(5 minute read; 1000 words )
In the Garden of Eden, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil marked two paths—opposite directions chosen by human free will. From that moment, a cosmic spiritual war has raged between God and His enemy, Satan, with unseen battles in the heavenly realms. This war ends when Jesus returns to judge evil and renew all things (Revelation 1:7).
Thank You, Lord Jesus!
God allows every person to perceive evil and its spiritual source—Satan and his demons. As Paul explains —
“We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age…” — (Ephesians 6:12–13)
You don’t fight people—you fight lies with truth, darkness with light, and evil with righteousness. And the good news? The outcome of the war is already settled. Christ has won. Our role is to stand firm in His victory.
Therefore, put on the whole armor of God so you can stand firm in the evil day:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the might of His strength. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all, having taken up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, 17 also receive the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times with all prayer and petition in the Spirit, and to this end, being on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 as well as on my behalf (Paul), that words may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel— 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains—so that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (Ephesians 6:10-20)
Evil can only exist if good exists and good can only exist if God exists. God is the moral authority in this world, which proves that he exists.
There are only two sides in this epic battle—a winning side and a losing side—plainly revealed in the book of Revelation. God wins. As Creator, He defines goodness, sets the perfect standards for life and death, and will judge evil with righteousness.
We are living in a Grace Period which spans from the time of the resurrection of Christ until the time He returns to bring history to its proper conclusion. Only God knows the day and the hour. For you, it is from the time your are born until the time you die or until Christ returns. It is the reason you exist on the earth. It is what your life on earth is all about. Some miss it even though they lived long lives. They have no excuse.
Those who are born twice, earthly birth and spiritual rebirth (born again), will die once. Those who are born only once (not born again) will die twice; one physical and the other forever. The second death is eternity in the lake of fire. You do not want to die twice along with all of God’s enemies; Satan, the Beast (the Antichrist), the False Prophet and all who reject Jesus Christ. You do not want to be God’s enemy. You don’t have to be. The price of redemption has been paid in full by Jesus Christ and He did it almost 2000 years ago.
Eternity is a long, long time to be wrong.
When the full number of those who will receive His grace has come in, God will gather His people and remove from their presence everything less than perfect goodness. In His providence, He crafted a vast universe—hundreds of billions of galaxies and an unfathomable host of stars—and placed a small blue speck called Earth, perfectly suited by his design — for life and redemption— the two reasons why the earth was created. Here on the earth, across time, He separates the wheat from the chaff (Matthew 3:12) and good from evil. Woe is coming for evil, for the unrighteous in this world, for those who reject Jesus Christ— God’s rightful judgment— His justice; just what we all deserved, if not for the grace and love of Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:18–25; Revelation 20–22)
We are all participants—willing or not—on one side or the other. But you cannot be on both sides at the same time. You are either in Christ or antichrist. All those, both Jews and Gentiles, who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ are the Israel of God, His chosen people from the seed of Abraham, which was Christ.
The outcome was determined before the foundation of the world and revealed across Scripture, both Old Testament and New, culminating in the book of Revelation. It was the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that made the difference. Grace. It has always been the promise of faith, not the law, that saves.
“You do not want to be outside those who follow Jesus because all that’s left is judgment. If you are not with God through His Son by the work of the Holy Spirit, then you will be tossed into the lake of fire.” — Dr. Greg Belser
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