CREATURE VERSUS CREATOR

Chapter Four

WORLD VERSUS EARTH (PART I)

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (I John 2:15) Almighty God gives us a most plain and clear command here, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.” Our Creator also tells us the tragic consequences for disobedience to this command. “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Therefore it behooves each of us to strive to completely obey this command. God forbid that we should love the world and thereby not have the love of God the Father in us.

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” (James 4:4) God called them “adulterers and adulteresses” because friendship with the world is spiritually an adulterous relationship. That is an awfully sinful relationship. It puts a person at enmity with God and it makes that person the enemy of God. God forbid that we should be friends of the world and thereby be at enmity with God and be His enemy.

“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27) Likely you have heard preachers preach that religion will not get one to Heaven. That is most true, because this Biblical definition of “pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father” is works and actions by believers, as is also the one religious act mentioned in the previous verse. Nothing in the definition of “religion” mentions God’s salvation and eternal life that He freely bestows upon repentant believers. Do keep that in mind any time you talk about “religion.”

This Biblical definition of religion in James 1:27 is most short and likely seems incomplete to us Bible believers. But notice that one part of that pure and undefiled religion is to keep one’s self “unspotted from the world.” So, if you desire to please your Creator by living a religion that is pure and undefiled before Him, then it is necessary for you to keep yourself “unspotted from the world” that He commands us not to love and also forbids us to be friends with.

In the first three chapters of this book, I explained in great detail how I believe that “rising” is the first thing we do in rebelling against our Creator. That is an act of loving “Self” instead of loving our Creator. It is the act of dethroning our Creator in our hearts and lives and setting up “Self” as our own god. It is a sinful act of disobeying the first of the Ten Commandments. I believe that our second most rebellious act is that of loving the world and the things that are in the world, becoming friends of the world, and becoming spotted by the world. By loving the world instead of loving our Creator, we become void of the love of the Father. By becoming friends of the world, we become God’s enemies. By becoming spotted by the world, we lose our pure and undefiled Christian testimony. That is a most tragic situation. And I believe it is the second greatest sin problem plaguing mankind, second to “rising” and loving and worshipping the creature of “Self.”

“Heavenly Father, please help me to fully realize what an awful sin it is for me to love the world and to be a friend of the world. Please teach me exactly what the world is. Please reveal to me just how I love it and how I have become friends of it. I declare to Thee that I want to have the love of the Father in me and I do not want to be an enemy of God. So I ask Thee to please save me from loving the world and the things of the world, and from being a friend of the world. I pray that Thou wouldest save all other people from the world also. Dear Lord, please help me to keep myself unspotted from the world. Please teach me exactly what it means to be spotted by the world. Please show me exactly how that happens in a Christian believer’s life. And please show me the things I must do to keep myself unspotted from the world. I pray for all other Christian believers also, that they will desire to be unspotted from the world, and that by Thy Help; they will strive to be so. Amen.”

In order for us to not love the world, to not be friends of the world, and to not be spotted by the world, we must first know exactly what we are forbidden to love, forbidden to be friends of, and should not be spotted by. For many long years of my Christian life (even long after I became a missionary), I was ignorant of the exact meaning of “world” in I John 2:15 and James 1:27 & 4:4. Had I then been asked the meaning of it, I would likely have blushed in embarrassment and sputtered out some vague, almost meaningless answer. “It must refer to Sodom and Gomorrah, evil and sinful things like sinful pleasures, luxury items that rich people have, and most any thing that is bad.” Some of the meaning of “world” is contained in that lame answer, but it is far from being an accurate and complete answer. Please stop and think just how much (or how little) understanding you presently have of the “world” that God commands us not to be friends with, not to be spotted by, and not to love.

“The foundation of the world”

Years ago, I was listening to a taped sermon by Pastor James Knox in which he talked about Revelation 13:8. “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” That phrase, “slain from the foundation of the world,” had always puzzled me. I didn’t know the meaning of “world” here in Revelation 13:8. And whatever it meant, it just didn’t seem like the foundation of it would have been laid at the time Christ was slain on the cross.

Brother Knox opened a door of understanding for me by explaining that “the foundation of the world” occurred when Eve and Adam first sinned. At that time, God the Son, my precious Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, was slain to provide a sacrifice for my sins and redemption from those sins. About 4,000 years later, God the Son, in a physical, human body would be slain on the cross by God hating people. But Him being “slain from the foundation of the world,” upon Eve and Adam committing their first transgression against their Creator, was also a definite and concrete happening. I cannot fathom the details of it, but I do not think the Bible is speaking in an allegory when it tells us that our Saviour was “slain from the foundation of the world.”

