We are living in dangerous and perilous times, today, with wars and rumors of wars, a spiraling downward economy, natural (and man made) disasters ravishing countries worldwide, and most of all acrimony towards one another as never witnessed before in history. The word parochial is much too timid to describe how nations experience divisions between them. And competition is solely a word used to keep that enmity at a congenial and respectable level.
On the home front (here in the good old USA) the biggest divide is the “culture” wars that can be described in varying details. It’s not just about liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, whites against minorities, nor even between rich and poor. Those culture wars have been extant for centuries. I speak about the increasing enmity between friends and family members. We could always count on these folks to keep us from going insane and bring back some semblance of order if not loving, warming and caring calm. Sadly, the divide between love and hatred amongst kin and pals is getting wider then ever.
The tension between husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, all family members and even those close neighbors we have known for years and years, is sadly building to heights I never seen before. Whose fault is it anyways?
Since choosing to follow Jesus Christ, and learning more about Him and how God works through those who love and trust Him, I have learned to greatly appreciate the following scripture verse, because this one gets down to the source of the negativity that exists among all humanity, not just our relatives.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places, (Ephesians 6:12)
Just what does this verse mean? What are principalities? Who are these spiritual hosts of wickedness and rulers of darkness, and what do you mean in heavenly places? I thought only God and angels lived in heavenly places!
Most learned Bible students and scholars agree that the ‘principalities and rulers of darkness’ are demonic spirits who were former angels of God but chose to rebel against His authority. They were led by Lucifer, considered the most beautiful and powerful creation next to God Himself. Believing himself to be just as good (and maybe even better than God), he revolted against God’s kingdom in heaven, thereby causing him to be kicked out of heaven to earth, along with one third of the angels, where he has literally been in control of the affairs of mankind. Up until Jesus died on the cross, mankind had no power over its own affairs. Since the disciples of Christ received Holy Spirit power on the Day of Pentecost, they were will to suffer Satan’s attacks which have caused mankind’s chaos since the beginning of time. (Click here to learn the entire History of Satan)
Whether a person believes in Satan or not, they have to ask themselves why certain things happen to them beyond their control. And the word of the hour is control. If we human beings believe we control every aspect of our lives (as many cultist believe we have the innate power to do so), then there is something rotten in Denmark because most of our lives have not turned out as we wished or worked towards. Many people who believe they had this control found many of their dreams fall between the cracks, and they still wonder why.
Many of those who recognize that there is spiritual warfare going on this exact second, recognize the source of good and evil. Those who choose to trust God (and His Holy Spirit) for divine intervention have learned the most important lesson in life. You can call it Karma or fate, but it all boils down to sowing and reaping, (Galatians 6:7-10)
So, what does all of this have to do with the acrimony we all experience towards one another; husbands against wives, children against their parents, students against their teachers and other types of authority figures, neighborhood against neighborhoods, states against states, nations against nations, ethnicity against ethnicity, and all forms of warring against the flesh? Everything!
In our own weakness, anytime we feel offended or grieved by others, we begin to point fingers and place all of the blame against them; never realizing that there is a myriad of “principalities” and “rulers of darkness” (them pesky demons) poking their little pitch forks at each one of us on a second by second basis. If we took the time to sit down and discuss and work out what we perceived as acrimony directed at us because of perceived hate, disagreements and rejection, we would (hopefully) realize that those whom we believe to be the perpetrators of evil toward us, probably fear the same pain we do.
Once again, I lean on the eloquence of my favorite theologian, A.W. Tozer, who explains it best:
In the early days, when Christianity exercised a dominant influence over American thinking, men and women conceived the world to be a battleground. Our fathers believed in sin and the devil and hell as constituting one force, and they believed in God and righteousness and heaven as the other. By their very nature, these forces were opposed to each other forever in deep, grave, irreconcilable hostility. Humans, our fathers held, had to choose sides, they could not be neutral. For them it must be life or death, heaven or hell, and if they chose to come out on God's side they could expect open war with God's enemies. The fight would be real and deadly and would last as long as life continued here below. People looked forward to heaven as a return from the wars, a laying down of the sword to enjoy in peace the home prepared for them.
How different today. The fact remains the same, but the interpretation has changed completely. People think of the world, not as a battleground, but as a playground.
We are not here to fight; we are here to frolic. We are not in a foreign land; we are at home. We are not getting ready to live, but we are already living, and the best we can do is rid ourselves of our inhibitions and our frustrations and live this life to the full. This World: Playground or Battleground? Pg 4-5., by A.W. Tozer
If we take heed that it is the devil who is behind all of this business to drive a wedge between us, and stop for a quick second before over-reacting to perceived angst from those we love and who love us as well, then maybe we can lessen the discord to a greater degree. We will never be free from those pitchfork moments, but we can cut them down to virtually none, and truly learn to enjoy our loved ones even more.
Also, the Good News is that God wins the fight in the end. There is a time coming soon when Jesus Christ will return with his Holy Angels (those who chose to stay on His side) and will destroy Satan and His minions, those principalities and rulers of darkness, and then establish an eternal kingdom of peace and love, forever, right here on earth!
As we have stated on many occasions, there are only two teams in this journey we call life: God’s or Satan’s! I know my choice; how about yours?
Joe Ortiz is the author of two books that challenge the Left Behind and Pre-Tribulation Rapture, and premillennial dispensational precepts and doctrines being promoted by many right-wing evangelicals. The two books include The End Times Passover (Etymological Challenges to Millenarian Doctrines) and Why Christians Will Suffer Great Tribulation (The Sequel to The End Times Passover), published by Author House. The former talk show host, journalist and news columnist is the first Mexican American to host a show on an English-language, commercial radio station, beginning in 1971 at KABC-AM Radio in Los Angeles.]
Blog addresses:
Joe's web sites below:
The End Times Passover Web site to discuss end times topics and to promote books written by Joe Ortiz
Tom Flores NFL USA This is the new and official site of the Tom Flores Fan Club, managed by Joe Ortiz, fan club President.
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