Question:  Hi Greg,

            In the ministry God has placed me in I’m currently preaching/teaching on the war in heaven and the fall of Satan and his angels.  My question is this: our God is a loving, forgiving God.  If Satan and his angels asked for forgiveness for the rebellion, would they have been reinstated in God’s kingdom or is God’s plan of salvation/redemption reserved just for the human race?  Please advise.

            Yours in Christ,

            Rich

Answer:  Dear Rich,

            Salvation is always described and taught, within the Bible, in terms of the human condition.  The fall of Lucifer and the angels that followed him apparently was distinctive, in the sense that they are created spirit, whereas humans are created flesh.  Angels and humans exist in different realities.  Therefore it is difficult to ascribe human reaction and relationship, such as repentance in the sense that we comprehend it, to Satan and his demons.

            This is, at the end of the day, a speculative question that is not revealed to us in the Bible.  A “what if” that God does not reveal to us, but we can be sure that God is, above all, loving, merciful and just.  Therefore, we can rest assured that neither the fallen angels nor Lucifer were treated unfairly or that they received a “raw deal”.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht