MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
The Seven Baptisms
Written by: Max Klein
Baptism means identification or association:
Introduction:
1. This meaning began in Homer's time. Homer wrote of the one-eyed giant, Cyclops who had trapped Ulysses and his men in a cave and was eating them one at a time. The ingenious Ulysses devised a plan. He had his men sharpen a large log and together they rammed this log into the eye of the one-eyed Cyclops rendering him blind. They identified (baptized) the sharpened log with Cyclops’ eye which changed Cyclops from a seeing giant to a blind giant. Having blinded the Cyclops, they were able to maneuver their way out of the cave. Another example by Homer: Homer's Odyssey, book 9, used baptism for hot metal identified (baptized) with water when a smith dipped a piece of hot iron into water. This is how a blacksmith would temper swords in the ancient world. After this identification, the sword was made stronger and so less likely to bend.
2. Xenophon said that the Spartan military recruits after finishing infantry training would identify (baptize) their spears with pig’s blood. They would run by a barrel of pig’s blood and thrust their spears into this blood. This ritual, identified their spears with killing and the soldier’s readiness for combat with the enemy.
3. Euripides used the word for a ship identified with the bottom of the sea when it sank. Before sinking, the ship was valuable; after sinking it had no value at all.
4. So "baptize" in the classical Greek meant to identify one thing with another so that the characteristics of the original thing were altered. Therefore, the interpretation of the word "baptism" is identification with something that brings about a change.
5. There are a number of cognates related to this Greek word such as bapto, baptizo, baptisma, baptismos, baptistes, and embapto. A few examples follow:
6. John 13:26, “Jesus then answered, ‘That is the one for whom, I shall dip [the future of the Greek word bapto] the morsel and give it to him. So, when he had dipped [the aorist participle of bapto; the sop now takes on a new meaning that of honor] the sop [the morsel], He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.”
To give someone a sop [a special bit of food usually a piece of bread or meat with a tasty sauce] was the highest honor of a banquet. At a banquet a special piece of bread or meat was prepared along with a special sauce for the guest of honor who would then honor someone by giving it to that person. Jesus as the guest of honor took this sop and dipped it into a special sauce and gave it to Judas. In this way, the Lord Jesus Christ honored Judas as a member of the family of God, and for his ministry as an apostle to the Lost Sheep of Israel. This honor should have given Judas second thoughts regarding his plan to betray Jesus to the Sanhedrin.
7. Matthew 3:7, “but when he [John the Baptizer] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism [identification: the Greek word baptisma], he said to them, “You brood of vipers [poisonous snakes], who warned you to flee from the wrath to come [Baptism of Fire: identification with the fire of Torments and then the Lake of Fire]?”
8. Hebrews 6:1-2, “Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teaching about Christ, let us advance to maturity, not laying again the foundation [of the basics such as]: a change of thinking about dead works [just as an unbeliever must have a change of mind about Christ to obtain salvation, so the believer must have a change of mind about legalism (dead works) in order to obtain the spiritual life], and of faith toward God [Faith-Rest Drill], (2) doctrine of baptisms [the Greek word baptismos; a reference to the seven types of baptism as found in Scripture] as well as the laying on of hands [ritual rebound in the age of Israel], and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment [the Great White Throne Judgment].
9. Matthew 3:1, “In those days John the Baptizer [the Greek word baptistes; when John baptized someone into the Jordan River, the converts were identified with the plan of God and his kingdom.] came proclaiming [as a herald] in the desert of Judea.”
There are two categories of identification in Scripture namely an actual identification or a real baptism and a representative identification or a ritual baptism which uses water.
The four real or actual identifications with something that has significance.
1. The Baptism of Moses: 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 presents the baptism of Moses, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; (2) and all were baptized [the Greek word baptizo] into Moses in the cloud [the Lord] and in the sea." This was a real identification in which Moses was identified with the Lord and the open path through the Red Sea and the Jews were identified with Moses. By the way, none of the Jews got wet, only Egyptian unbelievers who were immersed in the water as a means of death.
2. The Baptism of the Cross is found in Matthew 20:22, “But Jesus answered [Salome by addressing her sons] and said, “You [plural: a reference to James and John] do not know what you [James and John] ask. Are you [James and John] able to drink of the cup [bear the punishment of all the sins of the world] that I am about to drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism [the sins of the world identified with Christ followed by the Father judging them] that I am baptized with [identified with]?” They [James and John] said to Him, “We are able. [the dumbest statement that James and John ever made]” [I selected the longer text as did Jerome.]
3. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Retroactive Positional Truth and Current Positional Truth) occurs at salvation for Church Age believers only.
Colossians 2:12. Having been buried [aorist participle] with Him [Jesus Christ] by means of the baptism [God the Holy Spirit identified us with the burial of Jesus Christ as part of our salvation] by means of which [Baptism] you have been raised up [main verb] with Him [in union with Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father] through faith [at the point of salvation] in the operational power from the source of God who has raised Him [the humanity of Christ was given a resurrection body] out from the dead [physical death].
Romans 6:3-9:
Romans 6:3: Or do you not know that all of us who [a correlative] have been baptized into [identified with] Christ Jesus [Current Positional Sanctification: we are in union with Christ in his life in heaven], have been baptized into His death [Retroactive Positional Truth and so identified with his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross]?
Positionally, (in union with Christ) we share His righteousness, heirship, priesthood, destiny, election, eternal life, royalty, sonship etc. All these making us a new spiritual species in Christ Jesus. The plural correlative hosoi (ὅσοι) means that if we were identified with Christ in heaven and we were, then also we have been identified with Christ in his substitutionary spiritual death in which he removed the power of sin nature. Thus, the sin nature should not have power over our lives.
A few more points will be noted:
1. Note that the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation enters the believer into union with Christ at the right hand of God the Father which union is called current positional truth.
2. This verse also mentions identification with Christ in His spiritual death on the cross which identification theologians call retroactive positional truth. Retroactive positional truth also includes identification with Christ in His physical death and burial as well.
3. Identification with Christ in His death, then, has a two-fold connotation namely all personal sins were judged at the cross and since that is the case, God the Father is free to provide in grace, the Recovery Procedure. The second connotation is that good and evil were rejected by Jesus on the cross since good and evil are a part of Satan’s policy and plan. On the cross, Jesus relied on the proto-type spiritual life which operated under the two power options namely God’s power system.
4. So, the old sin nature’s ruling power over the Christian has been broken since all sins were judged on the cross and the Recovery Procedure has been provided. So, Retroactive Positional Truth has destroyed the sovereignty of the old sin nature over the life of the Christian.
5. Also, since Jesus rejected the good and evil policy of Satan so should the believer reject Satan’s policy of good and evil as the believer applies Retroactive Positional Truth.
Romans 6:4: Therefore, we have been buried together with Him through the identification [Baptism of the Spirit] into His death [physical], in order that just as Christ has been raised up from the dead [on Resurrection Sunday], through the glory of the Father [through the Father’s power], [So also we, the dead in Christ, will be raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and those alive at the Rapture, by the power of the Holy Spirit.] in this manner we also might walk in newness of life [Experiential sanctification should reflect our future ultimate sanctification.].
Christ had to die physically “and Jesus having shouted clearly with a loud voice said, Father, into your hands I deposit my [human] spirit, and having said this, he exhaled” (Luke 23:46). This last exhale caused His soul and spirit to depart from his mortal body resulting in physical death. Just as Christ had to die physically in order to obtain his resurrection body, so we must depart from our body of corruption, or mortality in order to receive our eternal body called our resurrection body.
The Newness of Life:
1. The newness of life provided through the baptism of the Spirit includes positional freedom from producing good and evil. Not only are we free from the tyranny of good and evil but we are also free from having to produce good and evil.
