Now is the judgment of this world:
now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
John 13:31
But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the
prince of the devil.
Matthew 12:24
And you hath he quickened, who were dead
in trespasses and sins; wherein in time
past ye walked according to the course of
this world, according to the prince of the power
of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience; among whom also we
all had our conversation in times past in the
lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh
and of the mind; and were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others.
Ephesians 2:1-3
Scripture is plain and clear in teaching us that we are in our nature fallen beings who in of themselves have no real desire for God. What fallen being have done due to be made in the image of God is to make gods that suited their desires, even to cause them to feel as though they are godly. This is the picture from Scripture as to the state of man, a fallen state.
What has occurred due to our fallen state is that there seems to be another source for our fallen state. In fact, Scripture tells us that that source is Satan. The narrative as to the fall of Adam and Eve caused by Satan is the beginning for this change in our souls, from desiring the God who created us, to gods who take the place of the actual God: Jehovah. We must take into account how Satan and those who fell from heaven with him is at work in our human hearts. A problem with the idea of evil begins with those who will scoff at the fall by Adam and Eve. The problem begins with the words used in Genesis that Eve was misled by a "snake." Furthermore, that Eve spoke with a "snake." Question: Can man speak with an animal, or an animal speak to man? The Hebrew word used in this account is: אֶל-הַנָּחָשׁ and is two words, "the," and "serpent." The word for serpent or snake used here can be translated in Strong's Dictionary #5175 and is taken from Strong's Dictionary #5172. There are no vowels in the writing of Hebrew and are supplied by points and the only difference between these two words is a point, but both are referring to that which "hisses." A snake "hisses." The foundation for #5175 from #5172 gives us a bigger meaning as how we can understand how Eve, even Adam could speak with a "serpent." #5172: Root: hiss, or to whisper a magic spell, to prognosticate, enchantment (4x), used as divine (4x) enchanter (1x), indeed (1x), certainly (1x), learn by experience (1x), diligently observe (1x). The serpent then, is not an animal, or a snake: i.e., cobra, rattlesnake, etc., but Satan who had fallen from grace and was now upon the earth would speak to Eve, to give to her a whisper akin to given to her a magic spell, to enchant her so that he would seem to be giving to her the truth. We can find that some of those so-called evangelist do much of the same thing. Allow Scripture to clear this matter: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan (the Greek for those two words do not have the article for "the" and the word "kai" translated "and" is to join together to have both words refer to each to be the same and one being), and bound him a thousand years" (Revelation 10:1-3). Can it be more clear than this? Satan is a real being and those who fell from heaven with him are just as real.
A major difference between cultural Christians and Authentic Christians is this distinguishing mark: Cultural Christians have a problem believing that evil in this world could be the result of Satan and his hordes of followers: demons. The doctrine of the existence and the activity of Satan, and his hordes of demons is almost universally denied. It is not that cultural Christians do not read the Bible and admit of this narrative about Satan, it is the issue of personification of the Devil and his followers. This narrative about Satan and the hordes of follower that fell from heaven is treated as though it were just a fairy tale. Cultural Christians have a hard time believing that an educated person would believe in such a story of Satan and his influence over mankind. Secular people, those who will not believe the Bible, treat this about Satan as if it were nothing more than superstition. Cultural Christians often believe as the non-believer. It is true that the Bible account of Satan and his demon followers have been distorted: i.e., Dante' Inferno is such a story as it portrays Satan and hell in such a way that there is a distortion of the truth. Pictures of Satan having a forked tail, horns, being a beast, all this gives ammunition to further distort and discredit that Satan and his demons are real.
A problem is then that many people either ignore or ridicule as to them this seems inconsistent to the truth as they want the truth to be. Many will not acknowledge the reality of Satan and his hordes but will acknowledge that there is evil in this world. Could this be real? Could this be true? Is it far from our thinking that we can see evil in man and not see that evil could come from another source than man? A materialist will not admit to such a truth, or see that evil could come from another source, that such could not exist and this keeps them form seeing the inconsistency of their position. The fact is: the will not believe in the truth of the Bible and the Bible's teaching on this subject.
Authentic Christians, those who hold to Authentic Christian Faith who believe the Bible and its account about Satan and his hordes of demons, this is a serious matter. Yes, we are flawed and our human nature is toward evil and we may say then: "what hope do we have?" Authentic Christians recognize that God sees all and knows all even what we think (He created us and we are of His handiwork, so God knows all about that which He created), and He knows our hearts, and sees the inner darkness in us.
Do not lose heart! We have just begun to understand the nature of mankind and how evil exists in this world and how we are affected by this evil, that original fall from grace by Adam and Eve. We must learn so that we, who are fallen in our nature, can grow in sanctification aiding us to change from the inside/out, to aid us to conform to the image of Jesus Christ. We will get to the "good stuff" so study, read, meditate, pray and grow.
My son, if thine heart be wise,
my heart shall rejoice, even min.
Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy
lips speak right things. Let not thine
heart envy sinners: but be thou in the
fear of the LORD all the day long.
for surely there is an end and thine
expectation shall not be cut off'
Proverbs 23:16-18
Walk with the Lord and evil will not win
Richard L. Crumb
No comments:
Post a Comment