The Battle of the Fathers: beyond COVID19
Introduction
The apocalyptic phenomena of our time shaking the earth (volcano, earthquake, fire, flood, war, virus) are a gift to the Church. A gift designed to sharpen our perspective about the cosmic scale of the war (Eph 6:12) enveloping every age. The impact of present “natural” catastrophes can help us discern what is going on at the highest level of creation. In a recent Perth Prayer meeting I was strongly conscious of the Church’s ongoing struggle against the devil. This is part of the biblical “metanarrative”, the big story that makes sense of every other story. This story has two main characters, two F-fathers who have been in conflict “from the beginning” (John 8:44) over the goal of creation.
Two Forms of Fathering
The glory of the one true Father predates “the foundation of the world” (John 17:1-5). He is essentially Father because he eternally had a Son he loved (Luke 3:22; Col 1:13). Fittingly, Jesus expounds the character of the counterfeit “father” in addressing those who tried to kill him. “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning…he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44). Satan has been a murderous father “from the beginning”, that is, from the start of his relationship with humanity in Eden. There the satanic serpent (Gen 3:1; Rev 12:9) launched his age-long lying accusations against the character of God. As a usurper of God’s place (Isa 14:13-14) he is driven to imitate, whilst grotesquely distorting, true fatherhood. Satan is obsessed with being the number 1 father figure in the cosmos. God’s wise master plan has always taken account of this controversy (Matt 25:41; Rev 13:8; 1 Pet 1:20). It is a conflict which cannot be settled by power, only by character.
The Plan
If the Creator-Lord simply overpowered his rebellious creature, the devil, it would be a hollow victory. The plan of God must unmask the devil’s lies by revealing the inimitable glory of his own Fatherhood in such a way that human nature is transformed. The struggle across the ages must reveal to the heart and conscience of fallen people that God’s character as Father is perfectly trustworthy. This struggle is embedded in the twisted character of a broken world; on the face of it the evidence “out there” contradicts the biblical testimony that Father-God is all good and all powerful. Job epitomises this struggle in the O.T. Job’s interminable afflictions are designed to disprove Satan’s slur that he only serves God because the Lord has blessed him (Job 1:8-11). In the end Job’s relationship with God is deepened through trust in God, even if is not revealed to him why he has been tested. Such trust against “the evidence” is the Lord’s ultimate purpose. The final revelation of God the Father as loving Creator awaits the victorious flesh and blood humanity of Jesus (Heb 2:14-15).
Round by Round
In the ring of world history God often seems defeated by the devil. His first created son Adam (Luke 3:38), is effectively knocked out of the contest, with his progeny stripped of divine glory and condemned to death (Rom 3:23; 6:23). Israel is blessed with covenant and adoption (Ex 4:22; Rom 9:4), but repeatedly fails the test. Only Jesus, the eternal Son of God, has established the goodness, power and love of the Father by resurrection from the dead. Resurrection is so morally powerful because Jesus trusted God even in dying for us with no external (circumstances) or internal (feelings) evidence that God was a loving Father (Mark 15:34; Gal 3:13). His pure faith in Fatherhood has cast the amoral Accuser out of heaven (1 John 3:8; Rev 12:7-10). Christ’s perfected human conscience testifies with the Spirit that no matter how painful our circumstances God is our true Father. These deep issues were settled in heaven 2000 years ago, but the battle continues on earth. Clear victories to the devil appear in the Constantinian settlement, medieval Catholicism, the Crusades, Inquisition, Enlightenment and post-modernism. The kingdom of God surges back with the Protestant Reformation, revivals and Pentecostalism heralding the love of the Father in the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. Until the End the contest ceaselessly continues. This is part of the plan of God for his victory in the moral/spiritual maturation of the Church.
Tribulation
Two massive powers to press in upon God’s people. The Father wisely releases them to test and save, the false “father” supports them to tempt and destroy. Firstly, “natural disasters” induce most of humanity to, “cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory” (Rev 16:9, 11, 21). Yet, a remnant “were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.” (Rev 11:13). The second purifying power is persecution. With their spiritual father a murderer (John 8:44) the devil’s children naturally fear death and do anything to annihilate anyone who conforms their fear of death as a righteous judgement. The Jewish leaders could not hold back from crucifying Jesus and the sons of the evil one relentlessly persecute the children of God. Satan’s greatest ambition is for us to deny the Father and the Son (1 John 2:23). By faith however we see the pains of plague and persecution are heaven-sent opportunities to vigorously trust God as the one true Father.
Acts of Defiance
The Bible is full of acts of defiance against satanically inspired powers; the fiery furnace and lions’ den in Daniel, Jesus singing a hymn at the start of his Passion (Mark 14:26), the apostles praising the Lord in a dungeon (Acts 16:25), the martyrs who refuse to deny Christ and reverence Caesar in Revelation (2:13 etc.) and beyond. I’m reminded of the Lutheran pastor exhorting his congregation to stand up and praise the Lord as the allied bombers begin to flatten Stuttgart. All these actions were protests against Satan’s power to intimidate through the fear of death. I am praying for us that the Spirit release ecstatic intercessory worship (Rev 5:8) as signs of the majesty triumph of Christ over death. Likewise, fasting is an act of defiance against the demonic powers of self-indulgence ravaging our communities (Col 2:20-30). The real crisis of our time isn’t coronavirus or economic collapse, but the spiritual war against traditional marriage, with the practice of abortion and euthanasia etc., causing our culture to look increasingly like “the murderer” and less and less like Jesus. We desperately need a revival of costly spirituality to contest the right of the devil to rule Australia. Lord have mercy.