TAKING BACK GROUND

… and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.

Ephesians 5:10-12

What is the chief end of man? It is to know God and to seek to serve him using the gifts that we have been given (Matt. 25:14-30). There was a time when great thinkers like Thales of Milito, Plato, Aristotle, and others that we have never even heard of, earnestly sought out why we are here as a species and the origin of natural law. They were not so arrogant in their thinking that they ignored the reality that something existed aside from what their eyes observed. They acknowledged that something that we sense but cannot see is at work in our lives. Why are we so different than the rest of the animal kingdom? We all need the basics to survive; food, water, shelter, and most species need community. However, even when we have all these essentials taken care of there is something that humans need even more. The renowned mathematician, Blaise Pascal recognized that that missing ‘something’ was our need to know God, our Creator. Jesus tells his disciples to seek first the kingdom of God and then everything else will fall into place (Matt. 6:33).

The Bible is clear, that we as human beings, have the image of the Creator as part of our DNA embedded in us (Gen.1:24-28). Humanity was given the entire earth as a playground with the ability to create and to responsibly care for God’s perfect creation. Unfortunately, when Eve, and then Adam, allowed the enemy to place doubt in their minds, their perfect world began to crumble right before their eyes. The result of their doubt about what God said and their sudden desire to be equal to God (Gen. 3:1-7), immediately distanced them from him. As a result, the entire human race has been kept from the intimate relationship that humanity was supposed to have with their Creator.

Who was this “serpent” that was so cunning and knew exactly how to make Eve question God’s motives (Gen. 3:1)? Where did he come from and what was he doing in God’s Garden? What was his real intent? I will wager that he knew exactly what he was doing. He knew what was at stake. Humanity lost its privileged position in God’s kingdom. Was this creature a real reptile as we recognize reptiles today? Or, was this a rebellious angelic being who was jealous of the special position that humans were given? After all, they were the only ones in the garden that held the image of God embedded in them. There is something going on in these first few chapters of Genesis that is rarely, if ever, preached about, yet it is the key to why our world is fiercely hostile to the things of God and especially to his Christ.

There is a war being waged in the spiritual realm that is beyond our human understanding (Eph. 6:11-14). We can only see the effects of this war, but our eyes cannot physically see this battle, on this side of heaven. God gave us dominion over all of his creation. He did not give it to the angelic host, yet we can read about how the influence of a spiritual being can have sway over the human soul (Gen. 3:1-7), if allowed to.

Humans were given freewill, and it seems that the angelic host were also given freewill. If the angelic realm were not given freewill, then we would not have an adversary, some refer to as Satan because the angelic realm would be forced to obey their Creator. The book of Job tells us how this enemy is given permission to test people (Job 1:6-12), but even before Job, God warns Cain that ‘sin’ was waiting to overcome him (Gen. 4:7). By the time we get to Genesis 6, it appears that demonic influence had spread throughout the earth and sin had run rampant. The land that was once given to humanity to create and care for was now infected with evil.

The enemy was now in control (Eph. 2:1-3; John 15:19). Genesis 3:15 lays out the consequences for Adam and Eve’s act of defiance in the garden. Humanity would no longer be protected as they were in God’s immediate presence. They gave up their rights to the earth and allowed Satan to have influence over them and the planet. Ever since that time, it has been a battle for the soul of the human race. The advantage that we still hold over the enemy, aside from being the Creator's image bearers, is our ability to communicate with our Creator without the enemy knowing what is being said. We need to covet that personal one-on-one ability to communicate with God and to be wise as to what we allow to be put into our body when it comes to artificial intelligence or technology that crosses the blood brain barrier (like any injections that are not fully disclosive and contain LNPs).

When Jesus told his disciples to share the Gospel (good news that he had overcome the enemy [John 16:31-33]) with everyone and to be a voice in the world, he did not mean to share only with those whom they felt ‘safe’ around. No, he meant everyone. When Christians participate in society, they gain back ground from the demonic realm. Will we ever have a theocracy here on earth? No, there will always be a satanic influence on those who continue to reject God’s freedom. We are all called to advance and to occupy the earth until the return of Jusus. If we do not make efforts to regain ground, we give it willingly to the enemy who desires nothing more than to crush and devour all human life (1 Pet.5:8). As much as many people would like to reject the fact that there is evil in our world, it is foolish to ignore it. It is everywhere and it is up to you as a Christian to push back and expose it. Do not remain silent.

There is so much more to this battle. I plan to continue this topic next month. Please keep an eye out for next month’s issue.