2. The believer has no obligation to improve the devil’s world through social action, socialism, welfare state, communism, environmentalism, or any social gospel, social action, getting involved, etc.
3. The human race is protected from Satan’s policy of good and evil through the laws of divine establishment which promote freedom instead of improvement at the cost of freedom.
4. In addition to the Laws of Divine Establishment the believer is insulated from good and evil positionally through the baptism of the Spirit.
5. Divorced from the Old Sin Nature positionally and its useless activity of human good and the function of evil, the life of the believer can be devoted to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ through maximum knowledge and application of Bible doctrine.
Romans 6:5: For if we have become united with Him [Christ, the new husband] in the likeness of His death [the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross], and we have, and not only this, but also, we shall be [united in the likeness] of His resurrection [Current Positional Truth: in union with the resurrected Christ].
Romans 6:6: Be knowing this [through Retroactive Positional Truth], that our old man [our former husband, the sin nature dates back to the Garden] has been crucified together [with Him], in order that the [human] body, with reference to its sin nature, [the sin nature located in the body] might be rendered powerless [when we use Recovery Procedure and the two power options], that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature.
“Our old man has been crucified with Him” meaning that the power of the sin nature has been broken on the cross. Since the power of the sin nature was broken by the work of the cross, we as believers have no excuse for not executing the spiritual life. We will not be able to say to Christ at our evaluation that our sin nature was too powerful for us to execute the spiritual life.
A few points for further clarification:
1. Retroactive positional truth is that phase of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation which identifies the believer with Christ in His spiritual death, physical death and his burial.
2. In the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross all the personal sins in human history were imputed to Christ, but at the same time the other two trends of the old sin nature were not imputed for judgment.
3. Good and evil is the policy of Satan as the ruler of this world and the function of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life. In fact, the sin nature functions as the agent of Satan.
4. Good and evil were not imputed for judgment on the cross. Hence, in the spiritual death of Christ on the cross they were rejected to remain an issue in the angelic conflict, rejected to be perpetuated in human history as an issue every believer must face, and either overcome through the intake of doctrine or be entrapped by ignorance of doctrine and therefore lose out in glorifying God in time.
5. We are identified with Christ in His spiritual death, which means that we must understand that our sins have been judged and that good and evil has been rejected.
6. It all adds up to the fact that the sovereignty of the old sin nature over human life has been made powerless through retroactive positional truth.
7. The imputation of all personal sins of the human race to Christ on the cross means that the believer through the rebound technique is instantly forgiven sins, cleansed from all wrong doing which includes Satanic good and evil, restored to fellowship and filled with the Spirit.
Romans 6:7: For we who have died [the Christian is identified with the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ: theologically called Retroactive Positional Truth] have been acquitted [positional deliverance] from [the power of] the sin nature.
A few points for further clarification:
1. A dead person is discharged from the obligations of his former sphere of life. This is why the word “death” is used in this context. It is not a literal, physical death we are discussing but identification with Christ in His death.
2. As unbelievers we were under the authority of Satan as the ruler of this world, and under the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
3. Both the power of Satan and the old sin nature have been abrogated through the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation.
4. This passage, then, emphasizes the annulling of the power and the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
5. Positionally, the power of the sin nature has been broken. Experientially, the old sin nature controls to the extent that we fail to understand and utilize the provision and support of logistical grace.
Romans 6:8: Now if we have died with Christ, and we have [retroactive positional truth], we also believe that we shall live in association with Him [the instrumental of association; a reference to Current Positional Truth].
In this verse, the 1st Class conditional sentence shows the relationship between Retroactive Positional Truth with Current Positional Truth. The protasis, the ‘if’ clause states the reality of Retroactive Positional Truth and the apodosis, the concluding clause states the doctrinal inference and the reality of Current Positional Truth. While Retroactive Positional Truth presents positional rejection and separation from good and evil as the policy of Satan and the function of the old sin nature, Current Positional Truth relates the believer to the function of the royal family of God. In other words, they have separate functions.
Romans 6:9: Knowing that because Christ has been raised from the dead [He received a resurrection body], no longer can He die; [physical] death is no longer a master over Him.
Analysis:
1. Retroactive positional truth destroys the sovereign authority of the old sin nature over human life. Current positional truth, on the other hand, destroys the limited authority of physical death in human life.
2. Instead of being ruled by the old sin nature located in the cells of the human body and influencing our souls toward sin, good and evil, we now have a new sovereign, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are identified with Him in His deaths, in His burial, resurrection, ascension and session.
3. Before salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit our lives were under the absolute rule of Satan who is the ruler of this world and under the rule of the old sin nature which is the ruler of life, and under the limited rule of physical death. All of that, of course, has been changed since salvation.
4. Now both retroactive and current positional truth have abrogated the authority and power of these former rulers. The power of Satan over our lives has been broken through identification with the rejection of good and evil namely Satan’s policy and plan and through our position in union with Christ. The power of the old sin nature is broken through retroactive positional truth and the power of physical death is broken through current positional truth.
5. Therefore, having studied these things by principle and by implication we are now ready for application, verses 12 & 13 specifically.
6. Having been positionally liberated from the sovereignty of the old sin nature as an absolute ruler, and the authority of physical death, we must recognise and apply doctrine for the experiential victory commanded in verses 11-13.
Galatians 3:25-28, “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the authority of [have need of] a school bus. (26) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ [identified with Christ through union with Him] have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek [no racial distinction], there is neither slave nor free man [no social or economic distinction], there is neither male nor female [no gender distinction]; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [All Christians have the same privileges and opportunities to execute the spiritual life.]”
Current Positional Truth, Elaborated:
In the Church Age, Current Positional Truth establishes our relationship with Christ as opposed to religion. It refers to the Church Age believer in union with Christ and is the key to understanding the Church Age and how the royal family came into being. Therefore, it is the basis for distinguishing between Christianity and religion. Christianity is a relationship with God without merit whereas religion is a system of works to gain the approbation of God. Never shall the twain meet!
The mechanics of Current Positional Truth is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereby the Spirit enters us into union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For also by agency of the one Spirit we are all baptized [identification resulting in becoming a new spiritual species] into one body [in union with Christ], whether Jews or Greeks [racial distinctions are removed], whether slave or free [class and economic distinctions are removed], even all were made to drink [the aorist passive, the voice of grace] the one Spirit [The Holy Spirit did not ask us whether we wanted to be put into union with Christ or not.].” Ephesians 4:5, “One Lord [becomes our Lord positionally at Salvation]), one faith [faith alone in Christ alone; Acts 16:31], one baptism [Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at salvation].”
Current Positional truth guarantees that there will be no judgment for believers in eternity, Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Thus, the condemnation which occurred at the first birth was removed at the 2nd birth. As a result of being born with the sin nature and the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin, we were condemned to the Lake of Fire for all eternity, but now that has been removed. Romans 5:12, “For this reason just as through one man [Adam] the sin [nature] entered into the world [procreation], and so spiritual death through the sin [the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin to the sin nature], and so spiritual death spread to all mankind, because all sinned when Adam sinned [since we were all genetically in Adam when he sinned, we will receive Adam’s Original Sin].” However, at our spiritual birth, the 2nd birth, our pre-salvation sins were all forgiven including Adam’s Original Sin. After which, the Spirit entered us into union with Christ where there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Current Positional truth qualifies the believer to live with God forever. To live with God forever, the believer must have eternal life and God’s perfect righteousness, 1 John 5:11-12, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life, and this life is in his son [Since we are in union with Christ, we share this life.]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].” 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And He [the Father] made Him who knew no sin [perfection] to be a sin offering [imputation of sins on the cross] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [current positional truth].” To live with God forever means you must have His life, and you must be as righteous as He is.
