Dr Paul Allen

  The word “Babel” means “gateway to a god” and sounds like the Hebrew word balal, which means “confusion” (Gen. 10:8–10; 11:1–9). In Scripture, Babylon symbolizes the world system man has built in defiance of God. Jerusalem and Babylon are contrasting cities: One is the chosen city of God, the other the wicked city of man. The city of God will last forever, but the rebellious city of man will ultimately be destroyed (Rev. 14:8; 16:19; 17–18). God musters His army (Isa. 13:1–5, 17–18). God is sovereign. He is able to call any army He desires, to accomplish any task He assigns. He can summon them with a whistle (7:18), or by using leaders to raise a banner, shout, and beckon to the soldiers (13:2). In this case, God is mustering the army of the Medes (v. 17; 21:2); and He calls them “My sanctified ones.” Even though they did not believe in Jehovah God, the Medes were set apart by God to do His holy work. God punishes His enemies (Isa. 13:6–22). The city of Babylon was completely des...

The most popular belief about Satan’s fall is based on the Bible in Isaiah 14:12 (KJV): “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer son of the morning!” The passage goes on to say that Lucifer tried to raise his throne above the stars and become like the Most High, but God cast him down to the depths of the pit (Is 14:13-15). This passage is often compared with Ezekiel 28:11-19, which allegedly speaks of Lucifer as the king of Tyre living in the Garden of Eden. He was a beautiful cherub angel, but God said to him, “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings” (28:17). Some even claim that Lucifer was the choir director of heaven based on the names of instruments listed in the King James translation of Ezekiel 28:13. Hence popular theory has it that Satan, as Lucifer, fell at the beginning of creation. The Bible, however, never directly affirms anywhere that...

The fall of Satan and his angels are shrouded behind a veil and cloaked in mystery. Throughout the history of the church, Christian orthodoxy has regarded the devil and his minions as angels who were created by God but fell into sin and misery. William Gouge (1575–1653) wrote, “The devils by creation were good angels, as powerful, wise, quick, speedy, invisible, and immortal as any other angels.”  The Puritans believed that demons shared the same nature as angels, but through rebellion against God, they became subject to divine judgment. When these angels fell, Gouge said, “They lost not their natural substance, and essential properties thereof, no more than what man lost when he fell. . . . Only the quality of his nature and properties is altered from good to evil.” Accordingly, the Westminster Larger Catechism aptly states, “God by his providence permitted some of the angels, willfully and irrecoverably, to fall into sin and damnation, limiting and ordering that, and al...

Most Bible study resources describe fallen angels as demons who joined Lucifer in his rebellion against God. But what if I told you that the only place in the New Testament that describes angels sinning does not call them demons, has no connection to Lucifer and has them in jail? Welcome to the world of 2 Peter and Jude. For . . . God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment. (2 Peter 2:4) And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day. (Jude 6) Second Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 are nearly identical in their description of angels doing time, but there are differences that help us figure out “what in the spiritual world is going on.” Jude 6 defines what 2 Peter 2:4 means by the angelic sin. These sinning angels “left their proper dwellin...

“Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?” ( Job 4:18-19 ) This was the strange message delivered to Eliphaz , the first of the three friends who proved such “miserable comforters” to Job in his sufferings, by “a spirit” that “stood still, . . . an image . . . before mine eyes” (vv. 15-16). This “thing was secretly [literally ‘stealthily’] brought to me,” said Eliphaz (v. 12), and there is little doubt that its original source was Satan himself, in his efforts to discredit and destroy Job. The “spirit” who instructed Eliphaz was not sent from God , as he may have thought, but was one of those angelic servants who had been “charged with folly” when they followed Lucifer in his primeval rebellion. Still smarting with wounded pride that God would make His angels mere “ministering spirits” ( Hebrews 1:14 ) to Adam and his...

