Who Will You Choose to Be Your Ruler?

Today, the title of the sermon is, Who Will Be Your Ruler? Who Will Be Your Ruler? On Monday, January 20, the 47th President of the United States was inaugurated to watch some say is the most important office in the world. I don't know if you know it or not, but I hope you do, that we are living in one of the most momentous times in human history. There has never been a time like this time where the world is being reset. On the one hand, they talk about globalism being dead, and on the other hand, everything coming together as Trump would have it to come together. The new president is viewed as the savior of the world. He, to some degree, assures the peoples of the world that he will indeed solve all of their problems and usher in the Golden Age in which all will live happy and prosperous lives. Whereas the Bible states that only God and Christ can save humanity. So no matter what the president does, no matter what the reset of the world order is, God and Christ are still in control, and they are working toward an appointed time and a plan. I hope that we realize the significance of the age in which we live. It's not business as usual. It's much different. I would encourage you to stay abreast of everything that you possibly can during this crucial time. The world plays the card of God loves everyone, and so he does. It is true. God loves everyone. So true that God gave his only begotten son, so all can be saved to repent of their sins and exercise faith in the sacrifice of Christ. God loves sinners and urges all people to repent. You're familiar with 2 Peter chapter 3, I believe it's verse 9, that says, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And so that's what God is wanting from us. He's wanting for the whole world to come to repentance. The reason why sins like fornication, adultery, homosexualism, transgenderism are so grievous. Why are those sins so grievous? It is because they are at the very heart and core of God's plan. They are against God's plan of bringing sons and daughters to glory in the kingdom and the family of God. Human reproduction parallels what God is doing in his spiritual realm of bringing sons and daughters to glory in the family of God. And we heard a reset in the inauguration in which he said there are only 2 genders, male and female. And Wokism is dead, and they closed down the office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, DEI, as they say. Millions of dollars, yea, even billions were being spent on that program. So human reproduction parallels what God is doing in the spiritual realm of bringing sons and daughters to glory in his family. God deeply desires that everyone will be in his family, but he hates sin and especially sins that challenges the plan of God.

And we might ask at this time, what is sin? Well, practically every old-timer will know 1 John 3-4. Sin is the transgression of the law. That is, God's immutable spiritual law. Back when we were living in the Houston area, two nice-looking Mormon boys showed up at the door. They had on their white shirts their black ties, well-groomed, and they wanted to give me a Book of Mormon. I said, well, I will accept the Book of Mormon if you can tell. Show me in the Bible the definition of sin. They scrambled around and they gave various answers, but neither one could come up with the answers. I turned to them and told them to look at 1 John 3-4. I told them I already had a Book of Mormon and it was filled with contradictions and unbelievable fairy tales. But I did not accept a Book of Mormon from them. But what is sin? I mean, even so many Protestant pastors today in their sermons tomorrow, they really won't address the problem of sin. True Christianity is the only religion that truly addresses the problem of sin. The Mormons do not have a remedy for sin in the ultimate sense. The Muslims surely don't. And so the world is blinded to really what is sin. And some might say it is a transgression of the law, but you can still go to church on Sunday. And you should go to church, they will say, on Sunday. And if you don't go to church on Sunday, maybe somewhere down the line we'll force you to go to church on Sunday.

In some cases, God has certain rules that will prevent a person from entering the kingdom of God. So who will be your ruler? Will you follow God and believe what He says in His Word? Will I believe God and follow His Word and do what He says? Let's turn to 1 Corinthians 6, verse 9. Where Paul is addressing the Corinthians. In verse 9, know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Well, what is an unrighteous person? An unrighteous person is the one who refuses to obey and to be ruled by God. Are you willing to be ruled by God? Am I willing to be ruled by God? One time I gave a sermon that we must overcome. First of all, we have to overcome self, we have to overcome Satan, we have to overcome society. A 3S formula. We have to overcome them, and then another S, we have to submit to the perfect will of God.

