Gospel of Luke – 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.)

Continue reading “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)”

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

We have come to the end of this sub-set of episodes of Biblical References snippets within The Prodigal Band Trilogy where The Prodigal Band meets the Prodigal Son (from Luke Chapter 15). Part One is here; Part Two is here, and Part Three is here. This Part Four finishes this set and is based on the verses from Luke 15: 20 until the end of the parable. Having spent his inheritance on reprobate living, then having spent it all until there was nothing left, the prodigal son is forced to eek out an existence feeding pigs, wishing he was back home and not literally starving while his father’s servants have plenty to eat. So he decides to return to his father as a ‘hired’ servant. From Luke 15, the Parable of the Prodigal Son:

{15:20} And he arose, and

came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his

father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his

neck, and kissed him. {15:21} And the son said unto him,

Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and

am no more worthy to be called thy son. {15:22} But the

father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put

[it] on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on [his]

feet: {15:23} And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill [it;]

and let us eat, and be merry: {15:24} For this my son was

dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they

began to be merry.

Continue reading “Parable from Luke 15: Prodigal Son Meets The Prodigal Band (Part Four)”

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.

Continue reading “Parable from Luke 15: Prodigal Son Meets Prodigal Band (Part 3)”

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

In Part One of this episode, here, the Prodigal Band mirrors the beginnings of the Prodigal Son within the Gospel of Luke Chapter 15, where the prodigal son is given his inheritance and then proceeds to waste the fortune given to him on ‘riotous living,’ which, if one ever read from the celebrity tabloids and popular culture magazines of the 60s through the 90s, mirrored the lifestyles of the most famous and notorious rock stars. Some of these rockers, however, would regret their wasted—and I mean wasted!—drug addictions and such, including the so-called ’27 Club’ of rockers who died or suicided (or, some say, were murdered) legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janice Joplin, Brian Jones, and others of whatever age, such as Kurt Cobain, Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington and more. And let’s not forget the recently passed Eddie Van Halen, who had serious health issues likely brought about by his ‘rock star lifestyle’.

Luke 15: 14: “And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in the land; and he began to be in want.”

The next two verses say that the prodigal son “joined” himself to a citizen of that country he was in, and was to feed swine in the fields; in the meantime, he craved being about to eat those corn husks he fed as he was given virtually nothing in return.

15:17: “And when he came to himself, he said, how many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish in hunger!”

The ‘famine’ referenced in verse 14 is spiritual as well as physical but certainly not financial, as the members of the prodigal band are all filthy rich. They have ‘spent’ all of their true actual beings, especially spiritual, on the ‘riotous living’ in verse 13 as stated in part one. They were wasted in every way they could think. Chapter Seven of Battle of the Band features several instances of their ‘wasted’ selves: singer Erik, not being able to get near his baby son, turns to alcoholism; guitarist Jack, in anger over hurting his woman who was pregnant but didn’t let him know that until the 1993 tour was over, turned to drug addiction, as did bassist Keith, who lost his wife over infidelity; drummer Tom lost his lover to another hated man; guitarist Mick was poisoned by a drug laced with poison, blamed on his partner but committed by his ‘friend’ Swami Negran as punishment for not fulfilling their ‘soul-selling oath’ to the satanic figure Corion; synthist Bry suddenly hurt his back on a short vacation that would bring about unintended consequences later. So yes, they were certainly in want!

The next two verses about going to another country and working for someone there feeding pigs and going hungry over it doesn’t really play out in the novel, unless one considers the ‘citizen’ they are ‘working’ for is an evil satanic agenda of debauching the youth as they had been ‘assigned’ to carry out. And they do their best to carry this evil agenda to fruition to the point where they are anything but economically ‘hungry,’ so that this ‘hunger’ is a spiritual one that is having its negative consequences in more ways than one. And no band members feels this hunger more than its front man, singer Erik. In Chapter Nine of Battle of the Band, his wife Ger ‘betrays’ him by being with her personal assistant for sex as well as ‘exercise,’ for she has convinced herself that she is ‘fat’ because the tabloids say she is, which also leads to her serious bout with bulimia (referenced here) that she hid from her man. Angry over it, Erik leaves her and continues his self-pity over it even when she tries to apologize, which he will not accept—and then gets plastered with booze that evening, leading to him (as well as his ‘bro’ bassist Keith) winding up with mild heart attacks in a hospital, having added Bry’s back medication to their drunkenness. And their wanting to end their spiritual ‘hunger’ in the process.

Continue reading “Parable from Luke 15: The Prodigal Son Meets The Prodigal Band (Part Two)”

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

Folks, this trilogy is called The Prodigal Band Trilogy for a reason! And the reason is this: the parable within the Gospels spoken to the Apostles by Christ Himself that gave the most inspiration to this trilogy was the Parable of the Prodigal (Lost) Son within the Gospel of Luke Chapter 15. The parable is below, and has been during my entire life one of my favorite parables. My other two favorite parables have also been referenced in my Biblical References Snippet posts—the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard and the Parable of the Talents. All three work together to impart my mission message, but it made more sense to me, what with my trilogy about a rock band that gains fame and fortune but loses their ‘souls’ so to speak, to call this the Prodigal Band Trilogy, where the ‘prodigal band’ meets (spiritually) the ‘prodigal son.’

Before I go on, let me explain the meanings of prodigal and prodigy. The ‘prodigal son’ is ‘lost’ because of wasteful extravagance. He is wasting his ‘inheritance’ (or, in the case of my prodigal band members) or ‘talents.’ Three of the band members, singer Erik, bassist Keith, and keyboard synthist Bry, are also child prodigies, possessing ‘extraordinary talent’ at singing and music playing as children through inheritance from ancestors. Instead of throwing their given talents into classical music or opera singing where they could make good incomes, they instead choose rock stardom, as they could then acquire extravagant fame and especially fortune. And we all know the lifestyles of rock stars, right? Sex, drugs, and rock and roll…

Below is the parable from Luke 15 (copyright-free King James Version):

Continue reading “Parable from Luke 15: The Prodigal Son Meets The Prodigal Band (Part One)”