Positional truth guarantees the believer’s eternal security, Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death [nothing in death] nor life [nothing in life] nor angels nor principalities [ruling angels] nor powers [human organizations] nor things present nor things to come (39) nor height [nothing in heaven] nor depth [nothing in Hades] nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life in Christ is for all eternity!
Positional truth belongs to all categories of believers whether they be apostate, mature, immature, spiritually adult, or carnal. Since Current Positional Truth occurs at the point of salvation before experience in the Christian life begins, it doesn’t depend on that experience. 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus [at salvation], called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.” So, even though you may be carnal or in reversionism, you still have positional truth. Being in union with Christ has nothing to do with what you do [experiential righteousness], or don’t do [failure to execute God’s plan]. Current Positional sanctification is completely the work of God the Holy Spirit and so is not based upon our volition, but on the sovereign decision of God. We make the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we don’t make the decision to enter into union with Christ “all were made to drink the one Spirit” as per 1 Corinthians 12:13. God the Holy Spirit graciously did that for us and so it cannot be undone.
Current Positional truth creates a new spiritual species in Christ as per 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come to pass.” You become a new spiritual species at salvation by being put into union with Christ. It is what God does for you, and therefore it is grace. It is not what you do after salvation, such as the self-righteous works of legalism. The “old things” have to do with spiritual death and those things related to that death; the “new things” refer to things you receive at salvation such as the 40 assets and the unique spiritual life.
Positional truth should motivate the production of divine good and a pattern of life compatible with royalty as per Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his creation, having been created in Christ Jesus [a new spiritual species with many assets] for the purpose of divine good production [via experiential sanctification] which the God [the Father] has prepared in advance [in eternity past, God the Father provided election and predestination as part of our Portfolio of Invisible Assets], that we in the sphere of them [election and predestination] may pattern our lives.”
Even though a Christian may die the Sin on to Death, he will not lose his position in union with Christ (1 John 5:18-20), and so cannot lose his salvation. In order for a believer to lose his position in Christ, he would have to sin in that status, but since the believer cannot sin in union with Christ, he cannot lose his position in Christ and so cannot lose his salvation. Thus, it is comforting and reassuring to a believer to know that even though a loved one may have died the ‘sin on to death’, he has not lost his salvation.
Because we are in union with Christ, we share His:
1. Eternal life, 1 John 5:11, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life [At salvation, God the Father imputes this life to the human spirit], and this life is in his son [The Christian also shares the life of Christ through union with Him]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth and the life [eternal life]; no person [in human history] comes face to face with the Father [having an eternal relationship with the Father] except through Me.’”
2. Perfect righteousness, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And he (God the Father) made him [Jesus] who knew no sin (perfection) to be a sin offering as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth]. Sharing the righteousness of Christ, we become the objects of God the Father’s love as per Romans 8:39.
3. Election, Ephesians 1:4, “just as He [the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world [in eternity past], that we may be set apart [experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [Father].”
4. Destiny, Ephesians 1:5, “By means of love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption as adult sons to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord according to the grace purpose of His will.”
5. Sonship, Galatians 3:26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
6. Heirship, Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies together [bears witness] with our [human] spirit, that we are the children of God. (17) Now, if we are children and we are, also heirs, on the one hand heirs of God [the Father], and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed [if it is true that], we suffer with Him [pass all three stages of undeserved suffering], that also we might be glorified with Christ.”
7. Sanctification, 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.”
8. Priesthood, Hebrews 7:12-19, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change in the Law also. (13) For the One [the Lord Jesus Christ] concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe [the tribe of Judah] from which no one has officiated at the altar. (14) For it is evident that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests, (15) and this is clearer still, if another priest arises similar to Melchizedek, and there has, (16) who has become a priest not on the basis of physical requirement [a reference to the Levitical Priesthood] but on the basis of indestructible life [the Lord’s priesthood is forever]. (17) For this reason, it is witnessed, ‘You are a priest forever similar to the order of Melchizedek.’” [We are in union with Christ. Therefore, we are royalty and priests forever. We represent ourselves before God as royal priests.] (18) For, on the one hand, there is a rescinding of the former commandment [the Mosaic Law that authorized the Levitical priesthood] because of its weakness and uselessness (19) (for the Law brought nothing to completion), but on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope [the second door of hope for the Church Age believer—a personal sense of destiny—by which we enter the adult spiritual life] through which we draw near to God.”
Hebrews 7:26-28, “For it is fitting that we should have such a high priest, impeccable integrity, the One who cannot do evil, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; (27) Who does not need daily, like those Levitical priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He [Jesus] offered up Himself. (28) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of His [God the Father’s] oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has become perfect forever [Jesus Christ is a perfect high priest].”
9. Royalty, 1 Peter 2:9, “ But you and only you are an elect [elect by God the Father] race [as a new spiritual species], a royal priesthood [since Jesus is a king-priest], a holy nation [God’s entity: a nation of priests: every Christian is a priest], a people for God’s own possession [a protected people], so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Christ] who has called [in eternity past] you out of darkness [spiritual death and the Cosmic Systems] into His amazing light [his plan];”
10. New Spiritual Species, 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power [Old Covenant]; behold, new things have come to pass [This would include the New Covenant to the Church.].”
Current Positional Truth changes our relationship with Angels.
1. Through current positional truth the believer is higher than angels positionally.
2. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and so superior to all angels. By virtue of being in union with Christ, every believer is now positionally superior to angels.
3. Positional truth has fulfilled the believer’s triumph with Christ in the angelic conflict. We are victorious with Him already.
4. Furthermore, positional truth demands compatibility with experiential righteousness. Therefore, the believer’s walk on this earth must be compatible with positional truth since we have perfect security in Christ, we have the freedom to choose for Jesus Christ, to love Jesus Christ, to respond to His love, and to fulfill our purpose on this earth.
What positional truth is not?
1. It is not an experience, emotions or ecstasies.
2. It is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or eternity.
3. It is not related to human merit or ability.
4. It cannot be changed by God, man or angels. It is eternal in nature.
5. It is not obtained gradually as you grow in grace, but in toto at salvation.
6. It is not known apart from the metabolization of doctrine.
7. From understanding the doctrine of positional truth, we progress in our spiritual life, but we cannot improve it since it is perfect at salvation.
8. We are not in Christ because of what we do (execution of the spiritual life) or fail to do (fail to execute the spiritual life), but because of what God has done.
A few points of explanation:
1. The conclusion from positional truth, whether retroactive or current, is that the Christian must apply these doctrines to his spiritual life.
2. In Romans 7:1-4 where we have an illustration of a woman whose first husband has died freeing her to marry another. This is what actually happens to us as believers at salvation. The old sin nature is the husband up to the point of salvation, but at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ positionally the sin nature is dead, as it were, the first husband has died and we have a new husband through union with Christ. Retroactive Positional Truth removes our first husband, the sin nature whereas Current Positional Truth enters us into union with Christ, our new husband.
3. The old sin nature-husband is still around, still seeking to regain his control over his former wife, the believer. But union with the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, has broken the first husband’s authority over the former wife.
4. The Baptism of Fire:
Matthew 3:11, “On the one hand I [John the Baptizer] baptize you [believers] by means of water because of a change of thinking [about Christ], but the one coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to lace [loosen, remove]. He himself will baptize by means of the Holy Spirit [a reference to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age] and by means of fire [a reference to the Baptism of Fire at the 2nd Advent].”
Baptism of Fire: The baptism of fire (identification with fire) is defined as the judgment of unbelievers both Jew and gentile at the Second Advent. They will be removed from the earth and placed in fire for 1000 years until the Last Judgment, Luke 3:16-17; Mathew 25:31, 33. The analogy to the Baptism of Fire is found in Matthew 24:36-41. The one left in the field is the mature believer; the one taken is the unbeliever.
