Angelic Conflict, The First and Last Adam

There is a considerable contrast between the first Adam and the Last Adam in the Angelic Conflict. There is the first Adam's insignificant position as man when compared to the Last Adam and His mechanics of victory. Adam ruled the world in perfect environment until Adam and Eve sinned. Then, the world rulership went to Satan which will continue until the Second Advent of Jesus Christ. Then, the Last Adam will rule the world with perfect environment through the end of the Millennium.

In Hebrews 2:6, "But one has" refers to David. This verse quotes Psalms 8:4. "Testified" is the present active participle of διαμαρτύρομαι (diamarturomai) and means to attest, testify to, to solemnly affirm. David penned it many years ago and it is just as true today as it was then. "What is man" is ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) and is used in the generic sense, not noble man.

"But one has testified somewhere, saying, "WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU REMEMBER HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM?" (Hebrews 2:6, NASB)

"What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?" (Psalms 8:4, NASB)

In Psalms 8:4, "man" is אנושׁ ('ĕnôsh) and refers to man as a weak character and with a weak and sinful tendency. "That You remember him." It is because of God's grace that God even noticed man. Grace is why Jesus Christ remembers him. The middle voice of ἐπισκέπτομαι (episkeptomai) means that Jesus Christ had you personally in mind when He died for your sins on the cross. Why are you where you are, Adam?

Even though man is going to have to work for a living, he is not going to have to work for blessing. Since God is perfect and holy, how does He notice man? By grace via propitiation. He remembered every sin, everything, every little thing. He recalls man even though man sinned and hit rock bottom. Every sin was borne by Him on the Cross. Isaiah 53:5-6.

"But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him." (Isaiah 53:5-6, NASB)

In Hebrews 2:6, "the son of man" does not refer to Jesus Christ, but the descendants of Adam. Generally, this phrase refers to Christ with emphasis on the humanity of Christ, but not here. "Are concerned" means to look after, have care for, to provide for. It means to help someone as a doctor would. God has helped them through His plan, the Cross, as the great physician.

Hebrews 2:7 refers to the first Adam in failure. The terms first and Last Adam are taken from 1 Corinthians 15:45. Adam was created with no sin and the Last Adam was born with no sin or sin nature. God the Father made man lower than the angels. It will take regeneration through belief in Jesus Christ to get man higher than angels. This is Adam in his original state.

""YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS;" (Hebrews 2:7, NASB)

"So also it is written, "The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit." (1 Corinthians 15:45, NASB)

"You crowned him with glory and honor" refers to Adam as the ruler of the earth. Adam came into the world perfect and innocent. He also was the sovereign of the world. This is the status quo of Adam in innocence. The first Adam had glory and honor. God created him with glory and honor. The rest of Hebrews 2:7 is not in the original manuscripts.

The Last Adam and Victory

The Antediluvian Civilization was started with two born-again people, Adam and Eve which began after the fall and after their salvation. The Postdiluvian Civilization was started with eight born-again people. The Millennium Civilization will start with believers only, minus Satan and his demons. Jesus Christ and Church Age believers in resurrection bodies will take the place of Satan and his demons as rulers on the earth.

In Hebrews 2:8, "under His feet" refers to the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ on earth when He has defeated all of His enemies. Col. 2:15; Zech. 13:2; 1 Cor. 15:24-25.

"YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET." For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him." (Hebrews 2:8, NASB)

"When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him." (Colossians 2:15, NASB)

""It will come about in that day," declares the LORD of hosts, "that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and I will also remove the prophets and the unclean spirit from the land." (Zechariah 13:2, NASB)

"then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet." (1 Corinthians 15:24-25, NASB)

Jesus Christ has not yet defeated all of His enemies. This will not happen at the Rapture either. The Rapture of the Church removes all Church Age believers from the earth. Following the Church Age completion (the Rapture), the remaining seven years of the Age of Israel will be completed and is called the Tribulation.

In Hebrews 2:8, "He left nothing that is not subject to Him" means all creatures will be subject to Him. "But now" refers us back to the Church Age. "See" is ὁράω (horaō) and means horizon, to see a panoramic view the understanding of how the Angelic Conflict operates.

"We do not yet see all things subjected to him" perfect passive participle of ὑποτάσσω (hupotassō) and means that in the Church Age, not all things have been put under Him, because we still have fierce animals, harmful snakes, harmful and dangerous weather conditions, and mankind going berserk.

The Church Age is the most concentrated time of the Angelic Conflict because of Positional Truth. Adam had his crown prior to sin. Satan then became ruler until the Last Adam returns and He brings His crown.

The Mechanics of Victory

The mechanics of victory always begins at the Cross. Heb. 2:9; Col. 2:14-15.

"But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." (Hebrews 2:9, NASB)

"having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him." (Colossians 2:14-15, NASB)

In Hebrews 2:9, "But we do see Him" is βλέπω (blepō) and means to discern mentally, observe, perceive, see, discover, understand. This emphasizes a glance. One look at the Cross and we know it is important. Although Satan rules the world today, he has already been defeated by the Cross. This verb is emphatic. We only see Jesus Christ the Savior.

"Made a little while lower than the angels" refers to His humanity, not His deity. His humanity was born inferior to angels at physical birth. But He became superior to angels by His substitutionary spiritual death on the Cross, His burial, His resurrection, ascension and session. Why? "Because of (dia plus accusative) the suffering of death." The Cross must come before the crown.

"Crowned with glory and honor" means His humanity was like the first Adam in that neither had an old sin nature. Adam was created perfect just as Jesus Christ was born perfect. The humanity of Jesus Christ lived a life free from personal sins. The sinless perfection of the humanity of Jesus Christ is what qualified Him to go to the Cross.

"So that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone" is the aorist active subjunctive and means that at a point of time - the Cross, Jesus Christ did the work. There are two aspects about the Cross. It is the instrument of saving unbelievers and is the way He got the crown back. "Death" refers to His substitutionary spiritual death for every human being. He didn't die to stop you from dying physically! He died spiritually on the Cross so that He could nullify the effects of spiritual death!

The Angelic Conflict explains why we are here and why there is suffering in the world. It explains why there is a plan of God and why there is a dispensation called the Church Age. The Angelic Conflict explains why the system of spirituality in the Church Age is unique because for the first time in history every believer is indwelt by God the Father, Jesus Christ as the Shekinah Glory, and the Holy Spirit. It explains why every believer in the Church Age is in union with Christ (positional truth), why every believer is in full time Christian service, and why every believer has a responsibility before the Lord as an ambassador.

It also explains why some believers achieve little in the spiritual life while others are famous and wonderful by divine standards. The average believer, no matter how sorry, has a thousand-fold more pressures than an unbeliever. To understand the Angelic Conflict, you must understand the dispensations of the Church, plus the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and spirituality.