Understanding the Cosmic Conflict and God's Love

Welcome to Hope Sabbath School, an in-depth, interactive study of the Word of God. We are in a series that is so important on God's love and justice. And today... the cosmic conflict, how that fits into the character of God, and also the lies that the forces of darkness are saying about God and how He feels about His creation. Crucial topic. We're glad you're here. And get your Bible ready. We're going to study together. I'm excited because one of our team members, Sabina, is going to be teaching today. Always look forward to hearing you teach. Great to see the team. Give us a wave. We're glad you're here, and we have some remotes with us. Glennie, great to have you with us again. And Rodney, always good to have you with us. And we're glad that you're here with us too, because you're an important part of our global Bible study. We're studying about the battle and how that relates to the character of God. And you say, Derek, I'm in the midst of a battle right now. Well, then I'm really glad you're with us. In fact, we'd love to hear from you. You can write to us at SSHope. at hopetv.org. Share with us maybe a prayer request or if there's something special you're learning about the Word of God through studying together. Well, I'm thankful that Bothmok writes to us from Ethiopia. And I'm sorry if I didn't say your name exactly right, Bothmok. But he writes, Hello, Hope Sabbath School. I'm Bothmok from Eastern Ethiopia in the Somali region. I am deeply grateful for the privilege of joining your discussion group over the past three years during my time studying at the university. So that gives you an idea about both Mark's age. Your love for God's Word and dedication to studying the Scriptures together has been a tremendous blessing in my life. Amen. I thank God for using Hope Sabbath School to draw me closer to Him and to His people. As I mentioned, I'm from the Somali region of Eastern Ethiopia. I'm here studying in the university. The majority of the people in this region are Muslim, and I humbly ask for your prayers about this region. May God continue to work mightily through your fellowship, and may your discussions bear much fruit for His kingdom. I am forever thankful for the powerful way God is using Hope Sabbath School. Amen. Well, thanks so much for writing to us. And we'd be interested, write to us both, Mark. Tell us what you're studying there at the university, and we'll certainly remember you in our prayers. Valerie writes to us from Trinidad and Tobago. And Valerie says, hello, Hope Sabbath School. Hello. I think they say that to get the wave, right? I enjoy watching Hope Sabbath School every Friday evening at the beginning of Sabbath. And... on Saturday mornings as I prepare for church. I really appreciate Hope Sabbath School since I am a small group Bible study coordinator at my church. Well, Valerie, thanks for writing to us, and we're glad that you're helping encourage people to have an in-depth, interactive study of the Word of God. Here is a note from a donor in Texas. Just a short note, and the donor writes, The Hope Sabbath School program, an interactive Bible study, gives listeners an opportunity to expand their biblical knowledge on a weekly basis. As your focus is to win souls to Christ, I sense the urge to donate. Well, thank you, donor, because that is our prayer, even in the study that Sabina will lead today. that people would come to know that God loves them and that Jesus, Son of God, came to save them to be forever with Him. Well enclosed is a donation of $100. Thank you, donor in Texas. You know who you are. And God bless you as you join in this miracle of sharing the gospel with the world. And I want to thank each one of you who donates to this ministry because without you, our impact will be limited. We're a donor-supported ministry. So go to our website, hopetv.org slash hope SS. Click on the donate button. You say, I do that. Some of you give every month. Just thank you for being part of that ministry. And when you do send a donation, write us a note so we can share that with the global family. And that's what Sharni did. Sharni wrote to us from the Philippines. And it's a little bit longer, but I was so impressed by the email. I just want to share it with you. And then we'll sing our song. Greetings, Hope Sabbath School team. I'm writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for the impact that your in-depth Bible study has had on my life. You want to hear the story? As the son of a pastor, I grew up surrounded by the teachings of God, but I strayed from the path in my younger years. It was during... this time of straying, that your Bible studies became one of my guiding lights. I must admit, I used to watch your videos on Friday night after long parties with my friends. Does God love people who go to long parties and then try to find hope in Jesus? Notice I didn't say, does God love the long parties that He was doing, right? But God loved Him. It was a reminder for me that it was Sabbath and I needed to refocus my life. Despite my initial reluctance, Hope Sabbath School slowly started to resonate with me, and I found myself drawn back to the teachings of the Bible. Well, in the years that followed, my life underwent a complete transformation. I met a godly wife who shares the same faith. Additionally, the constant intercessory prayers of my parents And the wisdom shared in Hope Sabbath School studies played a significant role in shaping my spiritual journey. Can somebody say amen? I'm truly blessed to have come across Hope Sabbath School. Your teachings have helped me navigate through challenging times and have strengthened my relationship with God. I am eternally grateful for the impact you've had on my life and will continue to support your ministry. in any way I can. Last sentence. Thank you. Wow. Thank you for being a light in my darkest moments and for being one of the guides to the path of righteousness. Charney, thanks for writing to us from the Philippines. Not only because we were encouraged, but there's someone, maybe it's you, I don't know where you live, and you said, Oh God, I need to come back home. Oh God, if you could do it for Charney. Could you do it for me? And the answer is yes. Well, we're going to sing our theme song. That was moving for me. We're going to sing our theme song now because it says, Oh God, you are my God, early will I seek you. And whenever we seek Him, we'll find Him. Let's sing together. Oh God, you are my God, early will I seek you. Oh God, you are my God, early will I seek you, my soul. thirst for you my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water my soul thirsts for you So I have looked for you in the sanctuary, to see your power and your glory become. Your loving kindness Is better than life My lips shall praise you Thus I will bless you While I live I will lift up my hands in your name. I will lift up my hands in your name, because you're loving kindness. His dead turn in love, my lips shall praise you, thus I will bless you while I live. O God, you are my God, early will I seek you. Oh God, you are my God, early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you. In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water, my soul thirsts for you. Oh God, you are my God, early will I seek you Oh God, you are my God, early will I seek you Well, that's even, I guess, especially important with the topic today, Sabine, as we think about the great battle, we want to be quick to seek the Lord. Amen. So why don't we seek the Lord in prayer as we start this study. Our Heavenly Father, what a privilege it is that we can stand here with each other and before you, uplifting your Word and the truth that we can learn in Scripture of your loving kindness and your care for us and the victory that you have conquered for us in the cross. Now, as we look to this very important topic of the great conflict, I pray that your mighty Holy Spirit will be speaking to us. Will be impressing our hearts and the hearts of those who are watching us. Not only to learn about this special topic, but to know that you care for us and you are also our protector. And ultimately, you are the winner in this battle. And we praise you for that and we love you. In your name we pray. Amen. Amen. So just recently there was a church member that came to me sharing about the fact that he wondered if nowadays there were still manifestations of evil forces and of the devil because not so often he sees that happening or happening around us, even in the church. And interesting enough, just in the same weekend that he came to talk to me, I got to visit with a lady who grew up in an indigenous nation, you know, a Native American nation. So she had belonged to the lineage in the family of people who were considered the healers in the tribe. So just in an early age, she was taught to do several rituals and learn how to manipulate certain herbs and things and invoke ancestors and all these types of things as part of her tradition. And I learned that at the age of 13, while she was experimenting with some of those teachings, she realized that some of the things were not working. And she felt a little bit fearful also of some of the events that were taking place around her. And she reminded that in the Christian academy she attended about the name of Jesus, which was something she used to ignore because of some of the oppression that her people suffered. on people that on the name of God misused the Bible. So she, she resented that in some way. But in that very moment, she was alone, just herself attempting the rituals. And she decided she was going to call upon the name of Jesus. And well, mind you what happened. Some of the attempts of healing that she had now were working. And this girl. At that early age, she surrendered her life to Jesus. She had to go live with her grandparents who were at that time Baptist. And her family was not very happy about her choices. But now she can testify about the fact that there is a powerful God that is more powerful than the powers that she was previously invoking. So many people in the Christian tradition and maybe you who are watching us may be a little bit skeptical when we talk about the devil. and demons and Satan. But I would like us to today go in a journey together through scripture to learn what is it and where is it that the Bible teach about this great conflict between evil and good and God. And also to learn that this is important, but not as important as the fact that Jesus, He wins the victory for us. Amen. So