Participants:
Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS025010S
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00:00 [uplifting music]
00:13 >>Eric Flickinger: Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:15 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:17 We're glad to have you with us again. 00:18 We are on a 13-lesson journey through an incredible subject, 00:22 an incredible topic, "God's Love and Justice." 00:25 This week we are on lesson number 10, looking at the rules 00:29 of engagement in this cosmic conflict 00:32 that goes on around us each and every day, 00:35 a fascinating study this week. 00:37 We're glad that you are here. 00:38 Let's begin with prayer. 00:40 Father, we thank You for leading us on this journey that helps us 00:43 to understand the world in which we live, 00:45 the challenges that we face, the origin of evil, 00:49 its existence in the world right now, 00:51 Your power and the way that You choose to exercise it. 00:54 And today as we look at the rules of engagement, 00:56 we ask that You would help us to understand 00:58 a little bit more clearly how that all works. 01:01 And we thank You, in Jesus' name, amen. 01:05 Well, we're happy to have with us, again, this week 01:07 the author of this quarter's "Sabbath School" lesson, 01:09 John Peckham. 01:10 He is an associate editor at the "Adventist Review" 01:13 and also a research professor at the Theological Seminary 01:16 at Andrews University. 01:18 John, thanks for being with us. 01:19 >>John Peckham: Thank you for having me. 01:21 >>Eric: So, we're looking this week at the rules of engagement. 01:24 Last time we looked at the cosmic conflict, 01:26 this big battle that's going on behind the scenes, 01:29 this overarching theme throughout the Bible. 01:32 And we touched on the rules of engagement, 01:34 things that God does and doesn't do, 01:36 chooses to do and chooses not to do 01:39 to stay within the confines of what is appropriate and-- 01:44 maybe we could say "fair." 01:45 I'm not sure if that's the right word or not. 01:47 You can expand on that. 01:49 But what's the significance of this cosmic conflict theme 01:53 in understanding the problem of evil 01:56 that's going on in the world? 01:57 >>John: Yeah, at the center of this cosmic conflict-- 01:59 we've seen that there is a cosmic conflict. 02:01 We've seen many passages, and we've seen the nature 02:03 of this cosmic conflict. It's a conflict over character. 02:05 There could be no conflict between an all-powerful God 02:08 and any mere creature if it was a conflict of sheer power, 02:11 but a conflict of character can't be settled by sheer power. 02:14 So at the center of the conflict 02:16 is questions of God's character--God is love-- 02:19 and the way that He governs the universe, His justice. 02:21 So both of these are tied very closely to this theme 02:24 of the cosmic conflict. 02:25 So it's very significant for us to understand the nature 02:28 of this conflict and what the devil is trying to do 02:32 and how God is operating within the conflict 02:34 within some parameters 02:35 in order to show His love and His justice 02:38 in a way that defeats the allegations 02:40 and defeats evil forevermore, not for His sake 02:43 but for the sake of the flourishing 02:45 of the entire universe. Everything hinges on this. 02:48 And to see this--see something about the nature of this 02:50 I want to point to a story that's in the Bible, 02:54 the story of Absalom. 02:55 Absalom was one of King David's sons, 02:57 and Absalom wanted to take his father's throne. 03:01 And so he devised a strategy for how he would do this, 03:03 and we see this in 2 Samuel 15, verses 2 through 4. 03:07 >>Eric: "Now Absalom would rise early 03:09 "and stand beside the way to the gate. 03:11 "So it was, whenever anyone who had a lawsuit came to the king 03:15 "for a decision, that Absalom would call to him and say, 03:18 "'What city are you from?' 03:19 "And he would say, 'Your servant is from 03:21 "such and such a tribe of Israel.' 03:23 "Then Absalom would say to him, 'Look, your case is good 03:26 "and right; but there is no deputy of the king to hear you.' 03:29 "Moreover Absalom would say, 03:31 "'Oh, that I were made judge in the land, 03:33 "'and everyone who has any suit or cause would come to me; 03:37 then I would give him justice.'" 03:39 >>John: Now, you can see there what Absalom is doing. 03:41 Number one, he sets up at the gate of the city 03:43 because this is where judgment took place 03:44 in the ancient Near East. That's where judgment--the judges sat. 03:47 And he sets up there, and he says things like, 03:49 "Well, there's nobody from the king to help you 03:51 "with this problem. You should receive justice. 