THE FOUR ENEMIES OF GOD

THE FOUR ENEMIES OF GOD
This business about punishing the sinner for his sins… especially the sin of not seeing that Christ died for all sin… I think misses the biggest of points.
Christian preachers all over spend way too much time yakking about Satan and the sinner. As if Satan and the sinner are “the biggest enemies” of God. — The biggest problems.
I don’t know if you know this, but there is only one God. And God made satan. Satan did not make himself. It’s not as if there were two god’s slugging it out in a cosmic battle– one good God and one evil god… and somehow the evil god gets the upper hand and takes the vast majority of humanity with him into hell.

Nah.

God is in total control of all things. And lucky for us. (EPH 1:11) (ROM 11:32, 36) (ROM 9:18) etc.

The mistake comes when you think that creation is all done… and now let’s see how it all works out… “God created you, now you go make the right choice, and you better make it the right choice or there will be eternal consequences and it will be all your fault, don’t blame God you only have yourself to blame”.– type of thing.

But the truth is– Creation has begun, but it is by no means all finished and done, capable of making “the right choice” about heaven and hell. Creation will not be complete for two more eons of time. (The words sometimes translated “forever and ever” is actually a reference to the final two eons of time and literally reads “for the eons of the eons.)

At the conclusion of the eons… then we’re told “God will be All in All.” (See I Cor 15:20-28)
You can look around and see that creation is a long way off from being complete. Heck, just consider that grumpy neighbor you try to avoid.. she’s not complete… far from it. Creation has begun, but is not compete yet.

It will not be complete until God has put his 4 biggest enemies in their rightful place.
These 4 enemies are there to put all kinds of restrictions on God’s creation, especially humanity–for now. And when you think about it, as long as these 4 enemies are around and needed, it indicates something is lacking in creation… who are they, who are the four enemies?
Not satan.. not big bad sinners… no…
THE FOUR ENEMIES OF GOD are…

1. Rulership (translated “sovereignty” below)
2. Authority
3. Power
   4 Death.

You can find this list of God’s greatest enemies in I COR 15:20-28 (quoted below).

As long as rule, authority and power are around, something or someone must needs be ruled over. But if God can bring every heart, every soul, in to a loving relationship with him and everyone else, rulership is no longer needed and can be abolished. Including the rule of Christ. And so it shall be.

Rulership is an enemy of God for this reason. So is authority and power. As long as these things are needed, creation is not really finished… there’s still work to be done. There is still someone who needs to be ruled over.

But when the work is done, then, amazingly, V 25 says even Christ will give up his throne and will reign no more. And once we’ve all reached the place to where RULE, AUTHORITY AND POWER are abolish… the LAST ENEMY: DEATH… will be undone and abolished. No one can remain under the rule of death, if rule is abolished and death is abolished. Why, the next step is for God to be ALL IN ALL.

If God is not All in All… then RULE is needed. Along with authority, power and death. But when God brings creation along to the point where His 4 enemies have done their job, REJOICE… the eons end, and God becomes all in all.

FIRST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER FIFTEEN
20 (Yet now Christ has been roused from among the dead, the Firstfruit of those who are reposing.
21 For since, in fact, through a man came death, through a Man, also, comes the resurrection of the dead.
22 For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified.
23 Yet each in his own class: the Firstfruit, Christ; thereupon those who are Christ’s in His presence;
24 thereafter the consummation, whenever He may be giving up the kingdom to His God and Father, whenever He should be nullifying all sovereignty and all authority and power.*
25 For He must be reigning until* He should be placing all His enemies under His feet.
26 The last enemy is being abolished: death.
27 For He subjects all under His feet. Now whenever He may be saying that all is subject, it is evident that it is outside of Him Who subjects all to Him.
28 Now, whenever all may be subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also shall be subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him, that God may be All in all.)

P.S. ONE MORE THOUGHT. The “LAST ENEMY” is the biggest enemy in this list. Death. Death is the wages of sin. But death also takes us away from God, and God wants us there, in His presence. And when death is abolished, His whole creation will have nothing but LIFE. No one can die. No one can be effected by death. The mortal state will no longer be. And it’s that mortal state that causes us to sin. If you could not die, you would not steal food, you wouldn’t live in fear, you wouldn’t even gossip — as gossip is founded in that insecure feeling that you wouldn’t have if death were abolished. Paul says one day “this mortal will put on immortality”.

When the 4 enemies are abolished, everything changes. Then God will be all in all.