Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Why share this post? It is to destroy all
fears that many have had towards this defeated felon previously known as Lucifer,
but who in his rebellion against JEHOVAH the Almighty GOD became the defeated entity
known as Satan – the fraudster. This post aims to show that compared to what he used to be before his fall and debasement, the high-ranking position, privileges, power, and authority he once enjoyed, he's eventually become a nobody, completely rendered powerless and restricted, because of the eternal or irreversible victory wrought for us by the Lamb of GOD –
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And since this is so, all those who follow Satan
are sure to suffer the same fate sooner or later.
While religion has made it look like Satan (who was
known as Lucifer) still retains the privileges he once had as a guiding Cherub,
of operating in the spiritual or heavenly realms. Of course, the adversary is behind this lie-telling, wanting the misinformed to believe he could as usual, as in the past, still come in
between them and GOD. The religious Church, in many ways than not, has made it appear as though Satan has as much power as he once had. This lie has led to misinformation about Satan’s true dilapidated condition as an eternally defeated personality.
But this post exposes all such teaching to be a fraud. When you understand what I’m sharing here, you are bound to lose all forms of fear for the
WHERE
IS SATAN’S OPERATIONAL BASE?
Satan’s operational base is not in the heavens
above. Because of his defeat, his operational base has ceased to be in the heavenly
places but has been restricted to the earth. This truth was unveiled in my
previous post titled SATAN THE DEFEATED. He can fly in the air; he can appear
and dis-appear just like every other spirit. However, his operational base is
not above in the heavens, but beneath the earth. Satan’s purported operations or ability
to operate in the heavens or spiritual realms is totally false. This is because
he no longer has access there, which he was attempting to extend before
Michael and the other holy angels cast him down. This is revealed in the following secret plan of cooking up, which ultimately led to his downfall and him losing his place in the
heavens.
Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground,
which didst weaken the nations!
Isa 14:13 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:
Isa 14:14 I will ascend above the heights
of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides
of the pit.
Satan and his minions continued
to make these attempts of incursion into the heavens, for hundreds of years,
which continued to result in celestial battles, resulting to angelic conflicts,
until they were eventually and finally brought down to the lower parts of the
earth in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rev. 12: 7, 8, 9).
Notice the statement
which says “…neither was their place found ANY MORE in heaven (Rev. 12:
8, 9).” The word ANYMORE suggests that at some point Satan once managed
to retain some place in the heavens, among the angels, and he sought to
extend his territory there. Which must have been the cause of the angelic conflicts. But when finally, Satan and his cohorts were eventually defeated, they were cast down or driven away from the heavens, such that there was no longer a place for them there, anymore. So, his
base of operation became relocated to what we now know as “the high places.”
MEANING OF THE TERM
"THE HIGH PLACES"
From the way Scripture uses the phrase “High
places,” we now realize it doesn’t mean “in the heavenly places,” which is what most Church folks erroneously think the term refers to. That's not it!
From all indications, the expression “high places”
is used as an idiomatic expression about “the lower parts of the
earth.” It does not refer to the spiritual or heavenly realms. Satan’s
operational base is nowhere else than in the lower parts of the earth where he was cast (Rev. 12: 7 - 9). Paul also points this out in Ephesians 4:8-10, when he says:
Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he
ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Eph 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it
but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
Eph 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended
up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Notice vs. 9 doesn’t just say that Jesus descended to the earth, which is the way some translations render it and this doesn’t tell the complete story, but we are told here that Jesus descended to the lower parts of the earth. There’s a big difference between the earth and the lower parts of the earth. Jesus descended to the lower parts of the earth in His death because that’s where Satan’s operational base is. As Paul relays to us, Jesus went there first to completely finish off Satan and his minions of evil spirits and fallen angels, right in their own operational base they were dislodged.
Notice also in the passage that had Satan’s operational base been in the heavens above i.e., in the heavenly realms, then Jesus, when He died, would have gone into the heavens above first to combat Satan and his demons in mortal combat. Instead, Paul tells us that Jesus did not first ascend into the heavens rather he descended first into the lower parts of the earth where he met Satan and his demons and defeated them in mortal combat. Paul had to point this out to let us know that Satan’s operational base isn't in the heavens but in the lower parts of the earth, referred to as the "high places," something many bible commentators have failed to realize over the years.
Other scriptures that prove that Satan was cast down
to the earth and therefore has his operational base in the lower parts of the
earth are; Isa. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:11-19; Luke 10:18.
From these scriptures, it is clear that Satan does operate on the earth and his base is in the lower parts of the earth or what Paul calls “in the high places” Eph 6:12. That's also where all the demons emerge from, to the surface.
Why does the apostle refer to the lower parts of the earth as the “high places?” It is so called because that is where all the most atrocious and blasphemous ideas against the Church of Christ are planned before they’re executed on the surface of the earth by Satan’s followers.
MORE
THAN AN ANGEL
A lot of Church folks have been taught that Satan is an angel. Religion is behind this deception. In trying to hide or downplay the mighty act of Jesus Christ (as a man) in conquering Satan and his hosts of darkness, religion has led many in buffoonery to the point that they’ve been made to believe that Satan used to be one of the archangels in heaven like we have Michael and Gabriel, or as one of the lesser angelic creatures known as the common angels. This shouldn't be, as there are ample records in Scripture pointing out the class of creatures Satan belongs to.
This wrong classification of Satan as a mere
angel or even as one of the archangels is an outright insult to Christ because such an idea undermines or downgrades the enormity of the task of redemption and the degree of victory
that Jesus Christ as a perfect man, accomplished on our behalf in His work of Salvation.