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” (I Peter 1:18~20) Before God created humans in His Image, God the Son agreed (volunteered) to be slain as a sacrifice for them if and when that became necessary. Therefore, long before the foundation of the world, God the Father and God the Son foreordained this wonderful redemption plan for the human race. Apparently there was never any such plan of salvation and redemption for heavenly creatures such as cherubims and angels upon them rebelling against their Creator. But God was ever so gracious to us human creatures in foreordaining that God the Son be slain for us.

And with the greatest love that exists, The Lord Jesus Christ willingly told the Father, “I will die for them. I will give My Life to provide redemption for them. So please do not banish them to Hell if they rebel against Thee. I want to give each and every one of them a chance to be saved.” Had God the Son not willingly offered Himself to be slain for us before the foundation of the world (before the time of Adam’s and Eve’s transgressions), God the Father would have had no choice but to immediately sweep Adam and Eve into Hell as soon as they sinned, just as He banished Lucifer and his followers from their positions in Heaven as soon as they rebelled against Him. In order for God not to immediately punish any sinner, but instead show grace and mercy to that sinner; it is of necessity that there be sacrifice for that sin.

And with the greatest love in existence, God the Son had previously offered His Own Self, declaring, “I will be that sacrifice.” Thus when God the Son declares something, it instantly becomes reality because God never goes back on His Word. What He speaks is reality. His Word is just as good and as real as the deed, though the deed is to occur much later. I Peter Chapter 1 tells us that this redemption plan was foreordained before the foundation of the world. So, in Revelation 13:8, the time of Christ being slain refers to the time that Adam and Eve first sinned. Likely that occurred even before Eve touched the fruit. When she made the decision to eat the fruit, that decision alone was sin. And likely at that precise moment, all the Host of Heaven witnessed the Lamb of God in Heaven being slain at that time. I do not know exactly what all was entailed in that scene, but it must have been an awesome spectacle, likely bringing much sorrow to all of the heavenly hosts. And if you like to meditate on deeply spiritual things, then please think on that.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (I Corinthians 13:12) My Christian friends, when our life on this sin filled earth ends, we are going to behold our Creator Face to face. Then we will fully know all that He has ordained that human creatures know about Him. What a revelation it will be to learn everything about the marvelous redemption plan that He provided for us, and come to know fully such things as exactly what happened when The Lamb of God was “slain from the foundation of the world.” Till that time, may He help us to love Him with all our hearts and serve Him with all our might, looking forward with the greatest of expectation to that blessed time when we behold Him Face to face.

“Lord Jesus, how I love Thee for offering Thyself as a sacrifice for my sins, even before Adam and Eve transgressed. Thank Thee, for loving me so. Thou art most precious to me for caring for me so much. Help me to love Thee in return, and live my life for Thee. Thank Thee, Lord, for the wonderful hope and expectation we have of one day beholding Thee Face to face and fully knowing Thee and all Thy Great Glory. Till that time comes, please strengthen my faith to enable me to love Thee with all my heart and serve Thee with all my might. I pray that all other Christians will also do likewise. Amen.”

“All the kingdoms of the world”

The Lamb of God was slain when the foundation of the world was laid. I believe that happened when Eve first sinned. I believe that the “world” God commands us not to love in I John 2:15 is the same “world” spoken of in Revelation 13:8. It refers to a system. And that system, “the world,” is the kingdom of the devil. God clearly commands us not to love it or to be friends of it. Therefore we must be careful to differentiate in the various ways the word “world” is used in the scriptures.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Common sense tells us that God would not love that which He commands us not to love. Here in John 3:16, “world” refers to the people who inhabit this globe. The fallen human race on this planet is that for which God gave His Only Begotten Son. All descendents of Adam and Eve are born into this life alienated from God, lost souls, children of the devil, and citizens of the devil’s kingdom, which is the “world.” Therefore these lost souls are also referred to as the “world” in the Bible. God loves each and every lost human soul in the devil’s kingdom and desires that they be saved. So we must be keenly alert to recognize these related, but different, meanings of “world.”

“For we wrestle…against the rulers of the darkness of this world.” (Ephesians 6:12) Satan’s kingdom is a kingdom of spiritual darkness. “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” (Colossians 1:12&13) When a person trusts in The Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour, that person is made into a new creature (a child of God) by God’s Power. God translates that saved person out of the darkness of the devil’s kingdom into God’s marvelous light and into the glorious kingdom of His Dear Son, Jesus Christ, making that born again believer into a citizen of Heaven. As a citizen of Christ’s glorious, never-ending kingdom, we are not to love the devil’s kingdom, be friends of it, or be spotted by it. Instead, we are to come out of it, be separate from it, stand against it, and wrestle against it in spiritual warfare.

