ANGELIC CONFLICT

The Angelic Conflict - Part 1 -

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

The Angelic Conflict - Part 1 - 1Ti 5:21 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels Angels observe believers as a result of the angelic conflict. pres/mid/ind - [Diamarturomai] = to solemnly warn, to solemnly charge someone [enopion] = in the presence of God the Father, TLJC, and the elect angels Angels observe members of the Royal Family of God in their failure or success to execute and fulfill the predesigned plan of God. 1Co 4:9 we have become a spectacle [theatron] to to the world, both to angels and to men. Eph 3:10 in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 1Pe 1:12 - the angels desire and long to look into the doctrines Church-age believers learn. 1Pe 1:12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven - things into which angels long to look. Angels observe the attitude of respect a woman has toward her husband as a symbol of her love for him, 1Co 11:3-10. Point 1. - Definition - The angelic conflict is the result of prehistoric creatures being in opposition to God, which began with the fall of Satan and continued until all angelic creatures had made a decision for or against God. It refers to two trials of Satan and the fallen angels, one in prehistoric times, the other during human history. Point 2. - The Existence of Rational Creatures - There are only two categories of rational creatures. The prehistorical category - angels, Psa 8:4-6; Heb 2:6,7; 2Pe 2:11. Psa 8:4-5 What is man, that thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that thou dost care for him? Yet thou hast made him a little lower than the angels. Heb 2:7 Thou hast made him for a little while lower than the angels. 2Pe 2:11 Whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. The first category of rational creatures is the superior category; angels are superior to mankind. Angels were created in eternity past, before the creation of the human race, prehistoric times. Psa 148:2-5 “Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Let them praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded and they were created.” The second category of rational creatures is the historical category called human beings, mankind, or man. We have in common with angels the structure of our souls; the two are very similar. Satan is the most brilliant, most attractive, most personable creature who has ever lived. He has the greatest personality that has ever existed in a creature. His real name is Lucifer, the son of the morning, the anointed cherub! Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

The Angelic Conflict - Part 2 -

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

The Angelic Conflict - Part 2 - 1Ti 5:21 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality. Elect and fallen angels observe the human race and human history. The angelic conflict is the result of prehistoric creatures being in opposition to God, which began with the fall of Satan and continued until all angelic creatures had made a decision for or against God. It refers to two trials of Satan and the fallen angels, one in prehistoric times, the other during human history. The devil is not interested in getting people to sin. He is vitally interested in getting people to perform human good. 2Co 2:11 in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes. Satan is actively interested in attacking any believer anywhere who knows Bible doctrine. Immorality is embarrassing to Satan because he is the ruler of this world. As the greatest creature ever created, this world is an insult to his leadership. Human good appeals to approbation lust, to power lust, and to the area of strength of the old sin nature. Government, morals, education, art, commercialism, vast enterprises and organizations, and religious activity are included in the Satan’s plan to deceive the human race. The presence evil in the world is not due to Satan’s intention to have it so but his inability to control the human race. Government, morals, education, art, commercialism, vast enterprises and organizations, and religious activity are included in the Satan’s plan to deceive the human race. God’s plan for the human race is not to clean up the devil’s world; it is to offer salvation to the unbeliever and knowledge of doctrine to the believer. 1Ti 2:4 He desires all men to be saved and to come to the epignosis knowledge of the truth. The devil, through his cosmic control, will give advancing believers a great deal of attention, because they constitute the greatest threat to his cosmic system. Point 2. - The Existence of Rational Creatures - The prehistorical category - angels, Psa 8:4-6; Heb 2:6,7; 2Pe 2:11. The historical category - human beings, mankind, man. Satan is the most brilliant, most attractive, most personable creature who has ever lived. He has the greatest personality that has ever existed in a creature. His real name is Lucifer, the son of the morning, the anointed cherub! He was at that time the highest of all creatures. The cherub at that time was the highest and most superior form of angelic life. Satan was the greatest of the cherubs. Today the seraphim are the highest ranking angels, above the cherubs. Anyone who believes on TLJC actually becomes greater than Adam, who was created perfect, because believers have the very righteousness of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Jo 3:9 “No one who is born of God sins, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” 1Pe 1:23 “for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God.” Rom 7:17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin [the sin nature] which indwells me. Rom 7:20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. Adam was created perfect, but after his fall a higher category of humans came into existence, called the children of God. The same is true in the angelic realm. Lucifer, the son of the morning, the anointed cherub, was created perfect and was the highest ranking angel at that time. Just as anyone who follows God will become greater than Adam, so certain angels who followed God were rewarded with a higher rank than Satan! That higher rank is called seraphim, angels with 6 wings. Because of God’s perfect justice, righteousness, and immutability, we are forced to the conclusion - just as members of the human race are rewarded for faithfulness to TLJC, so angels were given rewards for living in something similar to our PPOG. 1Co 15:40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. 1Co 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for stars differ from stars in glory 1Co 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead God never has and never will coerce or force angelic or human volition to make choices. Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

