Biblical Wisdom – OmegaBooks

Snippets of the Prodigal Band Trilogy Biblical Reference Series, Episode Seven: God, Not Satan and Not the Elites, Is In Control (and He Even Controls Satan)

The Biblical Reference Snippet Series within The Prodigal Band Trilogy continues with this possibly final post in the series (unless I can come with another one). I am including this because several parts of the three-books-in-one trilogy claim that God is in control, not any person who thinks he or she is in control of local or world events—the so-called ‘world controlling’ elites definitely think they are in control because of their money or power—and not the one who wants to be ‘like the Most High’ (Isaiah 14), Satan/Lucifer, either.

If Satan was in control, would Earth even exist with life on it? Because Satan loves death and destruction. If those Satan thinks he controls, the elites who think they control everything, were actually in control, then why has it taken them so long—thousands of years—to get control? Because Satan deceives them into believing they are in control, because Satan, the ‘Adversary,’ is the ultimate deceiver.

Biblical references show this from the point of view of God the Almighty (the Old Testament Book of Job Chapters One and Two), and His Son, Christ (Matthew Chapter Four).

In Job Chapter One, starting with verse 6, Satan ‘presented himself before’ God, and they converse, with Satan ‘ordering’ God to ‘put forth thine hand’ and ‘touch all that he (Job) hath, and he will curse thee (God) to thy face” (Job 1:11). But God tells Satan, ‘Behold, all that he hath is in thy (Satan’s) power; only upon himself (Job) put no forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord’ (Job 1:12). Sounds to me like God controlling Satan to me, as in the rest of the chapter Satan does all sorts of damage to Job’s resources and even children, but does not hurt Job, who in anguish still refuses to curse God, saying (to paraphrase verse 21), the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. And then comes Chapter Two, where, again, Satan wants to destroy Job and have Job curse God, but God refuses to allow it:

{2:3} And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered

my servant Job, that [there is] none like him in the earth, a

perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and

escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity,

although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him

without cause. {2:4} And Satan answered the LORD, and

said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for

his life. {2:5} But put forth thine hand now, and touch his

bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. {2:6}

And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he [is] in thine

hand; but save his life.

So Satan brings upon Job ‘boils’ on his skin from head to toe, which Job deals with by scraping the boils among ashes. Job’s wife then enters the picture:

{2:9} Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain

thine integrity? curse God, and die. {2:10} But he said unto

her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh.

What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall

we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

So what is the point? One, Job, in great pain, still refused to ‘curse God and die’ though Satan ‘knew’ that Job would do such a thing (and did Satan use Job’s wife to try to convince Job to do so?). Two, did Satan take Job’s life after God told Satan not to take his life (when God told Satan to spare his life)? No, because God told Satan not to take his life. Further, why did Satan show up with the ‘sons of God’ (that is, the angels) in the first place? Likely, to ‘prove’ to God that he, Satan, was just as powerful as God and also to tempt God. But God was not tempted by Satan; he used Satan to make a point about Job, that Job would not give in to Satan’s desires. So, did Satan control God or did God control Satan? Did Satan kill Job? No, because God told Satan not to kill Job.

And speaking of controlling Satan, Christ, the Son of God and God made flesh, had a similar encounter with Satan in Matthew Chapter 4, right after John the Baptist baptizes Christ and then Christ gets into the ‘wilderness.’

{4:1} Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the

wilderness to be tempted of the devil. {4:2} And when he

had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an

hungred. {4:3} And when the tempter came to him, he said,

If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be

made bread. {4:4} But he answered and said, It is written,

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that

proceedeth out of the mouth of God. {4:5} Then the devil

taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a

pinnacle of the temple, {4:6} And saith unto him, If thou be

the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall

give his angels charge concerning thee: and in [their] hands

they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot

against a stone. {4:7} Jesus said unto him, It is written

again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. {4:8} Again,

the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain,

and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the

glory of them; {4:9} And saith unto him, All these things

will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

{4:10} Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan:

for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and

him only shalt thou serve. {4:11} Then the devil leaveth

him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

So, when Christ told Satan, to ‘get thee hence,’ Satan left Him. So, did Satan control Christ or did Christ control Satan? Then, in Matthew 16, Christ is telling His apostles that He is going to go to Jerusalem and be killed, and rise again on the third day (16:21). Then Peter begs Him not to do that (16:22). Then Christ tells Peter:

{16:23} But he

turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou

art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that

be of God, but those that be of men.

Then in Luke 22:3—

{22:1} Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh,

which is called the Passover. {22:2} And the chief priests

and scribes sought how they might kill him [Christ]; for they feared

the people.