Parables of the Baptism of Fire:
1. The wheat and the tares (the unbelievers), Matthew 13:24-30, 36-40.
2. The good and bad fish (unbelievers), Matthew 13:47-50.
3. The ten virgins: five wise, five foolish (the unbelievers), Matthew 25:1-13.
4. The sheep and the goats (the unbelievers), Mathew 25:31-46.
5. The talent test, Matthew 25:14-30. The one talent man represents the unbeliever.
If Jesus Christ had not been rejected by the Jewish people, then the age of Israel would have continued until its completion (the Tribulation completes the age of Israel). (However, they did reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah and so the client nation was destroyed, and the Church age was intercalated that is inserted before the age of Israel was complete.) After the completion of the age of Israel at the end of the Tribulation, comes the wrath of God namely the Baptism of Fire when the Lord removes both Jewish and gentile unbelievers from the earth and identifies them with fire forever. After which, the Millennial reign begins.
The Three Ritual Baptisms. None are extant at the present time. They are representative identifications in which water is used as a training aid to represent some principle of doctrine.
1. The Baptism of John is found in Matthew 3:2-6, “Saying, ‘Change your thinking [regarding Christ] for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ [The future king was already on the earth] (3) For this is what was communicated through Isaiah, the prophet saying, ‘The voice of one [John the Baptizer] proclaiming loudly in the desert [of Judea]. Prepare [the aorist tense is a one time-decision] the way of the Lord [an idiomatic expression for salvation]. Keep on making upright [the use of the Recovery Procedure followed by the development of experiential righteousness] His paths!’ (Isaiah 40:3) (4) Now, John himself kept on having a garment of camel’s hair [very uncomfortable] and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. (5) Then [after John went where God wanted him to be] Jerusalem kept on going out to him [face to face] and all Judea and all the districts around the Jordan. (6) and they were being baptized [identified with the kingdom] by him [under John’s authority] in the Jordan River [where Israel crossed when they entered the land], and they kept on confessing their sins [post-salvation confession of sins].”
MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
Angelic Conflict
Written by: Max Klein
Relating the pre-historic angelic history to human history:
Some introductory points:
1. God always provides free will for His higher creatures namely free will to succeed or free will to fail.
2. God always lets his higher creatures understand their choices namely if you follow His plan, then you can expect this etc. If you reject His plan, then the integrity of God will punish you for the consequences of your decision.
3. Just as the Lord made it very clear the choices Adam and Ishah had in the garden, so God made it very clear to the angels regarding their choices in their heavenly state. In summary, if they should stay with God and His plan, they will be blessed forever; if not they would be punished forever.
4. The Lord graciously provided perfect environment both for the angels in their habitat and for mankind in the Garden of Eden.
5. The Lord always tests the free will (volition) of his higher creatures namely angels and humans whether they want to remain under His authority and plan or not.
6. Since the angels already possessed perfect righteousness, eternal life in their eternal bodies and already were living with God, the test was quite simple namely do the angels want to remain under God’s authority and gracious plan and provision or not. This decision would be an eternal decision to be made within a specified period. Adam and his wife’s eternal decision for eternal relationship with God would take place after their fall. Their descendants would make their eternal decision regarding God and His plan in a fallen state.
7. The Lord always provides a time frame in which the creature must make that eternal decision. After which he is locked-in to the consequences of that decision.
8. Lucifer was the first creature to make his decision which was to reject the Lord’s authority and gracious plan. He did so, knowing clearly what the consequences of that decision would be. Though he understood clearly, he wasn’t concerned since he assumed that he would be victorious by making himself like the Most-High God.
9. Satan’s rejection was expressed “I will be like the Most-High God.” Since he assumed that he would succeed, the Lake of Fire was not a concern.
10. Also, Satan convinced one third of the angels that he would succeed in the revolt and therefore, there should be no concern regarding what the Lord had stated about the Lake of Fire.
11. Just as Satan convinced one third of the angels so does he convince the majority of people today that this story about heaven and the Lake of Fire is only a fairy tale.
12. In the Garden, Satan convinced the woman that the warning the Lord gave to Adam and ultimately to her about eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was a lie. Furthermore, if she were to eat, she would be as smart as God (I will be like the Most-High God), and consequently infinitely smarter than her husband with the implication that Adam would be taking orders from her henceforth. Of course, after her little plan failed, she invited Adam to join her by handing him the forbidden fruit.
13. In the Garden, their decisions were not eternal in nature. The Lord did not say to Adam that in the day he ate from the fruit of the forbidden tree, namely the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that he would be eternally condemned and bound for the Lake of Fire. No! He merely warned Adam that he would die spiritually immediately by eating from the forbidden fruit and ultimately die physically.
14. After Lucifer and one third of the angels made their decisions to reject the Lord and His plan, a trial was held in which Satan and his comrades were sentenced forever to the Lake of Fire.
15. During this pre-historic angelic trial, Lucifer’s name was changed to Satan, a Hebrew word, the exact equivalent to diabolos in the Greek. These words not only have the meaning of a defense attorney, but also one who impugns the character of someone; one who slanders. So, these words not only tell us that Satan functioned as the defense attorney for himself and his comrades during the pre-historic angelic trial, but also that he impugned the integrity of God. How he impugned the integrity of God a primary component of the love of God, we do not know. We just know that he did. He may have implied or even stated that a loving God with perfect integrity would never sentence his creatures to the Lake of Fire. Also, he likely alleged that his rights and those of his comrades as creatures of God were violated. Therefore, Satan requested that an appeal trial would need to be convened in order to properly address this issue.
16. Possibly to make this issue crystal clear to both the fallen and elect angels, God the Father, the presiding judge granted him an appeal trial. The Lord would create lower creatures who would function as witnesses in this appeal trial, initially Adam and his wife, Ishah. (In the pre-historic trial, certain key elect and the fallen angels would have been called forward as witnesses to testify.) Angelic witnesses would be replaced by human witnesses. Satan would function as the defense attorney and the Lord as the prosecuting attorney.
17. The phases of this trial were as follows:
1. The Opening Statement, Adam and his wife in the Garden: The opening statement at the beginning of the trial is limited to outlining facts. This is each party's opportunity to introduce core dispute(s) in the case and provide a general road map of how the trial is expected to unfold. In the Garden, the Lord laid-out his strategy which was to prove that He was a loving God and that his institutions and His plan for mankind and angels were perfect. On the other hand, Satan made it quite clear that when he said that he would be like the Most-High God, he really meant that he would be greater than the Lord by demonstrating that his policy and plan encompassing good and evil would be the best for mankind and for angels as well.
2. The Formal phase of the Trial, the Old Testament: In this phase of the trial, evidence both direct and circumstantial is gathered and presented. Direct evidence usually includes the following: eyewitness-accounts, confessions etc. Circumstantial evidence usually is that which suggests a fact by implication or inference. Either kind of evidence can be offered in oral testimony of witnesses or physical exhibits, and documents.
During the Old Testament, the Lord demonstrated over and over again through evidence gathered and through testimony that He is a God of love with emphasis on integrity, wisdom and power and that His plan for mankind is perfect including His Laws of Establishment and His plan for believers. In effect, He proved that there is no one like Him. Satan on the other hand gathered evidence trying to prove that his plan and policy of good and evil is much superior to the Lord’s plan. Satan attempted to prove that his good and evil which includes socialism and tyranny is better than the Lord’s system of nationalism and freedom; his economic system of confiscation of wealth and its redistribution is better than the Lord’s free market system etc. Satan compiled evidence and then distorted the implications to suggest that God is not a God of love. For he questioned some of God’s decisions and action. For example, how could a God of love destroy so many people with the flood? How could a loving God destroy those lovely Canaanites living in the Pentapolis just because the Lord did not agree with their sexual preferences? How could a loving God command the killing of men, women, children and animals in the conquest of the Canaanites?
