Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
Jeremy approaches Bible teaching with a passion for getting the basic doctrines explained so that the individual can understand them and then apply them to circumstances in their life. These basic and important lessons are nestled in a framework of history and progression of revelation from the Bible so the whole of Scripture can be applied to your physical and spiritual life.
Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas
NT Framework - Rulers of this World
Who is really in charge and aren't you glad that they are only so for a short while!
More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com
This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).
Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner.
Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament framework. Today, a smaller, bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy it.
SPEAKER_01:He secured the defeat of Satan on the cross. And though, you know, we say, well, but Peter says he still roams around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, yeah, we still have spiritual warfare that we must engage in. We put on the armor of God daily. Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 through 18. So while his defeat is complete at the cross, the actual putting away of Satan finally has not transpired. When Christ comes back, he will lock him away for a thousand years, and then after that, he will be released for a short time, right? And then he will finally be defeated and cast in the lake of fire. But his ultimate demise is certain because of what? Well, because of the finished work of Christ. It extends to the defeat of the fallen angels and secures our victory. And I want to make a point a quote here from the early was about the earliest Christians. You might remember, you know, if you read like 1 Corinthians 1, it will say, Not many of you were rich, you know, not many of you were powerful whom he called. Most of us who he says who were called were the poor and you know just the average people in the Roman Empire, and the same thing continues today. But these people who first believed, they really appreciated this dimension of the crosswork of Christ, the dimension that he defeated the dark powers, the forces of darkness on the cross, because they were not, you know, Western Americans. Um they would be more like people in tribal Africa. In tribal Africa, you know, you have many gods and goddesses and you know, occultism and you know, worship of what they would consider spiritual beings. In the West, you know, we're so atheistic and materialistic, and everything is physical and material and working, science, and all of this, that we do not have a well-developed sense of the spiritual realm. Much less so than other cultures in times and places who do believe in a spiritual realm. So we may not really appreciate this aspect of Christ's work on the cross of defeating uh Satan and his uh his uh fellow minions, right? Uh because we just think in terms of everything has material causation. That's because we've been built and trained by this culture to think certain patterns. And so we tend not to think as much about the spiritual realm and those this type of onslaught that daily is against us, okay? So I want to read this quote about how the early Christians felt when they realized the impact of the cross of Christ on demonic forces. This triumph over evil powers was prized in the early church, as we see from the exuberance with which it was used and the picturesque, even grotesque imagery that was employed to express it. Thus, Satan was pictured as caught in a fish hook and as snared in a mouse trap. For the first Christians, the victory that Christ had won for them mattered intensely. They were mostly from the depressed classes with little to hope for in this world. And they pictured a host of demons as dominating life anyway. That's how they viewed their life before they became believers. So they were already thinking of themselves as being depressed because of demonic forces. He says it came as a welcome relief to have assurance that the last word was not with their oppressors, not with the demons, right? Whether they're human or supernatural. So the note of victory was sounded with joyous confidence, and we in our day need it no less than they. Notice where they say, you know, they're oppressors from their point of view, both human and supernatural. You know, we have the same thing today, technically. Who are human professors uh human uh oppressors? Well, they're the politicians of this world. This is not a secret. They're not there to, you know, they used to be called minister of whatever or servant of. They're not there to minister to you or serve you, they're there for themselves to oppress you. And this is a very unfortunate thing, but Daniel 2, 7, 10, these passages all teach that during the times of the Gentiles, which is the times that we live, when Gentiles rule the world and Israel's not ruling the world, that the rulers of these worlds will oppress their subjects. And and and that is unfortunately what we see.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you for joining us on Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas. If you would like to see the visuals that went along with today's sermon, you can find those on Rumble and on YouTube under Spokane Bible Church. That is where Jeremy is the pastor and teacher. We hope you found today's lesson productive and useful in growing closer to God and walking more obediently with Him. If you found this podcast to be useful and helpful, then please consider rating us in your favorite podcast app. And until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.