God has a plan. I notice one of the critics is criticizing what they call Armstrongism. He said that, oh, they talk about the plan. Yes, there is a plan. There is a time appointed, even as you heard in the composition that was sung for special music. At the appointed time, God is going to appoint joy for mourning. And there will be a time of joy and rejoicing. But in the meantime, here we are back. The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God, be not deceived.

Neither shall fornicators nor adulterers the effeminate, nor abusers of themselves and mankind, nor thieves nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. None of these will inherit the kingdom of God. So a lot of people have a lot of repenting to do. They're not willing to be ruled by God. And our continual question throughout the sermon is, are you willing to be ruled by God? Am I willing to be ruled by God? Now, you look at verse 11, and verse 11 says, And such were some of you, but you are washed.

In other words, some of them were doing, the Corinthians were doing some of these things. And Corinth was known for its debauchery. Are you going to Corinthianize? It was one of the scenes of the day. Are you going to Corinthianize? Are you going to Las Vegas so you can live it up, so you can blow a few thousand dollars, come back and say, we went to Vegas.

Oh, that puts us in a class all by itself. We went to Vegas. So what? It is indeed Sin City. But you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. And so we have been set apart to follow God, to be ruled by Him. God would not be God if He tolerated sin.

There is no way He could be God. There are many biblical examples here, a few, of men who rebelled and sought to place themselves above the one who had appointed them or who allowed them to be in their office. In some cases, they assumed an office that really wasn't theirs.

Nimrod, a mighty one before God who built a city, built a tower of Babel, and disobedience of God's command, go and multiply and replenish the earth. Korah's rebellion. Aaron and Miriam accusing Moses, saying, you have married the Ethiopian woman, and therefore you're not qualified to rule. But God says that all people are respected in His side, and that all people are to be accepted if they will obey God and repent and be ruled by Him. Of course, Miriam was struck by leprosy for seven days, I believe it was. Absalom. We heard about Absalom recently in a sermonette here by Mr.

Crane. This Mr. Crane is sitting right over here. The apostles, who will be the greatest diatherefs, like to have the preeminence, as it says in 1 John chapter 3, and there are several today. And we must not forget the greatest rebellion of all was Satan's attempt to take over the throne of God.

We read of that attempt in Isaiah 14 verse 2, if you want to turn there, Isaiah 14 and verse 2. We'll read about that. Isaiah 14 and verse 2. I'm having verse 12. Isaiah 14 and verse 12. How are you falling from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? So God created three great archangels, which we might mention a little later on. Michael, the messenger angel. I'm sorry, Gabriel, the messenger angel. Gabriel, the messenger angel.

Gabriel, the one... I'm mixing this up again. Gabriel, the messenger angel. And Michael, the protector of Israel. And the church in Lucifer. Lucifer was at the very throne of God. He was one of the anointed carob's, the cupboard, that was symbolized by when they built the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy of Holies, God instructed them to place carob's there. And Lucifer was the anointed carob who covered once at one time the very throne of God. But he refused to be ruled by God.

Oh, Lucifer, son of the morning, how are you cut down to the ground which did weaken the nations? The nations are not strengthened by Lucifer. They are weakened by him. For you have said in your heart, I will ascend unto heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also in the mound of the congregation in the sides of the north.

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like, and some translations have it correctly, really his goal was to replace God and break prophecy. So God created those three great archangels. But they're rebellion, but Satan's rebellion, and he drew a third part of the stars with him. Satan is still on that quest to overthrow God's plan for humankind and God's family.

The question of who will have the preeminence is far more ancient than what we might imagine. It's far more ancient than the history of humankind. It even goes way back before there was the creation of humankind.

God and the Word, the One who became Jesus Christ, ordained a great plan for bringing sons and daughters to glory in a family relationship with God and Christ before the creation of this, before the creation of the earth.

He ordained that plan way back, and we can read about that in 2 Timothy. I've had to turn there many times through the years. 2 Timothy 1, verses 8-10, how that before time began, God set this plan in motion. After the great plan was ordained and set in motion, God created the angelic realm. The angels were created to serve God and Christ in bringing sons and daughters to glory in the family of God. But lo and behold, a third of them would not choose to have God to rule over them. The purpose of angels is given in Hebrews 1, verses 13-14, if you'll turn there.

