God’s Deep Magic

The origin of evil, Satan, principalities and powers, sin and shame.

God's plan for the ages.

Thomas J. Noss

Copyright © 2014. All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-940365-02-2

Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,

"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever." (Revelation  11:15 NASB)

Introduction

This book unveils secrets of God, hidden for thousands of years, which He is now unveiling to bring an end to this eon and its rebel rulers—rulers in the heavens and on the earth.

God’s eternal purpose, hidden from before the creation of our world, is to make known to his enemies—fallen angelic sovereignties and authorities among the celestials—His multi-faceted wisdom. (From Ephesians 3:10)

God’s plan of redemption isn’t the result of Adam’s sin; it started in the eon before Adam, and Adam’s fall was not unexpected.

Before God made Adam, He saw His redemptive plan completed in future eons through Jesus Christ and His called-out ecclesia, the true Church.

God’s plan has a major milestone approaching at the end of this eon, probably within our lifetime. The ‘powers of the heavens’ will soon be shaken; the sovereignties and authorities will be cast down from heaven onto the earth, and their celestial and earthly kingdoms will become the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, who will reign forever afterward. (See Revelation 11:15)

All Creation to be Tested by Fire

For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. (1 Corinthians 3:11-14 NASB)

Everything built with wood, hay, and straw in celestial and earthly kingdoms will be consumed and blown away like chaff. Only what’s built on the foundation of Christ—gold, silver, and precious stones—will remain.

Unfortunately, most of today’s prophetic Christian teaching about ‘the end time’ is wood, hay, and straw; focusing on fascinating (but spiritually passive) speculations about the sequence and timing of end time events, rather than preparing each disciple for his/her active role as an overcomer in the end time.

We aren’t to be bystanders, viewing end-time events from the grandstands. End time events aren’t supposed to be happening to us, as if we were helpless victims of powers outside our control.

God’s overcomers are active, participating teammates—their actions are actually what catalyze end-time events, making them occur. They don’t watch them happen; they make them happen.

God is depending on us to do our part, and He cannot defeat His enemies until we put God’s adversaries under His feet.

"Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” (Hebrews 1:13 NASB)

Failure to understand and apply these truths is why the Church has been in bondage, like the constellation Andromeda, for almost 2000 years. But, when she understands and applies them, Andromeda will become Cassiopeia, the enthroned queen of heaven.

This book is designed to teach you:

- The origin of evil

- Who are God's adversaries, the principalities and powers, 'the gods' in heaven?

- When and why did their conflict begin?

- How does their conflict affect you?

- What about the Devil—Lucifer, Satan, the Serpent, the Great Dragon? Where did he originate and how can you overcome him?

- Why doesn't Almighty God simply squash His enemies? What's He waiting for?

- What is God's plan for the ages? Where are we today in this timeline?

- How can you overcome sin and shame?

- What is the Church's role in the climax of God's plan?

- Knowing these things, how can you attain 'overcomer' status forever in the kingdom of God?

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

THE MYSTERY OF GOD'S DEEP MAGIC

GOD'S ADVERSARIES

Sovereignties and Authorities

Celestial Sovereignties

Scriptural Assertions:

Human Sovereignties

Scriptural Assertions

God’s Wisdom

The Eons in God’s Plan

The First Age – Conflict in Heaven Begins

Did All the Celestials Sin?

Can Celestials Be Redeemed?

The First Earth's Disruption

The Earth’s Disruption - a Pivotal Turning Point

The Legal Charge Against God

Summary of the First Eon:

Elements of God’s Redemptive Plan

God’s Plan Established

God’s Adversaries in the Ancient Age

What is a Man?

The Human Spirit

Noah’s Flood

God’s Adversaries Today

70 Nations Divided at Babel

God Set 70 Archons over the 70 Nations

Babylon

The ‘Systemization of the Deception’

OUR ADVERSARY: THE DEVIL

We Must Know Our Enemy

Unveiling the Dragon

Lucifer is a Myth

Who or What is the Devil?

Synopsis of the Book of Job

The Devil, Satan, Our Adversary

Sin

Shame

THE OVERCOMERS

Promises

Overcome What?

Not the Sovereignties and Authorities

Submit to Them

Don’t Revile Them

The Enemy Within

Be Flawless

How Will the Church Defeat God’s Adversaries?

Faith

Hearing the Living God Speak

Confidence You’re in Fellowship with God

The Court in Heaven

A Great Cloud of Witnesses

Evidence in the Heavenly Court

The Archons’ Destiny

Spiritual Warfare

The Overcomers’ Result

Jesus Promised Immortality

GOD’S DEEP MAGIC

Now It’s Our Turn

Obedient to God?

The Bride of Christ

REFERENCES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Mystery of God's Deep Magic

In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis introduced us to the concept of “deep magic from the dawn of time.” This ‘deep magic’ included mysterious, ancient spiritual and moral laws, carved in stone from the beginning of time, which even the creator Himself couldn’t violate.

“It means,” said Aslan, “that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.” (CS Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. London, 1950)

In the book, the Adversary character (the Witch) exercises the laws of deep magic to force the Creator (Aslan) to condemn a child who sinned. But to the Witch’s surprise, Aslan offers Himself to suffer the judgment required by the ancient laws. The Witch gladly accepts this offer, and gleefully kills Aslan as a substitute for the sinner.

But the Witch’s celebration is abruptly halted when Aslan is resurrected, having exercised “deeper magic from before the dawn of time” that the Witch wasn’t aware of, which stated that death could not hold an innocent person who voluntarily died in a sinner’s place.

Likewise, the apostle Paul wrote,

“Wisdom are we speaking among the mature, yet a wisdom not of this eon, neither of the chiefs of this eon, who are being discarded, but we are speaking God’s wisdom in secret, wisdom which has been concealed, which God designates before—before the eons, for our glory, which none of the chiefs of this eon knows, for if they know, they would not crucify the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2:6-8, Concordant Literal New Testament (CLNT))

While the Concordant Literal New Testament is admittedly clumsy to read, it’s written for precision, and it precisely exposes truths that other translations inadvertently conceal. For example, as you read the passage above, you probably had many questions, such as:

- What is the wisdom that God designated before the eons, for our glory?

- What is ‘our glory?’

- Who are these chiefs? What is a chief? They killed the Lord of Glory?

- Why are these chiefs God’s adversaries? How will the chiefs be ‘discarded?’

- What is this eon? What existed ‘before the eons?’  What are the eons?

Exploring these questions in the Bible required me to challenge many of the generally-accepted concepts I’ve been taught about the inhabitants of heaven, the Devil, and the Church’s role in the end time. As I allowed the Bible to teach me, instead of relying on the world system’s accepted, status quo theology, I re-discovered important divine truths that have been veiled in secret for thousands of years; truths that filled many gaps in my worldview; truths that provided coherent, exegetical answers to the questions in the bullets above, and many others. (Exegetical means “from out of” the Bible. It’s the opposite of reading my interpretation into the Bible.)

“They will rebuild the places deserted for an eon; the desolations of former times they shall raise up; and they shall renew the wasted cities, the desolations of generation after generation.” (Isaiah 61:4, Concordant Version of the Old Testament (CVOT))

Your fundamental worldview is about to be expanded with new Biblical concepts about the inhabitants and operations of the celestial realm. This new understanding will directly impact many religious traditions and myths we’ve all been taught—myths our spiritual adversaries systematically promote, generation after generation, to maintain a religious status quo, preventing mankind from threatening their position in the celestial realm.

Most importantly, you’ll learn your critical role in God’s eternal plan. In accomplishing His plan, God will 100% certainly subdue His adversaries in heaven. From His eternal perspective, it has already happened.

But, according to the deep magic—His eternal, celestial laws embodying justice, fairness, and truth—He cannot simply use His omnipotent power to squash them. They must be fairly, indisputably, and publicly defeated in the heavenly court, so that God's case is totally upheld and vindicated, while His adversaries are unanimously judged to be guilty.

As I’ll explain in the following chapters, this is where the human race comes in.  God’s plan depends on us to overcome our enemy before He can overcome His adversaries.

God is using the testimony of overcoming Christians to obtain the heavenly court’s judgment against all His adversaries. The word ‘testimony’ is ‘martyrias’ in Greek. This is testimony in a court setting. It is used twice; here in Revelation 12:11, and in Luke 22:71, when Jesus was tried before the Sanhedrin.

Here’s how we’ll defeat God’s enemies:

And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death. (Revelation 12:11 NASB)

Jesus will remain seated at God’s right hand until we enable God to cast His enemies down to earth.

God's Adversaries

“Sit at My right hand, until I make thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet” (Hebrews 1:13, Psalm 110:1 NASB)

When we think of heaven, most people think of a perfect place of peace and light, where everything is beautiful and harmonious.

But, the Scripture teaches that since before the first day of the present creation there has been conflict between God and many celestial beings in heaven. Even though God created them, and loves them as sons, they became His enemies.

Since before God said, "Let there be light!" in Genesis chapter 1, heaven has been filled with strife, like a dysfunctional family, with many adversaries challenging God's throne.

For example,

"Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm." (Ephesians 6:11-13 NASB)

Or, as the Concordant Literal New Testament translates it,

"Put on the panoply of God, to enable you to stand up to the stratagems of the Adversary, for it is not ours to wrestle with blood and flesh, but with the sovereignties, with the authorities, with the world-mights of this darkness, with the spiritual forces of wickedness among the celestials. Therefore take up the panoply of God that you may be enabled to withstand in the wicked day, and having effected all, to stand."

Sovereignties and Authorities

Ephesians 6 clearly teaches that our primary battle isn't with ‘blood and flesh’ people. Instead, we wrestle with celestial sovereignties and authorities, who are allied with various other spiritual forces of wickedness—all of them celestial beings who inhabit the heavenly realm.

In addition to Ephesians Chapter 6, many other verses also describe the sovereignties and authorities as God’s primary adversaries.

For example (All these verses are from the CLNT):

Romans 8:38

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor messengers, nor  sovereignties, nor the present, nor what is impending, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:24

He may be giving up the kingdom to His God and Father, whenever He should be nullifying all  sovereignty and all authority and power. For He must be reigning until He should be placing all His enemies under His feet.

Ephesians 1:21

Seating Him at His right hand among the celestials, up over every  sovereignty and authority and power and lordship, and every name that is named, not only in this eon, but also in that which is impending.

Ephesians 3:10

The secret, which has been concealed from the eons in God, Who creates all, that now may be made known to the  sovereignties and the authorities among the celestials, through the ecclesia, the multifarious wisdom of God, in accord with the purpose of the eons, which He makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord

Colossians 1:16

For in Him is all created, that in the heavens and that on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or  sovereignties, or authorities all is created through Him and for Him, and He is before all, and all has its cohesion in Him.

Colossians 2:15

Erasing the handwriting of the decrees against us, which was hostile to us, and has taken it away out of the midst, nailing it to the cross, stripping off the  sovereignties and authorities, with boldness He makes a show of them, triumphing over them in it.

Celestial Sovereignties

As you can see below, the various English Bible translations use different words to translate sovereignties and authorities, which are variants of the Greek words archo and exousia:

Bible Version

Archo

Exousia

CLNT

Sovereignties

Authorities

NIV, ESV, NASB

Rulers

Authorities

KJV, ASV

Principalities

Powers

Aramaic Bible

Principalities

Rulers

YLT, Darby

Principalities

Authorities

Regardless of which English words are used, you’ve probably never heard a sermon or teaching on the sovereignties and authorities. They don't seem to exist in the worldview and theology of modern pastors and teachers, even though both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures are full of references about them.

Scriptural Assertions:

The examples above enable me to confidently assert the following statements about the celestial sovereignties and authorities:

1. Eph 6:12 Sovereignties and authorities are celestial (not flesh and blood) beings who dwell in the spiritual realm. As we wrestle against them, our objective not to their defeat them, but simply to keep standing in faith against their attacks.

2. Rom 8:28 They (may want to, but they) cannot separate us from the love of God.

3. 1 Cor 15:24 Christ will nullify their authority in the future. They are His enemies.