“He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.” (John 1:10) This is speaking of Christ. The “world” that was made by Him is this planet, the nature Christ created on it (including all the plants and animals), and the human race. Christ did not make the “world” that He commands us not to love. The “world” that knew him not (here in John 1:10), is the lost people on this planet who have no knowledge of Who their Creator God is. The 3 main uses, of the word “world” in the Bible, refer to this planet earth, the lost human race that inhabits it, and the kingdom of the devil that exists throughout the entire earth. Likely there are other uses of “world” in the Bible that have not yet caught my attention. So each time you see “world” when reading your Bible, prayerfully ask God to teach you exactly what it is referring to in that text. We must have a full knowledge of the meaning of the “world” that God commands us not to love and not to be friends with it.

“Heavenly Father, please grant me Thy Wisdom as I study Thy Holy Bible. Please give me clear discernment as I study all that the Bible teaches about the “world.” Each time I find this word in the Bible, please teach me what “world” is referring to in that text. Please save me from having any mistaken opinions regarding any of the many usages of “world” in the Bible. I pray this for all other people also. Teach us all, Lord, I pray. Amen.”

Once Lucifer rebelled against God, likely he then set out to oppose God in every way possible. This would include obtaining a kingdom of his own. In his perfect state, Lucifer had his own throne in Heaven. He declared, “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God.” (Isaiah 14:13) Revelation 11:17 says this of Christ; “Thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.” I conclude from that verse that God has relinquished some power to Lucifer for a determined period of time. Satan is referred to as “the prince of the power of the air” in Ephesians 2:2. God has, for a time, given Satan much leeway on this earth and in the atmosphere around it.

But apparently Satan does not have the ability to build a kingdom for himself. And as something akin to dismembered spirits, apparently the fallen angels cannot build physical things. Therefore, in order to have his kingdom, the devil must find some lackeys to build it for him. And when he enticed mankind to sin and fall from their perfect state, then the devil obtained his lackeys (degenerate men) to build his kingdom, the “world.” Thus, the foundation of the world, the devil’s kingdom, was laid when Eve and Adam first sinned and thereby became available to the devil as willing volunteer laborers to build his kingdom for him. This is a major beginning that is most important for you to have full knowledge and understanding of, in order to be pleasing to your Creator and to not rebel against Him.

In John 12:31, 14:30, and 16:11, you can read about “the prince of this world.” In II Corinthians 4:4, you can read about “the god of this world.” In none of those places, is the prince or god of this world named. But God’s Wisdom will teach any Bible believer that it is Lucifer, the devil, Satan. In Matthew 4:8&9, the devil offered to give Christ all the kingdoms of the world if only Christ would fall down and worship him. Carefully studying the Bible will make it most clear to you that the devil is the prince and god of this world, and that the “world” God commands us not to love, not to be friends of, and not to be spotted by, is the devil’s kingdom.

“Heavenly Father, please give me full understanding of this major beginning that occurred when the serpent successfully enticed Eve to sin and the devil thereby obtained willing helpers, in fallen mankind, to build his kingdom. Please show me just how willing man has been, all down through the ages, to build the kingdom of the devil. And help me to not desire to aid the devil in building his kingdom. I pray these things for all other people also. Amen.”

In attempting to explain just exactly what this kingdom of the devil is, I want to start by explaining what it is NOT. I believe that the “world” in I John 2:15 is the opposite of, and in opposition to, a system that I myself will label the system of the “Earth.” That is the system ordained by our Creator God in Genesis 2:15 and 3:23 for mankind to “make its living.” “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” (2:15) This was immediately after God created Adam and Eve and while they were still in their perfect state. “Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.” (3:23) This was after the pair had become fallen, sinful creatures by disobeying their Creator. “Tilling the ground” is a most appropriate and scriptural way to describe this system ordained of God. Moreover, I believe it also encompasses most every facet of man personally taking directly from the soil and water of this planet, the many plants and animals God provided for man’s food, clothing, and shelter.

For any person to wholly do that which God ordained for mankind to do with his life when He sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden “to till the ground,” I believe that person, or family of persons, would personally take all of his (or their) necessary food, clothing, and shelter from the soil and water by his own physical labor and by the labor of God created animals. And therefore, his livelihood would be totally independent of other people, dependent only upon His Creator God Almighty for health, strength, and the increase of the earth (and water). This is how God ordained that His created mankind should live. I call it the system of the “Earth.”

