“And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, -sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou -shalt -rule over him.” - Genesis 4:6,7
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” - Revelation 2:7
Endgame
—————-
Over the weeks leading up to Passover, and during it, we have been looking deeply into what it means to exist materially, to be alive, to be able to think and communicate, and ultimately, ( as humans ) to ask the questions we were formed to ask…. Who are we, what are we, where are we, why are things the way they are, why are things messed up?, what is our purpose, what does all this mean?
We looked deeply into the fundamental issue of sin, a spiritual concept —named and —judged by God Himself in Genesis … (our first text this week).
The Lord explains the way of righteousness to Cain ( we will come back to this ) , Sin, —-personified——(remember our discussion on what a -person- is?… a thought…) , is called out.. and Cain is told that one day, he -shall- rule over sin. Not today though, because the next thing that we see happen after this conversation, is a murder!
A first offense, and the Grace of God spares Cains life… only to see it repeated over and over again for millennia… and even as we speak.
We also talked about forgiveness as a spiritual concept just last week… where we quoted Jesus’ words to Peter about forgiving a person 70 times 7. Interestingly, there is an exact parallel in the book of Genesis …
Genesis 4:15 (AV): “ And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him —sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. …. “
—- and..
Genesis 4:23–24 (AV): And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. —-If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech —- seventy and sevenfold. —- (!) “
The despicable gloat of Lamech shows how quickly the concept of vengeance.. ——spiritual accountability, consequences ——-…was (mis)understood, and mocked in return by throwing it back in Gods face….. ( I’ve killed way more than Cain!!! and nobody still dares touch me ). What a counterpoint is offered by Jesus to Lamech here!
The war being waged all around us is a spiritual one, over ideas and thoughts. All of creation has been subject to futility/vanity/foolishness and we ourselves ( as the apostle Paul wrote ) groan, hoping and waiting for all this to end!
Why didn’t it end when Jesus walked out of the grave? Why would the LORD lay upon him the sins of humans for another 2 millennia ( and counting ? )
Well, for that explanation in detail we highly recommend you read our article on “ The Plan of God “ linked from the pinned first post on this page. …..In a nutshell….. we have several ages of ——-education… about Sin for man and heaven —— 1 law ( garden of Eden ) , no law ( Cain through Noah ) , 1 law ( Noah - Moses = capital punishment [Gen 9:6]) , Mosaic Law, the age of Gospel/Grace ( present day ), {Christs return} the Millennium ( Christs law ), {Final rebellion, Final judgment} and eternity forever. 7 ages.
Well that’s all good and dandy, you might say, but what does that mean for ME?
I still have to slog through all the cattle manure of this existence… and if this Page is correct, things are just going to get much much worse in the foreseeable future.. what are my options?
1. Suicide ? We are being brutally honest. We cannot bring it in our hearts to condemn —people who, trapped in what seems to be this pit.. would just put an end to it all. There is already a troubling trend of teens taking their lives in absolute disgust at what seems to be the futility of life…. but we CONDEMN that —-state of mind. Suicide is mistaken, selfish, and cowardly… and an expression of a complete lack of faith and belief in the possibilities of life, love and happiness, and the power of God.
2. Drop out? “ Turn on, tune in, drop-out “ was the mantra of the ‘60s. There are people who are done with chasing money and power, and are happy to just enjoy life, and the company of human beings with similar interests. Not all can afford to do this… a lot of us may feel “trapped”… in our situation, in our family, in our job, in life… dropping out is not an option.
3. Learn to Deal with Sin. The correct option. ( Overcome, RULE over it.) It’s for your benefit. To grow as a human being. To evolve beyond the infant stage of needing protection and supply, to the mature adult stage of helping —others. To sever the chains of bondage that people you meet in your day to day might be struggling with… through prayer, through a timely word, an act of kindness. To know that pain and suffering are entwined with growing and learning. To learn to master the desires that say “… you do you… who cares what God thinks?”
And that brings us to our second text… please note…
1. It is addressed to Christians. The “churches”… Ephesus in this case, but a —similar admonition to —-overcome—- is given to EVERY CHURCH
2. Overcoming seems to be a criteria for eternal life. Revelation 2:11 (NAS): ‘ He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’
WHAT!!! Don’t look at us. It’s in black and white in our text as well…. “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” …… no overcoming == … no fruit!
Does this mean that Christs work was not enough? No, it means He paid your debt, but you have to learn to be —-fiscally responsible!!—- if we can express it like that. Otherwise, we would just be crucifying Him age after age…..
How are we to overcome?
Look at Christs final word … Revelation 3:21–22 (NAS): “ He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, —-as I also overcame—- and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ ”
Who did Christ defeat? Did he run a multibillion dollar financial empire? Did he hold the power of life and death over his subjects? Was he THE leading theological light in His day?
Nope, Nope, and Nope!!
He modeled an obedience to God, and an absolute command over Sin. That is what we are to be! Not sabbath observance, ritual washings, keeping kosher, removing matzah at Passover ( a hot potato in Israel today )… eating, drinking, makeup, dress lengths, tithing, nada…
Walking in the Spirit! We have a HELPER to help us through this fight to glory, to master the sin that lives in our mind, to overcome our preoccupation with power and sensual pleasure.
Galatians 5:18–25 (NAS): But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I —forewarn— you, just as I —have forewarned— you, that those who —-practice such things —will not— inherit the kingdom of God.
[[ Paul is speaking to the CHURCH also ]]
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; [[ What a set of concepts !!! ]]
—-against such things there is —no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the —-flesh with its —passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”
The Mission of this Page : To enable each and every Christian to become a powerful force for Christ… in His strength.
YOU , AND YOU ALONE… have to commit to choosing Gods way and Spirit …. The Holy Spirit will help you, other people can come alongside… but YOU are the one that must master it… that is a REQUIREMENT for a fully mature son/daughter of God. If that is not a test you can pass, who can blame God for withholding eternal life and the power and authority of His Throne from you?
Learning to overcome is a lifetime journey for a human, ages for the human race and angels, and it is ESSENTIAL to fellowship with the Creator, in whose image we have been created.
You have power over your life, you are empowered to make any and every decision you choose. You can realize a portion of your divine inheritance by just walking with God everyday and seeing Him touch people through His words and actions, through your mouth, hands and feet. You will be given gifts to explore and use for His glory… you will have a vocation and calling that completely satisfies you in His Service… all while you support yourself and others… with HIS DIVINE HELP!!
The glow of Resurrection Sunday fades all too fast in the minds of a lot of Christians…. Let that glow be a fire that continually burns in your heart …. To help the poor and needy, the orphaned, the suffering, the sick, the grieving, the hurting…. It is not for nothing that the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter!
We look forward to the day when the lesson is over, and the endgame concluded.
For us today, however, the endgame —- is to live and love in Spirit and Truth, with the same Faith that was in Abraham, trusting God to deliver on His promises…. To bless our human lives, and to help us be counted worthy to obtain the inheritance laid up for us!
Hallelujah!