The Mystery of Iniquity – Part III

I am publishing a five-part series on a rarely discussed subject called the mystery of iniquity. I am writing this out of deep concern that the body of Christ has ignored the signs that the end is, not near, but here. I gave my life to Jesus Christ 31 years ago, and during that period of spiritual renewal for me and my family, there was a revelry that bordered on maniacal that Jesus could return any moment. Since my conversion, I have witnessed the self destruction of many prominent (and not so prominent) Church officials and lay-members alike, and I have seen the enthusiasm for Christ’s return sink to a low that I would have never imagined.

The first article will discuss Satan’s two thousand year’s plan to harness control of human government. The second article will examine the Church where Satan had established his corporate headquarters. Oh, did I say it was a prominent Christian Church? The third article will discuss Satan’s rebellion in heaven, which led to the expulsion of one-third of the heavenly host. And the fourth and fifth articles will tie it all together by examining the last decade and demonstrating how events have hurled human civilization closer to the poisoned embrace of the anti-Christ.

With one swift jolt, Jehovah thwarted a rebellion that one of his prized angelic beings had initiated. Lucifer, known at the time as the Son of the Morning, secretly plotted to ascend above the angelic host in power and prestige in an effort to be like God. This was no noble objective to be like God, as Christians attempt to be like Jesus. This was an attempt to become equal to God in glory and majesty. Pride, according to Isaiah, convinced Lucifer that he could share in God's glory:

12. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13. For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High (Isaiah 14:12-14).

According to the testimony of Jesus, Lucifer and presumably his band of ill-advised followers were cast from Heaven like lightning – 18. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven (Luke 10:18). The motivation behind the only recorded heavenly rebellion produces a variety of questions, but one question seems to stretch the limits of my imagination: What could Lucifer have possibly said or done to persuade one third of the angels to disobey God and to follow him into rebellion? I mean, these angels were already in heaven and enjoying an eternity of bliss. What more could they have aspired too?

Whatever Satan did to persuade, according to some theologians, one-third of the angels to jeopardize everlasting life must have been a masterpiece of wicked deception. In fact, I believe that his “illusion of grandeur” was so deceptive, that God refused to place it in the scriptures so that his earthly creation would not be deceived by it. However, although the handbook for the satanic ascension into partnership with God Almighty has not been revealed through the scripture, Satan’s notion of equality with the divine has been carried out by numerous societies down through the ages: The ancient Egyptians practiced polytheism, as did the ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as a number of modern day sects – Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Shintoism in the East, to name a few.

The scripture does not appear to tell us how the angels complied with Lucifer’s hubris, but I believe that he most likely may have convinced them to worship him as god. This explanation is not a stretch when we consider that Satan is the author of all false religion, and the central theme of any religion is belief in a god. For Lucifer to attempt to elevate himself on an equal plane as Jehovah, it suggests that he would also require his deceived subjects to honor him in the same way as they honor Jehovah, including worshiping him.

There are numerous examples in the scripture where Satan appears to be preoccupied with being worshiped or inspiring people to worship idols. Most Christians are familiar with these four notable examples of people worshiping false gods and idols: The children of Israel worshiped the molten calf in the wilderness (see Exodus 32); King Nebuchadnezzar required the subjects of Babylon to worship the golden image in Daniel chapter 3; Satan tempted Jesus to worship him after his forty days and forty nights fast (see Matthew 4); and, the world will worship Satan and his global leader during the tribulation period (see Revelation 13:4).

No matter what the angels did to succumb to Lucifer’s diabolical plan, their rebellion in Heaven was one of God’s motivations for sending Jesus into the world. Not only did Jesus’ sacrifice redeem humanity from its sins, which most of us are aware of, but it also cleansed the sinful stain that the angelic rebellion produced in Christ’s heavenly abode:

23. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us (Hebrews 9:23-24).

The need for Jesus to cleanse heaven is beyond the scope of this series; however, here is a key to understanding this fascinating subject: There are more than 50 chapters in the scripture that are dedicated to Moses’ tabernacle in the wilderness and only a few verses in the entire Bible that refers directly too the tabernacle in heaven. One would think that as important as it would be to cleanse heaven from Satan’s sin, God would have had more to say about it. Well actually he does. Since Moses’ tabernacle and the Levitical priesthood was made from the pattern of things in heaven, then a study of Moses’ tabernacle is, in a mystical sense, also a study of the heavenly tabernacle. Hebrews 7-9 appears to be explaining the significance of Moses’ Tabernacle, but it is in fact revealing the need for the tabernacle in heaven (see Hebrews 9:23-24 above).

As I close this article, one may be wondering why spend so much time on the enemy. First I’ll say, if Satan is clever enough to deceive angels, run his kingdom from the hierarchy of a Church (see Part II of this series), and tempt Jesus to commit suicide (see postscript below), then he is an opponent worthy (I use the word loosely) of examination. By studying Lucifer's pattern of stealth and deception, it will give the saints of God a deeper understanding into the mind of their enemy. The Chinese Art of War says, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." This military axiom is biblically based: God said in Hosea, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6a).

Postscript: During Jesus’ forty days and forty nights fast, he was led to the pinnacle of the temple, and the pressure of redemption must have been so great that he was tempted, if only for a moment, to jump – 5. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 7. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (Matthew 4:5-7). Although Jesus was victorious through the word of God, it is significant to note that Lucifer pulled out his sword as well (see verse 6 above). What a deceiver!