Covenant Presbyterian Church
Sunday morning Foundations Classes
God's Positioning System (GPS)
Angels/Demons and the End Times -- Lesson #4
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(Lessons are posted once a week on Friday evening)
A study of angels wouldn’t be complete
without looking at the spiritual battle taking place across our nation, which
has intensified almost daily! Yes, spiritual battle. Our role
as God’s people
is
vigilance and prayer (Matt. 14:38). Though we do not see them,
there
is a broader involvement of angels in the “physical realm” both good and evil. When
Americans
turn
away from God,
Satan and his demonic angels become increasingly bold and destructive.
Nevertheless, God’s angels
are not standing idly by (Heb 1:14; Psalm 34:7; Psalm 91:11). They are
restraining the full onslaught of evil as long as Christians are in prayer.
This week’s lesson is somewhat intense.
That’s only because spiritual warfare is intense. Many proclaim
that our Nation is in a cultural civil war. Actually, it goes
deeper than culture. We are facing an evil onslaught manifested by humans but initiated by dark spiritual
forces. Why now? I
believe it’s because we have
a president who is not only resisting Satan’s one world government (Rev.
13:1-18, 17:11-13) but preventing it from making greater inroads. No this is
not a political message, but it is a warning that even Jesus Christ is now
under attack.
When watching the news, it’s perceived as
Blue vs. Red, Liberal vs. Conservative, Democrat vs. Republican, “Black Live
Matter” vs. “Blue Lives Matter”. But you will never hear the term “spiritual
warfare” or “evil vs. good”. We are told in Ephesians 6 that we are engaged in
a spiritual battle. But with whom? Paul tells us the battle is against the “spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly realm.” These spiritual forces of evil are Satan
and his demonic angels. This is the real enemy; this is the real battle. We are
moving from a study of the different classifications of angels, to their
interaction with mankind here on earth—both good and evil.
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Demons are Satan’s fallen angels (Luke 4:41; Luke 8:30-32). In 2
Corinthians 4:4, Satan is
called “the
god of
this age”,
another
way of expressing it, “god of this world”. Jesus
referred to Satan's Kingdom in Matthew 12:26 when He said,
"And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall
then his kingdom stand?" This world is under the domain of Satan (Luke 4:5-7;
Matthew 4:8) and
at certain periods in history he increases his grip, such as in recent history
with Nazi Germany, North Korea, Communist China and others. Some believe
American is destroying itself from within. The Church is its first line of
defense if it awakens to the threat, or not, if it doesn’t.
You can’t win a battle if you’re not
aware that there is a battle, or you don’t know who the enemy is. Only by being
aware can we be alert as to why there is so much evil in the world, and why it
is intensifying almost daily. Ephesians 6 describes the weapons in our arsenal
needed to react against Satan and his demonic angels who are the merchants of
destruction. A similar message in 2 Cor 10:4 – our weapons are not the weapons of
the world.
My goal with this particular study
is to make the church aware of the threat we are facing, not only aware, but
active in alerting others as to the reality of this challenge. So feel free to share this blog address with a friend or download the material for your own use.
Angels are stronger and more powerful
than humans (2 Peter 2:10-11). They are also called mighty ones in Psalm
103:20. The spiritual realm, though invisible, is as real for angels as earth
is for us, the battle line of which is drawn between good and evil angelic
forces. I’m certain some have wondered why didn’t God destroy Satan and his
evil angels instead of letting them wreak havoc on the world? We will look at
that further on in our study.
In Genesis 28, Jacob had a dream of a
ladder (NKJV) or stairway (NIV) extending from earth to heaven, with angels
ascending and descending on it. In the dream he received a message of
encouragement from the LORD for him and his descendants.
The ladder was more than a dream. It
illustrates the interaction between God’s angels and His people. We are not
alone in this battle. Hebrews 1:14 tells us – Are not all angels ministering
spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Pray,
dear brothers and sisters for our church, our pastor, our nation and our
president, that God may place a protective shield around them from Satan’s relentless
onslaught.
The dark side of man is void of
God’s grace, it’s
also in open
rebellion against
Him,
His Church and everything sacred. Their evil goal is not to build or make things
better, but
to destroy. In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells the Pharisees: John 8:44 – You
belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's
desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for
there is no truth in him.
