Taking risks for God
In March 2021 a developer was given an order to fix serious defects in a 16-storey apartment tower in Auburn in New South Wales. The defects included waterproofing, fixing of wall tiles to bathroom and ensuite walls, and falls to bathroom and ensuite floors. Following the structural flaws in Sydney’s Opal and Mascot towers, there has been increased attention on weeding out shoddy work. The risk assessment done by the builder was something like this. I can make more money by not doing everything properly. What could go wrong that could harm my profit? I could get caught by the NSW Building Commissioner. What would be the consequence of this happening? Is it minor, or moderate or major? Besides the extra cost it would be bad publicity and so the impact would be “major”. What is the likelihood of this happening? Is it unlikely (rare), or possible, or likely (common)? Because he thought he could get away with it, he thought it was “unlikely” (rare). What is the risk level? The risk matrix (table), says that a “unlikely” likelihood and a “major” consequence give a “medium” risk ranking, which is tolerable. That’s why he went ahead with the shoddy work. But he erred – the likelihood was actually “possible”, which gives a high risk. And he suffered the consequences. (more…)
Share this:
Why did Jesus call Himself the “Son of Man”?
Jesus often referred to Himself in the third person. And the title He used most often was the “Son of Man”. But what does this title mean and why did He use it?
Sometimes authors use pen names (or a pseudonym, or nom de plume) instead of their real name. For example, Samuel Clemens wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn under the name of Mark Twain. Eric Blair wrote Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four under the name George Orwell. Charles Dodgson wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass under the name Lewis Carroll. And Agatha Christie wrote Murder on the Orient Express and Then There Were None under the name Mary Westmacott. Many women authors have used a nom de plume to get their work published due to bias against women writers. For example, Emily Brontë wrote Wuthering Heights under the name Ellis Bell. And Mary Evans wrote Middlemarch under the name George Eliot. Was the “Son of Man” Jesus’ pen name? (more…)
Share this:
Where are Satan and demons?
I have been asked this question: “Where is the place of the demon on air? For Daniel prayed and the prince of Persia held the Amen of his prayer”.
The Prince of Persia
“The prince of Persia” is mentioned in Daniel 10:13, 20. The book of Daniel was probably written about 530 BC. Daniel had been exiled to Babylon in about 605 BC and the exile finished when Zerubbabel returned to Jerusalem in 538 BC. His book is historical narrative (Ch. 1-6) and apocalyptic (Ch. 7-12).
Chapter 10 describes Daniel’s vision of a heavenly man in 537 BC. When Daniel received a vision of a great war, he was disturbed and prayed for God’s help. Then he mourned for three weeks until he had the vision of the heavenly man who was probably an angel (Dan. 10:5-21). The angel said that Daniel’s prayer had been heard and the angel had been sent to help him. But the angel had been delayed for 21 days by the prince of “the Persian kingdom”, presumably a demon associated with the Persian Empire (Note that the archangel Michael is called a “prince” in Daniel 10:13, 21; 12:1). The angel said that the archangel Michael had helped them overcome the demon. This vision made Daniel weak and speechless, but the angel strengthened him. The angel came to reveal future events to Daniel. And after this, the angel would return to oppose the prince of Persia once again and later on the prince of Greece (presumably a demon associated with the Greek Empire) would come.
This shows that there was a spiritual battle going on. God’s prophet Daniel was being opposed by a particular demon that was associated with the Persian government. Maybe they were influencing the government to make life difficult for Daniel This opposition caused the answer to Daniel’s prayer to be delayed. But God’s angel protected Daniel from the demon’s influence and the prayer was eventually answered.
Likewise, the Christian life is a spiritual battle: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood (people), but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12NIV). Here Satan and demons are described as powerful beings that occupy the unseen heavenly realm.
The ruler of the kingdom of the air
The question is “Where is the place of the demon on air”? The word “air” isn’t mentioned in the passage in Daniel 10, but is mentioned in a New Testament passage: “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (Eph. 2:1-2).
Ephesians 2:1-3 shows our situation before becoming Christians. Here unbelievers are said to be spiritually dead (separated from God) and following the ways of Satan, who is “the ruler of the kingdom of the air”. Elsewhere Satan is called “the prince of this world”, “the god of this age”, and the whole world is said to be under his control (Jn. 14:30; 2 Cor. 4:3-4; 1 Jn. 5:19). There are three possible interpretations of “the kingdom of the air”:
– It’s the realm under Satan’s influence which is described elsewhere as “this world”, “the whole world”, and “this age”.
– It’s the realm occupied by demons. This may be part of the “heavenly realms” occupied by demons (evil spirits) (Eph. 1:3; 6:12). Christ is in the heavenly realms (Eph. 1:20) as are angels, Satan and demons (Eph. 3:10). Also, the Greek word translated “air” (aeros, Strongs #109) means the lower atmosphere and according to Jewish opinion, the demons occupy this realm (Thayer’s Greek Lexion).
– It’s Satan’s world system, his philosophy of life, which includes religion and righteousness without God, as well as sin. People in this system are subject to Satan’s influence.
