Question:
We know the day that Adam sinned was 130 years before
Seth was born and this day that he sinned was in the year BC 11013 (See
Adam’s Likeness and Image and Biblical
Calendar Page 9) and was sometime after the end of the seventh day of
creation. Well, what about Satan, when did he sin? We can logically deduce that
he sinned before Adam sinned but when was it? Was it before the creation of
world, or after the creation? Can we really know?
In answering this question, we must first look at who is Satan. We
read the following:
2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
So we see
that Satan is an angel. Next, when were the angels created? The Bible gives us
the answer:
Psa 104: 1 ¶
Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my
God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. 2 Who coverest thyself with light as with
a garment: who stretchest out the
heavens like a curtain: 3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the
waters: who maketh the clouds his
chariot: who walketh upon the wings
of the wind: 4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: 5 Who
laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for
ever. 6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters
stood above the mountains. 7 At thy
rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away. 8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by
the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them. 9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass
over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.
So from
verse 4 above, we see that the angels were made (i.e., created, the Hebrew of
“maketh” is used in Gen 1:7 where God “made” the firmament of heaven in a
creative act on the second day of creation) as spirit beings. And this creative
act is just before God lays the foundations of the earth and just after He sets
up the atmospheric conditions of clouds and waters in the heavens (our heaven
that we see from the earth and that of deep space with its galaxies, heavens
being plural). From a careful study of Genesis 1, we see that these creative
acts of God occurred on the second and third days of creation and so the angels
were created either at the end of the second day or the very beginning of the
third day of creation, although they are not specifically mentioned in the
Genesis 1 passage because they are
spirit beings (a distinctively different order of creation) and not a part of
the physical creation which God is detailing:
Gen 1: 6 ¶ And God said, Let there be a firmament in the
midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the
waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were
above the firmament: and it was so. 8
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. 9 ¶ And God said, Let the waters under the heaven
be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it
was so. 10 And God called the dry land
Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw
that it was good. 11 And God
said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the
fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon
the earth: and it was so. 12 And the
earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and
the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and
God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the
third day.
Pertaining
to angels being spirit beings that are distinctively different from created man,
we are told that angels have no sexual orientation as compared to mankind and
that Jesus chose to come as a man in the flesh descending from Abraham instead
of in the form of angels:
Mt 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry,
nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
Heb 2:16 For verily he (Jesus) took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. 17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be
made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful
high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the
sins of the people.
So, we
already have a part of our answer: Satan, being an angel, was created with the
other angels either at the very end of the second day or the very beginning of
the third day of creation and so he must have sinned after creation began and
not before.
Next, we
will look at God’s purpose for creating the angels. In order to fully see this,
we have to look some more at Satan himself and some of his angels that he leads
in his rebellion against God when he sinned. We see that Satan is the serpent
who was from the beginning and is the great dragon, and that he is also
referred to as the Devil, being the leader of his angels:
Re 12:9 And the great
dragon was cast out, that old (i.e.,
literally “at the beginning”) serpent, called
the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And, we are
told that Christians have to spiritually wrestle against this foe who heads up
his principalities of angels:
Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my
brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11 Put on
the whole armour of God, that ye
may be able to stand against the wiles of
the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities <746>, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places.
The Greek
term for “principalities” is “arche”, Strongs # <746>.
And, when we look for more information on these principalities, we find that
these principalities were created by Jesus Christ, much like we saw in Psalm
104:
Col 1:16 For by
him (Jesus) were all things created,
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they
be thrones, or dominions, or principalities <746>, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
And, we also
see the purpose for their creation was that they should be witnesses of God’s
greatness and glory by beholding God’s manifold wisdom in saving the eternal
spiritual church (the eternal elect body of believers in Jesus Christ, who is
their Head!):
Eph 3: 9 And to make all men see what is
the fellowship of the mystery, which
from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all
things by Jesus Christ: 10 To the intent that now unto the
principalities <746> and powers in
heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 11 According to the eternal purpose which he
purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
From verses
9 and 10, this mystery of the eternal spiritual church which was hid by God
from men and which the principalities (angels) were privileged to be beholding
from the beginning of the world was now being revealed to the Christians
themselves by Paul’s preaching.
