Issued: 02/16/22  Revised: 2/10/24

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand, and doesn’t care for the sheep.”

John 10:11,13

PLEASE NOTE:  Because Bible versions sometimes differ from each other in crucial ways, the version quoted here will be the one that best clarifies the point being made.  For a quick comparison between versions, please go to: http://www.biblehub.com.

   All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.

   The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”  The symbol “↔” is used to connect verses corroborating each other and so establishing doctrinal truths (Matthew 18:16↔2Corinthians 13:1).

   In differentiating between Yahweh Son [Jesus] and Yahweh Father [the Most High God], lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the Only and Most High God.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

Spiritual Warfare: Dynamic between Father and Satan

   In terms of Patriarchs, Prophets (2Kings 2:9-15), Judges (Judges 3:10, 6:34, 11:29, 13:25, 14:6, 15:14) and rulers like Saul (1Samuel 10:9-10) and David (1Samuel 16:13), Father chose Israel’s leaders, proving His endorsement by endowing them with or His displeasure by depriving them of the Holy Spirit (1Samuel 16:14). By the time of 1Samuel 8, the system broke down: Samuel’s sons set the standards by which organized religion would thenceforth betray and undermine Father‘s designs (1Samuel 8:1-3↔Ezekiel 34:1-10; Zephaniah 3:3-4; Zechariah 10:2-3; Malachi 2:7-8; Matthew 23:1-36; Acts 20:29-30; 2Peter 2:1-3; 1John 2:18-19↔1Corinthians 11:19). No longer trusting supposed ‘divine’ stewards, men asked to be ruled by men of their own choosing; thus political agendas—and their consequences—became institutionalized (1Samuel 8:4-20).

 In practice the statement that “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and that He sets up over it whomever He wants” (Daniel 5:21), does not mean that He personally chooses who those rulers will be, only that He allows Satan to do so (Luke 4:5-6). Father does not indulge in the human hypocrisy of trying to pass the buck: He acknowledges responsibility for Satan’s actions; for by empowering Satan to act (Isaiah 54:16; Ezekiel 21:3-4,7,11-12↔Revelation 6:8), He knew Satan would always rely on like-minded men to do his will (John 8:44; Ephesians 2:2). If we were to apply Romans 13:1-3 indiscriminately, godless totalitarian and tyrannical regimes would satisfy the letter of these verses, but never the morality implicit in Father‘s conception of human rule.

 Consequently, the command to “submit” to authority (Romans 13:1-6; 1Peter 2:13-14) only goes as far as obeying rules and regulations in agreement with Father’s dictates, which is not the case when they do not.   Peter himself, disobeying religious leaders of his time, laid the overriding rule:  “We must obey God rather than any human authority” (Acts 5:29). And Paul explained the consequences of failing to do so: “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin [Satan], which leads to death, or to obedience [Father], which leads to righteousness” (Romans 6:16)?

 In theory, and because the lesser evil of human governance is preferable to no form of social control at all, Father conceived of ruling institutions as enforcers of righteousness, which is the point Paul and Peter were making.  But the steward entrusted with those institutions was Satan (Luke 4:5-6), “the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now active in those who are disobedient” (Ephesians 2:2↔John 14:30).  Since the hearts of men are given to do evil (Genesis 6:5; Ecclesiastes 7:29, 8:11, 9:3; John 8:44), Satan’s stewardship had to be delimited;¹ otherwise no human being stood a chance. 

 While it is also true that because of this dynamic Father indirectly allows the rise to power of genocidal men (Isaiah 45:7; Lamentations 3:37-38), Satan orchestrates the policies and events that lead to the human carnage they wreak. In every political endeavor, while leaders consolidate their power over victims and willing enablers/abettors, the latter are always willing to do their masters’ dirty work. Hitler, for example, never personally herded Jews into trains headed for concentration camps; never gassed, starved or threw them into crematoria:  His committed followers did.  Stalin’s policies may have wiped out 20 million Ukrainian peasants, but he real executioners were the enforcers of policies that could have been resisted but were willfully implemented.

   Ephesians 6:12 teaches that the Christian struggle “is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Paul is telling us that the real struggle is against spiritual forces of evil acting through men; so that while “flesh and blood” are vectors for evil, Satan and his angels constitute the real enemy forces laying the world to waste. Except for the ultimate goal, this is not markedly different from the way Jesus wages his wars through his followers against Satan’s host.

