Roadmap for the soul - Judaism, the bible and the tabernacle

As we have just seen, Satan and his angels choose to reject God's boundaries (and thus, 'true freedom').
They apparently prefer the false 'freedom' of choosing their own boundaries instead.

Since God has established boundaries with the intent that all His creations be united together in relationships through them, Satan's rejection of the boundaries is also a rejection of 'unity' itself.

And in this next passage, we see that Satan's choice does in fact result in a loss of unity ---

Revelation 12:9 "... the great dragon was cast out... cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

Notice the words "cast out." Those words indicate a definite loss of unity. But also notice the word "fought" in Revelation 12:7:7. That word clearly suggests that Satan and his angels do not want to leave heaven. It would seem they much prefer to remain, even though their rejection of God's boundaries will undoubtedly result in pain and suffering for those who share the environment with them. This is a good illustration of the self-centeredness of sin. In Satan's mind, his own desires are more important than the suffering of others.

Unfortunately for Satan and his followers though, their false brand of 'freedom' just won't fit with the environment God that wants to have... According to the bible, God intends to have an environment where ---

Revelation 21:4 "... there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying, and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

The above verse describes a future time in which both heaven and earth will be put back the way God intends it to be. It should be obvious that Satan and his followers aren't going to fit in with the above description, since their rejection of God's boundaries guarantees the potential for ongoing "sorrow", "crying" and "pain". Thus it would appear that a separation is going to be necessary. And since verses like Isaiah 66:1, Psalm 80:14, John 14:2 and others essentially describe heaven as being God's 'dwelling place', you can bet that when the time comes for a separation, God won't be the one renting a moving van.

And as Revelation 12:9 says (above), a 'separation' eventually does come about ---
Satan and his angels end up being cast out of heaven.

The really bad news for us, is that Satan's rebellion has carried over to life here on earth.
We will be looking at the details of this shortly, but for now, simply note that (for a while) Satan is allowed to be ---

John 12:31 "... the ruler of this world..." and...

2 Corinthians 4:4 "... the god of this age..."

It is worth pointing out here, that while being called a "ruler" and a "god" may sound impressive, in reality, Satan only has as much power as God allows him. If Satan really had any power of his own, he would surely not be reduced to 'asking' for what he wants, as described here ---

Luke 22:3 "... Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat"

As this passage, and others in the opening chapter of the book of Job show, Satan is still very much subject to whatever boundaries God sets for him. But, for reasons that will become more clear soon, God allows Satan and "his angels" a degree of power and authority here on the earth for a while.

It is worth noting however, that the earth is not to be their final destination...
Their final destination is described here ---

Revelation 20:10 "... the devil who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone ..."

Matthew 25:41 "... the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels ..."

As you can see, the "lake of fire" is specified as their final destination. According to Revelation 20:10, once Satan and his angels are in the lake of fire, they are destined to remain there "forever". So really, Satan's appearance here on earth is just a brief stop on his way to final judgment.

At this point, you may have noticed that a logical progression is beginning to appear in all of this...
So far, our story has shown that ---

	'Sin' can basically be defined as 'a rejection of God's authority and boundaries.'

	Rejecting God's authority and boundaries (or 'sin') destroys 'unity'

	Therefore, in order for peace to return to the environment, a 'separation' will be necessary.

And, as the story of Satan's rebellion has shown ---

the 'separation' is manifested in two ways...

First, there is a 'separation' in the sense of a 'separation' in one's relationship with God...
(as proven by the rejection of His authority & boundaries).
This is eventually followed by a second 'separation'...
(i.e. permanent isolation & confinement in the "lake of fire").

So... now that we have seen the origin of sin in heaven,
in our next segment, we shall see how sin arrives here on earth...

NEXT CHAPTER

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