Since the perfect marriage failed in the Garden, Satan would compile more evidence in the Old Testament that would suggest that the divine institution of marriage was not a good design. Satan’s contention was made easier since most of the greats in the Old Testament did not farewell in marriage. For example, Abraham and Sarah had a horrible marriage most of their marriage life. He was a wimp, and she was a bitch. It was so bad that he was willing to give his wife to the Pharaoh of Egypt and then after leaving Egypt acquired a mistress as a substitute for relationship with his wife. Then, after Sarah died, he barely waited long enough for her corpse to cool before he married again. Jacob’s marriage life was a disaster namely two legal wives and two mistresses. The greatest believer of the Old Testament divorced his first wife. Then, there was David who had over 20 wives with whom he had 90 worthless sons. This evidence obviously was accumulated and presented by Satan.
4. The rebuttal of Satan in the Tribulation: Satan after seeing how the evidence that he had accumulated against the love of God and marriage has been successfully rebutted in the Christo-centric dispensations (the 1st Advent and the Church Age), he decides that any rebuttal would be hopeless. So, he goes to violence.
5. The Closing Statement of the Lord, the prosecuting attorney during His Millennial rule on the earth: The Lord in His closing statement makes it very clear that only He has the ability and the integrity to bring-in perfect environment.
6. The Closing Statement of Satan in the violence of the Gog-Magog revolution since he will realize that he is losing the appeal trial.
18. In order for this trial to be fair and unbiased, God made a sovereign decision to permit the free will of mankind to coexist with his sovereignty. Man can freely choose for God or Satan in this trial.
19. Since human history is an appeal trial, God permitted Satan, the defense attorney to cross examine the first witnesses in the appeal trial namely Adam and his wife. Before doing so, Satan observed them both carefully.
20. He observed the woman’s dissatisfaction of being under Adam’s authority though his rulership over her was perfect. Satan also observed Adam’s tremendous love for his wife, a love that seemed to Satan to be greater than Adam’s love for the Lord. So, Satan knew that if he could get the woman, that he could also get the man to fall.
21. Satan knew that if he were to attack the man first, it would not be a clear victory for if he got Adam to fall first, then Adam could merely command his wife to eat of the fruit. In so doing, the woman would have a legitimate complaint since the Lord had placed her under Adam’s authority. On the one hand, she would be in violation of the Lord’s mandate not to eat of this fruit, but on the other hand she would have obeyed her husband as she was commanded to do by the Lord.
22. By getting both Adam and his wife to eat of the forbidden fruit, and consequently enter into spiritual death and to be expelled from the Garden, Satan was victorious in this Opening Statement of the trial.
23. After which, Satan and his comrades undoubtedly threw a grand victory-party. Satan in his tremendous genius knew that there was no solution to man’s fall for mankind was in a hopeless, helpless situation. There was no solution, but one which Satan had overlooked. Only a member of the Trinity becoming a mediator and then going to the cross and bearing the sins of mankind could resolve this problem, but who could ever have imagined this!
24. The Lord announced to Satan that He would become a mediator and savior for mankind. Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman, and between your seed and her seed [a reference to the humanity of Christ]; he [Jesus Christ on the cross] shall bruise your head [the strategic defeat of Satan], and you shall bruise his heel [Jesus will be punished for the sins of the world]." This announcement must have been a tremendous shock and blow to Satan and his comrades.
25. The Lord brings in more witnesses which will be the environment for the formal trial in which both the defense attorney and the prosecuting attorneys present their objectives. Genesis 1:28, “And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth [in anticipation of the Fall and the 2nd stage of the trial] and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."
26. In the Old Testament, namely the formal trial Satan tries to prove that he is superior to the Lord. For example, since marriage failed in the garden, Satan maintained that the institution of marriage was not a good system. Satan offers as a substitute for the divine institution of marriage, multifarious choices such as fornicate as you desire, the phallic cult with child sacrifice, short term relationships, homosexual and lesbian relationships, polygamy etc. This attack against the perfect institution of marriage is not put to rest (defeated) until the Church Age in which the Lord raises the standards of marriage as per Ephesians 5:22-25. A few great marriages in which the man and wife are able to obey the mandates as found in this passage defeats Satan’s attack against marriage, proving that there is nothing wrong with this divine institution, but the weak point being the people involved.
27. Satan’s impugning of the love of God is finally put to rest on the cross, part of rebuttal phase of the Angelic Appeal Trial. Romans 5:8, “But the God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died as a substitute for us.” The greatest expression of personal and impersonal love!
28. During the formal stage of the trial, the Lord adds to volition and marriage the following: family and nationalism. Providing protection, security, prosperity and a measure of happiness to those who follow them. Satan does everything he can to attack and destroy each and every one of these divine institutions. Proving over and over again, that he will never be like the Most-High God. Though the Lord must allow the evil of Satan to run its course, He does not lose control. In the pre-diluvian period of the formal trial, Satan even tried to destroy true humanity on the earth via the cohabitation of demons with the females of that period. This the Lord shut down with the flood.
29. In order to concentrate his power and influence and by so doing destroy all freedom to believe in Christ and grow spiritually, Satan attempted the first ‘United Nations’ in the Tower of Babel. This of course, the Lord shut down by creating many languages, the greatest barrier to internationalism.
30. Wherever, Satan focusses his attention and gets the peoples of an area to follow his ‘brilliant ideas’ like homosexuality, it leads to total decadence like in Sodom and Gomorra and the other cities in that area. If the Lord had not stepped in and destroyed those cities, this cancer would have eventually destroyed the entire inhabited earth.
31. After the formal trial is brought to a close by the 1st Advent of Christ, He rebuts all the stupid and evil ideas of Satan. This he does during his three-year public ministry, His work on the cross and the Church Age.
32. Satan’s attack against God design of marriage will be rebutted during the Church Age. Furthermore, the Lord demonstrates through the mature believers of every generation but especially in the Church Age that his plan for mankind produces the greatest possible happiness and capacity for life. This He demonstrates through mature believers taking Evidence Testing.
33. After the Lord’s rebuttal during His 1st Advent and the rebuttal of the Church Age believers, Satan realizes that all is lost. So, when it is his time to rebut, he goes to violence.
34. The Tribulation is Satan’s rebuttal and the greatest period of violence the world will ever know.
35. In contrast to the disastrous period from the fall of man to the 2nd Advent in which period Satan rules, a period of one disaster after another, the Millennial reign of our Lord Jesus Christ will be the greatest period of peace, health, longevity and prosperity of any period of history. This being the closing statement of our Lord Jesus Christ.
36. Satan is released from the Abyss to make his closing statement namely the fomenting a rebellion against perfect government.
Some documentation on the fall of Satan and man in the Garden:
Angelic creatures were created simultaneously with no gradual development. Psalm 148:2a, 5, “Praise Him, all His angels; (5) Let them praise the person of the Lord [God the Son] for He commanded and they were created [in heaven with eternal bodies and perfect angelic righteousness].”
Of His creation, the greatest was Lucifer. Ezekiel 28:12, “Son of man [Ezekiel], take up a lamentation upon the King of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “You [Lucifer] had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and great beauty.” He has a voice like a pipe organ. He was superior in genius, beauty, personality, and persuasiveness to any creature. As a creature, Lucifer had a throne, “I will raise my throne above the stars [angels] of God.” He was the chief of angels and his name was Lucifer, [light bearer, the Shining One].
Ezekiel 28:14-17, “You were the anointed cherub who guarded the throne room; I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God [in the great castle of God]. You walked among the stones of fire [the interior of that castle]. (15) You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness [his revolt and fall: his eternal decision] was found in you [This was the creator talking to Satan]. (16) By the abundance of your slander [to go from one place to another to gossip] they filled your inner life with violence and you sinned [a reference to the fall of Satan which was his eternal decision]. Therefore, I have cast you as defiled from the mountain of God [God’s castle], and I have excluded you, O Guardian Cherub away from [separated from] the stones of fire [the interior of the castle]. (17) Your heart became arrogant [was lifted up] because of your beauty. You corrupted [distorted] your wisdom [through arrogance] because of your glamour [he dissociated from all that God had provided]. I cast you to the earth. I put you before kings that they may see you.”