Historic monuments are being
defaced and torn down across
America, and with the monuments, the dismantling of American history, including
what sets us
apart as “One Nation Under God!” Is this part of Satan’s assault on America? Absolutely!
These
are not random acts of violence. It is planned, and carefully orchestrated
and executed destruction of our heritage.
Do you believe it? I do.
A dark shadow is also being cast
over the U.S. Congress, especially with those whose decisions are contrary to God’s
Word. When Christians do not take an interest in who holds political office,
others will, and we will not like the outcome. America is at a critical
crossroad. Some may sluff it off, while others will recognize the reality of
spiritual warfare. Future generations and the Nation will be shaped by what’s
happening today, right before our eyes. Again, this isn’t intended as a
political message but a reminder that the direction of our Nation is being
decided today.
Eph 6:12 NIV For
our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
But God has a plan – Isaiah 46:10 – I
make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to
come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will
do all that I please. … Regardless of what we may think or
observe, God’s plan is perfect, and the final victory is His.
Freedom
of
worship is guaranteed under the Bill of Rights. Our Nation was established on
biblical core-values and a longstanding heritage as “One Nation Under God”,
which Satan is determined not just to undermine but to destroy it, if we let
him.
Eph 6:13 —
Therefore
put on the full armor of God,
so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and
after you have done everything, to stand. (Eph. 6:13-18) In Ephesians 6:10-19, Paul lays out
our defenses against the schemes of the devil.
The more our nation turns away from God,
the more intense Satan’s efforts and stronger his influence. Discontent and
violence in the world are manifestations of the spiritual battle between evil
and good
both in the heavenly realm and here on earth under demonic influence. So where
are God’s angels? When America
turns away from God,
He
withholds His angelic hosts, permitting sinful man to face the consequence
of “willful sin”, just
as it was with Israel in the O.T. God will not bestow blessings on a
nation that has turned from Him, nor reward evil with good.
These are not just
“discontent-people” problems.
Names and faces change over
time but satanic
influences remains the same and Satan’s influence adapts to each
situation—protesters may differ and shout different slogans, yet there is only
one enemy—Satan!
Hitler
and Mussolini rose to power because the Church in Germany and Italy slept; and
the clergy and individual Christians, fearing for their personal safety,
remained silent.
The COVID-19 pandemic laid the foundation
for the civil unrest, riots, looting and destruction of historic monuments. We
forget that Communist China is a long-standing atheistic ideology and enemy of
the West, a country where Christianity is and has been subjugated and persecuted
throughout its history. Was evil intent behind the spread of this pandemic as a
way of destroying the West? We can be certain that Satan is behind it. Not only
is Communist China against Christianity, but there are forces right here in our
own country that have turned against Christianity and God as well see in the
following slides.
1st
Amendment: “Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof….” Is this a political battle or a spiritual one?
For me, it is self-evident that it is spiritual. This is what happens when
Christians lose interest in and their sway over the political process. If Christians
do not take an active role in selecting our leaders, others will gladly do
so—and we may not like the outcome. Are we still on angels? Absolutely. Their
influence is empowered or restrained by our participation or lack there of.
November 2020 will be a major milestone or turning point for America.
And so it begins. You can find Shaun King’s rants online.
Satan’s real target:
destroy Christianity
and drive Jesus Christ out of America, and he has plenty of willing
accomplices, including Mr. King. Is this the next wave of destruction? Shaun King uses social media to promote social
justice causes, including the Black Lives Matter movement. Christianity itself has now become the BLM
target. It didn’t take long for Jesus, Himself to become the target. Spiritual
warfare? Absolutely. Satanic influence? Absolutely.
Yes, Lucifer—a.k.a., Satan, the Devil—is
being openly worshiped in America as we’ll see in the next couple of slides.
Satan’s lies are still influencing man.
Yes, we are still discussing angels, but focusing on
their influence on the world. Satan was Lucifer the angel of light, the Morning
Star, and all his demons were once angels in heaven, created perfect and
sinless! The “Greater Church of Lucifer” crest (shown) states, “Bringing
the light of truth to all who see it”. Satan’s deceit first
to Eve
and then Adam was based on a lie. He is the master of deceit and father of
lies! The “Greater Church of Lucifer”, built on a lie, even has a
Facebook page.
Were you aware that there was such an
organization dedicated to the worship of Lucifer—the Devil?
