The Apostle Paul, writing to the churches located in the area called Galatia, was describing the world as it was 2000 years ago. In a word, that world was EVIL. And evilness was not just then appearing on the scene. Evil had been around since Lucifer became Satan in the unknown past–before the re-creation of the world as described in the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis. Lucifer and his angelic followers were created without sin, then “… iniquity (Lawlessness) was found in you” (Eze. 28:15). Lucifer and his underlings had broken God’s Law and, as a result, had died spiritually. Even then, the wages of sin was spiritual death (Rom. 6:23). Adam and Eve, following the lead of Satan and his fallen angels, CHOSE to disobey God, and as a consequence, died spiritually. Within a few generations the world was filled with sin, so much so that God destroyed every human being on earth except Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and his family–eight people in all.

Ironically, God saved two of every kind of animal, but killed off unknown numbers of people whom the Godhead had created in Their own image and likeness. Fortunately, not every human being on earth died. We are told that “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Gen. 6;8). Listen to what Moses wrote about every human being on earth except Noah, and possibly his family, as recorded in Genesis six: “the wickedness of man was great on the earth … every THOUGHT of his heart (mind) was continually on evil” (vs 5). Because of the universal wickedness of man, God destroyed the totality of mankind, except for eight people. He spared Noah’s family because the patriarch of the family was “a preacher of righteousness.” Noah had preached righteousness to the whole of mankind. His words were rejected. The question is WHY?

Why was the entire world filled with wickedness (Lawlessness–1 Jn. 3:4). One can rightly ask: “What POSSESSED people to live what they did?” Excellent question. What did “possess” all of those people to reject Noah’s words and thereby reject and despise (hate) the Godhead (read Lk. 10:16). Could there have been a spiritual force on earth that persuaded all those people to break God’s Law? If we can believe God and His Christ, there was. In the New Testament those spiritual forces are called “Satan/the devil” and his fallen angels called “devils” and “demons.” These evil spirits were cast down to earth following their attempt to take the universe from its Creator. Being spirits, they could not die. Therefore they continue to AFFECT the thoughts, words and actions of mankind to this day. Anciently, Adam set the example of giving in to them. His son Abel showed us how to resist them. Even then, sin was a choice, just as it is today. And as was the case then, sin is the result of human failure to use the power God has provided mankind. That power is the Holy Spirit which is given to truly repentant man.

As we are told, sin is “in the world.” We are also told that God’s people, though “in the world,” are not “of the world.” Adam brough sin “into the world” of humanity (Rom. 5:12). But sin was already here in the person of the Serpent–Satan–and his evil spirits. What we must understand is that sin was not in man until Adam and Eve CHOSE to embrace it. Being in total control of everything around them (Gen. 1:26-30), they could have controlled the Serpent and his fallen angels. Instead, they CHOSE to embrace their sinful ways. NOTHING HAS CHANGED. Man has the promise of power to keep Satan and his helpers at bay. With the exception of a minutely few true believers (Mat. 7:13,14; 20:16), Satan and his minions control the thoughts, words and acts of mankind, including the whole of professing Christendom.

Recall that God did NOT tell Adam and Eve that they could NOT eat of the TREE OF LIFE. They were free to eat of “EVERY TREE” in the garden (Gen. 2:16). Had they CHOSEN to partake of it they would have had received the Holy Spirit–the power of God. They could then have resisted Satan’s TEMPTATION relative to eating of the tree of the “knowledge of good and evil.” Understand this, the words “knowledge of” means “power to determine.” Eating of the forbidden fruit gave them the power to DETERMINE FOR THEMSELVES WHAT WAS GOOD AND EVIL, RIGHT AND WRONG–a power LEGALLY possessed ONLY BY GOD. By taking that power unto themselves, THEY DECLARED THEMSELVES TO BE GODS. Hear what God said to the Word (Jn. 1:1-4,14) concerning Adam following his blunder: “Behold, the man (Adam) has become as ONE OF US, KNOWING (ABLE TO DETERMINE FOR HIMSELF) GOOD AND EVIL.” Adam had awarded himself GOD STATUS and, by bowing to his own will, had committed idolatry. NOTHING HAS CHANGED. When a man sins he declares his own godship, thereby committing idolatry. Unconverted man commits idolatry repeatedly. Which brings up the question: WHY? Why does man so readily reject God and obey himself? Why does man insist on replacing God with himself?

For the answer let us turn to Matthew chapter 16 where we find Jesus telling the disciples that He would soon die. Peter rebukes Him, telling Him that He is wrong. Jesus then explains to the disciple, and us, why he (Peter) was absolutely certain that he was right and that Jesus was wrong. Notice to whom Jesus speaks as He looks Peter in the eye: “Get behind me, SATAN, for you DESORE TJE THINGS OF MAN, NOT THE THINGS OF GOD” (vs 23). Note it, SATAN WANTS MAN TO HAVE WHAT MAN WANTS, which, in 99.99% of the cases, is the exact opposite of what God wants. God wants man to please Him. Unconverted man wants to please himself. Question: was Peter–the leader of the disciples, the preacher of God’s Gospel, the healer of bodies and the caster out of demons–not converted? We will allow Jesus to answer that question.

In Luke 22:32 we find Jesus saying to Peter: “WHEN YOU ARE CONVERTED, help your brethren” (the other disciples) in their struggles to be truly converted. Recall in Matthew 18:33 Jesus saying to the twelve, “Unless YOU (disciples) BECOME CONVERTED … YOU cannot enter to the kingdom of heaven” (His church). Those unconverted disciples were the same men who were daily preaching the Gospel, healing the sick and casting out demons. This included Judas who had the same ministry as the other eleven disciples (Acts 1:17). Earlier, at least 70 of Christ’s disciples, having the same ministry as the other twelve, left Jesus and “went back into the world” (Lk. 10:1-20; Jn. 6:59-66). Read All That Glitters. Key word–Glitters. What could be powerful enough to turn those men away from Christ?

Having been with Jesus; having heard Him preach His Gospel; having watched Him perform miracles, then having preached that that same Gospel and having performed those same miracles in His name, what caused them to reject Him and return to the world? Note in John 6:64 that Jesus knew all along who among His disciples did not believe in Him and who would betray Him. AND YET HE HAD GIVEN THEM POWERFUL MIRACLE MINISTRIES. Question: What could have persuaded them to do such a terrible thing? The answer: Satan and his fallen angels, called “devils” and “demons.”

In the following posting we will examine these powerful spiritual beings and see how they affect human beings today exactly as they did in the days of Noah and Jesus. NOTHING IN THE SPIRIT WORLD HAS CHANGED. The same demonic “powers of the air” who led the world’s people to reject the preaching of Noah, the same spirits who lured 70 of Christ’s preaching, healing, delivering disciples away from Him, are still at work today, drawing people on all spiritual levels away from their Creator and into Satan’s camp. If Adam and Eve, who talked to the Lord face-to-face and lived in the paradise He had created for them, could be deceived, are we exempt from those evil spirits? Let us not only know our enemies and how they operate, let us also know how to defeat them. By paying attention to what is going on around us we know that the “evil world” Paul wrote about still exists and has become more evil with the passage of time. Let us recognize it and fight against it. Let us obey God and thereby win the war. L.J.