Good morning, Bereans. I want to talk to you this morning about why there is so much evil in our world. Unless you are brain dead, you realize that there are some very evil people in our world. When I say evil people, I’m talking about Satan-worshiping, child-sacrificing, scum-of-the-earth type evil. Epstein Island, Pizza Gate, Adrenochrome type evil. If you are not familiar with what I’m talking about, shut off the MSM and find an alternative news source. Everything the MSM feeds you is lies.
Most people would probably blame the evil in our world on Satan. But as preterists, we can’t do that because we know that Satan and his demons were destroyed in AD 70 when the Lord returned in judgment on Old Covenant Israel and its gods.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matthew 24:29 ESV
Modern commentators generally understand this verse and those that follow as a description of the end of the world, but the words "immediately after the tribulation of those days" show that he is not speaking of any distant event but of something immediately following the tribulation just mentioned. That event was the destruction of Jerusalem.
If we are not familiar with the apocalyptic language of the Tanakh, we will not understand what Christ is saying here. We will likely assume that He is speaking about the end of the world. But if we were familiar with the first three quarters of our Bible (aka the Tanakh or Old Testament), we would know that this language is common among the prophets.
The word "stars" is used of literal stars, of bright lights in the sky, and even of divine beings. The "wandering stars" that Jude speaks of is a common ancient Jewish idiom in both the Tanakh and the Pseudepigrapha for divine celestial beings. In the ancient world, the stars were called the "host of heaven" and were equated with deities. In the Tanakh, the stars of heaven are also called "heavenly host."
Therefore, this text in Matthew 24 is about the judgment of the gods. Psalm 82 also talks about this judgment. For more detail on this subject, see the study of Matthew 24 on our website.
If Satan and his demons are gone, then why all the evil? Some try to explain the evil by holding to the serpent seed doctrine. SGAnon, in an interview with Prophets and Patriots, had this to say.
These individuals are descended from the bloodline of Cain. They believe that Cain was the offspring of a union between Eve and the serpent. In other words, Adam and Eve had a holy child of the Creator and Eve and the serpent had an abominable child known as Cain. This individual as we know from the book was the very first incident of murder. Cain is of the Canaanite blood lineage which is all about subversion of everything good and holy. They believe us to have inherited the place at the side of God that their deity was supposed to have had but lost and so they have a very deep very ancient vitriol and hatred for humanity because we are made in the image and likeness of the Almighty.
If you are aware of the evil that is taking place, you almost want to believe this. You can say these people are so evil because they are physical descendants of Satan and are not made in the image of God. But does the Bible support this view? Those who hold to this serpent seed doctrine use verses such as the following:
We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 1 John 3:12 ESV
"Cain, who was of the evil one"—those who hold to the Serpent Seed Doctrine take this to mean that Cain was literally fathered by Satan. The NIV Cultural Background Study Bible says this about verse 12.
Jewish tradition extensively elaborated and underlined Cain’s sinfulness. belonged to the evil one. A murderer was a child of the devil (v. 10), for one of the devil’s first works had been to bring death to Adam (see note on Jn 8:44). Some later Jewish texts even claim that Cain’s father was the devil himself.
Let me try to summarize what this doctrine actually teaches. It is often called the Serpent Seed, the dual seed, or the two seed-line doctrine. It is a teaching which explains the biblical account of the fall of man by saying that the sin of Eve was not simple disobedience but was sexual contact with the serpent and that Cain was the son of Eve and the devil. Cain’s descendants are, according to this idea, the sons of Satan. This includes most any race or group that the serpent-seed believer chooses to dislike. Perhaps this doctrine is attractive to some since it offers its adherents a soothing basis for justifying attitudes of racial hatred.
The Serpent Seed Doctrine is also closely related to other erroneous beliefs such as the Christian Identity Movement and the Kenite doctrine. The serpent seed teaching was popularized by William Branham. In 1963, Branham preached a sermon in which he indicated he was a prophet with the anointing of Elijah, who had come to herald Christ’s second coming. His teachings continue to be promoted through the William Branham Evangelistic Association which reported in 2018 that about 2 million people receive their material. Here is a quote from Branham:
Here is what really happened in the Garden of Eden. The Word says that Eve was beguiled by the serpent. She was actually seduced by the serpent … He was so close to being human that his seed could, and did mingle with that of the woman and cause her to conceive. When this happened, God cursed the serpent." [William Branham, "The Original Sin," available at http://www.williambranham.com/the-original-sin/]
William Branham may not have been the first to preach the serpent seed doctrine, but he has become known as one of the major proponents of this doctrine in our modern times. Those who promote this doctrine say that the fall of man was not caused by disobedience but by sexual sin between Eve and Satan.
