PART 2 THE INVISIBLE FORCES

Why and When Did the Anointed Cherub Fall?

PART 2 THE INVISIBLE FORCES

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WHY DID THE ANOINTED CHERUB FALL?

 

Ezekiel 28:15a Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created,…  

So, here is a living creature, a cherub, which was created by God perfect. This word means to be prosperous and having no defect. We learned that he was given a special commission of being a protector, a guardian of God’s sacred places, and of God Himself. And then he threw it all away. What was it that sparked this downward trend?

17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

It all began in his heart. His heart was lifted up because of two things, his beauty (the costly jewels that formed the ornaments of his attire²) and brightness (brilliant appearance; splendor). It sounds like this creature became self-infatuated (possessed by a foolish passion for oneself³). This infatuation corrupted (destroyed the integrity of; ruined; perverted; corrupted morally) his wisdom (his administration; his duties).

In other words, the perception that he held about his divinely appointed duties, and by inference, his divinely appointed position, had changed. It was as if at this time, in a figurative sense, he ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He no longer continued in divine perception but entered into self-perception. Everything now was about him. Everything became distorted and yet perceived in his own heart to be right.

This fallen mindset caused him to look at everything differently. He probably thought that the supreme God had kept this type of perception from him because this way of looking at things according to him was the right way to look at things. It was now his mission to infiltrate the other heavenly creatures trying to convince them that God had kept this particular type of awareness of life away from them with the hope of convincing them to join him in a coup in order to dispose Him from His throne.

Isaiah 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

The Devil is now intent on sitting upon the mount of the congregation (sitting where God sits, on the throne).

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

When he does, he reasons that he will be like the most High in position, albeit, but not in perception.

Revelation 12:3-4 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: …

Revelation 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

The Scriptures indicate that the anointed cherub is now described as a great red dragon who drew about a third of the heavenly creatures described as stars. The word drew means to persuade to apostatize. These stars are symbolic of angels. What we have now is a full-fledged war involving fallen and God-fearing angels. Indications are that the casting of the fallen angels to the earth occurred sometime in the past before the birth of the Messiah.

Ezekiel 28:15b …till iniquity was found in thee.

Eventually, the time came for this coup to take place. The word that gives us a glimpse of this action is iniquity. This word means an act or deed that is against what is right.⁴ A battle took place in heaven. How long it lasted is not clear. What would it all mean if the red dragon convinced all of the heavenly angels to follow him? How would God have responded? Would He have decided to make Adam and place him in the Garden of Eden?

We know that this was not the case. The red dragon and fallen angels are now outcasts. Their plans and purposes have changed entirely. There are a couple of things that remain for us to investigate. What are the physical features of angels, and what are their nefarious plans? But before we do, let’s try to answer another question about the anointed cherub.

Do we know when this heavenly creature fell?

We’ll take a look at this in the next chapter.

 

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WHEN DID THE ANOINTED CHERUB FALL?

Ezekiel 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

Some say that this reference depicts the anointed cherub in Eden, the Garden of God, before this heavenly creature fell. There appears to be no other collaborating Scripture that would support this conclusion. What we do know is after this creature fell, it was in the Garden of Eden in the form of a serpent. There are some commentators who believe that Eden is the proper name for Paradise or heaven; and therefore, it refers to an Eden that is located in heaven.

Is there any indication in Scripture as to when the anointed cherub fell?

Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Please go to Genesis 1.

                                  

Genesis 1:1-26; 2:7, 21-22

1:1 In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth.

In the beginning, when God (masculine plural noun �" Elohiym �" grammatically singular when referring to the God of Israel) began to create, He created everything in the universe out of nothing, including the earth.

Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Initially, the earth was without form (the grand mass of matter without arrangement), and void (enveloped in darkness). And then, whenever that was, the Spirit of God moved in preparation for the six days of creation. 

Over a period of six days, these are the things that happened.

On day 1, God brought forth light, separating it from the darkness.

On day 2, He made the atmosphere.

On day 3, He caused the lands and oceans to appear, along with preparing the soil of the land to bring forth plants and fruit trees.

On day 4, He divided the light from the darkness bringing about days, years, and seasons. This seems to give credence to the idea that each day of creation was not necessarily to be thought of as a twenty-four-hour day. However, the twenty-four-hour day did seem to become a reality on day 4.

On day 5, He created every living creature of the sea, followed by the creation of fowls (birds), cattle (animals capable of domestication), creeping things (serpents-snakes, reptiles-lizards, turtles, rodents-mice, squirrels, beavers, and insects), and the beasts of the field (wild animals).

On day 6, He created man and woman.

Genesis 2:5-8 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

There is a clue hidden in one of the six days of the creation concerning when the fall of the Devil could have taken place. These verses appear to be saying that following the creation of man, God planted a garden in Eden. In other words, the Garden of Eden was made after the creation of man. Was this indeed the case?