4. Eph 1:21 Christ is now enthroned over them. And, we are part of His body.

5. Col 2:15 Christ has defeated them already in the celestial realm, boldly triumphing over them.

6. Eph 3:10 The purpose of God, which has been concealed from the eons, is to now make known to the sovereignties and the authorities, through the Church, the multifarious wisdom of God, which He makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

7. Col 1:16 The sovereignties and authorities are part of God's creation, created through Christ and for Christ.

Human Sovereignties

You’ll remember this verse from this book’s Introduction:

“Wisdom are we speaking among the mature, yet a wisdom not of this eon, neither of the chiefs of this eon, who are being discarded, but we are speaking God’s wisdom in secret, wisdom which has been concealed, which God designates before—before the eons, for our glory, which none of the chiefs of this eon knows, for if they know, they would not crucify the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2:6-8, Concordant Literal New Testament (CLNT))

In these verses the word ‘chiefs’ in Greek is archonton, which is from the same Greek root archo.

The Greek word archonton is only used these five times in the New Testament. (all quotes from the CLNT)

Luke 14:1

And it occurred at His coming into the house of a certain one of the chiefs of the Pharisees on a sabbath to eat bread, they were scrutinizing Him.

John 7:48

The Pharisees, then, answered them, "Not you also are deceived? Not any of the chiefs believes in him, or of the Pharisees. But this throng that knows not the law is accursed."

John 12:42

Howbeit, likewise, of the chiefs also many believe in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not avow it, lest they may be put out of the synagogue,

for they love the glory of men rather than even the glory of God.

1 Cor 2:6

Yet wisdom are we speaking among the mature, yet a wisdom not of this eon, neither of the chief men of this eon, who are being discarded,

1 Cor 2:8

but we are speaking God's wisdom in a secret, wisdom which has been concealed, which God designates before -- before the eons, for our glory,

which not one of the chief men of this eon knows, for if they know, they would not crucify the Lord of glory.

It’s obvious by the context of these verses that the Greek word archonton referred to human rulers of Israel (i.e., the Pharisees and Sadducees in the Sanhedrin) who crucified Jesus—not celestial sovereignties.

Scriptural Assertions

1. Corrupt human rulers are being discarded, like rubbish.

2. They crucified the Lord of glory.

3. They don’t know God’s wisdom or plan.

4. They possess the human wisdom of this eon, the wisdom of this world.

God’s Wisdom

In contrast to human wisdom of this world, the wisdom of God, kept secret from before the eons began, is revealed in Ephesians 3:10:

The purpose of God, which has been concealed from the eons, is to now make known to the sovereignties and the authorities, through the Church, the multi-faceted wisdom of God, which He makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord. (Ephesians 3:10 paraphrased)

God’s hidden purpose for the creation of our world is to make known to his enemies—the celestial sovereignties and authorities—His wisdom, which He reveals in Christ, through the true Church. Since before our world was created He planned to accomplish His plan through the Church, and ‘the signs of the times’ indicate this divine plan is culminating within our lifetime.

God’s purpose and plan explains the reason mankind was created and continues to exist on earth today. What happened ‘before the eons’ that made it necessary for God to devise this purpose and plan?

The Eons in God’s Plan

“In accord with His own purpose and grace, given to us before times eonian, yet now being manifested by the advent of our Savior, Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:9 CLNT)

To help you visualize the sequence of the eons, here is a simple graphic that substitutes the word ‘age’ for ‘eon’:

Note: we don’t commonly use the word ‘eon’ today, so don’t be confused if this book substitutes the word ‘age’ for ‘eon’. Within this book, please assume that age = eon.

For your orientation regarding the eons of time in God’s plan, the table below is a simple summary.

Before the Eons

Before God created the earth, God created the celestial beings.

We know the celestial ‘sons of God’ were already present before earth’s creation, for “all the sons of God shouted for joy” when the earth’s cornerstone was laid. (Job 38:7)

The  celestials were created blameless, but then sinned. “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God, and I have destroyed you, O covering cherub...” (Ezekiel 28:15, 16)

The First Eon

Genesis 1:1 states, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  On the first earth, God created a world of beings who morally descended into violence and sin.

As a result, the apostle Peter informed us "The world that then was" (2 Peter 3:5) was totally destroyed by a cataclysmic, worldwide flood. This occurred before the earth was recreated and Adam and Eve were placed in it.

The Earth’s Disruption

All vegetable and animal life on earth destroyed by flood.

Genesis 1:2 says, “As for the earth, it came to be a chaos, and vacant, and darkness was over the face of the abyss.” (Genesis 1:2 CVOT)

This event is often mentioned by Jesus and the apostles as the pivotal event that begins God’s work of redemption.

The Ancient Eon

From "Let there be light!" to Noah’s Flood. This eon includes the restoration of the earth, creation of Adam and Eve, mankind’s moral descent into sin, Cain and Abel, Enoch, the corruption of mankind, and Noah’s ark.

The Present Wicked Eon

From God’s covenant rainbow after Noah’s flood to Christ's 2nd Coming, including our present day.

The Coming Eon

The coming Millennial Reign of Christ

The Eons of the Eons

The scripture literally says there are “eons of the eons” to come.

For example, see: Romans 16:27, Galatians 1:5, Philippians 4:20, 1 Timothy 1:17, 2 Timothy 4:18, Hebrews 13:21, 1 Peter 4:11, 5:11, Revelation 1:6, 1:18, 4:10, 5:13, 7:12, 10:6

In almost all English translations, this phrase is translated as “forever”.

Before the Ages heaven was pristine, without conflict.

When the earth's cornerstone was laid the Morning Stars sang together and all the sons of Elohim shouted for joy (Job 38:7 CVOT paraphrased)

Before the eons of God’s plan began, God created celestial beings in a pristine heaven, without sin or conflict. During this period, the earth didn’t exist yet and every celestial being in the first heaven was in harmony.

We’re told that when God laid the earth’s cornerstone, the celestials were all present. At the earth’s creation,

“All the morning stars all sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” (Job 38:7 NASB)

Why did God create the physical earth, and why did the celestials shout for joy? While Scripture doesn’t directly answer these questions, we do have enough clues to ‘connect the dots.’

God is omniscient and eternal, meaning that He sees and knows everything that has or will ever happen.

Einstein said "People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."  He also said, "The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."

Unlike us, God’s perspective isn’t limited by time; He sees the end from the beginning, all at once.

But, the celestials, like us, are not omniscient or eternal. They wanted the earth to be created, shouting for joy as they watched the process. They didn’t anticipate the trouble that was coming.

The celestials are created, immortal, intelligent spirits. They weren’t created with physical bodies that enjoy the physical sensations of taste, touch, and smell.

Based on events that occur later—in the First Age, the Ancient Age, and our Present Wicked Age—we can deduce two reasons why they shouted for joy when the earth was created.

1. All the celestials, including the ‘sons of God,’ expected to inhabit physical bodies on the earth. They shouted for joy in anticipation of enjoying physical sensations, within a physical creation, through their physical bodies.  Their hope was blameless and innocent; God was giving them a gift—they had no concept of sin or strife yet.

2. The ‘sons of God’ were the ones who raised the joyful shout. They were to be given dominions on the earth. They looked forward to being sovereignties and authorities over their own earthly nations.

The First Age – Conflict in Heaven Begins

The first age began after the creation of the physical universe, including the first earth. The celestials rejoiced in the beautiful creation they were about to inhabit, enjoy, and reign over.

They populated the first earth. Civilization blossomed and business flourished as they harvested and traded the earth’s abundance. Life on earth was good. This was the golden age, referred to in the ancient legends of people worldwide, including the Egyptians, Norse, Hindus, and Greeks; it was the age of Atlantis.

But then, something happened.  Although the celestials started this experience blameless and innocent, their physical environment soon exposed them to temptations they hadn’t had in their non-material existence.

There was no profit or loss in heaven, and they quickly realized on earth that they liked profit and accumulation better than loss. They also discovered that violence could be used to exert their will over others.

Materiality isn’t evil, as the stoics believe, but it revealed weaknesses in their character. When these weaknesses manifested in sinful choices, the celestials descended (morally) from innocent blamelessness into sin and violence. Physical materiality didn’t cause them to sin, but it provided the environment that allowed dormant character weaknesses to manifest.

Speaking to one of these celestials during the First Age, God said,

“You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God, and I have destroyed you, O covering cherub...” (Ezekiel 28:15, 16)

Did All the Celestials Sin?

Some celestials in the Bible are known to be solidly on God’s side of the heavenly conflict (i.e., Michael and Gabriel), but we shouldn’t automatically assume that they too weren’t once tainted by sin during the first age. Speaking of men, Paul wrote:

“Not one is just—not even one…for all sinned and are wanting of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:11, 23 CLNT)

And yet, Christ still died for every human. And, Colossians 1:20 teaches that Christ also died to save celestial beings as well.

“And through him to reconcile the all things to himself—having made peace through the blood of his cross—through him, whether the things upon the earth, whether the things in the heavens.” (Colossians 1:20 YLT)

So, this universal statement—that all have sinned—may include all the created celestials (i.e., sovereignties, authorities, angels, etc.) as well.

We’ve been taught (and always assumed) that two-thirds of the angels remained holy, while one-third of the angels followed Satan in his rebellion against God. But, this belief is an assumption founded on only one, highly-symbolic verse:

“And seen was another sign in heaven, and lo! a great fiery dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. And its tail is dragging a third of the stars of heaven, and casts them into the earth.” (Revelation 12:3b,4a CNLT)

Obviously, this one, highly-symbolic example is insufficient to build our entire angelic worldview upon. If all created celestials were tainted by sin during the First Age, we can safely assume (by their subsequent actions) that many of them were sorrowful, repentant, and allied themselves with God afterward. For we know there are a multitude of celestials who worship God in our eon. For example:

Luke 2:13, And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” (Luke 2:13 NASB)

and,

Hebrews 12:22, “But you have come to Zion Mount and the city of the Living God, the celestial Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels…”

Sin and violence were so terrible during the First Age that God totally destroyed all plant and animal life on the first earth in an event the Concordant Literal New Testament calls the “disruption” of the earth. ‘Disruption’ is used in the CLNT whenever the Greek word katabole is used. Katabole literally means down-casting.

Before the disruption destroyed the First Age, it’s important to understand the Lamb of God was foreknown before the disruption of the world, yet manifested in the last times. (See 1 Peter 1:20)

Peter teaches that Christ’s role as Lamb of God was foreknown from before the disruption of the earth, at the end of the First Eon. Therefore, God’s redemptive plan existed before Adam was created, which occurred in the eon after the earth’s disruption.

‘Status quo’ theologians would say that since God dwells outside of time He can see what the Lamb of God would do for us in a future eon. This is a safe, politically correct interpretation, but it doesn’t answer some obvious questions:

- Who else may have foreknown the Lamb of God before the disruption of the world?

- God is omniscient and eternal, so why make it a point to say He foreknew the Lamb before the disruption?

Rather than the politically correct view, consider the possibility that it was the celestials that sinned in the First Eon who foreknew the Lamb of God, the One Who would redeem them in a future eon.

It’s my contention that all the celestials sinned during the first age, and the repentant ones looked forward to a promise from God that His Lamb would redeem them back to a sinless state.

Can Celestials Be Redeemed?

But, can celestials sin and then be redeemed and reconciled to God, like men? Yes, according to Colossians 1:20:

“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 the heavens.”

So, from before the disruption, God planned to use the Lamb’s blood to redeem the celestials who sinned in the First Age.

Paul also teaches that God’s redemptive plan through His Lamb, and our position ‘in’ Him, was determined before the first earth was destroyed—before Adam’s creation.

Ephesians 1:4 states God chose believing saints in Christ before the disruption of the world.

The fact that God planned to use the Lamb of God’s blood to redeem the celestials who sinned in the First Age, before Adam, as well as the believing saints out of Adam’s descendants, is not a coincidence.  As you’ll see, the two creations are related within God’s plan.

The First Earth's Disruption

“The world at that time was destroyed”

As a result of the sin and violence that filled the earth during the First Eon, God destroyed all physical life, including every plant and animal on the earth. This destruction was so complete that the earth became formless, void, and dark, as described in Genesis 1:2.

The Apostle Peter used the first earth’s disruption as a warning to mockers in our age, writing,

“Knowing this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.” (2 Peter 3:5-7 NASB)

Although the celestials lost their physical bodies, their created spirits are immortal. So, when ‘the world’ at that time was destroyed, not only did the first earth become a dead planet in dark space, but the spiritual realm became polluted with spirits who had sinned on the first earth.