I mean was it just an angel that Jesus as man engaged in a mortal combat and defeated. Surely not! Thinking so waters down the magnitude of the task. We know there were creatures mightier than angels that GOD created. For instance, the Cherubim, Seraphim, Wheels, the Stones of Fire, Thrones, and so forth. These as Scripture has described are mightier than the mightiest archangels that exist in the angelic order. Certainly, it couldn't have been just an angel that the Almighty GOD in the person of the man Jesus, came to conquer, but a creature far mightier and greater in every aspect than any of the angels, even the 'chiefest' among them.
The Bible makes it clear that Satan was nothing short of a cherub, not an angel. There’s no place the Bible tells us he’s an angel. The assumption that Satan is an angel is just a figment of the imagination of those downplaying the severity of the task that Jesus accomplished in the redemption of mankind. And of course Satan himself is behind this lie.
Bible scholars have rightly clarified from the Scriptures that the word zõa also known as the living creatures is actually referring to the Cherubim of Gen. 3: 24; Ezek. 5: 1 – 14; 10: 15, 20, and they are completely distinguished from the angels in every aspect of their makeup and functions.
Notice how Paul describes Satan in 2 Cor. 11: 14, as
transforming as an angel of light.
2 Cor. 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed
into an angel of light.
This implies that Satan was never an angel. The word TRANSFORMED implies that even though Satan isn’t an angel, he could turn, transform, or masquerade himself to appear as one. Why? It is to be able to communicate with and deceive man. He does this because Cherubs are not allowed to communicate directly with mankind, but angels as messengers are sometimes permitted to communicate or speak directly with people, as Scripture shows in many instances (e.g., Acts 10: 1 – 7). Secondly, Cherubs can transform into or take the form of lesser creatures like angels, but lesser creatures like angels cannot transform into higher creatures like the Cherubim.
I've said these things here just to give clarification that Cherubs are not angels, but are a different order of spirit creatures far higher and mightier in order, power, and function, than angels or archangels. There’s so much to be said about the Cherubim that space will not permit me to unfold here. However, I’m going to mention a few more things just to clarify further.
There are several Cherubim, all having their various functions. For example, some function together with the Wheels, which are
another class of heavenly creatures that look like a beryl and have many eyes
in them (Ezek. 1: 15 – 25; 10: 9 – 22). The Wheels moved with the throne of
GOD. This throne of GOD unlike what many people know isn’t necessarily a chair
like the throne of a physical human king. The throne of GOD is a kind of spirit
creature itself upon which the form of Jehovah seats manifested (Ezek. 1: 26 – 28;
10: 1). And there are many other thrones as Paul mentions in Colossians 1: 16,
but the throne upon which GOD sits is the highest of the throne order of creatures,
and Like our Father, we sit on this highest throne with Him in Christ.
We also see the cherubim function in guarding the way to the Tree of Life in the middle of the Garden of Eden, after the fall of Adam and Eve, to keep them from eating of the Tree of Life in their fallen state, which would have made humankind remain irredeemable (Gen. 3: 22 - 24).
Unlike angels Cherubs have four faces, and four
wings (Ezek. 1: 5, 6). Nowhere in the Bible are angels said or depicted to
have wings.
Another reason why the Cherubim are never described
as angels is because angels are never known to have a part in the Mercy Seat of the
old covenant Tabernacle. But the Cherubim are mentioned in connection with the
Mercy Seat, of which Scripture tells us are beaten out of the same gold
material of which the Mercy Seat is fashioned, to show that as the upholders of
GOD’S Glory and majesty, they are mingled with it, and were made to be in
complete agreement with Christ, and were to manifest the Glory of the invisible
GOD to creation, and not only that but that they in looking down upon the Mercy
Seat show that GOD relates with mankind only on the grounds of His Mercy or
Grace and that only the blood of Christ, could ultimately appease GOD, and
nothing else. This explains why Scripture tells us they having been beaten out
of the lid of the Ark of the Covenant and made to look only upon that which
satisfies GOD, which is the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ on behalf of
humankind.
Paul goes on to describe to us that the Cherubim are
known as the “Cherubims of Glory” (Heb. 9: 5, KJV). Meaning that the
Cherubim are creatures whose function has to do with revealing the Glory of
GOD’S Grace and Mercy. They also look upon the Mercy Seat and see the sacrifice
of Jesus Blood and are equally satisfied. Therefore, the Cherubim are presented
in connection to GOD’S mercy towards humankind, all for our own good.
Furthermore, to show that Satan was a Cherub Jesus signified
that He foresaw Satan falling from heaven as lightning (Luke. 10: 18). This description
of Satan’s movement fits in properly with the description Ezekiel gave about
the movement of Cherubs in Ezek. 1: 14. Their speed is like a flash, incalculable.
It is because Satan isn’t an angel, but far higher than angels, that Satan Michael
the arch-angel, before Christ came, when contending with Satan for the body of
Moses (Satan had wanted to claim Moses for himself after his death), dared not insult Satan directly but had to quickly appeal to the name of the
LORD to rebuke him, saying to him “the lord rebuke thee” (Jud. vs. 9).
Therefore, were it just a mere angel or an archangel
that Jesus conquered in his spiritual death and resurrection, this then would have
watered down the enormity of the task that Jesus accomplished on our behalf. It
would have made it a low-risk assignment, considering that angels are far lower
in power and authority than the Cherubimic order of beings.
If this Gospel article has blessed you, you can send a gift to support me in producing these Grace and Reality publications. Send your gift now! Using the following details below.
To order my books, click this link: www.amazon.com/author/prizechukwuka