Fallen!

July 19th, 2014| Topic: RaMbLeS | 4

The Fuente del Ángel Caído (Fountain of the Fallen Angel) stands in a section of Retiro Park in Madrid. It is a monument to … Satan! In a Catholic country!

Created by Ricardo Bellver in 1873, it was bought by Spain and installed in Retiro Park. The pedestal of the statue was designed by Francisco Jareño, who created an octagonal structure with devils on every side chomping vermin and spouting water at the same time. The whole structure, about 20 feet high, is in the center of a fountain about 30 feet in diameter. The statue itself is about 9 feet tall. The roundabout where the statue is located in the 350-acre park is named after the statue and so is the adjoining entrance to the Parque del Buen Retiro (“Park of the Pleasant Retreat”). Why a pleasant retreat needs a statue of Satan is beyond me.

Oh, and the statue apparently stands exactly at 666 meters above sea level.

Apparently, Bellver was inspired by Milton’s verses that talk of Satan.

Th’ infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile
Stird up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv’d
The Mother of Mankind, what time [i.e., “when”] his Pride
Had cast him out from Heav’n, with all his Host
Of Rebel Angels, by whose aid aspiring
To set himself in Glory above his Peers,
He trusted to have equal’d the most High.
John Milton (1608–1674), Paradise Lost

Milton, in turn, was inspired by Scripture.

“You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
You were in Eden, the garden of God ….
You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there.
You were on the holy mountain of God ….”
Ezekiel 14:12–14

Satan was the angel in charge of guarding God’s holiness, a perfect being by all counts. Until his pride took over.

“How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn!
You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!
But you said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God,
And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north.
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’”
Isaiah 14:12–14

Notice the five “I wills” of Satan. He wanted to secure the abode of God (“heaven”); to obtain the rule of God (“throne”); to usurp the kingdom of God (“mount of assembly”); to receive the glory of God (“cloud”); and to gain the status of God, that is, to be God (“Most High”).

And so he was ejected.

“You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created
Until unrighteousness was found in you …. And you sinned.
Therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. …
Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground.”
Ezekiel 28:15–17

This fallen angel is forever anti-God and therefore forever anti-God’s people.

So we are warned:

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness,
against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies.
against the schemes of the devil.
Ephesians 6:11–12

We need God’s help … and it is available!