The BARRIER: The Domain of Darkness....
David
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He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into
the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the
forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)
For nearly three decades a great wall of concrete and razor wire
divided East and West Berlin, a quite visible boundary between two
opposing domains. West Berlin was a small island of relative freedom in
the midst of a vast empire of tyranny. Millions of oppressed souls
longed for the freedom of the West, but for most it was only an
impossible dream. Still, a few courageous ones overcame almost
insurmountable obstacles and escaped through tunnels under the wall,
through which they had to crawl on their hands and knees. They could
take nothing with them - only the clothes on their backs - but they
were happy to leave everything behind for the hope of starting a new
life.
Although only temporal, the example of the Berlin Wall can help us to
"see" the unseen but very real barrier that separates the domain of
darkness from the kingdom of light, and understand what it takes to get
from one to the other.
The Domain of Darkness
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The whole world lies in the power of the evil one.[1] All men are born
under his sway.[2] Although all men have a free will, and a conscience
by which they know good from evil,[3] they are alienated from God due
to Adam's sin and must strive to make their own way in this world.[4]
Their ingrained insecurity and self-interest make them easy prey for
the evil prince of this world, whose chief occupation is to lead them
astray.[5] Were it not for the conscience, human society would probably
have ended long ago, but now the restraint of conscience has given way
to the insatiable demands of self to the point that the very
foundations of morality have all but crumbled.[6]
Such is the nature of this world. It runs on the engine of
self-interest. The souls of men - their intellect, will, and emotions
- are consumed with their own needs and desires, with advancing their
own careers, causes, and reputations, and with maintaining and building
up the systems of this world order.[7] Their conflicting desires and
ambitions are the cause of immeasurable human misery and the looming
destruction of the very planet they grudgingly share. Their eyes cannot
see any way out of the cycle of sin and death they are trapped in. Even
their religion does not set them free, but only comforts them in their
prison. They sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.[8]
(Coming next...."The Kingdom of Light")
[1] 1 John 5:19
[2] Ephesians 2:2
[3] Genesis 3:22
[4] Genesis 3:17-19
[5] Revelation 12:9
[6] Psalm 12:1
[7] 1 John 2:16
[8] Luke 1:79
(excerpted from "The Barrier",
http://www.thelitmustest.org/the-barrier.html