Let’s look at the text and see what it actually says.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?" Genesis 3:1 ESV
"Serpent" here is from the Hebrew word nachash. According to Hebrew scholar Michael Heiser, it "Is most likely a triple entendre, which is a word or phrase that has three different meanings at once. The root of nachash is (noon, het and sheen), which is the basis for a noun, a verb and an adjective in Hebrew. If you take nachash as pointing to the noun, the word here would mean 'serpent.' This is a valid translation, but you must keep in mind that 'serpent' is not a member of the animal kingdom."
Have you ever wondered why so many of God’s enemies are described with serpent-like language? Think of Job’s leviathan, or Revelation’s dragon, or Daniel’s beasts from the sea. Why was it a serpent that came to tempt Adam and Eve? The Bible uses all kinds of images to talk about the spiritual forces of evil—images such as serpents, dragons, sea monsters, and other creatures of chaos. The serpent (nachash) here in Genesis 3 is a chaos monster. The Bible uses chaos monster imagery all over the place to depict God’s power over chaos/evil.
Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. Psalms 74:12-14 ESV
In Genesis 3, then, we have the nachash causing chaos. But in 3:15, Yahweh promises a coming deliverer who will crush the serpent of chaos and restore man to Yahweh’s presence.
Let’s expand on the concept of nachash as a triple entendre. We have already seen its meaning as a noun ("serpent"), but if you were to take it as a verb, it would mean "deceiver" or "diviner." So nachash could imply a "deceiver." This option also fits the story. Hang on to this meaning because it is important in refuting the Serpent Seed Doctrine.
The third aspect of the triple entendre is viewing nachash as an adjective. It would, then, have the meaning of "bronze" or "the shining one." In our text, it is "ha nachash" (the Shining one). Luminosity is a characteristic of a divine being in the Hebrew Bible and in the ANE texts, but it is not the characteristic of an animal or a man. This is a divine being; it is not a member of the animal kingdom but is rather a member of the divine council. This Watcher chose to oppose Yahweh's plan for humanity by prompting humans to disobey Yahweh so that they would either be killed or removed from Eden, Yahweh's council and family.
And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:2-5 ESV
So, Eve told the serpent that they were allowed to eat from all the trees in the garden except one. Hang onto that thought. The serpent then tells Eve that they would not die and that they should go ahead and eat.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6 ESV
What just happened? Eve ate the forbidden fruit. We are told by those holding the Serpent Seed Doctrine that eating of the fruit is a sexual sin. In other words, it is adultery on Eve’s part with the devil. I hope you are wondering how on earth they drew that conclusion!
Those who support Serpent Seed ideas cite many passages in the Bible as proof that their idea is correct. Almost without exception, these "proofs" require an interpretation that is totally inappropriate to the context of the passage.
And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:9 ESV
Branham’s view is that the Tree of Life in Genesis refers to Yeshua. Branham writes, "If the Tree of Life is a person, then the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is a person ALSO. It can’t be otherwise. Thus the Righteous One and the Wicked One stood side by side there in the midst of the Garden of Eden." By arguing that Yeshua is the Tree of Life, Branham then concludes that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is the serpent. This leads Branham to conclude that the sin in the Garden of Eden involved sexual relations between Eve and Satan.
Well, if Yeshua is the "tree" of Life, that would mean that after Eve had sex with Satan ("the tree of knowledge of good and evil") but God stopped Adam and Eve from having sex with Yeshua!
Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—" therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. Genesis 3:22-23 ESV
This would also mean that up until this point it would have been perfectly OK for Adam to have sex with Yeshua as there was no prohibition against their eating from this tree. In fact, Adam was told he could eat from any other tree, which must have included the tree of life. And if that is true, what does Revelation 2:7 mean?
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ Revelation 2:7 ESV
The serpent seed understanding leads to the abhorrent conclusion that believers will obtain eternal life because we will all have sex with the Lord Yeshua!