Isaiah 14:12-14, “How you have fallen from heaven, O Star of the Morning, Son of the Dawn [a title Lucifer held until his fall]. You have been cut down to the earth [in the middle of the Tribulation], you who have weakened the nations [through your cosmic thinking]. But you said in your heart [stream of consciousness], ‘I will ascend to heaven;’ [Satan wanted to be the ruler of the third heaven. This was his desire to displace God as the ruler.] ‘I will raise my throne above the stars of God;’ [The stars of God refer to angels, Job 38:7; Revelation 12:3-4. He wanted to rule over all the angels, not just one third of them.] ‘And I will sit on the mount of the assembly in the recesses of the north.’ [where he would have his throne] ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;’ [will rule over all the angels] ‘I will make myself like the Most-High.’” [Satan thought that he would replace God as the final authority.]
The angelic decision to retain perfect angelic righteousness and to have eternal life with God or the eternal lake of fire with Satan was a decision all the angels had to make after Satan’s fall, his eternal decision to reject God and His plan. There was no need for a God-angel, no need for a cross whereby angelic sins would be an issue. They already had perfect righteousness and eternal life in their eternal bodies. Those who chose to follow Satan, also made their eternal decisions. Satan succeeded in persuading one-third of all angelic beings to revolt with him. Revelation 12:4a, “And his tail [Satan's great power] dragged away a third of the stars [shining ones, a designation for angels] of heaven [convinced these angels to revolt].”
After all the angels had made their decisions either pro or con, there was a prehistoric trial in which Satan and his minions were sentenced to the Lake of Fire. Matthew 25:41, “Then He will also say to those on His left [at the 2nd Advent], ‘Depart from me accursed ones into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.” Satan appealed God’s sentencing of him and his fallen angels to the Lake of Fire, and God the Father, the presiding judge graciously granted him an appeal. The appeal spans human history which explains the following: why God created the first two human beings (If one is going to have a trial, one must have witnesses); why angels are permitted to participate in human history; why Satan was permitted to tempt the woman in the garden, and to cross examine Job; why human history is broken down into the different parts of a trial; why Satan and his angels were not immediately cast into the Lake of Fire; and why they will not enter the Lake of Fire until after human history comes to a close (Satan loses his appeal).
During the trial, Lucifer acquired the name Satan, a Hebrew word (Diabolos in the Greek) usually translated as devil. Both the word Satan and Diobolos have the same meaning. They refer to an attorney who slanders but gets away with it due to some legal loophole. Satan functioned as a defense attorney for himself and the fallen angels at the trial which was convened after their falls. When God sentenced Lucifer and all fallen angels to the Lake of Fire, it was inevitable that Satan would appeal the sentence, and at the same time impugn the character of God. The blasphemous appeal of Satan was based on some legal principle, possibly one which has come down to us today. He probably argued, “How can a loving God cast his own creatures into the Lake of Fire forever, ignoring of course their decision regarding this matter? The actual blasphemous appeal of Satan is unknown to us, but that an appeal was filed with God is deduced from the lapse of time between the sentence of fallen angels (Matthew 25:41) in eternity past and the execution of that sentence at the termination of human history (Revelation 20:10). Since this sentence has not been carried out, but will be carried out (Revelation 20:10) forces one to a logical conclusion namely between the passing of the sentence in eternity past and the execution of that sentence at the end of the Millennium and the Gog-Magog Revolution, an appeal trial is occurring in human history. Therefore, it is concluded that human history is not only coterminous with the appeal trial of Satan and his fallen angels, but human history is the actual function of that trial, and that mankind was created to resolve that trial.
Some similarities and differences between the fall of Satan and his comrades and the fall of mankind in the garden. Similarities: Satan wanted to be like the Most-High God; the woman wanted to be like the Most-High God for she thought that if she were to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, she would be as smart as God. Genesis 3:4, 5, “But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die. (5) For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." One third of the angels loved Satan more than the Lord God; Adam loved his wife more than the Lord God. Both these angels and Adam and his wife failed. Both Satan and his comrades and Adam and his wife had perfect creature righteousness at the time of their sins. Differences: Both Satan and his comrades made an eternal decision rejecting God and His plan; Adam and his wife made a decision that caused their spiritual death and expulsion from the Garden of Eden, but it was not an eternal decision regarding God. Genesis 2:16, 17, “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; (17) but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it dying [spiritual death] you will die [physically]." Satan and his comrades in their eternal bodies made their decision from heaven; Adam and his wife made their decision in non-eternal bodies from the Garden.
After the fall of Adam and his wife, they made an eternal decision for God and His plan. This was a decision similar to the decision of the elect angels who decided for God and His plan. Genesis 3:21, “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.” [This is a picture of clothing them with imputed righteousness after their faith in the one who would go to the cross and be punished for their sins.]
Summary:
Human history is organized into a trial. The opening statement of the appeal trial is the garden with the initial two witnesses; the formal phase of the trial is the Old Testament; the First Advent and the Church Age is the rebuttal of Christ, the prosecuting attorney; the Tribulation is the rebuttal of Satan. The Millennial reign of Christ is the closing statement of the Lord functioning as the prosecuting attorney. Satan also must have a closing statement which explains why he must be released for a short time at the end of human history. The Gog-Magog Revolution is Satan’s closing statement.
The answer to Satan's appeal is twofold: The perfect and eternal character of God cannot be unfair or prejudiced, and cannot pass a false sentence. Secondly, the negative volition of Satan and all fallen angels demands punishment from the perfect righteousness and justice of God. The soul of angels contains a super intellect, and much smarter than we are. They had a clear understanding of God's provision while having fellowship with Him forever, and yet they rejected it. To demonstrate the perfection of divine integrity and the fairness of God's sentence to all fallen angels, God agreed to an appeal trial and so created man and, simultaneously, the principle of human history, the new creature experiment. To resolve the angelic conflict, a creature called man was created inferior to angels, and confined to planet earth. Hence, planet earth is the arena or stadium for the historical extension of the angelic conflict. Man possesses one thing in common with these super angelic creatures: he has a similar soul which contains a rational mind and a free will or volition, Psalm 8:3-5; Hebrew 2:7. These new creatures, homo sapiens, would demonstrate in a system called history, the fairness of God, the perfection of His integrity, and the righteousness of His judgment on fallen angels in prehistoric times.
Now for some application: Keep in mind that human history is the stage for the Angelic Appeal Trial. Satan functions as the defense attorney for himself and the fallen angels and the Lord functions as the prosecuting attorney. Both the defense attorney and the prosecuting attorney have witnesses which will give testimony. The Lord only calls as his witnesses, mature believers for only their testimony would have value in this trial. This evidence is collected through Evidence Testing. In human history, man's thoughts, motives, decisions, and actions are entered as evidence, exhibits, precedents, and arguments in Satan's appeal trial. Every believer who attains maturity is an argument or witness for the Prosecution against Satan. No believer qualifies as the Lord’s witness against Satan until he has attained spiritual maturity which is tantamount to the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God. Evidence testing, then, is Satan's cross-examination of every witness presented by God. Evidence Testing is defined as Satan's attempt, through cross-examination of suffering, to discredit those believers who attain spiritual maturity.