The pristine ‘first heaven’ ended and the second heaven began. This situation of a polluted second heaven still exists today, being characterized by contention between God and the fallen celestials. God will restore a perfect, third heaven at the end of the Coming eon—after the Millennial Reign of Christ.

In 2 Corinthians 12:2, Paul was ‘caught up’ to this third heaven. It was Paradise, and he heard inexpressible words which he was not permitted to speak.

The Earth’s Disruption - a Pivotal Turning Point

Many times in the New Testament, Jesus and the apostles refer to the earth’s disruption as the pivotal, turning point in God’s plan.

For example:

Mt 13:35, Jesus said, I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden from the disruption of the world.

Mt 25:34, Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the disruption of the world.

Rev 13:7-8, and it was given to him (the beast) to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose name has not been written from the disruption of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.

Rev 17:8, And those who dwell on the earth will wonder, whose names are not written in the book of life from the disruption of the world, when they see the beast...

Why was the disruption such a pivotal turning point? It’s because the disruption marks the fall of the celestials, the end of the first heaven, and the beginning of the conflict which still exists in the second heaven. More importantly, since before the disruption of the world, God planned to reconcile every creature in heaven and earth unto Himself.

“Through Him to reconcile all to Him (making peace by the blood of His cross), through Him, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens.” (Colossians 1:20 CLNT)

The Legal Charge Against God

Before the ages, all the sons of God shouted for joy when the earth was created, and they enjoyed the earth in the First Age. But, the blessings of materiality tempted them, revealing weaknesses in their character, and they sinned. (Ezekiel 28:15-16)

Since God is omniscient and eternal, dwelling outside of time, we must conclude that God knew the celestials (and Adam, and we) would sin on the earth. After all, He sees the end from the beginning.

“I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.” (Isaiah 46:9b-10)

Therein lies the legal basis for the conflict in heaven.

Before the disruption, many of the celestials repented of their sin, looking forward to redemption through the Lamb of God. (1 Peter 1:20 NASB)

But others, especially the sovereignties and authorities, accused God of injustice. In the court of heaven, they charged that God created them susceptible to falling into the temptations of the material world, and that God knew they’d sin, but God created them with this predisposition anyway. Therefore, they say, they aren’t accountable for their sin because it wasn’t their fault.

They were ‘Born This Way,’ so they can’t be expected to live blamelessly in the physical world.

They claimed it was impossible for celestials to live holy and peaceful lives within the physical realm of the earth.

God Himself established the laws of heaven—what CS Lewis called the ‘deep magic’ written in stone.  Therefore, when charged with being unjust, He developed a plan that would unfold over eons of time; a plan that would conclusively demonstrate and prove His wisdom and righteousness in His legal defense against the sovereignties and authorities.

We’re approaching the climax of God’s plan, which is when human disciples in the ecclesia (the called-out ones, the Body of Christ, the true Church) will demonstrate it’s possible to walk blamelessly on the earth.

“…the secret, which has been concealed from the eons in God, Who creates all, that now may be made known to the sovereignties and the authorities among the celestials, through the ecclesia, the multifarious wisdom of God, in accord with the purpose of the eons, which He makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” (Ephesians 3:10 CLNT)

The celestial court’s decision has been pending for eons, but the time for their adjudication is almost here.  Of our time, the prophet Daniel wrote:

But the court will sit, and his (the Antichrist) dominion will be taken away, annihilated, and destroyed forever.

Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.” (Daniel 7:26-27 NASB)

God’s plan, to prove His wisdom to the sovereignties and authorities, has been unfolding over different eons and more than 6000 years. Everything in the eons of Biblical history has been building up to our time, the 21st Century A.D., when the Church will finally vindicate God before the heavenly court.

Paraphrasing Daniel’s prophecy

…the sovereignty, dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms of the celestial sovereignties and authorities will be given to the overcomers, the holy people of God, whose testimony before the celestial court will result in a verdict in God’s favor.

Summary of the First Eon:

In the ‘world that then was’ the celestials sinned. As a result, God destroyed all physical plant and animal life, and the earth became a dead, dark rock in the vacuum of blackest space.

The spirits of the celestials who had enjoyed materiality during the first earth returned to the celestial realm. Having experienced sin and violence, they defiled heaven, where the sovereignties and authorities claimed God Himself was responsible for their moral failure.

Elements of God’s Redemptive Plan

Before the disruption of the First Earth, it’s my contention that God planned to redeem the celestials through Christ, the Lamb of God. His plan would accomplish the following:

1. Prove God’s wisdom in creating beings who have the propensity to sin.

2. Demonstrate God’s infinite love and goodness toward them all.

3. Enable the fallen celestials to overcome sin.

4. Restore the celestials’ moral holiness, enabling their complete and unhindered fellowship and relationship with God.

God’s Plan Established

The First Earth’s disruption was a pivotal turning point in God’s Plan. From that time, God’s plan of the ages has had two goals that will certainly be accomplished:

1. Redeem and vivify the celestials who morally fell during the First Age.

2. Demonstrate and make known, through the ecclesia, the multi-faceted wisdom of God to the celestial sovereignties and authorities, obtaining an acquittal for God in the court of heaven.

God’s Adversaries in the Ancient Age

To implement His redemptive plan, God restored the earth as a habitable planet and then created plants, animals, and man, as described in Genesis.

The second heaven began when it was polluted with the spirits who had sinned. Following the first earth’s disruption, this is the second earth.

The Ancient Age began after the earth’s disruption, when God said “Let there be light!” (Genesis 1:3) It includes the recreation of life on earth, Adam and Eve’s creation and fall, Cain & Abel, Seth, Enoch, and Noah. The Ancient Eon ended with Noah’s flood.

What is a Man?

Spirit + Body = Living Soul

We humans are composite, tri-part beings; when our celestial and earthly components are combined, we become ‘living souls.’ (See Genesis 2:7)

In Genesis, spirit + body = a living soul.

There’s no controversy in saying we’re created ‘in the image of God.’  But, in the original Hebrew language, the scripture actually teaches that we’re created in the image of ‘the gods’.

“And Elohim said: Let Us make humanity in Our image and according to Our likeness…So Elohim created humanity in His image; in the image of Elohim He created it: male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27 CVOT)

The worldview of most Christians today doesn’t include gods, so the concept may be sound like a false doctrine.

But, before you pick up stones to throw, be assured that I believe there is only one God, and His name is Yahweh. He exists in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The ‘gods’ in the Bible are not God; they are created celestial beings. They’re the sovereignties, the sons of God, the archais.

The confusion arises when both Almighty God and ‘the gods’ are referred to by the same Hebrew word elohim. Elohim is the Hebrew plural word ‘gods’. Depending on the context of the sentence, it can refer to Yahweh Elohim (Almighty God) or created elohim; i.e., the archais. In a few places, it’s even used to describe human rulers.

Here is an example where the context obviously uses ‘elohim’ as both God and created celestial beings:

“Elohim is stationed in the congregation of El;

Among the elohim He is judging:

How long shall you judge with iniquity

And lift up the faces of the wicked?

…I Myself have said: you are elohim,

And sons of the Supreme are all of you.

Yet you shall die like common humanity,

And like any other of the chiefs you shall fall.

Do arise, O Elohim; do judge the earth;

For it is You Yourself Who shall have the allotment

Of all the nations.” (Psalm 82:1-2…6-8 CVOT)

Modern Christianity’s worldview doesn’t acknowledge the existence of any celestial beings in heaven, except for the triune God, Satan, angels, seraphim, and cherubim. We don’t believe there are any ‘gods’ in heaven—that would sound like polytheism.

But, according to Strong’s Concordance, the Hebrew Scriptures use the word elohim 2598 times. Many of these occurrences refer to Yahweh; but many others obviously don’t.

In addition to the clear passage in Psalm 82 above, here are a few representative instances where elohim is used to describe ‘gods’ that the Bible says are real, celestial entities:

Exodus 15:11

Who is like You among the gods, O Yahweh? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?

Exodus 18:11

Jethro said to Moses: Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all the elohim.

Exodus 22:28

You shall not curse the elohim, nor curse a prince among your people.

Psalm 86:8

There are none like You among the elohim, O Yahweh.

Psalm 95:3

Yahweh is the great El, and the great King over all elohim.

Psalm 97:7

Bow down to Him, all elohim.

Since gods don’t fit into their prevailing worldview, most Christians gloss over and dismiss these references to gods, assuming they’re mythical entities created by primitive, ignorant people who lived thousands of years ago.

But, perhaps we’re the ones who are ignorant. Just because we have advanced technologies such as electricity, cars, aircraft, and computers, we assume we’re more intelligent and advanced than Moses and David, who wrote the verses listed above.

Moses and David weren’t being simple or poetic when they wrote about Yahweh and the gods in heaven. I believe they wrote the literal truth, and we need to submit ourselves to the Scriptures, revising our worldview in accordance with the Scripture instead of trying to make the Scripture match the prevailing theology of our present wicked eon.

When Elohim said, “Let Us make humanity in our image and according to our likeness” God was speaking to the celestials who had morally fallen during the First Eon. There was consensus between God and the celestials regarding the re-creation of the disrupted earth, and the new race of mankind on the second earth.

In the Hebrew original, Genesis chapter one never uses God’s name “Yahweh”. It only uses the generic word “Elohim” to refer to the creative acts of God. This doesn’t mean the celestials themselves created anything; but, it does imply agreement and consensus between Yahweh and all the celestials during the six days of creation, since the plural word Elohim includes them all—Yahweh and the gods.

We can know this because Genesis chapter two reiterates the creation story chronologically (Genesis 2:4) and chapter two explicitly uses the name “Yahweh Elohim” to specify that it was God Himself—and not the created elohim—Who actually performed the creative acts.

For example,

“Yahweh Elohim formed the human soil from the ground, and He blew in his nostrils the breath of life; and the human became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7 CVOT)

God formed Adam’s body, as a potter molds clay, and then breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and Adam became a living soul. From then on, all humans are living souls, and our soul begins when God imparts spirit, or breath, into our fleshly body.

The following verse implies the fallen elohim were present in the Garden of Eden after Adam’s sin:

“And Yahweh Elohim made for Adam and his wife tunics of skin and clothed them. Then Yahweh Elohim said: Behold, the man has become like one of us, in knowing good and evil.”

This verse is difficult to understand for most commentators, who can only guess that God the Father is speaking to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. This is because they don’t comprehend the presence of the other elohim in the Garden.

In both the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament, the words breath, wind, and spirit are translated interchangeably.

Ruach

For example, the Hebrew word ruach (Strong’s 7307) is used 377 times, and it can mean breath, wind, or spirit (see http://biblehub.com/hebrew/7307.htm). Here are a few examples of how it’s been translated all three ways.

The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit (ruach) of God was moving over the surface of the waters. (Genesis 1:2 NASB)

All flesh that moved on the earth perished, birds and cattle and beasts and every swarming thing that swarms upon the earth, and all mankind; of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit (ruach) of life, died. Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark. (Genesis 7:21-23 NASB)

So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath (ruach) of life. (Genesis 7:15 NASB)

Daniel said, "I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds (ruach) of heaven were stirring up the great sea. (Daniel 7:2 NASB)

You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. The head of that statue [was made] of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind (ruach) carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. (Daniel 2:31-35 NASB)

Pneuma

In the same way, the Greek word pneuma (Strong’s 4151) is used 383 times, and it can mean breath, wind, ghost, or spirit (see http://biblehub.com/greek/4151.htm). We use the word pneumatic to describe something with air pressure, like a tire.

Here are a few examples of how pneuma has been translated as: spirit, ghost, wind, or breath:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18 NASB)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 1:18 KJV)

After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove [and] lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." (Matthew 3:16 NASB)

Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. (Matthew 10:1 NASB)

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne. (Revelation 1:4 NASB)

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth

But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. (Revelation 11:11 NASB)

You must be born again. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8 NASB)

Referring to angels…“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?” (Hebrews 1:14 NASB)

So, it’s evident that in both the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New testament the words breath, wind, and spirit are translated interchangeably.

It’s also a Biblical fact that a human being is composed of a spirit within an earthly body, which together produces a soul.

So, breath, or spirit, is the celestial, immaterial component that inhabits and gives life to our earthly, physical body, which is made from the soil. When these two join, we become living souls, with self-consciousness and the blood that continuously circulates oxygen (breath) and physical nourishment (water, calories, enzymes, vitamins, and minerals from the earth) to sustain every cell of our body.

