genuine authority and submission

© 2012 Jasper Life Publications

1st Edition in English – May, 20121st Edition in Portuguese – February, 2011

Genuine Authority and Submission

A Genuína Autoridade e SubmissãoTranslated from Portuguese with permission of

Editora Árvore da Vida

All rights reserved byJasper Life Publications Inc.Jasper Life Publications Inc.

725 Viscount RoadLondon, Ontario, Canada N6J 4G9

Phone: (519) [email protected]

ISBN 978-1-926970-33-2Printed in Brazil

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Bible text from the New King James Version® is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000

Other versions of scripture are indicated as follows:

NKJV NU-Text New King James Version variations according to the twenty-seventh edition of the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament and the United Bible Societies’ fourth edition

ASV American Standard VersionDBY Darby Translationlit. Literal translation

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CONTENTS

Preface ....................................................................... 5

1 Lucifer’s Rebellion .....................................................7

2 Man’s Fall .................................................................17

3 Reasons and Thoughts ............................................ 29

4 The Importance of Authority in the Kingdom ....... 43

5 Ruling the World to Come .......................................57

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PREFACE

The authority of God is not repressive. It is to reach man with God’s life. The more man is submissive to God, the more the divine life will grow in him and commission him to do God’s work.

Spiritual authority does not come from human competence; it comes from God’s life and choice.

Many people think that it is enough to submit to God’s direct authority, but it is extremely important to know that we must also submit to God’s representative authority. When we offend God’s delegated authority, we offend God Himself.

How can we recognize God’s delegated authority? In this book, Dong Yu Lan shows us how to identify such authority. He also presents us with some rebellions recorded in the Bible with their underlying causes, manifestations and consequences.

The content of this book is of utmost importance for the maintenance of order and harmony in every

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area of our lives. It is aimed at preparing the children of God for a greater responsibility and usefulness in His coming kingdom.

São Paulo, February 2011.

The Editors

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Chapter One

LUCIFER’S REBELLION

The Authority of the Creator

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). The Bible begins with the account of the first world. In this verse, the verb to create means to bring something to existence out of nothing. God is the only One capable of creating. He is the origin of the universe and all things were created through Him and for Him (Col. 1:16b). Therefore, God is the only absolute authority in this universe. All things are upheld by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3). In other words, He exercises His authority with power in order to sustain the universe through His word.


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The Heavens Were Created for the Earth

Zechariah 12:1 says, “Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.” Likewise, Isaiah 48:13a says, “Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand has stretched out the heavens.” These verses reveal that the heavens were created for the earth and the earth for man. Here we are speaking of the previous world, when God created the heavens and then the earth long before He created man.

The heavens were magnificently created as we see in Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” When writing to the Romans, Paul said, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20).

In the book of Job, God reveals how wisely He created the earth. Let us read what He says in Job 38:4-7: “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its

Lucifer’s Rebellion

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cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

When God created the earth, the heavenly beings described as sons of God shouted for joy (v. 7), marveling at the magnificence and wisdom of the Creator. Lucifer was among them.

The First Minister

Let us continue reading Genesis 1, “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (v. 2). What happened to the earth? The earth was created by God in such a wonderful and beautiful way, but in Genesis we see that it became without form and void and that darkness was on the face of the deep. Something very serious happened in the universe to the point of disfiguring the earth.

The book of Ezekiel helps us to uncover this mystery. Verses 12-14 of chapter 28 describe a being created by God with perfection; full of wisdom and beauty: “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 sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire,


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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.” When we relate this text to Isaiah 14:12-15, we see that both refer to Lucifer, a leader among the angels.

The precious stones represent the gifts and abilities God gave this cherub in creation. As we have seen, Ezekiel 28 says that God established him as the cherub who covers and put him in Eden—God’s garden—on God’s holy mountain (vv. 13-14). Lucifer was created as a prince, a king, to rule over the first world created by God. He was God’s first minister.

The Fall

“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”


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(Ezek. 28:15-17). How did iniquity enter Lucifer? How did he become corrupt?

God’s greatness leads Him not to impose anything on His creatures. He gives them the right to have a free will. The angels were created as God’s ministers to serve Him (Heb. 1:14). They are to obey His orders. Righteousness and peace will be maintained with no sign of unrighteousness as long as God’s authority prevails in the universe.