 That being said, it still follows that unrighteous men do Satan’s dirty work.  While Christian teaching forbids payback (Luke 6:29; Romans 12:19) and expects non-resistance (Psalms 44:22; Isaiah 53:7↔1Peter 2:20-23; Luke 6:29-30; James 5:6),² Satan, the “homicidal sword” (Ezekiel 21:3-17), strikes back at Father by tormenting the creatures He loves (Isaiah 63:9; Zechariah 2:8-9).³  From beginning to bitter end, Satan has been at it with gusto, malice, and unquenchable vindictiveness (Genesis 3:1-5; Exodus 12:23; 2Samuel 24:16; 1Kings 22:20-22; 1Chronicles 21:2; Job 1:6-11, 2:2-5; Isaiah 14:6-20; Lamentations 3:33; Zechariah 3:1; Luke 13:16; 2Corinthians 4:4; 2Timothy 2:26; Revelation 6:8, 12:10, 20:7-10).

   Does this mean that Father has a double standard?  No, it is His counter-offensive against three perennial human realities:  1) No matter how moral an endeavor is purported to be, there will always be those who will exploit and taint it for self-serving purposes (Isaiah 3:14-15; Ezekiel 34:2-10; Malachi 2:7-8; Acts 20:29-30; 1John 2:19; 3John 1:9-10); 2) no matter warnings about the consequences of being ruled by men, people will not be dissuaded (1Samuel 8:4-22); and 3) there will always be “dogs” doing their masters’ biddings.⁴ If these be inevitable, why not allow evil deeds leading to good outcomes?  As allowed by Father, human suffering is the penalty men pay for defaulting on the terms of His covenant, whereupon they are remanded to Satan’s custody. Yet it is the suffering Satan inflicts which compels men to see and find Father (2Chronicles 15:4; Jeremiah 29:11-14; Hosea 5:15, 6:1-2).  In short, human suffering opens the way to salvation, an optimal outcome regardless of the ordeal endured. Sometimes the means do justify the ends.

   In the final analysis, Satan remains the sole tempter and de facto executioner of men, responsible for all the catastrophes and misfortunes for which men blame Father.  His willingness to overlook the accusations of cruelty bulldozed on Him by men of all ages is proof consummate of His love for mankind; though even loving hearts have limits to their patience (Psalms 50:16-21; Isaiah 42:14)—hence the Day of Wrath.  If Satan et al were not stopped in their tracks ultimately and for eternity, human carnage would go on unabated.  Besides, Father has a promise to keep with the family of faith; and His word is His bond (Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 6:13-18).

Jesus vis-à-vis Satan’s Cohorts

 With his crucifixion, Jesus superseded Satan as head honcho over his empire of death (Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 1:18).  Revelation 9:2,11 illustrate Satan’s [the falling “star”↔Luke 10:18; John 12:31; Revelation 12:4,9] loss of power by being given the “key” to open the pit where his fallen angels are imprisoned (Jude 1:6)—a “key” [i.e., symbol of enablement] that was taken from him and given to Jesus following his resurrection (Isaiah 22:15-21↔Revelation 1:18, 3:7).

   John 10:11,13 tell us in a nutshell why Jesus should matter more than any human leader, however inspiring/charismatic/persuasive that leader might be:  He talked the talk and did the walk; put his people’s priorities above his own except when Father’s would be compromised; could not conceive of living in heavenly splendor while his beloved creatures endured sufferings on earth; and gladly paid the price of crucifixion for a Kingdom where he could share his bounties with them (Matthew 25:23; John 14:2-3; Romans 8:17).  These are the reasons behind the accolade he received in Revelation 5:9-10: “You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, because you were slaughtered. With your blood you purchased people for God from every tribe, language, people, and nation; and made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign on earth.”

   No human ruler/leader past, present or future has or will ever follow Jesus’ lead. Rulers everywhere entrusted with the welfare of their subjects do not unwaveringly prioritize the latter’s needs: Their agendas are self-serving, whether to expand territorial domains; benefit kin, friends, and cronies; or accrue fame and glory. Despite oaths of office or professions of having been divinely chosen to occupy positions of leadership, none of these is true: Father may be ultimately responsible for whoever gets to wield power (Daniel 4:17); but the one helping his cohorts rise to power is Satan (Luke 4:5-6; John 4:30; Ephesians 2:2; 1John 5:19). Such is the reality underscoring human governance—whether it be royalty, democracies, tyrannies, or religion-controlled nations.

