Tribulation (4) - Power to the Enemy

The most dangerous aspect of the Tribulation doctrine is that it gives a place to the Devil that he does not deserve.

1. The devil’s power and authority was destroyed by the cross. God is not going to allow him back to a place of supremacy on earth again.

2. God gave authority over the earth to mankind. He keeps his word, no matter how unfaithful we are. He will never take that authority off us and give it to the devil.

3. God loves the physical world and made it beautiful. Having seen photos of the earth from space, we now know just how true that is. When he created it, he saw that it was exceeding good (Gen 1:31). He is not going to give his creation over to the enemy and let him to trash his pride and joy. Those who think that God would allow his world to be turned into chaos do not understand how much God loves it.

4. The tribulation idea comes out of a false philosophy that believes that the spiritual is good and the physical is bad. Only someone who hates the physical world could come up with the idea of handing over it over to evil for trashing. The devil is jealous of Jesus, so he hates God’s world that Jesus dreamed up, so I can understand how he would come up with plan where he gets a free hand to mess up God’s good earth. I cannot understand why Christians would welcome his plan, unless they have slipped into hating God’s world too.

God has promised that the whole earth will be filled with his glory. He will not allow the devil to fill the earth with his mess. He has done enough harm already.