 | Pastor Dave grew up in northern New Jersey in a very diverse cultural area. He attended Central College in Pella, Iowa received a BA in sociology and psychology. He was an offensive guard for their NCAA Div III National Championship team in 1974. In speaking for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he sensed a call to full time ministry. Meeting is future wife Sandy at Central, went to Michigan to finish her college while Dave started Western Seminary in Holland, Michigan. Dave married Sandy in 77 and completed his Masters of Divinity degree in 78. Pastor Dave’s first church was in Fort Lee, New Jersey, home of the George Washington Bridge. Their three children were born there and he also served as a Police and Fire Chaplain for the city. In February 1991, they came to Wichita to start Harvest Community Church. In 2006, he received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Covenant Theological (Presbyterian) Seminary in St Louis. During that year he gained a daughter-in-law with now 2 grandsons of 3 years and 6 months old. Besides Pastoring at HCC for the past 20 years, he has been Director of the SCSD & WPD Police Chaplains for 11.
|
Religion
2012-11-01 14:46:31
The fallen angels
Q- What do we know about the fall of the angels prior to the beginning of man? Where in the Bible does it tell us about this?
A- The scriptures give us a glimpse but there is still too much mystery, probably to be learned in heaven. Now we know that angels are created beings. {Psalm 148:2, 5 & Colossians 1:16} They are unlike God in that He is eternal with no beginning and no end. {Genesis 1:1; 1 Timothy 6:16} We know that the angels were created before the world began, {Job 38:6-7} as spirits, not with material bodies. {Hebrews 1:14} They have intellect, {Matthew 28:5} emotions, {Luke 2:13} and also a will. {Jude 1:6}
That will became prideful and conceited, causing the Devil to fall in 1Timothy 3:6 which is one of the only direct references about his fall. The Apostle John in The Revelation talks about the battle for the takeover of heaven that got Satan cast out, along with 1/3 of the angels who rebelled with him. {Revelation 12:4-9} Now there are some who wish they had more of an explanation but Calvin, in his Institutes of Christian Religion, didn’t feel it to be necessary, and felt that “we should be content with this concise information.”
However, there are others who like to add the passages from Isaiah 14:12-14 and Ezekiel 28:12-18 to give more understanding. In Isaiah the verses are talking about the King of Babylon but they believe there is a double meaning, especially to the reference about Satan’s rebellion. “The morning star” is thought to be referring to Lucifer, which is a translation that began with Origen, and Jerome concurred; how he was cast down {12} and how he would make himself like God Almighty but he was brought down to the pits instead. In the passage there are five “I will” proclamations that manifest his rebellious desire to dethrone God.
In Ezekiel 28:11-17, although the prophesy is against the King of Tyre in the day of Ezekiel, the double reference is seen by some as about not only the ancient King but of the fall of Satan. The poetic language and imagery describes the King of Tyre at creation, in Eden, as a strong priest fully clothed, as the guardian cherub. As you read it you can see the double meaning as it also describes Satan as full of wisdom, beauty and splendor in the early stages and then corrupted by pride. The wording, like the use of the word “cherub,” is heavily leaned on as reference to Satan.
Some have reasoned that it happened after Adam and Eve were created, because in Genesis God said that His creation was “very good.” {Genesis 1:31}At that point Satan was a created being and was still good but then rebelled and became the “god of this world” {2 Corinthians 4:4} and began his work of evil, deceit, lying, undermining, etc to derail mankind from following God.
His big game is to make sure that the world doesn’t believe that he exists. {2 Corinthians 4:4} Yet Jesus referred to Satan {Matthew 11:33; Luke 10:18;11:18} and was even tempted by Satan and spoke to him. {Luke 4:1-11}Paul speaks of principalities, strongholds and dominions.{Ephesians 6:11-13; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5} Some like the caricature of the little guy with a red horned costume, or a cartoon villain they can laugh about and treat as a fantasy of myth. But in the real world, the devil is alive and well and seeking to bring men and women down.
The blessing in all of this is; even though Satan does have power, the power of the Holy Spirit that is in the Christian is greater than the “Prince and Power of the Air” (the devil), as it says in 1 John 4:4, and that God has given us the equipment to battle the very dark forces around us. {Ephesians 6:10-19} But we have to be alert as the Apostle Peter tells us, “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. {9} Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.” {1 Peter 5:8-9 (NLT)} As the Lord continues to give us victories, let us keep our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. {Hebrews12:2} In the battle with you in the strength of the Lord until the end, Pastor Dave.