let's look in scripture. What is it that the Bible teaches about this great conflict? And maybe if I could have Brittany, if you take us to this beautiful parable that we find in the book of Matthew, and we are going to start our study there in that parable taught by Jesus in Matthew 13, 24 and 30. And I'll be reading from the New King James Version, Matthew chapter 13, verse 24 says, Another parable he put forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat. and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares? He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Do you want us then to go and gather them up? But he said, No. Lest while you gather up the tares, you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. And at the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, First, gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them. But gather the wheat into my barn. Thank you so much, Brittany. We are going to... turn also to the interpretation that Jesus gave to the disciples. But just even before we get there, what are some of the things here that you think that this parable of Jesus can teach us about the cosmic conflict between good and evil? Anything that you see? Yes, Brittany. Well, we see that God planted good seed. And then when he's asked about the tares, he says an enemy. has done this. So that teaches us that what God does is always good and that evil came not any part of his will. It wasn't something that he caused to happen. It's not something he intended or ever wanted. Wow, thank you so much. That's very important. We see that there is such thing as a God who is loving and who plants good seeds, but there is also such thing as an enemy that is attempting to disrupt. the work of God, right? Jeffrey, I see your hand up. Yes. Reading this, I am in the mindset of the workers. Did you put the weeds with the wheat? And that's the whole great controversy. That's God has to vindicate his character. And basically throughout scripture, and as I think we go through this lesson, we're going to understand how he's going to do that. And I think that's really important, Sabina, because there are some people who've been taught falsely that God is both good and evil. That's right. But this parable of Jesus makes it very clear that God is good, but there is an enemy. Yes, there is an enemy. God is good, but there is an enemy. Yes, Rodney, I see your hand up. What do you like to share? Sabina, I like the fact that the Bible says that the field was... his field, meaning there's an owner of the field. Then it goes on to talk about there were workers in the field. And then the Bible says that there was an enemy that planted tares. And then the servants came back to the owner of the field and says, should we just take up the tares? And then the owner says, no, no, no, no, not at this point in time, but at the day of harvest, then you can go ahead and do so. In other words, there is the owner who is responsible for the field and he's giving the instructions on what ought to happen on the field. So I'm just happy that this owner is God himself. So ultimately he is in control. Yes, this is a wonderful reflection Rodney. Indeed, as we consider that, you know, there is some challenges happening there. The awareness that the owner of the field is God the Almighty. does bring us hope and peace as we move forward, right? And we do have an interpretation for this parable that we see further down in verses 36 to 43. So I wonder if Scott, if you would lead us there and read for us Matthew 13, verses 36 to 43. And we are going to now as a group look at what else can we learn after we understand from Jesus the explanation for this parable? All right, and I'll be reading from the English Standard Version. Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field. He answered, The one who sows the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all lawbreakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous, will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Thank you, Scott. So, any further thoughts here as we look to this explanation from Jesus? Anything else? Yes, Scott. I think it's so important that we recognize who is the one who is doing the separation. I can't divide anybody. I don't know. who is a weed and who is a wheat. Only God knows that. He sends His angels to do that at His time. This is an excellent insight, Scott, because I think many of us, as we have encountered evil and as we have faced suffering, we have had the desire of taking vengeance or justice upon our own hands. Isn't that true? And I think this is a great insight that you're presenting, Scott, that we here in this story, we are not the reapers. Who are we in the story? We are the workers, and we are actually, we are growing together. We are the weeds, exactly. We are not even the... Do you see? So this is a very interesting insight. Yes, Puyas, here I have a handout. Yes, on that point, it's interesting that this problem is beyond us, beyond this planet alone. Angels and heavenly beings are involved in this conflict of trying to find out who is at fault in all the evil and... you know bad deeds that we see in the universe so this is this is a universe-wide cosmic level conflict even just based on this parable like angels are involved yes thank you so much this is excellent insight also because this there are some things here that apparently are happening there are beyond our sight right and God he's not leaving us alone he's not giving us the responsibility as Scott was saying to be the the reapers and in fact just as Poyer is saying you He's making sure that he's involving his angels to take care of this. Amen. And I see, Glenn, you have your hand up. Yes. And it's easy to see evil that's going around in the world and ask why God isn't just eradicating evil right away. But one thing to keep in mind through the story is that our timing for justice with our limited perspective isn't God's timing. And I'm just... grateful that God is the judge and he sees the big picture and knows the best time to eradicate evil. Amen. That's right, Blaney. And here, if this was the only one parable that we had, if this was the only reference in scripture about a cosmic conflict between evil and good, between God and Satan, what would be, you think, maybe the most important lesson that you could learn? Yes, Pouya. That The owner of the field is a good person. Amen. Yes. What about you, Mighty? You had your hand up. What's the lesson you think is most important? One thing I really get from this parable here is God's patience. That's what speaks out to me the most here because we have tears and wheat growing together. And for us, we would like to right away go and remove this. As portrayed in the parable here, people want to just remove these tears. right from the start, but God says, wait, be patient. And for me, it's, we can look at, you know, the people themselves. Some can be tares, some can be wheat. But I think about that, actually, in God's perspective, he can turn tares into wheat as well. Like, you don't know people's progress. Harvest in life, for us, this person looks like a tear. He's doing all these things. But yeah, you don't know this person's journey in life. You don't know when God, at any moment, can turn this person from a tear into wheat at the harvest. And so we can have a more bountiful harvest. You'll feel like God in his timing, you know, take care of things and if we were to plug things out prematurely. This is a beautiful insight. Thank you so much, Mighty. Praise God. Right. Praise God. This owner of the harvest. As for me, I think that the insight that is the most important is the truth that God ultimately wins. You know, if this was the only parable in the Bible about this great controversy that we are all experiencing here. For me, the most important lesson that I would want to carry is that our God. He is powerful. And ultimately, no matter what's happening, things may be falling apart to the right and to the left. We know already that he wins. And you know what that means? We have no need to negotiate with the other part in this fight. We can just, you know, relax, enjoy the ride, trust in God, because we know he is out there already. Conqueror. Amen. And we are with him as well. So let's move forward to look at some other passages in the Bible that teach about this conflict. And we are going to turn to Revelation 12. And I wonder, Pouya, if you could read Revelation 12. Just verses 7 and 8, okay? Verses 7 and 8, and we are going to be looking at where is it that this cosmic conflict begun? Sure, and I'll be reading from the New King James Version, Revelation 12, verse 7 and 8. And war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought. But they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. Okay, thank you so much, Pouya. We have also here Ezekiel. So maybe, let's see, Stephanie, if you would lead us to the book of Ezekiel, chapter 28. And we are going to be looking at verses 12 to 19. And we are going to learn some more details, not only about where this war broke out. But also, who are the people involved and the main character there? Stephanie, Ezekiel 28, 12 to 19. And I'll be reading from the New King James Version. Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre and say to him, Thus says the Lord God, you were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering, the sardis, topaz, and diamond, pearl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers. I established you. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created till iniquity was found in you. By the abundance of your trading, you became filled with violence within, and you sinned. Therefore, I cast you as a profane thing. Out of the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground. I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you. You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading. Therefore, I brought fire from your midst. It devoured you, and I turned you to to ashes upon the earth, in the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples were astonished at you. You have become a horror and shall be no more forever. So why don't we hear some revelations that we learned that is given in scripture regarding this rebellious angel. Yes, Rodney. I'm amazed by how God implements and runs his universe. He gives us a very clear picture of who he is and the fact that he runs his universe in love. And not only says it, but he demonstrates it very carefully by coming, dying for us, raising again, and he's certainly interceding on our behalf so that we can make the right choice. But here's a text now that gives us the other perspective on the other party, so to speak, the great controversy, as we would say, or the cosmic conflict. This text gives us a very good summary of who the enemy is from his inception all the way to the future with regards to his end. And now that God presents to us the two options to say, choose today, choose today. whom you're going to follow. Are you going to follow me who runs this universe in love and demonstrating that love? Or are you going to choose this enemy and there is an end to the enemy? So this is a great depiction of who this enemy is and therefore we should take the information now and act on it which is to choose Jesus because of his love. Thank you so much, Rodney. Yes, we do have revelation here from this angel that is rebellious. Brittany, what do you see about this angel here from this passage? I think it's important to see that what God did was perfect. When he created this angel, he was the anointed cherub. And in the sanctuary, there was two angels on either side of the mercy seat, which shows us God's throne in heaven. There's two covering angels next to him. Satan was one of those angels on his right or his left. And he was perfect and he was beautiful. This gorgeous being, there was nothing wrong that God did. God did not make any mistake. But it said iniquity was found in you. So we see that God is not responsible or the originator of sin. That God did not create a sinful being. He created a perfect being that chose to become sinful. Yes, this is great insight. Thank you, Brittany. I'm thinking of someone maybe watching Hope Sabbath School, and they're like, who is Ezekiel, and how does he know about something that happened in heaven and an angel that was created but then rebels against God? If you read at the beginning of his book, he's a prophet. He says visions of heaven were open to him. He was a contemporary of the prophet Daniel. Maybe some people have... I've heard of Daniel and Jeremiah, who's back in Jerusalem, but he's given a prophetic gift, and he sees visions and he records them. So, I would say it's important to recognize this is not Ezekiel's opinion. This is God's revelation to the prophet Ezekiel. That's important because Satan's always trying to create lies like, I don't exist. or I look like something that you see in a cartoon, when actually, apparently, he's a very powerful angel who chose to rebel against God. Yeah. And this leads us to our next question, Derek, which is then, if this, as Brittany was saying, was a perfect environment, and this rebellious angel was made beautiful and mighty, and even had a presence so close to God. How is it possible then that evil arises in that context? Yes, Stephanie. Well, I'm just thinking that if there was an explanation for sin, it wouldn't be sin and we wouldn't need a Savior. So I don't think that there's really an explanation or a reason for sin. God made him perfect. Scott, what are your thoughts? You know, I agree with what Stephanie said. I think it's also the fact that... that this shows that God respects individual choice because God very easily could have prevented him from making that choice. And God respects our choice out of love. And so unfortunately, when you respect somebody's ability to choose, sometimes they make bad decisions and we wish that wouldn't happen, but it happens. And that's what the plan of salvation is all about, right? About... God bringing us back from some of those really horrible choices that were made. Right. Yes, Puya. I really appreciate the comments both from Scott and Stephanie there. And while it is very difficult to understand how it is possible for sin to arise in a perfect universe, But another insight could be that because the nature of God is love, God created free agents, and He allowed people or angels themselves to make decisions either way they want. Now, a lot of times people, you know, I myself have asked this question, if God foreknew everything, if God foresaw everything ahead of time, you know, why didn't He just not create that angel? And I think that's a valid question. But... I think we have to come back to the idea that God is love, and maybe this option or this path that the universe has taken is the best path that exists of all the other possibilities. We don't see the big picture, right? So we still have to trust that God in His wisdom and love allowed this to happen, even though it's a terrible ordeal. Yes, thank you, Puya. And... You know, I love that you touched upon the character of God to present your reflection, because that leads me to a previous study that we had recently that was discussing God's sovereignty and God's power and God's foreknowledge, while also presenting to us the fact that... Our free choices, they have consequences that are real, right? There are God, He's not manipulating us because He cannot go against His own character and His own moral, which is being a God of love, therefore a God who is not controlling. And we see then from here that this freedom was not only granted to human beings, right? That God, He made a whole universe, all creatures He made were creatures that had the ability to live love as well. Right. Including the angels. So the angels also, they have the choice to have allegiance to God or not. They are not forced by God with all the power that they received to simply, you know, be there and standing stiff, you know, and not moving. But they actually were given an opportunity also for them to respond to God positively. And unfortunately, this angel here, he didn't go in the best route. And in fact, he even took others with him. Let's look at Isaiah 12, 12, 14, actually verses 12 to 14. And we are going to look at some extra evidence to see what is actually the nature of this conflict that is taking place. What is it that happened in the heart of this angel called Lucifer and now Satan? And maybe if we could have Jeffrey, if you read that for us, Isaiah 14, verses 12 and 14. All right, I'll be reading from the New King James Version. How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the ground, you who weaken the nations! For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven. will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the mountain of the congregation on the farthest side of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. So what are here some of the things that you see? What evidence we are seeing in scripture that what Lucifer was looking for was not just sheer power. But what is it that he was looking for? Yes, Stephanie. Exaltation. Worship. He was looking for exaltation, for worship. Yes, Scott. He specifically said, I will be like the Most High. Yes, Brittany. I find it interesting that the word I is used five times. I, I, I, I. So we see that. The opposite of love is not hate necessarily, but it's selfishness. Because God is a God of self-sacrificing love. And when we choose to go our own way, we become selfish and we just take instead of give. And that's what Satan became, is ultimately selfish. And everything that he does is out of selfishness. Yes, Brittany, this is a very good point you were bringing up. You know that at times one can wonder, why is it that God would just not wipe out all that, right? Like, why is it that God is not just clearing it? But I think that this particular, you know, verses here that we just read that indicate that what Lucifer was attempting to get, there was not just so much to be as strong, maybe, but he's trying to find a space here to speak against the character of God. Isn't that he's looking for a space to question the position of God as a sovereign ruler, right, as the ruler of the universe. So this is not just a simple matter of seeing who is able to to hit someone stronger, but more so in questioning what is it that goes in the heart and the mind and the intentions of God were being then put to question. Right. And Jeffrey, I see you want to comment here. Do you have something to share? As I was reading that, I was also thinking of when He was saying, I will ascend, I will exalt, I will also sit on the mountain. It's as if He has been thinking about this for a long time, has grown, and has been corrupting, and has been building up for so long until it just finally came out. And that's where death and destruction and confusion come from. Yes, so we need to move forward. But just before we get to our next part, I would like, Glennie, if you would take us to the book of Luke. And we are going to be looking at the verse, chapter 4, verses 5 to 8 in the book of Luke. And we are going to see that this is, you know, further clarified in an interaction between Jesus and Satan. So if you'll take us there, verses 5 to 8, chapter 4. And I'll be reading from the New King James Version, and it says... Then the devil, taking him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him, All this authority I will give you, and their glory, for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you will worship before me, all will be yours. And Jesus answered and said to him, Get behind me, Satan. For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and Him only you shall serve. Thank you, Glenny. Yeah, so we see if there was any question that what were the intentions of this angel, we see his interaction with Jesus here in the book of Luke that, well, what he wants, we know he wants worship. Okay, so let's move to the next part of our study. And we are going to see that, well, this conflict, it did start. This war broke out in heaven and it engaged these heavenly beings and angels that we don't often see. But it also involves me and you. So let's look here at Genesis chapter 1, verses 31. And maybe Tendi, if you read that for us, Genesis 1, 31, and we're going to look at what was the condition on earth as God concluded the creation, Tendi. Thank you, Sabina. And I'll be reading from the New King James Version. Genesis 1, 31. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. So we see here that just like in heaven, we realize that everything that God created was beautiful and glorious. It seems like also when He created earth and He completed His work, that everything was also beautiful and glorious. And God not only found it good, it was very good. And so that's where we are starting from. OK, so maybe then if we can have charity, if you lead us then to the next passage here is still in Genesis, but it's a little further, chapter three, verses one to seven. And we are going to be looking at how is it that this cosmic conflict then invade a perfect and good planet Earth? Genesis 3, 1 through 7. I'm reading from the New King James Version. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die, for God knows that in the day that you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw, that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were open and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. Thank you, Charity. You know, further down in the Bible, in the book of Revelation, chapter 12, verses 7 to 9, we learn the identity of the serpent that is being presented here is Satan. Okay. So, as we look here at this passage, what would you say then? How is it that evil came into play? Yes. So, it just really struck me, Sabina. I always grew up thinking, well, He told a big lie. He said, you won't die. And we only look around, and we know this world is full of death. But there was a bigger lie, and that was, God is a liar. That's what He said in the conflict in heaven. God is a liar. God says He only has your best good in mind, and He cares for you, but He's a liar. His mind has become warped to call the sovereign God a liar, but that's actually what he does right there in the garden. Yeah, and you're quite right. We can see that the main strategy of Satan actually is using lies. So, let's turn to the book of John, chapter 8, and we are going to be looking at verse 44. Maybe mighty, if you will read that for us. So we are going to be looking at John chapter 8, verse 44. And there we are going to learn a little bit more of this primary strategy that Derek here is mentioning, which is the primary strategy of Satan. All right, I'll be reading John chapter 8, verses 44, and I'll be reading the New American Standard Bible. And it says, You are of your father, the devil. and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Thank you so much, Mighty. He is the father of liars. Puri, I saw you had your hand up. What is it that you'd like to share with us? So, you know, this reveals to us the nature of this conflict, right? Satan... is not challenging God on the basis of strength or mere power. He didn't tell the angels nor Adam and Eve that, hey, I'm stronger than God. But as Derek pointed out, his attack or his approach is to accuse God's character and lie to people and angels about the character of God. So this is an attempt to assassinate God through character accusation. And that makes sense because earlier you asked the question, why didn't God just wipe everything out? Well, if someone accuses you of corruption, you would not use mere power to silence whoever accused you, but you would allow time to pass and allow open investigation for people to really see who you are. And it appears like that is what God has done in the timeline of the universe. That's right. Thank you so much, Puyo. So we know already that the devil... He's actually the father of all lies. And whenever, whatever there are lies, my friend, you can see confusion will come and we know God's spirit cannot be present. Okay, we do need to move forward because I don't want us just to be looking at the ways in which this conflict came through or at the ways in which, you know, the Satan is a liar, but I want us to be looking through the tools that God gave us to stay protected in this warfare. And just as we move there, Rodney, if you take us to Genesis chapter 3, and I would like us to be reading from Genesis 3. What does verse 15 says, Rodney? I'm reading from the New King James Version, Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15. And it reads, And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. Thank you so much. This is beautiful because we see already there in Genesis, as soon as the event took place, as soon as the serpent came, you know, accusing God of being a liar and trying to deceive Adam and Eve and all us together in that, God already stepped in with a promise. And that's probably and that's the most important actually promise that we find in scripture, my friends. And that is that God, he would come himself, take the place. that me and you deserved in that cross to die for me, die for you and grant us the ultimate victory in this battle, amen. So let's look as we participate in this battle, already knowing that we are victorious with God, therefore we don't need to negotiate with this enemy, we don't need to fear this enemy, but we do need to walk with some protections here, okay? So let's look at the book of Ephesians and we will turn to the book of Ephesians chapter six. Will you please, Brittany, read for us chapter 6, verse 12, and we'll be looking at what warning is Apostle Paul giving to the Christians in Ephesus. I'll be reading from the New King James version, Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 12 says, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age. against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. So we are not wrestling against flesh and blood. So we've been already looking at that. Stephanie, will you lead us a little further? And we are going to be looking then at what are some of the gifts that the Lord our God provide us in this warfare? Verses 10 to 11 and then 13 to 17. All right. And I'll be reading from the New King James Version. Finally, my brethren. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wild. of the devil. Verse 13, therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Stand therefore having girded your waist with with truth having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace above all taking the shield of faith. with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Amen. Thank you so much, Stephanie. So we see here a few different weapons. Scott, what are your thoughts about those weapons? Well, you know, I liked what you said about how we don't need to negotiate with the enemy. Because you look at what he says over and over. He says, stand, stand, stand. The enemy is going to attack. We don't need to flee. We don't need to worry. Stand. And he gives us all these defensive weapons. They're not offensive weapons except for the sword, which is the sword of the spirit. Because it's not our battle to win. It's God's battle. Our job is to stand firm, to trust God, and let him fight and win that victory that he is. already won. Wow. Amen. That's wonderful. Yes, there is. You know, the word translated whole armor is a single word in the Greek. It's the word panoplia, which we get the English word panoply, a covering. And what's so encouraging to me, as I think Scott pointed out, he doesn't say, make a panoply for yourself. He says, put it on, take it up. I'm offering you that gift of protection. And I think also we do have the sword of the Spirit. And if you look when Satan attacked Jesus, he constantly responded with the Word of God. That's right. Constantly responding to the Word of God, just holding this and at the attack of Satan, you don't need to be fussing around. Just say, hey, it is written. And I know that my God is for me. So, Puya, can you read for us verse 18? Sure. Verse 18 of Ephesians chapter 6, and I'll be reading in the New King James Version. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Amen. So prayer is so important. As we conclude our study, I'm curious to know if you have a special short story that you could share of a time when God has protected you from evil forces. Can you? Can you share that with us? Well, I do have plenty. Brittany, yes. I was just going to say, when I was a student missionary in the Philippines, one day I was traveling from one village to the other by foot, and I came to a riverbank, and the river was flooded, and there was a way that I needed to cross. It was across the river, and I used a wire to go across the river. And I had a thought that it wasn't a good idea, but I went forward anyhow. And I got stuck in the middle of the river, dangling from the wire with no one else there but me. And I called out, Father, save me. Father, save me. And God gave me the strength to get to the other side of the river. And I know that it was my Heavenly Father, the angels, Jesus, all helping me and saving me that day. Because I could have gone down the river. There was big boulders. And my life may have ended at that point. But I was there serving the Lord. And He stepped in. in and he gave me an amazing testimony. And I think all of us can call out anytime, Father, save me or Jesus, save me. And he is there to save us and deliver us. Yes, Jesus is ready to save me and you. It just takes you to make this petition, Father, save me. And he is going to us. Amen. Even as just recently, I had a church member, she came to me saying that she had to go through deliverance. She was herself being oppressed by demons. And this happens, my friend, very often, more often than we imagine. But you know what it takes for us? A heart that turns to God and pleads for help. It's prayer, prayer and supplication. And God is ready to deliver me and you from any evil force. There is nothing that can stand against the blood of Jesus. So just plead for the blood of Jesus upon your life. the life of your family, and keep going this beautiful journey of victory of God. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. You know, I used to wonder when I was little, what does it mean to plead the blood of Jesus? What it meant is, Jesus, what you did... I accept that you did it for me. Amen. You're my Savior, but you're also my strong deliverer. So we don't need to, as Sabina said, compromise with the enemy or negotiate with the enemy. We run to Jesus, our strong deliverer and our awesome Savior. Is that your prayer today? I know it's mine. You say, Derek, I'm thinking of loved ones that are in darkness right now. Could we pray for them too? Yes, let's pray together. Father in heaven. Thank you for the encouraging message of your word, a divine revelation that you are stronger than the enemy. You've gained the victory and you will give us the victory as we trust in you. Yes. And I pray, Lord, for loved ones that we may know who are walking in darkness right now. God, I thank you, as we heard in this study, that you can change lives. You can rescue people. We pray for those loved ones today. And we thank you in the name of Jesus. Amen. Well, thanks for joining us for Hope Sabbath School. I just want to thank God for being such a loving and awesome God, don't you? And Jesus for all that he has done for us. My friends, don't keep that good news to yourself. Rejoice in the Lord and go out and be a blessing to those around you.

