Who Is the God of This World?
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CENTRO ANTI-BLASFEMIA
Jun 29, 2010, 9:00:47 PM6/29/10
to CHRISTIAN BIBLE STUDIES
And how will his rule come to an end?
Who Is the God of This World?
Who Is the God of This World?
by Stephen Flurry
Why should there be so much ignorance about Satan the devil? Many
people scoff at the thought of his existence. Others, while they
accept his existence, grossly underestimate the devil’s awesome power.
They assume that his deceptive influence over the world is limited and
easy to detect. On the other hand, there are those who think God and
Satan are engaged in a tug-of-war over the “souls” of men. In this
scenario—judging by the sheer number of people who have lived and died
without ever having accepted Jesus as their Savior—Satan is clearly
depicted as being stronger than God.
The reason for this ignorance is because Satan, as the god of this
world, has blinded the minds of men from the truth about his
existence, his rule on Earth and his fate in God’s master plan.
Lucifer’s Rebellion
Let us go back, even before the beginning of man, to the time when
Lucifer was being trained at the very throne of God. Notice Ezekiel
28:14: “Thou [Lucifer] art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I
have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast
walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.”
“Lucifer was the supreme masterpiece of God’s creative power, as an
individually created being,” Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in Mystery of
the Ages. God made His masterpiece and then “set” him as an anointed
cherub over His heavenly throne. This is where Lucifer was trained in
the administration of God’s law.
Lucifer’s first field assignment was to take what he had learned at
God’s throne and apply it to this Earth, where he would be given
charge over one third of the angels. Besides administering the
government of God, Lucifer was responsible for maintaining and
beautifying God’s material creation on Earth.
God’s purpose for His angelic creation was derailed the moment Lucifer
turned against God’s law to the way of lawlessness and rebellion. “How
art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art
thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” (Isaiah
14:12). Yes, how could something like this ever happen?
The prophet answers: “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend
into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit
also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north” (verse 13). This important verse reveals that Lucifer’s sin
began in his heart. It started with a corrupt attitude that came to
violently rebel against God’s authority.
In the course of this rebellion, Lucifer even attempted to raise his
earthly throne—yes,he has a throne—above his own Maker’s! “I will
ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High,”
he said (verse 14). But God, in a literal sense, brought Lucifer back
down to Earth. He changed his name to Satan, which meansadversary. And
the angels who rebelled with Lucifer became demons.
In all of this, however, God did not remove Satan from the throne of
this Earth. This is why, when Satan offered Jesus Christ “all the
kingdoms of the world” in Matthew 4, Jesus did not deny that Satan was
now ruling over the nations of men. This is why Scripture refers to
the devil as prince of the world (John 12:31; 14:30). And this is why,
in 2 Corinthians 4:4, Satan is referred to as this world’s god.
Satan Is a Broadcaster
If Satan is the god of this world and the whole world is deceived, as
it says in Revelation 12:9, let us now consider how Satan maintains
his deceptive influence over the minds of men.
In Ephesians 2:2, the Apostle Paul wrote that the course of this world
flows in the direction of Satan, who is the “prince of the power of
the air.”
Satan, in other words, is a broadcaster. He transmits his signal
imperceptibly through the air, much like a radio or television signal
is transmitted invisibly across the airwaves. “He does not broadcast
in words or pictures,” Mr. Armstrong explained, “but in attitudes of
self-centeredness, of vanity, lust and greed, of jealousy and envy, of
competition, strife and violence, of hate, resentment, bitterness, of
rebellion and resentment against authority. We call it human nature
but it is actually Satan nature” (Good News, Aug. 28, 1978).
Human beings acquire this satanic nature soon after birth because the
human spirit isautomatically tuned into Satan’s wavelength (see Job
32:8; 1 Corinthians 2:11; Romans 8:7). This satanic influence explains
why man, even though equipped with a mind that is vastly superior to
the animal brain, is utterly incapable of solving even the simplest of
problems.
