My friend Steve continued with the following:
Our enemy.
Seeing – Satan’s Way
When it comes to the natural order, the kingdom of darkness operates the same way in every situation without exception:
• In spiritual darkness
• Through Man’s labor and resources
• With Man’s authority, and
• Through the mechanism of transaction.
Take any one of these away and the powers of darkness are locked out of the physical earth that operates in time and space. That’s how fragile Satan’s control of Man and the material realm are. By contrast, it also shows how powerful Man, both male and female, really is.
As it relates to spiritual darkness, its mission and purpose are to keep hidden what would otherwise be easily seen if the lights were turned on. The kingdom of darkness facilitates this darkness by convincing Man that he is separated from the spiritual realm. This leaves Man blinded to half of God’s creation. This, in turn, provides the powers of darkness with a hiding place to devise their strategies, create their devices, and mobilize their schemes against God and His Man. So, spiritual darkness isn’t just important, it is essential to the effective operation of the kingdom of darkness. Take it away and Satan’s kingdom cannot function in the physical earth that operates in time and space.
Satan and his angelic forces are spiritual beings. They do not have the faculties to maneuver in the natural realm. So, they need Man, both male and female, to provide the labor to execute their strategies, and the resources to finance their schemes on the earth. And since they cannot compel Man to do either, Man must do it willingly. If Man refuses, Satan’s kingdom is locked out of the physical earth that operates in time and space having neither the labor nor the resources to carry out their intentions in the earth.
Satan does not have the authority to rule. He must obtain it from Man. And so, inherent within every scheme of darkness is the singular mandate to convince Man to voluntarily hand over his authority to the powers of darkness without knowing he’s doing it. If Man refuses, Satan’s kingdom is locked out of the physical earth that operates in time and space as it has no authority to rule anywhere in God’s creation.
Transaction is how the kingdom of darkness obtains from Man what it needs to rule – they offer; we accept. When Man accepts, it establishes the legal basis for the transfer of his authority, labor, and resources to the kingdom of darkness through which it rules the earth. If Man refuses to accept the offer, it locks the kingdom of darkness out of the physical earth that operates in time and space.
This is Satan’s way – darkness, Man’s authority, Man’s labor and resources, transaction. Without these four, his kingdom has neither a scheme nor the ability to rule on the earth. And so, to rule in the physical realm Satan must first gain Man’s permission to use his authority and all that he has against him and against the God whom he says he serves.
Once a scheme is devised and the permissions obtained, the scheme must be defended. Every scheme is therefore equipped with defenses to protect it from discovery and disruption. Each defense is designed to sustain some aspect of the scheme by repulsing, parrying, or misdirecting any attempt to probe or discover the scheme’s source, means, or purpose. However, sustainability, itself, is a function of rulership. So, the powers of darkness must secure Man’s permission and agreement to sustain the very schemes and defenses they have devised to exploit, enslave and destroy him.
Each defense is rooted in Satan’s nature. Facts or deceptive ideals are packaged as truth and then injected with spiritual, emotional, and intellectual energy to give them a sense of credibility. This supercharges the defense while hiding the lie that is resident within it. Though clever, the lies are easily discernable, which makes them vulnerable to discovery. So, Man’s authority must be marshaled to defend the defense before the defense can be effective. In every way the scheme and its defenses are dependent on Man’s support. Remove that support and they collapse leaving Satan and his realm locked out of the physical earth that operates in time and space.
This is Satan’s way with God’s Man, and his total dependence on him.
“Are you not aware or do you not perceive, or do you not see with your physical eyes into the spiritual realm that the voice you submit to in obedience is the one to whom you present yourself as a slave? You are slaves to the voice you listen to and obey when acting under the authority of the one speaking, whether of self-originating sin with the failure and loss it causes leading to physical or spiritual death, or to the voice you submit to in obedience that is deemed right, just and
judicially approved by God.” (Romans 6:16)
And so, Eve listened to the voice of Satan through his agent the Serpent. Then Adam listened to the voice of Satan through his newly acquired agent, Eve. And when each one listened, they then became slaves to the voice they listened to and obeyed, and under whose authority they acted. For each, the transaction was sealed. And like all transactions, the definitions of the terms that governed the contract between them were also sealed and then imposed on the parties to the transaction.
It wasn’t long before Adam and Eve discovered what Satan’s idea of being like God looked like. It meant being relegated to the Animal Class. It meant being made “lower than the angels” to serve his vision and interests as slaves instead of YHVH’s as partners.