Because God clearly ordained that occupation for mankind in Genesis chapters 2 and 3, we should love that system of the “Earth” and be desirous to do what God ordained that we do to earn our livelihood, i.e. “till the ground.” That is because just about all else on this planet, other than living on the land and working it, is the “world” that God clearly commands us not to love. Most people who forsake this God ordained occupation go to the devil’s kingdom and make their living there. An exception to that are the people who live a life of service to God. The Levite priests in the Old Testament were fed by the rest of the Israelites. Also God tells us in the New Testament in I Timothy 5:17&18 that those who labour in the word and doctrine are worthy of their reward for doing that. Government leaders ordained of God can be considered another exception. But keep in mind there are presently many more “government leaders” than God ever ordained, “for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.” (I Peter 2:14)

“If any man love the world”

You well know that a LOT of people do not “till the ground” and personally take from the soil and water their own food, clothing, and shelter. I believe that most of the people who do not do that, are instead building the devil’s kingdom, the “world” that God commands us not to love. I believe the main reason they build the devil’s kingdom instead of tilling the ground is because they love the “world.” May God open our eyes to enable us to see how sinful we are concerning this.

“Heavenly Father, am I helping the devil build his kingdom? If so, please open my eyes and make me fully aware of that fact. Please show me exactly what I am doing that is building the devil’s kingdom and save me from doing those things. I pray this for all other people also. Amen.”

What must a human creature do in order to lay the foundation of, and then to build, the devil’s kingdom that God commands us not to love?

1. First, he must eat of the knowledge of good and evil. When Eve and Adam first did that, the human race became degenerate sinners and thereby became qualified to build the devil’s kingdom. So that first rebellious act of the human creature against his Creator laid the first and most primary foundation stone of the devil’s kingdom, the “world.” How happy that must have made the devil. And ever since Adam and Eve first ate of that forbidden fruit, degenerate, sinful man has continuously gluttonously devoured all the knowledge of good and evil possible in order to do his best in building a great and glorious kingdom for the devil. Oh, we must make him so happy by doing that.

Much of what man builds on this earth is a part of the devil’s kingdom. A few exceptions may be simple abodes, farm buildings, simple church buildings, and such. In the Old Testament, Israel’s rulers sat in the city gate to hear civil cases the people brought to them. Therefore most government buildings are also the devil’s kingdom, as government goes far beyond what God ordained for it; “sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.” (I Peter 2:14) Government quickly rises up above that, to usurp God’s authority concerning controlling people’s lives. Therefore much of government’s present powers lie in the kingdom of the devil, which is the “world” God commands us not to love.

“And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.” (Luke 4:5~7) Christ did not dispute the devil’s claim that all the power and glory of all the kingdoms of the world had been delivered to the devil and that the devil had the ability to give all that power and glory to anyone. This makes it most clear that all of the kingdoms of the world belong to the devil. But the devil didn’t do one bit of the building of those kingdoms. He easily got people to build those kingdoms because people love the “world.”

Satan has given practically all the power and glory of all the kingdoms of the world to the human lackeys who have built those kingdoms for him. And in return, they madly worship him by loving the “world” (all his kingdoms), being friends of that “world,” being grossly spotted by it, and wandering around in the spiritual darkness of it, blinded by the devil. “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.” (II Corinthians 4:4) The ol’ devil just glories in all the worship he gets from the many human lackeys who so gladly build for him the most magnificent kingdoms they can, in return for the crumbs he tosses to them in the form of the glory and power of those kingdoms.

But the devil SO craves something that would satisfy him much more than worship by degenerate human creatures. He SO desires to be worshipped by his Creator God. And when his Creator came to this earth in the form of human flesh, the devil sensed that this just might provide the opportunity for him to get God the Son to worship him. Therefore the ol’ devil gave it his best try, offering my Saviour ALL that he (the devil) owned (gladly built for him by human creatures), if Christ would only worship him. “All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” (Matthew 4:9) “If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.” (Luke 4:7)

“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Luke 4:8) My Saviour gave absolutely no consideration to this grand offer by the devil, but rather was totally obedient to this command that He has given to all us human creatures. How I love my Lord Jesus and admire Him for that perfect example He set for me. I so much want to be just like my Lord in this matter. I pray that you will desire to be exactly like Jesus and resist this temptation just as He did.

“Lord Jesus, please help me to do exactly that. Save me from building the devil’s kingdom. Save me from worshipping the devil for the glory and power of his kingdoms that he offers in return for that worship. I praise Thy Name, Lord, for completely shunning this temptation of the devil. Please help me to always follow Thy Perfect Example and thereby glorify Thee. I pray these things for all other people also. Amen.”

