Christianity or Satan's world

 

 “Behold, I am sending you as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” – Matthew 10:16

“ We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one” – 1 John 5:19

The nation of Israel, a nation with well-established armies and borders, had to be on guard and fight to survive from the very beginning of its existence – Joshua 24:8-15

It might seem strange to some that God's people were forced to fight... but if we understand who really ruled the world we also understand that it, namely Israel, was a real thorn in the side, an anomaly for the ruler of the world - John 14:30

This indirectly also explains why little is said about Satan in the Jewish scriptures: far from concluding that he "does not exist", one should only understand that he would not have had a hold on Israel, as he did on the rest of the world, except through the transgressions of individual that they could pollute pure worship, by more or less veiled means, even through covenant with the nations – Joshua 23:12, 13

As long as God's people were within the nation, however, they only had to worry about obeying the Law - Joshua 1:7-9

Such obedience included the very defense of the nation and separation from the peoples – Leviticus 20:22-24; Ezra 9:1-4

To maintain that status, as a small enclave surrounded by an entire enemy world, wars were almost the order of the day - 1 Kings 5:3

As already said, this people was an anomaly in the world of Satan and that he sought in every way and on every occasion to eliminate them, is part of the logic of things.

By the time of the Lord Jesus, however, things had already changed greatly.

By now various pagan beliefs and confusions had infiltrated Israel which mixed freely with pure teaching – see Luke 20:27; Acts 26:6-8

The very ones who should have safeguarded sound doctrine had by now polluted it and made it “worthless because of tradition” – Matthew 15:3, 9; Mark 7:13

It is only natural to think that Satan would have made good and bad times in that nation on which, probably, he had always had special designs – Matthew 4:5, 6; Luke 4:6; Revelation 17:18

So there are no inconsistencies between the Jewish and Greek sides: the scenario seen in the first century, with demoniacs almost everywhere, falls within the logic of the historical background.

However the Lord restored wholesome teaching and trained his disciples in truth by bringing them back to the Father - John 14:6, 7

Not only that, but his disciples entered into a "new covenant" that would make them new creatures, fit, in the future, to become kings and priests of God's Kingdom - Matthew 19:27, 28; Revelation 1:6

However, Satan certainly did not go then.

The world remained Satan's even though Christ's sacrifice laid the legal groundwork for his future banishment from heaven and subsequent elimination – John 12:31; Revelation 12:9; 8:10pm

What would have happened to Christians, the real ones, being in fact sheep among wolves? - Matthew 10:16

As the Lord correctly foretold, they would be hated, slandered, persecuted, given to tribulation until their death – Matthew 24:9; Acts 11:19

Thanks to Christ's sacrifice they "saved their souls" so their death was only temporary, pending the heavenly resurrection - Matthew 24:13; 1 Corinthians 15:52-57

In the Bible we find many words of encouragement, especially towards the last period: they needed it because they knew the end they would have to end up with - Romans 8:17

For example, at 1 John 2:24, 25 we read… “As for you, let what you have heard from the beginning remain in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you too will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise he made to us: eternal life”.

It was absolutely necessary for true Christians to remain in wholesome teaching and faithful to the end so as not to lose their call and election.

 

The history of God's people in general and of Christians in particular should make us think deeply.

If we understand that the ruler of the world is Satan and not God, it is natural to conclude that he would never have allowed this "thorn in his side" to exist for a long time.

As we said, in order to survive, Israel had to wage war after war within its well-established borders.

However the Christians would have gone around the world and they would have had no armies to defend them.

It is true that in the Greek scriptures we see some angelic interventions on their behalf but those had their purpose in relation to the good news – Acts 16:25-27

Throughout the period allowed for Christians to live in the first century, the good news was to be preached far and wide - Acts 1:8

However, Christians would not be protected forever.

Satan's world would simply be doing "its job," eliminating them.

In previous articles we have seen various scriptures and logical reasonings which led us to conclude that pure worship ended towards the end of the first century—Acts 20:29, 30; John 2:18 (see the article “The Restoration of True Worship” )

This is not about “good people” who obviously have existed since the dawn of time and still exist – Romans 2:14, 15

Nor does it concern the sincerity of individuals or the application of certain Christian principles present more or less, to varying degrees, in various religious organizations and beyond.

The issue concerns the seal or authorization given by God and consequently the pure and complete doctrine that can only be attained through the Holy Spirit - John 16:12, 13

Moses was commissioned by God: this is evident and it was evident even to those people who did not accept his authority – Numbers 17:1-11

Other people would have liked to be in charge, to take the lead, to do this or that… but only God could have decided to do so.

Indeed, when some people assumed authority that had not been granted to them, they were severely punished – Numbers 12:2-9; Leviticus 10:1-3

Similarly, at the time of Israel's division, some in the northern kingdom decided to worship God in their own way.