The Human Spirit

“Thus says the One, El, Yahweh,

Creator of the heavens, Who stretched them out,

Who stamped out the earth and its output,

Who gives breath to the people on it

And spirit to those walking in it.” (Isaiah 42:5 CVOT)

If God gives us life and breath by giving us spirit, what is our spirit? And, how does God give it to us?

An academic definition of spirit is “a simple essence, devoid of all or at least all grosser matter, and possessed of the power of knowing, desiring, deciding, and acting.” (http://biblehub.com/greek/4151.htm) Or, more simply stated, a spirit is immaterial, in the same way as the wind has no physical form. Spirits possess intelligence and will, but they don’t have a material body.

Jesus—the only begotten Son of God

Look at Jesus as an example. “The Word became flesh and tabernacles among us (John 1:14 CLNT). The incarnation of the only-begotten Son of God is universally accepted among Christians as a cardinal doctrine. The incarnation doctrine teaches that Jesus pre-existed as the Son of God, with His Father in heaven, before He came to the earth; and then the Holy Spirit impregnated the Virgin Mary, resulting in Jesus being born with a human body and soul.

After His sinless life and resurrection, Jesus kept His physical human body, but in a transformed, glorified form. For eternity into the future, we believe Jesus will possess His glorified human body, complete with the nail holes in His hands and feet that He displayed to the disciples.

Adam—made in the image of elohim

When we’re born into this world, we have a spirit and body which combine to produce a living soul. But, unlike Jesus, when we’re born as infants our bodies aren’t the supernatural offspring of the Holy Spirit, via virgin birth. Neither does our inherent, moral nature permit us to remain sinless as we grow up, as Jesus did. We all, inevitably, sin. Why?

Genesis 1:27 literally says,

“So Elohim created humanity in His image; in the image of Elohim He created it.” (Genesis 1:27 CVOT)

But, the two capitalizations of ‘Elohim’ aren’t in the original Hebrew; capitalization was added by the translators, based on their assumption of who was being spoken of.  Instead, I believe Genesis 1:27 should be understood as follows:

So Elohim created humanity in His image; in the image of elohim He created it.

Yahweh, Almighty God, is our creator. But, I propose that we all sin because we’re made in the image of the elohim, the fallen celestials who fell during the First Eon.  Just as Jesus was made in the image of His Father, we’re made in the image of elohim.

What does this mean? What are the implications if this is correct?

The Spirit of God combined with ‘the seed of the woman’ (see Genesis 3:15) Mary to produce Jesus’ body and soul. Likewise, my father and mother combined their seed and egg to produce a developing fetus. Immediately, when I was born, God gave me the ruach (breath or spirit) of life, which I believe is a ruach (spirit) from the First Eon. Together, my spirit and body make me a living soul, like my earthly father, Adam.

And so it is for every human being, beginning with Adam; we are each the combination of a fallen, First-Eon spirit and a human body that together produces a living soul. (Since He is ‘the only begotten’ Son of God, Jesus is the only human who isn’t born with a fallen nature.)

Our spirits were created by God, long before the disruption of the first earth. They morally fell during the First Eon because they didn’t have the experience and judgment to choose holiness over personal gain.  Many of them repented and sought forgiveness, which is coming through God’s plan of the eons, and through our choices now, as human beings.

Our spirits are immortal, but morally fallen. So, from a moral perspective, they’re spiritually dead and fearful of judgment. This is the state of every human being until they’re ‘born again’ by God’s Holy Spirit. Every person is initially born with a First Eon spirit that’s ‘dead,’ separated from God by sin and shame.

This is why Jesus said,

“Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:60 NASB)

The plan of God is to restore spiritual life (vivification) to the fallen celestials, through identification with the Second Adam, Jesus Christ.

“If there is a soulish body, there is a spiritual also. Thus it is written also, the first man, Adam, became a living soul; the last Adam a vivifying Spirit. But not first the spiritual, but the soulish, thereupon the spiritual. The first man was out of the earth, soilish; the second Man is the Lord out of heaven. Such as the soilish one is, such are those also who are soilish, and such as the Celestial One, such are those also who are celestials. And according as we wear the image of the soilish, we should be wearing the image also of the Celestial.” (1 Corinthians 15:45-49 CLNT)

We’re all born with the soilish and soulish image of the first Adam, but now we can choose to wear the celestial, life-giving image of the second Adam. Our ancient spirit and human soul can be vivified through identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as symbolized by our baptism.

Both Creations to be Tested by Fire

Everyone will be tried by fire. Every person who chooses to remain a child of the first Adam will be burned up. But, every child of the Second Adam belongs to a new, spiritual creation that cannot be hurt by fire. This is why Peter contrasted the watery disruption of the First Eon earth with the fiery judgment of the present heavens and earth:

For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the (first) earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men. (2 Peter 3:5-7 NASB)

And again,

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; (1 Peter 1:6-7 NASB)

During the Ancient Age, Adam was created without sin or guilt, but he soon followed the celestials’ pattern on the earth, falling into sin and the resultant separation from God that resulted from his sense of guilt. His eyes were opened to his nakedness, and no fig leaves or skins could cover his shame.

If God’s plan was to use mankind to redeem the celestials who had fallen during the previous eon, it didn’t seem to be going very well at this point. God’s enemies—the unrepentant sovereignties and authorities who accused God of unfairness after they sinned in the First Age—actively opposed God’s plan through mankind.

They did this in two ways; by polluting mankind’s DNA, and by promoting sin and violence.

Polluted DNA

Genesis 6:1-8 tells how the sons of the elohim mated with the beautiful daughters of men, producing the nephilim. The nephilim were a terrible race of mortal giants, viciously eating anything with blood, including humans.

Here’s the account from the Book of Enoch, Section II, chap 6 & 7. (The Book of Enoch is quoted in the Bible, in Jude 1:14):

And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.' And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And these are the names of their leaders: Samlazaz, their leader, Araklba, Rameel, Kokablel, Tamlel, Ramlel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Baraqijal, Asael, Armaros, Batarel, Ananel, Zaq1el, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Jomjael, Sariel. These are their chiefs of tens.

And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants.

And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells. (According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ell an ell is originally a cubit; one ell is 18 inches.)

:

Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.

But “Noah was a righteous man; he became flawless in his generations; with the One, Elohim, Noah walked.” (Genesis 6:9 CVOT)

Celestials Promoted Sin and Violence

The celestials promoted sin, selfishness and violence among mankind. Here’s the account from the Book of Enoch, Section II, chapters 8-10, http://www.hiddenbible.com/enoch/online.html

And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, 'Armaros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven.

And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. And they said one to another: 'The earth made without inhabitant cries the voice of their cryings up to the gates of heaven. And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men make their suit, saying, "Bring our cause before the Most High."' And they said to the Lord of the ages: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, and God of the ages, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages! Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all 6 things, and nothing can hide itself from Thee. Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which men were striving to learn: And Semjaza, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. And the women have borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are wrought on the earth. And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.'

Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spake, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, and said to him: 'Go to Noah and tell him in my name "Hide thyself!" and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it. And now instruct him that he may escape and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world.' And again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there forever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgment he shall be cast into the fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. And the whole earth has been corrupted through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.' And to Gabriel said the Lord: 'Proceed against the bastards and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other in battle: for length of days shall they not have. And no request that they (i.e. their fathers) make of thee shall be granted unto their fathers on their behalf; for they hope to live an eternal life, and that each one of them will live five hundred years.' And the Lord said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjaza and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgment and of their consummation, till the judgment that is for ever and ever is consummated. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: and to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined forever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all generations. And destroy all the spirits of the reprobate and the children of the Watchers, because they have wronged mankind. Destroy all wrong from the face of the earth and let every evil work come to an end: and let the plant of righteousness and truth appear: and it shall prove a blessing; the works of righteousness and truth' shall be planted in truth and joy for evermore.

And then shall all the righteous escape, and shall live till they beget thousands of children, and all the days of their youth and their old age shall they complete in peace.

And then shall the whole earth be tilled in righteousness, and shall all be planted with trees and be full of blessing. And all desirable trees shall be planted on it, and they shall plant vines on it: and the vine which they plant thereon shall yield wine in abundance, and as for all the seed which is sown thereon each measure (of it) shall bear a thousand, and each measure of olives shall yield ten presses of oil. And cleanse thou the earth from all oppression, and from all unrighteousness, and from all sin, and from all godlessness: and all the uncleanness that is wrought upon the earth destroy from off the earth. And all the children of men shall become righteous, and all nations shall offer adoration and shall praise Me, and all shall worship Me. And the earth shall be cleansed from all defilement, and from all sin, and from all punishment, and from all torment, and I will never again send (them) upon it from generation to generation and forever.

So, due to the influence of God’s celestial adversaries, evil and violence multiplied exponentially on the earth, until it could be said that every intent of the thoughts of their heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)

Yahweh regretted that He had made humanity, and He grieved in His heart. (Genesis 6:6) So, Yahweh decided to again wipe all animal and human life from the earth, except for Noah, his family, and the animals that he brought into the ark.

Noah’s Flood

Approximately 3229 years before Christ, God destroyed the Ancient Age with a flood, saving only Noah, his family, and the animals they carried in the ark. When they emerged from the ark, Noah built an altar to God, offered sacrifices, and God responded by promising He would never again wipe out human and animal life by a flood.

“In the future, for all the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, cold and warmth, summer and winter, day and night, they shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22 CVOT)

God’s Adversaries Today

After the flood, Noah’s three sons filled the earth with their descendants.

70 Nations Divided at Babel

The generations of descendants from Noah’s sons—Shem, Ham, and Japheth—soon grew into the 70 tribes which are listed in Genesis chapter 10.

“These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood.” (Genesis 10:32 NASB)

After the flood, Noah’s sons become 70 nations; all of them spoke the same language.

“Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words…and the said, “Let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name; lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” (Genesis 11:1, 4)

So they built the tower of Babel with bricks and tar, until God confused their language so that each nation couldn’t understand the speech of another.

Why did God divide the nations by confusing their language? The Bible says that God came down to see the city and the tower, and said,

“Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us do down and confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” (Genesis 11:5-7 NASB)

“Then Yahweh scattered them from there over the face of the entire earth, and they left off building the city and the tower.” (Genesis 11:8 CVOT)

Who was Yahweh talking to, and why was it a bad thing for the descendants of Noah to be united in building this city and tower into heaven?

The ancient Book of Jasher gives us more detailed information. (The Book of Jasher is Biblically endorsed in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18):

“And Abram remained in the house of Noah and there knew the Lord and his ways and he served the Lord all the days of his life, and all that generation forgot the Lord, and served other gods of wood and stone, and rebelled all their days.

20 And king Nimrod reigned securely, and all the earth was under his control, and all the earth was of one tongue and words of union.

21 And all the princes of Nimrod and his great men took counsel together; Phut, Mitzraim, Cush and Canaan with their families, and they said to each other, Come let us build ourselves a city and in it a strong tower, and its top reaching heaven, and we will make ourselves famed, so that we may reign upon the whole world, in order that the evil of our enemies may cease from us, that we may reign mightily over them, and that we may not become scattered over the earth on account of their wars.

22 And they all went before the king, and they told the king these words, and the king agreed with them in this affair, and he did so.

23 And all the families assembled consisting of about six hundred thousand men, and they went to seek an extensive piece of ground to build the city and the tower, and they sought in the whole earth and they found none like one valley at the east of the land of Shinar, about two days' walk, and they journeyed there and they dwelt there.

24 And they began to make bricks and burn fires to build the city and the tower that they had imagined to complete.

25 And the building of the tower was unto them a transgression and a sin, and they began to build it, and whilst they were building against the Lord God of heaven, they imagined in their hearts to war against him and to ascend into heaven.

26 And all these people and all the families divided themselves in three parts; the first said We will ascend into heaven and fight against him; the second said, We will ascend to heaven and place our own gods there and serve them; and the third part said, We will ascend to heaven and smite him with bows and spears; and God knew all their works and all their evil thoughts, and he saw the city and the tower which they were building.

27 And when they were building they built themselves a great city and a very high and strong tower; and on account of its height the mortar and bricks did not reach the builders in their ascent to it, until those who went up had completed a full year, and after that, they reached to the builders and gave them the mortar and the bricks; thus was it done daily.