Now what was
the angels’ central role as they beheld the wonders of the eternal spiritual
church? We are told that they were to serve as spiritual ministers (serving on their own account without any
help from those being served and also without the knowledge of those being
served!) to the elects who would be saved and thereby become a part of this
eternal church:
Heb 1:13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make
thine enemies thy footstool? 14 Are they (the angels) not all
ministering spirits, sent forth to
minister for them (the elects) who shall be heirs of salvation?
The faithful
angels represent the needs of the elect (pictured by Jesus using little
children that were about Him) before the face of God even as they carry out
their ministry of serving the elects to be saved:
Mt 18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these
little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels
do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
Thus, we
have seen that Satan was an angel who was created and headed up principalities
of angels and was supposed to behold God’s manifold wisdom in the eternal
spiritual church and he was also to work as a servant for the elect that were
to be saved.
But, Satan
did not keep his charge, as he was leader amongst the angels (principalities)
who rebelled against God:
Jude 1:6 And the angels which kept not their first
estate (i.e., principalities) <746>, but left their own
habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the
judgment of the great day.
Here, the
Greek word “arche”, Strongs # <746> is translated
“first estate” which refers back to their role as “principalities” which was to
observe the manifold wisdom of God by the eternal church and then to be
ministers on behalf of the elect. But as the verse states, these angels
(including, their leader Satan) did not keep these assignments and thus they
sinned in this rebellion:
2Pe 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned,
but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of
darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
Now, we will
look at the motivation that caused Satan to sin and this will help to determine
exactly when he sinned. We read of Satan, whose titles were “Lucifer--the
shining one” and “the son of morning or dawn” that he was cast down from heaven
to the earth (see Rev 12:7-9, verse 9 quoted earlier and 2Pet 2:4 above)
because he wanted to be in God’s position ruling over the elects of God (the
stars of God) with them (as the body of the eternal church) worshipping him:
Isa 14: 12 How art thou
fallen (cast down) from heaven, O
Lucifer, son of the morning (literally:“Oh
shining one, son of the dawn”)! how art thou cut down to the ground
(earth), which didst weaken the
nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine
heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will
exalt my throne above the stars of God (the
elect, Heb 11:12-13): I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation (i.e., eternal church), in the
sides of the north: 14 I will ascend
above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Thus Satan
had pride in his heart! He coveted the throne of God after seeing the manifold
wisdom of God on display to the principalities by the eternal spiritual church
and wanted to rule over and be worshipped as God by this church!
Now, we know
that Satan, having been created
either the end of the second day or beginning of third day of creation (more
than likely early in the morning on the third day because of his title “son of
the morning”, see follow up Study "When
was Satan created?"), did not sin by the end of
the sixth day of creation because God looked at everything that he created and
pronounced his creation as “very good”:
Gen 1:31 ¶ And God saw every thing that he had made, and,
behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth
day.
So, Satan must have sinned after the sixth day of
creation! Well, we are also told that sin came into the created universe
for the first time when Adam sinned:
Ro 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
We know that
this was the occasion when Adam’s wife, Eve, was deceived by Satan as the
serpent and both Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit thereby obeying Satan
and rebelling against God:
Gen 3; 1 ¶ Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast
of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman (Eve), Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not
eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And
the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the
garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of
it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat
thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good
and evil. 6 ¶ And when the woman saw
that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the
eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
God further
embellishes the above deception and rebellion by stating:
2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his
subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ.
Jesus also
points out this same fact that Satan was a murder from the beginning (as both
Adam and Eve died spiritually and became subject to physical death from obeying
Satan, Gen 2:16-17) and he, Satan, was the originator of lies:
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father
ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not
in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh
a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is
a liar, and the father (metaphorically:
originator) of it.