Crucial topic. We're glad you're here. And get your Bible ready.

We're going to study together. I'm excited because one of our team members, Sabina, is going to be teaching today. Always look forward to hearing you teach.

Great to see the team. Give us a wave. We're glad you're here, and we have some remotes with us.

Glennie, great to have you with us again. And Rodney, always good to have you with us. And we're glad that you're here with us too, because you're an important part of our global Bible study.

We're studying about the battle and how that relates to the character of God. And you say, Derek, I'm in the midst of a battle right now. Well, then I'm really glad you're with us.

In fact, we'd love to hear from you. You can write to us at SSHope. at hopetv.org.

Share with us maybe a prayer request or if there's something special you're learning about the Word of God through studying together. Well, I'm thankful that Bothmok writes to us from Ethiopia. And I'm sorry if I didn't say your name exactly right, Bothmok.

But he writes, Hello, Hope Sabbath School. I'm Bothmok from Eastern Ethiopia in the Somali region. I am deeply grateful for the privilege of joining your discussion group over the past three years during my time studying at the university.

So that gives you an idea about both Mark's age. Your love for God's Word and dedication to studying the Scriptures together has been a tremendous blessing in my life. Amen.

I thank God for using Hope Sabbath School to draw me closer to Him and to His people. As I mentioned, I'm from the Somali region of Eastern Ethiopia. I'm here studying in the university.

The majority of the people in this region are Muslim, and I humbly ask for your prayers about this region. May God continue to work mightily through your fellowship, and may your discussions bear much fruit for His kingdom. I am forever thankful for the powerful way God is using Hope Sabbath School.

Amen. Well, thanks so much for writing to us. And we'd be interested, write to us both, Mark. Tell us what you're studying there at the university, and we'll certainly remember you in our prayers. Valerie writes to us from Trinidad and Tobago.

And Valerie says, hello, Hope Sabbath School. Hello. I think they say that to get the wave, right?

I enjoy watching Hope Sabbath School every Friday evening at the beginning of Sabbath. And... on Saturday mornings as I prepare for church.

I really appreciate Hope Sabbath School since I am a small group Bible study coordinator at my church. Well, Valerie, thanks for writing to us, and we're glad that you're helping encourage people to have an in-depth, interactive study of the Word of God. Here is a note from a donor in Texas. Just a short note, and the donor writes, The Hope Sabbath School program, an interactive Bible study, gives listeners an opportunity to expand their biblical knowledge on a weekly basis. As your focus is to win souls to Christ, I sense the urge to donate.

Well, thank you, donor, because that is our prayer, even in the study that Sabina will lead today. that people would come to know that God loves them and that Jesus, Son of God, came to save them to be forever with Him. Well enclosed is a donation of $100.

Thank you, donor in Texas. You know who you are. And God bless you as you join in this miracle of sharing the gospel with the world.

And I want to thank each one of you who donates to this ministry because without you, our impact will be limited. We're a donor-supported ministry. So go to our website, hopetv.org slash hope SS.

Click on the donate button. You say, I do that. Some of you give every month. Just thank you for being part of that ministry. And when you do send a donation, write us a note so we can share that with the global family.

And that's what Sharni did. Sharni wrote to us from the Philippines. And it's a little bit longer, but I was so impressed by the email. I just want to share it with you.

And then we'll sing our song. Greetings, Hope Sabbath School team. I'm writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for the impact that your in-depth Bible study has had on my life. You want to hear the story? As the son of a pastor, I grew up surrounded by the teachings of God, but I strayed from the path in my younger years.

It was during... this time of straying, that your Bible studies became one of my guiding lights. I must admit, I used to watch your videos on Friday night after long parties with my friends.

Does God love people who go to long parties and then try to find hope in Jesus? Notice I didn't say, does God love the long parties that He was doing, right? But God loved Him. It was a reminder for me that it was Sabbath and I needed to refocus my life. Despite my initial reluctance, Hope Sabbath School slowly started to resonate with me, and I found myself drawn back to the teachings of the Bible.

Well, in the years that followed, my life underwent a complete transformation. I met a godly wife who shares the same faith. Additionally, the constant intercessory prayers of my parents And the wisdom shared in Hope Sabbath School studies played a significant role in shaping my spiritual journey. Can somebody say amen?

I'm truly blessed to have come across Hope Sabbath School. Your teachings have helped me navigate through challenging times and have strengthened my relationship with God. I am eternally grateful for the impact you've had on my life and will continue to support your ministry. in any way I can.

Last sentence. Thank you. Wow. Thank you for being a light in my darkest moments and for being one of the guides to the path of righteousness.

Charney, thanks for writing to us from the Philippines. Not only because we were encouraged, but there's someone, maybe it's you, I don't know where you live, and you said, Oh God, I need to come back home. Oh God, if you could do it for Charney. Could you do it for me? And the answer is yes.

Well, we're going to sing our theme song. That was moving for me. We're going to sing our theme song now because it says, Oh God, you are my God, early will I seek you.

And whenever we seek Him, we'll find Him. Let's sing together. Oh God, you are my God, early will I seek you.

Oh God, you are my God, early will I seek you, my soul. thirst for you my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water my soul thirsts for you So I have looked for you in the sanctuary, to see your power and your glory become. Your loving kindness Is better than life My lips shall praise you Thus I will bless you While I live I will lift up my hands in your name. I will lift up my hands in your name, because you're loving kindness.

His dead turn in love, my lips shall praise you, thus I will bless you while I live. O God, you are my God, early will I seek you. Oh God, you are my God, early will I seek you. My soul thirsts for you.

My flesh longs for you. In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water, my soul thirsts for you. Oh God, you are my God, early will I seek you Oh God, you are my God, early will I seek you Well, that's even, I guess, especially important with the topic today, Sabine, as we think about the great battle, we want to be quick to seek the Lord.

Amen. So why don't we seek the Lord in prayer as we start this study. Our Heavenly Father, what a privilege it is that we can stand here with each other and before you, uplifting your Word and the truth that we can learn in Scripture of your loving kindness and your care for us and the victory that you have conquered for us in the cross.

Now, as we look to this very important topic of the great conflict, I pray that your mighty Holy Spirit will be speaking to us. Will be impressing our hearts and the hearts of those who are watching us. Not only to learn about this special topic, but to know that you care for us and you are also our protector. And ultimately, you are the winner in this battle. And we praise you for that and we love you.

In your name we pray. Amen. Amen.

So just recently there was a church member that came to me sharing about the fact that he wondered if nowadays there were still manifestations of evil forces and of the devil because not so often he sees that happening or happening around us, even in the church. And interesting enough, just in the same weekend that he came to talk to me, I got to visit with a lady who grew up in an indigenous nation, you know, a Native American nation. So she had belonged to the lineage in the family of people who were considered the healers in the tribe.

So just in an early age, she was taught to do several rituals and learn how to manipulate certain herbs and things and invoke ancestors and all these types of things as part of her tradition. And I learned that at the age of 13, while she was experimenting with some of those teachings, she realized that some of the things were not working. And she felt a little bit fearful also of some of the events that were taking place around her.

And she reminded that in the Christian academy she attended about the name of Jesus, which was something she used to ignore because of some of the oppression that her people suffered. on people that on the name of God misused the Bible. So she, she resented that in some way.

But in that very moment, she was alone, just herself attempting the rituals. And she decided she was going to call upon the name of Jesus. And well, mind you what happened. Some of the attempts of healing that she had now were working.

And this girl. At that early age, she surrendered her life to Jesus. She had to go live with her grandparents who were at that time Baptist. And her family was not very happy about her choices. But now she can testify about the fact that there is a powerful God that is more powerful than the powers that she was previously invoking.

So many people in the Christian tradition and maybe you who are watching us may be a little bit skeptical when we talk about the devil. and demons and Satan. But I would like us to today go in a journey together through scripture to learn what is it and where is it that the Bible teach about this great conflict between evil and good and God. And also to learn that this is important, but not as important as the fact that Jesus, He wins the victory for us. Amen.

