Dominion Reclaimed
One of the stark realities I’ve become more conscious of as a believer is the spiritual war we are under. This war is fought over the souls of man but has always been decided by one factor:
Dominion.
Dominion is defined as the establishment of one’s kingdom or the reach of one’s influence.
The Bible frequently describes Satan as the “god of this world” (Eph 2:2, 2 Cor 4:4). The influence of his kingdom has dulled the conscious of man, desensitising us to the sinfulness of sin so that many are led astray. Looking at our world today it is clear that what is seen physically is a manifestation of what is happening spiritually. I’ve come to realise, however, that Satan hasn’t always had dominion.
After war broke out in Heaven, Satan and his Angels were defeated and cast down to Earth (Rev 12:7-9). The serpent posed no real threat to man. When Adam and Eve saw the serpent, they weren’t even afraid. This is because being made in the likeness of God, God gave man dominion over all the earth and everything within (Gen 1:26). The serpent was under that dominion.
The reason why the serpent has any dominion at all today is because it was given to him.
“Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.” - Romans 6:16
When Adam obeyed the lie of the serpent he forfeited the rights to his dominion and placed it in the hands of the evil one. Adam had what Satan wanted all along; dominion over all of God’s creation. The serpent received this to on a silver plate with minimal effort.
Then there was a second Adam. 1 Cor 15:45
He came to reclaim a dominion that had been lost. Knowing what Jesus desired, Satan made him an offer: “The devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” (Matt 4:8-9). In front of Jesus stood an incomprehensible amount of temptation. Undoubtedly the largest any man in history has ever faced. Satan offered Jesus a way to establish a kingdom he desired, without having to endure agonising pain, humiliation and the spiritual wrath of the living God. All he had to do was bow down.
Instead of bowing to the beast, Jesus dove head first into it’s belly, destroying the power of sin and snatching the “keys of Hades and Death” (Rev 1:18).
“As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time” (Dan 7:12). “ And to [Jesus] was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” (Dan 7:14).
The dominion of the enemy is an artificial one. One founded on deceit and built on falsehood. We have the agency to revoke our citizenship at anytime through Jesus. The enemy knows this more than anybody. The veil has been torn but many of us still haven’t crossed into the throne room.
This is the war we face.
Being a Christian isn’t a cultural title badge, it’s the transfer out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light (Jn 12:46, Col 1:13). As carriers of the light (Matt 5:14) we are to infiltrate the earth and trample on the powers of darkness with the authority we’ve been given under the dominion of Christ (Lk 10:19).
“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” - Eph 6:12
