Bible Discussion Thread

My brother Chris, thank you the astute observations. There is a difference between the fall of the adversary and the final casting out of heaven. The fall, which occurred following Genesis 1:1 and the aftermath of God's judgment, which is found in Genesis 1:2; included the following consequences. Although still allowed access to heaven, the adversary was stripped of all authority and glory; he had been the adorned, anointed cherub that covereth. However, the beauty of his form was transformed into that of a serpent and a dragon; also, he was demoted to the lowly position of tempter ( Gen. 3:1; Matt. 4:3). All movement was restricted by God's "hook in his hose" ( Job 41:2); and any use of power required permission because God put a "double bridle" on him ( Job 41:13-14). Also, he had to regularly report with the regular angels ( Job 1:6; 2:1). This leads to the reason why he was not immediately destroyed.

Christ opened the spiritual matrix and became the firstfruits and prototype of all who inherit the kingdom of heaven. Similarly, God positioned the adversary as the one who opened the matrix, and created hell for him and the angels which are suggested in the plural pronoun "they" in mentioned in Ezekiel 28:16 and are mentioned in Jude 6 ( Matt. 25:41).

The eternal fate of all humankind is either heaven or hell. Water represents people ( Rev. 17:15). Therefore, for the duration of man's chronological week upon the earth following the fall of Adam and Eve, God is using Christ to draw up the Jordan River, which represents those who will inherit the kingdom, into His mouth ( Job 40:23). Conversely, he uses the adversary as the serpent who eats dust ( Gen. 3:14; 1 Pet. 5:8), from which man is made ( Gen. 2:7), and carry them along with him into hell.

These conditions surrounding the fall of the adversary were effective throughout the Old Testament. However, the final casting did not occur until the days of John the Baptist ( Matt. 11:12). See the following post.