In Hebrews 1, verses 13-14, we see the purpose of angels.

But which of the angels said he at any time, sit on my right hand, and until I make your enemies your foots through? You see that as a quote from Psalm 110, verse 1, where David said, the Lord said unto my Lord, in fact Yahweh God said to David, sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies your foots through. So God, did he ever say that to the angels? But which of the angels did he say at any time, sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies your foots through? Well, he never did.

Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them, which should be heirs of salvation? Yet Satan is still on a quest, as we've mentioned already. We'll mention time after time, because we need to be reminded. Satan is still on a quest to overthrow God's plan for humankind and the God family. The question of who will have the preeminence is very ancient, as we have mentioned.

After that great plan was ordained, as we've said, God set it in motion. And he created the three great archangels that we've already mentioned, Gabriel, Michael, and Lucifer. Downlessly, God shared his plan with the angelic realm, I would say especially. And I can't prove that. I can't turn to a scripture and say, well, God shared his plan with Lucifer, and therefore he rebelled.

But it seems that is the case. Lucifer apparently became jealous and decided that he would not take a back seat to anyone, so he deceived a third part of the angels into joining him in a great rebellion against God. So he left his first estate. You look at Jude chapter 1 and verse 6, and we'll see that Satan left his first estate. His first estate was the anointed carom that covered. And the angels which kept not their first estate, the angels, Satan and the third of the angels that he drew, which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, has he reserved an everlasting change under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

Now we go to Ezekiel 28, and we'll see very clearly how Satan came to commit his sin, because he began to think of himself in ways that we should not think of ourselves. None of us are the greatest. Even Jesus Christ didn't say he's the greatest. In fact, he said, the Father is greater than I am.

That's the words of Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ says the Father is greater than he is, who would we be to compare ourselves to God? In Ezekiel 28 verse 12, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyros. The king of Tyros is a type of Satan. And say unto him, best says the Lord God, You seal up the sun full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You have been in Eden, the garden of God. Verse 14, you are the anointed carob that covered, and I have set you there.

So you were upon the holy mountain of God. You walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire among the heavenly bodies, the planets, the stars. And yet, what happened? Verse 15, you were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, till lawlessness was found in you. So Satan, of course, did not choose to be ruled by God. By the multitude of your merchandise, they have filled the midst of you with violence, and you have sinned.

Therefore, I will cast you as profane, secular, worldly profane, out of the mountain of God. And I will destroy you, O covering carob, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness. I will set you, I will cast you to the ground. I will lay you therefore before kings, that they may behold you. You have defiled your sanctuary. So we can come to the point that we think we are the greatest.

Satan came to the point that he thought that he was the greatest. But he left his habitation, and his tale drew a third part of the stars. So how would Satan draw a third part of the stars? I don't think Satan used force necessarily. And this is me thinking, I think he probably used plattery enticing words to say, Oh, what it would be like if we were in charge of the whole universe.

And I think we can pull this off, that we can be in charge of the whole universe. There will be everything will be at our disposal. Verse 3 of Revelation 12. Revelation 12, verse 3, And there appeared another wonder in heaven, and behold a great red dragon. And he's identified as Satan the devil. In verse 9, the great dragon was cast doubt. So it's Satan the devil. And there appeared another sign in heaven, behold a great red dragon, Satan the devil, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

Just like the description of the beast in Revelation 13. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven. How did he draw them? Did he force them? Well, maybe he had power to force them, but I doubt that was the way he drew them. I believe he drew them, as the old saying goes. You can attract more flies with honey than you can with sour milk or something that is bitter.

So, using whatever method of deceit that he used, I suspect he used flattery. He drew a third part of the stars of heaven and did cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman, which was ready to be delivered, for to vower her child as soon as it was born.

