Consider David, Jacob, Peter, ____ (fill in the blank, there are others).
What does this teach us? What does God want us to know through this, that although He chose to save us, some will make drastic mistakes and commit huge sins?
What's the big picture in all of this?
- Peace
God created mankind to solve the Angelic conflict. The conflict between Himself, satan and the fallen angels.
Angels were created first, they were created in perfection as man was, the Angels also had a volition, just as man does. Angels were created without the ability to be regenerated and can not be redeemed as man can.
Isaiah 14: 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
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:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
We see satan was sentenced as well as the 1/3 of angels. He will be brought down to hell, so why hasn't he already been sent there? His sentence has been passed. God sentenced Him to the Lake of fire. So if sentence is passed what is the reason his sentence hasn't been carried out?
We see God's condemnation of Satan in.
Ezekial 28: 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.
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.
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
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.
18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.
19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.
Verse 13, Who was in Eden Adam, Eve and Satan as a serpent who deceived Eve.
Verses 14 and 16 Who was the covering cherub? Satan of course
Verse 15 This os definitely talking about satan "he was perfect until iniquity was found in him. What iniquity was found in him pride.
Again back to the Isaiah passage it says he will be brought down to hell. He isn't there yet but his sentence has been pronounced.
Then in Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
If it has been prepared why has the sentence not been carried out, why are they not already there, God must have a reason for this.
(Theory) So here is what is taught about this satan as an advocate (lawyer) has appealed his sentence. Challenging God as unfair, like some folks say today, How can a just and loving God cast his creatures into the Lake Of Fire?
Thus satan impunged the grace and righteousness of God. God could have immediately cast the offending angels into eternal punishment. but as we see from the Isaiah and Matthew passages He didn't. Why? God granted Satan and His angels an appealto denomstrate His grace and righteousness to the angels for all eternity. So God created man, gave him volition placed in man away to make a choice and the ability to be redeemed. Man as the agent for solving Satans appeal is given volition and given the right to choose for God's plan or against.
For more of my post on this you can go here:
http://www.baptistboard.com/showthread.php?t=71866