03:54 "And if only I was a judge or if only I was in charge, 03:56 things would be better for you." 03:58 And this is the same kind of strategy 03:59 that the devil used in heaven and then on earth. 04:02 "If I was in charge, if I was the king, if I was the ruler, 04:05 things would be better." 04:06 And so his whole plan is to try to sow discord, distrust of God, 04:10 to break our relationship with God by deception and slander; 04:14 and this he does throughout the entire story. 04:17 Now, many people think of the cosmic conflict as something 04:19 that is very prominent in the New Testament 04:21 but not very prominent in the Old Testament, 04:23 but as we're going to see, that's actually not the case. 04:27 >>Eric: So speaking of this cosmic conflict 04:29 and the rules of engagement, we have demons 04:33 who disguise themselves as gods in pagan nations. 04:38 How does this impact our understanding of idolatry 04:41 in these stories that we see here? 04:44 >>John: The greatest sin that is emphasized 04:46 throughout the Old Testament is the sin of idolatry, 04:48 which primarily in the Old Testament 04:50 refers to the worship of these other gods, 04:52 these false gods of the nations, the pagan gods; 04:55 and they are just all throughout the Old Testament. 04:58 Now, for a long time I read these passages like, I think, 05:01 a lot of Westerners read these passages, 05:04 and I thought, "Oh, those gods aren't real 05:06 because the idols are nothing," right? 05:07 "And so there's not really gods there. 05:10 "This is all just some mythology that they believed at the time, 05:13 but it wasn't--there wasn't really any truth behind it." 05:16 And it's true that idols are nothing, 05:18 it's true that the gods they thought 05:19 they were worshiping are not real, 05:22 but the Bible shows that behind those false gods 05:26 that were usurping worship from the true God 05:28 were the demons who were masquerading as gods, 05:30 fallen angels who were masquerading as gods. 05:33 And once you see this in the Old Testament, 05:35 you cannot unsee it. It is everywhere. 05:38 And it shows not only is the cosmic conflict all throughout 05:41 not just the New Testament but also the Old Testament, 05:44 but it's a conflict over worship where these demonic agencies, 05:47 just like the devil did in the temptation, 05:49 tries to usurp the worship that belongs to God alone. 05:54 And once you see this, you see that these gods of the nations 05:56 behind them are demonic rulers that correspond 05:59 to what Paul calls the principalities and powers 06:01 in the New Testament. Now, how do I know that? 06:03 This is just taught straightforwardly by the Bible. 06:06 In Deuteronomy 32:17, Deuteronomy says this. 06:10 It says, "They sacrificed to demons, not to God, 06:14 "to gods they did not know, to new gods, 06:17 new arrivals that your fathers did not fear." 06:20 So they were sacrificing to the false gods of the nations, 06:23 but they were actually sacrificing to demons. 06:26 This is reinforced very clearly by Paul in the New Testament 06:29 in 1 Corinthians 10, beginning in verse 20. 06:32 >>Eric: "Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice 06:35 "they sacrifice to demons and not to God, 06:38 "and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 06:41 "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; 06:44 "you cannot partake of the Lord's table 06:46 and of the table of demons." 06:48 >>John: So in this passage, the verse right before that, 06:50 Paul talks about idols being nothing, 06:52 but then he points out that the sacrifices 06:54 they're making to idols are actually going to demons. 06:56 And so behind those gods that the idols represented, 06:59 who don't actually exist as the gods 07:01 they thought they were worshiping, 07:03 there were demonic agencies 07:04 that are trying to usurp this worship. 07:06 And these demonic agencies appear throughout 07:08 the Old Testament stories. 07:10 You have many, many examples of these celestial rulers, 07:14 these demonic figures that are operating 07:16 behind even earthly kings and earthly kingdoms 07:18 over and over again through the stories of Scripture. 07:21 >>Eric: So we're looking at, again, this cosmic conflict, 07:24 this struggle between good and evil. 07:27 And many of the people throughout the Old Testament 07:29 who believed they were worshiping gods, 07:31 not actual gods but demons masquerading as gods 07:36 trying to usurp that worship and that adoration. 07:41 We see some more angelic activity 07:43 going on over in the book of Daniel. 07:46 There's a powerful story over there in Daniel, chapter 10. 