My friend Steve continued with the following:
The Game
Seeing
This is a vast subject, but for now, we’ll just highlight those points that are
relevant to our discussion about the spiritual side of the 1960s. To begin, let’s look at how Jesus taught the Apostle Paul about how to deal with the spiritual kingdom of darkness:
“In the remaining time, be empowered with the Lord’s power and ability, and with the strength and might of His dominion overcome immediate resistance with force.
“Sink into and be invested in the armor of God, the offensive and defensive garments that have every resource needed to wage warfare successfully. Show that you have the advantage; that you have the power and ability to stand against craft, deceit, and every method used in organized evildoing, and against the well-crafted trickery of the slanderous one, the backbiter and devil, who falsely accuses and
condemns to sever relationships.
“Because to us the wrestling, struggle, and conflict is not against flesh and blood, but against the originating chief rulers; against the authorities that have been delegated the power and freedom to act in a designated jurisdiction with force, competence, and mastery; against the world rulers of this darkness who influence the lives of people; against the malicious, pain-ridden evil and wicked spiritual ones in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10 – 12)
In these few sentences, the Apostle lays out for us what Jesus laid out for him:
1. Our conflict is NOT against people (flesh and blood). It is against the organization of spiritual powers that operate in spiritual darkness.
2. The moment we align ourselves WITH Jesus we will be met with “immediate resistance.”
3. The resistance comes from the strategy’s architect (originating chief rulers), jurisdictional authorities, world rulers, and wicked spirits in the heavenly realm. This is the organizational hierarchy of spiritual forces that are marshaled against us.
4. We are to “stand against every method used in organized evildoing.” Thus, the evil is planned and organized, which makes it strategic.
5. We are to “show that we have the advantage.”
The Apostle then passes on to us the mission that Jesus gave to him:
“In the remaining time, be empowered with the Lord’s power and ability, and with the strength and might of His dominion overcome immediate resistance with force.” (Ephesians 6:10)
There is no greater force in all of creation than the Voice of God. Through His Voice, He articulated His Vision, formulated His Plan, and built His devices. Through His Voice, He:
• Creates, rules, judges, empowers, raises armies, vanquishes foes, appoints kings, destroys kings.
• Separates the waters of the sea and river, calms the storm, sends manna and quail for food, provides water out of a rock, multiplies the fish and loaves.
• Cares for the widow, delivers the helpless, announces The Favorable Year of the Lord, heals the sick, raises the dead and welcomes the children to sit on His lap.
• Calls for the fish to collect the coin to pay the tax He didn’t owe.
• Answered the more than 300 who came with knives and clubs to take Him away, knocking them on their keisters with two little words, “I AM.”
Through His Voice man is to live every moment of every day WITH Him.
And, through His Voice Jesus prays, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
So, the way we “overcome immediate resistance with force” is by listening
to and then becoming WITH Jesus His Voice. What Jesus speaks; we speak.
What Jesus commands; we command. What Jesus sees; we see. And what
Jesus does, we do WITH Him.
No more, no less.
The Apostle doesn’t stop there. He tells us that overcoming resistance is not all there is to the game. We must also “show that we have the advantage.” We do this by showing that we have the ability and power to “stand against.” But one cannot stand against what one cannot see. So, declaring WITH Jesus that we can now see the spiritual powers through what they are doing in the physical realm is an inseparable part of showing that we have the advantage.
This terrifies the spiritual forces of darkness because it demonstrates in ways that they uniquely understand that they are no longer operating invisibly in darkness. Instead, they have fallen prey to Jesus’ trap that has lured them into His Theater of Light where they are fully exposed.
All of this is done WITH Jesus. Not one thing is done on our own or apart from Him. This is how God’s Man performs his role and rules the Father’s Creation WITH Jesus in the fulness of His nature and character.
This is the game. But, unless we are willing to let Jesus realign our conflict focus
from people to the kingdom of darkness, we cannot play. Otherwise, we will continue to see people as our enemy. Men will be the enemy of women, whites will be the enemy of blacks, the old will be the enemy of the young, the young will be the enemy of the old. Like bleeding chicks, we will continue to peck each other to death while the forces of darkness happily enslave and destroy us in secret.
How else does one explain:
• The religious leaders measuring Jesus against their sacred writings and yet they could not recognize who He was?
• Or Judas Iscariot living with and watching Jesus interact with people for nearly 3 years, and still, he betrays Him for 30 pieces of silver?
• Or the crowd that rejected Jesus and instead chose the thief and murderer despite the miraculous things that Jesus had done for them?
It can’t be explained. It can only be described – the insanity that overtakes us when we play by the rules of darkness.
“Do you not see in the physical realm each and every part of the totality of this in the spiritual realm, so you can take the needed action?”
Seeing – The Vision
“Where there is no sight, revelation or vision, the people are exposed, naked and cast off. But happy and blessed is he who keeps, protects, watches over and attends to instruction and direction.” (Proverbs 29:18)
How many of us have ever wondered if the Father has a Vision for why He created? After all, if we are subject to ruin without a vision, should we expect Him to be exempt from such a fate without one? Of course not.
The Father’s Vision, then, was the starting point and end goal of the creative endeavor. Everything the Kingdom of God has done, is doing, or will do is designed to accomplish His Vision. This is why YHVH created. This is the Scripture that Jesus fulfilled. (Matthew 26:54) This is what we have been created
and invited to build and finish WITH Him:
That His Man would rule His Creation WITH Him in the fullness of His
Nature and Character.
