perfect environment of the Millennium who have rejected the greatest evangelism. Again, as at the beginning of human history, so at the end of human history—unbelievers join Satan’s conspiracy.

c. When the unbelievers respond to this conspiracy, the violent Gog Revolution results, Rev 20:7-10. The terrible violence of the Gog Revolution is Satan’s closing argument.

d. The instigation of the Gog Revolution against God and the perfect environment of the Millennium is tantamount to Satan’s admission of his guilt, the guilt of all fallen angels, and the proof of guilt of all unregenerate mankind.

e. God powerfully puts down the Gog Revolution, Rev 20:10.

P. The Post Historic Sentence to Satan.

1. Satan’s appeal is denied. The sentence of the first trial, mentioned in Mt 25:41, is carried out in Rev 20:10-15.

2. Satan and all fallen angels are cast into the Lake of Fire forever.

3. The Great White Throne Judgment follows immediately. This is a special court for the judgment of all unbelievers. As an extension of the prehistoric angelic conflict, all human unbelievers of history are resurrected, brought before God the Son as the Judge, tried, found guilty, sentenced and cast into the Lake of Fire. Rev 20:11ff teaches that unbelievers are judged on the basis of their good works, for their sins were already forgiven at the Cross.

4. The entire universe of mankind is destroyed by fire, and human history therefore comes to a dramatic close.

5. God creates a new heavens, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem for all elect angels and regenerate mankind, as part of the eternal state. Planet earth and the universe which were used for the courtroom are destroyed and God creates a new heavens and new earth to be enjoyed forever by elect angels and believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Q. Application.

1. History is a very short time compared to all eternity. Your time on earth is a drop in the bucket compared to eternity.

2. All of you who place other things in life above doctrine in your false scale of values are losing all the equal privilege and opportunity God has provided for you in time to advance spiritually. All those “other things” will become so very meaningless to you in eternity, at most adding up to your regret in eternity. The Latin phrase, SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI, means “The glory of this world passes away.”

3. In eternity you will realize that the things you considered important were not important at all. Although you cannot lose your salvation, you are a loser. A part of the agony of the sin unto death is to realize that you had an opportunity to make your life count in a fantastic way. Instead, you chose to follow the plan of Satan for human life on this earth.

4. This study sheds light on the importance of mature Church Age believers glorifying God by tactical victory. The suffering the mature believer endures under evidence testing is a major factor in breaking the back of Satan.

5. Two things break the back of Satan:

a. The strategic victory of our Lord on the Cross.

b. The tactical victory of those who advance to maturity. _