From the beginning, God intended for man’s mind to combine with His
mind—the Holy Spirit—thus completing man’s spiritual creation. He
offered man the Holy Spirit through the tree of life. But Adam and Eve
rejected that way of life and instead took from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. And so, as it says at the end of Genesis
3, God “drove out the man” and “sent him forth” from the Garden of
Eden.
Ever since, man has been cut off from God and His Spirit. He has been
held captive to the evil influences and deceptive sway of the prince
of the power of the air.
This is why the world is upside-down.
God’s Government to Be Restored
Against this backdrop, isn’t it now clear why Jesus came into Galilee
preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God? (See Mark 1:14-15.) Jesus
was a messenger with good news about a world-ruling government to be
set up on Earth—one that would replace the administration currently
occupied by Satan and his demons.
Yet Christ did not set up that Kingdom immediately at the time of His
first coming. He plainly told Pilate in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not
of this world.” Pilate then asked Him in verse 37, “Art thou a king
then?” Jesus responded, “To this end was I born, and for this cause
came I into the world ….” Jesus Christ was born to be the King (Luke
1:30-33). But His coronation won’t happen until He returns to this
Earth.
In the first century, because the Jews misunderstood Christ’s gospel
message, they failed to grasp the vital purpose for which Christ came
in their day. “The Pharisees knew Jesus was the Messiah!” Mr.
Armstrong wrote in Mystery of the Ages. “They were familiar with
Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 53. The Pharisees knew Jesus was the
prophesied Messiah. But they understood only one Messianic appearance.
So they supposed he was planning to overthrow the Roman Empire then!”
They didn’t want a conquering King to overthrow Rome because they
rather like the petty positions of governance the Romans allowed them
to maintain in Palestine. And so, because they misunderstood the
purpose of Christ’s first coming, they fought against Him every step
of the way.
Even Christ’s own disciples thought He intended to establish God’s
Kingdom at His first coming, which is why Christ set them straight in
Luke 19: “He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far
country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return” (verse 12).
The nobleman here refers to Christ. He went away to a far country,
heaven, to receive for Himself a Kingdom—“and to return,” which hasn’t
yet happened.
Why not? Because God hasn’t yet finished preparing the saints for
their positions in the Kingdom of God.
This is where the Church comes in. In order for the chaotic problems
of this world to finally end, there must be a completely new
government established by Christ as the supreme Ruler—but with many
other servants ruling under Him, fulfilling other governmental
responsibilities. Christ is coming as the King of kings and Lord of
lords(Revelation 17:14; 19:16). Scripture plainly reveals that there
will be many other kings and lords serving under Him.
So, after Christ qualified to replace Satan on the throne of this
Earth, and after He offered Himself as a Lamb sacrifice for the world,
He then ascended to heaven and received “all power” from the Father
(Matthew 28:18). At His return, those servants who have been called
out of this evil world will be commanded to come before Christ to
learn where they will be serving in the Kingdom of God on Earth (read
the rest of the parable in Luke 19).
The Bible refers to this as a time of refreshing—of regeneration.
Notice Acts 3:20-21: “And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was
preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of
restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all
his holy prophets since the world began” (verses 20-21). The
wordrestitution means a time of restoring something that had been
taken away. Gesenius’ Hebrew Chaldee Lexicon defines it as a
“restoration of true theocracy.” God’s theocratic form of government
was once here on Earth until Lucifer abolished it when he became
Satan! But God’s government will soon be restored to this planet.
Jesus Christ is preparing to lead that Earth-wide restoration. When He
does, He will see to it that Satan is banished and his malevolent
broadcasting into human minds is stopped (Revelation 20:1-3, 10).
Isaiah prophesied of that soon-coming King who would restore God’s
government. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and
the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). The government is placed on His
shoulder because He is King! After Christ turns this world right side
up, that government and peace, it says in verse 7, will continue to
grow—even out into the universe! •
Avatars by Sterling Adventures
http://www.bibbiablog.com/2010/06/28/who-is%e2%80%a8-the-god-of-%e2%80%a8this-world/?Uaction=print
Who Is the God of This World?
