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God’s Game of Thrones


HighBeamMinistry.com

When Game of Thrones came out, I didn’t give it much consideration even though it was a cultural phenomenon. It wasn’t until it hit its last season that I decided to see what it was all about.


I started with Season 1, Episode 1.


And I stopped.


I was hoping for a good fantasy story about competing kingdoms and dragons, but the raunchy adult nature of the first episode moved me along.


Plus, I’ve lived in Minne-snow-ta for 59 years. The whole “Winter is Coming!” thing doesn’t phase me. Gimme a Snow Beast© 45 in. Commercial 420 cc, Electric Start, 2-Stage Gas Snow Blower with Headlight, Bonus Drift Cutters, and Clean-Out Tool, and I can take down anything a winter enemy brings!


But then I thought, “Why watch Game of Thrones when God has His own Game of Thrones?”


Surprised?


Here’s how it goes.


In the beginning, God created everything. That makes Him King. Within that everything He created, God created our world (Genesis 1:1). Our world was originally a vast, untamed world. How do we know that? Follow me on this.


According to Genesis 2, God formed humanity (Genesis 2:7), placed him in a garden (Genesis 2:15), and tasked him (future – “them”) with cultivating and caring for it.


Did you catch that? Cultivating and caring for a garden on the face of the earth. Apparently, Eden was the only cultivated, environmentally stable place on earth at first.


Now flip back to Genesis 1. God makes the Woman from the Man and tasks them with not just cultivating and caring for the garden of Eden, but also ruling the earth and all its inhabitants (Genesis 1:28) as the King’s vice-regents. To creation, they stood as caretakers and kings over the earth as delegated rulers on behalf of the Great King.


Oh! And have babies. Why? Because the Man and Woman’s assignment was to use Eden as a Kingdom FOB (Forward Operating Base) from which to bring the earth outside the borders of Eden under control and then manage the ever-expanding Garden. As their Eden environment expands, the couple would need additional helpers to join them in their divinely-delegated work of bringing the earth into subjection and management.


God’s goal? Edenize the whole world.


So let’s establish the line of dominion (thrones) in Genesis 1-2. God ruled over humanity with humanity ruling over His world as His vice-regents. They carried His mandate to exercise His dominion over the earth.


But now the “game” begins. The vice-regents rejected the Regnant Monarch. However, humanity’s mandate to rule over creation was not revoked any more than the mandate for humanity to reproduce was not revoked to which our billions of current residents can attest.


What did change after humanity threw off God as their Sovereign was a shift of allegiance. They switched allegiance from God to Satan and stupidly came under the Serpent’s (Revelation 12:9) rule. So the question is, “Who rules the earth now?”


Humanity still does. But since they submitted to Satan with their dominion mandate still in effect, Satan is the defacto ruler of the world (Luke 4:6) while humanity exercises dominion. Satan’s dominion is effective only so far as people are under his thumb. So for those of you who are playing at home, the line of dominion is now Satan rules his stooges, humanity, with humanity (God’s rebellious vice-regents) ruling the world.


That’s not to say God doesn’t reign, He still does. It’s impossible for Him to not be the reigning Monarch over His creation. No created thing can take His dominion of creation from the Uncreated One. But He did assign dominion to humanity and now humanity has submitted their God-given dominion to a spiritual Tyrant.


The amazing thing is this: It didn’t take God by surprise. Why? Because it’s hard to conceal things from the One with All-Knowledge and All-Power and Who is Present Everywhere At All Times. So, yeah. God wasn’t surprised. In fact, He had an epic game plan in place from the very beginning (Revelation 13:8).


God’s plan is to rescue humanity, bring us back into His kingdom, and restore us as vice-regents over His creation and under His direct dominion (Revelation 5:10; 20:4, 6; 22:5). God’s Game of Thrones ends with smiting the usurping serpent, Satan (Revelation 12:9; 20:10), who instigated humanity’s rebellion (Genesis 3:1), and then completing the Edenization of the earth. After that, all things get remade (Revelation 21:1).


Until then it’s a battle over thrones.


It’s really not much of a game because the outcome has already been decided and Satan loses. (Then again, nobody said Satan was sane.)


God’s Game of Thrones plan was to bring forth a person who could put an end to sin, erase the Regnant Monarch’s death penalty for sin (rebellion), spiritually recreate and reconnect people to the King and His kingdom, and restore their desire, ability, and willingness to live under His dominion as they completed the Edenization process.


TADA! That person is Jesus.


The game began as the king of darkness, Satan, made his play against the King of Unapproachable Light, God (1 Timothy 6:15-16). With humanity under his dominion, Satan fought to keep them there.


He tried to thwart God’s plan by corrupting humanity to the point of judgment (the Flood, Genesis 7) and by getting God to reject humanity (the tower of Babel, Genesis 11). God just created a line of the human family that He could work with (Abraham, Genesis 12:1-3). But then Satan tried to eliminate that family line through enslavement (Exodus 1:10-11), extermination (Exodus 1:16), attack (Amalekites – Exodus 17:8, et al), exile (Babylon, 2 Kings 25:21), and assimilation under the wicked Greek king Antiochus IV (167 B.C.).


And that’s a big fail.


The future King of this World, Jesus, was born anyway. Even after Jesus’ birth King Herod got into the act and tried to kill Jesus as He was a threat to his throne (Matthew 2:16).


And another big fail.


Satan tried tempting Jesus in a devious attempt to subvert God’s plan (Matthew 4, Luke 4). All three temptations were a way to entice Jesus to submit Himself to Satan’s plan rather than His Father’s plan. All three temptations were a choice between self-will and God’s will. But Jesus didn’t fall for it. Jesus chose wisely.


And another big fail for Satan.


So Satan shifted to the next phase of his Game of Thrones plan – eliminate the Future King via death. Satan instigated a convenient crucifixion based on kingship. For the Jewish leadership, they accused Jesus of claiming to be the Jews’ king and leading an insurrection against the Romans (John 19:12-16). For the Romans, wannabe kings warranted death (Mark 15:18-19, 26).


And so, the vice-regents killed their King.


But it’s really tough to keep a good man down, especially when He’s also God and raised by God’s power.


That was Satan’s biggest fail.


By instigating Jesus’ death, he actually completed God’s plan, sealing his defeat and future demise. “None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8).


Satan has been judged (John 16:11) and will be cast out (John 12:31).


Yup, he’s is defeated, but the Game of Thrones isn’t over yet!


For the last two thousand years, God’s kingdom and Satan’s kingdom through humanity have been at war. God takes captives from the enemy while Satan tries desperately to keep them enslaved. Satan and his subjects try to snuff out God’s kingdom by intimidation, persecution, and death but the King and His subjects march on!



Now, after I’ve laid out all that, think back to the way it began in Genesis.


As a human being, Jesus will exercise dominion over the earth with his co-regents restored to their original vice-regent function.


As God, Jesus will exercise dominion over the human race with justice, mercy, and love.


Satan? He’s a snake and a dragon (Hey, Game of Thrones! We got dragons, too, so there!). He’s going to be cooling his heels in the slammer for the duration (Revelation 20:1-3). Oh, he’ll get one more play for the throne. It won’t end well (Revelation 20:7-10).


Game of Thrones? Who needs to watch it? We’re living it!


Forget winter. Eden is coming.


Pastor Jay Christianson

The Truth Barista, Frothy Thoughts

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