And then, of course, the battle through the ages of Satan trying to kill Christ. And many times he thought he would be successful, but he never was. So, Satan has wreaked havoc on the earth and the universe in his rebellion. Even though he was cast down, he's not given up, he was in the Garden of Eden. He seduced Adam and Eve.

After God created Adam and Eve, he commanded them to look to him for the knowledge of good and evil, which is tantamount to saying, Choose to be ruled by your Creator, or choose to rule yourself. So not long after Adam and Eve received this commandment, Eve went for a walk in the Garden and encountered Satan the Devil, and she encountered Diaprax. Now, what is Diaprax? Not so long ago, I think I gave it here, I know I gave it in Houston, a sermon on the Hegelian dialectic thesis, antithesis, and synthesis.

So, they began their dialogue. Now, Diaprax is a word coined by Dean Gotcher, G-O-T-C-H-E-R, and we sit here in services, and I mention names like this, and generally we don't follow up, we don't read about the background, and all of it, we just sort of, well, that was sort of interesting. Oh, I didn't know that, or something like that. You have to become your own teacher and student to a large degree. So, Dean Gotcher founded the Institute for Authority Research. He has traveled the United States, given over 1,000 live presentations to Christians, explaining this wicked technique that is surreptitiously, surreptitiously, you've got to get some water. Surreptitiously...

surreptitiously means secretly beyond detection by most people. Surreptitiously destroying our families, our government, and even our Christian churches. After reading and digesting 600-plus social psychology books, Gotcher joined the word dialectic and the word praxis to create the term diaprax. Dialectic is a term that can mean teaching. It's also a term that describes the use of dialogue. And anything that's di-a, usually di-a, means you have at least two. You have the diagram, you have the circumference, you have the circumference, and then you have that which goes all the way through. The use of dialogue to resolve conflict between opposing ideas or opinions. The word praxis simply means to practice, therefore diaprax is the practice of the dialectic. These terms are derived from the ungodly 18th century philosopher Hegel and his dialectic. And we have talked about that. In its simplest form, the diaprax system is processed whereby the entire world will eventually dialogue, come together and talk, come together and talk, come together and talk. Well, the World Economic Forum came together this past week in Davos, Switzerland, and on Friday morning they patched Trump into their meeting, and he didn't dialogue, he dominated and told them what he was going to do. And of course, they were very nice in saying thank you, Mr. President, for that excellent speech. But it was quite interesting to witness.

In the Bible, we see how Satan and diaprax was used to deceive Eve. Eve tells the serpent that God has commanded that of the tree in the midst of the garden that they shall not eat of him. That's the thesis. No need of that tree, the tree of life. Then Satan offers an opposing opinion, the antithesis. He says, you shall not surely die. And that flies in the face of the Word of God, which told Eve that she should not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve joins the two views and comes up with a synthesis. On the one hand, don't eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. On the other hand, Satan says, you shall not surely die. Then she looks at the fruit of the tree and says, it looks pleasant to the eyes. It looks good to eat. I think I'll take of that tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now, whether this is symbolic or whether it is actually eating the story goes both ways. Whether she ate a piece of fruit or not, I don't know. But surely in the symbolic sense, she did do the wrong thing. That she partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was the synthesis. And so, she chose to be ruled by the God of this world, Satan the Devil, and herself, and whatever society they created. Adam was not deceived, but he went along with it anyhow.

And the curse of death replaced the gift of eternal life until the Messiah came, which was promised in Genesis 3 and verse 15. So we must use scripture to determine our decisions. You cannot serve two masters and the practicing of diaprex, which is an insidious process that now permeates all forms of society, including the management practices of the Corbett Christian Church. So they will hold a conference. They will come together.