The Angelic Conflict - Part 3 -

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

The Angelic Conflict - Part 3 - Point 3. - When and How the Angelic Conflict Began - The revelation concerning the angelic conflict begins with the period between the creation of the heavens and the earth, Gen 1:1, and the desolating judgments which ended that period, when earth became waste and empty, Gen 1:2. Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God has no beginning, He is eternal! The angels were already around before God created the heavens and the earth. Job 38:4-5 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it?” Job 38:6-7 “On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, When the morning stars [angels] sang together, And all the sons of God [angels] shouted for joy?” Job 38:7 - all the angels shouted for joy because they were undivided at that time. Gen 1:1 - the universe, the heavens and the earth, was originally created as the domain of the angels. It was between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:2 that Lucifer rebelled against God and enticed one third of the angels to follow him. Rev 12:4 And his tail swept away a third of the stars [angels] of heaven, Along with sin and evil, Satan’s rebellion brought chaos upon the earth. As part of God’s judgment against the rebellious angels, the planet was enshrouded in darkness. The raging waters of the deep froze into an ice pack, and before the earth could be inhabited again, restoration would be necessary. Gen 1:2 And the earth became [not was] formless and void [tohuw waabohuw], Isa 24:1 Behold, the Lord lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface, and scatters its inhabitants. Jer 4:23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void [tohuw waabohuw]; And to the heavens, and they had no light. Jer 4:24-25 I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and behold, there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled. Jer 4:26 I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the Lord, before His fierce anger. Gen 1:2b “and the Spirit of God began to move over the surface of the waters.” This was actually the beginning of God granting Satan’s appeal! Man was created to be a witness for the justice, righteousness, and love of God, during the angelic conflict. Man’s occupancy on the earth started long after the creation of the earth. Man’s occupancy on planet earth didn’t last too long before Adam and the woman fell, and then Satan became the ruler of the world again! Satan always considers this one of his greatest victories. Satan is the highest of all angels, and ruler of all fallen angels, Mat 8:28, 9:34, 12:26; Luk 11:18-19. He is the most beautiful creature to come from the hand of God. He is superior in genius, beauty, personality, and persuasiveness, and is invisible. He is an organizational genius with a great organization of demons, Eph 6:10-12. He is the enemy of Bible doctrine. He is the enemy of the Church (Royal Family). He is the enemy of Israel. He is the enemy of Christ. The king of Tyre was possessed by Satan, just like the serpent in the garden and Judas Iscariot who betrayed our Lord. “You had the seal of perfection” Of all of the creatures to come from the hand of God, Satan was the most beautiful, the wisest, and the most personable. He has the greatest mind that any creature has ever had. Only one mind is more intelligent than his - “the mind of Christ,” 1Co 2:16, Phi 2:5. God offers us the mind of Christ which is much greater than the greatest mind of all time, Satan’s, and the average believer says “NO thank you!” Rev 12:9 “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” He deceives the whole world! Rev 13:14 - he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform. Rev 18:23 - he deceives the world by using a very popular church in Rome. Rev 19:20 - he deceives those who had received the mark of the beast. Rev 20:3 and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. If there’s anything that destroys genius, smartness, talent, beauty, or anything else that can be considered worthwhile, it is arrogance. There is the thought of arrogance, then the decision of arrogance, and then the action of arrogance. The original sin among angelic creatures is like the original sin among human creatures; it occurred as a decision in perfect environment! There are three things that you can do without as far as happiness in life is concerned! 1. To be a genius mentally. 2. Physical beauty in some form. 3. Perfect or improved environment. Degeneracy in any nation, in any society, is merely a manifestation of the fact that people are unhappy. Happiness comes from truth. Happiness is a state of mind. He was created an adult with perfect beauty, with the greatest genius of any creature God ever made, and with perfect environment. Satan was created with perfect beauty and brains, and authority as the Messiah’s personal angel, the guardian of the Messiah - yet his desire was for more POWER. Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