07:49 Walk us through a little bit what's going on in Daniel, 07:52 chapter 10 that helps us to understand this cosmic conflict, 07:55 and, again, what we're talking about this week, 07:57 the rules of engagement, 07:58 what's permitted and what's not permitted. 08:00 >>John: Yeah, yeah. This is 08:03 an amazing, amazing example in Daniel 10 08:07 where you have a striking example 08:09 of what I call, for lack of a better term, 08:11 rules of engagement, and rules of engagement 08:13 are parameters in the conflict that both God 08:17 and the enemy are operating within. 08:19 And Daniel 10 provides one example, 08:21 and then Job is another that we'll see 08:23 and many other examples of these rules of engagement. 08:27 So in Daniel 10 you have a story where Daniel 08:31 has a message revealed to him, 08:34 and he's trying to get further understanding 08:36 of this vision, this message from God, 08:39 and he is fasting and praying for three entire weeks. 08:45 That's significant because for three weeks 08:47 he is fasting and he is praying 08:49 because he is trying to understand this vision. 08:52 He's calling on God to help him to understand 08:55 and to bring him prophetic and divine insight 08:58 into this vision and the meaning. 09:01 He's particularly concerned about the meaning 09:03 it has for his people who are in exile, still in exile. 09:07 He's worried about whether prophecies given to Jeremiah 09:09 and others are going to come true. 09:11 So he's praying for three weeks. 09:15 Then he has a vision of a divine figure, 09:19 and finally in verse 10 it says, 09:22 "Suddenly," Daniel writes, "Suddenly, a hand touched me, 09:25 "which made me tremble on my knees 09:28 "and on the palms of my hands. 09:31 "And he said to me, 'O Daniel, man greatly beloved, 09:35 "'understand the words that I speak to you, 09:38 "and stand upright, for I have...been sent to you.' 09:41 "While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling. 09:44 "Then he said to me, 'Do not fear, Daniel, 09:47 "'for from the first day that you set your heart 09:50 "'to understand, and to humble yourself 09:52 "'before your God, your words were heard; and I have come 09:56 because of your words'"-- or in response to your words. 09:59 So from the first day he started praying 10:01 three weeks ago, this angel is sent, 10:05 but it takes him three weeks to get there. Why? 10:08 Well, the next verse tells us. 10:09 Verse 13: "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 10:14 "twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, 10:17 one of the chief princes"-- it can also be translated 10:19 "the chief prince" or "the chief of the princes"-- 10:22 "Michael...came to help me, for I had been left [there alone] 10:26 with the kings of Persia." 10:29 So, for three weeks this angel sent by God is delayed 10:34 by this prince of Persia. 10:37 Now, most biblical scholars believe this is not merely 10:41 the human king of Persia but is actually a demonic ruler 10:44 standing behind the human king of Persia that this demon 10:48 is trying to influence and the angel is also trying 10:50 to influence because their--the decisions of the human king 10:54 are going to determine whether or not the people 10:58 will remain in exile, the human king Cyrus and also his son. 11:02 And so, you have this demonic figure 11:06 that is operating behind the scenes 11:08 and withstanding an angel sent by God for three weeks. 11:12 So we can ask ourselves, "How is this possible?" 11:16 It's only possible if God is not exercising all His power 11:20 because if God is exercising all His power, 11:22 He could send an angel, and He could have 11:23 the angel there immediately, or He could give Daniel 11:25 a vision immediately that explains everything. 11:29 But it seems in the story that there is a real conflict 11:32 taking place behind the scenes, with some real authority 11:34 and jurisdiction given to demonic rulers, 11:37 in which God Himself even abides 11:39 within those parameters of this conflict. 11:42 And for lack of a better term, I refer to those parameters 11:45 that even God abides by-- they limit Satan's activity 11:47 within some jurisdiction-- 11:49 but God also operates within these parameters 11:51 that I refer to as rules of engagement 11:53 in this cosmic conflict. 11:55 And this is just one of many striking scenes in the Bible 11:59 where you have these parameters 12:00 that are usually in the background. 12:02 We usually don't see them, we don't know precisely 12:03 what they are, but they come to the surface, 12:05 and you see them in the story of the cosmic conflict. 12:09 >>Eric: And this idea of rules of engagement, 12:12 we have, of course, what's currently in the lesson. 