So let's look in scripture. What is it that the Bible teaches about this great conflict? And maybe if I could have Brittany, if you take us to this beautiful parable that we find in the book of Matthew, and we are going to start our study there in that parable taught by Jesus in Matthew 13, 24 and 30. And I'll be reading from the New King James Version, Matthew chapter 13, verse 24 says, Another parable he put forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat. and went his way.

But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares? He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Do you want us then to go and gather them up?

But he said, No. Lest while you gather up the tares, you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. And at the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, First, gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them. But gather the wheat into my barn.

Thank you so much, Brittany. We are going to... turn also to the interpretation that Jesus gave to the disciples. But just even before we get there, what are some of the things here that you think that this parable of Jesus can teach us about the cosmic conflict between good and evil? Anything that you see?

Yes, Brittany. Well, we see that God planted good seed. And then when he's asked about the tares, he says an enemy.

has done this. So that teaches us that what God does is always good and that evil came not any part of his will. It wasn't something that he caused to happen.

It's not something he intended or ever wanted. Wow, thank you so much. That's very important. We see that there is such thing as a God who is loving and who plants good seeds, but there is also such thing as an enemy that is attempting to disrupt. the work of God, right?

Jeffrey, I see your hand up. Yes. Reading this, I am in the mindset of the workers. Did you put the weeds with the wheat?

And that's the whole great controversy. That's God has to vindicate his character. And basically throughout scripture, and as I think we go through this lesson, we're going to understand how he's going to do that. And I think that's really important, Sabina, because there are some people who've been taught falsely that God is both good and evil. That's right.

But this parable of Jesus makes it very clear that God is good, but there is an enemy. Yes, there is an enemy. God is good, but there is an enemy. Yes, Rodney, I see your hand up. What do you like to share?

Sabina, I like the fact that the Bible says that the field was... his field, meaning there's an owner of the field. Then it goes on to talk about there were workers in the field.

And then the Bible says that there was an enemy that planted tares. And then the servants came back to the owner of the field and says, should we just take up the tares? And then the owner says, no, no, no, no, not at this point in time, but at the day of harvest, then you can go ahead and do so. In other words, there is the owner who is responsible for the field and he's giving the instructions on what ought to happen on the field.

So I'm just happy that this owner is God himself. So ultimately he is in control. Yes, this is a wonderful reflection Rodney. Indeed, as we consider that, you know, there is some challenges happening there.

The awareness that the owner of the field is God the Almighty. does bring us hope and peace as we move forward, right? And we do have an interpretation for this parable that we see further down in verses 36 to 43. So I wonder if Scott, if you would lead us there and read for us Matthew 13, verses 36 to 43. And we are going to now as a group look at what else can we learn after we understand from Jesus the explanation for this parable?

All right, and I'll be reading from the English Standard Version. Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.

He answered, The one who sows the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all lawbreakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous, will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

He who has ears, let him hear. Thank you, Scott. So, any further thoughts here as we look to this explanation from Jesus? Anything else? Yes, Scott.

I think it's so important that we recognize who is the one who is doing the separation. I can't divide anybody. I don't know.

who is a weed and who is a wheat. Only God knows that. He sends His angels to do that at His time.

This is an excellent insight, Scott, because I think many of us, as we have encountered evil and as we have faced suffering, we have had the desire of taking vengeance or justice upon our own hands. Isn't that true? And I think this is a great insight that you're presenting, Scott, that we here in this story, we are not the reapers. Who are we in the story? We are the workers, and we are actually, we are growing together.

We are the weeds, exactly. We are not even the... Do you see?

So this is a very interesting insight. Yes, Puyas, here I have a handout. Yes, on that point, it's interesting that this problem is beyond us, beyond this planet alone. Angels and heavenly beings are involved in this conflict of trying to find out who is at fault in all the evil and... you know bad deeds that we see in the universe so this is this is a universe-wide cosmic level conflict even just based on this parable like angels are involved yes thank you so much this is excellent insight also because this there are some things here that apparently are happening there are beyond our sight right and God he's not leaving us alone he's not giving us the responsibility as Scott was saying to be the the reapers and in fact just as Poyer is saying you He's making sure that he's involving his angels to take care of this.

Amen. And I see, Glenn, you have your hand up. Yes. And it's easy to see evil that's going around in the world and ask why God isn't just eradicating evil right away. But one thing to keep in mind through the story is that our timing for justice with our limited perspective isn't God's timing.

And I'm just... grateful that God is the judge and he sees the big picture and knows the best time to eradicate evil. Amen.

That's right, Blaney. And here, if this was the only one parable that we had, if this was the only reference in scripture about a cosmic conflict between evil and good, between God and Satan, what would be, you think, maybe the most important lesson that you could learn? Yes, Pouya. That The owner of the field is a good person.

Amen. Yes. What about you, Mighty? You had your hand up.

What's the lesson you think is most important? One thing I really get from this parable here is God's patience. That's what speaks out to me the most here because we have tears and wheat growing together.

And for us, we would like to right away go and remove this. As portrayed in the parable here, people want to just remove these tears. right from the start, but God says, wait, be patient.

And for me, it's, we can look at, you know, the people themselves. Some can be tares, some can be wheat. But I think about that, actually, in God's perspective, he can turn tares into wheat as well.

Like, you don't know people's progress. Harvest in life, for us, this person looks like a tear. He's doing all these things. But yeah, you don't know this person's journey in life.

You don't know when God, at any moment, can turn this person from a tear into wheat at the harvest. And so we can have a more bountiful harvest. You'll feel like God in his timing, you know, take care of things and if we were to plug things out prematurely.

This is a beautiful insight. Thank you so much, Mighty. Praise God. Right. Praise God.

This owner of the harvest. As for me, I think that the insight that is the most important is the truth that God ultimately wins. You know, if this was the only parable in the Bible about this great controversy that we are all experiencing here.

For me, the most important lesson that I would want to carry is that our God. He is powerful. And ultimately, no matter what's happening, things may be falling apart to the right and to the left. We know already that he wins. And you know what that means?

We have no need to negotiate with the other part in this fight. We can just, you know, relax, enjoy the ride, trust in God, because we know he is out there already. Conqueror. Amen.

And we are with him as well. So let's move forward to look at some other passages in the Bible that teach about this conflict. And we are going to turn to Revelation 12. And I wonder, Pouya, if you could read Revelation 12. Just verses 7 and 8, okay?

Verses 7 and 8, and we are going to be looking at where is it that this cosmic conflict begun? Sure, and I'll be reading from the New King James Version, Revelation 12, verse 7 and 8. And war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought.

But they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. Okay, thank you so much, Pouya. We have also here Ezekiel.

So maybe, let's see, Stephanie, if you would lead us to the book of Ezekiel, chapter 28. And we are going to be looking at verses 12 to 19. And we are going to learn some more details, not only about where this war broke out. But also, who are the people involved and the main character there? Stephanie, Ezekiel 28, 12 to 19. And I'll be reading from the New King James Version. Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre and say to him, Thus says the Lord God, you were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God.

Every precious stone was your covering, the sardis, topaz, and diamond, pearl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers. I established you. You were on the holy mountain of God.

You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created till iniquity was found in you. By the abundance of your trading, you became filled with violence within, and you sinned.

Therefore, I cast you as a profane thing. Out of the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty.

You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground. I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you. You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading. Therefore, I brought fire from your midst.

It devoured you, and I turned you to to ashes upon the earth, in the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples were astonished at you. You have become a horror and shall be no more forever. So why don't we hear some revelations that we learned that is given in scripture regarding this rebellious angel.

Yes, Rodney. I'm amazed by how God implements and runs his universe. He gives us a very clear picture of who he is and the fact that he runs his universe in love. And not only says it, but he demonstrates it very carefully by coming, dying for us, raising again, and he's certainly interceding on our behalf so that we can make the right choice. But here's a text now that gives us the other perspective on the other party, so to speak, the great controversy, as we would say, or the cosmic conflict.

