Angelic Conflict

In the book of Isaiah ch.14 and Ezekiel ch. 28 is the record of the fall of Lucifer.  Isaiah tells us why he fell, Ezekiel tells us how far he fell and what he fell from.  Lucifer was the most beautiful and intelligent creature to ever come from the hand of God.  He did not have a tail, horns, or a pitchfork.  He was in fact the most beautiful holy angel God created.  His intelligence is unmatched among created beings in the universe.  He is first and foremost.  The key though is that he "was created" by The Creator.  His original position was that of ceremonial guard of the throne of Jesus Christ.  Imagine the guards at Buckingham palace, they stand guard at the front gate but it is more for show than anything.  So also, Lucifer's supposed power and position was for show more than anything; since when does God need anyone to "guard His throne"..

But alas, it all went to his head and he decided that he wanted to "be like God", take over heaven, rule Jerusalem, and rule the angels.  This was his fall.  His pride got the best of him.  So the beautiful intelligent Lucifer was sentenced to the lake of fire.  The Bible indicates that lucifer appealed his sentence saying, "how can a loving God sentence one of His creatures to the lake of fire?" the response of the Father, "sit back a minute and I will show you".  And along came human history.  But for now, lets stay with the fall of lucifer a little longer.

The Bible tells us that Lucifer managed to convince 1/3 of the angelic host to take part in his rebellion against God.  Can you imagine, of the billions of created angels 1/3 decided to follow lucifer.  This is an indication of his powers of persuasion.  Think about it, the angels in the very presence of God decide to follow the renegade in his folly...No wonder men are so blind today.  

All of these events occurred in eternity past, before mankind was created.  A period of perhaps millions of years.  So you see, this conflict between good and evil started long before man was even created.  How arrogant of men to think that they are the beginning of the battle.  But, mankind plays a vital role in the resolution of the conflict.  You see, men were created with the same ability to choose as the angels.  As the angels who fell chose against God and the angels who did not fall chose for God, so also mankind has a choice to make; and it is centered in the person of Jesus Christ.  When we as humans choose to believe in Christ then the fallen angel, who is the more intelligent creation, could have but did not.  And God is justified in sending that fallen angel to the lake of fire.  By the way, Hebrews ch. 2 tells us that a message of salvation was offered to the angelic host.  That means that sometime in eternity past, that 1/3 of the angels that chose against God had the opportunity to right the wrong decision they made.  We are not told specifically what the message of angelic salvation was but I would imagine it was centered in the person of Christ as well.  

So you see, life really is a battle.  You and I were born in the middle of the greatest conflict in the universe.  Is it any wonder that life on this planet is so messed up.  

Next time, we will look at the fall of man in the garden of Eden.