Latest / Reformed Thinking / Providence, Satan, and Demons: God’s Sovereign Rule over Evil Powers

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Providence, Satan, and Demons: God’s Sovereign Rule over Evil Powers · Reformed Thinking

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So imagine you are walking alone through this really dense,
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completely unfamiliar forest and it is the dead of night.
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I mean, the canopy above you is so thick that it is just totally
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blocking out the moonlight. So it's pitch black.
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Yeah, pretty much. You are relying entirely on
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this, this dim little flashlight that barely cuts through the fog
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and the air is still. It is super quiet.
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The kind of quiet where you can hear your own heartbeat.
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Right. That exact kind of quiet.
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Then suddenly you hear a massive branch snap in the dark brush,
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maybe just a few feet away. Oh man, Yeah, your heart just
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races. The adrenaline completely floods
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your system and in that split second your mind tries to
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process what just happened. Fight or flight kicks in?
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Yep. And you generally have, you
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know, 2 choices and how you process it.
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You can immediately convince yourself it was just the wind,
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right? Like it was just a random
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natural occurrence, maybe a dead branch finally giving way to
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gravity. Just nothing to worry about at
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all. Just brush it off.
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Yeah, or you can panic. You assume there is this.
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This monster in the woods that dictates the rules of the night.
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A predator that is completely unchecked and you are its next
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victim. Which is terrifying.
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It is, and well, welcome to reformed thinking.
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Today we are looking at a core theological tension that affects
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how you process the darkest moments of human existence.
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We really are. How do you, the listener,
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understand the malicious, very real activity of Satan and
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demons in a universe that is exhaustively, entirely governed
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by a sovereign God? It's a heavy talker.
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It is, but I am thrilled to have this conversation because it
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forces us to confront the reality of the shadows without,
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you know, losing our grip on the light.
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It is a critical conversation to have and I am really glad we are
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tackling it today. Me too.
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As Protestant Christians who adhere to the Westminster
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Confession, we have to establish the theological guardrails right
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away. Because it's so easy to veer off
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court. Oh absolutely.
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Those two natural reactions you describe in your forest analogy?
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They represent the two major ditches people fall into when
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trying to make sense of evil. OK, let's break those down.
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So the first error is unbelieving naturalism, right?
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This is the tendency of modern secular people to treat any
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mention of demonic forces as psychological myths or ancient
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superstitions. Like it's just a pre scientific
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way of explaining mental distress.
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Precisely. They hear the branch snap and
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insist it is nothing but the wind.
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They just completely ignore the reality of the spiritual realm.
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Because they can't put it in a test tube.
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Yeah, I mean, that's the mindset.
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But then the second error is practical dualism.
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Which is almost more common in some circles.
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It really is. This is the trap of treating the
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devil as a near equal rival to God.
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Like a yin and Yang situation. Yeah, as if the universe is
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locked in some cosmic stalemate between the forces of light and
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the forces of darkness. Like a giant game of tug of war
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where the outcome is still, you know, undecided.
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That's a great way to put it, But our theological framework
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insists on rejecting both of those extremes entirely.
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I think we need to unpack both of those ditches a bit more
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before we introduce the third option because honestly they are
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so prevalent in how you and I think on a daily basis.
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They really are the default settings for a lot of people.
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Unbelieving naturalism makes total sense in our highly
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scientific culture. We want to measure everything
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right? Like.
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Data. Yeah, if we cannot put it in a
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test tube or, you know, observe it under a microscope, we just
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assume it does not exist. It's a very closed system view
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of the world. Right, so when people read
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ancient texts talking about spiritual warfare, they
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immediately filter it through a modern psychological lens.
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They assume ancient people just lacked the vocabulary for
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schizophrenia or epilepsy. Yeah, so they think those people
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just invented demons to fill the gap in their knowledge.
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It feels, well, it feels sophisticated to dismiss the
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supernatural. It does.
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It makes modern people feel enlightened.
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But then on the other hand, practical dualism is almost more
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dangerous for the religious person.
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You see this everywhere in pop culture.
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Oh, it's everywhere. Movies.
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Books. Yeah, the idea of the light and
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the dark existing is equal opposing forces.
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If you buy into that, you live in constant anxiety.
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Because the outcome is up in the air.
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Exactly. You believe the monster in the
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woods might actually be stronger than the creator of the woods?
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That is a very accurate assessment of the cultural
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landscape. Honestly.
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Dualism breeds terror. Because God is just doing his
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best. Right.
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It suggests God is doing his best to manage a chaotic
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situation, but he might be outmaneuvered.
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Which is a terrifying thought. It is, but the Westminster
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Confession, which was drawn up in the 17th century, provides
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this magnificent corrective to this by clearly defining the
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nature of God's Providence. What does it say specifically?
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It states that God, the Great Creator of all things, upholds,
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directs, disposes, and governs all creatures, actions and
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things. All of them.
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Yes, from the greatest even to the least.
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So not just the big historical events.
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No, everything. This is not a distant clockmaker
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God who wound up the universe and just walked away.
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This is a God who is intimately involved in every single atom
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and every single event. So, applying this to the forest
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analogy, the reformed view introduces the third reality.
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Which is. There is a terrifying creature
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in those woods. The danger is not an illusion.
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The branch snapping was real. Yeah, it was real.
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But you are walking alongside the Sovereign King who owns the
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forest, and that creature, the monster, is on a heavy,
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unbreakable chain. You can't just do whatever it
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wants. Right, it is unable to move a
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single millimeter beyond what the king decrees.
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That is a fantastic picture of it.
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And this is not just an abstract philosophical puzzle we are
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trying to solve here. This is a highly practical
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pastoral issue for you, the listener.
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It touches everyday life. It shapes how you interpret the
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sudden suffering in your own life.
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It shows how you handle the specific daily temptations you
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face. It changes everything.
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It really does. It changes how you process
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conflict in your marriage, or, you know, trouble at your
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workplace, or even anxiety in your own mind.
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Because if you think the universe is a chaotic
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battlefield of equal forces, you will just live in fear.