So we see
that Satan first sinned in tempting Eve and later (how long thereafter) she
usurped Adam's authority and ate the fruit and gave to Adam who was with her at
time she ate the fruit and he also ate and this incident was in BC 11013! Satan did achieve his motivation (at least
temporarily and partially) as the whole universe over which man was placed to
have dominion (Gen 1:28) now became subject to Satan’s rule as god by the
following principle:
Ro 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye
obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
2Pe 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they
themselves are the servants of corruption: for
of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
Thus, by
conquering Adam, Satan usurped God by becoming “the god of the world”, “the
ruler of the kingdoms of world”, and “the prince of the power of the air”,
thereby ruling over all mankind except the elect after they have become saved:
2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath
blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Joh 14:30 Hereafter I (Jesus) will not talk much with you: for the prince (ruler) of this world
cometh, and hath nothing in me.
Lu 4: 5 And the devil, taking him up into an high
mountain, shewed unto him all the
kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the
glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I
give it.
Eph 2:2 Wherein in
time past ye (the elect) walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince (ruler) of the power of the air, the spirit (Satan) that now worketh in
the children of disobedience:
Satan also
had completely switched roles from being a servant on behalf on those who were
to become saved to being an adversary to the elect and instead of representing
the needs of the elect before the face of God, he was now accusing the elect
before God, resisting them, and physically afflicting them:
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your (the elects’) adversary the devil, as a
roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Re 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,
Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power
of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Zec 3:1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest
standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
Job 2:7 ¶ So went Satan
forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the
sole of his foot unto his crown.
Satan also
became a thorn in the flesh of the Christians by buffeting them but God uses
this attack for the Christians’ good in humbling them:
2Co 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure
through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in
the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I
should be exalted above measure.
Furthermore,
Satan also achieved his spiritual ambitions of being worshipped as God (see
Isaiah 14:12 above) by the local churches and congregations in the time of the
Apostle John in the 1st century AD shortly after the local churches
were established:
Re 2: 8 ¶ And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the
last, which was dead, and is alive; 9 I
know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know
the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
Re 2: 12 ¶ And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the
sharp sword with two edges; 13 I know
thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and
hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful
martyr, who was slain among you, where
Satan dwelleth.
Re 2:24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not
this doctrine, and which have not known the depths
of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
Re 3: 7 ¶ And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy,
he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man
shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 8
I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no
man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and
hast not denied my name. 9 Behold, I
will make them of the synagogue of Satan,
which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to
come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
And,
finally, by the time we get to our present generation during the great
tribulation just before the day of Christ’s physical return to this earth, we
find that Satan has completely taken over the external churches and is seated
in the very temple of God and stands in the holy place and is being worshipped
as God, thereby almost fully satisfying the very ambitions of his heart (Isaiah
14:7) from BC 11013 in the Garden of Eden when he deceived Eve and he has his
manifold wisdom on display to his principalities over which he rules:
2Thes 2:3 ¶ Let no man
deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come
a falling away first, and that man of sin (Satan)
be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all
that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the
temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Mt 24:15
When
ye therefore shall see the abomination
of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso
readeth, let him understand:)
Mr 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by
Daniel the prophet, standing where it
ought not, (let him that readeth
understand,) then let them that be in
But despite
all of Satan’s victories in this world and over the churches, he will not be able
to triumph eternally over God’s saved elects and Jesus Christ who will never
worship him and so he can never become lord of the third heaven, the very
heaven of heavens, the eternal holy place, and God’s paradise:
Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances
that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way,
nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities <746> and
powers, he (Jesus) made a shew of them
openly, triumphing over them in it
(the cross).
Ro 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities <746>, nor
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us
(the elect) from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Lu 4: 5 And the devil, taking him up into an high
mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of
them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. 7 If
thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 8 And Jesus
answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou
shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of
his power to us–ward (the elect) who
believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20 Which
he (God) wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him
at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 Far
above all principality <746>, and power, and might,
and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in
that which is to come: 22 And hath put all things under his
feet, and gave him to be the
head over all things to the church (the eternal spiritual church),
23 Which
is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
So, we have
answered the question of when did Satan sin and that concludes our study.