A simple use of this in the Christian Church works like this. God says homosexuality is a sin. This is the thesis, the truth of God. Man reasons that Jesus loves everyone. Therefore, we should love everyone. This is the antithesis. See, what they miss is that God does love the sinner, but he hates the sin. Thus, the synthesis is that the Church accepts or tolerates the sin because it loves, because Jesus loves the sinner. The flaw in this reason is they do not recognize God's love, and they must repent of their sins to be recipients of God's love in the ultimate sense. He loved the world so much that he gave a way whereby they would not have to pay for their sin if they repent by sending Jesus Christ. As noted in scriptures, parties can come together to discuss a matter, but eventually someone must make a decision, and usually in today's world is by majority opinion. Last night, Hegseth was confirmed as the Secretary of Defense. They had to call the Vice President to break the tie. It was 50-50 states. Two Republicans had voted with the Democrats, and so there was a tie, and they called J.D. Vance, and he broke the tie. And Hegseth was confirmed as Secretary of Defense. But God does not honor that practice. God honors what His word says. The question of who would rule quickly came to a climax in the pre-flood world. Before we go to the pre-flood world, let's go back to the Acts Conference, which I mentioned in Acts 15. As noted in scriptures, parties can come together and discuss a matter, but eventually someone has to make a decision. In Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas had been preaching apart from Judea up north and to the west, and many converts had come into the church. And eventually, they called a conference because there were some who disputed.

In chapter 15 of Acts, certain men, which came down from Judea, taught the brethren and said, Except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small discussion and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go to Jerusalem, and to the apostles and elders, about this question. So they went to Jerusalem, and each one gave testimony of what had happened. Paul said many converts had come. Peter also talked about what had happened in Acts 10. When he went to the house of Cornelius, and then eventually, in verse 13, James stands up, and after they had held their peace, everybody gave their side. James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken, listen to me.

Simon had declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets, as is written, and I've given a sermon on this building, the tabernacle of David, and this I will return. That prophet was Amos, and it very prophesied that the tabernacle of David would be rebuilt, not turning there. After this I will return and will build again the tabernacle of David.

See, the tabernacle of David is fallen down, and I will build again, and the ruins thereof, and I will set it up. And so God is building his church, as it says. He's building it through Christ and each one of you. As it says in Matthew 16, that I will build my church, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. After this I will return and build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down. I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up, that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is called, says the Lord, who does all these things.

So all peoples, whether you're Jew or Gentile, you are included in this. And so James makes the decision. Known unto God are all his works, verse 18, from the beginning of the world. Wherefore, my sentence is, or my judgment is, my decision is, that we trouble not them which are among the Gentiles who are turned to God, but that we write upon them that they abstain from pollutions of idols, from pornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.

For we have Moses preached, in other words, we have the law preached of what the commandments say, every Sabbath in the Church. So virtually every organizational structure of man centers on who will rule and be number one. And they will come together, they will discuss, they will have a vote, and then it's determined. Sometimes, as with last night, it will be of the narrowest margin, as narrow as it can be. The question of who would rule quickly came to a climax in the pre-flood world. Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel, who typified the battle of the ages.

Cain typifies the way of sin and death, and how humans use organizations and human culture to deceive humans into being ruled by man, and ultimately Satan the devil. When Cain and Abel brought forth their offerings, the question centered on who will rule, or who would have the hierarchy, who would be preeminent, which is the power to rule over others.

Cain brought a thank offering, indicating that he did not view himself as a sinner. He had no need of a redeemer and forgiveness. I guess he thought he was the prophesied Messiah. Yet, Romans 3, 23 states that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. On the other hand, Abel brought an offering indicating that he realized he was a sinner, and in need of redemption and forgiveness, God accepted Abel's offering, indicating that Abel's way would have the preeminence.

Abel is counted among the faithful in Hebrews 11. I'll quote that scripture right now. Abel is counted as having the preeminence. By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice that he came, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts, and by yet being dead, yet speaks. Cain was so enraged by him, really, he was mad at God because he accepted Abel's offering and not his, that he killed his brother, Abel.

And man has been killing man ever since. Humans have been killing one another from that day to the present. After Cain was marked, he went forth and established a governmental system apart from God, the desire of man to rule over man led by the devil. And that caused Noah's flood to come upon the earth. Immediately after the flood, Nimrod raises up, and he builds a tower of Abel and tries to gather all the peoples of the earth under his rulership. That is what is happening today. All peoples would be gathered together, eventually, under one rulership.

