Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus, the Prince of Peace. This title is more than just a name for which Jesus has been crowned; it is an attribute that He displays. Oh, how great a man is he who can hold his tongue and keep his temper. To be honest, I continue to grow in the grace of God in that department. We have none reached the image of Christ, yet I strive to run the race to the best of my abilities by knowing that I have the help of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.
As the Prince of Peace, it is very hard for me to swallow that Jesus is the cause of all these recent upheavals of nature. In our hemisphere alone, three major hurricanes and two major earthquakes have occurred with death tolls in the hundreds and damages in the billions. Yet, many accuse our heavenly Father of perpetrating these upheavals and following the world’s understanding of an “act of God.”
There is another prince involved in these upheavals. We know him as the prince of darkness or the prince of the power of the air. His well-suited name is Satan, which means “adversary.” Satan is totally against God and His creation, and is also known as “antichrist.” As such, he cannot stand the presence of anything created by God, not even himself. There is much confusion going on in our enemy’s camp because his time is short, and he is hard-pressed to meet his final demise.
In which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. Ephesians 2:2
We have all walked under the influence of this disobedient prince at one time or another before meeting Jesus. However, there is another part of creation that he is prince over and has influence, and that is the earth. Notice I say “influence” and not “authority.” According to Romans 8:19-22, the entire creation of God has an expectancy of freedom. However, it is in turmoil because of what happened with Adam. Creation has witnessed the new birth and freedom of the sons of God born through Jesus Christ. It waits for them to become fully grown to manifest their authority. Until then, the earth groans and moans, moving around with great discomfort caused by the curse that has been placed upon it.
Because of Adam’s disobedience, the earth became cursed. Not because God cursed it, but because of to whom Adam gave his authority, Satan. Satan has no sustaining power; everything he sets his hand to dies. Jesus himself tells us the nature of Satan in John 10:10; it is he who steals, kills, and destroys. This should shed light on who is carrying out the recent upheavals of nature; every event reveals the fingerprints of our adversary.
Up until the time of Noah’s flood, the earth had never experienced upheavals of nature. However, hear what God says about the time before the flood:
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” Genesis 6:5-7
The Lord states in this passage of Scripture that He was sorry He made man “on the earth” and would destroy them “from the face of the earth.” The earth was created before man, and man’s corruption was having an ill effect on the earth. Whereas man had a free will and was easily influenced by Satan, the earth was not as easily corrupted. When Noah found grace in the eyes of God, mankind, as we know it, was spared.
God used a great upheaval of nature to restrain wickedness on the earth. The earth shifted below the sea and released masses of water, along with the windows of heaven opening up and dropping more water (Gen. 7:11). This use of God’s wrath moved the earth off its axis, placing the earth in a greater state of discomfort that remains to this day.
Satan always tries to counterfeit God. Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, so our adversary goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. God is light, so Satan tries to manifest as an angel of light. From the flood forward, our adversary has used the misalignment of the earth to create ungodly storms that steal, kill, and destroy. However, all is not irredeemable because Jesus came to save what was lost (Matt. 18:11).
Jesus came to save not only mankind but also the corrupt condition of the earth through the Body of Christ. Many of the great earthquakes that Jesus prophesied about in Luke 21:11 have taken place in the last couple of decades and have been moving the earth closer to its original position. Even in the adversary’s attempts to destroy, God is working on restoration and continues to do so throughout the Millennium.
When Jesus came, the angels declared peace on earth and goodwill toward men from the heavenly Father. This peace and goodwill were exemplified in Jesus’ way of life. As born-again believers, we have inherited everything that belongs to Jesus now, such as all nine fruits of His Spirit (which includes peace), and His authority (which includes His authority over the weather). Remember, Jesus “rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ (Mark 4:39).” And the wind and the sea obeyed Him.
Now, many of us who understand this were praying during the hurricanes in Texas and Florida. I believe the Lord answered our prayers! However, when a body is not in unity, how can it be fully effective? Pastor James tells us, in the epistle bearing his name, that one who doubts and is tossed about in his believing is double minded and cannot receive from God (James 1:6-8).
With many in the Body of Christ believing the storms are God’s will, I think those of us who stood against them should rejoice in what God protected in our behalf. Do not be troubled about the body not being where it should be at present because there is a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit coming that will rectify this (Joel 2:28).
So be of good cheer, “Jesus is Coming Soon!
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