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Yeah, and if you think the spiritual realm is a myth, you
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will be caught entirely off guard when the attack actually
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comes. You won't have any defenses.
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Right. So we need to understand how the
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universe actually operates, and to do that we have to talk about
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the nature of the wills operating within it.
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Yeah, this is where we get into the mechanics of it.
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Yeah, we are moving from the broad concept of God's
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exhaustive governance to the specific reality of what
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theologians call secondary causes.
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The concept of secondary causes is the bedrock for understanding
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this entire dynamic. Break that down for us.
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Well, when we say the doctrine of Providence means God
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preserves and directs all creatures, some people
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immediately jump to the conclusion that we are
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describing A puppet show. Like we're all just robots.
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Yeah, they assume that if God is sovereign, then humans and
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angels are just marionettes on strings going through
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predetermined motions without any real agency.
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But that's not what the confession teaches.
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Not at all. The Westminster framework is
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incredibly precise here. It affirms that God's
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comprehensive government does not eliminate the reality of
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secondary causes. It actually establishes them,
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yes. It establishes them.
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This means creatures truly act. Give me some everyday examples
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of that. Sure, water truly makes things
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wet. Fire truly burns.
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OK, so the physical properties are real.
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Yes, and it applies to choices too.
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Human beings make real, calculated choices based on
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their desires. And angels.
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Angels render real joyful obedience, and fallen angels
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carry out real hateful rebellion.
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OK, I want to make sure I grasp this completely.
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You are saying that when the devil acts, he is not operating
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like a machine following a line of code.
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No, not at all. He is a personal creature.
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He fell into wickedness voluntarily.
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Right. Yes, entirely voluntarily.
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So when Jesus calls the devil a liar and the father of lies, he
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is presenting Satan as a morally responsible agent.
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That's a key point. He is morally responsible.
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He's not just a metaphor for the absence of good, he's an entity
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with a mind, a will, and a totally corrupt set of desires.
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That is the crucial distinction. Satan's rebellion is deliberate.
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It is not coerced. God is not forcing him to do
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evil. Never.
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God does not force the enemy to sin.
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Satan wills to deceive, He wills to tempt, He wills to accuse,
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and He wills to destroy. Because he actually wants to.
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Because he is evil, he is acting out of the overflow of his own
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corrupt nature. He loves darkness and he hates
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the light. So when he lies, he is doing
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what he genuinely wants to do. Yes, he is fully culpable for
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his malice. OK, I see that.
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But, and this is the hinge upon which the whole theology turns,
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his will is never absolute. He doesn't have blank check.
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Right. He never possesses autonomous
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freedom. His agency is real, but it is
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always strictly bounded by the constraints God places upon him.
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He's on a leash. Exactly.
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He cannot act outside the decree of the Almighty.
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He is a creature, and a creature can only operate within the
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parameters set by the Creator. OK, let me bring in an analogy
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to help visualize this, because the mechanics of this are, you
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know, they're difficult to wrap our minds around.
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Analogies are very helpful here. Think of a vicious dog on a
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heavy steel leash. OK.
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Imagine a massive, terrifying animal.
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The dog is real. The teeth are incredibly sharp.
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The malice in the dog's eyes is genuine.
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It's not a hallucination. No, it's real.
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If that dog gets a hold of you, the pain is not a psychological
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illusion. It is going to cause severe
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damage. Yeah, physical harm.
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But the owner holds the leash and determines the exact radius
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the dog can roam. The circle of influence.
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Right. The dog can only snap at what
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falls within that designated circle if you are standing one
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inch outside that radius. The dog can bark and bare its
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teeth, but it cannot touch you. It's completely restrained from
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crossing that line. Yeah, the dog is acting out of
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his own vicious nature, but the owner is dictating the spatial
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boundaries of where that nature is allowed to express itself.
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That is a very helpful way to visualize the concept of bounded
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agency. It helps separate the two wills.
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Yes, the dog is not pretending to be angry.
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It genuinely wants to tear you apart, but the restraint is
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entirely external. The leash doesn't make the dog
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nice. No, the leash does not change
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the dog's nature. It limits the dog's reach.
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Right. But you know, this raises a
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really tough question and it is a question people struggle with
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constantly. I can guess where you're going
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with this. Let's look at the owner holding
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the leash. OK.
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If the owner has the capability to pull the dog back completely,
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but chooses to let the leash out just enough for the dog to bite
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someone, how is the owner not responsible for the bite?
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That's a very fair question. Because from the perspective of
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the person getting bitten, the owner letting the leash out
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feels like an act of cruelty. It does feel that way.
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So how does Reformed theology distinguish between God's holy
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permission and the devil's hateful intention, ensuring God
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is not the author of sin? It is the most challenging
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theological question we face, and it requires careful
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handling. We have to get this right.
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We do. The distinction lies in the
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nature of the intention versus the nature of the decree.
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OK, unpack that. We have to realize that God's
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permission is never bear passivity.
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He's not just turning a blind eye.
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No, it is not as if God simply steps aside, takes his hands off
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the wheel, and let's evil run its course just to see what
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happens. It's active governance.
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Yes, every boundary set for the enemy, every inch of that leash,
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is governed and ordered toward ends that God alone fully knows
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and wisely ordains. OK, so the motives are
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different. Completely different.
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The intention of the enemy, the dog in your analogy, is ruin,
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corruption and destruction. The dog wants to cause senseless
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pain. Right.
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But the decree of God governing that action is altogether holy,
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just, and good. So God is using it.
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Yes, God is using the hateful intention of the enemy to
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accomplish His own righteous purposes.
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So the dog bug bites because the dog loves violence.
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The dog is guilty of malice, but the owner allows the leash to
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reach a certain point for a reason that is entirely just and
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wise, even if the person being bitten cannot comprehend the
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reason in that terrifying moment.
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That's the hard part to swallow, but it is true.
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The event is the same, but the motives are diametrically
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opposed. Yes, the same event falls under
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both the divine intention and the satanic intention, without
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moral confusion in God and without providing an excuse for
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the devil. Do we have a historical example
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of this? Think of the cross of Jesus
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Christ as the ultimate example of this.
