Anything of the world that occupies and preoccupies us brings us into being usurped by Satan; the world is an evil system arranged systematically by Satan to occupy people and frustrate them from accomplishing God’s purpose, and whoever loves the world are enemies of God.
Egypt is a type of the world especially with its livelihood and enjoyment; the most basic matters in this world is taking care of our livelihood and having some enjoyment for ourselves.
But God judges Egypt, for Egypt usurps God’s people from accomplishing God’s purpose. Jacob and his family went down to Egypt to survive and have a livelihood and enjoyment, and eventually this turned into the whole people of Israel being enslaved to Pharaoh and Egypt to build their great cities.
As believers in Christ, we have been saved from the world; Christ has judged the world and its ruler on the cross, and when we received the Lord, we received a life that overcomes the world and all that is in it.
But what about our daily living? Are we still being occupied and preoccupied with the things in this world? Do we live to exist by earning a living and having some enjoyment, or do we live a life for God’s purpose?
To exist is one thing, but to exist for the divine purpose is another thing; we believers in Christ exist here on earth for God’s purpose, and we should beware of the enemy’s strategy to usurp us and distract us from fulfilling God’s purpose.
In the great supermarket of the world there is an aspect or a department for each one of us; we may not like things such as drugs or alcohol, but there are more “refined” things such as reading books, digital marketing, or consuming entertainment.
These things in themselves are not bad, but them preoccupying us and occupying us is Satan’s scheme to distract us from God’s purpose and use us for his evil intention.
The world is not a source of enjoyment but a place of tyranny; we may think that there are so many things to enjoy in the world, and we may have a momentary enjoyment here and there, but what these things really do is enslave us and demand things from us.
Satan uses all the things in the world – which is a system designed by him and perfected throughout the ages – to usurp the man created by God for His purpose.
May the Lord have mercy on us and expose the world, the evil system of Satan, and may we be delivered from one aspect after another of the world, aspects which hold us captive, enslave us, and usurp us from enjoying God and fulfilling God’s purpose.
The World is an Evil System Arranged Systematically by Satan to Occupy man and Frustrate him from Fulfilling God’s Purpose and Enjoying God
The Greek word for “world” is cosmos, an ordered system, a well-organised system; the world is an evil system arranged systematically by Satan (see 1 John 2:15-17; James 4:4).
We may even say that the world is like a monstrous university, the biggest university ever known in human history; the principle of this university is Satan, the name of the university is The University of Error, and this university teaches men how to make mistakes and errors.
As Eph. 4:14 indicates, the world is a system at work, a system designed by Satan with craftiness and deceit to bring people to misaim God’s goal, make mistakes, and be drawn away from God.
In this university there are innumerable departments such as business, science, music, fine arts, and also departments such as killing, murdering, fornication, drunkenness; all these are designed and organised by Satan to capture people.
A particular department of Satan’s university of error is religion.
This university of error is all-inclusive; in the past six thousand years Satan did a great work to put this university together with many departments to capture man, usurp man, and occupy man, so that man would be carried away from God and distracted from enjoying God.
God created man in His image and according to His likeness so that man would live on earth for the fulfillment of His purpose, but His enemy Satan formed an anti-God world system to usurp the God-created man (Eph. 3:11; Gen. 1:26-28; 2:8-9; 4:16-24).
Satan formed this anti-God world system on earth by systematising people with culture, education, industry, commerce, entertainment, and religion.
All the things on this earth, especially those related to us men, and all the things in the air have been systematised by Satan into his kingdom of darkness to occupy people and frustrate them from accomplishing the purpose of God and to distract them from the enjoyment of God.
Satan perfected this university of error and designed it to make sure that men make errors, miss God, and leave God; this is being played out right before our eyes these days!
Every day, whether we are old or young, we live in this system of error, for Satan utilises all things in this world to control the minds and thoughts of the people.
For example, we may be young adults who have a young family, and we want to know how to carry out our marriage and how to raise our children; however, instead of praying about this and seeking the Lord, we may check on the internet and see what google says.
We may not even have to look much for it: it comes to us, the world feeds us right there on our phone, day in and day out, and we are daily bombarded by our notifications, by the world, and the enemy seeks to brain wash us.
There is a system that is being carried out by Satan these days to control the minds of the people.
We should not think that everything that is written, spoken, or posted online or broadcasted on TV is true; rather, we should realize that Satan has systematised everything.
Soon, this systematisation of all things will reach a climax, a peak; we have this world wide web, and Satan has a way to control man’s mind very easily, driving the thoughts and feelings within men, fuelling within their human being, to drive them away from God.
According to 1 John 2:15-17, the world is against the Father, and the things of the world are against the will of God; those who love the world are enemies of God (see James 4:4). This is how God sees the world.
We shouldn’t play with the world so lightly or casually; if we befriend the world, we are enemies with God. If we love the world, the love of the Father cannot be in us.
We can’t go on loving and pursuing the Lord and also preserve our pursuit of the world.
And it is not easy for us to define what a worldly person is; twenty or thirty years ago, owning an electronic device would make us worldly, but today we all have them, so what is to be a worldly person?
It is not the things of the world in themselves that are intrinsically evil, but it is our heart; if we are occupied and preoccupied with the things of the world, if our heart is in these things, then we are worldly, and the love of the Father is not in us but rather, we are enemies of God.
We need to be able to tell the Lord that, yes, we do use these things, and we need many things in the world for our living, but our heart is to love Him, we are not attached to these things, and we love only Him.
If we get lost in our usage of these modern conveniences, if we are absorbed by the use of our smartphone or game console, and if our whole day is spent on things in the world, then our heart is away from God, and we are enemies of God.
