NT Framework - Rulers of this World

Who is really in charge and aren't you glad that they are only so for a short while!

More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com 

This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).

Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner. 

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and
our series on the New Testamentframework.
Today, a smaller, bite-sizedpiece from the larger lesson.
We hope you enjoy it.

SPEAKER_01 (00:10):
He secured the defeat of Satan on the cross.
And though, you know, we say,well, but Peter says he still
roams around like a roaring lionseeking someone to devour, yeah,
we still have spiritual warfarethat we must engage in.
We put on the armor of Goddaily.
Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10through 18.
So while his defeat is completeat the cross, the actual putting

(00:36):
away of Satan finally has nottranspired.
When Christ comes back, he willlock him away for a thousand
years, and then after that, hewill be released for a short
time, right?
And then he will finally bedefeated and cast in the lake of
fire.
But his ultimate demise iscertain because of what?

(00:56):
Well, because of the finishedwork of Christ.
It extends to the defeat of thefallen angels and secures our
victory.
And I want to make a point aquote here from the early was
about the earliest Christians.
You might remember, you know, ifyou read like 1 Corinthians 1,
it will say, Not many of youwere rich, you know, not many of

(01:19):
you were powerful whom hecalled.
Most of us who he says who werecalled were the poor and you
know just the average people inthe Roman Empire, and the same
thing continues today.
But these people who firstbelieved, they really
appreciated this dimension ofthe crosswork of Christ, the

(01:41):
dimension that he defeated thedark powers, the forces of
darkness on the cross, becausethey were not, you know, Western
Americans.
Um they would be more likepeople in tribal Africa.
In tribal Africa, you know, youhave many gods and goddesses and
you know, occultism and youknow, worship of what they would

(02:04):
consider spiritual beings.
In the West, you know, we're soatheistic and materialistic, and
everything is physical andmaterial and working, science,
and all of this, that we do nothave a well-developed sense of
the spiritual realm.
Much less so than other culturesin times and places who do

(02:27):
believe in a spiritual realm.
So we may not really appreciatethis aspect of Christ's work on
the cross of defeating uh Satanand his uh his uh fellow
minions, right?
Uh because we just think interms of everything has material
causation.
That's because we've been builtand trained by this culture to

(02:50):
think certain patterns.
And so we tend not to think asmuch about the spiritual realm
and those this type of onslaughtthat daily is against us, okay?
So I want to read this quoteabout how the early Christians
felt when they realized theimpact of the cross of Christ on

(03:11):
demonic forces.
This triumph over evil powerswas prized in the early church,
as we see from the exuberancewith which it was used and the
picturesque, even grotesqueimagery that was employed to
express it.
Thus, Satan was pictured ascaught in a fish hook and as
snared in a mouse trap.

(03:31):
For the first Christians, thevictory that Christ had won for
them mattered intensely.
They were mostly from thedepressed classes with little to
hope for in this world.
And they pictured a host ofdemons as dominating life
anyway.
That's how they viewed theirlife before they became
believers.

(03:52):
So they were already thinking ofthemselves as being depressed
because of demonic forces.
He says it came as a welcomerelief to have assurance that
the last word was not with theiroppressors, not with the demons,
right?
Whether they're human orsupernatural.
So the note of victory wassounded with joyous confidence,

(04:12):
and we in our day need it noless than they.
Notice where they say, you know,they're oppressors from their
point of view, both human andsupernatural.
You know, we have the same thingtoday, technically.
Who are human professors uhhuman uh oppressors?
Well, they're the politicians ofthis world.

(04:34):
This is not a secret.
They're not there to, you know,they used to be called minister
of whatever or servant of.
They're not there to minister toyou or serve you, they're there
for themselves to oppress you.
And this is a very unfortunatething, but Daniel 2, 7, 10,

(04:56):
these passages all teach thatduring the times of the
Gentiles, which is the timesthat we live, when Gentiles rule
the world and Israel's notruling the world, that the
rulers of these worlds willoppress their subjects.
And and and that isunfortunately what we see.

SPEAKER_00 (05:17):
Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls
with Jeremy Thomas.
If you would like to see thevisuals that went along with
today's sermon, you can findthose on Rumble and on YouTube
under Spokane Bible Church.
That is where Jeremy is thepastor and teacher.
We hope you found today's lessonproductive and useful in growing

(05:38):
closer to God and walking moreobediently with Him.
If you found this podcast to beuseful and helpful, then please
consider rating us in yourfavorite podcast app.
And until next time, we hope youhave a blessed and wonderful
day.