{22:3} Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot,

being of the number of the twelve [apostles]. {22:4} And he went his

way, and communed with the chief priests and captains,

how he might betray him [Christ] unto them. {22:5} And they were

glad, and covenanted to give him money [thirty pieces of silver]. {22:6} And he

promised, and sought opportunity to betray him [Christ] unto them

in the absence of the multitude.

That is, Satan’s spirit can actually enter people. Since Judas Iscariot was the one apostle who betrayed Christ for ‘thirty pieces of silver,’ it makes sense that Satan’s entrance into Judas would aid this cause, which, as Christ had told Peter and the rest in Matthew 16, was going to happen anyway. So, did Satan enter Judas because Judas wanted Satan to enter Judas, or because Satan was doing God’s will so that Judas would betray Christ, so that Christ would become the ultimate sacrificial lamb? (Remember, we’re talking Passover time here.)

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Parable from Luke 15: Prodigal Son Meets Prodigal Band (Part 3)

In Part One of this Prodigal Son meets Prodigal Band sub-series using Biblical References is recounted the ‘riotous living’ of the band using the talent ‘inheritance’ given to the six band members using their fame and fortunes. In Part Two is recounted their spiritual wastelands and empty lives of alcoholism, drug abuse and personal emptiness. In this Part Three, the prodigal band is coming to grips with the fact that they must turn their lives around and at the same time, spiritual forces of Good are aiding their efforts by giving them ‘missions of God’ beginning in Chapter Nine of The Prophesied Band. The spirit being known as the ‘witch of the Hovels,’ aka Morwenna in The Prodigal Band, tells them that The Tooters, God’s angels, will ‘reveal’ their missions ‘of God’ to them as they perform at the local trade and music festival in the middle of July, 2000. In Chapter Ten, their missions are given to them by The Tooters simultaneously as singer Erik holds the final note of a song for over one minute to end the festival.

Here are the verses that are being considered in this post from Luke 15: 18-20:

15:18: “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before thee”

15:19: “And am no more worthy to be called they son: make me as one of thy hired servants.”

Verse 20 begins by saying ‘And he arose, and came to his father.’

But while they are willing to carry out their ‘missions,’ they would prefer not to ‘do missions on themselves’ so to speak. While their missions involve spreading the Good News about accepting Christ as Savior, they are not necessarily willing to accept Christ themselves. They believe they’ve been ‘too sinful’ and doubt they could even consider accepting Christ. But that nagging feeling haunts them, knowing that not doing so while being “missionaries” makes them hypocrites. It is the commitment to ‘being hired’ by Christ that is standing in the way. Such that it will take a special nudge by spiritual Good to get them to choose to be ‘hired.’ This happens in the spiritual void they find themselves in Chapter Eleven of The Prodigal Band.

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Snippets of The Prodigal Band Trilogy: Biblical References Series, Episode One—“The Outer Darkness, Where There Will Be Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth.”

Of all the Bible verses spoken by Jesus Christ Himself I have been aware of for many years, this and other verses in Matthew and Luke speaking of “the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” has stuck with me for many, many years. I figured the “outer darkness” referred to Hell and this “weeping” by those who were in Hell made sense. Who wanted to die and go to Hell? It was the “gnashing of teeth” part I had no idea about.

The word “gnashing” in the dictionary means this: to bite or chew by grinding the teeth together, striking the teeth together by grinding.

A similar word I used often in The Prodigal Band Trilogy, “gnaw,” has this meaning: to bite, chew on, or erode with the teeth. The word “gnaw” usually refers to rodents chewing or “gnawing” on wood, nuts, plants, or whatever rodents gnaw on for food or shelter, prominently with large and long upper front teeth. I use “gnaw” mostly referencing the devil character, Corion, as well as his Demons, warning his evil minions to do what he asks, “…or I will gnaw your bones forever.” In Hell, or the Abyss in which he resides (on God’s or The Creator’s orders), which is where Corion’s evil minions will find themselves after judgment.

Note: Since those who do the will of the devil character will find themselves in Hell anyway unless they repent of their evil, and Corion would gnaw on them anyway, why is Corion even threatening these folks if they do not do his will? Because these folks worship Corion and believe this evil devil is in fact god! So they force themselves to do these evil deeds not realizing he is only deceiving them. Corion, the Satan of this trilogy, is in fact the father of lies and deception within the trilogy.

This post is on the “gnashing of teeth” reference; the “gnawing” on bones forever reference will appear next week. But the themes and context are similar though the words are somewhat different. Gnaw and gnawing are used once each in the Bible, in the Old Testament Book of Zephaniah and the New Testament Book of Revelation.

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