Who Is the God of This World?
by Stephen Flurry
Why should there be so much ignorance about Satan the devil? Many
people scoff at the thought of his existence. Others, while they
accept his existence, grossly underestimate the devil’s awesome power.
They assume that his deceptive influence over the world is limited and
easy to detect. On the other hand, there are those who think God and
Satan are engaged in a tug-of-war over the “souls” of men. In this
scenario—judging by the sheer number of people who have lived and died
without ever having accepted Jesus as their Savior—Satan is clearly
depicted as being stronger than God.
The reason for this ignorance is because Satan, as the god of this
world, has blinded the minds of men from the truth about his
existence, his rule on Earth and his fate in God’s master plan.
Lucifer’s Rebellion
Let us go back, even before the beginning of man, to the time when
Lucifer was being trained at the very throne of God. Notice Ezekiel
28:14: “Thou [Lucifer] art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I
have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast
walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.”
“Lucifer was the supreme masterpiece of God’s creative power, as an
individually created being,” Herbert W. Armstrong wrote in Mystery of
the Ages. God made His masterpiece and then “set” him as an anointed
cherub over His heavenly throne. This is where Lucifer was trained in
the administration of God’s law.
Lucifer’s first field assignment was to take what he had learned at
God’s throne and apply it to this Earth, where he would be given
charge over one third of the angels. Besides administering the
government of God, Lucifer was responsible for maintaining and
beautifying God’s material creation on Earth.
God’s purpose for His angelic creation was derailed the moment Lucifer
turned against God’s law to the way of lawlessness and rebellion. “How
art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art
thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” (Isaiah
14:12). Yes, how could something like this ever happen?
The prophet answers: “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend
into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit
also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north” (verse 13). This important verse reveals that Lucifer’s sin
began in his heart. It started with a corrupt attitude that came to
violently rebel against God’s authority.
In the course of this rebellion, Lucifer even attempted to raise his
earthly throne—yes,he has a throne—above his own Maker’s! “I will
ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High,”
he said (verse 14). But God, in a literal sense, brought Lucifer back
down to Earth. He changed his name to Satan, which meansadversary. And
the angels who rebelled with Lucifer became demons.
In all of this, however, God did not remove Satan from the throne of
this Earth. This is why, when Satan offered Jesus Christ “all the
kingdoms of the world” in Matthew 4, Jesus did not deny that Satan was
now ruling over the nations of men. This is why Scripture refers to
the devil as prince of the world (John 12:31; 14:30). And this is why,
in 2 Corinthians 4:4, Satan is referred to as this world’s god.
Satan Is a Broadcaster
If Satan is the god of this world and the whole world is deceived, as
it says in Revelation 12:9, let us now consider how Satan maintains
his deceptive influence over the minds of men.
In Ephesians 2:2, the Apostle Paul wrote that the course of this world
flows in the direction of Satan, who is the “prince of the power of
the air.”
Satan, in other words, is a broadcaster. He transmits his signal
imperceptibly through the air, much like a radio or television signal
is transmitted invisibly across the airwaves. “He does not broadcast
in words or pictures,” Mr. Armstrong explained, “but in attitudes of
self-centeredness, of vanity, lust and greed, of jealousy and envy, of
competition, strife and violence, of hate, resentment, bitterness, of
rebellion and resentment against authority. We call it human nature
but it is actually Satan nature” (Good News, Aug. 28, 1978).
Human beings acquire this satanic nature soon after birth because the
human spirit isautomatically tuned into Satan’s wavelength (see Job
32:8; 1 Corinthians 2:11; Romans 8:7). This satanic influence explains
why man, even though equipped with a mind that is vastly superior to
the animal brain, is utterly incapable of solving even the simplest of
problems.