The Angelic Conflict - Part 4 -

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

The Angelic Conflict - Part 4 - Point 3. - When and How the Angelic Conflict Began - The angelic conflict began before the creation of the human race, Gen 1:1-2, Jer 4:23-26. Of all of the creatures to come from the hand of God, Satan was the most beautiful, the wisest, the most personable creature ever created. EZE 28:13 - Satan did not appear there as a minister of God but as an apostate and venomous serpent eager for the ruin of the new creation. Nahash [serpent] = “the shining one.” 2CO 11:14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. These precious stones are displayed three times in the Bible: (a) In the high priest’s breastplate as a manifestation of divine grace. (b) In the New Jerusalem, which reflects the glory of God. (c) As the covering of this great angel, which signalizes the highest of all creation. The workmanship of your settings and sockets = he was given a built-in Royal crown of praise to praise to his Creator. He did not need an instrument to glorify his Creator; he was an instrument of praise. EZE 28:13 On the day that you were created They were prepared. Satan’s priestly dignity - he was the Anointed Cherub that covers by God’s appointment. “Anointed” = the Messiah’s angel. The holy mountain of God is the place of His presence in visible glory, where His High Priest would stand before Him to minister, Exo 4:27, Psa 2:6. The cherubim were related to the throne of God as protectors and defenders of His holiness. This great angel was created above all angels to be a protector and defender of the throne of God. Christians under the thinking of Satan are called sons [teknons / students] of the devil, 1Jo 3:10. 1Co 11:19 For there must also be factions among you, in order that those who are approved may have become evident among you. 1TI 3:6 “And not a new convert, lest he become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.” “The abundance of your trade” refers to his genius plans. Rekullah (slander) = to go about in order to traffic something against someone, to slander, to try and destroy someone’s reputation through gossip and slander. It indicates that going about among the angels which was necessary for Satan to do to secure their allegiance to his program of rebellion and conspiracy against God. Satan is a master of conspiracy! He is the originator of conspiracy! God records the origin, the estate, the character, and the sin of the greatest of angels. He wants us to see the devastating effects of arrogance and pride. PRO 8:13 “Respect for the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, And the perverted mouth, I hate.” ISA 13:11 Thus I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud, 1. Through the degenerating power of sin, Satan, as did Adam, became an entirely different being from that which God created. 2. When God creates a being to fulfill a certain purpose, that being must be a perfect fulfillment of that divine pattern. God always provides whatever we need to fulfill the purpose He has for our lives. We have logistical grace, the PSD’s, and 100% availability of divine power. 3. God created Satan as a beautiful intelligent angel, not so he would have enough power to deceive us, but so he could be the protector and defender of the throne of God. 4. By his sin, he lost his original holiness and heavenly position, but he retains his wisdom and his beauty. He has turned his surpassing abilities into ways of evil. 5. Satan’s office was originally to protect the throne of God and to forbid the approach of evil or any unrighteousness. Like most of God’s creatures, including believers, Satan rejected the plan of God for his life and chose his own plans over the plan of God. 6. The unrighteousness found in Satan was the sin of independence and self-exaltation. 7. Satan is said to have been upon the Holy Mountain of God as the Anointed Cherub that covereth, and appears to have been the great High Priest of his realm. 8. Satan also appears to have been the highest angel and therefore the king over his creation. 9. He was perfect in all his ways, and apparently continued so for a length of time. Satan abused his high office of prophet, priest, and king. God created Adam to function as a prophet, priest, and king. 10. The Lord Jesus Christ came forth from the Godhead to become a member of the human race and to fulfill all three functions: prophet, priest, and king. It was necessary first to put away the iniquity of those who should be saved. This He came into the world to do by the sacrifice of Himself. He will come to earth a second time to claim the power from the hands of Satan, and after casting Satan into prison, the Lord will bring back the creation to purity and order. Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

The Angelic Conflict - Part 5 -

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

The Angelic Conflict - Part 5 - 1Ti 5:21 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, The angelic conflict is the result of prehistoric creatures being in opposition to God, which began with the fall of Satan and continued until all angelic creatures had made a decision for or against God. It refers to the two trials of Satan and the fallen angels, one in prehistoric times, the other right now during human history. a. The prehistorical category - angels, Psa 8:4-6; Heb 2:6,7; 2Pe 2:11. b. The historical category - human beings, mankind, or man. Point 3. - When and How the Angelic Conflict Began - Of all of the creatures to come from the hand of God, Satan was the most beautiful, the wisest, the most personable creature ever created. The workmanship of your settings and sockets = he was given a built-in Royal crown of praise. He did not need an instrument of praise to glorify his Creator; he was an instrument of praise. “anointed” = Messiah’s angel. The cherubim were related to the throne of God as protectors and defenders of His holiness. This great angel was created above all angels to be a protector and defender of the throne of God. Often those who are supposed to protect and defend authority instead attack it and discredit it! This started with their father the devil! Rekullah (slander) = to go about in order to traffic something against someone, to slander, to try and destroy someone’s reputation through gossip and slander. God records the origin, the estate, the character, and the sin of the greatest of angels. He wants us to see the devastating effects of arrogance and pride. Arrogance has to do with thought while pride has to do with action. ISA 14:12 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!” ISA 14:13 But you said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north.” ISA 14:14 “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” 1. Through his rejection of the plan of God and his rebellion, Satan, as did Adam, became an entirely different being from that which God created. 2. When God creates a being to fulfill a certain purpose, that being must be a perfect fulfillment of that divine pattern. God always provides whatever we need to fulfill the purpose He has for our lives. We have logistical grace, the PSD’s, and 100% availability of divine power. 3. God created Satan as a beautiful intelligent angel, not so he would have enough power to deceive us, but so he could be the protector and defender of the throne of God. Satan used his God-given abilities and his God-given talents to glorify himself rather than God. 4. By his sin of independence, Satan lost his original holiness and heavenly position, but retained his wisdom and beauty. He has used his superior qualities to accomplish evil. His wisdom and his beauty have been perverted into lies, deceptions, snares, and conspiracies. 5. Satan’s office was originally to protect the throne of God and to forbid the approach of evil or any unrighteousness. 6. The unrighteousness found in Satan was the sin of independence and self-exaltation. 7. Satan was upon the Holy Mountain of God as the Anointed Cherub that covereth, and therefore appears to have been the great High Priest of his realm. 8. Satan also appears to have been the highest angel and therefore the king over his creation. JUD 1:9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 9. He was perfect in all his ways, and apparently continued so for a length of time. Satan abused his high office of prophet, priest, and king. So God created Adam to function as a prophet, priest, and king, GEN 1:26. 10. The Lord Jesus Christ came forth from the Godhead to become a member of the human race and to fulfill all three functions: prophet, priest, and king. GAL 4:4 But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, He will come to earth a second time to claim the power from the hands of Satan, and after casting Satan into prison, the Lord will bring back the creation to purity and order. Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