   In Satan’s realm, which is to say the world (1John 5:19), and amongst his hand-picked power-brokers, the imitation of Christ is non-existent, the reason why true Christians of all ages can only expect hatred, persecution, and rejection from Father‘s enemies (Matthew 24:9; John 15:19, 16:33; 2Timothy 3:12). John put it this way:  “They are of the world. Therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them.  We are of God. He who knows God listens to us; he who is not of God doesn’t listen to us” (1John 4:5-6).  While Jesus knew it was not in Father’s plan to relocate His people immediately out of this world (John 17:14-16), every last one of them understood the message:  Avoid worldly concerns as far as humanly possible (Colossians 2:20-22, 3:2; 2Timothy 2:4; Hebrews 11:35-39, 13:12-13; James 4:3-4; Revelations 12:10-11)—the exact opposite of mankind’s priorities up to end-times (Luke 17:26-30).

   John did his duty according to Ezekiel 3:17-21; but his wisdom wa­­s—and to this day remains—unheeded, as Hosea and Jeremiah [Jerusalem’s/Christendom’s ‘watchmen’] prophesied:  “They have set up kings, but not by me. They have made princes, and I didn’t approve…The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority; and my people love to have it so. What will you do in the end of it”? (Hosea 8:4; Jeremiah 5:31).  Even the “what” has been foretold (Psalms 68:2; Proverbs 5:11-14; Luke 23:30; Revelation 6:15-17, 20:7-10).

Vetting Jesus’ Leadership Qualities

1)  No special privileges.  As men’s spiritual mentor, Jesus had to partake of mortal suffering in order to be fully human and an inspiration to mankind (John 13:15; Hebrews 2:10-16, 5:7-9).  In his Christianity no one lorded it over anyone else; and those wishing to wield power over others were rejected (Matthew 20:25-27↔Ecclesiastes 8:9).  In terms of official ranks, Jesus may be Lord and Master, but any perfected disciple was his spiritual equal (Luke 6:40).  Ever preeminent over all created beings (Colossians 1:15-18), Jesus came to earth to lead and serve (Matthew 20:28)—unlike royalty, secular, and religious leaders profess to do.

2) No fringe benefits.  No fancy haircuts for Jesus, designers’ clothing, plush lodgings, summer villas, or vacation retreats:  “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20).  Though the Bible does not dwell on the mundane, let us at least consider Jesus’ 3-year-ordeal  taking care of physical needs and fighting human desires, having been “ in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).  In contrast, the powers that be live in privilege and luxury, untroubled by moral turpitude, scandals, and hypocritical double-standards

3)  Socialist agenda.  Jesus may be sitting at Father‘s right hand (Psalms 110:1; Mark 16:19; Romans 8:34), but that does not make him a ‘right-wing conservative’ anymore than Father, sitting at Jesus’ left, is a ‘leftist liberal.’  Nor are they ‘center-anything’ in terms of human doctrines, dealing in moral absolutes and therefore ‘radicals’:  One toes their line or else (John 14:23; Hebrews 10:38: Revelation 3:16).

   Their agenda benefits everyone equally:  One follows Jesus; pays the price for remaining loyal to him; shares his immortality and his inheritance (Romans 8:17; 1John 3:2). Fringe benefits include freedom from wars, disease, or any form of human suffering (Isaiah 2:4,11:9; Revelation 21:4).  There will be free-housing to boot (John 14:2).  This is not a welfare system:  It is a meritocracy predicated on faith expressed in works done while in the flesh:  No works = no true faith = no right to partake of rewards given to tested and proven believers (2Thessalonians 3:10; Hebrews 11:6; James 2:17).

 Jesus stands against Satanic schemes like partisanship, social classes, ethnic/racial/gender discrimination/xenophobia. Because unity in Father is the paramount goal (Ephesians 4:4-6), Jesus’ apolitical vision embraces all nationalities and all walks of life (Exodus 22:21; Deuteronomy 10:19; Isaiah 19:17-25; Acts 10:34-35; Galatians 3:28). 

4) Military service.  In antiquity rulers went to battle alongside their troops; in time generals learned to die in their beds while consigning soldiers to lie in graves; and in our times, commanders-in-chief watch desensitized, virtual engagements like video games via satellite.  The most hawkish amongst them are untroubled by the hypocrisy of sacrificing lives in name of country even after having avoided active duty.

