Articles
Dominion
Many ministers, pastors and evangelists as well as heathens reinforce the
so-called fact that we all were given dominion over the animals and all
creation. They go so far as to say cut all the forests so that Jesus will
have to return sooner. After all God only made them for us to harvest and
even exploit the natural resources. They emphasize that we can save money by
killing venison or selling fur pelts from bashing in the brain of baby seals
or setting a steel jawed trap. Being Christians, I would expect that
Christian leaders would exult the season that is coming when the lion shall
lie down with the lamb and the bear with the ox. But, no, they rejoice in
their belief that because we are human we have dominion.
Lie, lie, lie. If you read Genesis carefully, you will discover that the
first humanity cast away God and His ideas and replaced Him with a fallen
angel called Satan. Doing so, Adam and Eve became spiritually lost,
disconnected, deceived and on their way to destruction. They were traitors
after having all at their disposal and being traitors they did not like to
keep God in their knowledge. They became masters like the ones in Star Wars,
where Obi-wan Kenobi said to Darth Vader (the bad guy), “You’re only a
master of evil Darth.” Humanity became masters of evil so much so that today
the government passes laws then says those laws don’t mean what they say and
require a group of lawyers to explain what they really mean. No doubt it’s
double-talk. And it’s double-talk to say that fallen human beings have
dominion over everything. It’s total deception. We don’t have dominion over
anything so long as we abide in an unrepentant and untransformed state!
There is a significant but small remnant of the humans that God made that do
have dominion. These have been washed in the blood. They have repented of
their sins, embraced the Savior Jesus Christ and have been born again of the
Holy Spirit. Look what the scripture says about this group: they are joint
heirs with Christ and they do have dominion but it is a dominion of love,
caring, protective oversight and literally their focus is on the Kingdom of
Heaven ruling on earth. Their dominion is not for evil domination, but for
supernatural administers of salvation to all creatures. They are not just
relatively good people with relatively good ideas. The scripture says that
they have something in common with the Messiah and it is this: “Herein is
our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment:
because as he is, so are we in this world.” (1John 4:17) If we are Christ’s
followers then we should abide in Him and more. 1John 2:6 declares, “He that
saith he abides in him ought himself also so to walk, even as Jesus walked.”
Anyone who says he has dominion must be a fully loving, Holy Spirit filled
and holy person without which no man shall see the Lord. Anyone who claims
dominion but does not have these characteristics is actually a child of the
devil, an evil-doer and a deceived person. The dominion he claims and the
way he exercised it will give proof to the fact that he does not honor the
things which are sacred to God.
John 8:44 (KJV) says, “You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of
your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not
in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a like, he
speaks of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it.” As far as I am
concerned, along with thousands and thousands of other theologians and
serious students of the Bible, the more versions and concordances one
studies a biblical text in the more likely we are to glean a complete
understanding of that verse. I’ve never done this before, but in the case of
John 8:44, I want to write out numerous translations in order to give you a
full understanding of what this Word of God tells us.
The English Standard Version of John 8:44 declares, “You are of your father
the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer
from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no
truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a
liar and the father of lies. If you follow him into a world of lies, you
shall burn in the perpetual lake of fire. That is where all liars go.
The New Living Version talks this way, “The devil is your father. You are
from him. You want to do the sinful things your father, the devil, wants you
to do. He has been a killer from the beginning. The devil has nothing to do
with the truth. There is no truth in him. It is expected of the devil to
lie, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” By rejecting Christ, you have
already chosen the devil as your leader, even if you don’t believe there is
a devil. Jesus was manifested to destroy the works of the devil.
The New Living Translation says, “For you are the children of your father
the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer
from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth
in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar
and the father of lies.” If your character permits you to lie, you must be a
child of Satan. If that is the case, you love to do the evil things he does.
If you get pleasure from polluting the waterways downstream, clear cutting
the old growth forest, including rare and endangered species simply because
you love money and you love to have sex a neighbor’s wife because she lets
you, you are Satan’s assistant in doing evil.