The Angelic Conflict - Part 6 -

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

The Angelic Conflict - Part 6 - Point 3. - When and How the Angelic Conflict Began - 1. Satan’s fall in eternity past, Eze 28:15. 2. In the middle of the Tribulation, Satan is cast out of heaven, REV 12:9. 3. At the end of the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ, REV 20:10. LUK 10:18 “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.” Satanas = to gossip, to malign, to slander and to accuse. ISA 14:12 “star” = heylel = the shining one or the star. Lucifer (Latin) = light bearer. It means the shining one, the translucent one, the simulating one. Two Hebrew words for shining or for light being thrown out - - Heylel used for Satan. - Nachash used for the serpent, Gen 3. 2CO 11:14-15a And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; 2CO 11:3 But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. 2CO 11:4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. You must never look at the personality of the messenger but the content of the message. From the middle of the Tribulation period and for the rest of his existence, Satan has to stay on the earth. Only one mind available to creatures is more intelligent than Satan’s and that is “the mind of Christ,” 1Co 2:16, Phi 2:5. Satan deceives the whole world, Rev 12:9. Satan deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform, REV 13:14. He deceives the world by using a very popular church in Rome, REV 18:23. He deceives those who receive the mark of the beast, REV 19:20. REV 20:3 and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. Nations = divine institution # 4, nationalism. God’s order for the preservation of the human race is nationalism. Nationalism = nations will benefit from acting independently rather than collectively, emphasizing national rather than international goals. God Himself destroyed the first United Nations building, the tower of Babel. He divided nations racially, geographically, and linguistically. “I will ascend into heaven” is a reference to the third heaven where God is, 2Co 12:2. “I will raise my throne above the stars of God” - stars are angels, Job 38:7; Jud 13, Rev 12:3-4. “I will sit on the mount of the assembly in the recesses of the north” = rulership over the government of the earth, Isa 2:1-4. (Messianic recognition.) Clouds represent the divine presence of God or His glory. Jehovah appeared in cloud, Exo 16:10. Jehovah rides upon cloud, Psa 104:3. Satan wants the glory which belongs to God alone. “I will make myself like the Most High.” Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

The Angelic Conflict - Part 7 -

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

The Angelic Conflict - Part 7 - ISA 14:12 “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!” JOB 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. JOB 1:7 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” REV 12:10 the accuser of our brethren who accuses them before our God day and night. star = heylel = shining one or the shining star. His real title is “star of the morning,” his glorious heavenly identification before his fall. REV 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.” REV 2:26 And he who overcomes, and he who keeps My assignments until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; REV 2:27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; REV 2:28-29 and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Receiving the order of the morning star is the highest manifestation of glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ in the Church age. (1) The uniform of glory worn over the resurrection body, Rev 3:4-5. (2) The name of the winner appears on the honors list and he is presented in the court of heaven during the Tribulation on earth, Rev 3:5. (3) A new order of knighthood and eternal order of chivalry will be added to the believer’s name in the Lamb’s book of life forever, Rev 2:17. (4) The winner will rule with Christ during the Millennium, Rev 3:21. (5) The winner’s name is recorded in the permanent historical record section in heaven because of his invisible historical impact during the Church-age, Rev 3:12. (6) The winner receives his own coat of arms of glory, Rev 3:12. (7) The winner has special privileges related to the tree of life, the gazebo of the garden, called the Paradise of God, Rev 2:7,14. Nationalism is the belief that nations will benefit from acting independently rather than collectively, emphasizing national rather than international goals. Behind every earthly power there is a satanic power lurking, seeking to control and dominate for the glory of that rebel angel who declared war against God, Satan himself. ISA 14:13 But you said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north.” The element in sin which makes it “exceeding sinful,” is the sin of independence, or the choosing of our will over God’s will, Rom 7:13. Anything done outside of the will of God becomes a form of evil in the sense of being independent from God. Independence from God makes even the good we produce evil. JOH 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.” “I will ascend into heaven” is a reference to the third heaven where God is, 2Co 12:2. The majority of believers are much more occupied with their own life and their own will than the will of God. 1CO 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. 2CO 5:15 and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. ROM 6:19 Just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. ROM 12:1 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

