The Ultimate Terrorist #3 Does He Really Exist

The Ultimate Terrorist:  Does He Exist?
What To Do About It.

 

 

Back in the late 1970s,  President Carter attempted to rescue hostages that had been kept by terrorist types for quite a while.  I remember them talking about having declared war on The United States of America.  I remember the first time that the World Trade Center was bombed, in the early 1990s, hearing how  terrorists,  said they had declared war on us.  And this happened again and again until September 10th 2001.  Up to that point, we did not take them seriously that they had declared war on us. 

 

Then came September 11, 2001, and everything seemed, for a while, to change.  We actually heard what they were saying.  No, we had not considered ourselves being at war with these folks for decades, but they certainly did/do believe they are at war with us. 

 

Now it is 2015 and our leadership seems to believe that, if we don't say we are at war, that we can just walk away from the terrorist and their will be no consequences.  It's as if we say, "If we believe the terrorist don't exist then that is all that is necessary for us to be ok;"  meanwhile, they continue growing in number and metastasizing throughout the mid-east, Africa and towards the west.  Refusing to believe in them,  and ignoring what they are doing,  does not change them from being who they are, and it does not stop their murderous march westward.  Yes there are unintended consequences for not believing that which is.

 

A similar thing can be seen when people consider the existence/non-existence of the Ultimate Terrorist: He really does love to camouflage himself and cloak himself in the deceitful lie that he does not exist.  He cloaks himself in the untruth that he is no where around when the whole world is on fire.  Sadly, even modern day educated folks - who are credentialed as being theologically relevant - have bought in to this irrelevant kind of thinking. They have given up on the authority of scripture and the liberating life giving truth that can set us free.  And there are unintended consequences destructive to human and other life forms. Broken homes, broken lives, abuse, and mental illnesses are partially contributed to because of ignoring truth.

 

For thousands of years the authoritative scriptures of the Holy Bible have shown how the Ultimate Terrorist goes into hiding.  Take a glimpse at The Book of Job.  Satan is center stage, and he is allowed to pontificate and act in limited ways.  Then, throughout the entire book, he is no where to be found.  God clearly shows that Satan is at the core of the problem, but none of the humans in the drama of Job ever notice he is anywhere around.

 

Jesus talks again and again about him, as do other scripture writers:  We have already cited how Jesus in John 8 and John 10 describe him as a murderer, a liar and a thief.  Who does?  Jesus does. Shortly after Jesus baptism, with whom did Jesus have his earliest conflict?  And don't forget he was tempted to break a vow, be a Satanist and commit suicide.  I think it was Satan with whom he was conflicted. It's no wonder that in the Lord's prayer,  Jesus teaches us to pray, "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from all evil." Literally translated "evil one."  Then we hear the Apostle John talk about him:

 

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the Devils Work.
1 John 3:8

 

You are children of God, and the evil one cannot touch you.
1 John 5:16

Let me ask a question.  What was "The Reason" that Jesus came to Planet Earth?  He came to destroy the Devil's work.  Once he did this, by the work of his death on the cross, his burial and resurrection, a new way to actually live began.  But again, why would "the reason" for his coming be to destroy the devil's work, if there were no Ultimate Terrorist? 

 

The Apostle Paul declares that Jesus made a public spectacle out of Satan and his demons. (See Colossians 2:15)   How in the name of all that is Holy can anyone, anywhere, anytime make a public spectacle out of a non-existent entity. Paul also teaches us to clothe ourselves in Christ or put on the "Whole Armor of God" so that we can stand against "The Devils schemes." (See Romans 13:11-13 & Ephesians 6:10-20.)  Why would it be necessary to daily "Put on Christ" or "Armor Up," if the Ultimate Terrorist did NOT exist

 

I truly believe that, based to the authority of the Ancient Word of God, we would do well to take seriously the existence of the Ultimate Terrorist.  I think it would be wise to take some time to reflect on the wisdom of Romans 13: 11-13 and clothe ourselves in Christ daily.  I think it would also be wise to reflect on a similar passage and daily do what it says. (See Ephesians 6:10-20.)  What could it possibly hurt to exercise the spiritual practice of clothing ourselves in Christ daily, while we put our actual clothes on in the morning?  What could it hurt to simply read the Ephesians passage, and let it guide us in putting on this garment of Christ? In addition to this, I would add the practice of presenting myself briefly to God daily, "as a living sacrifice" so that God can transform the mind and give us power to be non-conformist to the "World." (See Romans 12:1-2)  Finally, given the reality of evil in the world, why not pray sincerely as we possibly can "Deliver us from all evil... from the evil one.

 

I believe we will be more spiritually whole if we simply believe what the Bible, Jesus, John, Paul and others tell us: The Evil One or Ultimate Terrorist does indeed exist.  I believe we will be more spiritually strong if we give ourselves as "living sacrifices" for the Lord to transform us and make us non-conformist to the world.  I believe it would be a very smart thing indeed, to clothe ourselves in Christ or "Armor Up" each day as we prepare for our day.  Finally I believe it would be the epitome of wisdom to do what Jesus directed and pray. "Deliver us from all evil... the evil one." Yes I think that these simple daily spiritual exercises practiced daily would be important to actually practice... if we want to be strong in the Lord, and if we want to be able to stand against the schemes of The Ultimate Terrorist.

 

 

SoJourner