This doesn’t mean that we should separate ourselves from everything that is new and convenient in the world and go into the desert to seek God; rather, we should be renewed in our mind, not be fashioned according to this age, and guard our heart, so that our heart would love the Lord and His word, not the world.
Lord Jesus, we turn our heart to You; remove any love for the world from our heart. Save us from being part of Satan’s evil system, the world; save us from being drawn away from God by the things in the world. Thank You Lord for creating us to live on earth for the fulfillment of Your purpose. We love You, Lord, and we use all these things that we need to use not for their sake but for us to live a life for Your purpose. Father, we love You! We need to use all these things for our living, we need things and information to survive and carry out our daily affairs, but our heart loves You! We give ourselves to You to be transformed by the renewing of the mind in Your word, which stands forever!
The whole World – the Satanic System – Lies in the Evil One; Satan’s Evil System was Judged through Christ’s work on the Cross
The whole world lies in the evil one (1 John 5:19); the whole evil satanic system remains passively in the sphere of the evil one’s usurpation and manipulation.
The whole world comprise not only the evil things such as casinos or night clubs, but everything: hospitals, presidents, senators, so-called churches, pastors, schools, etc.
The whole world comprises the satanic world system and the people of the world, the fallen human race.
People in the world think they know what they are doing, but the whole world and the people of the world are lying passively under the usurping and manipulating hand of Satan, the evil one.
When a patient is on the operating table, he is anaesthetised, he lies there without consciousness under the operating hand of the surgeon.
Satan is the master evil surgeon operating on the world, and we have no way to refuse or defend ourselves; the evil system of the world works so well, so powerfully, that mankind cannot resist Satan.
Satan is pernicious, harmfully evil; he affects others and influences them to be evil and vicious, and in him the whole world lies passively.
The racial tension, the political arguments, the strife and hatredness, the social unrest, all these things are effects of the evil one working behind the scene to influence people to be evil and pernicious.
Satan is utilizing the material world and the things that are in the world to eventually head up everything up in the kingdom of Antichrist; at that hour the world system will have reached its zenith, and every unit of it will be revealed to be anti-Christian (see 2 Thes. 2:3-12).
We are getting close to that hour in which there’s the culmination of this world system; this system has been well and powerfully organised, cleverly designed, to work out Satan’s plan.
Even these days with all men resorting to digital means to communicate – which can be good, for we continue to meet with the saints, hear the word, and encourage each other – but what are the others doing with these means, and what are they being infused with by the enemy via the digital means?
Nowadays the enemy has developed the tree of knowledge of good and evil to such an extent that people in the world think they can choose their own sexual preference, they can define themselves and their sexual orientation, they can choose or change their gender, and they define God. Oh Lord!
May the Lord open our eyes to see the pernicious one utilizing this world system, the material world with its things, to head up all things under his control, and how he is preparing all things for Antichrist, the man of lawlessness, to appear.
More and more the situation becomes evil and also anti-Christian, godless.
But praise the Lord, in the spiritual reality we know that Satan’s evil world system, the kingdom of darkness, was judged through Christ’s work on the cross (John 12:31-32; 16:11)! Hallelujah!
Through His death on the cross in the likeness of the flesh of sin, the Lord destroyed Satan, who is in man’s flesh (Rom. 8:3; Heb. 2:14).
Christ didn’t only bear our sins and transgressions in His body, but as He died as a sinner, Satan was also crucified there, and Christ came to destroy the works of the devil! When He was lifted up on the cross, the world was judged and its ruler – Satan – was cast out (John 12:31-32).
In Him the ruler of the world did not have anything – no room, no ground, no possibility in anything. Such a One is in us, and He is exposing and judging the world in us day by day.
May we love Him, enjoy Him, turn to Him, and allow Him to renew our mind in His word until we are transformed in His image, not being conformed to this age.
Hallelujah, through His work on the cross Christ judged Satan’s evil world system, the kingdom of darkness! Praise the Lord, Christ came in the likeness of the flesh of sin and He destroyed Satan through His death on the cross. Thank You Lord for judging Satan and the world which is hanging on Him. Amen, Lord, in You Satan has nothing – no ground, no room, no possibility in anything, and You came to destroy the works of the devil. We open to You, Lord: expose the world in us, judge the world in us, and transform us by the renewing of the mind so that we may not be fashioned according to this age but be one with You to live a life for Your purpose on earth!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by James Lee for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1965, vol. 3, “The Heavenly Vision,” ch. 5, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization Study of Jeremiah and Lamentations, week 9, God’s Judgment upon Egypt and Babylon.
- It is recommended to listen to the message given by James Lee for this week – you can get it via lsmwebcast.com.
- Hymns on this topic:
– If from the world you’re longing to be free, / Amen the Word of God! / If you would live in all reality, / Amen the Word of God! / Amen the Word of God! / Amen the Word of God! / His Word receiving, His Word believing, / Amen the Word of God! (Hymns #1218)
– As the world rushes on, / I’m reminded of Thee. / Though time passes away, / There’s eternity in me. / Now nothing ’neath the sun, / But Thou and Thou alone, / Can satisfy my heart. / Things temp’ral will not do; / I’d things above pursue; / Eternal One, Thou art. (Song on, As the world rushes on)
– Give up the world, Christ to obtain, / He is your heart’s very need; / What else can you desire or seek? / All things are empty indeed! / He is so rich, He is so full, / He can fulfill all your needs! / He is so good, He is so sweet, / All your desire He exceeds! (Hymns #1025)
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