Col 1:13 Who [God, the Father] delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, Col 2:8 Beware that no one carries you off as spoil through his philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ;
[Part 2 of 2]We have seen that the authority of darkness is the kingdom of Satan and that Satan himself is darkness. The kingdom of Satan is a system. Not everything in this system is evil. On the contrary, many things are good, or at least are considered good by society. Satan uses various things, both good and evil, to systematize people and to keep them in his system. For those who are fond of gambling, Satan uses gambling to systematize them. Therefore, in his kingdom there is a ministry, a department, of gambling. However, Satan realizes that others may appreciate knowledge. In order to systematize them, Satan has a department of knowledge in his kingdom. Most people condemn gambling, but hardly anyone condemns knowledge. If we encourage others to stay away from the evil aspects of Satan's system, we shall be appreciated. Satan systematizes some people by luring them into practicing evil, but he systematizes others through their efforts to suppress evil. Another department of the kingdom of Satan is the ministry of philosophy. After speaking of the authority of darkness, Paul goes on to mention ordinances, observances, philosophies, and the elements of the world, all of which are aspects of this satanic authority. Today a great many people are held under Satan's control by philosophy. For this reason, it is often easier to bring a gambler to Christ than a person devoted to philosophy. In China we found it difficult to convert the followers of Confucius. Satan used the ethical teachings of Confucianism to systematize and to control large numbers of Chinese. Satan controlled them and kept them under his authority through ethical philosophy. (c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Colossians, pp. 30-31. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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