Satan's legal hold on earth's peoples was removed on the cross of Calvary. In order to maintain his hold on people, Satan must keep them blind to God's Word and will. He accomplishes such blindness by deceiving them, by putting lies into their minds. Satan is a master deceiver and is able to keep multitudes of Christian people in bondage, weakness, and confusion by means of his artfully designed snares.

Whenever any individual is able to understand God's will and perform it, the power of the Lord Jesus Christ releases him or her from the chains of sin and rebellion against the Lord God of Heaven.

Satan is the deceiver of the whole world. The entire earth is one great area of satanic delusion. The peoples of the earth are laboring in the sins and rebellions that gratify demons and fallen angels.

The wicked spirits receive release and satisfaction through the sinful and rebellious acts of human beings. But the human beings are required to pay for their demon-inspired lawlessness and lust with broken bodies, betrayed families, tormented, anguished minds, shattered hopes, broken covenants, premature physical death, and possible eternal separation from their Creator in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur.

Lust and lawlessness bring misery in this world and eternal torment in the next life.

Eternal life through Christ is the gift of God. But sin and rebellion against God's will cost the individual everything of value.

God's answer to the lack of righteousness, holiness, and obedience in His creation, and the resulting chaos and human agony, is the construction of the Body of Christ.

As soon as the Lord has brought the members of the Body of Christ to maturity in the Head, then the Head, Christ, will descend from Heaven. After that, the whole Christ—Head and body—will perform the work of the Servant of the Lord (Isaiah, Chapter 42). Part of the ministry of the Servant of the Lord is the bringing of justice to the Gentile nations (Isaiah 42:1).

The Lord Jesus will not return to bring justice to the Gentile nations until He brings His Body, the Body of Christ, to the Divine standard of unity and maturity.

When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. (Psalms 102:16)

As Christ is born through the travail of the Church the accusations of Satan are overcome. Some of the saints will be totally obedient to the Father. Their Christ-empowered obedience will conquer Satan. Then Satan and his wicked angels will be forced from their thrones in the spirit realm and hurled into the earth at the hand of Michael and the elect angels.

At that time there will be people on the earth. The Laodicean churches will be full of deceived Christians who have been persuaded that believers should be living prosperously in this world, enjoying the friendship of the worldly people who are lovers of the present age. Such believers have little or no understanding of what it means to be a pilgrim and stranger in the world.

To be continued.