12:15 The concept is much broader, much deeper. 12:18 Share with us a little bit about that companion book 12:20 that you have written for this quarter's 12:22 "Sabbath School" lesson and what someone might get further, 12:26 a deeper understanding of some of these 12:28 rules of engagement in the cosmic conflict 12:30 if they were to pick up that companion book. 12:32 >>John: Yeah, so in the companion volume 12:33 I get to unpack further what the Bible means 12:37 with regard to these parameters or rules 12:42 that I call rules of engagement in the cosmic conflict 12:44 that God Himself has morally bound Himself 12:47 to operate within. 12:49 And I can't unpack all of this in the case--in the course 12:53 of the lesson by itself, but you have these parameters 12:57 that God Himself is operating within 12:59 because these parameters are not just set by Him unilaterally. 13:02 They're actually set in the heavenly court. 13:04 This is part of a cosmic courtroom drama, 13:07 and much more is going on behind the scenes. 13:09 There's many heavenly council scenes in Scripture 13:11 that I unpack just a little bit in the companion volume 13:14 so you can see some further insights 13:16 into how this is working, and it's really amazing. 13:18 When I studied this, I saw so many amazing things 13:21 that I had never seen before that really provide 13:23 a much larger picture of this cosmic conflict 13:26 and what is happening behind the scenes. 13:27 >>Eric: So if this is something you would like to understand 13:30 better, there is a good way to do that. 13:31 That's to pick up the companion book or the companion volume 13:34 to this quarter's "Sabbath School" lesson. 13:36 You will find it at itiswritten.shop. 13:39 Again, that's itiswritten.shop. 13:42 Just look for the companion book to this quarter's 13:44 "Sabbath School" lesson on God's love and justice. 13:47 We're going to come back in just a moment 13:49 as we continue looking a little bit more 13:51 at the rules of engagement in this cosmic conflict 13:55 here on "Sabbath School," 13:56 brought to you by It Is Written. 13:58 [uplifting music] 14:03 >>John Bradshaw: It's the sound that strikes instant terror 14:05 into the hearts of many. 14:07 [rattlesnake's tail rattling] 14:10 The rattlesnake's bite can be deadly, 14:13 but how did it get this way? 14:15 Join me for "War in Heaven," 14:18 part two of It Is Written's series "Prequel of the Bible." 14:22 We'll hear from an expert on venomous snakes. 14:25 >>man: So, these are designed to kill. 14:28 When it comes to us, they have no desire to do that. 14:32 >>John: You sure? >>man: I am positive. 14:34 >>John: And we'll learn about the war in heaven, 14:37 a war of ideas that caused a third of the angels in heaven 14:43 to turn against God and set our world on a path 14:47 very different from the one God intended. 14:51 Don't miss "War in Heaven," 14:53 part two of the series "Prequel of the Bible." 14:57 "War in Heaven" 14:59 on It Is Written TV. 15:03 >>John: You know that at It Is Written we are serious 15:05 about studying the Word of God, and we encourage you 15:08 to be serious as well. 15:09 Well, here's what you do 15:10 if you want to dig deeper into God's Word. 15:12 Go to itiswritten.study for the It Is Written Bible Study Guides 15:17 online, 25 in-depth Bible studies that will take you 15:20 through the major teachings of the Bible. 15:22 You'll be blessed, and it's something 15:24 you'll want to tell others about as well: 15:26 itiswritten.study. 15:28 Go further: itiswritten.study. 15:32 [uplifting music] 15:37 >>Eric: Welcome back to "Sabbath School," 15:38 brought to you by It Is Written. 15:40 We are looking at lesson number 10 of 13 15:44 in this quarter's study, 15:45 and we're looking at the rules of engagement. 15:48 John, I want to make a statement here and then let you 15:51 kind of unpack it and respond to it: 15:53 "God works only by love, not coercion." 15:58 So if that's the case, how does this principle help us 16:03 to understand the perceived limits of divine power 16:07 when we're talking about this cosmic conflict? 16:09 >>John Peckham: Because God only works by love, 16:12 He of necessity grants free will 16:15 because free will is necessary for love 16:17 because love must be freely given and freely received. 16:20 That means God is not coercing creatures 16:22 to do what He wants 16:23 because that would undermine the kind of freedom 16:25 that is necessary for love. 16:27 Now, when people first hear of this concept 16:28 of rules of engagement, it might seem foreign to them, 16:30 it might even seem strange, 16:32 but I would suggest to everyone that you might already have 16:35 the pieces in your mind for the basic parameters 16:38 of what I mean by rules of engagement. 