   Although former proxy Creator God (Colossians 1:16-17) and Commander of Father’s armies [↔Joshua 5:14-15; Daniel 9:25, 10:13,20; 1Peter 5:4; Revelation 19:11-16], Son was made to bite the bullet like everyone else in battles of faith (Isaiah 53:10; Matthew 26:39; John 18:11, 19:11↔Isaiah 51:23; Micah 7:9; Hebrews 12:5-8).  He came to earth bringing a “sword,” not the weapon men wield, but Father‘s word, the Holy Spirit’s symbolic sword (Matthew 10:34; Ephesians 6:17).  This is why a two-edged sword protrudes from Jesus’ mouth in Revelation 1:16 [↔Hebrews 4:12].

   Neo-Christian popes launched crusades to recapture Jerusalem by decimating Muslims; Joan of Arc was deceived into waging war to free France from English domination; in name of ‘Christianizing’ heathens, Leopold II of Belgium approved chopping off human limbs whenever Congolese slaves did not meet production quotas; and Roman Catholic European royalty lay waste to races and empires in the New World under pretexts of winning souls for Jesus.  Their swords were the blood-spilling kind reviled in Scripture (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 21:12; Matthew 26:52; Revelation 13:10). 

   The imagery in Revelation 14:40-20 is poetic license:  Only Father has the power and the right to kill (Proverbs 16:4; Romans 9:22), the reason why He reserved vengeance for Himself (Deuteronomy 32:35) and why His fire from heaven—as Jesus and the redeemed look on (Psalms 58:10-11)—will destroy Satan and his minions at Armageddon (Psalms 68:2; Revelation 20:9).  There are Biblical precendents for this sort of unilateral, divine involvement: In 1Samuel 14:19-23 with Samuel as Jesus’ stand-in, and in 2Chronicles 20:20-24,27 with Jehoshaphat as the point of reference.  The Valley of Jehoshaphat is the accepted designation for the Kidron Valley, the area between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives.  This is the area that according to Zechariah 14:4 will be enlarged to accommodate Satan’s forces at Armageddon (Revelation 20:7-9).

   The point is that to inculpate world rulers, Jesus must live up to the morality of the Deity he exemplifies.  His previous name, Yahweh of hosts, served to differentiate him from Yahweh the King, the Most High God (Isaiah 44:6), Who never ever personally and directly interacted with men.  Just as Jesus is His spokesperson and mediator (John 5:37; 1Timothy 2:5) and the visible manifestation of the Invisible Father (John 1:18; 1Timothy 1:17, 6:16; Hebrews 11:27), Jesus is the sole implementer of Father’s agenda.

Satan’s Casino:  The Whole Wide World

“Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world a wilderness, razed its cities, and gave captives no release?…striking down peoples in anger with unceasing blows and nations in fury with relentless persecution… [who] destroyed [his] land [and] killed [his] people”?

Isaiah 14:16-17,6,20.

   We are not being flippant about the world ‘casino’ as used above: We are simply building on the poker metaphor used with respect to Satan’s Royal Flush hand.

 The fact that apostasy must precede the second coming of Jesus (2Thessalonians 2:2-3) tells us of Satan’s complete victory over what Scripture calls “the first things”—i.e., the world as men know it (Revelation 21:4).  ‘First’ implies something else to follow; and Paul clarified the distinction by talking about “natural/of the earth” and “spiritual/from heaven” (1Corinthians 15:46-48).  Thus the present order, which could be seen, was but a precursor to an eternal, unseen one (2Corinthians 4:18).  Jesus had of course talked about his Kingdom not being of this world (John 18:36); which leads to conclusions that, a) his ministry was a rescue operation rather than a world-changer; and b) that no matter what men say or believe, there are no Christian outposts of that Kingdom now on earth—especially those espousing notions contradicting Father’s will (John 15:18-19; James 4:4).

 With this in mind, Jesus warned that many would be called but few chosen (Matthew 22:14); and even some thinking themselves Christian ninjas were fooling themselves (Matthew 7:22-23↔Galatians 6:3).  Revelation 7:1-8 and 14:1-5 tell us how dire end-times will become in terms of “first-fruits” believers (Revelation 14:3-5↔Exodus 23:19) vis-à-vis the innumerable multitude redeemed after enduring their individual ordeals (Revelation 7:9-14).  The fact that spirituality will plummet logarithmically before Jesus’ coming is the gist of his Matthew 24:22 prophecy:  The “elect” would be saved by cutting time short or not even they would make the grade [↔Psalms 125:3].  However, prior to this what are we told?  That Satan’s “beast” will be worshipped by “all who dwell on the earth… everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb” (Revelation 13:8).