They appointed priests, chose places and ways – 1 Kings 12:28-33; Judges 18:27-31

What was the result?

Did God say “they are sincere, let them be”?

Obviously not.

They attracted the curse, as the Law said exactly, causing themselves many problems up to deportation and dispersion.

Likewise Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah… all these had their assignments and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit, upon them, was always evident.

They did not need to give many explanations or mince words to prove who they were: the hand of God, upon them, was all too evident - compare 1 Kings 18:36-40

The apostles, likewise, were commissioned by God through His Son.

They too had all the opposition in the world but the hand of God, even upon them, was more than evident – ​​Acts 1:8; 8:4-8, 13

They too did not need to flaunt educational qualifications or presumed successes in one field or another to demonstrate who they were, on the contrary…

God had chosen the weak and foolish things of the world to uproot the seemingly wise and strong – 1 Corinthians 1:26-30; 2 Corinthians 12.10

 

true Christianity and Satan's world cannot coexist

 

 

 

 

Even wanting to skip the Scriptures which make it clear that the tares would have dominated and that the time would come to restore everything , as well as the moment in which the difference between good and evil would be seen again from the God's point of view, there is also a simple logical reasoning to consider.

The ministers of these religions would like us to believe that they are the holders of the Truth and that they can live in Satan's world without any particular problems – compare Luke 12:49-53; John 16:33; Acts 14:21, 22

It is true that to remedy this "particular" they will probably highlight the various persecutions of this or that in some parts of the world.

However, there is a difference from a localized persecution to a worldwide extermination persecution .

There are literally thousands of minorities, ethnic and not just religious, around the world who are being persecuted.

It is too easy to mention the group of persecuted Christians in a Muslim nation, as if that proves something, and forget about the minorities of other religions who are also persecuted.

It is too easy to forget about non -Christian religions but in the same way not tolerated and persecuted by the dominant religion.

It is all too easy to forget about peoples who, regardless of their religious beliefs , are persecuted because they belong to a particular ethnicity, culture or language.

At this point we could take the American Indians, make a roundup of the horrors they suffered, use it as a demonstration of some truth and convert to the great spirit.

As was also said in the article dedicated to the rivalry between the two suits* , Satan's world has never made many distinctions: when it could do harm, it did.

However the question of Christianity, the real one, is quite different.

Unlike the Ephraimites, scattered and mixed all over the world (and in any case at the moment misled and imprisoned in the various religions), true Christians would not have been difficult to recognize.

Satan would have had no difficulty distinguishing a true Christian from one of "his own": he would not have gotten confused.

Do we really think he would have left them peacefully in peace?

Christendom's ministers would have us believe that one can be a true Christian and survive ( and sometimes even " live large") in Satan's world.

But the two things simply cannot coexist because either one will disappear or the other will disappear - Luke 11:22

Unless we want to claim that the Bible is wrong when it states that Satan is the ruler of the world and that all the world ( all the world ) lies in his power, we should understand that something is not right with all these religions.

Let us reflect: why do we speak of the "day of the Lord" and of extreme persecution only towards the end of the system?

Why does this great tribulation arise only after a certain time?

If true Christians had always existed, they would have been under a great tribulation for 2,000 years…if they could hope to survive that long.

Why does all this persecution only start from a certain moment on ?

It is evident: because pure worship, which no longer existed since the end of the first century, would be restored.

That day, for Satan, a very painful thorn in his side will reappear as in the first century.

And exactly as in the first century a ruthless persecution aimed at exterminating them will start again… because Satan cannot tolerate the existence of those who will be at the forefront of his elimination – see Daniel 8:9-12; Revelation 12:15-17

As said, we repeat, true Christians and Satan's world cannot coexist for a long time.

It is obvious that this observation alone cannot give us a precise measure of how long they could actually coexist even amid great difficulties, as indeed happened for true Christians in the first century, but it is only logical to think that they cannot coexist for a long time.

Surely not thousands and yet hundreds of years.

This well explains why, the time of the end, must be a small period of time and really can't be longer than a generation - Matthew 24:34

The longer the time of the end lasts, the more Satan has time to exterminate everyone and it is no coincidence that those days will be shortened: precisely to save flesh - Matthew 24:22

Next time, however, it will be different.

When pure worship is restored it will be the satanic system that will disappear… and will disappear forever – Revelation 19:11-21

Do we then understand another reason why pure worship had to end and why there can be no pure worship today beyond human claims or claims ?

Those who are genuinely interested in understanding God's will, rather than following the northern kingdom of Israel who gave themselves appointments and authority at their own discretion, are encouraged to act consistently with the truth revealed in God's Word.

Unlike many of those who until the last moment will say that they acted "in his name" but did so without authorization , we wholeheartedly wish to be among those who will continue to exist when this world, together with its ruler , it will finally be passed – Matthew 7:22, 23 ; 1 John 2:17