The devil's end-time system will be all about worship and survival. If you're going to survive, they will say you have to do it our way. If you don't, you'll be killed. So are you going to bow down and worship. Those who survive the Great Tribulation will receive a robe of righteousness, as described in Revelation 7, verse 9. We'll look at Revelation 7 and 9.

In chapter 6, 144,000 are sealed. And then in chapter 7, there is another vision given to John, the writer of the book of Revelation, in verse 9. And when he had opened the fifth, am I in the right chapter? No. And after this, after the sealing of the 144,000, I beheld in low a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sits upon the throne and unto the Lamb.

And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen, blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. After President Trump was elected, Elon Musk said something to the effect, This day means human beings will survive. Remember, it's all about worship and survival. And of course, he has the idea, the notion, of colonizing Mars. Just think about what would be necessary to think about colonizing Mars. You can think about it. I'm not going to waste my time there.

Now, mark the scripture down. Psalm 115 verse 16. The heaven, even the heavens, are the lords, but the earth hath he given to the children of men. Psalm 115 verse 16. I'll read it again. The heaven, even the heavens, are the lords, but the earth hath he given to the children of men. The question remains, who will you choose to follow? Will you choose to listen to God and be ruled by him? Or will you choose to listen to men and choose for yourself what is good and what is evil?

Diaprax and Gnosticism, as we have noted, continues to be one of the chief tools of Satan the Devil. By Gnosticism, I mean some who claim to have special knowledge. Oh, if you only knew what I knew, then you would do such and such. Eve chose to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and so did Adam.

By eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve chose to be ruled by the God of this world, Satan the Devil, who deceives men in selling their life essence for a bowl of soup. And that's what's happening today. You can inherit it all, but when they lay you in the grave, when you go in that coffin, oh, they may place some stuff in there.

But I'm not getting about to quit. The peoples of the world continue to sell their life essence for a bowl of soup. Satan promises liberty, yet he is a tyrant in the author of sin and death. He is the author of tyranny and oppression, and so many people. In fact, it's only the little flock that will be given the crown of righteousness at the coming of Jesus Christ.

Trump stated several times, We will build the greatest military the world has ever seen. Several times he said that. In Daniel, the end-time beast. Once again, I hasten to say, I don't believe Trump is the end-time beast. And some were saying that I said, as a family weekend, that is not what I said at all. But the apostheosis, that is the worship, and the Godlike treatment continues unto this day. If you turn to Daniel 11, Daniel 11, Daniel right after Ezekiel.

Daniel 11, verse 36, The kings shall do according to his will, he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every God. That's what Satan did. In fact, the end-time beast will be possessed by Satan, as it says in Revelation 13. And shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the ending nation be accomplished. For that that is determined shall be done. You can count on it. God has given his word. It's going to happen. It doesn't look like it, maybe today, but it will happen.

And pleasant things. Thou shalt he do in his most holy, in his most strong, not holy, with a strange God, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory, and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. Say, he will honor the God of forces, or the God of munitions, as some translations have it. A strange God. As humans become more and more fearful, they're willing to surrender more and more of their freedom and dignity in the name of security. Right now we all feel more secure, I suppose, than we did several days or months ago. But the great majority of the people have been put to sleep and lulled into believing they don't have to think for themselves. You do have to think for yourselves. The masses walk around in a semi-stupefied zombie-like state of being. Yeah, I wrote that. The masses walk around in a semi-stupefied zombie-like state of being. They're only interested in the superficial surrealistic world that has been created through the entertainment world of sports and mass media. Satan, the seducer, lures the life essence of men into a slavery of passion and lusts, thus preparing them to be conquered by him. Satan lightens their path with the promise of happiness and, through pleasure, seeking good and avarance. Once we are slaves on the inside, it is a small step to make us slaves on the outside. One author wrote, quote, The economic and political system we have embraced in so-called modern times has little to do with freedom and liberty. Remember the Apostle Paul of Peter writes, 2 Peter 2, 18, 19, which I'll quote, For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh through much wantonness, those who are clean escaped from those who live in error. While promising them liberty, they themselves become the servants of corruption, for of whom a man is overcome are the same as he in bondage. In other words, he will worship and he will be ruled by the one who overcomes him. The peoples of the world, to some degree, and especially in the western world, in the United States, lived in what we might call a pleasure palace. That is, drugged, the people and made them into dim-witted pawns that cannot see beyond their sexual desires and bank accounts. Basically, every production that comes on television or in the movies has some kind of sexual theme to it. Not all, but most, because that's what human beings are going for. You can commit fornication, adultery, sodomy, abuse alcohol, use dope, poison your mind with pornography, limoniacal literature and movies, and never have to pay the piper. That's the society they're trying to create. You can do all of these things, and there is no accountability. There's no penalty for it. You better enjoy it now, because it is later than you think. That I say to the world.

