God created man in His image, and man was meant to rule over the earth (Gen. 1:28-30, known as the Dominion Mandate). Satan deceived Adam and Eve, resulting in the curse which brought death, suffering and decay. It also resulted in the forfeiting of man’s right to rule on earth. Satan caused by treachery mankind to lose the authority to rule the earth. Some believe that Satan gained this authority in place of man, but this is never stated explicitly in the scriptures. (Read Matt. 4:8-10 for evidence of this authority.) In this passage in Matthew, Jesus does not deny Satan’s claim, but rather He quotes Deut. 6:13 as a rebuke, stating that we are to worship God alone. Whether this is true or not, Satan is called the “Prince of this world” (Jo. 12:31, 14:40, 16:11) and the “god of this world“, world here being literally aion or age (2Cor. 4:4). As stated in Matthew 4, Satan does have influence over Kings, rulers and the kingdoms of this world. The good news is that Jesus Christ will be with us, even to the end of this age or aion (Matt. 28:20).
This story is about the Lord‘s plan to establish His kingdom on earth. The Lord has a plan to establish His kingdom. We know from the scriptures that the Lord’s kingdom was part of the gospel message (Mk. 1:14-15). Jesus also said that the kingdom of God was near, even within those who believe in Him as the Son of God (Lk. 17:21). Yet we also know from the scriptures that a physical, tangible kingdom is also coming (Rev. 11:15).
Unfortunately, the Devil has a plan to stop the coming of the Kingdom of God. Satan wants to establish a counterfeit kingdom. It will have a counterfeit savior, the anti-Christ. The anti-Christ will be the “seed of the serpent“ prophesied in Gen. 3:14-15. And there will be a counterfeit spiritual leader to inspire the masses, the Beast (Rev. 13:11-15).
Therefore, before the Lord returns, the world will have to deal with this false Kingdom and false Messiah, one who will try to take the place of Jesus Christ on the throne of David. The Bible talks about this plot in the last days, and the desire of those who would have a world ruled by anyone but the rightful ruler, the Lord God, and His Anointed One, Jesus.
THE CONSPIRACY
Psalms 2 gives a very clear view from God’s own throne of the long war against God. Who is it that dares to oppose God? Ps. 2:1-3 -
- the heathens (goyim) - peoples, nations, usually non-Hebrew
- the people (leom) - people in a general sense, nations
- the kings of the earth - (melek erets) - kings of earth
- rulers - (razan) - weighty, bearing great authority, rulers, commanders
And what is it that they are doing against God?
- the heathens rage (ragash) tumult, commotion, plot
- the people imagine a vain thing (hagah riyq) to roar, growl or groan an empty or worthless thing
- the kings of the earth set themselves (yatsab) take a stand, to place
- the rulers take counsel together (yasad yachad) establish a union, conspiracy, plot (with the kings of the earth)
This union of kings and rulers will seek to lead the peoples and nations of the earth against the LORD and HIS MESSIAH (vs.2). They will lead the people to believe that they are “bound” (vs.3) by God and His Anointed (Christ) but can and must cast Him off.
So when does this take place? Ps. 2:4-9 tells us that it will occur when the Lord places His King in the holy hill of Zion (vs. 6) and that His Son (vs. 7) will break them (the kings, rulers, nations) with a rod of iron (vs. 9). We know that these are end time events when we connect them with Ps. 110:5-6 and Rev. 12:5. This psalm is about the conditions that will exist just before the Day of the Lord’s wrath that is prophesied in Rev. 6:12-17, Is. 13:9-10, Joel 2:10, 30-31, Amos 8:9, Matt. 24:29, and many more.
So this plot sets the stage for the events of the last days. The majority of mankind, led by Satanically driven Kings and rulers, turn against God. Not simply denying Him, but empowered by a “great delusion” (2 Th. 2:8-12), the people will revolt against the Lord, seeing Him not as their Creator and Father, but as their enemy.
THE ENEMIES OF GOD - MAN
What did Jesus say about man and his relation to God? Look at John 3:16-21. John in this passage is contrasting salvation with condemnation, light with darkness. In vs. 19 he explains that condemnation is come into the world because the Light (Jesus Christ) came and men “loved the darkness rather than light”. The word for love here is the Greek word agapao, which means to love dearly, to be well pleased or content with. John goes on in vs. 20 to explain that those who do evil (love it) hate the light, lest they be convicted of their evil and turn from it. It is human nature to love darkness more than light, evil more than good. It is the natural course of fallen mankind to pursue evil. Paul states that mankind without God are the “children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3) and “children of disobedience” (Eph. 5:6).
The Lord would have all mankind to be saved (1 Ti. 2:3-4, 2 Pet. 3:9). However, most will reject Jesus Christ as their savior (Matt. 7:14). The point to be made here is not that some will choose spiritual death and hell over life. The point is that most will do so. Many will be lost due to unbelief (Rev. 21:8), thus not realizing the full consequences of their actions. But many willingly will choose to oppose Jesus Christ as their Savior. This is the human basis for the overwhelming number of persons who will turn away from belief in Jesus Christ when the anti-Christ reveals himself. The great apostasy will quickly follow. Apostasy means the falling or turning away from a person or idea that had previously been followed or believed. Both of these events occur just before the return of Jesus Christ (2 Th. 2:3-12).
The next lesson will focus on the other faction of the enemies of God, the spiritual hierarchy which has set itself in opposition to the Lord from the beginning of the Creation.