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OK, yeah, the crucifixion was the most heinous, sinful act in
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human history. Without a doubt.
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Satan intended it to destroy the Son of God.
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The religious leaders intended it to protect their status.
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Judas intended it for financial gain.
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Exactly. All of them acted out of their
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own wicked desires, and all of them are morally culpable.
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But God was at work. Yes, Acts chapter 4 explicitly
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states that they did whatever God's hand and God's plan had
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predestined to take place. That's a staggering verse.
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It is. God intended the cross for the
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salvation of the world. Satan meant it for evil.
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God meant it for good. The creature is on a leash and
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it's malice is repurposed for glory.
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That is the core of it. That is a lot to process, but it
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provides an incredibly sturdy foundation.
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We are looking at a universe where evil is real, but it is
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subjugated. It is harnessed.
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Having established this theological concept of bounded
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agency, let's look at the clearest biblical proof of this
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dynamic in action. We need to go to the Old
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Testament for this one. Yeah, we are turning to the life
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of job the. Ultimate case study.
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It really is. What happens in the opening
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chapters of the Book of Job is staggering when you view it
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through this specific lens. It changes how you read the
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whole book. It moves everything we just
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discussed from theory into devastating reality.
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The Book of Job is the definitive text for
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understanding the boundaries of Satanic agency.
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Because it pulls back the curtain.
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Yes, the curtain is pulled back on the heavenly throne room.
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Satan appears before the throne of God.
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But we must pay close attention to the protocol of this meeting.
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It's not an equal negotiation. No, he does not show up as an
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independent ruler demanding territory.
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He does not negotiate from a position of equal strength.
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He's checking in. Right.
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He appears among the angels as a subordinate who must give an
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account of his activities. And he has to request permission
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to act. Exactly, he cannot do a single
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thing to Joe without divine leave.
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The limitations are so explicitly staged in the text it
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almost reads like a legal contract.
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It really does. It's step by step.
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First, God brings up Job's faithfulness, and Satan argues
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that Jode only loves God because God gives him nice things.
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Satan says stretch out your hand and touch all that he has and he
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will curse you to your face. So God sets the first boundary.
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The Lord says, behold, all that he has is in your hand, only
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against him. Do not stretch out your hand.
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There is the leash. Right, so the enemy goes out and
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devastates Job's property as children.
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That was the edge of the radius. The dog could go no further.
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You get the limit. Then later, Satan has to come
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back. Yeah, the enemy admits he could
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not touch Job's body. He was blocked.
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So God expands the boundaries as behold, He is in your hand, only
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spare his life. Another boundary is set.
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The enemy does not set the terms of the trial.
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He does not control the thermostat of the suffering.
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He has to check in and receive his operational limits.
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And that narrative proves that Satan is neither imaginary nor
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supreme. He's a creature.
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Yes, he is real enough to bring terrible heart wrenching
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affliction. I mean, he uses Sabian Raiders,
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he uses fire from heaven, he uses a great wind to collapse a
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house. He orchestrates a massive wave
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of destruction. Yet he is restrained enough that
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he cannot move one inch beyond the line drawn by Providence.
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He does not choose his own range of operation.
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No, the leash is firmly held by the Creator.
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Now look at Jobs theological conclusion at the end of that
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initial devastation. After he loses his wealth and
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his ten children in a single day.
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Yes, Job tears his robe, shaves his head, falls on the ground
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and says the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
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Blessed be the name of the Lord. Which is a heavy thing to say in
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that moment. Very heavy.
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Now some modern critical scholars look at that and claim
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Job made an error. Really.
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How so? They argue Job was ignorant of
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Satan's involvement and wrongly attruded the devil's work to
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God. Oh, I see.
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But the inspired text immediately follows Job's
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statement with a clarifying absolute.
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It says in all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
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So Joe was right. Yes, Job rightly saw through the
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secondary cause. The Raiders.
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The wind, the enemy's malice to the primary governor of the
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universe. OK, let me stop right there
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because I have to push back on this.
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Sure, go ahead. I understand the mechanics of
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what you were saying, I see it in the text.
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But put yourself in the shoes of someone listening to this right
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now who has just experienced A catastrophic loss.
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It's incredibly difficult. Let's say a massive tornado rips
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through their town and destroys their home.
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In Job's case, it was a stormy wind that collapsed the house on
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his children. Is it actually comforting to
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attribute that final authority to God?
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Does a God ordered the wind that took my family?
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For many, initially no. To a lot of people, that sounds
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infinitely more terrifying than random chance.
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Wouldn't it be easier, wouldn't it be softer, to just dismiss it
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as chaotic weather or unchecked demonic malice?
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It seems like it would let God off the hook.
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Exactly. At least then you do not have to
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grapple with the idea that a loving father signed off on the
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devastation. It is a heavy, agonizing
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question. It is the question that keeps
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people awake at night. It's the problem of pain.
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But when you follow the logic of the alternatives down to their
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foundations, you realize there is 0 consolation in
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haphazardness. What do you mean if the universe
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is random? If tragedy is just the the
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result of blind evolutionary forces and chaotic weather
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patterns, then your suffering has no meaning whatsoever.
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It's just a tragic accident. Right.
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It is just an unfortunate chemical collision, and if a
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malicious entity like the devil has independent control over the
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weather or disease, the believer is left in absolute terror.
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Because who knows what he'll do next?
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Exactly. You would have no assurance that
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any trial has a purpose and no guarantee that the enemy will
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not just wipe you out completely tomorrow.
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Because he's not on a leash in that scenario, right?
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Stability, true anchor in the storm.
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Stability comes from recognizing that the finite cause, whether
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that is the enemy's malice or the physical storm, is always
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superseded by the ultimate cause, who is the compassionate
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sovereign Creator. I read an account recently that
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creates a very specific modern parallel to this and it hit me
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incredibly hard. It was about a 27 year old
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father sitting in a doctor's office.
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OK, he is looking at a conclusive ultrasound that
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showed a severe life altering genetic disorder for his unborn
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child. Oh that is gut wrenching.