16:40 So if you believe that God makes promises, does He? 16:44 Clearly in the Bible, the God of the Bible is nothing 16:46 if not a God who makes promises. 16:48 Then you also would believe that God always keeps His promises. 16:53 Would God ever break a promise? 16:54 Of course not. The Bible teaches He never breaks His promises. 16:58 To the extent, then, that God makes a promise 17:00 or enters into any commitments, 17:02 He has morally bound Himself to act according to those promises 17:06 or according to those commitments. 17:08 Now, if you bring that over to the domain 17:09 of the cosmic conflict where the enemy has raised 17:11 slanderous allegations, and in order to respond 17:14 to those allegations, these can only be met 17:16 by a demonstration, not by a mere show of power. 17:20 Why? Because you cannot defeat allegations 17:22 against your character by a show of power. 17:24 No matter how much power you would show, 17:26 it would only make the allegations worse. 17:28 It can only be by a demonstration of character, 17:30 but that can only take place within some parameters, 17:34 with some room being given to make this demonstration. 17:37 So God Himself before a heavenly council or heavenly court 17:41 enters into some commitments or agreements 17:44 that morally bound--bind even Him within this cosmic conflict. 17:48 So He's operating within these parameters temporarily 17:51 because it's the only way to settle the cosmic conflict 17:54 once and for all for the good of all concerned. 17:57 >>Eric: And so He doesn't want to see evil come up 17:59 a second time, and in order for that to happen, there has to be 18:02 some satisfaction of questions, answers of questions. 18:05 >>John: And we see some of these parameters 18:06 in some very interesting places. 18:09 One of those places I want to look at 18:10 is in Mark, chapter 6, verses 5 through 6. 18:14 >>Eric: "Now He could do no mighty work there, 18:16 "except that He laid His hands on a few sick people 18:18 "and healed them. And He marveled 18:20 "because of their unbelief. 18:22 Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching." 18:25 >>John: So this refers to Jesus in Nazareth, 18:27 and it says He could do no miracle there, 18:29 except for a few miracles; and there seems to be a link 18:32 with their lack of faith. 18:33 So even Jesus, the all-powerful Son of God, is limited 18:37 in His miracle-working ability in His hometown 18:39 in some way that's linked to their faith. 18:41 This shows some parameters, some rules, 18:44 some factors in the background 18:45 that are affecting even the ability of Jesus 18:48 to work miracles within this cosmic conflict. 18:51 We see something similar in a story in Mark, chapter 9. 18:54 In Mark 9, there's a story of this man who brings 18:57 his demon-afflicted son to Jesus; first, he actually 19:01 brings his son to Jesus' disciples, and they're not able 19:04 to cast the demon out. 19:05 And he comes to Jesus and he says, 19:06 "If You can do anything, please help my son." 19:10 And Jesus replies, "'If You can'? 19:12 All things are possible to him who believes." 19:16 And then the man responds this way. 19:18 He says, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" 19:24 And I always love that passage because it's almost like 19:26 the man is saying, "I want to believe. I think I believe. 19:31 I don't know if I believe quite enough, so help me." 19:34 And it's very, very interesting and encouraging to me 19:37 that Jesus doesn't say to that man, 19:40 "Come back to me when you have more faith. 19:42 "Go find your faith, come back. 19:43 When you believe, then I'll do something for you." 19:45 No. Just that little faith, right? 19:48 We might say faith like the size of a mustard seed, 19:50 the way Jesus might describe it elsewhere. 19:53 That was enough. 19:54 And Jesus acts, and He casts this demon out of the boy. 19:59 He heals the man's son in response to this question 20:04 and shows his power even over the demonic agencies. 20:08 But that's not the end of the story because after this 20:10 the disciples' pride is kind of hurt. 20:12 You know, they come to Jesus: 20:14 "Well, why couldn't we cast this demon out? 20:15 What's going on here?" And Jesus answered them. 20:18 Again, it's very interesting, very instructive. 20:21 He says, "This kind can only come out by prayer." 20:26 And so you see here, again, there are some 20:28 rules of engagement, that prayer can make a difference 20:31 with the casting out of demons, with the limits within which 20:34 the demonic agencies are even allowed to operate. 