Since that time about 2000 years ago when the devil showed Christ all of those kingdoms and their glory, world-loving people have continued to fervently build more kingdoms for Satan and add the greatest glory possible to them. The building pace has steadily increased till it is presently a madly insane speed in this end time age, owing to the great building ability much knowledge of good and evil provides. And to the devil goes all the glory of it all. The devil never would have obtained a kingdom, had he not first been able to entice the first 2 humans to disobey God by eating of the knowledge of good and evil. Since the fall of man, the more knowledge of good and evil we eat, the greater and more glorious kingdoms we build for the devil. We gladly do this for the devil because we love those kingdoms of the world, their breathtaking skylines, all their bright lights, and ALL the glory of them. “Love not the world.” Eating the knowledge of good and evil lays the first foundation stone in the devil’s kingdom.

“Heavenly Father, if it is true that all the “kingdoms” that man has built on this earth are the kingdoms of the devil, please confirm that to me. If they are the “world” that Thou commandest us not to love, please reveal that to me. If it is true that we humans lay the first cornerstone to the devil’s kingdom by eating of the knowledge of good and evil, then please clearly teach that to me. Please give me clear discernment as to whether Brother Richard is right or wrong about these things. Please teach me Thy Pure and Complete Truth about this. I pray that all other people would also come to a clear understanding of Thy Truth concerning this. Teach us all, dear Lord, I pray. Amen.”

2. Next, in order to build the devil’s kingdom, man must leave his “first estate.” Jude 6 speaks of “the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation.” Though the words “first estate” are not used in the Bible in reference to Adam and Eve, God gives us a good description of their “first estate” in Genesis chapters 1 and 2; perfect creatures in a perfect creation. “There was not a man to till the ground.” (2:5) “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and keep it.” (2:15) This was the first estate that God ordained for the humans He created in His Image, “keeping” (protecting) and “dressing” (tilling) the garden. Protect it from what? From the entrance of the serpent who would tempt them to disobey their Creator and then lead them to build his kingdom on God’s earth.

It is hard to conceive of perfect creatures failing in anything at all. But where was Adam when the serpent came to Eve and tempted her? He should have been protecting that garden from the entrance of the serpent. And he should have had his help meet right at his side to keep the tempter from gaining any access to her mind at all. This is a most important question that weighs on my mind. Where was Adam at that crucial time? Christian men, do your God-given duty and protect your wife and children from the tempter!

Also, let us always bear in mind that all creatures are fallible. Perfect Lucifer and perfect Eve and Adam were fallible. How much more so, are all of us fallen, degenerate human creatures fallible. You can show a lot of preachers and Christian leaders this book and they will laugh their heads off about what I have written about “rising” and the “world.” They will try to intimidate you to keep you from listening to me by holding in contempt what I say. Keep in mind that all of them are fallible, no matter how great a bastion of the Christian faith they are esteemed to be. I am also just as fallible as any other person can be. Therefore ask your Creator to teach you His Pure Truth concerning these things I write to you.

When Adam and Eve lost their perfect “first estate” because of disobedience, then God ordained that they earn their livelihood by tilling the ground by the sweat of their brow amidst thorns and thistles. “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return to the ground…Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.” (Genesis 3:17~19 & 23) So that was the “first estate” of fallen, degenerate, sinful mankind; “tilling the ground.”

When man was in his created, perfect estate, his Creator clearly ordained how man was to obtain his livelihood. After man fell from perfection by disobeying his Creator, God again clearly ordained how he was to obtain his livelihood. In both cases, the method was the same; keep the ground, dress the ground, till the ground. This is the human creature’s “first estate,” his Creator-ordained estate. All human creatures should love it. To disdain it is to disdain what our Creator ordained that we do with our lives. And unless God clearly leads us to do something differently with our lives, we should desire to be in that “first estate.”

“Heavenly Father, please teach me the importance of this “first estate” that Thou didst ordain for Thy human creatures. Help me to love that “first estate” and to honestly seek Thy Will for me relating to it. I pray this for all other people also. Amen.”

But, of course, many people leave that “first estate.” They leave it because they do not like it. They leave it because they hate, despise, and hold in contempt what their Creator ordained that they do with their lives. They leave it because they love the glory of the devil’s kingdom. And where do they go when they leave that “first estate”? They go to the devil’s kingdom, the “world,” of course. They go to town, to the city, to Sodom and Gomorrah. And what do they do there? They build the devil’s kingdom for him, much to his delight. Why do they go there? Basically because they love the world and all the things that are in the world. That love is sinful disobedience to our Creator’s command, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.”

Our Creator gave us human creatures only one method by which to earn our living, dressing and tilling the ground. God’s adversary, the devil, gives us a second choice, building his kingdom. He gets plenty of willing helpers who labor with all their might to build his kingdom. They joyfully do that because they love the world and hate and despise the earth, their God-ordained “first estate.” By leaving his “first estate,” man lays the second foundation stone in the devil’s kingdom.