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Yeah, the room goes cold. The future he imagined is gone.
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Where does his hope rest in that dark office?
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That's the real test of this theology.
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If he believes the universe is random, his child's suffering is
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just bad luck. A tragic roll of the biological
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dice. No comfort there.
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If he believes the devil has unchecked influence, he has to
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live with the horror that a demon successfully sabotaged his
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child's DNA and God could not stop it.
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Which is. Horrifying.
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His only true hope rests in knowing that God ordained spinal
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development. Yes, He has to trust that the
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compassionate Father is holding the leash and that this specific
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agonizing trial was permitted for a holy purpose that will
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eventually result in glory. Even if he cannot see a shred of
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that purpose right now. Right.
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The comfort only exists if God is the one governing the
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outcome. That is the pastoral necessity
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of this doctrine. It is not an ivory tower debate.
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It's ground level. It is survival gear for the
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darkest valleys of human life. If Satan acts outside God's
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Providence, then the believer has no final assurance that
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history is governed by divine wisdom.
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You are essentially living in a war zone where the generals have
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lost control of the troops. Yes, but if Satan's rage itself
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falls beneath the over ruling hand of God, then even the
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darkest assaults cannot overturn the purposes of grace.
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It puts a fence around the pain. It means your suffering has a
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boundary. It has a measured duration.
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It will not last one second longer than God ordains.
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And it has a purpose. And it has a holy purpose, even
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when that purpose remains entirely hidden in the secret
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counsel of God for the duration of your earthly life.
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You do not have to know the why to trust The Who.
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That is heavy, but you are right, it brings incredible
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stability. It's the only real solid ground.
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So, recognizing that the enemy operates within these strict
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divine limits, we need to turn our attention to his tactics.
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How he actually fights. Yeah, how does this allowed
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malice actually manifest? The strategies vary drastically
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depending on the era and the culture he is attacking.
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Oh, very much so. The enemy does not use A1 size
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fits all playbook. He does not.
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The enemy is incredibly shrewd and his methods adapt to the.
21:47
Environment. He reads the room.
21:49
He does. We can contrast the 1st century
21:52
Mediterranean world with our modern post Christian Scientific
21:56
era to see this adaptation clearly.
21:59
Let's look at the 1st century. In that era, the world lived
22:03
with an acute daily awareness of the supernatural.
22:06
The spiritual realm was considered just as real as a
22:09
physical realm. Everyone believed in spirits.
22:11
Yes. Consequently, the enemy's
22:13
strategy was characterized by frontal visible assaults.
22:16
Right, you read the New Testament and the environment is
22:18
highly charged. The text mentions the Ephesian
22:21
Church dealing with blatant occult activity.
22:23
It was very out in the open. Good spirits of divination,
22:26
people practicing sorcery and burning massive piles of magical
22:29
books. Right, the confrontation was
22:31
direct. You had visible manifestations
22:33
of bondage, like the man possessed by Legion who had to
22:37
be bound in physical chains that lived among the tombs.
22:40
It was overt terror. The enemy wanted people to be
22:43
terrified of his raw might. In a non modern culture, the
22:46
enemy's strategy plays upon people's true awareness of his
22:50
existence. He uses that fear.
22:52
Yes, he controls them through fear, intimidation, and visible
22:56
supernatural dominance. He wants them to offer
23:00
sacrifices to appease him. He wants them to believe they
23:03
are at his mercy. But that strategy would not work
23:05
as well today, right? No, it wouldn't work in a modern
23:08
secular society that prides itself on scientific
23:11
rationalism. If the enemy showed up with
23:14
visible possessions and overt sorcery in downtown London or
23:17
Seattle today, people would be terrified, sure.
23:20
But it would backfire. It would force them to admit the
23:22
supernatural is real, which might drive them straight to the
23:25
church. Exactly.
23:26
So the strategy shifts entirely. Today, the enemy rules
23:29
Incognito. I want to use an analogy for
23:32
this because it highlights how dangerous this shift is.
23:35
Let's hear it. Think about a computer virus
23:37
back in the early days of the Internet, like in the late 90s.
23:42
If you got a virus, it was an overt terror tactic.
23:45
Oh, I remember those. It would plaster a giant glowing
23:48
red skull on your monitor, lock your keyboard, play a mocking
23:52
sound on loop, and just delete your files right in front of
23:55
your eyes. You knew immediately you were
23:57
under attack. The machine was visibly hostile,
24:00
but today the most dangerous malware on the planet does not
24:04
do that at all. It's completely silent.
24:06
Yeah, it runs entirely silently in the background.
24:08
It makes you think you have full control of your machine.
24:10
You don't even know it's there. You click where you want, you
24:12
browse where you want, you open the apps you prefer while it
24:16
quietly harvests your bang details, your passwords and your
24:19
private data, sending it all to a hostile actor overseas.
24:23
It's a chilling comparison. The secular culture believes it
24:26
is outgrown ancient superstitions.
24:28
Modern people laugh at the idea of demons.
24:30
They think they're above it. They believe they are completely
24:33
autonomous, acting out their own free, enlightened desires, but
24:37
in reality they are following the Prince of the Dominion of
24:41
the air. It is a master stroke of
24:43
deception. That analogy captures the
24:46
insidious nature of the modern threat perfectly.
24:48
The malware is running. The illusion of autonomy is the
24:51
snare. People feel free because they
24:54
are doing exactly what they want to do.
24:56
But their wants have been compromised.
24:58
Right. They do not realize their wants
25:01
have been quietly reprogrammed by the surrounding culture,
25:04
which is heavily influenced by the enemy.
25:07
How does the Bible talk about this specific kind of of trap?
25:10
To look closer at the biblical mechanics of this, we can
25:12
examine the Greek word zugresh, which is used by the Apostle
25:16
Paul in his second letter to Timothy.
25:18
Zugresh, what does it mean? The word literally means to
25:21
capture alive. Wow.
25:23
It was used in military context for taking prisoners of war.
25:26
This highlights a severe spiritual captivity.