20:36 And we don't understand all the ins and outs, 20:38 we just get glimpses of these rules 20:40 throughout the stories of Scripture 20:42 where the demons are--have some jurisdiction 20:45 within some parameters, but then elements 20:48 like faith and prayer can make a difference. 20:50 Like, God can do more when there's faith involved. 20:53 Sometimes, at least, it can open up avenues for God, 20:55 moral avenues, within the rules of engagement. 20:57 And prayer can also open up avenues 21:00 within the rules of engagement for God to do things 21:02 He already wanted to do, but maybe they were against 21:04 the rules of engagement, unless God's people pray. 21:09 So I believe within these rules God reserves the right that, 21:12 "When my people call on me, this may open up more avenues." 21:15 Now, we shouldn't think that prayer is always 21:17 going to do that because there's so many other factors involved. 21:20 And we don't always know all of the factors behind the scene, 21:22 but we see faith and prayer as big factors alongside 21:25 these rules of engagement in the cosmic conflict. 21:28 >>Eric: As we're looking at rules of engagement 21:29 in this cosmic conflict, there's probably one story 21:32 that in many people's minds percolates up to the top, 21:35 and I think appropriately so, and that's the story of Job. 21:39 Help us understand how this story of what's happening 21:41 at the beginning of the book of Job illustrates this. 21:44 >>John: Yeah, so, you have Job, who's introduced 21:46 at the beginning of the story as a good man. 21:49 He's blameless, and he's upright, 21:51 and he's one who serves God, 21:54 but then a number of things end up happening to Job. 21:58 But before this, we have a scene in heaven 22:00 where the sons of God meet, and Satan appears among them. 22:05 This is a heavenly council scene, and this begins 22:07 in verse 6 of Job 1. 22:09 >>Eric: "Now there was a day when the sons of God 22:11 "came to present themselves before the Lord, 22:13 "and Satan also came among them. 22:15 "And the Lord said to Satan, 'From where do you come?' 22:18 "So Satan answered the Lord and said, 'From going to and fro 22:22 on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.'" 22:25 >>John: Okay, so we see there in verse 6 that this is 22:28 a scene of the sons of God, and this is one of many scenes 22:31 that scholars identify as heavenly council scenes, okay? 22:35 And in the next verse you have this statement: 22:37 Well, why is Satan there? 22:39 God even asked him, "From where do you come?" 22:42 Now, we know this isn't God asking a question 22:44 'cause He doesn't know the answer. He's omniscient, right? 22:45 He knows everything already. 22:47 This is actually a kind of formulaic question and response 22:50 because the same question and response is given in Job 2. 22:53 He says, "From where do you come?" 22:54 And Satan's answer is basically like, 22:56 "From earth, from roaming on it 22:57 because I'm the ruler of the earth." 22:59 Because after Adam and Eve fell, he has temporary rulership. 23:02 Jesus three times calls him "the ruler of this world" 23:04 in the book of John. And so he claims that. 23:06 He says, "I have the right to be at this heavenly council 23:08 as the representative of the earth." 23:11 >>Eric: "Then the Lord said to Satan, 23:12 "'Have you considered my servant Job, 23:14 "'that there is none like him on the earth, 23:16 a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?'" 23:21 >>John: Now, at this point we can be clear 23:24 that there is a dispute that's already taking place-- 23:28 or kind of like a heavenly court case 23:29 before the heavenly council that's already taking place 23:32 in the background, just from this kind of question, right? 23:35 Because if I were to say to you right now in the midst 23:37 of our discussion, "Have you considered my son Joel? 23:39 He's really a great kid, I mean, the best kind of kid." 23:43 You might say, "That's nice, but why are you starting 23:46 "to talk about your son in the middle of this program 23:48 that we're airing," right? 23:49 This is strange indeed, unless there is something 23:52 in the background, and there's actually a court case. 23:54 And God is putting Job in kind of as an exhibit to prove 23:59 one of Satan's allegations wrong, 24:01 and He declares Job to be blameless and upright. 24:04 That's significant for what takes place. 24:07 >>Eric: "So Satan answered the Lord and said, 24:08 "'Does Job fear God for nothing? 