The ultimate in the life of the believer is attaining spiritual maturity, at which point many things occur. His escrow blessings for time are conveyed to him, followed by the highest honor God can convey to a believer, the privilege of taking evidence testing. While Evidence Testing comes quickly, without any notice or warning, and always occurs at a time when least expected since the believer has reached a peak in his spiritual life, it is completely and totally undeserved suffering. Though it is very, very severe, God never puts on the believer more suffering than he can bear. The mature believer must keep in mind that passing evidence testing is the highest category of suffering for blessing, results in the doubling of his escrow blessings for time. Every believer who attains spiritual maturity is a witness for the Prosecution, whether in the formal trial of Old Testament history, in the rebuttal phase of the First Advent and Church Age, or in the closing argument and summary phase of the Second Advent and the Millennium. Keep in mind that the primary purpose of the believer is to become a witness for the Lord, against Satan in the Angelic Appeal Trial. The believer may accomplish many things in life, but if he never reaches the necessary level of spiritual growth to function as a witness in this appeal trial, he has failed in reaching his most important objective in his spiritual life.
Addendum regarding Satan’s decision to reject God and His plan: Was it worth it? Revelation 20:1-10:
Revelation 20:1: Then I saw [a vision] an angel descending from Heaven, having the key of the abyss [the fourth compartment of Hades] and a great chain [giant handcuffs] in his hand.
Καὶ εἶδον ἄγγελον καταβαίνοντα ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ἔχοντα τὴν κλεῖν τῆς ἀβύσσου καὶ ἅλυσιν µεγάλην ἐπὶ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ.
The arresting angel coming directly from the throne room of God as he did in Revelation 14:15 is a six-winged angel, the highest angelic rank. This particular seraph is The Officer of Arms, the second highest angel from the Angelic College of Heralds. God never sends a boy to do a man’s job. Furthermore, God always follows protocol both in blessing and in judgment. In this case God selected a powerful, high-ranking angel to make the arrest. Thus, the arresting angel doesn’t need any armament to help him, just his inherent power.
Revelation 14:15, “Then another angel [the Officer of Arms- second highest ranking angel; second only to the King of Arms] came out of the temple [from heaven], and he shouted with a loud voice to Him who was sitting on the cloud, "Send in Your sickle [of judgment] and reap the harvest, because the hour has come to reap [the time for divine judgment], because the harvest of the earth has become over ripe [When the human race thru cosmic involvement is in danger of total destruction, then the Lord destroys segments of the human race where the degeneracy exists].”
Note: R. B. Thieme Jr. developed terminology from English heraldry to help Christians to better understand angelic hierarchy. So, if you are interested, read the following doctrines: Angelic College of Heraldry and Angelic Hierarchy.
Initially, Satan, a Cherub, a four-winged angel was the most powerful angel, but during the angel conflict, the Lord promoted certain angels to a higher and more powerful class called Seraphim, six winged angels. This we understand through deduction.
Satanic influence must be removed before perfect environment can commence, so the need for an arresting angel. The chain will be used to control Satan after his arrest and to bind him for the thousand years in the Abyss, a compartment of Hades (a Greek word; Sheol being the Hebrew equivalent). There cannot be the perfect environment until Satan, his fallen angels and all the religions which Satan has authored are removed. See the doctrine of Hades (Sheol) by R. B. Thieme Jr.
Although Satan in his arrogance gained more power by revolting by which he gained authority over 1/3 of the angels (Revelation 12:4a, “And his tail [Satan's great power] dragged away a third of the stars [shining ones: appearance possibly related to light] of heaven [convinced these angels to revolt”), he lost his authority over those fallen angels at the 2nd Advent. Being alone he was no match for this Seraph. One of the great manifestations of arrogance is greed (selfish and excessive desire for something), not only for monetary gain, but also for approbation and power. Satan wanted to displace God, but instead God replaced him.
Satan in his eternal body will enter prison in good health and will depart prison in good health (an eternal body neither ages nor deteriorates). In addition, we know that after his release, he will have the mental and physical vigor to mastermind a revolution against the Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 20:7-8).
Application: In prehistoric angelic history, the arresting angel started out lower than Satan in rank, position, power and glory et cetera, but ended higher. Thus, it is not how one starts in life, but how he ends up. Principle: No one ever loses by choosing the plan of God.
Revelation 20:2: And he [the Officer of Arms] seized [with violence] the dragon [a term for beauty; a large snake in Classical Greek], that ancient serpent [so named because he indwelt the serpent to tempt the woman] who is the Devil [slanderer, accuser, defense attorney] even Satan [the Hebrew for devil], and bound him [with the chain] for a thousand years.
καὶ ἐκράτησεν τὸν δράκοντα, ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος, ὅς ἐστιν ∆ιάβολος καὶ ὁ
Σατανᾶς, καὶ ἔδησεν αὐτὸν χίλια ἔτη,
The Greek verb (krateo) means to use force. This Seraph will have to use force to bind and imprison the devil since Satan will not go willingly to the Abyss. (No criminal ever willingly seeks imprisonment.) This angel once inferior to Lucifer [The Morning Star], the Son of the Dawn will be able to easily arrest and bind Satan at the 2nd Advent.
This dragon is not some long snake-like creature breathing fire as many writers portray him. Rather the Scripture depicts this dragon as the quintessence of beauty. Ezekiel states in chapter 28:12b, “You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” and in verse17a, “Your heart [mentality] was lifted up because of your beauty; you distorted your wisdom because of your glamor.”
Revelation 20:3: And he cast him into the abyss and shut and sealed it over him so that he would not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years have been completed. After these things [the closing statement of Jesus Christ and other events of the Millennium], he must be released for a short time [for his closing statement].
καὶ ἔβαλεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον καὶ ἔκλεισεν καὶ ἐσφράγισεν ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ ἵνα µὴ πλανήσῃ ἔτι τὰ ἔθνη ἄχρι τελεσθῇ τὰ χίλια ἔτη· µετὰ ταῦτα δεῖ λυθῆναι αὐτὸν µικρὸν χρόνον.
This was prophesized in Isaiah 14:15, “Nevertheless, you will be thrust down to Sheol [The Hebrew word for Hades], to the recesses of the pit [a reference to the Abyss, the last compartment of Hades].”
Remember that human history is the appeal trial of Satan and his fallen angels. The Millennial reign of Christ is the closing statement of the Lord functioning as the prosecuting attorney. Satan also must have a closing statement which explains why he must be released for a short time at the end of human history. (The opening statement of the appeal trial is the garden with the initial two witnesses; the formal phase of the trial is the Old Testament; the First Advent and the Church Age is the rebuttal of Christ, the prosecuting attorney; the Tribulation is the rebuttal of Satan.)
Revelation 20:4: And I saw [also in verses 1, 11] thrones [of judgment], and they [the 144,000] sat on them, and judgment was given [culminative aorist: a result of fulfilling their spiritual lives] to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been decapitated [with an ax] because of the witness [testimony in the angelic appeal trial] for Jesus [the 144,000 martyrs] really because of doctrine from God, and these who had not worshiped the beast nor his image, nor had received his mark on their foreheads, nor on their hands. And they both came to life [ingressive aorist: received their resurrection bodies at the 2nd Advent as part of the First Resurrection] and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Καὶ εἶδον θρόνους, καὶ ἐκάθισαν ἐπ’ αὐτούς, καὶ κρίµα ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς, καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν πεπελεκισµένων διὰ τὴν µαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ καὶ διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ οἵτινες οὐ προσεκύνησαν τὸ θηρίον οὐδὲ τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἔλαβον τὸ χάραγµα ἐπὶ τὸ µέτωπον καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτῶν· καὶ ἔζησαν καὶ ἐβασίλευσαν µετὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ χίλια ἔτη.
Martyrs of the Tribulation and Old Testament believers will not receive their resurrection bodies until the age of Israel is complete. Thus, since the Tribulation is the last part of the Age of Israel (Daniel’s 70th week; each week representing 7 years), all Old Testament believers who have died before the 2nd Advent will receive their resurrection bodies at that time.