25:29
So they aren't just confused. No, the opponents Paul is
25:31
dealing with in Ephesus were not just intellectually confused
25:35
individuals who needed a slightly better philosophical
25:38
argument. They were.
25:39
They were captured alive to do the devil's will.
25:42
The deception is most effective when the captive feels entirely
25:45
free, entirely rational, and entirely in control.
25:49
They don't know they're in a cell.
25:50
They believe they are carrying out the desires of their own
25:53
autonomous mind, completely oblivious to the fact that their
25:56
desires are in perfect synchronization with the enemy's
25:59
agenda. That is chilling.
26:02
You feel like a free citizen, but you are actually a prisoner
26:05
of war. The malware is running in the
26:07
background and you think the computer is operating perfectly.
26:09
It's the perfect disguise. Since the enemy's strategies,
26:13
whether they are overt and terrifying like a roaring lion,
26:16
or silent and Incognito like hidden malware, are so
26:20
devastating, we need to know exactly where the battle lines
26:23
are drawn in everyday human existence.
26:26
We need to see where this plays out.
26:27
Where do we see this bounded agency play out in the spheres
26:31
of life we actually care about? The biblical texts outline
26:34
several specific spheres where Providence visibly overrules the
26:37
Kingdom of darkness. These are the realms where human
26:41
beings typically feel most vulnerable, the most out of
26:44
control. Let's list them.
26:45
We are looking at politics, persecution, physical disease,
26:50
natural disasters and spiritual blindness.
26:53
Let's look at politics first, because this is an area where
26:55
people feel an immense amount of anxiety.
26:57
Especially these days. You turn on the news and it
26:59
feels like the world is run by corrupt, malicious forces.
27:03
The sources are definitive here. Rulers rise and fall under God's
27:08
decree. He sets them up and takes them
27:10
down. The enemy might maneuver a
27:11
wicked tyrannical ruler into place to cause havoc, but the
27:15
Lord is the one who sets up and removes kings.
27:18
And I need to state clearly what the texts assert.
27:21
All political structures and all human rulers, regardless of any
27:24
modern left wing or right wing alignments, fall entirely under
27:28
divine Providence. We can't take sides on that
27:30
principle. No, we impartially reported.
27:32
God governs all human authority without exception.
27:36
No one sits in an office of control who was not permitted to
27:39
be there by the sovereign God. That is a vital biblical reality
27:43
to maintain, especially when the political landscape feels
27:46
chaotic. It grounds us.
27:48
Satan is referred to in Scripture as the ruler of this
27:52
world, indicating a temporary, highly restricted influence over
27:55
fallen humanity and cultural systems.
27:58
But not an absolute rule. No, he possesses no autonomous
28:01
dominion over human history. He cannot install or preserve a
28:05
single ruler outside the direct permission of heaven.
28:08
The proverb says the King's heart is a stream of water.
28:11
Yes, the King's heart is a stream of water in the hand of
28:14
the Lord. He turns it wherever he will.
28:17
This does not excuse the wicked actions of corrupt politicians,
28:20
just as it does not excuse the biting dog.
28:22
But it assures the believer that history is not spiraling out of
28:26
control. OK, what about persecution?
28:28
The same rule applies to persecution.
28:30
The text describe the enemy as a roaring lion seeking someone to
28:34
devour. He stirs up intense hatred
28:37
against the Church. He orchestrates slander,
28:39
imprisonment and violence. But he cannot determine the
28:42
duration or the final meaning of a believer suffering.
28:45
The lion roars on a leash. The Roman Empire threw
28:48
Christians to the lions, but the blood of the martyrs became the
28:52
seed of the Church. God overruled the malice to
28:56
expand his Kingdom. That brings up the issue of
28:58
spiritual blindness, which is perhaps the most difficult
29:01
sphere to understand. It's very complex.
29:04
We talked about people being captured alive, running the
29:06
silent malware of the enemy. If the God of this world blinds
29:10
the minds of unbelievers, keeping them from seeing the
29:13
light of the gospel, how does anyone ever break free?
29:16
That's the $1,000,000 question. If a person is born in a dark
29:20
cave and the enemy has convinced them The Cave is all there is
29:23
and their own mind loves the darkness, what is the hope?
29:27
How do you argue someone out of blindness?
29:29
You cannot argue someone out of blindness.
29:31
It's impossible. You can describe colors to a
29:34
blind person all day long, but it will not give them sight.
29:37
The hope is found exclusively in the Reformed doctrine of
29:40
sovereign grace. OK, walk us through that.
29:43
The enemy may blind the mind, he may construct elaborate cultural
29:46
arguments to keep people in the dark, but he cannot stop God
29:49
from commanding. Let there be light.
29:51
Just like in Genesis. Yes, the Apostle Paul draws a
29:55
direct parallel between the physical creation of the
29:58
universe and the spiritual regeneration of a human heart.
30:02
When God created the world, the earth was without form and void.
30:07
And darkness was over the face of the deep.
30:09
God did not negotiate with the darkness.
30:11
He spoke. This is a sovereign miracle act
30:14
of creation. He just declared it.
30:16
In the same way, the enemy's ability to obscure the truth is
30:20
instantly shattered the moment the Holy Spirit dictates sight
30:23
to the human heart. So the leash gets yanked.
30:25
Satan may ensnare, he may capture alive, but he cannot
30:29
hold captive the one whom God sets free.
30:32
The deliverance is entirely a divine rescue mission.
30:34
The captive does not free himself.
30:36
No, the prison doors are blown off their hinges by the Spirit
30:39
of God. OK, let's process this, because
30:42
this brings us to the agonizing core of the issue.
30:44
The why question. Yeah, if God holds the leash,
30:47
and if he can command the light to shine at any moment,
30:50
shattering the blindness with a single word, why does he wait?
30:53
It's a fair question. Why does he permit the lion to
30:56
bite it all? Why allow the deception, the
30:59
suffering, the sickness, the political tyranny to continue
31:02
for centuries? This brings us to the
31:05
overarching purpose of permitting evil.
31:07
It is the unavoidable question once you establish both God's
31:10
exhaustive Providence and Satan's real malice.