The Angelic Conflict - Part 8 -

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

The Angelic Conflict - Part 8 - The element in sin which reveals total rebellion against God is the sin of independence. Anything done outside of the will of God becomes a form of evil in the sense of being independent from God. The majority of believers are much more occupied with their own life and their own will over the will of God. God’s grace will take some members of the human race, created lower than the angels, and lift them up to an eternal citizenship in the highest realm. HEB 2:6 “What is man, that Thou rememberest him? Or the son of man, that Thou art concerned about him?” HEB 2:7 “Thou hast made him for a little while lower than the angels; Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, And hast appointed him over the works of Thy hands;” HEB 2:8 “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him.” JOH 17:21 that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me. JOH 17:22 And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one; JOH 17:23 I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me. JOH 17:24 Father, I desire that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am, in order that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me; for Thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world. Satan has no right either by position or redemption to claim this eternal citizenship and this highest of all heavenly positions, so he is very angry! His self-seeking intention is an outrage against the Creator’s plan and purpose for the creature. ROM 1:25 exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. ROM 1:23 They exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures ISA 14:13 - “will raise” = rum = “I will cause myself to rule” Although Satan was appointed to the guardianship of the throne of God, he lusted for a throne of his own to rule over the “stars of God.” Satan is the prince of the power of the air, Eph 2:2. Satan is the god of this world, 2Co 4:4. He is the ruler of this world, Joh 12:31. This earth is a terrible reflection of Satan’s rulership. “I will sit on the mount of the assembly in the recesses of the north” = rulership over the government of the earth, Isa 2:1-4. (Messianic recognition.) The original sin was a thought of independence from God. Morality is not spirituality! The worst sins are related to what you think or say, such as gossip, maligning, jealousy, and pride. In most churches, people are evaluated on the basis of their obvious, overt sins. ISA 14:13 - This was power lust expressing a desire to rule over God. “ascend” = to rule or to have the sovereignty in heaven. ISA 14:13 - Satan wanted to rule over the angels on the earth as well as those in heaven. ISA 14:14 - Clouds are used to represent the divine presence of God or His glory. Exo 16:10, Psa 104:3, 1Ki 8:10, Isa 19:1. Satan wanted the glory which belonged to God alone. Mat 24:30; Rev 1:7. Satan’s ambition was to take over the functions of God. Satan has neither the character nor the personality to control all types of creatures, or to bring them into eternal compatibility with God. Satan wants the glory but he doesn’t have the ability - that same spirit is manifested everywhere in the human race. Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

The Angelic Conflict - Part 9 -

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

The Angelic Conflict - Part 9 - Satan has neither the character nor the personality to control all types of creatures and bring them into eternal compatibility with God. Satan wants the glory but he doesn’t have the ability - that same spirit is manifested every where in the human race. God’s principle in dealing with the human race is grace - man can neither earn or deserve it. Man cannot of his own ability or his own talent do anything that glorifies God. Satan wants to set up principles that promote creatures getting credit! There never was or will be a believer whoever earned or deserved anything from God. Anything we are by way of success, any victory we have, depends entirely on who and what God is, never on who and what we are. We get in God’s way; we start helping God and then He stops working. ISA 14:14 I will make myself like the Most High. The only thing Satan could do was to imitate or to counterfeit God. EPH 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; GAL 4:19 My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you GAL 5:16 “walk by means of the Holy Spirit” EPH 5:18 “be filled with the Spirit” Outside of the gospel there is nothing that Satan hates as much as spirituality by grace. Col 2:6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him The filling of the Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit and the character of God. Satan promotes morality as spirituality because even he can be moral. ISA 14:14 I will make myself like the Most High. GEN 14:19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;” GEN 14:22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth,” ISA 42:8 “I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.” ISA 43:10 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, In order that you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.” Satan’s ambition is not to be like Jehovah, the self-existent One, but to be like the Most High, whose title signifies the “possessor of heaven and earth.” The essential evil character of sin is an unwillingness on the part of the creature to abide in the precise position in which he has been placed by the Creator. GEN 3:5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 2TH 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. He’s smart and powerful, but he doesn’t have character, so he can never be faithful to his creatures. GAL 5:19-20 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery Satan wants is the glory of the person who controls the universe - and that type of glory comes through grace! When Satan offered TLJC the kingdoms of the world, TLJC turned him down flat. You not only have a wall of fire around you from the grace of God, but you also have a wall of fire around your soul, Bible doctrine. The lake of fire was prepared for the devil and his angels, Mat 25:41. Everything that we have, from salvation to minute details, was paid for in heaven billions of years ago. 2Co 11:13-14 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 2Co 11:15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds. This deception is to imitate the real ministers of Christ, and to blind people from true righteousness which is imputed as a gift from God’s grace. They gather into their message every available “form of godliness” and cover their lies with the most subtle hypocrisy. “The value and delusion of a counterfeit are increased by the nearness of its likeness to the real.” These false ministers do not necessarily know the real mission they have. Their teaching is based on human viewpoint and appeals to human resources. Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

