Regime Change

For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. (John 5:21-30)

Several key issues in the core controversy emerge here. 1) Lucifer had contested the identity of Christ in heaven, inferring that Christ was no better than Lucifer and seeking to displace Him in the affections and worship of the angels. 2) Satan disputed Christ's authority over the earth because humans had ceded their legitimate authority to him and he would never cede it to anyone else, especially Christ. 3) Satan likely had challenged the fact that Christ in creating this world had the same power of life in Himself that the Father possesses. Lucifer has done everything he can since the rebellion commenced to discount and discredit everything God has stated about Christ.

As far as Satan's claim to represent this earth, there were serious questions in the universe about the legitimacy of a being representing humans who was not a human himself. This was clearly out of harmony with how every other race of beings throughout the universe are represented in the assemblies of heaven. This leads to 4), Jesus became a human in His bid to displace Satan out of his position as the recognized ruler of this world; thus His pointed statement here about being the Son of Man.

Lastly, in this passage anyway, 5) Jesus says that in contrast to the kind of counterfeit justice system used by Satan and the governments of this world, all judgment carried out by Jesus will sooner or later be fully vindicated as truly just, precisely because His kingdom is based on agape love and as such completely defers to the will of God at all times and in all things.

Satan's kingdom is founded on selfishness which he insisted was an improvement or liberation from the kingdom of God. Satan as the ruler of this world refuses to submit to God's ways and will. Satan has perverted the perceptions of all who have been deceived by him into thinking that God's kingdom is one based on arbitrary law. That is the same tactic he used to confuse and entice so many of the angels to embrace his alternative government. Satan claimed that his government and way of living offered freedom from law. Yet in reality it was just the other way around; all who follow Satan end up in slavery to the fear of death.

Jesus came to this world, to the very capital of the rebellion where Satan had ruled tyrannically for 4,000 years, to challenge, expose and refute all the claims of Satan against heaven. He came to overthrow Satan's kingdom by undermining all of Satan's claims of legitimacy to represent this world. Jesus amazingly also took into Himself the entire race of humans that had become enslaved by Satan's deceptions with Adam and Eve, our originally intended representatives. Jesus came to replace Satan's authority with His own and to clarify forever all of the issues raised in the minds of angels and any other race of beings who had been made vulnerable to the extremely subtle and convoluted reasonings of the great deceiver. Jesus came armed with only the real light of truth about God and Himself to expose all of Satan's accusations as fraudulent and baseless. By relying totally on God's principles of freedom, respect, selfless love and humility, Jesus demonstrated that God is the opposite of what Satan has claimed for so long.

This issue of Satan's kingdom and authority being displaced from this planet is increasingly capturing my attention. I feel it has been seriously under-estimated in its true significance in the great controversy. I believe it must be seen as one of the core issues (doctrines) that must be much better understood and appreciated if we are to be more effective witnesses for God and help to advance His kingdom more rapidly on this earth. It is something that I feel compelled to look into much deeper and to pay attention to whatever God brings to my attention.

But even more importantly, I must learn to fully come under the authority of Jesus Christ myself and be transformed through the continual renewing of my heart, not just my mind. I want my own life to better reflect God in my own spirit and dealings with others with the same reflection of His true character as what Jesus demonstrated while He lived as a human on this planet. I want to fully embrace the authority of Jesus in my life, to be completely submitted to God's authority which will allow His Spirit to function freely from inside of me to produce His kind of fruit.

I have been compiling a list of references about this issue so I can research it more thoroughly. I have not included most of them here, but it was brought to my attention when I was again alerted to while reading the following verses from where I am currently meditating in the book of John.

Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John 17:1-3)