“Heavenly Father, if what Brother Richard says here is true, then please impart to me a clear understanding of that. Please tell me if I am building the devil’s kingdom by what I am doing with my life. Please help me to seek Thy Will and to know Thy Will concerning what I do with my life. Help me to desire to totally please Thee with what I choose to do to earn my living. Amen.”

3. Next, in order to become a builder of the devil’s kingdom and thereby give much glory to him, the human creature trades masters. He takes on a human master. And to a large degree, much larger than we want to admit, that does away with his Creator being his Master. Man goes to town to work for a human boss. If he chooses to run his own business, instead of being employed, then all his customers, or clients, or patients, etc., are his bosses. Only by staying in his “first estate” and tilling the ground to produce needed food, clothing, and shelter can the human creature TRULY make his Creator his Master. God ordained it to be that way, and we can never get around that. But people gladly forsake their Creator as their Master and turn over the mastership of their lives to other degenerate humans because they love the world in sinful disobedience to their Creator’s command, “Love not the world.” By taking on a human master and thus forsaking his Creator as his Master, man lays the third foundation stone in the devil’s kingdom.

“Heavenly Father, please teach me the importance of having Thee, and Thee alone, as my Master. Please show me just how large a degree other people become my masters when I work for them instead of tilling the ground as Thou hast ordained we do. Help me to know the extent of the loss and harm that comes from me having other people as my masters. Please teach these things to all other people also. Amen.”

4. In order to build the devil’s glorious kingdom, man becomes a servant to mammon. Instead of personally producing his needs from the God created ground (earth), now man goes to town and labors to produce mammon with which to buy his “needs.” Thus he enters into the very evil system of buying and selling, which is a part of the devil’s kingdom, the “world.” Notice carefully that I didn’t say it is sin to buy and sell. But I do believe buying and selling is an evil system and that it lies totally in the system of the “world,” the devil’s kingdom. Buying and selling are not necessary when one stays completely in our “first estate” of tilling the ground. Also, I do not believe there is anything inherently evil about tillers of the ground bartering and trading among themselves, the goods they produce.

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye CANNOT serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24) God makes it ever so clear that we cannot serve our Creator and also serve mammon. (“Mammon” is another word for “money.”) To the degree that anyone (Christian believer or lost person) comes to serve mammon, by that degree he ceases to serve God. “No man can serve two masters.” I believe that applies to all spiritual areas, not just to the matter of serving mammon. When we leave our “first estate” and go into the devil’s kingdom to work for other people, we make them our masters, and that act does away with God as our Master. We may be a believer who is trusting in God as Saviour, but God is no longer the Absolute Master of our lives that He should be and that He ordained Himself to be when He ordained our first estate of tilling the ground.

“For the love of money is the root of all evil.” (I Timothy 6:10) One of the best ways to come to love money is to serve it (mammon). Depending on money by making it necessary to buy our “needs,” instead of personally producing our needs from the ground, breeds in us a love for money. Also, one main reason people choose to leave their “first estate,” tilling the ground, and choose to go chasing after riches in the devil’s kingdom, is because they have already come to love money, and that is a great sin. “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” So fallen man lays the fourth foundation stone in the devil’s kingdom by ceasing to serve his Creator and instead serving mammon.

“Heavenly Father, please help me to fully believe that a human creature cannot serve Thee and also serve mammon. Help me to truly believe that the love of money is the root of all evil. Please help me to completely understand what great loss anyone suffers when he serves mammon and when he loves money. Open my eyes to see how that robs Thee of much glory and gives much glory to the devil. I pray these things for all other people also. Amen.”

I perceive these 4 things to be the most basic things that degenerate mankind does in order to build the devil’s kingdom. I will call them the 4 cornerstones of “the foundation of the world,” that “world” being the kingdom of the devil. The human race suffers much loss by doing these 4 things. Our Creator is robbed of much glory by us doing these 4 things. And His enemy, the devil, receives much glory by us doing these things. WHO IS ON THE LORD’S SIDE?

“Heavenly Father, please teach me Thy Truth concerning what Brother Richard has written here. Is it true that we lay the foundation of the devil’s kingdom by doing these 4 things? If so, please convince me of that beyond a shadow of doubt. I pray this for all other people also. Amen.”

5. Fallen mankind gladly builds the devil’s kingdom for him, and by doing so they worship him. Upon building his kingdom, they worship at his altar inside that kingdom, doing all they can to fulfill “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” with what the devil’ kingdom has to offer in these areas. Any worship naturally requires sacrifice. And we are known to gladly sacrifice in order to worship the devil in his kingdom. And what do we sacrifice? We sacrifice our very lives, expending them as a living sacrifice, to build the greatest and most glorious kingdom for the devil that we possibly can. But we also sacrifice something much more dear than our individual selves. We sacrifice the FAMILY upon the devil’s altar.