Lucifer was gifted by God with great intelligence and wisdom. When he considered himself so capable as to think that he could be the source of his actions, iniquity entered into him. It seems that at first he had good intentions; he wanted to serve God with his skills; but he gradually began to assume a role parallel to the Creator.

In the book of Isaiah, we see that the archangel’s extreme capacity and wisdom caused him to become proud and exalt himself. In the following verses, Lucifer’s ego is clearly shown: “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart, ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above


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the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit.” (Isa. 14:12-15).

Up until a certain moment, Lucifer faithfully fulfilled God’s will. God gradually exalted him above His stars, above the angels, making him the most important archangel. At a certain point, however, his self appeared in opposition to God. There it was manifested that his ambition was to have a position similar to the Creator. From that moment on the Bible calls him Satan—God’s adversary.

With the emergence of a second source of authority in the universe, disorder and confusion replaced harmony, righteousness, and peace. God then cast him down to earth. Satan corrupted a third of the angels who followed him in his rebellion (Rev. 12:4). These angels are identified as the principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of this age. They are the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places, described by the apostle Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians (6:12).

The pre-adamic creatures existing at that time were corrupted. Lucifer and his angels ruled over them, contaminating them with their rebellion and arrogance. They became the demons—evil spirits (Luke 7:21; 8:2). That situation forced God to intervene with the waters of His judgment, resulting in an earth


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without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. That was the desolating picture of the consequences of Satan’s rebellion.

The Real Reason for the Fall

It is possible that Lucifer’s fall was not sudden, but gradual and slow. It was endured by God for a while as we see in Isaiah 14:13a, “For you have said in your heart…” The entire process might have been long because God is merciful and always gives His creatures new opportunities. In His mercy, they have always found refuge.

Lucifer must have served God with all his faithfulness for a long time until little by little he thought he could act on his own and help God with his great ability. That was because of his extreme wisdom and beauty. His soul was at first very submissive, but it began to do things by itself, without God. Previously he did nothing by himself. The source of his actions was God. But after many successful achievements, he began to think that his own ability was the source of his success. Thus, his ego was awakened as his source of authority other than God. His soul was no longer dependent on God as it had been when he was created. That resulted in an independent life which then expressed the self.


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In order to establish himself as an autonomous source of authority, Satan needed a basis for his reasoning and arguments. He used his power of convincing and bargaining to conquer his followers, as we see in Ezekiel 28:16, “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.”

Trading

Trading involves exchange. Satan must have offered benefits and power in exchange for support. That became clear when Satan tempted Jesus in Matthew 4:8-9, “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’” First, this verse indicates that God gave Satan authority over the first world. Later, when Satan was cast down to earth, he usurped the kingdoms of the world. Secondly, it reveals his operational mode—trading. He promised to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. In return, he demanded submission.


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Every time someone is not subject to the authority of God and wants to establish his own authority, he needs a group of followers. They lure their followers by reasoning with them and promising positions and benefits to satisfy their ambition. That is Satan’s principle of conduct. That was how he attracted a third of the angels in his rebellion against God. The angels who followed him fell into their own ambition and dissatisfaction.

Seizing the Kingdom by Intrigue

In the prophecies of Daniel, we see a vile man who typifies the antichrist. He would have been Antiochus Epiphanes from the Northern kingdom, as we see in Daniel 11:21, “And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue.” This passage narrates the final period of the Greek Empire. It speaks of the several battles between the Southern kings—the Ptolemies of Egypt—and the Northern kings—the Seleucids of Syria.

The prophecy continues in Daniel 11:22-24, “With the force of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant. And after the league is made with


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him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.”

Another characteristic of Satan is to cause intrigue. That is part of military tactics to take over kingdoms. When everything is under God’s government, the result is peace and harmony. But in order to destabilize God’s authority, Satan uses devious means to create confusion, enmity, and distrust.

The divine characteristic is peace. The Lord Jesus’ seventh blessing recorded in Matthew 5 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Wherever we go, we must leave a trail of peace, not of intrigues.

genuine authority and submission

Documents

importance of authority

prefacethe authority

gods direct authority

gods representative

gods life

genuine authority

spiritual authority

absolute authority