This is the Father’s Vision. And nothing about His Kingdom can be understood apart from His Vision. It informs all things, directs all things, instructs all things, and reveals all things. It provides sight and revelation. It frames purpose and gives meaning. It makes clear what is unclear. Every part of YHVH’s creation and the way He structured it to function was designed to achieve one goal – His Father’s Vision that His Man would rule His creation WITH Him in the fullness of His Nature and Character.
The fascinating thing about the Father’s Vision is that it makes no provision for isolated, independent decisions or actions. Everything in His Kingdom revolves around the idea of partnership. This idea is best captured in English through the word WITH. In its simplest form, this is a manner of living that begins and ends with the Father speaking, His Man listening, and then doing WITH Him what He has spoken.
This is what Jesus modeled on the earth. It also is how He executes His role now as the One to whom the Father has given all authority in heaven and earth to execute His Plan and to accomplish His Vision. Although we have full access to our Father as Sons, Jesus is the One through whom the Father now speaks regarding the rule, administration, work, and mission of His Kingdom. (Matthew 17; Hebrews 1)
As we listen to and work WITH Jesus, His Nature and Character (Truth) is formed in us. This is then transferred to everything we do WITH Him. The result of this partnership materializes our Father’s Vision in real-time. Truth becomes embedded in every transaction in both the heavens and in the earth, whether in ruling or in reigning WITH Him.
Jesus calls this, “Truth in the Transaction.”
“‘Not by the force or resources of strength, efficiency, wealth and armies; and not when the vigor of ability is firm. Lo! Behold, it is by My Breath, Wind, and Spirit,’ says YHVH of the armies organized for war and warfare.” (Zechariah 4:6)
Seeing – The Structure
Everything about the structure and operation of the creation is designed to accomplish our Father’s Vision. When YHVH created, He divided His Living Beings into 3 classes:
• The Elohim Class
• The Angelic Class
• The Animal Class
Each class has been designed to partner with the other classes to achieve our
Father’s Vision. Categories were added to provide organization and placement for each being within the Class: Order, Rank, Position, Role, Authority, and Domain (jurisdiction). Names were then given to each being within the Class to uniquely identify them as distinct from all others.
The composition of a being’s Class and Categories, in combination with their internal attributes, comprises their person. Each person in the Kingdom of God is distinct from all others. Thus, they are a one-of-a-kind creation that is uniquely equipped to execute the role they have been assigned to perform in the Kingdom. The totality of their person is then captured in their Name. This identifies who they are, the authority they possess, the purpose they fulfill, and the place they occupy in God’s Kingdom.
Seeing – The Conflict
The irreconcilable hostility that exists between YHVH and Satan, and therefore between Satan and God’s Man, is a direct result of how YHVH structured and organized His Classes of Living Beings. This is the source of the spiritual conflict between Heaven and Hell with Man as the object of Satan’s conquest, as well as the instrument of his own demise.
Here’s why:
The Elohim Class is the highest in God’s Kingdom. It is the Ruling Class.
The Living Beings in this class possess the Father’s capabilities (Image) and
attributes (Likeness). Each member in this class has been delegated a measure of authority to rule His creation WITH Him in His Nature and Character according to their Order, Rank, Position, Role, Authority, and Domain (jurisdiction).
Unlike what has been taught in the educational system of the world, Man is NOT a member of the Animal Class. He is a member of the Elohim Class. And the Order of Man (both male and female) is the highest Order within this Class.
The Angelic Class is the Ministering Class in God’s Kingdom. It is subordinate to the Elohim Class. The Living Beings in this class support the rule and execute the wishes of the Elohim Class in the spiritual realm.
The Animal Class is the Serving Class in God’s Kingdom. It is subordinate to both the Elohim and Angelic Classes. The Living Beings in this class serve the earth and the interests of the Elohim Class in the physical realm that operates in time and space.
This sets the stage for why Satan is the way he is. Two primary factors contribute to his temperament, which energizes what he does and why he does it.
Factor One: SATAN IS SUBORDINATE TO MAN IN CLASS, ORDER, RANK, AND AUTHORITY.
As a member of the Angelic Class, the very reason he exists is to support the rule and execute the wishes of the Elohim Class in the spiritual realm. This includes Man. So, it doesn’t matter how much he hates or opposes or tortures or kills or deceives or steals or attempts to control or destroy God’s Man; Satan is still a Ministering Class Being. Everything he does MUST minister to the needs of God’s Man to advance him toward our Father’s Vision.
This enrages Satan. In his mind, the mere fact that he was the Covering Cherub who had been vested with the authority to cover and protect YHVH’s creation, made him superior to Man. But instead of being superior, he was given charge to minister as a subordinate to the needs of God’s Man. This is what sparked his “enmity, hostility and hatred” toward Man that YHVH said would persist between “the seed of the woman and the seed of the Serpent” throughout the age. (Genesis 3:14, 15)
Factor Two: SATAN HAS NO AUTHORITY TO RULE.
Because he is of the Angelic Class, the only authority that Satan has is the authority to minister. This is the sole Domain (jurisdiction) in which his authority can operate. So, to rule he must first obtain the authority to rule from the Class that has the authority to rule – the Elohim Class. But YHVH isn’t going to give him that authority and neither are the other Orders within the Elohim Class – the Elders and Watchers. This leaves Man as the only remaining Order within the Elohim Class that possesses the authority to rule.
Enter Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden who were members of the Elohim Class. But since Satan had no authority to rule, he couldn’t simply show up in the Garden and declare that he was taking over, nor could he compel Adam or Eve to submit to his will. They had to do it willingly. So, Satan had to devise an elaborate scheme to get them to voluntarily hand over what they had in exchange for what he was offering.
The First Adam bit, the Last Adam didn’t.
Such was Satan’s way then and such is his way now.