You KNOW how well the family stays intact when they live on the farm, all the family members staying together and working together all the time, day in and day out, together tilling the ground to produce their needs. You can look at history and see that it is most rare for such families to fall apart. The farm is God’s glue that holds the family together. Our Creator ordained that it be so. You also KNOW how terribly the family is destroyed when it goes to town, to the city, to Sodom and Gomorrah. There they daily leave home, each family member to live their daily lives running to and fro at a frantic pace, and separated from each other, out in the devil’s world. The devil’s kingdom is the main thing that brings on the sins of separation, divorce, remarriage, unwed parents, and broken homes. The devil’s kingdom is what destroys the family that God ordained. And the main reason people go live in the devil’s kingdom, and with adoration and worship sacrifice the family to the devil, is because they just love his kingdom. “Love not the world.”

“Heavenly Father, if this is true, please give me clear spiritual vision to see it. Please show me just how we sacrifice the family to the devil by leaving our God ordained estate and going to live in the devil’s kingdom. Please help all other people to understand this also. Amen.”

Those are the 5 major things I see us doing for the devil and his kingdom; the first 4 things amounting to laying the 4 cornerstones of “the foundation of the world,” and the 5^th one is the act of laying our sacrifice of worship upon his altar. If I have not been mistaken in concluding this, these are the 5 most destructive and harmful things that fallen human creatures do. And please keep in mind that ALL I said about “rising,” in the first 3 chapters, is included in this 1^st act of eating of the knowledge of good and evil.

“Heavenly Father, I never ever thought I would read anything like this. This sure is a hard pill to swallow. So please send Thy Holy Spirit now and teach me if it is true. If it is a mixture of truth and falsehood, please give me a keen spirit of discernment to be able to separate the truth from the lies. Please give me a complete understanding of all that is from my Creator in what Brother Richard has written here. Then please guide me as to how to apply it to my life and how to do Thy Will concerning it. I pray that all other people would also seek to know Thy Complete Truth concerning these things. Amen.”

I will list more harmful things we do in building the devil’s kingdom. Likely they each fall somewhere inside those first 5 things. But I will go ahead and list them separately just to make sure they catch your attention.

6. Promotion of the human creature. This is a part of our “rising” and can fit inside Number One. What I mean by it is promoting ourselves before mankind in order to receive the highest esteem from them, for the purpose of getting the best job, being “looked up to” by others, and such. Writing the best resume is a good example of this. Another good example is continually chanting, broadcasting and advertising, “We’re Number One!” “We are the best!” “We are the greatest!” When we choose the system of receiving unrighteous mammon from other human creatures to purchase our needs, then we must do our best to convince them that we are worthy of receiving their money. Therefore we work ever so hard to promote our own self, our family, our group, our business, our company, our goods or services, etc. That will tend to destroy in us any feelings like John the Baptist had when he proclaimed, “I must decrease.”

7. Receiving our livelihood from other fallen creatures. This falls under Numbers 2, 3, and 4. It is direly important that we receive our livelihood directly from the ground as God ordained we do. Receiving it from other sinful humans opens a floodgate to many sins; stealing, cheating, lying, fraud, murder, embezzlement, unduly pressuring other people, unduly bothering and pestering other people with high pressure selling and such, and many like sins. If each person on earth worked his own farm, some of these sins would still crop up. But that would make these sins more rare than anything else would. When people leave their “first estate,” it is of necessity that they take their living from other people. Those who do not give an honest day’s work for their living typically live on welfare contributed by those who do work hard each day, or they turn to sin and crime to get their needs and wants. Too many will hold a knife to someone’s throat, or club someone in the head, or shoot someone, to rob them. It is an evil system, when we turn to relying on other people for our living instead of taking it from the ground as our Creator ordained that we do.

Receiving our livelihood from other people brings on the fear of man, and “the fear of man bringeth a snare.” (Proverbs 29:25) It will lead to us obeying men instead of obeying God. “We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)

8. Sacrificing (destroying) God’s created earth. We destroy it with the many pollutants the knowledge of good and evil enables us to make. Also, we put the rich soil of the earth to death by covering it with hardtop, concrete and asphalt, as we build magnificent kingdoms for the devil and build highways on which to run to and fro.

9. We allow many other fallen humans to handle our affairs of life.

10. We handle the daily affairs of many other people. You can readily see what a poor job we sinners do with Numbers 9 and 10. You well know how displeased we can be with how those other sinners handle our affairs. You know the volume of the quarrels, disputes, complaints, fights, lawsuits, and such that stem from that. We would do much better to stay in our “first estate” and thereby handle practically all of the affairs of our personal life, minding our own business. What a peaceful world that would be.