31:13
We can't dodge it, and the theological texts firmly reject
31:17
the idea that God permits evil because he is passive or tired
31:21
or somehow unable to stop. It he's not just taking a nap.
31:24
He does not tolerate Satan because good and evil are locked
31:27
in a perpetual struggle and he is waiting for reinforcements,
31:31
right? Every permission is governed and
31:33
ordered toward a specific end. The biblical framework gives us
31:36
4 main reasons for this divine permission.
31:38
Let's go through them in detail. The first reason given is to
31:41
display the justice and holiness of God's rule by exposing sin
31:45
for what it truly is. Yes.
31:47
Think of it like a prosecutor who knows a criminal syndicate
31:50
is operating in the city. The prosecutor could arrest the
31:53
lowest level St. dealer immediately, but instead he
31:56
allows the syndicate to continue its operations for a season.
31:59
Gathering evidence. Letting the corruption reach the
32:01
highest levels so that when he finally drops the hammer, the
32:04
full extent of the rot is exposed and the justice of the
32:07
final sentence is undeniable. That makes a lot of sense.
32:11
God allows rebellion to mature, so it's true ugliness is
32:14
unmasked. Sin is not just a disruptive
32:17
force or a minor character flaw. It is a concentrated expression
32:22
of creaturely rebellion against the source of all life.
32:25
It's treason. In permitting malice to unfold
32:28
for a time, God shows the entire cosmos what departure from
32:32
divine goodness actually produces.
32:34
It produces murder, lies, concentration camps, broken
32:38
homes, ruin and bondage. Evil is not dignified or
32:41
glamorous. By letting it run its course on
32:44
a leash, it is exposed as a parasite and is justly judged.
32:47
The second reason is to magnify Christ's triumph.
32:50
The victory is radiant specifically because the
32:53
opposition was genuine. It adds weight to the wind.
32:56
If there were no real enemy, the victory would not have the same
32:59
weight. It would be like a heavyweight
33:00
champion stepping into the ring against a toddler.
33:03
There is no glory in that victory.
33:05
Precisely. The scripture says the Son of
33:07
God appeared to destroy the works of the devil.
33:10
The devil is not an obstacle that nearly ruins the plan of
33:13
redemption. He is a defeated enemy whose
33:15
very rage is interwoven into the history by which redemption is
33:19
accomplished and displayed. So the enemy's actions actually
33:22
serve the victory. God uses the enemy's resistance
33:25
to showcase the surpassing strength and wisdom of Christ.
33:28
The darker the backdrop, the brighter the diamond of grace
33:32
appears. The third reason is to refine
33:34
the faith of the Saints. This one hits home for a lot of
33:37
people. What the enemy designs as a
33:39
furnace of destruction, God repurposes as a furnace of
33:43
purification. We see this with Job and we see
33:46
it with Peter when Jesus tells him Satan has demanded to have
33:49
you that he might sift you like wheat.
33:51
Sifting is a violent process. Let me offer an analogy here.
33:55
Think of a master blacksmith forging a blade.
33:57
OK, I like this. The blacksmith takes a piece of
34:00
raw, brittle iron and shoves it into a roaring fire.
34:03
Then he takes it out and strikes it with a massive hammer over
34:06
and over again. Sparks flying everywhere.
34:08
If the iron had a consciousness, it would think it was being
34:11
tortured. You would think the fire and the
34:13
hammer were enemies trying to destroy it.
34:15
Because it hurts. The intense heat and the
34:18
crushing blows look incredibly violent, but the blacksmith does
34:22
not heat the metal just to watch it burn.
34:24
He has a design in mind. Those specific calculated blows
34:27
are the precise means by which the useless, brittle iron is
34:31
forged into a resilient, unbreakable blade.
34:35
The impurities are burned away and the molecular structure is
34:38
aligned. That is an excellent
34:39
illustration of sanctification through suffering.
34:41
Because Satan is the fire and the hammer.
34:43
Yes, Satan always means evil. He seeks to destroy faith, not
34:48
purify it. He wants the fire to consume the
34:51
iron, but God in His Providence acts as the blacksmith.
34:55
He controls the tongs. He uses what Satan intends for
34:58
ruin as the very instrument of our sanctification.
35:01
Through trials, God deepens the believers knowledge of His
35:04
comfort, strips away our reliance on worldly supports,
35:08
and intensifies our dependence upon divine grace.
35:12
Job came out of his trial saying I had heard of you by the
35:15
hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.
35:17
His faith was refined into pure gold.
35:20
And the fourth reason to prove that evil never has the last
35:25
word. This is perhaps the deepest
35:27
theological principle governing the whole matter.
35:30
What evil agents intend for evil, God intends for good.
35:34
The Joseph story is the classic example here.
35:36
Look at the story of Joseph in Genesis.
35:39
His brothers sell him into slavery out of pure malice.
35:42
They want him gone. They wanted him dead originally.
35:45
Yes, but decades later Joseph saves those same brothers from
35:49
starvation because his enslavement put him in the
35:51
position of Prime Minister of Egypt.
35:53
He tells them you meant evil against me, but God meant it for
35:56
good. This reveals the unassailable
35:58
wisdom of divine Providence. Satan is permitted to act, but
36:02
never to reign. He may wound the heel, but his
36:05
head is crushed. He does not govern history.
36:07
So synthesizing all this, how should you, the listener,
36:11
process these four reasons when you were in the middle of the
36:14
fire? When it's actually happening to
36:16
you. When the hammer is coming down,
36:17
when the diagnosis is bad, when the betrayal is fresh, you
36:20
cannot see the finished blade. You just feel the heat.
36:22
The key take away is that believers do not need to trace
36:25
every detail of God's secret counsel.
36:27
We don't get a float shirt. No, you do not need to know the
36:30
specific reason why a particular hardship was allowed on a
36:34
Tuesday at 2:00 PM. You will drive yourself mad
36:38
trying to figure out the exact divine calculus behind every
36:41
flat tire, every illness, every conflict.
36:43
So what do we rest on? We only need the assurance from
36:46
Scripture that divine permissions are never
36:49
purposeless. Evil becomes an unwilling
36:51
instrument in the accomplishment of merciful ends.