28 And behold these ascended and others descended the whole day; and if a brick should fall from their hands and get broken, they would all weep over it, and if a man fell and died, none of them would look at him.

29 And the Lord knew their thoughts, and it came to pass when they were building they cast the arrows toward the heavens, and all the arrows fell upon them filled with blood, and when they saw them they said to each other, Surely we have slain all those that are in heaven.

30 For this was from the Lord in order to cause them to err, and in order; to destroy them from off the face of the ground.

31 And they built the tower and the city, and they did this thing daily until many days and years were elapsed.

32 And God said to the seventy angels who stood foremost before him, to those who were near to him, saying, Come let us descend and confuse their tongues, that one man shall not understand the language of his neighbor, and they did so unto them.

33 And from that day following, they forgot each man his neighbor's tongue, and they could not understand to speak in one tongue, and when the builder took from the hands of his neighbor lime or stone which he did not order, the builder would cast it away and throw it upon his neighbor, that he would die.

34 And they did so many days, and they killed many of them in this manner.

35 And the Lord smote the three divisions that were there, and he punished them according to their works and designs; those who said, We will ascend to heaven and serve our gods, became like apes and elephants; and those who said, We will smite the heaven with arrows, the Lord killed them, one man through the hand of his neighbor; and the third division of those who said, We will ascend to heaven and fight against him, the Lord scattered them throughout the earth.

36 And those who were left amongst them, when they knew and understood the evil which was coming upon them, they forsook the building, and they also became scattered upon the face of the whole earth.

37 And they ceased building the city and the tower; therefore he called that place Babel, for there the Lord confounded the Language of the whole earth; behold it was at the east of the land of Shinar.

38 And as to the tower which the sons of men built, the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up one third part thereof, and a fire also descended from heaven and burned another third, and the other third is left to this day, and it is of that part which was aloft, and its circumference is three days' walk.

39 And many of the sons of men died in that tower, a people without number.” (Book of Jasher, 9:19-39)

From this passage we can glean the following:

1. Abraham learned the ways of the Lord from Noah himself. Together, they followed and served Yahweh.  The rest of Noah’s descendants rebelled against God.

(Some of the patriarchs between Noah and Abraham (i.e., Shem, Eber, etc.) are excluded from the global statement that “the rest of Noah’s descendants rebelled against God.” These few patriarchs preserved the way of the Lord while the rest of mankind gravitated into sin and idolatry.)

2. Nimrod was a violent man who ruled over all mankind, and they all spoke the same language. (Also see Genesis 10:8 for information about Nimrod.)

3. The sons of Ham led the rebellion to build the tower of Babel. Noah cursed Ham in Genesis 9:25; as a result, it’s apparent that Ham’s descendants were embittered against God and Shem and Japheth’s descendants.

4. Their motive was to war against God in heaven, and to replace Yahweh in heaven with their own gods. This is explicitly stated in verses 25 and 26.

5. They built the tower for many years. It was so high that it took a full year for laborers to climb the tower to deliver bricks and tar to the workmen at its top.

6. In verse 32, God said to the 70 celestials who stood foremost before Him that they should confuse the language of mankind.

7. Once their unity was disrupted, mankind divided into their separate groups by language. Some became more primitive; many died through wars, and the remainder were scattered over the earth.

8. The tower itself was destroyed by God.

God Set 70 Archons over the 70 Nations

When rebellious mankind built the tower of Babel, their motive was to replace Yahweh with their own gods, whom they intended to recognize and serve in Yahweh’s place.

God and 70 celestials confused the language of these rebels. Mankind was divided into 70 nations, as listed in Genesis chapter 10.  The fact that 70 celestials took part in making 70 nations isn’t a coincidence.

Here is Deuteronomy 32:8 from the perspective of three different Bible translations:

(Concordant Version)

“When the Supreme gave the nations allotments,

When He parted the sons of Adam,

He set the boundaries of the peoples

According to the number of the sons of El.”

(New Living Translation)

“When the Most High assigned lands to the nations,

When he divided up the human race,

He established the boundaries of the peoples

According to the number in his heavenly court.”

(NET Bible)

“When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,

When he divided up humankind,

He set the boundaries of the peoples,

According to the number of the heavenly assembly.”

The sons of Noah were divided into 70 nations, each with an assigned land boundary, and each nation was allotted to one of the celestials who ‘stood foremost before Yahweh’. These celestials are the archons; the sovereignties; the chief princes of heaven. In the First Eon, before the earth’s disruption, most of them chose to become God’s adversaries.

The Book of Daniel corroborates this interpretation. When an angel came to Daniel with a message from God, the angel said,

“You must not fear Daniel, for from the first day when you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before Yahweh your Elohim, your words were heard, and I came because of your words; yet the chief of the kingdom of Persia was standing to confront me twenty-one days. Yet behold, Michael, one of the first chiefs, came to help me. And I left him there beside the chief of the kings of Persia.” (Daniel 10:13 CVOT)

“Now I shall return to fight with the chief of the kingdom of Persia. While I am going forth, behold, the chief of Greece will come! ... No one will be steadfast with me against them save Michael your chief.” (Daniel 10:20 CVOT)

From these verses in Daniel we can know:

1. There are celestial chiefs, or sovereignties, over specific nations.

2. These sovereignties oppose the work of God within their territory.

3. The sovereignties help each other in their opposition to God’s work. (The chief of Greece came to help the chief of Persia.)

4. Michael is the chief for Israel. He is one of the first chiefs, with seniority over many others.

The people who built the Tower of Babel said they wanted to serve their gods instead of Yahweh, so Yahweh gave them their desire. He divided them into 70 nations and assigned the 70 archons over them—one to each nation.

This is reminiscent of when the Israelites wanted a king to rule over them. It wasn’t God’s preference, and God warned them of the inevitable consequences, but He gave them the king they wanted.

This doesn’t mean God abdicated His love, care, or responsibility for the nations, even though they had effectively rejected His rule over them. In fact, when God called Abraham He promised him that He would bless the nations through Abraham.

Yahweh expected the archons to lead their nations in His moral way; a way which the archons all knew.

Why did God give the archons lordship over the nations?

When God assigned the nations to the archons, Psalm 82 shows that God expected the archons to rule over their respective nations with impartial justice, caring for the weak and needy:

“God hath stood in the congregation of El, among the elohim is He judging.

How long will you judge perversely and the face of the wicked lift up? Selah.

Judge for the weak and fatherless, the afflicted and the poor grant justice.

Let the weak and needy escape; from the hand of the wicked deliver them.

They knew not, nor do they understand, in darkness they walk habitually, Moved are all the foundations of earth.” (Psalm 82:1-8 CVOT/YLT)

The archons were supposed to protect the weak and needy, providing impartial justice and care for their respective peoples. But instead, they followed the First Eon pattern of selfish gain through violence and sin.

The recorded history of every ancient culture on the earth today began at this time, approximately 3000BC. Whether it’s Chinese, Indian, Mesopotamian, or Egyptian culture, their civilized, recorded history begins after Babel, when they were dispersed into the four corners of the earth.

And when the Lord had scattered the sons of men on account of their sin at the tower, behold they spread forth into many divisions, and all the sons of men were dispersed into the four corners of the earth. (Book of Jasher 10:2)

Babylon

In both the Old and New Testaments, Babylon symbolically represents the spiritual and political kingdoms of this this world that are arrayed against God.

Babylon’s Origin

And Nimrod son of Cush was still in the land of Shinar, and he reigned over it and dwelt there, and he built cities in the land of Shinar.

2 And these are the names of the four cities which he built, and he called their names after the occurrences that happened to them in the building of the tower.

3 And he called the first Babel, saying, because the Lord there confounded the language of the whole earth; and the name of the second he called Erech, because from there God dispersed them.

4 And the third he called Eched, saying there was a great battle at that place; and the fourth he called Calnah, because his princes and mighty men were consumed there, and they vexed the Lord, they rebelled and transgressed against him.

5 And when Nimrod had built these cities in the land of Shinar, he placed in them the remainder of his people, his princes and his mighty men that were left in his kingdom.

6 And Nimrod dwelt in Babel, and he there renewed his reign over the rest of his subjects, and he reigned securely, and the subjects and princes of Nimrod called his name Amraphel, saying that at the tower his princes and men fell through his means.

7 And notwithstanding this, Nimrod did not return to the Lord, and he continued in wickedness and teaching wickedness to the sons of men; and Mardon, his son, was worse than his father, and continued to add to the abominations of his father.

8 And he caused the sons of men to sin, therefore it is said, from the wicked goeth forth wickedness.

9 At that time there was war between the families of the children of Ham, as they were dwelling in the cities which they had built.

10 And Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, went away from the families of the children of Ham, and he fought with them and he subdued them, and he went to the five cities of the plain and he fought against them and he subdued them, and they were under his control.

11 And they served him twelve years, and they gave him a yearly tax.

12 At that time died Nahor, son of Serug, in the forty-ninth year of the life of Abram son of Terah.

13 And in the fiftieth year of the life of Abram son of Terah, Abram came forth from the house of Noah, and went to his father's house.

14 And Abram knew the Lord, and he went in his ways and instructions, and the Lord his God was with him. (Book of Jasher 11:1-14)

Babylon is the prototype for every worldly kingdom that has since followed it during the Present Wicked Eon. The Book of Daniel prophesies that the four major kingdoms of this eon (Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome) will be shattered by God’s kingdom, and blown away by the wind like chaff, never to rise again. (Daniel 2:35, 44, 45)

To prevent this prophecy from being fulfilled, the archons systematized their influence and control over mankind through systems of government, media, education, religion, employment, culture, and economics. While these institutions are necessary for any orderly society, when they’re used against God’s plan and purpose for mankind, they’re symbolically known as ‘Babylon’ in the scripture.

The ‘Systemization of the Deception’

“that we may by no means still be minors, surging here and there and being carried about by every wind of teaching, by human caprice, by craftiness with a view to the systematizing of the deception.” (Ephesians 4:14 CLNT)

Over the thousands of years since the Tower of Babel, the archons have ruled their nations, each using a unique combination of government, media, education, religion, employment, culture, and economics that define and control each nation’s people. These things aren’t bad in themselves, since human civilization requires them, but they’re bad when they’re systematized to deceive people, being purposefully designed to prevent them from learning and following God’s truth that results in righteousness and spiritual life.

Government

The archons use government to control and dominate people. ‘National interests’ are deemed more important than the lives and blood of its subjects.

While publicly promoting the virtues of patriotism, and honoring the heroes who sacrificed themselves for the nation’s ‘freedom,’ they thoughtlessly trade the peoples’ blood to increase their own power and territory. They rule through violence and fund the kingdom through taxes.

Joseph and Daniel both rose to positions of authority within their respective archon’s government; in both cases it was because their supernatural revelation benefitted the kingdom.

Media

The archons use the media to create and control the attitudes and subjection of their subjects.

Today, television is an extremely powerful tool used to formulate status quo thinking, controlling and directing a nation’s mind and emotions in whatever direction they choose.

Media is intentionally used to anesthetize or distract us through a myriad of mind-numbing sports, video games, movies, and entertainment programs.

As in a football game, the team that’s winning when the clock runs out wins the game. In the same way, the archons want us to waste our time with amusements, knowing they’ll maintain their heavenly position if our lifespan clock runs out before we become overcomers in our life.

Media is also used effectively to program us with ‘science’ programs and ‘history’ documentaries—all of them promoting the authorized Babylonian worldview, while mocking and marginalizing the Biblical worldview.

Education

From early childhood through young adulthood, we’re formally indoctrinated into the Babylonian worldview through the education system. Nimrod uses it to create and enforce desired concepts about: reality, submission to government, creation versus evolution, a positive view of the nation’s history, humanism versus theology, sexual morality, etc.

In Babylon’s educational system, only the authorized worldview is tolerated; all others are excluded as insignificant, peripheral, or harmful to children’s development.

Employment and Economics

Employers have become enforcement agents in their government’s program of political correctness and amoral social engineering. If employees don’t respect the government’s social boundaries, they’re disciplined or terminated from employment. If the nation has socialized medicine, its citizens must contribute taxes to support whatever procedures the government authorizes, including euthanasia, abortion, and rationed healthcare.

Thus, government leaders use their economic power to institutionalize their views of morality within society. From before the disruption of the earth, economics have led celestials and men into sin and violence.