11. We run to and fro. Daniel prophesied of the end time saying, “Many shall run to and fro.” (Daniel 12:4) You well know the reality of the pace of life becoming faster and faster in the devil’s kingdom, destroying our serenity, sanity, and the family. The pace will steadily increase, causing an increasing amount of destruction from traffic and transportation accidents and such, until God declares, “that there should be time no longer.” But for those people who stay completely in their God ordained “first estate,” the pace of life does not increase for them, as they annually till the ground to produce their needs.

12. Man constantly makes more laws controlling man. You well know how thick the law books presently are in your nation, and that new laws are being added just about every day. You also know how difficult it is to comply with all these man-made rules and regulations, many of which are unreasonable and a lot of them go against what God ordained for us in this life. These man-made laws will continue to increase and to rob us of more of our freedoms. They will continue to become more unreasonable and ungodly. And as the kingdom of the devil achieves a complete stranglehold on all the people who have chosen it over their God-ordained first estate, the control of it will be turned over to the anti-Christ for him to slaughter anyone who resists to the least degree, his control over them.

Let me make these into a compact list for you to easily reference.

1. Eating the knowledge of good and evil.

2. Leaving first estate.

3. Trading masters, exchanging our Creator for a human master.

4. Serving mammon.

5. Sacrificing the family on the devil’s altar.

6. Promoting the human creature.

7. Receiving our livelihood from other fallen human creatures.

8. Sacrificing (destroying) the God-created earth.

9. Allowing other fallen humans to handle our affairs of life.

10. Handling the daily affairs of many other people.

11. Running to and fro.

12. A steady increase of man’s control over man.

These are the major things we fallen human creatures do to build the devil’s kingdom. They are acts of rebellion against our Creator and they are MOST destructive to us. They are acts that bestow much power upon fallen human creatures, power that our Creator never ordained that we have. And we use that power mainly to build the devil’s kingdom. Number 12 could be said to rob people of power. But it gives LOTS of power to the few who are in control of a lot of people’s lives. It is of dire importance for us to think on the reason we do these things that build the devil’s kingdom. We do these 12 things for the power and glory that we get out of them. And how we just fervently delight and love to do these things for that power and glory we get to share in, but which is a part of the devil’s kingdom of darkness and wickedness.

As I now attack the kingdom of the devil and lift high the lifestyle our Creator ordained for us human creatures, I will not be able to keep these 12 topics separate because they are well intertwined. So I think it would help you if you would copy this list or mark its location to keep it handy or in mind as you continue to read what I say about the “world.” These 12 things are direly important for us to know. I believe that each of them is inherently evil and some are purely sinful. For example, choosing to serve mammon instead of serving our Creator God is likely pure and outright sin. Numbers 1 through 5 are essentially in chronological order as best I can discern. Also I perceive them to be the most self-destructive things we do. So those 5 are the most important. Memorize them, please. The remainder of the list is not necessarily in order and some of them are not as major and as important matters as those first 5 are. I could add many more “points” to this list from the content of my following discussion. But each would become “less major” and would make the list more cumbersome. So I want to stop with an even dozen, which isn’t too many for you to keep in mind and/or to reference.

So please arm yourself with this list, grab a handrail, and hold on to your hat as we ride this battle chariot of an old farm wagon on a glorious but rough crusade of attacking the kingdom of the devil and glorifying our Creator ordained first estate. You think it is hard on you reading this? Well what about pore, little, ol me? I have to write it! May God help me to write it aright and may He help you to read it aright. A few paragraphs back, the writing got to be such a battle that I put it aside, went out to the garden and hoed grass from a few rows of vegetables while singing praises to my Creator. That “tilling the ground” sure did help in the midst of battle!

“Heavenly Father, please create within me an intense desire to stand against the devil’s kingdom. In order to do that, I need to know exactly what composes the devil’s kingdom. Please teach me exactly what it is. Please give me understanding of the things of the devil’s kingdom that I have come to love. Please grant me repentance of that sin of loving things of the world and of the devil. Please create within me a God given love for the life that Thou didst ordain for Thy human creatures. Also, please clearly teach me Thy Divine Plan for my own life and guide and help me to follow that Divine Plan of Thine for me, Thy creature. I pray these things for all other people also. I confess unto Thee, that I desire to serve my Creator God instead of serving any other creatures, including myself. So by Thy Unlimited Power, please enable me to do that. I also pray for Thee to help all other human creatures to do Thy Will concerning these matters. Thank Thee, My Lord, for hearing and answering this prayer of mine. Amen.”

(This ends Chapter 4 of CREATURE VERSUS CREATOR.)

Chapter 5

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