Resurrection:
The First Resurrection:
1. Alpha Company: Jesus Christ received His resurrection body circa April 17, 30 A.D.
2. Bravo Company: Church Age believers will receive their resurrection bodies at the Rapture of the Church.
3. Charlie Company: Old Testament believers will receive their resurrection bodies at the 2nd Advent.
4. Delta Company: Millennial believers will receive their resurrection bodies at the end of the Millennium.
The Second Resurrection:
All unbelievers will receive their resurrection bodies just before the Great White Throne Judgment. After this judgment, they in their resurrection bodies will be cast into the Lake of Fire forever.
Revelation 20:5: (The rest of the dead [unbelievers of the Tribulation and all other unbelievers of human history] did not come to life [will not receive their eternal bodies as part of the Second Resurrection] until the thousand years have been completed.) This is the first resurrection [continues from Revelation 20:4].
οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν νεκρῶν οὐκ ἔζησαν ἄχρι τελεσθῇ τὰ χίλια ἔτη. αὕτη ἡ ἀνάστασις ἡ πρώτη.
The parenthesis is to bring out a contrast between the first and second resurrection. (The first resurrection includes the resurrection of the humanity of Christ three days after entering the tomb, the Church Age believers at the Rapture, the Old Testament believers at the 2nd Advent and finally Millennial believers at the end of the Millennium. The Second Resurrection is the resurrection of all unbelievers. This will occur at the end of human history. At that time all unbelievers will receive a resurrection body and will stand before the Great White Throne Judgment.) Those in the First Resurrection may have suffered in time, but in the eternal state will never suffer again. On the other hand, those in the Second Resurrection may have obtained much power, approbation, wealth etc. in time, but they will spend all eternity in the Lake of Fire.
Revelation 20:6: Happy [mentioned in Revelation 1:3, 14:13, 16:15, 19:9, 20:6, 22:7, 22:14] and sanctified [emphasis on ultimate sanctification: receiving one’s resurrection body] is the one who has part in the first resurrection [all believers]. Over these, the second death [the Lake of Fire] has no authority, but they [a reference to the 144,000] will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
µακάριος καὶ ἅγιος ὁ ἔχων µέρος ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τῇ πρώτῃ· ἐπὶ τούτων ὁ δεύτερος θάνατος οὐκ ἔχει ἐξουσίαν, ἀλλ’ ἔσονται ἱερεῖς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ βασιλεύσουσιν µετ’ αὐτοῦ [τὰ] χίλια ἔτη.
All believers in human history participate in the 1st Resurrection and will be happy in the eternal state no matter what is their stage of spiritual growth or retrogression. However, the great believers of history will have great rewards, whereas those who fail to execute God’s plan will suffer loss of rewards in the Eternal State. Regarding a group who do succeed, for example, the 144,000 who were beheaded in the Tribulation will rule with Christ and function as priests in the Millennium Temple though the high priest will come from the line of Zadok (Ezekiel 40:46).
Revelation 20:7: And when the thousand years have been completed, Satan will be released from his prison [to make his closing statement].
Καὶ ὅταν τελεσθῇ τὰ χίλια ἔτη, λυθήσεται ὁ Σατανᾶς ἐκ τῆς φυλακῆς αὐτοῦ,
A short brief on the Appeal Trial: There was a prehistoric trial in which Satan and his minions were sentenced to the Lake of Fire. Matthew 25:41, “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from me accursed ones into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.’” Satan appealed, and God the Father, the presiding judge graciously granted him an appeal. The appeal spans human history which explains the following: why God created the first two human beings (If one is going to have a trial, one must have witnesses), why angels are permitted to participate in human history, why Satan was permitted to tempt the woman in the garden, and to cross examine Job, why human history is broken down into the different parts of a trial, why Satan and his angels were not immediately cast into the Lake of Fire, and why they will not enter the Lake of Fire until after human history comes to a close (Satan loses the appeal).
Revelation 20:8: And he will go out [predictive future] to deceive [culminative aorist: results in a revolution] the nations, those in the four hemispheres of the earth, Gog [code name for Satan] and Magog [code name for the conspiracy], to concentrate [military word] them for battle [Satan uses violence] whose number is like the sand of the sea [sand on beaches or under the oceans: an extremely large army].
καὶ ἐξελεύσεται πλανῆσαι τὰ ἔθνη τὰ ἐν ταῖς τέσσαρσιν γωνίαις τῆς γῆς, τὸν Γὼγ καὶ Μαγώγ, συναγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν πόλεµον, ὧν ὁ ἀριθµὸς αὐτῶν ὡς ἡ ἄµµος τῆς θαλάσσης.
People do not believe the lie until they first reject the truth, and once a person believes the lie, his life becomes a lie. This process involves lying to self and then lying to others. After rejecting the truth, Satan became the greatest and most effective liar in history, the first pathological liar. (A pathological liar has no truth in him so he has no qualms regarding lying, much different from a person lying to get out of a jam.) Just as Satan has rejected all truth so in the future the unbelievers in the Millennium will reject all truth. This rejection will leave them with no capacity for life, love and happiness and so no capacity for the perfect environment of the Millennial reign of Christ. In this state they will lust to serve their sin natures which will have been hindered and frustrated by the perfect government of the Millennium.
One thousand years in prison will not change the criminality of Satan, and so, after his release, he will make immediate plans for a revolution. He will not have learned the simplest of principles namely that the power of God is infinitely greater than the power of his creatures. (Arrogant creatures do not learn from experience.) The revolution’s code-named Gog and Magog is universal and international. Satan in hindsight will take his code name from a future ruler in the Tribulation (Gog, the King of the North) and his people (Magog) (Ezekiel 38:2, 15). The revolutionary army will number in the millions, maybe even in the billions.
After 1000 years in confinement, Satan leaves his imprisonment in good health since he is in his eternal body.
Revelation 20:9: Then, they marched over the wide terrain of the land [the high desert country of Southern Israel] and they surrounded [culminative aorist] the bivouac of the saints [gentile believers in mortal bodies who will have retreated before this army], and the beloved city [Jerusalem where the Jewish believers in mortal bodies will have fled for security]. Then, fire [or something approximating fire] came down [a constative aorist tense] from God [according to the best manuscripts] out of Heaven and consumed [destroyed] them.
καὶ ἀνέβησαν ἐπὶ τὸ πλάτος τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐκύκλευσαν τὴν παρεµβολὴν τῶν ἁγίων καὶ τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἠγαπηµένην. καὶ κατέβη πῦρ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτούς·
Satan [without angelic help] is able to manufacture weaponry and to train an army very quickly for the purpose of attacking Israel. He being an organizational genius will organize all the negative volition into a strong revolutionary army. (World peace and disarmament never prevent war since the power of arrogance is greater than the power of prosperity.) Armed and with overwhelming numbers, the revolutionary army will have great confidence in the evil genius of Satan. It seems that the concentration point of the invasion will be the Valley of Esdraelon.
Aggression gives tactical advantage. Thus, Satan and his invading force initially will have the advantage. However, the Lord operating under the principle of using violence to stop violence will use his divine flame thrower (or a divine laser or nuke weapon) to destroy this invading army.
Revelation 20:10: And the Devil [the enemy] who had deceived [durative present] them, was thrown [culminative aorist] into the Lake of Fire and burning sulfur, where the beast [the dictator of the Revived Roman Empire] and the false prophet [the false dictator and messiah of Israel] were. And they [the three just mentioned] will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
καὶ ὁ διάβολος ὁ πλανῶν αὐτοὺς ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν λίµνην τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ θείου, ὅπου καὶ τὸ θηρίον καὶ ὁ ψευδοπροφήτης, καὶ βασανισθήσονται ἡµέρας καὶ νυκτὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων.