“Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ” (Ephesians 5:21)
Okay, enough of the general ways to use (and not use) our Subdue and Rule Mandate as our King designed. Let’s look at the New Covenant teachings from the apostles’ letters to give us specific directions on how to avoid the temptation to Conquer and Dominate others and learn how to subdue and rule our respective worlds shoulder-to-shoulder as members of the Body of Christ.
Don’t worry. I won’t go through every instance where the apostolic writers address this. I’ll leave that up to you to discover as you read through the Bible (which you should be doing anyway, right?). I want to point out some of the most direct teachings we can put into loving practice immediately.
Desires and Division
Everybody wants to rule their world.
It doesn’t take a genius-level observer to see that negative reactions will likely erupt when interpersonal worlds collide. Since Christians don’t cease to be human when they are born again, even Jesus’ followers are not immune to interpersonal conflicts. The apostolic writers addressed the negatives they observed and gave positive guidance to help Jesus’ people work together better.
For example, James confronts the evil fruit of the Conquer and Dominate attitude directly. “What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from your passions that wage war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:1-3, italics author).
James sees clearly that the Conquer and Dominate drive’s core is selfish passions, desires, and lust for pleasures that “wage war within” and scream to be satisfied. Just like pride, our inner urges fuel our desire to take control of situations for our benefit, even if it means harming others.
Paul also understands the negative aspects of our dominion drive that lead to interpersonal strife. He says of those who teach false doctrine and disagree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and whose teaching promotes ungodliness, “He is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slander, evil suspicions, and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain” (1 Timothy 6:4-5). For Paul, a massive problem in Timothy’s congregation came from arguments over the Torah and doctrine (1 Timothy 1:3-4). This problem isn’t limited to Paul’s congregations or era. Many of us have war wounds from other believers who have staked their claim to their doctrinal domain and defended it at all costs.
Sometimes, as in the Corinthian congregation’s case, the dominion-driven dispute is personality-based, and it descends into division, “For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by members of Chloe’s people, that there is rivalry among you. What I am saying is this: One of you says, ‘I belong to Paul,’ or ‘I belong to Apollos,’ or ‘I belong to Cephas,’ or ‘I belong to Christ’” (1 Corinthians 1:11-12). Sadly, even after he addressed the problem, Paul feared nothing would change, “For I fear that perhaps when I come I will not find you to be what I want, and you may not find me to be what you want. Perhaps there will be quarreling, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambitions, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder” (2 Corinthians 12:20).
To restore corporate unity and cooperation, Paul directs his congregations to do away with the negative responses (Ephesians 4:31; Colossians 3:8) and work together to “carry one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2) and “work for the good of all” (Galatians 6:10). They are to “be patient with everyone” (1 Thessalonians 5:14) and “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2).
The difference between the two interpersonal approaches is evident. The negative side, which reflects the Conquer and Dominate approach, is self-focused and self-gratifying. In contrast, the godly Subdue and Rule approach is God-focused, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31) and other-focused, “Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. Each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up” (Romans 15:1-2).
The selfless and cooperative approach to community life reflects how our King originally designed us to function as His dominion-wielding viceregents.
Avoid Conquer and Dominate People
However, when living in a Conquer and Dominate world, working with others bent on having their way is nearly impossible. According to Paul, it’s best to avoid such people, “Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching that you learned. Avoid them, because such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites” (Romans 16:17-18a). See? There’s that selfish desire-based Conquer and Dominate drive in action. Paul also advises us to “avoid foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law, because they are unprofitable and worthless. Reject a divisive person after a first and second warning” (Titus 3:9-10).
Do we still need to love fellow Christians whose approach is to Conquer and Dominate others? Yes. Does that mean we need to put up with their abuse? No, and that’s the strength of a Christian community that understands how to subdue and rule “in-house.”
When fellow believers assert themselves over others by imposing their viewpoints and opinions to the detriment of their fellow believers or congregation, the community must rally to affirm proper boundaries for behavior. Foolish debates, quarrels, and disputes that create obstacles and divisions don’t work to build love and unity in the body and should not be tolerated. Suppose the Conquer and Dominate-driven person doesn’t realize their bad behavior. In that case, there comes a time when a separation must be made, whether we avoid that person as Paul advises or the person causing disruption is marginalized while the leadership counsels them.
Husbands and Wives
In Genesis 3:16, God prophesied to Adam and Eve after their Fall that the marital relationship would be a breeding ground for children and conflict. As Genesis 1-2 shows us, the husband-wife relationship was never intended to have the man as the governor over the woman. The original ezer kenegdo design was to be a shoulder-to-shoulder team that would cooperate as they worked to take control of God’s world and manage it for Him. Only after the Fall was a top-down hierarchy assigned to provide a framework within which the marital relationship would function.
However, under the New Covenant, the return to Eden has begun, first in our hearts and our relationship with God and secondly in our relationships with each other. It follows that the original pattern of side-by-side husband-wife cooperation should also be restored in our marital relationships as well. Not surprisingly, we see this reflected in the New Covenant apostolic writings.
The Christian community has often been accused of being misogynistic via the so-called subjugation of women, particularly in marital relationships. Critics attack Paul’s writings as chauvinistic when they read, “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything” (Ephesians. 5:22-24, italics author). Really? Are wives to submit to their husbands in everything? “Outrageous and unacceptable,” screams the radical feminist.
Because of the offense created by the word submit (such an offense is a manifestation of the Conquer and Dominate drive, as in “No one is going to use me for a doormat!”), the critic misses a critical point that precedes the “offensive” phrase. Paul tells the Ephesians, “submitting to one another in the fear of Christ” (Ephesians 5:21, italics author). Paul speaks to the entire Ephesian congregation, men and women, husbands and wives.
Only after giving the general rule, “submit to one another,” does Paul move to the more specific instruction, “wives submit to your husbands.” The second phrase does not negate or limit his preceding directive, and “Submit to one another” sets the parameters for what follows. Therefore, mutual submission is the guiding principle for the congregation in general. The marital relationship specifically pointed back to how husbands and wives were created as co-equal as it was initially. Under the general directive, the wife is to submit to the husband, and the husband is to submit to the wife.
But where does Paul say in this section that husbands must submit to their wives? Verse 25 says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.” A woman with a loving husband need never fear submitting her will to her loving husband in any situation, for godly love is always “other-focused.” When a husband is “other-focused” on his wife, the husband will naturally take her thoughts, feelings, and will into account. Mutual submission out of love creates the original intent of ezer kenego, a helpmate to equal to her mate to fulfill God’s commission.
Furthermore, if we take Jesus’ relationship with His people as the model for the marital relationship, that also speaks volumes. Does Jesus force us to submit to Him? Does He dominate us, refuse to listen to us, and treat us as doormats? Absolutely not! Instead, out of His love for us, He humbled Himself to serve us and submit to death for our sakes (Philippians 2:8; Matthew 20:28). Because Jesus submitted Himself to His Father and proved His love for us, we can freely submit to Him without fear of exploitation (a form of Conquer and Dominate).
When a husband loves his wife to this degree, both spouses are safe to willingly submit to one another within the roles God has given (imagers and shapers) to carry out their subdue and rule work as equals per God’s design.
Parents and Children
For a vibrant display of the Subdue and Rule/Conquer and Dominate clash of domains, one needs only observe how parents and children interact as a family grows.
To unpack this, I’m going to modify what I wrote earlier about hierarchies and how they’re a manifestation of Conquer and Dominate. In the beginning, there was no hierarchy of Adam “over” Eve. God created all human beings to function as co-equal viceregents over His creation to bring His world under control and manage it. Only after the Fall did God create the hierarchy of Adam “over” Eve as a safeguard for her protection and a form of governance within the marriage. Since only Adam and Eve existed then, we can debate whether the new “chain of command” applied only to the marital relationship or all men to all women. However, human history was shown that the Adam over Eve arrangement has resulted in a constant battle of the sexes for dominion and control.
Hierarchies are not inherently evil. In a good sense, hierarchies are an organizational necessity that aids cooperation, communication, and mutual support in this present age. But hierarchies become harmful when used by people to “lord over others.” After the Fall, hierarchies (tribal alliances, societies, nations, and kingdoms) formed as more influential and powerful people exerted dominion over weaker people. Sometimes weaker people willingly submit to stronger, more resourced people to gain protection or provision. Thus, hierarchical structures rise.
In this light, hierarchies are simply a form of human organization made morally good or evil, depending on their use. For example, we need a proper hierarchy in the military to establish a chain of command. Without it, a nation’s defenses and offensive power would fall apart in confusion. The same is true within corporations and governmental bodies.