This text gives us a very good summary of who the enemy is from his inception all the way to the future with regards to his end. And now that God presents to us the two options to say, choose today, choose today. whom you're going to follow. Are you going to follow me who runs this universe in love and demonstrating that love? Or are you going to choose this enemy and there is an end to the enemy?

So this is a great depiction of who this enemy is and therefore we should take the information now and act on it which is to choose Jesus because of his love. Thank you so much, Rodney. Yes, we do have revelation here from this angel that is rebellious.

Brittany, what do you see about this angel here from this passage? I think it's important to see that what God did was perfect. When he created this angel, he was the anointed cherub. And in the sanctuary, there was two angels on either side of the mercy seat, which shows us God's throne in heaven.

There's two covering angels next to him. Satan was one of those angels on his right or his left. And he was perfect and he was beautiful. This gorgeous being, there was nothing wrong that God did.

God did not make any mistake. But it said iniquity was found in you. So we see that God is not responsible or the originator of sin. That God did not create a sinful being.

He created a perfect being that chose to become sinful. Yes, this is great insight. Thank you, Brittany. I'm thinking of someone maybe watching Hope Sabbath School, and they're like, who is Ezekiel, and how does he know about something that happened in heaven and an angel that was created but then rebels against God?

If you read at the beginning of his book, he's a prophet. He says visions of heaven were open to him. He was a contemporary of the prophet Daniel. Maybe some people have... I've heard of Daniel and Jeremiah, who's back in Jerusalem, but he's given a prophetic gift, and he sees visions and he records them.

So, I would say it's important to recognize this is not Ezekiel's opinion. This is God's revelation to the prophet Ezekiel. That's important because Satan's always trying to create lies like, I don't exist.

or I look like something that you see in a cartoon, when actually, apparently, he's a very powerful angel who chose to rebel against God. Yeah. And this leads us to our next question, Derek, which is then, if this, as Brittany was saying, was a perfect environment, and this rebellious angel was made beautiful and mighty, and even had a presence so close to God.

How is it possible then that evil arises in that context? Yes, Stephanie. Well, I'm just thinking that if there was an explanation for sin, it wouldn't be sin and we wouldn't need a Savior.

So I don't think that there's really an explanation or a reason for sin. God made him perfect. Scott, what are your thoughts? You know, I agree with what Stephanie said.

I think it's also the fact that... that this shows that God respects individual choice because God very easily could have prevented him from making that choice. And God respects our choice out of love. And so unfortunately, when you respect somebody's ability to choose, sometimes they make bad decisions and we wish that wouldn't happen, but it happens. And that's what the plan of salvation is all about, right?

About... God bringing us back from some of those really horrible choices that were made. Right. Yes, Puya.

I really appreciate the comments both from Scott and Stephanie there. And while it is very difficult to understand how it is possible for sin to arise in a perfect universe, But another insight could be that because the nature of God is love, God created free agents, and He allowed people or angels themselves to make decisions either way they want. Now, a lot of times people, you know, I myself have asked this question, if God foreknew everything, if God foresaw everything ahead of time, you know, why didn't He just not create that angel? And I think that's a valid question. But...

I think we have to come back to the idea that God is love, and maybe this option or this path that the universe has taken is the best path that exists of all the other possibilities. We don't see the big picture, right? So we still have to trust that God in His wisdom and love allowed this to happen, even though it's a terrible ordeal. Yes, thank you, Puya. And...

You know, I love that you touched upon the character of God to present your reflection, because that leads me to a previous study that we had recently that was discussing God's sovereignty and God's power and God's foreknowledge, while also presenting to us the fact that... Our free choices, they have consequences that are real, right? There are God, He's not manipulating us because He cannot go against His own character and His own moral, which is being a God of love, therefore a God who is not controlling. And we see then from here that this freedom was not only granted to human beings, right?

That God, He made a whole universe, all creatures He made were creatures that had the ability to live love as well. Right. Including the angels.

So the angels also, they have the choice to have allegiance to God or not. They are not forced by God with all the power that they received to simply, you know, be there and standing stiff, you know, and not moving. But they actually were given an opportunity also for them to respond to God positively. And unfortunately, this angel here, he didn't go in the best route. And in fact, he even took others with him.

Let's look at Isaiah 12, 12, 14, actually verses 12 to 14. And we are going to look at some extra evidence to see what is actually the nature of this conflict that is taking place. What is it that happened in the heart of this angel called Lucifer and now Satan? And maybe if we could have Jeffrey, if you read that for us, Isaiah 14, verses 12 and 14. All right, I'll be reading from the New King James Version.

How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the ground, you who weaken the nations! For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven.

will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the mountain of the congregation on the farthest side of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.

I will be like the most high. So what are here some of the things that you see? What evidence we are seeing in scripture that what Lucifer was looking for was not just sheer power.

But what is it that he was looking for? Yes, Stephanie. Exaltation. Worship.

He was looking for exaltation, for worship. Yes, Scott. He specifically said, I will be like the Most High. Yes, Brittany.

I find it interesting that the word I is used five times. I, I, I, I. So we see that. The opposite of love is not hate necessarily, but it's selfishness.

Because God is a God of self-sacrificing love. And when we choose to go our own way, we become selfish and we just take instead of give. And that's what Satan became, is ultimately selfish.

And everything that he does is out of selfishness. Yes, Brittany, this is a very good point you were bringing up. You know that at times one can wonder, why is it that God would just not wipe out all that, right? Like, why is it that God is not just clearing it?

But I think that this particular, you know, verses here that we just read that indicate that what Lucifer was attempting to get, there was not just so much to be as strong, maybe, but he's trying to find a space here to speak against the character of God. Isn't that he's looking for a space to question the position of God as a sovereign ruler, right, as the ruler of the universe. So this is not just a simple matter of seeing who is able to to hit someone stronger, but more so in questioning what is it that goes in the heart and the mind and the intentions of God were being then put to question.

Right. And Jeffrey, I see you want to comment here. Do you have something to share? As I was reading that, I was also thinking of when He was saying, I will ascend, I will exalt, I will also sit on the mountain.

It's as if He has been thinking about this for a long time, has grown, and has been corrupting, and has been building up for so long until it just finally came out. And that's where death and destruction and confusion come from. Yes, so we need to move forward. But just before we get to our next part, I would like, Glennie, if you would take us to the book of Luke.

And we are going to be looking at the verse, chapter 4, verses 5 to 8 in the book of Luke. And we are going to see that this is, you know, further clarified in an interaction between Jesus and Satan. So if you'll take us there, verses 5 to 8, chapter 4. And I'll be reading from the New King James Version, and it says...

Then the devil, taking him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him, All this authority I will give you, and their glory, for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if you will worship before me, all will be yours.

And Jesus answered and said to him, Get behind me, Satan. For it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and Him only you shall serve. Thank you, Glenny.

Yeah, so we see if there was any question that what were the intentions of this angel, we see his interaction with Jesus here in the book of Luke that, well, what he wants, we know he wants worship. Okay, so let's move to the next part of our study. And we are going to see that, well, this conflict, it did start. This war broke out in heaven and it engaged these heavenly beings and angels that we don't often see.

But it also involves me and you. So let's look here at Genesis chapter 1, verses 31. And maybe Tendi, if you read that for us, Genesis 1, 31, and we're going to look at what was the condition on earth as God concluded the creation, Tendi. Thank you, Sabina. And I'll be reading from the New King James Version. Genesis 1, 31. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.

So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. So we see here that just like in heaven, we realize that everything that God created was beautiful and glorious. It seems like also when He created earth and He completed His work, that everything was also beautiful and glorious.

And God not only found it good, it was very good. And so that's where we are starting from. OK, so maybe then if we can have charity, if you lead us then to the next passage here is still in Genesis, but it's a little further, chapter three, verses one to seven.

And we are going to be looking at how is it that this cosmic conflict then invade a perfect and good planet Earth? Genesis 3, 1 through 7. I'm reading from the New King James Version. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.

And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die, for God knows that in the day that you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

So when the woman saw, that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were open and they knew that they were naked.