24:11 "'Have You not made a hedge around him, 24:13 "'around his household, 24:15 "'and around all that he has on every side? 24:17 "'You have blessed the work of his hands, 24:19 and his possessions have increased in the land.'" 24:22 >>John: So, here Satan raises doubt: 24:24 Does Job really fear God, or is he just serving God because God 24:29 blesses him and protects him? And you have that phrase there: 24:32 "You've put a hedge around him" or a fence around him. 24:34 That's another example, another clear example, 24:36 of rules of engagement. 24:38 The devil is allowed to operate within some parameters, 24:41 but in this case he's bumping up against parameters 24:44 that he's not allowed to cross, 24:45 and he's basically going to the heavenly court 24:46 and saying, "You know what, 24:48 "if You would remove these parameters, 24:49 "I could make my case. 24:51 "But God is protecting Job, so I can't prove my case 24:54 "that Job isn't really who he appears to be. 24:56 He's not really blameless and upright, as God claims." 25:00 >>Eric: '"But now, stretch out Your hand and touch 25:02 "all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!' 25:06 "And the Lord said to Satan, 'Behold, all that he has 25:09 "is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.' 25:13 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord." 25:16 >>John: So, here Satan directly claims 25:18 that Job isn't really what God claims that he is. 25:22 "If You would just bring affliction on him, 25:24 "he would curse You to Your face. 25:27 "He doesn't really fear You, which means he's 25:29 not really blameless and upright." 25:30 This is not only a slander against Job's character, 25:33 but it's also indirectly a slander against God's character 25:37 and God's government because God has already judged Job 25:40 to be blameless and upright. 25:42 So if Satan's allegations are true, not only is Job 25:45 not what he appears to be, but God has judged unfairly 25:48 or unjustly and is protecting Job in an unjust way. 25:52 And so, this is slanderous of God's character 25:54 and government in a way that continues 25:57 throughout the entire story. 25:58 This is the modus operandi of the devil. 26:01 And this is taking place in a heavenly court. 26:03 This is a cosmic courtroom drama in which these rules 26:06 of engagement are in place, and Satan is appealing 26:09 to the court to change these rules of engagement. 26:11 So we see that there are rules of engagement. 26:13 There is a cosmic courtroom drama. 26:15 These rules are not set unilaterally, 26:18 but it's part of this larger scene 26:20 in which not only the devil and God are involved, 26:22 it's not just a conversation between them, 26:24 but this is part of court proceedings, 26:26 which means the rules of engagement themselves 26:28 will be set in ways that neither party might find ideal. 26:32 >>Eric: Satan claims to be the ruler of this world, 26:34 and we see today that there's a depiction 26:39 of Satan as the ruler behind earthly kingdoms. 26:43 In the book of Revelation, 26:45 that becomes very, very apparent. 26:47 How does--or how should that shape our understanding 26:50 of political and spiritual power and how those come together? 26:53 >>John: Yeah, so I want to encourage everyone 26:55 to read these. In Revelation 12, you have this dragon ruler 26:57 who's introduced as the enemy ruler. 26:59 Then in Revelation 13, you have these beasts. 27:02 You have a beast from the sea, who is clearly a composite beast 27:05 consisting of the beast from Daniel 7, 27:08 which referred to these oppressive empires 27:09 that oppress God's people throughout the ages, 27:11 and then to powers that come after them, 27:14 including religious powers that also do the same. 27:16 And these powers, these earthly powers, receive 27:19 their authority from the dragon. 27:21 Directly, the dragon is the one who gives them their authority 27:23 and their power, which shows you that all throughout the story, 27:27 standing behind these regimes and these earthly powers 27:30 that stand against God and His people, 27:32 is the dragon ruler himself, 27:34 which shows you how much authority he has temporarily. 27:36 But there's good news because Revelation also says 27:39 the devil knows that his time is short. 27:42 >>Eric: And so we've seen how Revelation ends. 27:44 Or if you haven't seen how Revelation ends, I sure hope 27:47 you're going to read it, because we're going to see 27:48 how this cosmic conflict all does come to an end 27:52 in a satisfactory way. 27:54 We're going to continue looking at this incredible subject 27:56 when we come back again next week 27:58 for more study here on "Sabbath School," 28:00 brought to you by It Is Written. 28:02 [uplifting music] 28:24 ♪♪♪ 28:26 [Captions provided by Aberdeen Captioning www.abercap.com] |
Revised 2025-02-26