A Nationwide Luciferian march (Lucifer, a.k.a., Satan & Devil)
is scheduled for Sunday, June 21st
during the solar eclipse “ring of fire”, is scheduled to
take place in nine American cities including Washington DC. It speaks volumes
concerning Satan’s influences on the very soul of America. How many people turn
out will be a sign of Satan’s influence.
Man inherited Adam’s fallen nature, his DNA.
This slide appeared in Lesson #2 but it’s equally appropriate here. Hatred
of Jesus runs hand-to-hand with today’s evil. Evil isn’t imposed on man from
without; it is instinctive from within yet influenced and intensified by Satan
and his demons. Adam was born with a perfect and sinless nature and yet he
sinned of his own free will.
Was Satan’s goal to deprive Adam of his
birthright having been given dominion over the earth by God? (Gen. 1:26). Did
Lucifer, because of his own brilliance, beauty and authority, resent God giving
man dominion over the earth, maybe Lucifer felt it should be his? Adam and
Eve’s sin originated from within. Satan did not compel them to sin, he tempted
them with a lie cunningly tailored for them. Knowing that neither angels or man
could achieve and maintain a holy state equal to God’s holiness, God has a plan,
otherwise
all would perish. God’s natural design for people (and animals) is that they
inherit their
parents’ DNA, as such, we inherited Adam’s DNA, i.e., his fallen nature with
the propensity to sin. But God has a plan rather than letting all perish.
God understood the consequences of
creating both angels and man, yet He did so. Why? The
end result or
outcome will be worth the results of God’s overall plan of creation. But how? I
think the answer can be found in asking why a husband and wife have children?
It is an extension of their mutual love. The creation of man is an extension of
God’s love. He even became man to achieve it on a personal basis.
Just as Satan questioned the hedge, that
the only reason God did so, was because Job would otherwise curse God. There
is more to God knowing the answer, it is also to show angels, who
are witnesses to man’s creation and struggles, an eternal expression of God’s ultimate love
and perfect justice, which helps demonstrate the very nature of God.
Why did God allow angels and man the
ability to sin? God did not want puppets. But without a command, no
sin could be condemned.
So God made Adam representative of the human race. God’s plan
includes Jesus as the second Adam for our redemption, as explained in Romans 5,
and in 1 Corinthians 15. Angels
and man,
who by their own
free-will, embraced
evil
will spend eternity separated from God. As we have seen with Lucifer’s fall
and that of Adam, no created
being, can
retain a sinless perfection and holy state for eternity, without God’s
grace. Satan
believed
he didn’t need God’s grace and strove to be like God by his own authority and ability,
which was his lie
to Eve and Adam, “you will be like God” (Gen. 3:5).
What other lesson is there? The spiritual
battle taking place enables people to see the ugliness and cruelty of Satan and
the beauty and blessedness of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:4; Eph. 2:10; Rom. 8:6)
in that we were redeemed by His sacrificial death and saving grace. It
glorifies not only God’s power, but Christ’s superior magnificence and love
over Satan’s wicked, perverted and corrupt nature. It
also makes people who are hurting more receptive to the Gospel.
The following verses imply
a proportional punishment for evil and proportional
reward
for good works: Matthew
5:11-12; Luke 6:22-24; Matthew 6:1-2; Matthew 16:27; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Peter 1:17;
Matthew 10:15; Matthew 11:23-24; Luke 10:13-14. There are many more verses
supporting proportional rewards in heaven and a perfectly-just
punishment in hell. We are not saved by our good works, but our good works are a
reflection of
God’s grace
on our lives.
+
Angels and people were created with immortal and
eternal souls. God’s grace and plan are superior for all eternity versus just
casting Satan and his demonic angels into hell right now! You can visit John
Piper’s website for the full article.
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/why-satan-is-left-on-earth
Both angels and man were created perfect,
holy and sinless. But
both were incapable of maintaining a holy state on their own merits and by
their own
desires,
sufficiently to remain
in a state of perfect holiness for eternity. The created can never achieve the
permanent and perfect holiness of the Creator to abide with Him and in
His holy state for
all eternity. We
are saved by grace alone through faith alone, in Christ alone.
We will continue our study of angelic
interaction and spiritual warfare. This is a very broad based topic and I had to cram more in than I typically would. But, I hope it was worth your time. Until next week, blessings...
END OF LESSON #4
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