In accordance with a well-known characteristic of Hebrew composition, the writer, having carried his subject forward to a convenient place of rest, now reverts to a point of time in the six days antecedent to man's appearance on the earth. In anticipation of his arrival, it was needful that a suitable abode should be prepared for his reception.⁵ The idea that is being expressed here is that the Garden of Eden was one of the geographical areas that came to fruition on day 3. During this time, God planted (put something into the soil so that it could grow) this particular garden (a fairly large area under cultivation) in a place called Eden (a well-watered place). He brought about a mist that watered the whole face of the ground, causing it to bring forth grass, shrubs, flowers, vegetables, and trees.

Genesis 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, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

By this rendering, we can deduce that it appears the earliest time that the Garden of Eden was prepared was on day 3. The anointed cherub was found to have been at this early time in this place still serving God. Ezekiel 28:13 Since it appears that the anointed cherub had already fallen and was now known as the serpent that deceived Eve on day 6, then this supernatural creatures’ fall occurred probably sometime between days 3 and 6. I hope that this has provided you a glimpse as to when the fall of God’s protector took place.

No matter what subject we study, God’s Word will provide us information on whatever it is that we would like to know more about. Go to him in prayer and ask for guidance by means of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in finding verses and insight that will provide a more thorough understanding of said topic.

As we previously learned, there were others who fell called angels, one-third of those that were God-fearing who were coerced by the same creature that deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden. In the next chapter, we will find out about their rank, physical characteristics, and evil purposes.

 

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WHO IS IN THE DEVIL’S ARMY?

Revelations 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.

The book of Revelation tells us that the names of the serpent that deceived Eve in the Garden is called the Devil or Satan.

The Devil’s coup had failed. However, this supernatural creature had succeeded in convincing one-third of the angels that were initially allegiant to God to follow him. What else can one say about him in that he must be a master influencer and manipulator. Think of it, these angels were serving God, and somehow, they were persuaded that there was an alternate way to think about themselves, about others, about their heavenly purpose, and about God. No longer would they operate in godly elements of character enjoying God’s directives, plans, and presence but would live contrary to such according to a nature that sins. Their new life would be consumed with self-direction, self-satisfaction, and self-exaltation.

Now that we know some of the names of the fallen anointed cherub, there are some questions that remain to be answered.

Is the Devil an angel, albeit a high-ranking one?

In his army, is there a hierarchy?

Is there a description and corresponding rank associated with these enemy forces?

What are their purposes?

 

Please go to Ephesians 6, and let’s find out.                                                

Suggested Reading: Ephesians 6:10-16  

The apostle Paul considers every Christian as being engaged in warfare against numerous, powerful, and subtle foes, and that therefore, they would need much strength, much courage, armor to put on, and divine skills in order to combat against them spiritually. The Devil has a hierarchy of enemy forces who are against us. These are referred to as the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, whose titles are described as that of rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers.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.              

For we wrestle not (a personal individual struggle; hand to hand, foot to foot warfare) against flesh and blood (human beings) but against various forces of evil (principalities, powers, rulers, and spiritual wickedness). What more can be said about these adversaries? The Koine Greek language, the language in which most of the New Testament was written) can help us out in this matter.

The word principalities (archas) means the pre-eminent ones. They are also known as beings of the first rank and order in their own kingdom.

The word powers (exousias) refer to the demons of Satan in the lower atmosphere.⁷ These enemy combatants operate in the air.

The word rulers (kosmokratoras) can mean world rulers of the darkness of this world. The word darkness pertains to natural feature domains. These rulers have dominion over widely extended territories of geography, presiding over these regions of sin and ignorance⁸ within which the earth abounds. Within these confines, they rule over people.

We could also say that Christians are against spiritual wickedness (of the evil powers viewed collectively that disguise falsehood in the garb of truth) in high places (in the atmosphere surrounding the earth).

Pretty intense. There are organized forces of evil on the earth and in the atmosphere surrounding it that have an agenda. What this is all about, we will find out in a later chapter.

Are there any other characteristics of these evil powers that we can find out through the study of Scripture where the same words used to describe them are found? Believe it or not, there are quite a few Scriptures that refer to these forces of evil, such as Colossians 2:15, Romans 8:38, Ephesians 1:21, and 1 Corinthians 15:24. From doing a further study of these words contained in these verses, I could only find out a little bit more only about one of them, and that was the word powers (exousias). What else we found out about this word was that it could also refer to evil spirits or messengers sent on various errands.⁹

So, with these thoughts in mind, let’s take a look again and update our description of these soldiers of harm that are called principalities, powers, and rulers.

• Principalities (rulers): Beings of first rank and order.                                     
• Powers (authorities): Evil spirits or messengers sent on various errands¹⁰ in the atmosphere.
• Rulers of the darkness of this world: World rulers that rule over people and have dominion over widely extended territories of geography, presiding over these regions of sin and ignorance.¹¹

Now that we know how these spiritual forces are described and their areas or spheres of influence, the next question we will try to answer is the following. 

Are all of these forces of evil called angels?

    

                                                                                                                                                                                                       

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