Date of message: 15 March 2003
Subject: The Sign Of The Times - The Jealous One Had Been Defeated
Shalom, Boker-tov (good morning),

Long time ago, before man was created, the devil and his fallen angels roamed the whole universe and especially Earth. They do not have any physical form and hence were able to traverse everywhere with ease. They occupied the Earth but they were not given authority over it. One day, God decided to create man in His own image and to give him the authority over the whole planet.

Imagine the anger and frustration on the face of the devil when he realized the position of privilege that God had given to man. No wonder he hated the whole human race. "How can God do that to me? How can man have dominion over the whole planet when I, Lucifer, did not even get it?"
Lucifer was a powerful angel whom God created alongside the angels Gabriel and Michael. Gabriel was given the task of the news bearer while Michael was the warring angel. Lucifer was placed in charge of the worship area and music was his specialty. Given such an elevated position, Lucifer was not satisfied and so he plotted to be like God and build his throne above that of God's. His evil plot was discovered by the Omniscient God who then banished him down to hell. ( read Isaiah 14: 12 - 15 ).

One day Lucifer appeared in the Garden of Eden and putting on a physical form, he possessed the serpent and appeared to Eve. He knew that the special position that man had over God's creation will immediately be forfeited the moment he sinned and disobeyed God. He also knew that where God had not specifically given a law he would not be able to tempt Adam or Eve.

The whole Earth was given to man. There must have been millions of trees in the Garden and many of these trees bore fruit. And yet, God only gave specific instructions to Adam and Eve not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil - they could eat of every tree except one miserable tree. Yet the devil knew that he had to get them to eat of that tree because that was the only restriction or law that God gave them.

Someone once said, "If the devil was so afraid that man would have dominion over the whole Earth forever, then why did he not tempt Eve to murder Adam and then the whole human race would have been in jeopardy and he would still have been able to roam the Garden freely by himself?" Unfortunately for the devil, he could not do that because there was no such law given to man yet. The Commandment, "You shall not murder," only came two thousand five hundred years later. Where there is no law, the devil cannot tempt; in fact his name, devil, literally means "the accuser" in Hebrew (Ha'shatan).

The devil had bored that grudge against mankind since the creation. He met his competition and so he had to find a way to frustrate God's plan. He rejoiced when Eve and Adam fell for his trick and sinned against God by eating from the very tree that He forbade them to eat. Man forfeited his position of privilege and he was stripped of his glory. In Genesis 3 we read that their eyes were opened after they had sinned and they saw their nakedness and they went and covered themselves with leaves.
Did Adam and Eve wear anything when they were created? I do not believe they had any coverings for they were so full of the glory of God in their bodies that they did not need any external coverings. No wonder they were able to command every animal and all the animals obeyed them. That was the glory that God gave to Adam and Eve but had to be removed when they sinned against God. And without that glory, their bodies were exposed and sicknesses and diseases came and infected them. Their bodies began to decay and must die.
The devil had achieved his purpose. He destroyed man's special position and man could no longer live forever. They could not enjoy the presence of God in their fallen state just as he could no longer enjoy the company of God.

Little did the devil know that God had something bigger in mind! Long before the Creation, God the Father had a conference with His Son and His Holy Spirit. Because they are God, they knew that man would make those wrong choices and sin and therefore the Father laid out His master plan and asked Who among the Godhead would be willing to take up the honor and be the One who will save mankind after he had fallen into sin.

The Son replied promptly that He would be more than willing to pay the price for our sins and to die on our behalf so that we could live forever. The redemption plan was born. And therefore after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, God came and confirmed to them and to the devil the promise of the Messiah, the Savior of the human race. In Genesis 3: 15, God declared to the devil, "and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."

The devil knows that his days have been numbered. His end started when Jesus rose from the dead on that first Easter morning. When Jesus died on that Friday, he thought he won because all the hopes of mankind died along with Him but when Jesus arose three days later to declare to everyone that God is no longer angry with us because His death satisfied the Father completely, the devil had been trembling since.

He knows that his power over Believers had been curtailed because of our new positions of glory. Because of what Christ had accomplished on our behalf, we are now more than conquerors; our current position is far superior over that of Adam before he sinned because of the value of the One who died in our place.

The devil's lease on this earth is soon coming to an end. His dominion over the earth is expiring soon and he is aware of that. He is hoping that not many people know that fact so that he can continue to pull wool over their eyes and subjugate them.

"So when will the End be?" you may ask. Jesus told His disciples that no one knows exactly when He will be back, not even Himself, except the Father. However He did teach His disciples to look out for certain signs that will take place just before His return and we are witnessing some of those signs (please read my message of 01st March 2003). We do not have much more to wait; you might even say that we have already entered the final phase and in the spiritual parlance this is akin to the eleventh hour fifty ninth minute of the Lord's timing.
Soon it will be striking midnight and the Lord will ride on the clouds and come back for His own; all those who believed and received Him into their lives. We will be spending eternity with Him in heaven and enjoying His very presence. But for those who do not believe in what He had accomplished for them when He died on the cross, they will be spending their eternity in the lake of fire together with the devil. That place had been reserved for the devil all along and he had been very keen and hard at work ensuring as many as possible would join him there. For the Christian he knows that we are beyond his reach.

On which side of the Divide are you? Have you believed in Jesus, the One Who had died for you and taken away your sin? Choose Life. The Bible teaches that it is only to those who have believed in Jesus as their Lord and Savior who will enjoy this victory we have in Jesus. Because of our position as children of the Most High God we are now able to enter into His awesome Presence and enjoy His blessings for us. We will not be judged for our sins because Jesus took our punishment on the cross.
Why not take this opportunity to receive Him and join us as children of the Lord. The Bible tells us that we become children of God the moment we believe in Jesus and welcome Him into our hearts. Read John 1:12 and be comforted. The Lord does not lie. For Him, whatever He speaks come to pass and He had promised us in the Bible that those who have put their trust in Him will not be condemned but have passed from death into life (Romans 8: 1).

Pray this simple prayer of faith and invite Him into your heart and immediately you will experience the peace coming your way.
Our Heavenly Father, thank you that You love us so much You sent Your only Beloved Son Jesus into this world to take our place and to die for all our sins. You are such an awesome God in that You love us in spite of who we are; that even while we were still sinners Jesus died for our sins.
Lord Jesus, thank you that You came, You obeyed the Father, You died for all on the cross, You conquered death and You rose again on the third day. And now, because of Your death and resurrection, we, who believe in You as our Lord and Savior, will no longer have to die but we receive Your eternal life. Thank you for coming into my heart and making my heart Your home.

Thank you that what You have accomplished for us on the cross has qualified me to become a child of God the Father. Thank you that I am now eternally forgiven, greatly blessed, highly favored, deeply loved and completely protected in the Lord and in Your most precious Name, Yeshua Ha' Meshiah, I pray. Amen.

If you have prayed that prayer for the first time, welcome to the Family of the Father (and it is a very large universal family). It is important that you are not alone facing your personal trials but that you can obtain good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find your own local Christian family (local church) and worship the Father together? You will be greatly encouraged when you meet together to worship the Father, for fellowship and for the study of the Word of Christ.
Start receiving the blessings of the Father as you walk with Him in faith. It is your inheritance in Christ and He wants you to start enjoying these blessings right now and there is more from where they come from.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace.
Numbers 6: 24 - 26
Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee
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