   And in case we swallow the evangelical bromide that we are living in times of spiritual renewal, the clincher:  “The rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, didn’t repent of the works of their hands, that they wouldn’t worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk.  And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their fornication or their thefts” (Revelation 9:20-21)—all of which, of course, was also foreknown (Deuteronomy 31:29; Jeremiah 23:15-22,32).

 As his predictions for end-times suggest, Jesus did not expect Christianity to win the day (Matthew 24:11,24; Luke 18:8), excepting what he had been sent to accomplish:  Redeeming the souls of those Father had given him so that not one would be lost (John 17:12).  That his rescue operation is ongoing and a bit overdue is the subject of Romans 11:5, Hebrews 4:6-11, and 2Peter 3:9.

   Bottom line: Satan would be triumphant on earth; and by alienating Father and Jesus, men could not best Satan at the ‘poker table’ (John 15:5), who incalculably wise and crafty (Genesis 3:1; Ezekiel 28:12) had over millennia trumped men’s gambits and raked in their souls. Paul chose a different human game to illustrate his teachings: dart-throwing. With an inexhaustible supply of “fiery darts,” Satan’s hits could be blocked with the “shield of faith” (Ephesians 6:16): God’s “hidden wisdom” (Deuteronomy 29:29; Jeremiah 33:3; John 16:13; 1Corinthians 2:7-14), revealed by faith and for faith (Romans 1:17). 

Satan’s ‘Croupiers’:  Fallen Angels

   Satan’s angelic host are spoken of in the Old Testament (Job 4:18; 1Samuel 14:1,23, 18:10) and in the New (Matthew 8:16, 9:32-33; Mark 5:7-9; Luke 13:11; Acts 5:16, 10:38, 19:12,15-16).  In most of these evils spirits are responsible for erratic behaviors, illnesses, physical handicaps and even fortune-telling.  But Mark 5:7 and Acts 19:15 are particularly important:  The evil spirits knew Jesus to be Son⁵ and Paul as one of his envoys.  The implication here is that since these evil spirits were powerless against Jesus and Paul, they had to submit to whatever Jesus and Paul command of them:  In Jesus’ case because of who he was, and in Paul’s case because of whose powers Paul was channeling (Mark 16:17)—which included Paul’s command of foreign languages [↔John 15:26; Acts 2:4].  Proofs are that “Legion” were evicted into nearby pigs (Mark 5:10-13); and that Sceva’s fraudulent sons were thrashed by the evil spirits they sought to exorcise (Acts 19:13-16).

   In Matthew 12:43-45 Jesus explained what befell any person who accepted the Gospel and went back to his old ways:  Conversion lead to freedom from Satan’s control but recidivism lead to inescapable re-enslavement by him (John 8:32; Hebrews 6:4-6; 2Peter 2:20-22).  Mind you, this is not the type of Satanic possession Hollywood propagandizes:  Except for the man possessed by Legion, which implies multiplicity of demonic wills overriding the victim’s—hence the latter’s disordered behavior, possession in the Bible is the result of impious, personal choices leading to loss of free will.  This is clearly demonstrated in Saul’s (1Samuel 18:9-11), Judas’ (Matthew 26:14-16; Luke 22:3); and Ananias’ (Acts 5:1-3) cases, all of which are summed up in Peter’s assessment:  “A man is brought into bondage by whoever overcomes him” (2Peter 2:19).  All three men were free to act as was their wont and suffered the penalty for their choices:  Rejection by Father, loss of mortal life, and the forfeit of immortality.

A Bit of Speculation

   What the Bible does not clearly explain is how evil spirits influence human beings after banishment from Heaven.  We are told in Jude 1:6 and 2Peter 2:4 that angels who switched their loyalty from Father to Satan are being kept “in eternal chains in utter darkness, locked up for the Judgment of the great Day.”  Chains imply inability to act, as indeed it is Satan’s case during the Millennium (Revelation 20:2-3,7); but not during the historical period between his fall to earth—witnessed by Jesus and marking the beginning of Satan’s earthly rule (Luke 4:6, 10:18; John 14:30)—and his defeat at Jesus’ Second Coming (2Thessalonians 2:7-12).  It would then seem that Satan’s angelic host are also able to act during this period; and that their chaining implies earthly imprisonment rather than constraint of action.