Also, the doctrine asserts that in this passage, Satan is being referenced as both the serpent and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. To support such a doctrine requires an inexcusably biased interpretation.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6 ESV
The plain words of the text should be sufficient to disallow any sexual act. There is simply an act of disobedience to the command of eating from the one tree which God put off limits.
What in the text tells us that eating fruit is not a sexual sin? Who else ate the fruit? Adam. So, if one is going to say Eve’s eating of the tree was sexual in nature, then it needs to be applied to Adam as well. Adam and Eve both ate of the fruit of this tree. And if eating the fruit is a euphemism for sexual intercourse, then God would have said that it was all right to have sex with all the other "trees" or Persons in the Garden.
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, Genesis 2:16 ESV
Who were these other trees that Adam was told he could have sex with? Was this the Divine Counsel? Eve had not yet been created.
Clearly this is about eating. The Bible makes it clear that the fall of man came from the disobedience of eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge; it had nothing to do with intercourse.
For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19 ESV
Adam’s disobedience is contrasted with Christ’s obedience. This is the issue: it is obedience to Yahweh.
God confronts this first couple after their sin. Adam blames Eve and God. Eve blames Satan.
And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. Genesis 3:13 KJV
The KJV translation is "the serpent beguiled me and I did eat." This is why the people who hold to the Serpent Seed Doctrine love the KJV. They say that the word "beguiled" in some contexts can be synonymous with "seduced." Context and scholarship would disagree.
Branham explains it like this: "He seduced her [Eve] and by her did Satan have a child vicariously. Cain bore the full spiritual characteristics of Satan and the animalistic (sensual, fleshly) characteristic of the serpent."
This view requires the interpreter to suggest that "beguiled" in this context actually means sexually seduced. However, in contemporary translations, the Hebrew word that the King James renders as "beguiled" is often translated as "deceived" (ESV, NIV, HCSB, NLT) or "tricked" (NRSV, NET). None of these translations render the word as "seduced" or imply sexual seduction.
Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." Genesis 3:13 ESV
"The serpent deceived me"—remember what the verb form of nachash meant? It meant "deceiver" or "diviner." The word "deceived" here is from the Hebrew nasha, which is used sixteen times in the Tanakh. In the King James Bible, it is translated "beguiled" once, "seize" once, and "deceive" or "deceived" thirteen times. And in the fifteen other passages where nasha is used, not once is it used with sexual connotations. Eve is saying the deceiver (nachash) deceived (nasha) me.
This entire argument, based on the word nasha, is made up. In context, Eve is blaming the serpent for tricking her into eating the fruit of the forbidden tree. She is not stating that the serpent seduced her sexually.
Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." Genesis 3:13 ESV
Another problem with the Serpent Seed view is that the Hebrew word akal (ate) is consistently used for physically eating and not for sex. So, how do they turn eating into having sex? Good question. I’m glad you asked. To support their view that eating is sexual sin, they go to verses like Proverbs 30:20.
This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, "I have done no wrong." Proverbs 30:20 ESV
Some see "eats" here as a euphemism for the sin which she commits. We see something similar in.
"Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant." Proverbs 9:17 ESV
Proverbs 30:20 is not saying that eating is a euphemism for adultery, but for sin. The idea here is that when someone eats something that they should not, they wipe their mouth so that it won’t appear that they have eaten anything. In like manner, when the adulteress commits sexual sin, she acts like she has done nothing wrong. She hides the evidences of her shame and professes innocence. This is greatly overstated by the serpent-seed believer as proof that the Fall was sexual.
"The serpent deceived me, and I ate"—the word "ate" is from akal which simply means to eat. This word and its derivatives are used 810 times in the Hebrew texts. Let’s look at some examples.
But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. Genesis 9:4 ESV
If we apply the understanding that "to eat" is a euphemism for sex, then here we have God informing the Hebrews that they cannot have sexual intercourse with any flesh that has blood in it. This would be necrophilia. The Mosaic Law specified that touching a dead body made a person unclean (Numbers 19:11-16).
During the feast of unleavened bread, were the Hebrews not to have sexual intercourse with leavened bread but only with unleavened bread?
Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. Exodus 12:15 ESV
The exact same wording (תֹֽאכְל֔וּוּ akal) is used in all of these verses. We must ask why the word is a euphemism in Genesis 3 but not in Genesis 9 or in Exodus 12. It could be context. Context always should give us the answer as to why a word is used to mean something. However, for this word to mean a sexual act in Genesis 3 and not in the rest of its uses in the Bible, the context would have to clearly justify such a different application. But in order to read such a meaning into the text, the interpreter must already believe that it is in fact a euphemism for a sexual act. Such circular reasoning simply fails.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." Genesis 3:15 ESV
In the King James Version, the first portion of Genesis 3:15 reads, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed." The serpent-seed doctrine takes the view that both seeds are literal. As a result, it attempts to show that Satan has a physical seed just as the woman does. But if we use some logic, we can easily see that this interpretation completely falls apart. The Bible does not state that the enmity would be put between Satan’s seed and Adam’s seed, but rather it would be between Satan’s seed and the woman’s seed. If Satan did in fact produce his seed through Eve, then that seed would also be the seed of Eve, the woman. Therefore, her seed would in fact be both Satan’s and Adam’s. This makes a completely illogical argument that God is putting enmity between her physical seed and her physical seed. That is not the distinction God is making.
Let’s look at Genesis 4:1 which clearly teaches that Cain was Adam's son.
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." Genesis 4:1 ESV
To me this verse is the death of the Serpent Seed Doctrine. It clearly shows that Cain was the son of Adam and not of the devil. Here Eve conceives when Adam "knew" Eve, his wife. Here "knew" is a euphemism for sex. Eating is not a euphemism for sex. And she bare Cain. Cain then would seem to be the result of Adam knowing his wife NOT from a sexual act with Satan. Eve declares that "I have gotten a man with the help of Yahweh." This is hardly the proclamation of someone who was pregnant with the child of Satan.
But those who hold to the serpent seed doctrine would take us to Genesis 5.
When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. Genesis 5:3 ESV
From this verse, they would argue that Adam "fathers a son in his own likeness—after his image." Because those phrases were not used of Cain in Genesis 4:1, Cain is not really the son of Adam.
But consider Genesis 4:25. It wipes out the Genesis 5:3 argument that is the basis for the argument in Genesis 4:1.
And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, "God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him." Genesis 4:25 ESV
We don't have this image language in Genesis 4:25. We don't need it. Verse 25 connects back to verse 1. So, Adam is the father of both Cain and Seth. The language of Genesis 5:3 does not telegraph anything different.
This view that Cain was the offspring of Satan focuses on some unusual things in the Hebrew text of Genesis 4:1 and a Targum on this verse.
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." Genesis 4:1 ESV
The Hebrew at the end of Genesis 4:1 is kind of strange. Eve literally says: "I have created a man Yahweh." Because of this literal translation, certain cults and sects hold the view that Yahweh had a sexual relationship with Eve. As weird as that is, Yahweh is not Satan. So why would the serpent seed people use this verse?
Hang on. I will try to explain. Right before the word Yahweh is the two-letter particle aleph-tav. It usually marks a direct object. But it can also be a preposition.
Scholars contend that we have to take the aleph-tav here as a preposition. The translation is then "I have created a man with Yahweh." The ESV has "with the help of the Lord." But the English word "help" here has no Hebrew equivalent in the verse.
In his book, Outside of Eden: Cain in the Ancient Versions of Genesis 4.1-16, M. W. Scarlata says this: "If את is taken as a predicative accusative, the sentence could be translated, ‘I have acquired/created a man, who is YHWH,’ which could signify that Eve believed she had given birth to the promised seed of Gen 3:15. Now, that was actually Martin Luther's view."
Maybe because of the difficulty of the Hebrew or maybe because the translator was smoking something, we have a very strange translation of this verse in one of the Targums. Targums are Aramaic translations of the Tanakh. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan has this reading for Genesis 4:1:
"Adam knew his wife Eve, who had conceived from Sammael, the angel of the Lord. Then, from Adam her husband she bore his twin sister and Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain was a man tilling the Earth."
That's Genesis 4:1-2 in Clarke's edition of Targum Pseudo-Jonathan.
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." Genesis 4:1 ESV
Eve's exclamation isn't even in the verse. The translator, or I should say the fabricator, just inserts his own words. This is not a translation at all; it is totally made up.
