Millennial Reign

The Flesh Really Is That Strong

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment
Woman looking through shattered glass representing spiritual blindness and the struggle against the flesh

I just finished the book of Jeremiah. (Shhh…. Don’t tell the leader of our devotional group. Technically I should only have finished chapter 29.) 

It seems like every time I read this book I finish it just as stunned as the time before.

Repeatedly, Jeremiah warns God’s people about what’s coming.
Repeatedly, what God has Jeremiah announce is exactly what happens.
Repeatedly, the people choose to believe what they want to believe.

Why? Are human beings really that blind?
(Rhetorical question. We all know the answer.)

Blind isn’t really the right word, though. I’d say “flesh-driven” is more appropriate. Which brings me to an ongoing conversation about the power of the flesh that God and I have been having for the past few weeks.

It all started with the Millennial Reign—the thousand years during which Jesus will rule the earth from Jerusalem—and what comes after when the devil and demons are released for a short time before they’re thrown into the lake of fire forever.

My initial question went something like:
How is it possible that, with Jesus literally here on Earth and ruling the whole earth, and knowing about the Tribulation and what happened immediately in its aftermath, and presumably having contact with those who are no longer mortal but instead living in their glorified bodies…

How can anyone possibly
1) want to challenge Jesus and
2) think for one minute that defeating Jesus is even possible?
I mean, I know the devil drives it, but how do the people reach that point?

My conclusion, after days of discussions with God, is that the pull of the flesh is far stronger than we like to admit.

I know one of the things I look forward to after the Rapture is never having to fight the flesh again!

So, to get back to our theoretical “end of time” humans…

The Bible implies that in that thousand-year period man will live a lot longer than he does today. One hundred will be considered quite young, so who knows how long a standard generation will be? How many generations will have passed when the devil is released? Surely not many? So, can they really have forgotten…or chosen to forget…or chosen never to learn the truth?

Looking at the United States right now, and the actual beliefs of far too many of our residents, I have to say yes. Yes, they can.

I remember a day in the early 90s when I had the thought, “The day will come when they realize what they’ve done, and they will regret it.” I don’t remember what the issue of the day was, but I clearly remember, later, thinking something like, “No. They never will realize what they did. They’re so used to the world they’ve created that nothing about it seems out of line.” It doesn’t really matter what specific incident I’m remembering (or not): Our recent history offers a distressing number of examples that fit.

So yes, even when something is relatively recent and factually undeniable, people who don’t want to believe will find a way to deny it. Worse, some will persuade others to deny it with them.

But why?

At the risk of redundancy: The flesh really is that strong.
In fact, it’s so strong that, without God, we cannot consistently win against it.

Going back to those mortals who live on this earth during the Thousand Year Reign of Christ, it’s important to remember that they are fully human. And as humans, they too will battle the flesh. The biggest difference between them and us is that they will only have to fight the flesh. The devil and his demons won’t be around to whisper lies in their ears.

So, it’s entirely possible the world will seem like a totally peaceful place until the devil is released. I mean, the potential will obviously be there as people think their flesh-driven thoughts. But I’m guessing that, on the surface, all will seem right with the world until the element of true evil re-enters the picture.

It makes me think of chemicals that appear stable until one additional substance is introduced and everything reacts violently.

And this potentially answers another question I’ve had for years.

Why do the devil and demons have to be released that one, last time? To cause that very reaction, to finally cleanse humanity. At least, that’s the conclusion I’ve come to today. I’m not about to say God told me this, just that it feels right.

Regardless, there I sat, staring at the last page of Jeremiah where I could see how every part of the prophecy about Jerusalem’s destruction came to pass. I mean, right down to the specific prophecy about the taking down of those huge bronze pillars, Jeremiah was specific and proven to be completely accurate.

Upon completing that last page, I realized I was looking at confirmation that what I’ve been thinking really is true. The flesh really is that strong. Fail to conquer it and it will blind you, leading you to believe things that have no foundation in truth. And when we’re not fully submitted to God it’s a very hard thing to fight.

This realization is both sobering and comforting.

Sobering because the flesh really is strong enough to blind us to the truth.
Comforting because God never intended us to fight it alone.

When we are submitted to God, filled with the Holy Spirit and listening to and obeying His promptings, we have all the power we need.

Indeed, as Romans 8:37 (NLT) assures us:

No, despite all these things,
overwhelming victory is ours
through Christ, who loved us.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C

Our Advantage

Tammy M CardwellLeave a comment

Once again, the Renner Interpretive Version of the Bible set my thoughts along an unexpected path. It happened in James 1:18b

God’s dream was for us to be a never-before existing type of people – brand spanking new, novel, and unlike anything that has ever existed – creations of His own making that entirely belong to Him.

These last words, “that entirely belong to Him,” paired with “a never-before existing type of people,” startled me.

What about Adam & Eve?!

What about Adam and Eve? I had to think on it a minute before it dawned on me. They had free will from the beginning. They could freely choose to either walk with God or disobey Him and face the consequences. The problem was that, unlike those of us who came to God scarred and battered, they had no comprehension of sin’s cost.

So, in reality, they didn’t “entirely belong to Him.”

Don’t stop reading yet.
I’m going somewhere with this.

Ride the train with me while it jumps to a different track. Track jumping is normal for me as I study the Word: Consider this an introduction to how my brain works.

I’ve thought a lot about the Millennial Reign and Eternity. One thing that has always interested me is that we will never stop having free will.

That being the case, what’s to stop us from deciding at some point that we won’t serve God anymore? Yes, I know there will be no temptation, but why?

If 1/3 of the angels changed their minds and fell with the devil, what’s to keep us from following suit?

If Adam and Eve chose the forbidden fruit, what makes me think we won’t make the same mistake?

The answer is in this verse, revealed by Renner’s more detailed interpretation. We are an entirely new type of people, and as such we have a distinct advantage over the angels that fell as well as Adam and Eve.

We started out in sin!

Adam, Eve, and the angels – before they fell – may have understood the disobedience we call sin on a conceptual level, but they couldn’t really conceive its cost.

Like travelers falling for a hotel’s fancy sales pitch, they thought they were entering into a life of luxury. But instead, they got a rat-infested, mold-consumed room. They all left perfection to dive headfirst into a life that could never truly satisfy. The world’s false promises are like that room, leaving you regretting your stay even before you’ve unpacked.

We have just the opposite experience.

We started out in sin. I certainly did, and ‘though I was a teen when I was saved I was aware enough to realize things had changed.

Before accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, we were intimately familiar with sin and its myriad costs. We know exactly where we came from, and the closer we get to God the less temptation there is to go back to that deceptive hotel.

So yes, because of where we came from and where we know we’re going, because we have accepted His lordship over our lives and walk in His salvation, we entirely belong to Him.

And that makes us unlike anything that has ever existed.

Which answers my previous question. Yes, we will still have free will in eternity; it won’t vanish, but it also won’t be influenced by doubt, uncertainty, or deception. We’ve walked in sin, lived in sin, and – praise God – been delivered from sin. Like someone who has survived a house fire, we’ll never be tempted to play with matches.

Romans 6:18 (NET) expresses it perfectly: “…and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness.” That slavery brings ultimate freedom and eternal assurance; that’s our advantage.

Celebrating Jesus!
Tammy C