Thursday, July 14, 2016

Christ's Kingdom of Freedom vs. Satan's Kingdom of Power

Jesus Christ is the truth who sets us free to love and leads us into fullness of life. He demonstrated this through his ministry, death, and resurrection. He continues to demonstrate this through the words of truth he shares with us today.
     
Through the words of truth Jesus speaks to us today, he frees us to participate in the Kingdom of Heaven. In that kingdom, the truth, freedom, love, and vitality of Jesus matter most. We might call Christ’s kingdom the Kingdom of Freedom.
     
His kingdom stands in stark contrast to the Kingdom of Power. Power is the ability to control. Olympianity is the religion of power. The Kingdom of Power is run by Satan through six false yet conventional gods of power: (1) Jupiter, god of politics; (2) Mars, god of war; (3) Vulcan, god of power; (4) Venus, god of sex; (5) Pluto, god of war; and (6) Bacchus, god of consumption.

Today, Satan’s Kingdom of Power is doing better than ever. He exercises more power today than he ever has. That’s because we humans—as individuals, societies, and cultures—have been working hard these last 250+ years to create the most powerful means ever. Through these means, integrated so well into one Global Technological System (GTS), Satan has been able to exponentially increase the extensity and intensity of his power. He’s so happy! The six Olympian gods, who serve him and whom we serve so well, are happy too!
     
It’s important for us to note that all countries on Earth are tightly integrated into this GTS of Satan. Consequently, all countries and their governments ultimately serve Satan. That may sound like an exaggeration, but that is the biblical witness. In tempting Jesus to become a political savior, Satan claimed control of all the governments of the world and their glory and Jesus did not dispute this (Matthew 4:8-9).
     
All governments are based on power. All organizations based on power, on the ability to control, are part of Satan’s Kingdom of Power. That means even countries that understand themselves to be Christian are well-integrated into Satan’s Kingdom of Power through the GTS. Even the United States. It also means that all political parties are part of Satan’s kingdom too. They all seek power and must rely on falsehood, indifference, and death to gain it. Germany’s Christian Democratic Union, for instance, is neither and can’t be.
     
Jesus intends his Church to be one organized social group not based on power. He intends it to be an alternative society and culture witnessing to his truth, freedom, love, and vitality. By being so, it would both express and support the Christian personalities of its members.
     
When the Church devotes itself to Jesus, rather than to those six dreary Olympian gods of power, the clarity of its witness limits the exuberance of those gods and the devotion we humans, through our Olympian personality, give them. Its clarity of witness to freedom inhibits the growth of power. When the witness of the Church weakens, even the Christian personality of Christians weakens and devotion to the gods of power, and their destructiveness, grows.
     
Because Satan, the gods, and their GTS are today stronger than ever, we might assume things are going badly for Christ’s Church. We’d be right. Since about 1960 in the US, Canada, and Western Europe, the gods have managed to drain many churches, denominations, and seminaries of meaning, members, and money. The gods have done this by bullying a few, seducing most, and deceiving all.
     
Christians and churches, then, have largely abandoned Christ and devoted themselves to the Olympians gods. They have largely abandoned Christ’s Kingdom of Freedom for Satan’s Kingdom of Power. Consequently, Satan has enjoyed draining churches of meaning, members, and money and using the exponentially growing power of the GTS for his own nefarious ends.
     
Significantly, Jesus promised he would never allow Satan to overcome his Church (Matthew 16:18). Let us hope that soon, perhaps tomorrow, the evil spell under which Christians and churches now labor will be broken and both with return with enthusiasm to Jesus.

Copyright © 2016 by Steven Farsaci. All rights reserved.