The Angelic Conflict - Part 10 -

The Angelic Conflict - Part 10 - Satan chose the title, the Most High, because he wants the glory that God has! Gen 14:18-19 Isa 42:8 1. Satan’s major purpose behind these five “I wills” is to be like the Most High, not to attempt to be unlike God. 2. Those under the influence of his false doctrine teach others how to improve human nature while ignoring the new creature created by God. 3. The presence of gross evil in the world is not due to Satan’s intention to have it so, rather it indicates Satan’s inability to be like the Most High! JOH 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” MAT 26:52-53 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” 4. Satan’s ambition to be like God has led him to take on more than he can handle. 5. Satan deceives the world and the church into thinking that he is totally opposite of God, which is true inwardly; but what makes his deceptions so great are the overt similarities that he has with God. 6. Satan is after worship from man; during the tribulation period he will demand the worship of the people of the earth or they will pay the penalty of death. 7. Any plans to clean up the world and make it a better place to live complements Satan’s evil goals and policies to be like God! 8. All the counterfeit systems Satan has simply reveal his desire to be like the Most High. 9. Religion is Satan’s counterfeit - a. Counterfeit Gospel, 2Co 11:3-4. b. Counterfeit Ministers, 2Co 11:13-15. c. Counterfeit Doctrine, 1Ti 4:1. d. Counterfeit Communion table, 1Co 10:19-21. e. Counterfeit Spirituality, Gal 3:2-3. f. Counterfeit Righteousness, Mat 19:16-28. g. Counterfeit self-righteousness, Mat 23:13-36. h. Counterfeit Power and dynamics (miracles, healing, tongues), 2Th 2:8-10. i. Counterfeit System of gods, 2Th 2:3-4. ISA 14:15 - This is the third fall of Satan which will be fulfilled at the end of the Millennium. REV 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. “you will be thrust down” = jaradh = he will receive this action Rev 20:10 and Mat 25:41 indicate Satan will spend eternity in the lake of fire with members of the human race who rejected Christ as Savior, Rev 20:12-15. ISA 14:15-17 This earth becomes the theater of the invisible war. JOH 17:4 “I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do.” The earth will be the scene of the final triumph of TLJC and Satan’s final defeat. Before Satan’s fall, there was one will in the universe - the will of God. (1) There was no previous example of sin and rebellion. Satan started the first conspiracy against God! (2) He was created beautiful and perfect; he lacked nothing as the greatest of all creatures. (3) Satan’s greatest of all intelligence gave him greater light and understanding of the greatness and goodness of the God whom he sinned against. (4) His highest position gave him the privilege of the greatest service to God. He used his authority against God rather than for God. (5) In his perfection and holiness, he had the privilege of intimate fellowship with God. 1. Banishment from heaven; his privileges and position will be permanently lost. 2. Corruption of character. The “star of morning, son of the dawn,” now has become Satan, the opposer and adversary of all that God is. 3. Perversion of power. Satan’s power, once used for God’s glory and the good of His creatures, is now turned to disruptive and destructive purposes. a. He used his power to weaken the nations, Isa 14:12. b. To cause the earth and governments to tremble, Isa 14:16. c. His prisoners have no relief, Isa 14:17. 4. Retention of some of his dignity, Jud 9. 5. He is destined to the pit. He will “be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit,” Isa 14:15, Rev 20:3,10. 1. God is perfect, therefore His plan is perfect, and He allowed evil to come into being. 2. Perhaps He allowed angels to sin to give an explicit example of the wretchedness and degeneration of sin and rebellion. 3. He used the test to gain a group of angels to serve Him from their own free will and personal love. 4. To finally show the grace of God in the preserving of some angels and in the redemption of unworthy, sinful man. In man, God will magnify His grace forever before angels. Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

The Angelic Conflict - Part 11 -

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

The Angelic Conflict - Part 11 - Point 4. - Two Categories of Fallen Angels Under the Command of Satan - (1) The non-operational angels. (a) Gen 6 angels who were involved in the angelic attack to infiltrate the human race, now incarcerated underneath the ground in Tartarus. GEN 6:4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God [angels] had sex with the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. (b) The first demon assault army incarcerated in the abyss at this time. The abyss is the location of the demon king, Satan’s right hand man, called Abaddon. Hades Chart The abyss is the jail for certain demons who have disobeyed the rules for the angelic conflict in human history. The Church today is the focal point of invisible warfare, and therefore we are required to become invisible heroes. The abyss is related to visible warfare during the Tribulation period. It is the barracks for the first demon assault army under the command of Abaddon (Hebrew) or Apollyon (Greek). There will be visible heroes among believers - Moses and Elijah and the 144,000 Jewish evangelists. When Satan is cast down to the earth, he will be permitted to release his three hard-core demon armies, and they will attack human beings physically. 1. Only those involved in the cosmic system, the world system, can be attacked. Believers who are positive toward doctrine are protected by a wall of fire. 2. The angels cannot kill their victims. - The Tribulation - A time of wrath, 1Th 5:9; Rev 6:16-17; Rev 11:18; 14:19. A time of judgment, Rev 14:7; 15:4;16:5-17. A time of indignation, Isa 26:20-21; 34:1-3. A time of punishment, Isa 24:20-21. A time of trial, Rev 3:10. A time of trouble, Jer 30:7. A time of destruction, Joel 1:15. A time of darkness, Joel 2:2; Zep 1:14-18. The fifth angel is one of the elect angels who have privileges and authority for glorifying TLJC in the first angelic rebellion. ISA 14:12 How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! LUK 10:18 “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.” bottomless = abussos = the abyss. pit = phrear = a well, it refers to the pit of the abyss. Satan is permitted to release his first demon assault army and they will torture their targets for five months. Satan does this to his own servants because he is an ungrateful master; once he can no longer use those involved in the cosmic system, he tries to destroy them. Once Satan is cast out of heaven he sheds all hypocrisy; he shows his real colors in pettiness, vindictiveness, implacability, arrogance, and colossal vanity! Arrogance tortures arrogance! Satan is ruthless; he uses what God has given him to destroy those who have served him against God, both carnal believers and unbelievers. MAT 7:7 “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.” JER 29:13 “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” MAR 12:30 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” If you’re in the cosmic system you are the servant [slave] of Satan. Two areas where demons are in prison, Tartarus and the Abyss, both contain smoke. 2Pe 2:4 For if God Himself did not spare the angels when they sinned, but He incarcerated them in Tartarus with chains of darkness [zophos - black clouds and a mist], keeping them for judgment; JUD 1:6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under thick darkness [zophos - black clouds and a mist] for the judgment of the great day. locusts = akrides = an army of destruction. The destruction of Nineveh is described in terms of the locust plague, Nah 3:15-16. PRO 30:27 The locusts have no king, Yet all of them go out in ranks; Whenever the locusts form up and go into the air, their wings make an awesome sound and they literally darken the sky around them. For the first time in history, in the middle of the Tribulation, demons are permitted to attack men. scorpions = skorpioi - belongs to the spider family, usually 5 or 6 inches long and has a poisonous sting in its tail. This is all a manifestation of the grace of God. Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

The Angelic Conflict - Part 12 -

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

The Angelic Conflict - Part 12 - REV 9:1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven [Satan] which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit [the abyss] was given to him. REV 9:2 And he opened the abyss; and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air became darkened by the smoke of the pit. REV 9:3 And out of the smoke came forth locusts [the demon army from the Abyss] upon the earth; and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. Grace precedes judgment! There is never a judgment which destroys a segment of the human race until first of all that segment of the human race has an opportunity to repent. Noah preached for 120 years before the flood came. PSA 76:10 “For the wrath of man shall praise Thee” They are going to be restricted as to what they can do to their target - believers and unbelievers of the Tribulation who live in the cosmic system. REV 9:4 And they were told or commanded that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. The alternative to trying to commit suicide is to accept Christ as personal savior - or for believers to rebound and get out of the cosmic system. Pain can serve as a motivation, but in some cases pain makes a person a lot worse. Pain, suffering, and adversity makes us worse or better, but it never leaves us the same. Disaster, adversity, pain, difficulty, and problems give us a fantastic opportunity for improvement! Thousands of years after members of the human race have been suffering in the lake of fire, if they were offered to believe on TLJC and trust in Him as their Lord and Savior, I believe they would still reject Him. The more some people suffer, the more bitter and arrogant and hateful and resentful and they become. Satan and the fallen angels still rebel against God even after they were given a second trial. When Satan is put in prison for a thousand years, the first thing he does when he gets out is start a human revolt against God. The sin nature gets more and more corrupt as it gets older, Eph 4:22, and all of those in the lake of fire have their old sin nature. REV 9:4 And they were told or commanded that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. COL 1:16 “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all things have been created by Him and for Him.” The demon army can’t destroy vegetation. They are not permitted to kill their targets, torture only. ACT 12:23 While demons can perform extra-natural and super-natural acts in the environment of planet earth, they cannot control anything in planet apart from divine permission. 1JO 4:4 “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” Those who have the seal of God became saved after the Rapture, during this Tribulation period - only a certain group of believers have the seal of God. The ones that are sealed are not called believers but “those believers who are bond-servants of God,” REV 7:1-4. bond-servants = doulos = those believers who are slaves or servants to God, who carry out the will and purpose of God. The target is believers and unbelievers in the cosmic system, but there is no permission to attack believers. 2TI 2:19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness.” Since these individuals have said “no” to the divine plan and therefore “yes” to the satanic plan, they are now turned over to Satan. torture = basanizo = to question by applying torture, to torture, to vex with grievous pains (used of body or mind), to torment, to be harassed, to be distressed. The wages of serving Satan is torture and misery from his own hand. Before TLJC comes back in the Second Coming (Second Advent), Satan turns on his own kingdom. Satan will terminate his own rulership by his own decisions. Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

The Angelic Conflict - Part 13 -

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

The Angelic Conflict - Part 13 - Point 4. - Two Categories of Fallen Angels Under the Command of Satan - (1) Non-operational angels. a) Gen 6 angels involved in the angelic attack to infiltrate the human race, now in Tartarus. b) The first demon assault army incarcerated in the abyss at this time. The abyss is the location of the demon king Abaddon or Apollyon, Satan’s assistant or his right hand man. 1. Only those in the cosmic system, the world system, can be attacked. Believers who are PTD are protected by a wall of fire. 2. They cannot kill their victims - this relates to crisis evangelism. These demons actually have the power and the ability to be visible to man. Locusts are used for an army of destruction. Scorpions are used as an analogy for torture. This is all a manifestation of the grace of God as warning before judgment! This is God’s last appeal to the believer to get out of the cosmic system and to the unbeliever to become born again and saved! Their target will be made up of people who live in the cosmic system, believers and unbelievers of the Tribulation. COL 1:16 “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -- all things have been created by Him and for Him.” Those who have the seal of God became saved after the Rapture, during the Tribulation, and are slaves or servants to God. They carry out the will and the purpose of God. Their target includes only those people who actually reside in the cosmic system, but they cannot kill them. torment = basanizo = to question by applying torture, to torture, to vex with grievous pains (used of body or mind), to torment, to be harassed, to be distressed. Before TLJC comes back in the Second Coming (Second Advent), Satan turns on his own kingdom. LUK 9:25 “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?” When our Lord returns to the earth, He doesn’t find a thriving world under the rulership of Satan but a kingdom divided - the kingdom of darkness is divided against itself. So great is the pain and suffering from this demon assault army that many will seek death but they will never find it. Only when a believer’s in fellowship, learning and applying Bible doctrine, and executing the plan of God, does he have any way of coping with adversity. Good decisions result in great blessing and prosperity. Bad decisions result in great adversity. Man is the product of his own decisions! As a result of living in the cosmic system, they will seek as the only solution to their problems the one solution which is a total admission of defeat - suicide. The issue = the Millennial reign is about to start and every unbeliever is going to be removed from the earth by the baptism of fire - this is their last chance to be saved! As believers they have hit the bottom, and the only decision that they can make that will start their recovery is to rebound, or if they’re unbelievers, to become a believer. Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