By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. (Ezekiel 28:16 NASB)

At the end of this age, the Antichrist will use the modern electronic banking network as a weapon of global economic control, excluding moral, godly people from the ability to trade within his economic system.

And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17 NASB)

Corporations, the stock market, and gambling casinos all exemplify an amoral, pragmatic economic view of the world system.  Profit is king to them, without concern or respect for the moral or human impacts of their investments.

And the merchants of the earth shall weep and sorrow over her, because their lading no one doth buy any more; lading of gold, and silver, and precious stone, and pearl, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and every vessel of ivory, and every vessel of most precious wood, and brass, and iron, and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and of horses, and of chariots, and of bodies and souls of men. (Revelation 18:11-13 YLT)

Today, anyone who rejects this mindset is thought to be naïve and foolish, but Babylon is doomed; in one hour it will be burnt up.

To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, 'I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.'

For this reason in one day her plagues will come, pestilence and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for the Lord God who judges her is strong. And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.' (Revelation 18:7-10 NASB)

Religion

Since Babel, thousands of religions have evolved, teaching false worldviews as substitutes for God’s truth. Every person has a spiritual vacuum in their mind that must be filled with a worldview that explains the world, including:

1. How did we get here?

2. What’s the purpose of life?

3. What happens when you die?

All religions, including atheism, humanism, and agnosticism answer these questions to fill that vacuum.

The archons don’t care what people believe, just as long as it doesn’t lead them to God’s truth, righteousness, and eternal life.

What is the archons’ motive in deceiving people?

- The archons were created in a pristine, celestial realm, without sin and in fellowship with God.  But, during the First Eon, they chose to commit sin and violence on the earth; and they claimed that God shouldn’t judge them because He knowingly created them with sinful weaknesses, so it wasn’t their fault. In effect, it was God’s fault for creating them with the propensity to sin.

- So, if humans, who are born into a defiled and violent earth, who are born with a sinful nature, are able to overcome sin and walk in fellowship with the invisible God, through faith, the archons’ claim (that their sin was God’s fault) will be proved false. The archons were created spiritual and holy, knowing God, but they still chose to sin. Humans are spirits born within a fleshly body, born with an already-fallen nature, but we’re destined to reject our fallen nature and, by faith, receive God’s gift of life and forgiveness, made possible by God’s love, through our Savior Jesus Christ.

When we humans overcome our sinful nature, by the Spirit of Christ within us, our lives testify against the archons in the court of heaven, resulting in their eventual condemnation. (Daniel 7:9, 10, 26, 27) This is why the archons will do anything to keep us from knowing God’s truth and walking in it.

False religion keeps us ignorant of God’s plan, making us ineffective to wrestle against God’s primary adversaries—the archons, the celestial sovereignties and authorities.

While keeping us ignorant about the archons, false religion also floods us with falsehood about our primary adversary, the Devil.

Our Adversary: the Devil

While God’s adversaries are the archons, against whom we wrestle, our primary adversary is the Devil.

The archons and the Devil are allies in opposition to God’s plan.

The Devil is our tempter and accuser.

- He continuously tempts every person to sin.

- Then, when we sin, he accuses us in our conscience.

A guilt-laden conscience makes us unable to accomplish God’s plan on the earth. As a result, the Kingdom of God hasn’t come to earth because the archons haven’t been put under Jesus’ feet.

How can we accomplish God’s plan on the earth?

We Must Know Our Enemy

Is Satan an evil angel; a goat-headed demon with horns, pitchfork, and a tail; or a cute little red devil that whispers temptations in one ear while a white angel whispers good advice in the other?  These are the images that probably pop into your head when you think of Satan—the Devil.

These old myths about the Devil have been handed-down for generations. In modern times, we also have movies like "the Exorcist" that promote more false concepts about the Devil and his powers.

As a result of this ignorance and misinformation, even though Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, for the last 2000 years Christians have not overcome the Devil.

For eons, the archons and the Devil have ruled mankind's world systems through evil men; and, although we now have Christ's authority, we're no threat to their rule if we don't know who the Devil really is and how he operates. The archons and Satan will continue to rule this world's systems until the Body of Christ overcomes the Devil, causing the archons to be cast down from heaven.

The ancient Chinese classic book “The Art of War” teaches:

1. If you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss.

2. If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose.

3. If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself.

Today, we know neither ourselves nor our enemy. This book will help you know both.

Unveiling the Dragon

Our popular concepts of the Devil don’t make sense. For example:

- How can a fallen angel simultaneously tempt everyone on earth, while he’s also in heaven continuously accusing us before God day and night? (See Revelation 12:10) He’d have to be omnipresent, which is not an attribute of any created being.

- How could God create the Garden of Eden with an evil, lying serpent in it, and still say His creation was ‘very good’?

Lucifer is a Myth

The story about Lucifer falling into pride and becoming the Devil isn’t true. This fable is based on one verse, Isaiah 14:12, which the King James Version translated incorrectly. More accurate translations say:

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! (Isaiah 14:12 NASB)

It may surprise you to learn that the name ‘Lucifer’ isn’t found anywhere in the Hebrew or Greek Scriptures. So, if the Devil didn’t originate as fallen Lucifer, who (or what) is he?

Who or What is the Devil?

The Book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible. From astronomical and internal clues within the Book of Job, we know that Job lived around 2100-2200 BC, during the time of the post-flood patriarchs, along with Shem and Abraham.

“The Satan” (meaning ‘the Adversary’) appears in Job chapters 1 and 2, where it isn’t used as a proper name but as a title or role, as if to say ‘the Prosecutor’. In Job, ‘the Satan’ appears as the prosecutor in the Court of Heaven, in the midst of the sons of God, or literally, the sons of Elohim. (These sons of Elohim are the archons, or celestial sovereignties, that we wrestle against.)

Thus, our most ancient Biblical source establishes the following setting and characters, providing critical clues to understand the celestial entities and the situation in heaven that still exists to this day.

In order of their appearance in the book:

1. On the earth:

a.  Job, a blameless and upright man with a prosperous family and many possessions.

2. In heaven:

a.  The ‘sons of Elohim’ came to present themselves before Yahweh.

b.  Yahweh, Almighty God.

c.  The Adversary came in their midst (1:6 , 2:1)

Synopsis of the Book of Job

From the midst of the Sons of Elohim, the Adversary challenged Job's worship of God as selfishly motivated, on Job’s part. So, God authorized the Adversary to afflict the most righteous man on earth (1:8) with the sudden and disastrous loss of his children and possessions. When that didn't cause Job to scorn God, the Adversary was further authorized to afflict Job with boils covering his body. Though he was reduced to scraping pus from his body with a potsherd, in sackcloth and ashes, Job stayed faithful, trusting God, although he couldn't understand why God allowed his suffering.

Although it isn't explicitly stated, it's obvious that within the heavenly court God's bragging about Job (1:8, 2:3) was vindicated by Job's faithfulness during the Adversary's tests. After afflicting Job’s body, the defeated Adversary seems to evaporate; he isn't mentioned again in the Book of Job.

The Devil, Satan, Our Adversary

Why does the Adversary evaporate from the story after Job's testing vindicates God's bragging about him? Notice that the Adversary came "in their midst." He didn't come to present himself individually before Yahweh, because Satan isn’t an individual, self-conscious entity, like God, the archons, or humans.

The sons of Elohim brought the spirit of the Adversary within themselves, corporately, ‘in their midst’. Yahweh addressed this Adversary who was ‘in their midst,’ just as Jesus later rebuked Satan speaking through Peter.

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's.” (Matthew 16:23 NASB)

Satan, the Adversary, is a personification of sin, the spirit of rebellion that was within the assembled sons of Elohim. God addressed this rebellious spirit among them, and read their minds in response.

The Sons of Elohim are also mentioned in Job 38:7, where it's said “all the sons of Elohim raised a joyful shout” when the first earth's cornerstone was placed.  This joyous event occurred at the beginning of the First Eon, before Adam, and before the earth’s disruption.

God didn’t create the earth a waste place (Isa 45:18), but the initial appearance of sin among the sons of Elohim caused the earth's disruption, so that it became formless, dark, and void. Satan is the personification of sin, which was first exposed in the First Eon celestials and now rules over mankind.

So, instead of thinking of Satan as a goat-headed devil with horns, a pitchfork and a tail, think of him as the nature of sin that tempts you every time you're confronted with a law. He's the voice of rebellious temptation that entices us to do what we know is wrong. Then, once we've eaten that apple, he turns into the Accuser within your own conscience, making you flee from God's holy presence, to hide in shame.

Sin

Where there is no law, there is no consciousness of sin. Sin is only revealed where there's a law. (Romans 7:7)  The serpent tempted Adam and Eve after they’d been given one prohibition in the garden, a law that became the one thing Satan (the nature of sin within them) compelled them to do.

In innocent children, whenever they’re commanded not to do something, the power of sin is activated, tempting them to do that very thing. Satan is that ‘law of sin’ within us:

For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. (Romans 7:22-23 NASB)

Shame

As soon as a man (or woman or child) succumbs to a sinful temptation, the ‘consciousness of sin’ becomes an immediate and ongoing accuser within his own conscience.

When Adam and Eve sinned, their eyes were immediately opened and they saw their own nakedness. Their shame caused them to hide from God, who still sought them in the Garden of Eden.

It’s our shame, our ‘consciousness of sin’ that separates us from God. God doesn’t separate Himself from us. Our shame causes us to separate ourselves from Him.

Having deceived us through temptation, shame is the main weapon the Accuser (our evil conscience within us) uses to spiritually defeat us. As long as we see ourselves as sinful, we can never be victorious in achieving God’s plan to establish His kingdom on the earth.

But, by faith in the blood of Christ, our evil conscience—the Accuser—can be overcome.

“Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22 NASB)

The blood of sacrificial animals couldn’t remove this consciousness of sins, but the blood of Jesus can. (see Hebrews 10:2)

Through faith, we can now be restored to complete fellowship with God, without any consciousness of sin, just like Jesus, and like Adam before he sinned. The way into the holy of holies, where God’s presence resides in Shekinah glory, is now open for us.

To enter His presence, we must demonstrate the power of His grace and love, by faith believing in our present day redemption by the blood of Jesus. As long as we have shame for sins we’ve already been forgiven for, we haven’t allowed the blood of Christ to cleanse our conscience; we haven’t fully received our redemption.

After I believe I’ve been forgiven for my sins by the blood of Jesus, I can actively walk in the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, making me free from the law of sin and death. By His life in me, the requirements of God’s laws have already been fulfilled in me. Therefore, by His grace I am holy, right now, and I stand flawless in God’s eternal presence without any shame.

“The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-4 NASB)

The Overcomers

Promises

In the beginning of the Book of Revelation, Jesus makes these seven fantastic promises to the overcomers in the seven churches.

1. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God. (Rev 2:7 NASB)

2. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death. (Rev 2:11 NASB)

3. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it. (Rev 2:17 NASB)

4. He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; 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; and I will give him the morning star. (Rev 2:26-28 NASB)

5. He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (Rev 3:5 NASB)

6. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. (Rev 3:12 NASB)

7. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Rev 3:21 NASB)

At the end of Revelation, God promises,

“He who is overcoming shall inherit all things, and I will be to him—a God, and he shall be to me—the son.” (Revelation 21:7 YLT)

I want to be an overcomer; don’t you? So, what do we need to overcome in order to receive these promises? Obviously we must be victorious and overcome some adversary. But, who or what is it?

Overcome What?

For years I diligently studied this and prayed, trying to ‘pull back the curtain’ in order to see into the spiritual realm, to identify who our celestial adversaries were, so that I could overcome them and thus become an overcomer.

Not the Sovereignties and Authorities

Ephesians 6:12 teaches us that we are to stand against the stratagems of our Adversary, wrestling with the celestial sovereignties and authorities, etc., among the celestials. At both the beginning and end of this verse, Paul reiterates that our goal is not to defeat these beings, it is “having effected all, to stand”. So, while I must wrestle against powerful celestials who seek my downfall, my goal against them is to stand—not to conquer them.

Submit to Them

Just as with earthly national leaders, whether they be godly or corrupt, I am required to respect and obey the sovereignties’ authority as long as it doesn’t cause me to disobey God’s law.

In the same way, we must obey the archons whom God appointed to rule over the nations after Babel.