   We must also examine three points of reference:  a) Revelation 9:1-11; b) Revelation 12:13-17; and c) Revelation 18:2.   In a) Satan is depicted as getting the key opening the pit where his angels are imprisoned:  It is they who will give end-times evildoers their inescapable and painful comeuppance.  This release takes place during the final plagues but before the Second Coming of Jesus; so in these verses, Satan, who is outside the pit, lets his demons out.  In b) Satan falls to earth and wages war against Jesus’ spiritual offspring, born out of his relationship with his Bride, the Heavenly Jerusalem, mother of all the faithful—in short, the Church that is one flesh with him (Galatians 4:26; Ephesians 5:23-32; Revelation 21:2,9-10).  As in a), Satan is free to act.  In c) Babylon the Great, Satan’s church, “has become a habitation of demons, a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird”!  Is she the entrance to the “pit,” or as in the mold of human prisons, is she the ‘warden’s office’?  It would make sense since this church is Satan’s HQ (Revelation 2:13).

  So what can we make out of Jude’s claim?  That Satan’s angelic minions are imprisoned in darkness but unfettered to influence impious men?  That the darkness inside the pit and that inside men’s hearts are part of the same continuum?  Or that darkness itself is the agar that nourishes evil, so that Christians absorbing Jesus’ light dispels the evil intrinsic to human hearts (Ecclesiastes 9:3↔Proverbs 4:18; 2Peter 1:19), so that evil cannot take root there?  Certainly this is what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 6:22-23 and Luke 11:34-36, casting himself as Light (John 8:12) and his spiritual progeny reflecting his righteousness (Proverbs 4:18; Malachi 4:2; Matthew 5:16; 1Thessalonians 5:5; 2Peter 1:19; Revelation 22:16).

   Be that as it may, the problem of evil lies squarely on mortal shoulders.  While Satan and his angelic minions have limited powers over human beings, it is Father Who controls the former and unleashes them upon men as penalties for breaking His laws.  This mirrors human justice:  Violators are punished for breaking the social contract.  So that no one will boast in His Presence, Father has patterned His system of justice after the model extolled by men. 

  Thus, in our next and final section, we turn to Satan’s human host.

¹ Peter told us that Satan prowled the world looking for souls to devour (1Peter 5:8↔Revelation 12:12); but in Peter’s own case (Luke 22:31), as had been the pattern with Job (Job 1:9-11, 2:4-5), Satan had to “ask” a higher power to let him have a go at these men.  The same held true with Pilate’s power of life and death over Jesus:  Pilate’s actions were allowed by Heaven (John 19:11). Also note that in 1Corinthians 10:13 and James 4:7, Father has provided means for men to prevail over Satan.

² Not to be bundled up with “the times of ignorance” (Acts 17:30) when Father allowed warriors like Joshua and David to exact a human toll while conquering Canaan—which foreshadow Jesus’ faith wars waged with spiritual ordnance (Zechariah 4:6; Matthew 10:34; Ephesians 6:12-17).  Inserted in Leviticus and Deuteronomy are the eternal laws which, unlike the ritualistic aspects of Mosaic Law annulled by Jesus (Hebrews 9:1-10), are cornerstones of Christian doctrine [↔Matthew 5:21-22,27-28,31-32,33-36,38-45].  Hence Paul’s legalese involving upgraded covenants (Hebrews 7:18-19, 9:15-17).

³ But with a purpose in mind and not irrevocably.  “You severely discipline people for their sins…Beatings and wounds cleanse away evil, and floggings cleanse the innermost being…God will not take away a life [but] will devise plans so as not to keep an outcast banished forever from His presence…’For I know the plans that I have for you…plans for your welfare, and not for calamity, to give you hope and a future’…and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and the death shall not be any more, nor sorrow, nor crying, nor shall there be any more pain” (Psalms 39:11; Proverbs 20:30; 2Samuel 14:14; Jeremiah 29:11; Revelation 21:4).

⁴ Dogs in this sense, as Jesus applied it (Matthew 7:6) and Paul used it (Philippians 3:2), refers to men who will unquestioningly obey orders irrespective of moral considerations.

⁵ Peter was the first human being given that knowledge by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 16:16-17); but unlike him, evil spirits already knew who Jesus was. Since the Holy Spirit has no interaction with evil spirits, the latter’s knowledge of Jesus’ Paternity must have taken place during their tenancy in Heaven (Hebrews 1:5-14); so that when he became incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth, demons still recognized the former Yahweh Son in human form.

 This is just another of Scripture’s testimonials confirming the divinity of Jesus (Deuteronomy 19:15; Matthew 18:16; 2Corinthians 13:1).