And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. Thank you, Charity. You know, further down in the Bible, in the book of Revelation, chapter 12, verses 7 to 9, we learn the identity of the serpent that is being presented here is Satan.

Okay. So, as we look here at this passage, what would you say then? How is it that evil came into play?

Yes. So, it just really struck me, Sabina. I always grew up thinking, well, He told a big lie.

He said, you won't die. And we only look around, and we know this world is full of death. But there was a bigger lie, and that was, God is a liar.

That's what He said in the conflict in heaven. God is a liar. God says He only has your best good in mind, and He cares for you, but He's a liar.

His mind has become warped to call the sovereign God a liar, but that's actually what he does right there in the garden. Yeah, and you're quite right. We can see that the main strategy of Satan actually is using lies. So, let's turn to the book of John, chapter 8, and we are going to be looking at verse 44. Maybe mighty, if you will read that for us. So we are going to be looking at John chapter 8, verse 44. And there we are going to learn a little bit more of this primary strategy that Derek here is mentioning, which is the primary strategy of Satan.

All right, I'll be reading John chapter 8, verses 44, and I'll be reading the New American Standard Bible. And it says, You are of your father, the devil. and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Thank you so much, Mighty. He is the father of liars. Puri, I saw you had your hand up. What is it that you'd like to share with us?

So, you know, this reveals to us the nature of this conflict, right? Satan... is not challenging God on the basis of strength or mere power.

He didn't tell the angels nor Adam and Eve that, hey, I'm stronger than God. But as Derek pointed out, his attack or his approach is to accuse God's character and lie to people and angels about the character of God. So this is an attempt to assassinate God through character accusation. And that makes sense because earlier you asked the question, why didn't God just wipe everything out? Well, if someone accuses you of corruption, you would not use mere power to silence whoever accused you, but you would allow time to pass and allow open investigation for people to really see who you are.

And it appears like that is what God has done in the timeline of the universe. That's right. Thank you so much, Puyo.

So we know already that the devil... He's actually the father of all lies. And whenever, whatever there are lies, my friend, you can see confusion will come and we know God's spirit cannot be present. Okay, we do need to move forward because I don't want us just to be looking at the ways in which this conflict came through or at the ways in which, you know, the Satan is a liar, but I want us to be looking through the tools that God gave us to stay protected in this warfare. And just as we move there, Rodney, if you take us to Genesis chapter 3, and I would like us to be reading from Genesis 3. What does verse 15 says, Rodney?

I'm reading from the New King James Version, Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15. And it reads, And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. Thank you so much. This is beautiful because we see already there in Genesis, as soon as the event took place, as soon as the serpent came, you know, accusing God of being a liar and trying to deceive Adam and Eve and all us together in that, God already stepped in with a promise. And that's probably and that's the most important actually promise that we find in scripture, my friends.

And that is that God, he would come himself, take the place. that me and you deserved in that cross to die for me, die for you and grant us the ultimate victory in this battle, amen. So let's look as we participate in this battle, already knowing that we are victorious with God, therefore we don't need to negotiate with this enemy, we don't need to fear this enemy, but we do need to walk with some protections here, okay? So let's look at the book of Ephesians and we will turn to the book of Ephesians chapter six.

Will you please, Brittany, read for us chapter 6, verse 12, and we'll be looking at what warning is Apostle Paul giving to the Christians in Ephesus. I'll be reading from the New King James version, Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 12 says, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age. against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. So we are not wrestling against flesh and blood.

So we've been already looking at that. Stephanie, will you lead us a little further? And we are going to be looking then at what are some of the gifts that the Lord our God provide us in this warfare? Verses 10 to 11 and then 13 to 17. All right.

And I'll be reading from the New King James Version. Finally, my brethren. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wild. of the devil. Verse 13, therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Stand therefore having girded your waist with with truth having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace above all taking the shield of faith. with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Amen. Thank you so much, Stephanie. So we see here a few different weapons. Scott, what are your thoughts about those weapons?

Well, you know, I liked what you said about how we don't need to negotiate with the enemy. Because you look at what he says over and over. He says, stand, stand, stand.

The enemy is going to attack. We don't need to flee. We don't need to worry. Stand. And he gives us all these defensive weapons.

They're not offensive weapons except for the sword, which is the sword of the spirit. Because it's not our battle to win. It's God's battle.

Our job is to stand firm, to trust God, and let him fight and win that victory that he is. already won. Wow. Amen. That's wonderful.

Yes, there is. You know, the word translated whole armor is a single word in the Greek. It's the word panoplia, which we get the English word panoply, a covering.

And what's so encouraging to me, as I think Scott pointed out, he doesn't say, make a panoply for yourself. He says, put it on, take it up. I'm offering you that gift of protection.

And I think also we do have the sword of the Spirit. And if you look when Satan attacked Jesus, he constantly responded with the Word of God. That's right.

Constantly responding to the Word of God, just holding this and at the attack of Satan, you don't need to be fussing around. Just say, hey, it is written. And I know that my God is for me. So, Puya, can you read for us verse 18? Sure.

Verse 18 of Ephesians chapter 6, and I'll be reading in the New King James Version. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Amen. So prayer is so important.

As we conclude our study, I'm curious to know if you have a special short story that you could share of a time when God has protected you from evil forces. Can you? Can you share that with us? Well, I do have plenty.

Brittany, yes. I was just going to say, when I was a student missionary in the Philippines, one day I was traveling from one village to the other by foot, and I came to a riverbank, and the river was flooded, and there was a way that I needed to cross. It was across the river, and I used a wire to go across the river.

And I had a thought that it wasn't a good idea, but I went forward anyhow. And I got stuck in the middle of the river, dangling from the wire with no one else there but me. And I called out, Father, save me.

Father, save me. And God gave me the strength to get to the other side of the river. And I know that it was my Heavenly Father, the angels, Jesus, all helping me and saving me that day. Because I could have gone down the river.

There was big boulders. And my life may have ended at that point. But I was there serving the Lord. And He stepped in. in and he gave me an amazing testimony.

And I think all of us can call out anytime, Father, save me or Jesus, save me. And he is there to save us and deliver us. Yes, Jesus is ready to save me and you.

It just takes you to make this petition, Father, save me. And he is going to us. Amen. Even as just recently, I had a church member, she came to me saying that she had to go through deliverance.

She was herself being oppressed by demons. And this happens, my friend, very often, more often than we imagine. But you know what it takes for us?

A heart that turns to God and pleads for help. It's prayer, prayer and supplication. And God is ready to deliver me and you from any evil force.

There is nothing that can stand against the blood of Jesus. So just plead for the blood of Jesus upon your life. the life of your family, and keep going this beautiful journey of victory of God.

Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. You know, I used to wonder when I was little, what does it mean to plead the blood of Jesus? What it meant is, Jesus, what you did... I accept that you did it for me. Amen.

You're my Savior, but you're also my strong deliverer. So we don't need to, as Sabina said, compromise with the enemy or negotiate with the enemy. We run to Jesus, our strong deliverer and our awesome Savior. Is that your prayer today? I know it's mine.

You say, Derek, I'm thinking of loved ones that are in darkness right now. Could we pray for them too? Yes, let's pray together.

Father in heaven. Thank you for the encouraging message of your word, a divine revelation that you are stronger than the enemy. You've gained the victory and you will give us the victory as we trust in you.

Yes. And I pray, Lord, for loved ones that we may know who are walking in darkness right now. God, I thank you, as we heard in this study, that you can change lives. You can rescue people. We pray for those loved ones today.

And we thank you in the name of Jesus. Amen. Well, thanks for joining us for Hope Sabbath School.

I just want to thank God for being such a loving and awesome God, don't you? And Jesus for all that he has done for us. My friends, don't keep that good news to yourself. Rejoice in the Lord and go out and be a blessing to those around you.

Transcript for:Understanding the Cosmic Conflict and God's Love

Transcript for:
Understanding the Cosmic Conflict and God's Love