Hi Iain,
I’ve gotten a little mixed-up and was hoping you could
help.
I know we battle against supernatural evil, but where does this
evil come from? I believe that when Jesus speaks of seeing satan fall, He was
speaking prophetically about Revelations and satans (and 1/3 of angels) expulsion
before the great tribulation. So how is satan and his followers here now, causing
us grief? Are the angels that eventually get expelled the ones here on Earth
waging spiritual warfare against us? Are they expelled/stuck here now? If so, why
isn’t satan also expelled/ stuck here with them? Or is it a future event
that the angels decide to follow satan, and are then expelled with him at that
time (Rev 12)? And maybe the demons that are here now are not fallen angels. What
would they be? Are they from the Nephilim?
When satan accuses us before
the throne of God, is he alone in this? Is that 1/3 of angels with him accusing
us? And do they all have access to God’s throne, and the earth? I know that
Jesus and the apostles expelled evil spirits/demons, but who were these evil
spirits and demons? Where did they come from?
My pastor thinks
Revelations already happened, along with satans expulsion. I don’t feel
that’s right, I believe he fell but was not expelled yet. But I’m
having trouble collecting my thoughts on this subject, and there are several
seemingly reputable sources that differ in opinions. I really value your opinion,
and would like to know your thoughts.
Sorry if this is one rambling
question(s), but my head is swimming right now and I would love to see some solid
scripture pointing me back on track.
Thanks so much for your time!
Eric
Hi Eric,
hope things are going well for you. Now you are pondering a few
different mysteries there and you obviously have quite a few questions.
I'll
answer them quickly as I see it and also link more information that will help
with the general theme you are thinking about. It is a big topic and hard to
answer quickly in an email... but the links are from Arnold Fructenbaum and are
very good on this topic.
The short version is this - Satan's fall
occurred before the creation of man. It seems that one third of the angels
followed him. His fall is spoken about in Isaiah 14 and Ezek 28. At the moment he
is said to be roaring like a lion around the earth as well as still having
temporary access to heaven to accuse believers (Job 1-2, Zech 3, 1 Peter 5:8).
Rev 12 gives a vision of the future where a final war will evict Satan once and
for all from all heavenly access. He then knows his time is short and goes about
destroying on the earth with great fury. This is likely to be at the start or mid
point of the coming tribulation. Most would say mid-point due to the context with
Israel (the woman) fleeing for safety. The fallen angels and demons are those
that followed him in his initial fall before the creation of man. Some take them
to be different entities but if so it isn't clear from scripture. Some
believe as you have said that the 'demons' where actually the spirits
of the Nephilim after they were killed... it is a possibility but scripture
doesn't specifically say so. I tend to see it as Arnold does and not make
any differentiation between fallen angels and demons.
Have a look at
the following links - especially the 6 abodes of Satan in the doctrine of Satan
study (page 20)
Satanology - the doctrine of Satan
http://www.arielm.org/dcs/pdf/mbs077m.pdf
Demonology - the doctrine of fallen angels
http://www.arielm.org/dcs/pdf/mbs082m.pdf
Hope this helps!
iain.
Hi Iain,
Thanks for the reply, attachments, and clarity. I don’t know what the problem was, but I seemed to overthink myself into a fog on this subject. I just could not organize my thoughts and see all this clearly. Sometimes I need to step back and see the facts short, sweet, and concise on paper. I seem to remember you referencing Arnold Fruchtenbaum in the footnotes of one (or more) of your studies. Or maybe I’m mixing up memories. Either way, the pdf’s are a humongous help!
Thanks for taking your time to share your knowledge, It is much appreciated!
Eric
Great! Pleased it has helped. I think you'll find Arnold's stuff will answer your questions and more. And yeah, I've quoted Arnold a bit in my studies. He is very sound and has some really onto it books and resources, especially around end times / Messianic studies.
God Bless,
Iain.