About Jesus    Steve Sweetman

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The Politics of God And The Bible

Part 13

Paul And The Day Of Evil

In John 14:27 Jesus said, "peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives".  Jesus gives peace.  The world negotiates peace.  Whether it's two warring spouses or two warring nations, the best humanity can do is to negotiate some kind of peace treaty that may or may not produce lasting peace. 

The first century Christians had little or no peace in respect to the kingdoms of men.  For example, the apostle Paul was in a constant struggle with the Jewish establishment, which led to his struggle with the Roman authorities.  Sad to say, he even struggled with false teachers in the church.  Obviously the peace Jesus was talking about was inner peace with God, not outer peace with the kingdoms of men.  In John 16:33 Jesus specifically told His followers that they would have trouble in this world.  I wonder how many preachers include this verse in their "come to Jesus and live happily ever-after" gospel. 

Paul told us in Romans 14:17 why Jesus offered inner peace and not outer peace with the kingdoms of men.  He said, "the  Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit".  In other words, the present day Kingdom of God is not material.  It's spiritual.  It can only be accessed by being born into it through our union with the Holy Spirit.  This is what Nicodemus struggled with in John 3.  Being a well educated religious leader, he couldn't get his head around the idea of being born into a spiritual world after having already been born into this material world.      

Paul struggled with all sorts of people in all sorts of places.  Ultimately his struggle was with demonic forces in the spiritual world where the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of satan fight for the hearts of mankind and the nations in which they live.  Daniel 10 gives us a glimpse into this struggle.  The Prince of Persia and the Prince of Greece are in conflict with the angels of God.  These guys aren't national leaders.  They are demons that were positioned in and over Persia and Greece to influence those nations towards evil.  Paul states in Ephesians 6:12 that satan's agents are situated in and over the nations of this world.  Therefore Paul's fight, and our fight too, is ultimately against the covert underworld of these demonic forces.   

In Ephesians 6:17 and 18 Paul states our preferred weapons of warfare against these demonic forces.  They aren't guns, missals, or high tech gadgets that the CIA would employ in covert missions.  As weird as it may sound to CIA experts in Langley Virginia and the  military bosses at the Pentagon, our weapons are praying in the Spirit and properly using God's Word.  We certainly do live in another world, don't we.  This is why the so-called Christian crusades into the Islamic middle east a thousand years ago weren't Christian.  Muslims still remind us about that to this day.   

In Ephesians 6:14 and 15 Paul lists our defenses against satanic attacks.  In my words they are, upholding God's truth and His standard of righteousness, having real faith, and knowing our salvation is secure.  I suggest that in many parts of Christendom today, including Evangelicalism, we've become slack and have let down our defenses.  For this reason much of Christendom is unable to stand against satanic activity as Paul says we should in verse 13.  We are more influenced by the world and the devil than we realize.  Many church groups have been deceived by allowing the enemy into their camp, thinking he is their friend.  Biblical truth doesn't matter to us as it once did.  Upholding Biblical standards of righteousness isn't so important either. What constitutes faith and salvation is now being redefined by many Evangelicals.  In some respects we are so far removed from knowing God's will that we actually think we're doing His will, when in fact we aren't.

Note the word "stand" in Ephesians 6:13.  Paul says that when the evil day of attack comes, we need our defenses in place just to be able to "stand" against the satanic attack.  Paul isn't suggesting we'll defeat satan and his agents.  He just expects us to stand firm without surrendering.  Only Jesus will defeat satan at the end of this age. 

Note also the words "when the day of evil comes" in verse 13.  What day was Paul talking about?  Well, each generation has its own day of evil, yet for those who live at the end of this age, there is a specific day of evil.  That day begins when Jesus opens the seven seals found in Revelation 6.  This unleashes a day of evil we've never seen before.  Demonic forces will infiltrate all aspects of humanity, causing great distress among the kingdoms of men.  That day of evil might well be on our doorstep. 

Paul ends this passage in verse 19 by saying, "pray for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mysteries of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains.  Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should".  Paul was in the midst of the "evil day" in his generation.  He represented the Kingdom of God to the satanic influenced kingdoms of men.  He wanted to be fearless in his mission.    

Christians throughout the world today are entering into an "evil day" never seen before.  Like Paul, we need to fearlessly proclaim the gospel of the soon coming material Kingdom of God.  That won't be politically correct, and sooner or later we will pay the price for what we proclaim and how we live.  Like Paul, we may even find ourselves in chains.  The  United States of America, Canada, the U. K, Germany, Iran, and all other nations, have a designated satanic prince influencing national affairs.  The conflict between the kingdoms of men and the Kingdom of God is escalating to such a degree that it will bring about the end to this present age.  We should decide now to reinforce our defenses, sharpen our spiritual weapons, and prepare to stand firm against what comes our way.  King Jesus will return.  He alone will win the battle, causing the kingdoms of men to  become the Kingdom of the Lord and His Christ.  (Revelation 11:15)