The experience of Christ as life revealed in the Bible is not easily understood. Often our concept of this matter is absolutely different from what the Bible reveals. Because God is so great and holy and we are so small and common, we may hold the concept that the experience of Christ as life must be something spectacular. In actuality, however, it is not extraordinary, but very normal.
In the universe, there are two worlds: the physical world and the spiritual world. The physical world is easily realized by everyone. But unless one has revelation, he will not be able to realize the spiritual world. In order to realize something of these two worlds, we need to look into the books of Daniel and Isaiah.
The book of Daniel reveals that each of the nations has a "prince." The princes of Persia and Grecia (Dan. 10:13, 20) are the fallen angels who followed Satan in his rebellion (Rev. 12:4). Ultimately, these angels along with Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire which has been prepared for them (Matt. 25:41).
Both Daniel and Isaiah also reveal that in the spiritual world there are two sides: God's side and Satan's side. These two sides were in existence long before the creation of Adam. The relationship between the physical and spiritual worlds is clearly seen in Isaiah 14. This chapter describes the king of Babylon, but this description of him is also a description of Satan. This one description represents two persons—the king of Babylon and Satan. Eventually, these two persons were one. Satan was the power behind the king of Babylon. There is an angelic power behind every human government. At Daniel's time, the prince of Persia, an angel who followed Satan in his rebellion, withstood Michael the archangel. There is a prince behind every worldly power. Today there are angels behind the warring countries of the Middle East. The archangel Michael is the power behind the nation of Israel (Dan. 10:13, 21). This invisible power behind the visible world power illustrates that the situation on earth always has two aspects: the outward, physical aspect and the inward, spiritual aspect.
Genesis 3 is another illustration of the outward and inward aspects of things on this earth. In Genesis 3:1 apparently there was only a serpent. Actually, a serpent was there outwardly, but Satan was there inwardly. The serpent was visible; Satan was invisible. The serpent and Satan had become one. Revelation 12:9 calls Satan "the ancient serpent." In Genesis, there was a physical serpent, but in Revelation, that physical serpent has become a spiritual serpent, even a dragon (12:9). While there is the talk about the dragon physically, a great dragon does exist spiritually. In the garden of Eden, Satan was just a little serpent, but in Revelation 12 he becomes a great and powerful dragon (vv. 3-4, 7, 9).
Today the entire world is under the authority of Satan, the ruler of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), but no one can see him because he is invisible. He operates in man and through man, but he remains invisible. Satan operated in Judas Iscariot. In John 6 the Lord Jesus said that Judas, the one who betrayed Him, was a devil (vv. 70-71). Satan entered into Judas (John 13:2, 26-27). This made him a devil. Apparently, Judas as a man was the betrayer. Actually, the real betrayer was the devil.
In this universe, God enters into man to be one with man, and Satan, God's enemy, enters into man to be one with man. From Genesis to Revelation, these two different activities are going on: God's mingling with man and Satan's mingling with man. Finally, at the end of the age, Satan will fully give himself to the man called Antichrist. Antichrist and Satan, the dragon, will become one. Their oneness is indicated by the fact that both the dragon and Antichrist have seven heads and ten horns (Rev. 12:3; 13:1). In contrast to the oneness of Satan and Antichrist is the oneness of God and man in the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem will be the blending of God with man.