Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
Meet the Great Red Dragon. Part. 6. In the fall, the woman was deceived by Satan, but the man was not.
Friday, May 9, 2003
Satan fell due to his own initiative and then deceived other angels. In the same way, Satan, as the serpent, deceived the woman,
GEN 3:5; 1TI 2:14.
Adam fell without deception, 1TI 2:14, and he chose to disobey God willingly and knowingly just as Satan did.
At the fall then we have one who disobeyed out of his own initiative and one who was deceived.
Satan disobeyed by his own initiative, and the other angels were deceived.
At the fall, Satan had offered man a counterfeit salvation prior to God offering man a true salvation.
True salvation looked ahead to Christ:
GEN 3:21 And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.
Satan’s counterfeit was operation fig leaves or religion.
GEN 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
A counterfeit presupposes understanding of the real.
The only sin that is unpardonable is the sin of rejecting the Gospel in the allotted time;
MAT 12:31-32.
If only one third of the angels fell, would not God have offered some salvation to them?
If we suppose only one third of the angels fell and God did not offer a plan for reconciliation, then God would be unfair if He then offered the reconciliation to man who also fell.
1. The Ark of the Covenant illustrates that angels benefit from the work of Christ.
2. The Veil of EXO 26:31-35 in the Temple was a reminder of the humanity of Christ.
Part of it was made of fine white linen which looks at experiential +R.
It was under a blue veil which looks at Christ being made lower than heaven, even lower than angels.
The purple of the veil looks at the royalty of Christ and the scarlet looks ahead to the work of Christ on the Cross.
The curtain speaks of Christ and His work and the angels were on the curtain themselves.
3. The linen curtains of
EXO 26:1-6 were also of the same color scheme and looked ahead to the person and work of Christ in salvation, and they too were to have embroidered upon them figures of angels.
The angels partake of Christ’s place of origin, heaven, and of His royalty, in the presence of God, and of His work in salvation, the scarlet color of the curtains.
4. Angels are also often pictured as wearing white garments.
MAR 16:5 – the two angels at the tomb are said to be in white garments or stolen – leuken.
Perf-pass-part – periballo = they were clothed in these garments by God at a point in past and continue to wear them in the present.
Luke uses the word esthes for these garments as he also does in Acts 1 with the angels at Christ’s final ascension into heaven.
REV 19:8 – the church, the bride of Christ, is also clothed in white linen garments.
REV 19:8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Angels are now clothed with white garments, passive voice, clothed by God as we will be so clothed in the future and as Christ is clothed right now.
5. COL 1:19-20 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
6. HEB 2:16 is often suggested as a major objection to Angelic Salvation.
Help – epilambanomai = not used for salvation but for the giving of help in a time of distress –
HEB 2:15 – A fear of death!
HEB 11:6 Without faith it is impossible to please God,
Both mankind and angels have and had a limited time to be saved.
1. Satan counterfeited salvation to Adam and the woman prior to God’s offer of salvation to them, which would indicate a prior knowledge of salvation.
2. Any position regarding what happened in the fall of angels, their salvation, etc is an argument from silent spripture and with that, the only value of one over the other is its consistency with the character of God and the parallel to other known events.
3. God is a God of mercy and the greatest expression of mercy is to offer peace or reconciliation to one’s enemies.
4. God is absolutely just and fair and could not have offered salvation to man and not offered it to another creation, angels, who had fallen.
5. Only Christ is forever holy and pure and blameless. For another creature to have these characteristics inherent in them and maintained in them by freewill, would have meant that they could have died for the sins of creation.
6. Angels are very much a part of the tabernacle, the ark, the veil, the curtains, which all look ahead to Christ’s salvation work.
7. HEB 2:9-10 indicate that Christ would taste death for all creation.
8. The garments of angels are the same garments given to saved mankind in eternity.
9. 1TI 5:21 – angels are called chosen or elect which would indicate that there was a time when they were not chosen and not elect.
10. COL 1:20 indicates that Christ reconciled all things to Himself, thing on earth and things in heaven.