Sodom and Gomorrha, Alte Pinakothek, Room 23 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.” ( Jude 1:8 ) The King James translators supplied the term “filthy” for the dreamers that Jude denounces because of the “likewise” that introduces their condemnation. The prior verses had condemned certain angels and the populations of Sodom and Gomorrha because of their perversion of God ’s sexual design. These dreamers not only “stain” the flesh but have become so arrogant that they give “no standing” to any authority and “blaspheme” those who have any “glory.” Not even Michael the archangel had that kind of attitude; Jude notes in the next verse that Michael didn’t rebuke Lucifer when he was carrying out God’s mission for Moses ’ body. Some people are way out of line! Jude’s whole message is focused on those who are attempting to resist, undo, damage, distort, or otherwise disrupt the work of God’s peop...

Gustave Doré's illustration for Milton's Paradise Lost, Book IV, lines 1013 1015: Satan (alias Lucifer) yielding before Gabriel (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them." ( Exodus  18:11 )   This is the first mention in the Bible of the sin of pride, and it appropriately refers to the primeval sin of the "gods"—that is, the supposed deities of the heathen.   Led by Lucifer , a great host of the created angels had rebelled against their Creator , seeking also to be "gods" like Him. Lucifer, later to be called Satan (i.e., "adversary"), thought he could become the highest of all. "O Lucifer . . . thou hast said in thine heart, I will . . . exalt my throne above the stars of God: . . . I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell" ( Isaiah  14:12 -15 ).   Satan's sin—and that of the other ...

2 Corinthians 11:14–15 “Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light . So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” ( vv. 14–15a ). Second Corinthians 11:14–15 contains perhaps the most important bit of information all believers need to remember concerning the nature of Satan and his work. Paul tells us in today’s passage that the Devil “disguises himself as an angel of light” ( v. 14 ). Of course, Satan and his minions are often the direct source of much of the outright perversity and evil that we see on this planet. However, since he is the “father of lies” ( John 8:44 ), the Evil One would much rather approach us in the guise of something good and not something wicked. If he came at us blatantly, Satan would be easy to resist. We are more likely to embrace his lies if he approaches us under the guise of the good. With respect to his influence on believers, the Adversary comes at us to accuse us and tempt us. The Dev...

Image via Wikipedia "Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?" ( Job 4:18-19 )   This was the strange message delivered to Eliphaz , the first of the three friends who proved such "miserable comforters" to Job in his sufferings, by "a spirit" that "stood still, . . . an image . . . before mine eyes" ( vv. 15-16 ).  This "thing was secretly |literally 'stealthily'| brought to me," said Eliphaz ( v. 12 ), and there is little doubt that its original source was Satan himself, in his efforts to discredit and destroy Job.  The "spirit" who instructed Eliphaz was not sent from God , as he may have thought, but was one of those angelic servants who had been "charged with folly," when they followed Lucifer in his primeval rebellion.   Still smarting with wo...

Image via Wikipedia The email had an urgent tone: "I know Satan tempts us, but can he physically hurt people? Does Satan know our thoughts? Just how much can he do?" Believers and non-believers alike have questions about Satan and the demonic. Some are especially curious. Frequent pop-culture references to the devil (the rock band Black Sabbath even issued satanic "altar calls" from stage) fuel fascination in the dark side, so it's important that our understanding be biblically based. What Scripture Tells Us The Bible has a lot to say about Satan, including the fact that God didn't create him as an agent of evil. Satan was Lucifer , an archangel who, along with a large but finite number of lesser angels, freely rebelled against God. That act of treason resulted in their eviction from heaven. The devil hates God and His children. Therefore, Satan and his fallen angels — demons —are wreaking whatever havoc they can. The Bible warns that, as history mo...

Image via Wikipedia "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." ( Isaiah 14:14 ) These are two of the "I will's" of Satan --or Lucifer --as he aspired to usurp the throne of God as ruler of the universe (see   Isaiah 14:12-15 ;   Ezekiel 28:11-17 ). Not content to be "the anointed cherub," the highest of the angelic hierarchy ( Ezekiel 28:14 ), he wanted to be God, and this monstrous pride became "the condemnation of the devil" ( 1 Timothy 3:6 ), so that he is now "fallen from heaven" and will soon be "brought down to hell" ( Isaiah 14:12, 15 ). Lucifer, of course, is not the Creator, for he was "created" ( Ezekiel 28:15 ) himself. It would seem therefore that for him to rationalize his ambition to be like the most High, he must somehow persuade himself that he   is   like the most High--that is, that God is a created being like himself, and thus can be defeated. He only had ...