From the beginning, God intended for man’s mind to combine with His
mind—the Holy Spirit—thus completing man’s spiritual creation. He
offered man the Holy Spirit through the tree of life. But Adam and Eve
rejected that way of life and instead took from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. And so, as it says at the end of Genesis
3, God “drove out the man” and “sent him forth” from the Garden of
Eden.
Ever since, man has been cut off from God and His Spirit. He has been
held captive to the evil influences and deceptive sway of the prince
of the power of the air.
This is why the world is upside-down.
God’s Government to Be Restored
Against this backdrop, isn’t it now clear why Jesus came into Galilee
preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God? (See Mark 1:14-15.) Jesus
was a messenger with good news about a world-ruling government to be
set up on Earth—one that would replace the administration currently
occupied by Satan and his demons.
Yet Christ did not set up that Kingdom immediately at the time of His
first coming. He plainly told Pilate in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not
of this world.” Pilate then asked Him in verse 37, “Art thou a king
then?” Jesus responded, “To this end was I born, and for this cause
came I into the world ….” Jesus Christ was born to be the King (Luke
1:30-33). But His coronation won’t happen until He returns to this
Earth.
In the first century, because the Jews misunderstood Christ’s gospel
message, they failed to grasp the vital purpose for which Christ came
in their day. “The Pharisees knew Jesus was the Messiah!” Mr.
Armstrong wrote in Mystery of the Ages. “They were familiar with
Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah 53. The Pharisees knew Jesus was the
prophesied Messiah. But they understood only one Messianic appearance.
So they supposed he was planning to overthrow the Roman Empire then!”
They didn’t want a conquering King to overthrow Rome because they
rather like the petty positions of governance the Romans allowed them
to maintain in Palestine. And so, because they misunderstood the
purpose of Christ’s first coming, they fought against Him every step
of the way.
Even Christ’s own disciples thought He intended to establish God’s
Kingdom at His first coming, which is why Christ set them straight in
Luke 19: “He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far
country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return” (verse 12).
The nobleman here refers to Christ. He went away to a far country,
heaven, to receive for Himself a Kingdom—“and to return,” which hasn’t
yet happened.
Why not? Because God hasn’t yet finished preparing the saints for
their positions in the Kingdom of God.
This is where the Church comes in. In order for the chaotic problems
of this world to finally end, there must be a completely new
government established by Christ as the supreme Ruler—but with many
other servants ruling under Him, fulfilling other governmental
responsibilities. Christ is coming as the King of kings and Lord of
lords(Revelation 17:14; 19:16). Scripture plainly reveals that there
will be many other kings and lords serving under Him.
So, after Christ qualified to replace Satan on the throne of this
Earth, and after He offered Himself as a Lamb sacrifice for the world,
He then ascended to heaven and received “all power” from the Father
(Matthew 28:18). At His return, those servants who have been called
out of this evil world will be commanded to come before Christ to
learn where they will be serving in the Kingdom of God on Earth (read
the rest of the parable in Luke 19).
The Bible refers to this as a time of refreshing—of regeneration.
Notice Acts 3:20-21: “And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was
preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of
restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all
his holy prophets since the world began” (verses 20-21). The
wordrestitution means a time of restoring something that had been
taken away. Gesenius’ Hebrew Chaldee Lexicon defines it as a
“restoration of true theocracy.” God’s theocratic form of government
was once here on Earth until Lucifer abolished it when he became
Satan! But God’s government will soon be restored to this planet.
Jesus Christ is preparing to lead that Earth-wide restoration. When He
does, He will see to it that Satan is banished and his malevolent
broadcasting into human minds is stopped (Revelation 20:1-3, 10).
Isaiah prophesied of that soon-coming King who would restore God’s
government. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and
the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). The government is placed on His
shoulder because He is King! After Christ turns this world right side
up, that government and peace, it says in verse 7, will continue to
grow—even out into the universe! •
Avatars by Sterling Adventures
http://www.bibbiablog.com/2010/06/28/who-is%e2%80%a8-the-god-of-%e2%80%a8this-world/?Uaction=print
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