Sammael is a Satan figure known from pseudepigraphical texts such as The Ascension of Isaiah or Martyrdom of Isaiah. This Satan figure is just inserted into the text. There is a complete absence in Genesis 4:1 or in any other passage that Cain was fathered by Satan. The idea is just not present in the Bible. This is eisegesis, presented to the world as a translation in Aramaic.
This teaching is not just wrong; it is destructive. It leads directly and logically to the racist idea that certain races are irredeemable. The only possible outcome of such a worldview is prejudice and bigotry.
The Aryan Nations Website states: "WE BELIEVE that there are literal children of Satan in the world today. These children are the descendants of Cain, who was the result of Eve’s original sin, her physical seduction by Satan." [The ARYAN NATIONS website URL http: //www.nidlink.com/~aryanvic/index-E.html.]
Racism and bigotry are sin, and this serpent seed teaching leads to both. We cannot love people, in fact, we will even hate people if they are Satan’s seed and, therefore, not created in the image of God.
People are not evil because Satan is making them do things. And they are not evil because they are physical descendants of Satan. People are evil because they have a heart condition. Notice Yahweh’s evaluation of man.
The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5 ESV
There is no more comprehensive assessment of the total depravity of mankind than what we see here in verse 5. The verse does not contend that man’s behavior involves periodic inclinations toward evil but that man’s evil condition is so deep seated that it saturates every intention of the thoughts of his heart. The heart’s motivations and drives are evil continually; they are in opposition to God and His glory. Left to follow their own way, apart from God, men and women will always choose evil. It is not just what we do; it is who we are without His direct involvement and transformation of our hearts.
And when the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, the LORD said in his heart, "I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done. Genesis 8:21 ESV
This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. Ecclesiastes 9:3 ESV
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9 ESV
Sin has infected and affected every part of our being. But to say that is to say nothing more than the historic Protestant doctrine of Total Depravity. To say that man is totally depraved is not to say that he is as bad as he can be. It means that sin has affected every part of his being—his mind, his emotions, his will, his intellect, his moral reasoning, his decision making, his words, and his deeds. No part of man's being is exempt from the debilitating effects of sin.
Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. James 1:13-15 ESV
Because the heart is evil, man desires evil things. Romans 3 gives us a picture of man, and it is not very pretty.
… as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one." "Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive." "The venom of asps is under their lips." "Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known." Romans 3:10-17 ESV
This teaching on the sinfulness of man is something you will only find in the Word of God. You won't be taught this outside the Scripture.
So, what can we do about all this evil? Can we do anything? First and foremost, we must share the gospel. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16 ESV
The announcement that Yeshua is Lord is the power of God that brings deliverance.
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV
The gospel is the greatest power we have. We need to share it, understanding that even the people that we view as the most evil can be saved. We see this power in the conversion of Paul who went from Christian killer to passionate preacher.
So, share the gospel like you believe it is powerful and can change lives. Secondly, live righteously. Be an image bearer of our Lord.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21 ESV
Being overcome by evil in this context means giving in to the temptation to pay back evil for evil. When people do wrong, they expect to receive evil from those they have wronged. When they receive kindness instead, they see our Lord. We overcome evil by living righteously, by imitating our Lord.
So, share the gospel like you believe it is powerful and can change lives. Secondly, live righteously. Thirdly, get involved. Pray for our country and our leaders. And get involved in our culture. This is where dispensationalism has hurt the church and the culture. Their slogan "Why polish brass on a sinking ship," often keeps believers from being involved in the culture and making a difference. Many have pulled out of everything and are sitting around waiting for the rapture.
Believers, our ship is not sinking. We are citizens of the kingdom of God and we are called to influence our culture. We need Christians in every area of life such as teachers, mechanics, doctors, and lawyers. You can get on your school board, the city council, or on other positions of government. Christians must get involved in all areas of society if we are to have an effect on it.
Notice what Yahweh said to the exiles who had been taken captive to Babylon.
"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. Jeremiah 29:4-7 ESV
I like the way the Christian Standard Bible puts verse 7.
Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive." Jeremiah 29:7 CSB
Pray for your city, get involved in your city. When those in leadership are good and honest, we thrive.
When the wicked come to power, people hide, but when they are destroyed, the righteous flourish. Proverbs 28:28 CSB
Pray for Christians to get involved in all areas of society. One of the things that I’m praying for is the destruction of the wicked who are in power so that the righteous will flourish.