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. (Romans 13:1 NASB)

Don’t Revile Them

Paul warned against reviling the celestials, against whom we wrestle:

The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the Day of Judgment, and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord. But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed, suffering wrong as the wages of doing wrong. (2 Peter 2:9-13 NASB)

Peter echoed this warning:

Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. 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!" But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. (Jude 1:8-10 NASB)

So, if we aren’t to overcome the celestial beings in heaven that we wrestle against, who or what do the overcomers overcome?

For our testimony to be possible in the court of heaven, we must have both the authority and the ability to overcome our enemies.  But, we have neither the authority nor the ability to overcome celestial sovereignties and authorities God placed in authority over the nations after the Tower of Babel. Besides, we’d be at a great disadvantage if we had to overcome them, since we’re totally blind and ignorant of the terrain and the rules of engagement that would apply in the celestial realm. So, that wouldn’t be  fair or reasonable.

As shown by the gargoyles carved onto medieval cathedrals, it’s apparent that for centuries Church leaders have believed and taught the idea that our enemies are evil angelic entities and demons, and Christians have been trying to overcome them through spiritual warfare for hundreds of years, without any visible progress or success toward changing the archons’ status in the celestial realm.

This campaign of misinformation and misdirection has been one of the archon’s most successful stratagems against the Church.

The Enemy Within

Seeing ourselves as victims of evil forces that exist outside ourselves is a natural desire. Psychologists use the terms scapegoating or projection for this unconscious human tendency to ascribe our own undesirable traits onto another person or group.

Put simply, whenever we see wickedness within ourselves, it must be the Devil’s (or somebody else’s) fault. The sovereignties and authorities use this natural human tendency to their advantage, keeping the Church focused on crusading against a myriad of external enemies; i.e., the Devil, principalities and powers, godless liberals, socialists, atheists, homosexuals, Muslims, etc.

But, these crusades will also be fruitless, just as the medieval crusades were, since these enemies are mere scapegoats, distracting us from our real enemy.

The enemy I must overcome to be an overcomer is within myself. To be an overcomer, I must win the moral war within my own heart and soul, being changed daily into the moral likeness of Christ, becoming flawless and mature in righteousness as defined by God’s word.

This battle is fair, and totally within my control.

For example, in Revelation 14:1-5 a special group of overcomers is honored in heaven:

Then I looked, and behold, the Lamb was standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one could learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been purchased from the earth. These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they have kept themselves chaste. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These have been purchased from among men as first fruits to God and to the Lamb. And no lie was found in their mouth; they are blameless.

This passage plainly says they’re special because (1) the name of Jesus and His Father is written on their foreheads, (2) they’re chaste, (3) they follow the Lamb wherever He goes, and (4) no lie was found in their mouth. “They are blameless.”

Be Flawless

This word translated ‘blameless’ in the NASB is the Greek word amomos, which used these eight times (below) in the New Testament.

The Concordant version translates amomos using the synonym flawless, which (I think) has a slightly more positive connotation. As you can see from the context of the verses below, amomos means morally perfect and sinless, able to stand before God without any consciousness of sin.

This is God’s will and desire for us. And, this is how I become an overcomer, by overcoming the Devil who is the nature of sin within myself.

Ephesians 1:4

He chooses us in Him before the disruption of the world, we to be holy and  flawless in His sight, in love designating us beforehand for the place of a son for Him through Christ Jesus

Ephesians 5:27

as Christ also loves the ecclesia, and gives Himself up for its sake, that He should be hallowing it, cleansing it in the bath of the water (with His declaration), that He should be presenting to Himself a glorious ecclesia, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that it may be holy and  flawless.

Philippians 2:15

All be doing without murmurings and reasonings, that you may become blameless and artless, children of God,  flawless, in the midst of a generation crooked and perverse among whom you are appearing as luminaries in the world, having on the word of life

Colossians 1:22

And you, being once estranged and enemies in comprehension, by wicked acts, yet now He reconciles by His body of flesh, through His death, to present you holy and  flawless and unimpeachable in His sight

Hebrews 9:14

For if the blood of he-goats and of bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the contaminated, is hallowing to the cleanness of the flesh, how much rather shall the blood of Christ, Who, through the eonian spirit offers Himself  flawless to God, be cleansing your conscience from dead works to be offering divine service to the living and true God?

1 Peter 1:19

not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, were you ransomed from your vain behavior, handed down by tradition from the fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a  flawless and unspotted lamb, foreknown, indeed, before the disruption of the world, yet manifested in the last times because of you

Jude 1:24

Now to Him Who is able to guard you from tripping, and to stand you  flawless in sight of His glory, in exultation, to the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, might and authority before the entire eon, now, as well as for all the eons. Amen!

Revelation 14:5

These are those who are following the Lambkin wherever It should be going. These are bought from mankind, a firstfruit to God and the Lambkin. And in their mouth falsehood was not found, for they are  flawless.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the same idea is conveyed 45 times by the word tamim, including these representative examples:

Genesis 6:9

Noah was a righteous man; he became  flawless in his generations; with the One, Elohim, Noah walked

Genesis 17:1

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him: I am El Who-Suffices; walk before Me and become  flawless.

Exodus 12:5

A  flawless lamb, a year-old male, shall you come to have.

Deuteronomy 18:13

Flawless shall you come to be with Yahweh your Elohim. For these nations whom you are dispossessing, they hearken to cloud consulters and diviners. As for you, Yahweh your Elohim does not allow you to do so.

2 Samuel 22:20-27

He brought me forth in to a wide place; He liberated me, for He has delighted in me. Yahweh requited me according to my righteousness; According to the purity of my hands He recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of Yahweh, And I have not been wicked by turning from my Elohim. For all His judgments have been in front of me, And I have not put away His statutes from me. I have become  flawless before Him; Let me keep myself from my depravity. Yahweh recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my purity in front of His eyes. With the benign one You show Yourself benign, and with a flawless master You show Yourself flawless. With the purified one You show Yourself pure, but with the perverse one You show Yourself cunning.

Psalm 15:2

O Yahweh, who shall sojourn in Your tent? Who shall tabernacle on Your holy mountain?  He who is walking  flawlessly and effecting righteousness, He who is speaking truth in his heart.

Psalm 101:2

To You, O Yahweh, shall I indeed make melody. I shall indeed contemplate the  flawless way.

Ezekiel 28:14-16

In the day of your creation they established the anointed cherub’s booth. And I bestowed you in the holy mountain of Elohim; You were in the midst of the fiery stones. You walked  flawless in your ways from the day of your creation until iniquity was found in you in the increase of your trading. They filled your midst with violence, and you sinned; So I shall put you as profane out of the mountain of Elohim, and the cherub of the booth will destroy you out of the midst of the fiery stones.

So, in both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, God’s will is for His people to be morally flawless, 100% holy as defined by the word of God.

Being morally flawless has been impossible for humans to accomplish ever since Adam chose to sin, because men have a First Eon spirit that’s bent toward sin; but our Saviour Jesus Christ is the one man Who overcame sin and lived a flawless life, as was proven by His bodily resurrection from the dead. Now, having been resurrected with a glorified body, He is no longer susceptible to temptation. His victory over sin is forever sealed and unchangeable.

Now, as I turn away from my old spirit’s sinful tendency and choose to ‘walk in’ my new spirit, which is the Spirit of Christ Himself Who dwells in me, He lives His flawless life through me, completely fulfilling the requirements of God’s law through me.

How Will the Church Defeat God’s Adversaries?

When you overcome sin and shame within yourself, you are simultaneously waging spiritual warfare against God’s adversaries.

Faith

Supernatural faith relies on two things; a spoken word (Greek: rhema) from the living God, and the confidence that you’re in fellowship with God.

Hearing the Living God Speak

Jesus said He could do nothing without hearing it or seeing it from the Father first. (See John 5:19, 30)

The kingdom of God is being built by those who commune with God’s Spirit, as Zechariah prophesied,

“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6 NASB)

God is alive and speaking to us all, to our spirits. It’s absolutely essential that you learn to listen, see, and obey His Spirit within before you can accomplish anything that’s not wood, hay, and stubble.

To learn how to see and hear God’s voice in your spirit, I recommend the Communing with God course. It changed my life. (I don’t get anything for this endorsement.)

For free information, see the “4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice” at http://www.cluonline.com/godsvoice.htm.

Confidence You’re in Fellowship with God

To have faith you must have confidence that you’re in fellowship with God.

As long as you have sin-consciousness, your shame blocks your fellowship with God, which kills your ability to have faith. So shame undermines your confidence, which then deflates your faith, because you don’t feel worthy to approach God.

Instead, if you believe the blood of Jesus paid for your sins, you must “draw near, with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having your heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience.” (Hebrews 10:22 NASB)

The Court in Heaven

God’s plan, since before the disruption of the first earth, is to prove to the heavenly court, including the archons (the sovereignties and authorities in heaven) that He is wise, loving, and just.

According to Ephesians 3:10, He is going to do this through the Church. As people in His ecclesia overcome sin and shame within themselves, by the power of Christ dwelling within them, they demonstrate the wisdom of God to His adversaries in heaven.

But, so far (with a few exceptions) the Church hasn’t grasped this responsibility. The Church hasn’t made herself spotless. Christians haven’t realized the strategic impact of their becoming morally flawless.

A Great Cloud of Witnesses

Hebrews 12:1 tells us that we have ‘a great cloud of witnesses’ surrounding us. Preachers like to say this is an invisible multitude in grandstands around us, cheering us on as we run our race.

But, these witnesses aren’t cheering spectators. Instead, they’re witnesses in the heavenly court, who watch us for evidence they can testify to.

The Greek word translated 'witnesses’ in this verse is martyron, from which we get the word martyr.  By the lives they lived on earth, these celestial witnesses earned credibility to present testimony in the court of heaven.

Evidence in the Heavenly Court

The great cloud of witnesses are looking for evidence that people on earth have been transformed from sinners into saints. When they observe evidence of people being transformed, so that their actions show the fruit of the Holy Spirit within them, they testify to this evidence in the court of heaven.

People can believe whatever they want, but until belief is demonstrated by deeds it’s not admissible as evidence in court.

What kind of actions are the witnesses looking for? Hebrews chapter 11, the ‘faith chapter’ provides a list.

Since the Book of Hebrews was written in the first century AD, the witnesses’ testimony also includes the exploits of godly saints up to our day.

The Archons’ Destiny

The witnesses’ testimony will continue to accumulate until it results in the heavenly court’s judgment against the archons. When this happens, the archons’ will be stripped of their authority over the nations, and Jesus Christ will replace them as King of Kings and Lord of Lords over the 70 nations on the earth.

Then, the archons will be forcibly flung down to earth when the Seventh Trumpet sounds.

Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” (Revelation 11:15 NASB)

The archons know they’re destined to be cast down, and they’re constantly hearing the witnesses’ testimony against them in the heavenly court. As a result, the archons are desperately trying to keep Christians from being transformed into the likeness of Christ. They do everything within their power to distract or prevent us from overcoming sin and proving the effectiveness of our redemption. They tailor their systems of deception toward this one goal—to keep Christians from being transformed from sinners into saints, which literally means ‘holy ones.’

For more than 1900 years their systems of deception successfully encouraged mankind to be carnally-minded, slaves within lifeless religions, ignorant of God’s plan, occupied with the cares of this life, amused in worthless pursuits, and burdened with shame and powerlessness. As a result, they’ve been successful (so far) in maintaining their celestial position.

But, the archons, including all the rebellious sovereignties and authorities, and all their celestial followers, will be cast down to the material earth from their celestial thrones. On earth, they’ll lose their immortal status and ‘die like men’.

I said, "You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.” Nevertheless you will die like men and fall like one of the princes." (Psalm 82:6-7 NASB)

Finally, Colossians 1:20 states that even God’s enemies will be reconciled to Him, through the blood of the cross.

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. (Colossians 1:19-20 NASB)

Just as Gandhi said his nonviolent campaign to liberate India from the British was intentionally done so as to make the British their friends after the British reluctantly relinquished their sovereignty over India, so the archons, along with all the other rebellious celestials who now oppose us, will become our friends after they’re reconciled to God through the blood of the cross.

