By Pastor Greg...
Jack was sitting on an airplane when another guy took the seat
beside him. The new guy was an absolute wreck; pale, hands shaking, biting his
nails, and moaning in fear. "Hey,
pal, what's the matter?" Jack asked.
"Oh man...I've been transferred to New Jersey," the other guy
answered, "New Jersey's full of crazy people, and they have shootings,
gangs, race riots, drugs, the highest crime rate..." "Hold on," Jack interrupted,
"I've lived in New Jersey all my life, and it is not as bad as the media
says. Find a nice home, go to work, mind your own business, enroll your kids in
a good school and it's as safe as anywhere in the world." The other passenger relaxed and stopped
shaking for a moment and said, "Oh, thank you. I've been worried to death,
but if you live there and say it's okay, I'll take your word for it. By the
way, what do you do for a living?" "Me?"
said Jack, "I'm a tail gunner on a bread truck."
Yeah. I suspect things will be getting worse for
that traveler. The same could be said
about this world in which we live. I
know some will preach to you a “pie-in-the-sky” optimism about our future. Some teach that God is just waiting to make life
a peaceful paradise for us. But that’s
not what we read in Revelation.
According to the Bible, it’s only going to get worse.
In reading the book of Revelation,
we may get the impression that once the Antichrist begins to rule, things on
earth will turn bad quickly. However, I suggest to you that things will
get progressively worse; that there will be a steady increase in crime, in
greed, and in fear. Jesus warns, “And you will hear of
wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place,
but the end won’t follow immediately. 8 Nation will go to war against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many parts of the
world, as well as famines. But this is only the first of the birth pains, with
more to come” [1]
(Mark 13:7-8). Jesus says there will be
more to come… things will get worse. And
according to Paul, Truth will be rewritten, and morality redefined. “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves
teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away
their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths” [2]
(2 Timothy 4:3-4).
I know we all wish the violence would stop. We wish
everyone could just get along. We try
our best to stop the tide of evil, but nothing seems to be working. It seems to be getting worse. How do we get things under control? And why can’t we seem to win this battle against evil? Why do things seem to be stacked against
us? I can tell you why; we are given the
answer in John’s Revelation. When the
Seventh Trumpet is blown, we see why evil is all around us.
(Revelation 11:15-19). 15 Then the seventh
angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud
voices shouting in heaven: “The world has now become the Kingdom of our
Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”
16 The twenty-four elders
sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and
worshiped him. 17 And they said, “We give thanks to you, Lord
God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have
begun to reign. 18 The nations were filled with wrath, but now
the time of your wrath has come. It is time to judge the dead and reward your
servants the prophets, as well as your holy people, and all who fear your name,
from the least to the greatest. It is time to destroy all who have caused
destruction on the earth.”
19 Then, in heaven, the
Temple of God was opened and the Ark of
his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder
crashed and roared, and there was an
earthquake and a terrible hailstorm.
[3]
As we struggle to make sense out
the events in our world, I want you to notice what the voices shouted from
Heaven. They shout, “The world now belongs to the Lord and the Messiah”
(verse 15). They say, “Christ has begun to reign” (verse 17). What do they mean by that? Isn’t Jesus already “King of kings and Lord
of lords” (see 1 Timothy 6:15)? Hebrews
7:1-2 compares Jesus to the “King of
righteousness” and the “King of peace.” How is He not King of this world?
Based on an odd conversation Jesus
has with Satan, Christians understand that, for the time being, Satan rules the
earth. During His 40 days in the
wilderness (Matthew 4), Satan promises to give Jesus all the kingdoms of this
world (Matthew 4:9). Satan could not
have made that offer unless these things were (and still are) under his
power. So, yes, at this point in time,
the world, its countries, its governments, and its people, are under Satan’s
power and his influence. And if you have
any doubt, I suggest you start reading the news.
Satan has rule and influence over
this world and its people. They may not
be possessed by the devil, but they are
undoubtedly influenced.
You and I are living in a world
that is suffering the consequences of sin.
Sin is a “poison” that has spread throughout humanity; it has infected
us all. And sin has no morals; it has no
respect for age or race. It infects the
powerful and the weak. It leads the
greatest among us into immorality. We
cheat and lie just to wear a crown (or a medal). Sin causes us to trample the weak. Sin entices us to become “King of the
Hill.” And sadly, there is no cure for
sin in this life; there is, however, a way to overcome the influence of sin; to resist
the influence of Satan. There is a way out from under this curse, and
that is through Jesus.
Christ came to break Satan’s
spiritual domination and influence in the world. And each time a person gives their heart to
Jesus, Christ wins a spiritual victory one person at a time. Soon, Satan will lose the physical battle for this earth as well. When this 7th trumpet sounds,
Jesus will begin His physical victory.
So, although Jesus is not Lord of
this earth yet, He is the spiritual
Lord of all who believe; on the cross, He
won a spiritual battle, but the physical battle
still rages all around us. We see this
every day. We should not be shocked when
we hear news of some great tragedy; saddened, yes, but not surprised, for Satan
still has influence in this world; sin still has power over the hearts of
humanity. It is not Gun Control we
should be seeking, but rather sin control. As Christians, we should be seeking to free those still enslaved by sin. I don’t want to take away someone’s gun; I
want to take away sin’s grip on their
heart. Until sin’s influence is removed,
even a gunless person will find a way to commit a crime.
My friend, as you observe the
troubles in this world today, you see the
result of a world under the influence and
dominion of Satan. But, through Christ’s
death, a person can be spiritually freed from Satan’s influence. On the cross, Jesus defeated sin’s
penalty. Because of the Holy Spirit, we
are no longer under sin’s power. And one
day, when Jesus returns, we will no longer be under sin’s presence. These promises are faithful and true, for
Christ has already begun to reign spiritually; if we allow Him, He will have power and influence in our heart.
This is what our world so
desperately needs; not laws or restrictions, but freedom from Satan’s power and
influence. The world needs to be set
free from the shackles of sin. And the
Church – Christians like us – holds the message of hope that can set them
free. We hold
this treasure in jars of clay; I pray we share that treasure before it is too
late.
[1] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mk 13:7–8). Carol Stream,
IL.
[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (2 Ti 4:3–4). La
Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3] Tyndale House Publishers.
(2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (3rd ed., Re 11:15–19).
Carol Stream, IL.
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