The last reformation
deals with the absolute sovereignty of God the Creator of all things that
includes the commonly known enemy of mankind called Satan. The Bible clearly
portrays Satan as God's prosecuting angel and not as some rabid dog that chewed
off his leash and goes around biting people.
Just as we do not
like the job of a District Attorney in the Court of Law so we do not like God's
prosecutor, nor do we like God's discipline of which we read in Hebrews 12:6 “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
and He scourges every son whom He receives.” It happens that these words
are a quotation from the Old Testament, which is addressed to the Jews (Hebrews)
therefore God’s chosen—those who are under the eternal covenant with God. This falls
under a completely different category than the church composed of the gentile
Christians who are saved by grace. Period.
Anything beyond
salvation deals with spiritual growth therefore repentance, maturity, and the
Fatherly discipline; and these we also don’t like. So what do we like? We like
to tell the devil off and do our own thing. We do only what we like. Like
spoiled children that want only candies. I have never met a Christian who is
hard on him or her regarding the holy and righteous discipline. But when it
comes to jobs or moneymaking business the discipline is there. Strange isn’t
it? Ambition in the natural is common. Raising our families, providing for our
children requires discipline, but the same is not being applied to things of
God and the righteousness of His Kingdom. Winning a war over the enemy is often
the goal, but is it achievable? Hardly. Yet there is no wisdom that would make
one act any differently. The Last Reformation is exactly that.
1. God is sovereign over all of His own creation
and that includes Satan.
2. If evil was found in heaven and came down to the
Garden of Eden to mislead and seduce the first pair then we should blame God
for it for He made it so. Note the fact that Nechash (called Satan) was
(HAYYAH) a beast of the filed or cattle, therefore a by-God-created being.
3. But when we go deeper, we find out that in fact
God wanted us to eat of the Tree of Contrasts (knowledge) and then choose Him
with the God-given gift of the free will.
4. There are only three places in the Old Testament
that mention Satan and each place speaks of God’s anger and the engagement of
Satan as a result.
A. 1Chronicles 21:1 refers to God’s anger, which
incited David to count Israel in 2Samuel 24:1.
B. This discrepancy occurred in the
Babylonian/Persian exile where the Jews borrowed Satan from Zoroastrianism and
ever since then played with.
C. The book of Job, which was added to the Bible
around the Babylonian exile, speaks of God’s utter sovereignty; for Satan did
exactly as He was told, not more and not less.
D. In Zechariah Stan appears when the high priest
Joshua stood before God in filthy garments. As the high priest Joshua could not
perform the work of the annual atonement (Yom Kippur) so the prosecutor Satan
came as a faultfinder to instigate a change. After Satan’s mission was complete
Joshua’s garments were changed and the priest was reinstated. The outcome was
positive. (Although the melodrama is found in both books, Job and Zechariah, showing
the exiles’ feelings regarding their fate and their God; nonetheless it does not
take away from the fact that God is the fully in charge Boss.
E. The returning exiles from Persia—after the
decree of Cyrus and the repatriation of Jews back to Jerusalem and Judah—gave
Satan to the then appointed by the Hasmoneans Pharisees who developed their own
doctrines about Beelzebul/Beelzebub and the hierarchical structures of demons.
F. From the Babylonian exile until the time of
Jesus elapsed 616 years by which time the doctrines of devils were already evident.
This long period of Hellenization and mythological indoctrination further
impaired the Jewish monotheistic thought. From the polytheistic many gods
people’s imaginations were brought down to dualism (God vs. Satan, light vs.
darkness and good vs. evil), which has survived to this day.
G. The appearance of the Greek DIABOLOS (the devil)
equating him with the Jewish Satan was also noticeable.
H. Jesus did not come to reform our thinking,
that’s our job today; He came to pay the necessary price and to redeem us not
only from God’s wrath, but also from our foolishness.
5. Jesus reasoned with the Pharisees regarding ‘Satan
casting out Satan and his supposedly divided kingdom.’ But He did not reform their
thinking for they were Kenites. Jesus left them alone.
6. He called Peter Satan. He prayed for Peter after
Satan was given the permission to sift Peter like wheat. Judas was called the devil.
Apostle Paul did not fight with the messenger of Satan ‘the thorn in his flesh’
but asked God to take him away, yet Jesus said that His grace was sufficient
for Paul. Paul gave over to Satan two men in order to teach them not to
blaspheme God.
7. Peter emerged stronger from his sifting
experience with Satan. Apostle Paul, like a hollow vessel the preacher of grace
walked humbly with the Lord.
There is much more
to explore and learn, provided that one is willing to go as far as loving the
Sovereign over all of His own creation God.
If you love the
Heavenly Father more than theology then He will accept you and will reveal
Himself to you in truth, just as He did to me. That’s why I can share this
clarity with you.