36:54
We trust the character of the blacksmith even when we hate the
36:57
heat of the forge. That brings us to a massive
37:00
turning point in our discussion. We have talked about the
37:03
overarching theological purpose of allowing evil the grand
37:06
architecture of Providence. But we must ground this in
37:09
history. Yes, the historical reality of
37:11
it. How did God actually execute
37:13
this victory over the Kingdom of darkness?
37:16
If the enemy is a roaring lion, how did the king secure the
37:19
chain? It's all about Christ.
37:22
This leads us to look at Christ as the decisive answer.
37:25
The doctrine of Providence would remain abstract and cold if it
37:28
ended only with the claim that God sovereignly rules from a
37:31
distance. Just a detached ruler.
37:34
The beauty of the gospel is that the Father appointed his son to
37:37
enter the field of conflict. Jesus is not just a moral
37:41
teacher offering good advice on how to live well.
37:44
He did not come to give motivational talks on ethical
37:47
behavior. He is the conquering son
37:50
invading occupied territory. We see this so clearly in his
37:53
earthly ministry. The exorcisms we read about in
37:56
the Gospels. We're not just random magic
37:58
tricks designed to gather a crowd or prove he had
38:01
supernatural abilities. No, they were territorial
38:03
disputes. They were signs of the king
38:05
plundering the enemy's house. It is fascinating that the
38:08
demons recognized him before the religious scholars did.
38:11
They screamed. Have you come to destroy us?
38:14
They trembled because the true king had arrived to reclaim his
38:17
domain. He was binding the strongman.
38:19
Yes, the encounters with unclean spirits demonstrate that the
38:22
Kingdom of God had aggressively invaded the present evil age,
38:25
but the absolute climax of this conflict occurred at the cross.
38:29
The epicenter of history. And this is where the paradox of
38:32
Providence shines the brightest. On the surface, Calvary looked
38:36
like the enemy's greatest success.
38:38
It looked like the leash had snapped.
38:40
You have Judas betraying him, the religious rulers condemning
38:43
him through a kangaroo court, the Roman Empire executing him,
38:47
the crowds mocking him. Satan's hostility reached a
38:50
dreadful, violent peak. The author of Life was murdered.
38:55
But the theology explains that by bearing the curse of sin and
38:58
satisfying divine justice, Christ removed the guilt the
39:01
accuser relies upon. I want to spend some time on
39:04
this because it is the most practical daily reality for the
39:08
believer. It changes everything about how
39:10
you pray. The enemy's greatest weapon
39:12
against humanity is not physical sickness or political tyranny.
39:16
His greatest weapon is condemnation.
39:18
He is called the accuser of the Brethren.
39:21
He. Stands in the courtroom of your
39:22
conscience and points out every sin, every failure, every wicked
39:25
thought demanding justice. And the terrifying thing is, his
39:28
accusations are largely accurate.
39:30
We are guilty, but. If the Guild is paid for, if the
39:34
debt is canceled, the accusation has no teeth.
39:38
The cross shattered the weapon of condemnation entirely.
39:41
As long as guilt remains, accusation has legal force.
39:44
The enemy demands our lives as payment for our treason.
39:47
It's legal leverage. But when Christ dies as the
39:50
substitute for his people, absorbing the wrath of God
39:53
against sin, their guilt is answered fully.
39:56
The debt is paid. The apostle Paul says in
39:59
Colossians that God cancelled the record of debt that stood
40:02
against us with its legal demands.
40:04
He set it aside, nailing it to the cross.
40:06
And the result of that. And here is the triumph.
40:09
By doing that, he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put
40:12
them to open shame. By trying stamping over them in
40:15
him, it took away the legal ground of satanic accusation.
40:19
The enemy has nothing left to say.
40:20
What looked like the massive defeat of the Son of God was
40:23
actually the decisive universe altering conquest of the enemy.
40:27
OK, here's a question I know listeners are asking right now
40:29
and it is a vital 1. Fire away.
40:31
If the cross and resurrection completely disarmed the rulers
40:35
and authorities. If the weapon of condemnation is
40:37
shattered and the enemy is defeated, why do believers today
40:42
still face intense spiritual warfare?
40:44
Why does it still hurt? Why is there still overwhelming
40:47
temptation? Why do we still get sick, face
40:49
depression, and experience daily conflict?
40:51
If the war is won, why am I still taking casualties?
40:55
This introduces a concept theologians call the
40:57
eschatological tension of the already but not yet.
41:00
Already denied yet? It is the understanding that the
41:03
victory is fully accomplished objectively, but the final
41:07
implementation of that victory is still playing out in time.
41:10
Give us an analogy for that. Think of it like World War 2.
41:14
After the D-Day invasion at Normandy, the decisive battle
41:17
was won. The Allied forces had
41:19
established A beachhead and mathematically the defeat of the
41:22
Axis powers was certain. The tide it turned.
41:25
The war was effectively over in terms of the final outcome, that
41:28
is the already, but it was not VE Day yet.
41:31
The fighting wasn't over. The troops still had to fight
41:34
brutal, deadly skirmishes for months as they marched toward
41:38
Berlin. The enemy knew he was losing,
41:41
and his thrashing became even more violent in his desperation.
41:44
It's the not yet. Christ presently reigns at the
41:47
right hand of the Father, and He intercedes for His people.
41:50
His reign is the ongoing execution of His victory.
41:53
But the final destruction is waiting.
41:56
However, the final visible destruction of the enemy waits
42:00
for Christ's return. At his second appearing, the
42:03
serpent will be permanently cast into the lake of fire.
42:07
Until then, the Church shares in the victory by faith, fighting a
42:10
defeated foe who is on a shortened leash but still
42:13
thrashing violently until the final judgement.
42:15
So the decisive war is won, but the daily skirmishes continue.
42:19
We are fighting on the road to Berlin.
42:21
We are in the mop up operation. That moves us from the cosmic
42:24
triumph down to the local congregation, down to the Monday
42:27
morning reality. How does the local church and
42:29
how do you as an individual believer actually fight back in
42:32
these daily skirmishes? This is where we look at the
42:34
pastoral applications of everything we have to.
