{"id":16455,"date":"2024-11-04T17:00:42","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T22:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/?p=16455"},"modified":"2024-11-04T17:02:10","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T22:02:10","slug":"october-intermission-from-the-kingdoms-of-satan-to-the-kingdom-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/article\/concise\/october-intermission-from-the-kingdoms-of-satan-to-the-kingdom-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"October Intermission: From the Kingdoms of Satan to the Kingdom of God"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the last month, Christ Over All has considered a host of ideologies that are currently pervading culture, threatening the church, and bringing destruction upon the image of God. In order, some of the ideologies we considered include Totalitarianism<\/a>, Malthusianism<\/a> (the gospel of Depopulation<\/a>), Marxism<\/a>, Environmentalism<\/a>, Statism<\/a>, Radical Individualism<\/a>, Hinduism<\/a>, Transgenderism<\/a>, Globalism<\/a>, Feminism<\/a>, and more<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Recognizing the ways that these -isms and their various prophets have invited the world to sin, we sought to expose them and overturn them. Using the tools of truth, Scripture, and philosophical argument, we aimed to \u201c<\/sup>destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ\u201d (2 Cor. 10:5).<\/p>\n

Indeed, following the lead of the Apostle Paul, who wrote 2 Corinthians to expose and overturn false apostles and their errant ideas, we took aim to slay Leviathan. And along the way, we found help by interviewing Aaron MacIntyre<\/a> and Glenn Sunshine<\/a>. Respectively, Aaron\u2019s book entitled The<\/em> Total State<\/em><\/a> helps us see how late-stage democracy has turned tyrannical, while Glenn\u2019s book, Slaying Leviathan<\/em><\/a>, teaches Christians how to resist tyranny when it springs to life. In our modern world, we must have a growing appreciation for the large-scale efforts of giant corporations and demonic states to destroy our faith, and we must know how to respond appropriately. These two books will help, as will the resources from October<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Christ Over All the Isms<\/h2>\n

\"Macintosh<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the New Testament reminds us, the work of Satan has not gone away since Christ sat down in heaven. Rather, as Revelation 12 reminds us, Satan\u2019s defenestration from heaven\u2014his being thrown down\u2014has resulted in his active attack on the church on earth. As Levi Secord wrote for us<\/a>, \u201cThe Serpent recruits the state to do his bidding and to attack God\u2019s people.\u201d And when he does, the demonic state becomes tyrannical, and must be opposed in prayer and with the Word of God. Continuing, he writes<\/a>,<\/p>\n

Scripture and history alert us to the dangers of a government unhitched from its master [i.e., the Lord]. Big government is\u00a0always\u00a0the enemy of God\u2019s people. The state is one of Satan\u2019s favorite tools and one of the church\u2019s main enemies. Christians must understand both the potential good and evil of the state. Therefore, it is God-honoring and wise to seek biblical limits upon the state lest it become a monstrous beast.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In American\u2019s founding, the architects of the United States, influenced by Christian ideas, understood this principle\u2014that sinful men, given unchecked power, will always turn tyrannical. This is a natural consequence of humanity\u2019s fallen nature. And thus, a limited state is the Christian ideal. And in the eighteenth century, America set the trajectory to that end.<\/p>\n

That said, over the course of time, the principle of limited government has been lost. As 1930s New Deals and 1960s Great Societies<\/a> enlarged government, the limited state is only now theoretical. Even more, there are even some so-called \u201cconservatives\u201d who would happily take less-than-conservative action to assume power and correct the system\u2014with or without shrinking its size, I wonder?<\/p>\n

We can debate whether such a revolutionary approach to enforcing conservative principles is possible, but for now I simply want to acknowledge the point that in our modern world, massified by technology, communications, transit, and global associations, the Beast of government is larger than ever, and its tentacles touch all aspects of life. Just recall the Covid protocols.<\/p>\n

Widening our view, Christians have always had to navigate the challenges imposed by the state, but more than ever, faithfulness to God means that churches and their pastors must be aware of the influences that are coming into the church. The Total State, with its technological touch points, pressures us at every turn, so that now sanctification includes more than personal piety; it includes knowing how to reject false ideologies which seek to attach themselves to Christianity. Enneagram, anyone?<\/p>\n

Sadly, many shepherds have conjoined Christian doctrine with new age teaching, creation care, and projects of social justice that dress up Marxist ideas with biblical garb. Accordingly, we need to be able to spot the phonies and destroy\u2014yes, \u201cdestroy,\u201d as Paul says\u2014any idea that is not subject to Christ. That\u2019s what we aimed to do in October, and you can find a host of resources below (the two longforms lead the list).<\/p>\n