Please note
that this is only a very minimal study on the activities of Satan especially in
the times in which we are now living. The Bible has volumes more to say on this
arch enemy of the souls of the elect.
Below are follow up questions
received and responses given to assist in clarifying the above studies:
Follow up question 1: You
said that Satan was thrown out of heaven to earth. When did this happen?
Answer 1: Satan was allowed to
come into heaven throughout the first 11,045 years since Adam sinned. We read
that Satan came into heaven on the following occasions:
Job 1:6 Now there was a
day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan
came also among them. 7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou?
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and
from walking up and down in it.
Job 2:1 Again there was
a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and
Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.:2 And the LORD
said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and
said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Zec 3:1 And he shewed me
Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan
standing at his right hand to resist him. 2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The
LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen
Satan
would however be cast out after 11045 years of sinning and would no longer be
able to come into Heaven to accuse the elect:
Rev
12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and
Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his
angels were cast out with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,
Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power
of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them
before our God day and night.
This
casting out of heaven occurred in A.D. 33 at the cross, 11,045 years after Adam
sinned. Jesus describes this event as occurring at the time of his going to the
cross for the judgment of the world:
John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall
the prince (Satan) of this world be
cast out. 32 And I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all men unto me. 33 This he said, signifying what death he should
die.
John 16:10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father,
and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment,
because the prince of this world is judged (Satan).
This
was a fulfillment of the declaration made by God to the serpent:
Gen 3: 14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent,
Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above
every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat
all the days of thy life: 15 And I will
put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Follow up question 2: Ezekiel 28 and
Luke 10 speaks of Satan falling from heaven and it would seem that Satan was
already fallen when he tempted Eve.
Answer 2: Firstly, Ezekiel 28 is
not referring to Satan as most theologians believe and that is why I did not
include Ezekiel 28 in the study. A separate study of the cherubims would be
necessary to fully understand what they are, and there are no scriptures of the
69 verses referring to cherubims that tie cherubims to be angels, it is just
not in the Bible! (However, even if Ezk 28 was about Satan there is no
reference therein about when Satan sinned).
In
Luke 10, the context is that 70 disciples had just returned to Jesus after He
had sent them preaching by twos. And as they returned they were jubilant that
even the devils were subject to their preaching in Jesus’ name. Jesus then said
he was making the same observation while they were out preaching and described
it as Satan falling from heaven even as lightning and lightning is a form of
judgment from heaven and which Jesus went on to explain that this judgment was
given by Him (Jesus) in the form of power over the enemy who would not be able
to harm the disciples and these spirits were to be subject to the disciples:
17 ¶ And the seventy returned again with joy,
saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. 18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as
lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, I
give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power
of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the
spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are
written in heaven.
The
following verses substantiate the above finding that preaching the gospel, the
Word of God, in Jesus’ name brings victory to the believers over Satan and his
spirits and this victory is a form of judgment on Satan and his spirits:
2Cor 10: 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4
(For the weapons of our warfare are
not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) {through
God: or, to God} 5 Casting down
imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge
of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
A
further commentary of these verses is:
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. {flesh…: Gr.
blood and flesh} {spiritual…: or, wicked spirits} {high: or,
heavenly} 13 Wherefore take unto you
the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and
having done all, to stand. {having…: or, having overcome all} 14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about
with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of
peace; 16 Above all, taking the
shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of
the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of
salvation, and the sword
of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication
in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication
for all saints;
Follow up question 3: Satan's first sin seem to
be pride not telling lies or deception as told in Adam's sin.
Answer 3: That is the very point! Satan had pride in him
which precipitated him to lie to Eve. The pride showed up in him and revealed
itself for the first time just about the same time he tempted Eve with the lie.
Satan’s first sin was pride and then the next was the lie which was on the very
heel of the pride. His pride was to be God and if he lied to fulfill this
ambition and did fulfill it! There just is no Bible verse that will delineate
further a distinct period of identified time between the pride and the lie!