42:37
Because we have to know how to fight.
42:38
The biblical text calls for a total rejection of
42:41
sensationalism and mysticism. Which is rampant.
42:45
The Church does not overcome the darkness by inventing novel
42:47
techniques, looking for demons under every rock, screaming at
42:51
the sky, or constantly obsessing over the occult.
42:54
We do not fight the enemy by studying his playbook more than
42:58
we study the king. Which is so incredibly common
43:01
today. You see people acting as if
43:03
spiritual warfare requires A theatrical performance.
43:06
Yeah, they think if they just yell out enough or use the right
43:09
combination of spiritual buzzwords, they can force the
43:12
enemy to retreat. But the battle is actually
43:14
fought through what reformed theology calls the ordinary
43:18
means of grace. The boring stuff, honestly.
43:21
It is not flashy. It is preaching sound doctrine.
43:24
It is corporate prayer. It is partaking in the Lord's
43:26
Supper. It is pastoral counseling.
43:28
It is daily repentance. The analysis of Second Timothy
43:32
chapter 2 is highly revealing. Here, the Apostle Paul is giving
43:36
Timothy instructions on how to handle opponents who have been
43:39
captured by the enemy. These are the people running the
43:41
malware. He tells Timothy that the Lord's
43:43
servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone.
43:47
Able to teach patiently enduring evil, he must correct his
43:51
opponents with gentleness. Why gentleness?
43:54
Why respond to a demonic captivity with gentleness?
43:58
Because deliverance is fundamentally A sovereign gift,
44:01
Paul writes. God may perhaps grant them
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repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they
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may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the
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devil after being captured by him to do his will.
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I have to point out how wildly counterintuitive this is.
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It goes against every human instinct.
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In a supernatural war against a terrifying invisible enemy, our
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natural instinct is to look for a spectacular cinematic weapon.
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We want the glowing sword. We want the dramatic showdown
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with lightning flashing in the background.
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We want to feel strong. It feels almost like a let down
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when Paul effectively tells Timothy go be nice, teach a
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Bible study, and have some patience.
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But that is the actual weapon. Trusting the ordinary means
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requires infinitely more faith, because it forces us to rely
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entirely on the invisible work of the Holy Spirit rather than
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human pragmatism or showmanship. We can't control the Holy
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Spirit. We cannot manufacture the
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victory with a clever philosophical argument, a loud
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voice, or highly produced worship service.
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We are just speaking the truth and waiting for God to command
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the light. That is the beautiful, humbling
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reality of it. If repentance is a free gift and
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a sovereign miracle act that only God can grant, it removes
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the crushing burden of results from the believer or the past.
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You don't have to save them. You are free to actually love
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your opponents, knowing they are not the ultimate enemy.
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They are captives taken alive by the enemy.
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You do not have to debate them in a submission.
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You do not have to win the argument to save their soul.
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You speak the truth, you practice gentleness, you endure
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their hostility patiently, and you rely entirely on the
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Father's decisive Providence to open their eyes.
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It gives incredible humility to evangelism.
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Because no human strength, no eloquent speech can liberate a
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dead soul. Only God can say, let there be
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light. Our job is simply to faithfully
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bear witness to the light. So bringing all of this
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together, we have covered an immense amount of theological
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and practical ground today. We've dug into a lot.
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We started with the tension of walking in the dark forest,
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balancing A sovereign God and a real malicious enemy.
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The two ditches. We established that the enemy
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has genuine but bounded agency. The vicious dog on the heavy
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steel leash. He acts, but he is restricted.
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We looked at the book of Job as the ultimate proof that the
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enemy must ask permission before he can act, and that God's
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decree is always holy, even when the enemy's intention is
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hateful. God meant it for good.
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We examine the shifting strategies from overt
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supernatural terror in the 1st century to the Incognito
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illusion of autonomy today. The silent computer virus
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harvesting data in the background.
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The snare of feeling free. We saw that Providence overrules
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everything from chaotic political spheres to natural
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disasters and spiritual blindness.
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We discussed the reasons why God permits evil to expose sin,
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magnify Christ, refine our faith in the blacksmith's forge, and
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prove his absolute dominion. Evil never gets the last word.
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We grounded all of this in Christ's decisive victory at the
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cross, where he completely shattered the weapon of
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condemnation. And finally, we saw that our
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daily weapon is not theatrical mysticism, but the ordinary
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means of grace, trusting God to grant the miracle of repentance.
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The overarching comfort of this deep dive is profound stability
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in an unstable world. Anchor in the storm.
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The enemy is real, but he is bounded.
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The storm is loud, but it is directed.
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Your suffering has meaning even when it is obscured from your
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vision. The decisive victory is already
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won by Christ. And the believer rests securely
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in the meticulous, wise governance of a compassionate
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father. You do not need to live in
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denial pretending the darkness does not exist, and you do not
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need to live in terror fearing the darkness will consume you.
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You are held by the one who holds the leash.
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That's the truth of it. As we wrap up this deep dive, I
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want to leave you with one final provocative challenge based on
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what we've discussed. Something to chew on.
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We established earlier that the enemy's most brilliant modern
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strategy is ruling Incognito, capturing people alive by making
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them feel completely autonomous and free.
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The malware analogy. So I want you to look at your
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own life. Look at the areas where you feel
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the most independent. Look at the places where you
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feel the most unaccountable, the most self-sufficient, the most
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in control of your own destiny, whether that is your career
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trajectory, your financial planning, or your personal
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morality. Those areas of pride.
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Could your cherished modern autonomy actually be the precise
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location of the snare? Where do you need to stop
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trusting your own unguided logic and start begging God for the
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gift of true sight? That's a hard look in the
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mirror. Think back to that dark force we
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started in. Are you fiercely trusting your
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own dim flashlight and your own ability to steer through the
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woods? Or are you walking closely
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beside the king who holds the chain?
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Thank you for joining us on Reformed Thinking.
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We will catch you on the next deep dive.