The Angelic Conflict - Part 14 -

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

The Angelic Conflict - Part 14 - They are alive because they have volition - they still have the opportunity to respond to the grace of God. 1. Pain can serve as a motivation, but in some cases pain can make a person a lot worse. 2. Pain, suffering, and adversity either makes us worse or better, but it never leaves us the same. 3. Some believers under disaster are motivated to improve, rebound, and go forward. Others turn very bitter and very sour, and eventually get locked-in to the evil and arrogance of the cosmic system. They have five months = God always provides grace before judgment. God always provides solutions before the problem. This has absolutely nothing to do with these days (present time). Our greatest danger from demons is our residence in the cosmic system in reversionism. Arrogance cannot endure torture. The same humility that provides capacity for life and prosperity also provides the ability to withstand pain in time of adversity. Those living in the cosmic system do not make decisions from a position of strength, they are making decisions from a position of weakness. Satan is an evil and an unjust ruler, and he turns his first demon assault army on his own human servants. The locust demons are described in terms of cavalry - they have mobility and fire power, REV 9:7. They have a military insignia, their crowns were not gold but like gold = they think they are a victorious army, REV 9:7 Their faces were like men, indicating that demons do appear as men though they have greater intelligence and adaptability. The significance of crowns like gold is victory; this demon assault army comes out of the abyss shouting victory, but for the demon assault army it is a false victory. The only combat victory they have is against those members of the human race who during the Tribulation reside in the cosmic system as Satan’s servants. REV 9:8 - At the time that this was written long hair of a woman meant beauty. peribolaion = her long hair is a sign she is under authority; a woman using her long hair in different ways to make herself beautiful; used as a veil or a covering. EZE 28:12 “You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.” EZE 28:17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;” There is a relationship between the hair of women in this passage and the concept of beauty related to arrogance. Beauty + glamour = the arrogance in the Satanic revolt against God. SOL 4:1 “How beautiful you are, my darling, How beautiful you are! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil; Your hair is like a flock of goats That have descended from Mount Gilead.” PRO 6:25 “Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her catch you with her eyelids.” PRO 11:22 “As a ring of gold in a pig’s snout, So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.” PRO 31:30 “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who respects the Lord, she shall be praised.” Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001

The Angelic Conflict - Part 15 -

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

The Angelic Conflict - Part 15 - Cavalry = they have mobility and fire power. Military insignia = they think they are a victorious army. Their faces were like men - though they have greater intelligence and adaptability. The connotation of attraction is the long hair of the woman; the connotation of destruction is the teeth of the lion, REV 9:8. The teeth of lions indicates that behind the facade of beauty is the ruthless desire to destroy. The appreciation of beauty demands humility. The distraction of beauty leads to arrogance, and arrogance means no capacity for love. Is it character, integrity, honor, sensitivity or capacity for love? Or is it a facade covering the teeth of the lion - the formula for torture? The teeth of the lion represents power, cruelty, arrogance and torture. The breastplates of iron in the ancient world were considered to be the best piece of defensive equipment. REV 9:9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. Before they hit they have already paralyzed their victims with fear. Fear switches you from mentality to emotion. Emotion is a wonderful thing when it’s controlled by thought. The demon army hits you with sound before they hit you with their weapon systems. The victims of the attack are there, not because God made this happen, but because they made bad decisions from a position of weakness. The greatest power you carry in your soul is a greater power than the attack of demons; it is your volition. The removal of the restraining ministry of God the Holy Spirit is one of the characteristics of the Tribulation. At the end of the Tribulation those in the cosmic system are vulnerable to something that has never occurred in all of history! No one has ever had so much physical violence from demons! Today the attack against believers is the doctrine of demons - not physical pressure but mental pressure. Abaddon is word that occurs quite often in the Old Testament - it is a synonym for Sheol or Hades. Apollyon is very close to the Greek word for Apollo. Apollo next to Zeus was one of the top demons. Apollo was one of the first champions of the angel of light principle; he was the champion of lucidity or intellectuality. Apollo represents the intellectual departure from God. His name also was Phoebus which means “bright” or “pure,” and the view became that he was connected with the sun. Hebrew = destruction Greek = the exterminator. Only one other fallen angel was probably on an equal basis with him - a prince called Beelzebub, Satan’s inside contact for deceitful things. Beelzebub is the prince in charge of covert warfare against the human race. Satan’s human deceivers include sorcerers, exorcists, so-called “divine healers,” and people involved in signs from Satan, including the actual reproduction of the gift of tongues. Beelzebub is in charge of the eggastromuthos demons who, when they possess the body of an unbeliever, actually reproduce the gift of tongues as it occurred on the day of Pentecost and for forty years thereafter. No one has been healed by a miracle by a person since 70 A.D. Beelzebub is the head of a great demon organization which practices miracles of healing. Physiologically-induced illness is related to the functions of the body. Mentally-induced [psychosomatic] illness. Demon-induced illness! Certain forms of demon possession cause illness, so when the victim goes to a so-called divine healer, Beelzebub orders the demons to withdraw which means an instant and real cure. REV 9:12 The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things. Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries All Rights Reserved Robert R. McLaughlin 2001