The Greek word translated “spirit” (pneumatos, Strongs #4151) in Ephesians 2:2 means the influence which governs someone or the source of power, affection, emotion or desire (Thayer’s Greek Lexion). It’s saying that Satan is the dominant influence in the lives of non-Christians.
Heaven and earth
The activities of Satan and demons are more important than their place or location. As they are spirits without a body, they don’t necessarily occupy a physical place like we do. It’s clear that Satan and demons have access to both God in heaven and humanity on earth (Job 2:1-2).
Satan continually accuses believers before God (Rev. 12:10). For example, he questioned Job’s faithfulness (Job. 1:9-11; 2:4) and questioned the fitness of the Jews to carry out priestly functions after the exile (Zech. 3:1-5). But in future Satan will be evicted from heaven.
Satan impacts on God’s people as a “roaring lion” (1 Pt.5:8) and an “angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). As a roaring lion, Satan devours and destroys. For example, Jews and Christians have been persecuted for thousands of years. As an angel of light, Satan deceives both believers (2 Cor. 11:3-4) and unbelievers (Rev. 20:3). He propagates a counterfeit Jesus, a counterfeit spirit, and a counterfeit gospel. And his false apostles can prophesy future events and do miracles, including healing (Mt. 7:22-23; 2 Cor. 11:13). He also convinces people that he doesn’t exist. But in future Satan will be evicted from the earth.
Satan is also called “the tempter”, because he tempts people to sin (Mt. 4:3; 1 Th. 3:5). As Adam and Eve and Jesus were tempted to disobey God, so Satan tempts us all 1 Cor. 10:13).
Satan’s destiny
Fortunately, the evil acts of people and Satan are under God’s control (Job 1:12; Acts 4:28). So God restrains Satan and his demons. Satan is restrained in stages. Jesus did it when He was on earth (Mt. 12:29). It was guaranteed by the death and resurrection of Christ (Heb. 2:14). In future Satan won’t be able to deceive the nations during the millennial reign of Christ (Rev. 20:1-3). And it will be eternally true when he is cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).
Though Satan has been defeated, and eventually will be thrown into the lake of fire, he is still actively spreading evil. Christians need to understand who he is, and what he is able to do while he is still active.
Written, August 2016
Also see: The unseen world of demons
Satan. Part 1: Knowing our enemy
Satan. Part 2: Knowing his strategies
Share this:
The Bible teaches us to submit to various authorities. But what if an authority makes a law that requires us to disobey God?
Although Christians are citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20), they must also submit themselves to all forms and levels of human government (Tit. 3:1). God established human government after the flood; and Genesis 9:6 introduces the concept of governmental authority when it speaks of capital punishment. Governments help maintain law and order, keep the peace and avoid anarchy. Our attitude to authority is an important part of our Christian life.
Everyone must submit to the governing authorities because they are established by God and viewed as His servants (Rom. 13:1-7). The governing authorities are set in place by the permissive choice of God and their power is from God (Jn. 19:11; Rom. 9:17). Their weapons are a sign of their authority. So when people disobey a human ruler, they indirectly disobey God.
It’s good to be law-abiding citizens, because if we don’t submit to authority we will have a bad conscience. We are to pay our taxes to those in authority and never join in rebellion against the government or seek its overthrow by violence.
Paul quoted Exodus 22:28 when he said, “Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people” (Acts 23:5 NIV). He also said that we should pray for “all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness” (1 Tim. 2:1-2). It should be noted that the governing authorities were probably pagans when these passages of the Bible were written.
Here are three examples from Scripture of those who respected authorities in difficult circumstances.
- David honored wicked King Saul and called him the Lord’s anointed (1 Sam. 24:6) even though he sought to kill David.
- When the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus, He said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Mt. 22:21).
- Nero (a godless brutal ruler) was the Roman emperor when Peter wrote “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right” (1 Pet. 2:13-14).
Christians should obey God, but not place the authorities above God (Jn. 14:21-24; 15:10; Eph. 5:24; Heb. 5:9; 12:9; Jas. 4:7). A Christian is not required to obey if an authority orders him to sin, to disobey God or to compromise his loyalty to Jesus Christ. When the apostles were commanded not to preach they replied “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 4:18-20; 5:27-29).
Here are two examples from Scripture of those who disobeyed authorities instead of disowning God.
- When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon commanded that everyone should bow down to an idol, three Jews – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – chose to follow God’s command instead (Dan. 3; Ex. 20:3-5). Because of their faithfulness, God protected them from the fiery furnace and they were promoted in Babylon.
- When King Darius issued a decree saying that anyone who prayed to a god other than the king would be thrown into the lions’ den (Dan. 6), Daniel kept praying to his God “just as he had done before” (Dan. 6:10). When he was punished by being thrown into the lion’s den, God protected him, and he even prospered.
Scripture shows us that we should obey all authority, unless that authority requires us to disobey God, who is the highest authority.
Published, February 2010
George's Journal 
RECENT COMMENTS