And neither was it long before the defenses of fear and blame began to appear to ensure the sustainability of their new status as slaves. It was fear that would cause them to hide from the Face and Voice of their Creator. It was blame that would cause them to constantly and unforgivingly accuse and condemn each other and YHVH for the trouble they were in.
Thus, they took on the nature and character of the one whose voice they listened to and obeyed while doing his bidding and fulfilling his purposes as slaves…. all because they agreed to listen to his voice.
Jesus dealt with this same dynamic with those who said they believed Him:
“By extension then, Jesus was saying to the Jews who had believed and affirmed their confidence in Him, ‘If you abide and remain in My word you are truly and genuinely a disciple, learner, and follower of Me.’
‘And you will come to know, recognize and perceive through personal experience the truth and reality, and the truth and reality will set you free releasing you from bondage and removing the restrictions of sin and darkness.’
“And moving toward an advantageous goal, they answered Him, ‘We are the seed, offspring, and remnant of Abraham. And we have never been a slave to anyone, or turned over our prerogative to self-govern, or willingly assigned our ownership rights to another.’
“Jesus answered them, ‘Surely and most certainly I say to you, laying the argument to rest, all and everyone who makes or does the self-originating sin with the loss and failure it causes, that one is a slave to that self-originating sin with the loss and failure it causes.’
“’I speak that which I have seen and perceived with inward spiritual perception from the Father; and what you have heard and listened to from the father, you by extension therefore do.’
“They answered and said to Him, laying the argument to rest, ‘Our father is Abraham.’ Jesus, laying the argument to rest, said to them, ‘If you were the children of Abraham, you would do the works and carry out the purposes of Abraham.’
“‘But now in light of what has gone on before, you have sought by inquiry to reach the binding resolution to kill Me, a man who has spoken to you the reality of truth that I heard and listened to from the God. This Abraham did not do.’
“‘You are making and doing the works, and carrying out the purposes of your father.’ Therefore, they said to Him, laying the argument to rest, ‘We have not been born out of fornication. We have and hold to one Father, the God.’
“Jesus said to them, laying the argument to rest, ‘If the God was your Father, you would have loved and preferred Me, for I have indeed come out from within the God and have come to reach the destination of the end goal; for indeed neither have I come from or of Myself, but that One commissioned and sent Me on a defined mission.’
“‘Why do you not perceive or understand or know by personal experience what I am saying? Because you are not able, nor do you have the power to hear or listen to My words.’
“‘You are of and have come out from within the father, the slanderous one, the devil, who falsely accuses and condemns to sever relationship. And the desires and passionate longings and lust of your father you are willing and ready to do. That one was a manslayer from the beginning, the chief and starting point ahead of all the rest. And in and with the truth and reality he has not stood, because there is no
truth and reality in or with him. In the time he speaks, the falsehood and lies he speaks are uniquely his own; for he is a liar who falsely represents, distorts and misleads, and is the father of the same.’” (John 8: 31 – 34; 38 – 44)
What’s fascinating about both of these stories is that neither Adam nor Eve nor those who said they believed Jesus, ever stopped to consider that they had been duped. So, rather than doing what they were created to do – to rule WITH the Father in the fullness of His Nature and Character – they instead energized and perpetuated the very scheme that diminished their stature and neutralized their role in God’s Kingdom.
As it was with them, so it continues to be with us today.
So, here’s a question: What if they or we just said to the powers of darkness, “No! We’re not playing anymore!”
What do you think would happen?
The story of Gideon answers the question:
“And the men of the fortified city said to Joash, ‘Bring out your son [Gideon] so he may die. For he has torn down and destroyed the altar of Baal, and he has cut down and cut off the Asherah, the wooden images of the Phoenician goddess, that were upon, above, over and beside it.’
“But Joash said to the whole and all of those who took their stand against him, ‘Would you strive and contend for Baal? If you would defend and deliver him, let that one who strives and contends for him die by morning. If he is an Elohim, let him strive and contend for himself because his altar has been torn down and destroyed.’” (Judges 6:30, 31)
And so, when those who were being incited by Baal to kill Gideon stopped, Baal was stopped. Countryman ceased killing countryman and Gideon went on to complete his mission WITH YHVH to rid Israel of Baal’s raiders. When we consider the events of the ‘60s and the impact they are having on our time, the game is the same. The only question is how we will decide to play – WITH Jesus or on our own in the dark.
Satan’s way.