The New Revised Standard Version announces, “You are from your father the
devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from
the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in
him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar
and the father of lies.” You have rejected the God of all truth and chosen
to do the things that Satan desires to do to mankind, animals and the earth
itself.
The Voice understands the verse to say, “You are just like your true father,
the devil; and you spend your time pursuing the things your father loves. He
started out as a killer and he cannot tolerate the truth because he is void
of anything true. At the core of his character, he is a liar; everything he
speaks originates in these lies because he is the father of lies.” The devil
enjoys cruelty to others, deception, destruction, betrayal strife, and every
type of debauchery. He schemes, as do his children about how they can
exploit the defenseless, deprived people of their God-given rights and twist
the truth until it is no longer believable. With the time you spend plotting
wickedness, you could be sowing the seeds God gives us to sow. Seeds of
love, compassion, spirituality, and favor with God and man helping the weak
among you and learning from those who have submitted their lives to God and
to His purposes and will.
Phillips translation says, “Your father is the devil, and what you are
wanting to do is what your father longs to do. He always was a murderer, and
has never dealt with the truth, since the truth will have nothing to do with
him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks in character, for he is a liar and
the father of lies.” The veracity of this verse in the Phillips proves the
fact that you want to do what the devil wants you to do which means turning
your nation into hell, becoming addicted to pornography creating arguments
against God, helping to facilitate the shedding of innocent blood or
removing critical parts from the teachings of Jesus. The devil is developed
in arguing against the scriptures and promising what he cannot deliver for
the Savior has all power over him.
If I wanted to I could recall the vile language I once used or the temper I
exhibited when circumstances let me down. I was once one of these lost souls
that I have been writing about in all eight translations of the Bible. I was
a follower of Satan, in whom I did not believe. I was a slave to the evil
one in his kingdom of darkness. I didn’t have to go to hell because, for
discussion sake, I must confess that it seemed as if I lived there. One day,
God arranged the circumstances that gave me the hope that Jesus Christ shed
His blood for my sins in my place and as soon as I received Him, He
transferred me out of my self-made hell into a place filled with life, joy,
peace and acceptance that I never knew existed. Colossians 1:13 says of all
of us who have previously dwelt in darkness and were lost with no real hope,
“(God), who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated
us into the kingdom of his dear Son.”
Matthew 6:30 tells us, “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field,
which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more
clothe you, O ye of little faith?” This scripture tells us that God dresses
up pasture land and fields of grass and makes them beautiful and well cared
for. Then He asks shall he not show much greater demonstrable care for you
so have faith in Him. This is the crux of the message, however, the Holy
Spirit began revealing to me that the term grass in the King James and other
translations, although not all, can also mean wildflowers, a court-yard
containing intensely delightful species of shrubs, herbs and flowers, a
garden enclosed, any vegetation, as well as pasture. So God makes all the
beautiful plants, bushes, trees and even minuscule bulbs. He cares for all
of that stuff so why do you think He would disqualify you if you are trying
to serve Him just as all the other parts of creation do?
You can see by reading on to the Contemporary English Version of Matthew
6:30 which says that God will surely do more for you. I have seen a wild
orchid known as the Showy Lady-slipper, and it will take your breath away it
is so intriguing and beautiful. The whole scripture in the Contemporary
English Version says, “God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the
fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. He
will surely do even more for you! Why do you have such little faith?” When
God transfers you because He loves you into His Kingdom filled with
enlightenment, revelation redemption, and the spirit of adoption, you will
exchange your sorrow for joy. You will have every reason to be joyful
because of what Christ has already accomplished on your behalf.
So the Message Bible makes a further clarification. It says, “If God gives
such attention to the wildflowers – most of which are never even seen –
don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for
you?” You may fall into a pit, betray a friend or commit a felony, but God
will never leave you or forsake you. He may bring some corrective action
into your life but He will never take His love away from you once you have
been transferred into the Kingdom of God that begins right here on earth.
Remember that we were taught to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on
earth as it is in Heaven.”