The devil knows that God exists, but he will not obey. The apostle James writes, the devils believe in trim. Satan doesn't care whether you believe in God or not. If you don't believe in God, well, so much the better. As James writes, but we know, old vain man, that faith without works is dead. That's James 2.20. To choose to rule yourself apart from God is the same as choosing Satan to be your ruler. Satan shall society. God wants us to submit to him.

If you submit to Satan, you're destroyed and gobbled up. As he gobbles you up, just one more victim he can gloat over. So once again, the great question is, will you choose to be ruled by God or by man? There are only two choices. There's no middle ground. Even among God's people, this desire for preeminence has led to the destruction of many people. Even the apostles were caught up in it. You remember the story of James and John's mother who came and said, Well, you grant that my two sons sit on your right hand in the kingdom. And the answer was, are they able to drink the cup that I'm going to drink of?

Crucifixion. They said, yeah, we're ready. And then they were told that it is not of me to be able to give you that. This is in the hands of the Father. He will give you your reward. You see, the world is joyful when you make the wrong decision. You look at when the two witnesses are killed, we'll look at Revelation chapter 11 now. Revelation chapter 11. God raises up two witnesses against the beast and his powers. Revelation 11 and verse 17 say, We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which are, which is to come, because you have taken to yourself your great power and it rained.

And then earlier in this chapter in verse 11, and after three days, well, I need to back up another verse, verse 10. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them. That is the death of the two witnesses. And make merry and shall send gifts one to another, because these two prophets, in their view, tormented them that dwell on the earth. So those who are dwelling on the earth will view them much the way that we might view the woke movement or something that is afoot in this nation at the present time.

But it looks like it's on the way out for a season. Satan is the great accuser of the brethren. We can ask ourselves, are we instruments of Satan the devil? This does not mean that a person does not stand for what is right. God expects each one of us to stand for what's right. We are where we are because people would not stand for what is right.

Adam was not deceived, yet he went along with it because of a relationship. His wife had already done it, and so he was going to go along with him. I guess he thought, well, I don't want to be alone. I don't want to lose her. So I will go ahead and partake of the knowledge of the tree of getting evil. There are all kinds of ways that Satan can deceive the peoples of the world.

So once again, the great question is, will you choose to be ruled by God or by men? There are only two choices. You will choose to be ruled by men or you will choose to be ruled by God. There is no middle ground. So who will you choose to be ruled by? Men will rule men in 2025. Men will rule men or men will rule humankind in 2025, except for those who choose to come under the rule of their loving Father and Creator, as described in Psalm 91. We will close with Psalm 91.

This psalm is so precious. This psalm captures so much. This psalm is so encouraging. This psalm is so inspiring. Psalm 91. He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. See, God is their protector. God is their ruler. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress.

My God, in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the troublesome pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings shall you trust. His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flies by day, nor for the pestilence that walks in the darkness, nor for the destruction of them that waste at noonday. A thousand shall fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come nigh you.

Only with your eyes shall you behold and see the reward of the wicked. And I won't read the rest of it. You can read the rest of it. Under the shadow of His wings, we want to be under the protection and the rule of God from this day forward and from eternity forward. Eternity never ends. And I hope that we will all be there.