Question

If Satan was cast out of Heaven, can we (being believers after death and during our eternal lives in heaven) also be cast out of Heaven? If we struggle with pride, selfishness, and greed now, what’s to say we are or aren’t going to be capable of falling like Satan?

Answer

First, Michael, the archangel, goes to war with the dragon in Revelation 12. This is where the phrase, cast out of heaven, is used. The great dragon is thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil. We will never comprehend the angelic realm on this side of heaven. Paul tells us about heaven’s angels, principalities, authorities, dominions, and rulers. 

We don’t fully understand the angelic realm. We know there was a time when Satan was the greatest of all angels. It’s debated today, but we have Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, satan’s ‘I wills.’ We are not meant to know the exact number of angels in heaven, but they work at God’s dispensing. 

What is the point if salvation for the believer in Jesus Christ is not complete? When you trust Christ and believe that He lived, died, was buried, and returned from the dead, you’re placing your trust in Jesus Christ to do what you cannot do for yourself. 

Christ’s atoning work had to be entirely sufficient for all who come to trust Him alone for their salvation, or Christ’s death was a travesty. If you trust Christ, you’re secure. Study passages like John 10 and Ephesians 1-2, and spend time understanding you are sealed; your salvation is secure in what Jesus has done for you, not the other way around. 

As Larry Moyer says, “Our lives should be a thank you back to Christ.” Now that I’m saved, I no longer want to be enslaved by sin. I want to be a slave to Christ because I’m a willing, ready servant to do what He wants me to do. The fun part is that you’re assured of your salvation as you live that way.

We’re going to be living eternally in the new Heaven and the new earth, but how do we know sin won’t occur again? We are depraved at birth. We are sinful creatures. But Adam and Eve weren’t; that’s why Jesus is called the second Adam. He’s the only other person to be born without sin. When we are in Christ, Galatians 2:20 becomes our identity. Our sin nature is dead, but we struggle on this earth because we’re still sinful. When you die and cross that threshold, your sinful nature is gone.

What do we know? They had no sinful nature until they willfully chose. Now that Christ has died in our place, on our behalf, He has solved and paid the penalty for our sins. In heaven, there won’t be temptation, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye. We will be so fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We will want nothing. And that’s hard for our minds to grasp. Cause we always want bigger, better, newer, and more. We are never satisfied.

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