Satan is a superior being and moves quickly to fulfill his desires before God
discovers it (or so he thinks, but God had known before he even had the
desire!). Satan was under condemnation from the very outset of pride:
1Ti 3:6 Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride
he fall into the condemnation of the devil. (The bishop may be prideful and thus fall into the same condemnation as
the devil)
Follow up question 4: You quoted
Gen 1:31 that everything God made was very good and you stated that this verse
suggests that Satan had not sinned before the 6th day. You then quoted Rom 5:12
that sin entered the world through Adam. However, I think this is referring to
the corruption of man. Satan's sin had no effect on the decay of mankind or the
death (spiritual) of man as Satan was not created in the image of God, as was
man.
Answer 4: Yes, there is some truth to what you are saying.
Let me explain. The world was created and placed under Adam. If Satan sinned by
himself without getting Adam to sin then the creation (the whole universe),
under Adam, would still not have fallen into sin and corruption and would never
have been ruled over by Satan. For Satan to accomplish his pride he needed to
lie so that Adam and the world below him would become subject to Satan.
However, as there is no direct time distinction made between the ascension of
the pride and the making of the lie, the conclusion that must be drawn is that
both were simultaneous because Satan had to move swiftly so as to prevent God
from discovering his pride before he could get Adam to fall.
Follow up question 5: You refer to
the external churches. I am not sure who or what you are referring to as in
most scriptures the church is the body of Christ. The world refers to churches
very loosely but the scriptures are speaking about the body of Christ. In
revelations the churches referred to are probably the gathering in those
cities, and you know that the wheat and tares will grow together until Jesus
returns but for the most part Church is the believers or elect as you normally
refer to them.
Answer 5: By external churches, I am referring to the
visible (to the human eye) congregations like the seven churches in Revelations
which did have wheat and tares as its members and the wheat could not be outwardly
distinguished from the tares. The eternal (invisible to the human eye and
comprising only spiritual wheat) church is the elect body of believers who
comprise the body of Christ and which are the only ones who will be saved. Some
of these elect believers did have their earthly membership in the external
corporate (visible) churches.
The Bible speaks of
these two churches, the eternal body and the external body and it is very
important that we make such distinction also in our theology:
Mt 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church (ETERNAL); and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Ac 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the
people. And the Lord added to the church (ETERNAL)
daily such as should be saved.
Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his
feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
(ETERNAL)
Eph 3:10 To the intent that now unto the
principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church
(ETERNAL) the manifold wisdom of
God,
Eph 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church (ETERNAL) by Christ Jesus throughout all
ages, world without end. Amen.
Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even
as Christ is the head of the church (ETERNAL):
and he is the saviour of the body.
Eph 5:24 Therefore as the church (ETERNAL) is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be
to their own husbands in every thing.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ
also loved the church (ETERNAL), and
gave himself for it;
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a
glorious church (ETERNAL), not
having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and
without blemish.
Eph 5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but
nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church (ETERNAL):
Eph 5:32 This is a great mystery: but I speak
concerning Christ and the church (ETERNAL).
Below are references to
the visible external corporate congregation:
Mt 18:17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it
unto the church (EXTERNAL): but if
he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a
publican.
Ac 5:11 And great fear came upon all the church (EXTERNAL), and upon as many as heard
these things. (Ananias and Sapphira were tares).
Ac 7:38 This is he, that was in the church (EXTERNAL) in the wilderness with the
angel which spake to him in the
Ac 8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And
at that time there was a great persecution against the church (EXTERNAL) which was at
Re 1:4 John to the seven churches (EXTERNAL) which are in
Re 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and
the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the
seven churches (EXTERNAL) which are
in Asia; unto
Please also note that
God uses the external churches to warn all external churches throughout the
church age, the language is no longer to the specific church at a specific
location but to the churches (plural) generally and not to specific locations:
Re 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of
the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Re 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the
second death.
Re 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of
the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name
written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
Re 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and
all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts:
and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.
Re 2:29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches.
The end.
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