What is the Angelic Conflict?

The Angelic Conflict is the invisible spiritual warfare between the cosmic forces of Satan and the heavenly forces of God.

The conflict began in eternity past when the preeminent angel Lucifer—to be renamed Satan—acted independently of God (Isaiah 14:13-14), recruited one-third of the angels, and ignited this prehistoric revolt in heaven. God judged Satan and the fallen angels for their rebellion against Him and condemned them to the lake of fire for all eternity (Matthew 25:41). Since Satan is still “roaming about on the earth” (Job 1:7; 2:2), it can be accurately inferred that he challenged the judgment, likely insisting that a fair and loving God could not eternally condemn His own creatures. God responded by postponing the punishment and creating the human race—creatures inferior to the angels yet with the same freewill capacity to honor or reject God.

The prehistoric conflict was extended into the human realm, so that man’s freewill decisions could demonstrate God’s perfect justice, righteousness, and love and prove that Satan and his demons are responsible for their condemnation. On planet Earth, human volition is the focal point of the spiritual firestorm in which Satan now seeks to outmaneuver God. Disguised as “an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), the devil uses every ruse at his command to obscure the Gospel for unbelievers and to distract and disgrace those who are saved by faith in Christ (2 Corinthians 4:3-4; 1 Peter 5:8). His intense though futile struggle will conclude after the Millennium, when he is finally cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).