The mechanics and timing of their reconciliation is a mystery. All we know now is that they’ll be cast down to earth at the end of this eon, and that they’ll die like men. Afterward, they’ll be reconciled to God, probably in a future eon, for the Bible informs us there will be ‘eons of the eons’ after the next eon—the millennial reign of Christ.

- Here are some examples of where the original Greek text should have been translated ‘eon of the eons’: Rom 16:27, Eph 3:21, Phil 4:20, 1 Tim 1:17, 2 Tim 4:18, Heb 1:8, Revelation 1:18, 5:13, 11:15, 14:11, 19:3, 20:10, 21:1-2, 22:5.

- The Millennial reign of Christ is referred to in these verses: Ephesians 1:22, Matthew 19:28, and Revelation chapter 20.

Spiritual Warfare

So, to wage spiritual warfare I don’t need to ascend into the celestial realm, light years up into the galaxy, and wrestle with warrior angels and demons through extended prayer and fasting. No, the celestial realm is here, now, in my heart and mind.

All I need to do is occupy the territory of my own heart and mind, following God’s Spirit and overcoming in the moral battles within myself. Unlike wrestling strong celestials I can’t see, in a realm I don’t live in, choosing to follow God’s way and controlling my own daily, moral choices is totally within my power to do. Therefore, I can do it, and I am responsible to do it.

When I stand before the Lord on Judgment Day, I’ll receive rewards (or not) based on the moral choices I’ve made. If I choose God’s way, and walk daily in His Spirit, I will fulfill all the requirements of God’s law.

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4 NASB)

When I walk in righteousness, by the power of His Spirit living though me, I accomplish God’s eternal purpose plan and purpose—demonstrating the wisdom of God, through the church, to the celestial sovereignties and authorities.

“The mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. That the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:9-11 NASB)

By walking in righteousness, choosing to follow God and walk in His Spirit instead of walking after my old selfish nature, I (and you) can win the spiritual war in heaven.

With each choice of God’s way over Satan’s I possess a little more territory in my personal, spiritual war.

It’s a constant, daily battle. We determine which side of our personality will win with every choice we make.

Our spiritual strength is like Samson’s hair; each day it grew a little longer, giving him a little more strength. Eventually, when our spiritual hair is long enough, we’ll be able to stand, holy and mature, in the fullness of the stature of Christ Himself.

The harvest of the earth, for which God has been patiently waiting since the First Eon, is a holy people who overcome sin through His Spirit living within them. These are the overcomers within the seven Churches that Jesus made the seven promises to. They are morally flawless, completely fulfilling all the requirements of God’s law by choosing to follow God’s way, growing daily into the likeness of Christ.

The Star of David isn’t just a Jewish symbol. For Christians it depicts the tri-part overcomer becoming one with the Triune God.

The Overcomers’ Result

As overcomers are victorious over sin and selfishness, walking daily in the peace and holiness of Christ, their lives provide evidence for the celestial witnesses who testify against the fallen celestials in the court of heaven.

Overcomers vindicate the wisdom of God, accomplishing His purpose and plan when we choose to walk in the Spirit of Christ, putting the deeds of their old, First Eon nature to death.

Since Abel, flawless overcomers on earth have been providing the evidence needed for the heavenly court to judge the celestials, who said it wasn’t their fault they fell into sin and violence during the First Age.

The court will sit, and judgment will be given in favor of the overcoming saints.

But the court will sit for judgment, and his (the Antichrist) dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him. (Daniel 7:26-27 NASB)

Jesus Promised Immortality

For overcomers who overcome sin, becoming flawless, will their bodies become immortal? Is immortality the incentive for the nations’ earnest desire to learn the way of the Lord during the next age?

And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, And the peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, "Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (Micah 4:1-2 NASB)

Before you scoff, consider this question—would Jesus have been immortal if His body hadn’t been killed prematurely?

- He never sinned, so death wouldn’t have had any claim on His body.

- He said He had life within Himself, so  that would counter and displace death in His body. (see John 5:26)

- Would Jesus have aged like we do, or would He have stayed eternally youthful?

On at least three occasions, Jesus promised His followers physical immortality:

1. Before raising Lazarus from the tomb, Jesus told Martha,

“He who is believing in Me, even if he should be dying, shall be living. And everyone who is living and believing in Me, should by no means be dying for the eon. Are you believing this?” (John 11:26 CLNT)

2. After feeding 5000 with five loaves and two fish, Jesus told the Jews:

“Verily, verily I am saying to you that he who is believing in Me has life eonian. I am the Bread of Life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the Bread descending out of heaven that anyone may be eating of it and may not be dying.

I am the living Bread which descends out of heaven. If anyone should be eating of this Bread, he shall be living for the eon. Now the Bread also, which I shall be giving for the sake of the life of the world, is My flesh.” (John 6:47-51 CLNT)

3. On another occasion, Jesus told the Jews:

“Verily, verily I am saying to you, if anyone should be keeping My word, he should under no circumstances be beholding death for the eon.” (John 8:51 CLNT)

Immortality Criteria: Jesus promised that if we believe in Him, eat the Bread of Life, and keep His word, then we won’t die. The context of Jesus’ promises refers to physical death, not just spiritual afterlife.

But, Paul taught:

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. (1 Corinthians 15:22-26 CLNT)

So, death is last enemy to be abolished. Since sin and death are inseparably related, it’s likely that death won’t be universally abolished until sin is abolished also, which won’t be until after the Millennium—in the third heaven and earth.

While death probably won’t be universally abolished until after the millennial reign of Christ, Jesus made it sound like immortality was available now to anyone who met the criteria listed above. As a result, I have hope that immortality is possible for us to attain to today. After all, Enoch and Elijah attained it, well before the gospel era. We live after the feasts of Passover and Pentecost have been fulfilled, so we should have an advantage over them.

One more thing…there’s no credible record of the Apostle John’s death, which is suspicious after our resurrected Lord’s words to Peter regarding John, “If I should be wanting him to be remaining till I am coming, what is that to you? You be following Me!” (John 21:22 CLNT) As a result, some people believe John is still physically alive to this day.

Whether or not immortality is attainable now, the hope of immortality is a positive, harmless motivator for living a holy life.

God’s Deep Magic

This book has been about the war in heaven, and our crucial role in putting God’s adversaries under His feet. It unveiled secrets, hidden for thousands of years, which God is now unveiling to bring an end to this eon and its rebel rulers; rulers both in the heavens and on the earth.

We aren’t to be bystanders, viewing end-time events from the grandstands. God’s overcomers are active, participating teammates—their actions are actually what catalyze end-time events, making them occur. They don’t watch it happen; they make it happen.

Failure to understand and apply these truths is why the Church has been in bondage, like the constellation Andromeda, for almost 2000 years. But, when she understands and applies them, Andromeda will become Cassiopeia, the enthroned queen.

God exercised CS Lewis’ deep magic when He raised Jesus from the dead.  Scripture says God’s adversaries didn’t see this coming.

“None of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8 NASB)

Now It’s Our Turn

Now, it’s our turn to exercise some deep magic. We must affect things in the spiritual realm by being transformed from sinners into flawless men and women of God, disregarding the sinful bent of our First Eon spirit, and walking continuously in the Spirit of Christ Who dwells in us.

He is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)

How does your personal transformation affect things in the spiritual realm?

- As we walk in the Spirit, we overcome Satan, our adversary—the tempter and accuser within our own mind—the same tempter who lured the celestials to sin during the First Eon.

- As we change from sin toward flawlessness, our lives testify against the rebellious sovereignties and authorities who fell from moral perfection into sin during the First Eon. A great cloud of witnesses testifies to our deeds in the court of heaven. Their testimony will accumulate until God’s adversaries, especially the rebel sovereignties and authorities, are flung down onto the earth.

As Romans 12:2 says, we are transformed by the renewing of our mind. As we grow into maturity, walking in the Spirit of Christ, we demonstrate effortless compliance with the law of God.

For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4 NASB)

Obedient to God?

Christians are well familiar with faith, but not with obedience.

For example, the Western Church since Constantine:

1. Replaced the lunar Biblical calendar with a solar Roman version.

2. Ignore the feasts of the Lord, many of which God said must be practiced perpetually to all generations.

3. Mix Babylonian holidays and symbols with ‘Christian’ themes. A few examples:

a.  Sun-day sabbath

b.  Christmas on December 25th

c.  Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday Lent

d.  Easter eggs and bunnies

Here are a few ‘perpetual’ examples where the Church isn’t walking in obedience:

Exodus 31:16-17

Weekly Sabbath: So the sons of Israel shall observe the Sabbath, to celebrate the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.

It is  a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.

Leviticus 23:31

Day of Atonement: You shall do no work at all. It is to be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your Sabbath.

Leviticus 23:41

Tabernacles: You shall keep it a feast to Yahweh seven days in the year: it is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall keep it in the seventh month.

The Hebrew calendar includes three major feasts of the Lord:

1. Passover – Jesus fulfilled it on the exact days

2. Pentecost – Jesus fulfilled it on the exact day

3. Tabernacles – in our future

These feasts are annual, symbolic teachings about the Messiah and how He will accomplish our redemption.

Jesus literally fulfilled the feasts of Passover and Pentecost on the exact days when the Jews were celebrating their symbolic feasts. So, there should be absolutely no doubt in anyone’s mind that Jesus will therefore fulfill the feast of Tabernacles on its exact anniversary in our future.

The feasts of the Lord involved animal sacrifices, which are not appropriate now that the Lamb of God’s blood has been offered in the heavenly temple. However, the symbolism of the feasts still does apply, which Christians should understand and celebrate every year.

For example, we can celebrate how Jesus literally fulfilled both Passover and Pentecost. Learning how Jesus fulfilled  these may help us extrapolate forward in time to the Feast of Tabernacles, to think how He might fulfill it.

The prophet Zechariah teaches that the feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) will be a mandatory annual celebration for 1000 years after the coming battle of Armageddon, during the millennial reign of Christ:

Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. (Zechariah 14:17 NASB)

We must avoid Pharisaic legalism and rote religion, but let’s not ‘throw the baby out with the bath water.’

Through Jesus, we have become children of Abraham; and, our Lord and Savior Himself is a glorified Hebrew.  So, we cannot ignore the Hebrew Scriptures and the Hebrew roots of our faith if we want to be flawless in our obedience.

The Bride of Christ

Finally, to be part of the Bride of Christ, we must make ourselves ready, clothing ourselves with righteous acts which flow from a Spirit-transformed mind and soul.

And a voice came from the throne, saying, "Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great." Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 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. (Revelation 19:5-8 NASB)

The battle in heaven will be won by our metamorphic transformation from sinner to flawless, holy people.

As I overcome sin in my life and learn to walk in holiness, the ‘great cloud of witnesses’ in the heavenly court testify to God’s power, love, and wisdom that’s evident in my transformation.  This testimony will accumulate until the court battle in heaven is won, and all Christ’s enemies are cast down as His footstool. After that, He will rule for eons of eons, forever.

Amen. So let it be.

References

Book of Enoch text quoted from http://www.hiddenbible.com/enoch/online.html

Book of Jasher, published by J.H. Parry & Company, Salt Lake City, UT, 1887. PDF version available at http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/apo/jasher

The Concordant Publishing Concern, Concordant Version of the Old Testament (CVOT), Santa Clarita, CA, 2007

The Concordant Publishing Concern, Concordant Literal New Testament (CLNT), Canyon Country, CA, 1983

C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, London, England, 1950

The following Bible versions were quoted from the Bible Hub website at http://biblesuite.com:

English Standard Version (ESV)

New International Version (NIV)

King James Version (KJV)

American Standard Version (ASV)

Aramaic Bible

Darby Translation

Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)

About the Author

As a Christian teacher and leader, Thomas Noss helps Christian disciples understand and apply scriptural truths, focusing on important topics that either haven't been taught before, or haven't been assembled in a coherent, meaningful, and scriptural way.

He believes the Church has an important mission to fulfill in the end times, and that God is waiting for (and depending on) us to complete it.

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Table of Contents

Introduction

The Mystery of God's Deep Magic

God's Adversaries

Sovereignties and Authorities

God’s Wisdom

The Eons in God’s Plan

Our Adversary: the Devil

We Must Know Our Enemy

Unveiling the Dragon

The Overcomers

Promises

Overcome What?

How Will the Church Defeat God’s Adversaries?

God’s Deep Magic

Now It’s Our Turn

Obedient to God?

The Bride of Christ

References

About the Author