We have seen how the created order consists of both a material and a celestial component and how these realities reflect each other. At Babel God divided the nations as an inheritance to powerful celestial beings called the sons of God. These beings had rebelled against God under the banner of Satan. Earthly nations were ordained to be a manifestation of their rule from the high places. These beings, along with the sons of God and angels who were loyal to YHWH formed God’s Divine Council. This forms the basis for the present celestial order. Even though these beings were cast out of the Divine Council on Christ’s ascension, that established order whereby the sons of God rule over the nations of this world remains – Satan himself retaining the title of god of this world (2 Cor 4:4). However, as we have seen a judgement on a nation was a reflection of the judgement on its gods and vice-versa. Therefore, the end of the present material order also spells the doom of the present celestial order. This doom was already proclaimed in Eden, ushered in at Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension and on the last day, it will become a consummate reality.
The Final Fall of Satan
From the very beginning the fall of this celestial order was prophesied. Eve was given the promise that her Seed would crush the head of the Serpent. Likewise the curses on Satan showed that his destiny was to become lower and lower until he had become the lowest among all created things. The first aspect of this judgement was the curse itself. The second part of this judgement was on Christ’s ascension when Christ, the Great High Priest purified the heavenly places. After this Michael and his angels wage war against Satan and cast him out of heaven. Satan himself is bound for a time while his kingdom is plundered.
We have seen that Satan himself is bound during the New Testament age but he still rules by proxy through his angelic host. Their power is greatly limited and they are unable to deceive the nations as a whole. At the end of this New Testament age, preceding the return of Christ, Satan is given one last taste of freedom before his final and greatest fall. Satan comes out of Appolyon’s realm and sets out to go and deceive all the nations of the world. He successfully deceives the nations and gathers them together to do battle against God and His people (Rev 20:7-8).
The assemblies of God’s people are referred to as the camp of saints. This camp of saints is encompassed on all sides by Satan and his armies. There are two main implications of this Text. Firstly, in earthly terms, the kingdom of God manifests itself merely as a camp of God’s holy ones (saints), while Satan’s kingdom manifests itself as a collection of all the nations of this present world. We have considered this theme throughout this work but it is important to emphasise again – the kingdom of God cannot be observed. Its growth is always viewed in spiritual terms and through the eyes of faith, not by carnal metrics. Secondly, this final showdown is the ultimate manifestation of Christ’s proclamation that the gates of hell would not prevail against His assembly. Recollect how gates are a symbol of dominion. The symbology of this Text must not be missed – John saw the gates of hell seek to encompass the assembly of God. The outcome is Divine intervention whereby a fire from the Lord devours this vast Satanic horde, ending forever the tyranny of Satan in the cosmic order (Rev 20:9).
After this, Satan himself is cast into the lake of fire, the realm that was prepared to punish Satan and his demons (Rev 20:10). This is his final fall, fulfilling the curse that made his destiny one of falling lower and lower. Satan first fell from the holy mountain, then he fell from heaven, then he was cast into Appolyon’s pit and finally he will be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity. Thus, the promise that the Seed of the Woman would crush the head of the Serpent is ultimately fulfilled. Satan becomes the lowest of the low and will never trouble the cosmic order again. As we will see soon, this will not be the end of his humiliation.
The Final Fall of the Elohim
In Psalm 82, Asaph proclaims the end of the other beings in this celestial order. The elohim are brought to judgement by YHWH (v1) for being unjust in their rule of the nations (v2a). They have become acceptors of evil persons (v2b) as revealed in history by their elevation of wicked rulers who either persecute or seduce God’s people. They have allowed the oppression of the poor and vulnerable (v3a). They have failed to execute justice in favour of the afflicted and needy (v3b). Rather than deliver the poor from the hands of the wicked, they have handed them over to be oppressed (v4). This goes against the very purpose for which they were made. These beings are accused of lack of knowledge (v5a) and understanding (5b). Biblically, to know is often connected to a covenantal knowledge of intimacy – it is the same Word used in the context of Adam knowing his wife, Eve. In other words, these beings lack a covenantal intimacy with the God who made them, having rebelled against Him. This is why they reject the power of God even when He judges among them. Likewise, they lack understanding or discernment. This is a willful neglect of God and His ways. It would be this very lack of discernment by which they conspired to kill Jesus Christ, not knowing by that very act they would bring upon the end of their kingdom. They walk in darkness (v5c). This is indicative of the power of evil that they serve – the blinding power of Satan, the god of this world whose kingdom is called the kingdom of darkness.
The original role of angels in the Old Testament is described in guardian, judicial and priestly terminology. These elohim have failed in each of these roles. They have failed as guardians by marching under Satan’s banner, thus waging war against God’s people. They have failed in their judicial role by failing to provide justice to the oppressed and by raising evil persons. They have failed their priestly role by failing to be in intimate covenant with God and showing utter lack of discernment with regards to His ways.
The shaking of the foundations of the earth is a prophetic statement of the cataclysmic destruction of the present created order (v5d). A recurring theme in apocalyptic literature of the Scriptures is the shaking of the heavens and the earth (Isa 13:13, Joel 3:14-17, Hag 2:6,21). We have already seen how heavenly bodies are a representation of the glory of various celestial beings. Thus, it was apparent to a Jew reading those passages that it referred to the judgement that would befall the celestial entities who were allotted to rule over the present created order in both its material and celestial realms. This judgement on these celestial beings was prophesied by Christ who declared – “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken” (Matt 24:29, Mk 13:25, Lk 21:26). This is also foretold in Heb 12:26 – “Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven”. In other words, the New Testament era will conclude with a cataclysmic judgement on the celestial order.
The destiny of these rebellious celestial beings is to die like men and to fall like one of the princes or sarim (v7). These elohim and sarim who rule over the nations will die like men. In the Bible, we often read that the dead go down to sheol, the realm of the dead. We have seen how this underworld realm is under the rulership of an entity called Appolyon. While these entities rule over the nations from their high places in the present (Eph 6:12), they will themselves be cast down into Hades on the day of their judgement, joining the souls of unredeemed dead men and the angels that were kept in bondage from the days of Noah. These imprisoned angels had hoped that they would be liberated if the Son were to die but instead Christ descended down to hell in power and proclaimed their eternal fate. At Christ’s return that final judgement will be sealed along with those angels that are yet to be judged and the souls of men who have refused to proclaim Christ as Lord and rejected the mercy offered in Him.
The Final Fall of the High Places
These angelic entities are often called thrones, principalities, powers and dominions according to their rank (Col 1:16, Eph 1:21, 3:10, 6:12). Thrones are also a representation of their authority and their celestial realms, also called high places or heavenly places. Remember how Satan desired for his throne to be above every other throne? These thrones represent the authority vested in these entities in the celestial realm through which they exert their rule and influence on the material realm. Since the final judgement will involve a complete destruction of the present celestial order, those very spiritual realms through which they rule are cast down (Dan 7:10). In other words both they and their heavenly realms are cast into Hades. After this we see that the dead are brought out from Hades and judged before God according to their works (Rev 20:13). Ultimately Hades itself is thrown into the lake of fire (Rev 20:14). Thus, the present celestial order will also be judged in fire as the material order and brought to an end. The material and the celestial are reflections of each other and do not exist independently – they must both be judged and destroyed in fire to pave the way for God’s future purposes. Thus, Christ at His Second Coming accomplishes the purpose for which He was made manifest – “that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
Deo Vicit Mundum 