But the problem with hierarchies in our current world system is they often become arenas for a battle of wills, a manifestation of Conquer and Dominate. Nothing shows that more than the hierarchy arena of the parent-child relationship.
Earlier, I asserted hierarchies were not God’s plan at the start. But isn’t there a hierarchy in the parent-over-child relationship? Yes. Wasn’t it God’s plan for Adam and Eve to have children? Yes. But we have no idea how this would have worked out as part of God’s plan because Adam and Eve hadn’t produced any children until after the Fall and getting kicked out of Eden.
So, is the parent-child hierarchical relationship wrong or a manifestation of the drive to Conquer and Dominate? Certainly not. God told Adam and Eve to have children (Genesis 1:28). I assume raising children in Eden would have required the same “cultivate and care/nurture and protect” functions that Adam and Eve were already employing in Eden as part of their Subdue and Rule Mandate (Genesis 2). Therefore, based on how traditional family life is now, we can suppose Adam and Eve’s responsibility was to nurture and protect their children from birth to adulthood. Adult children would then take their place alongside Dad and Mom to continue the Eden expansion project and create even more workers for the task.
Before the Fall, the parent-child relationship would have been a simple hierarchy to serve as a framework for the children’s care and training as future viceregents. However, after the Fall and under the influence of a sinful nature, the family hierarchy easily morphed into a forum for control.
We see the battle of wills clearly as a child grows from total dependence on their parents into a (hopefully) autonomous person, ready to take their place alongside their parents and other adults in society. But as we know all too well, as the child grows, their inbuilt dominion drive develops in tandem with their all-too-stubborn fallen nature wills. Therefore, a child’s will must be shaped along with their dominion drive to make exercising dominion beneficial rather than destructive.
At first, a child’s only pattern of God is their parent (or adults who serve as their parents). The father/mother team reflects God’s image to the child in its masculine and feminine aspects, and as imagers of God, the parent’s job is to teach and train God’s up-and-coming viceregent to take his or her place in God’s kingdom. This educational process requires an introduction to the King and how to build a relationship with Him. Why? The child needs to learn to be like God (His character) and live according to God’s will to be a legitimate and effective viceregent.
The child-rearing process is a dominion activity on the parental level as the parents shape the child’s character and will while accommodating their child’s growing autonomy. As any parent will admit, this is a daunting task because of the child’s increasing desire for control over themselves and their world as their basic human urges demand to be satisfied.
Parenting becomes a battle of wills where at first, the parent’s will is primary, and the child’s will takes a backseat. As time passes and maturity builds, the goal is for direct parental control over the child (subdue and rule) to diminish as their child develops more self-control, bringing their will under control and maintaining it within God’s moral boundaries.
Biblically speaking, the parents serve in God’s stead, placing God’s moral guardrails around the child as controls against ungodly behavior until the child matures to the point of knowing God and obeying Him directly. That is, if everything works perfectly, which it never does.
At times the process is not easy, nor is it pretty, when Conquer and Dominate takes over.
While we try to teach our child how to cooperate with us, our wonderful child’s desire for autonomy (self-rule), powered by their nuclear reactor of selfish desires, kicks in, and the battle is on. The questions then become, “Who will Subdue and Rule whom, and whose will be done?” When the battle breaches the walls of God’s standards, the cry becomes, “I will Conquer and Dominate! My will be done!”
At this point, the parent’s over-arching authority and power move into action, and the Board of Education should be appropriately applied to the Seat of Knowledge. However, should the parent lose self-control during discipline, what should have been an education in self-control becomes a moment of undue pain and humiliation, teaching the child more about unrighteous Conquer and Dominate than righteous Subdue and Rule.
Yes, this gets rather tricky.
It all comes down to God’s third command in Eden, “Do it My way.” The responsibility falls to us parents to properly exercise dominion over our children as we train our children proper dominion over themselves as they learn to live within the boundaries of God’s way. The goal is to raise new viceregents for our King who will take their places alongside us as we work together to see God’s kingdom expanded.
This topic is very complicated with many applications, and thankfully there is much wisdom in God’s Word about raising children. The Apostolic writings address the parent-child relationship and its relation to the Subdue and Rule Mandate.
As for parents, they are to manage their household well, especially as a qualification for leadership (1 Timothy 3:4-5, 3:12; Titus 1:6). Parents are to teach their children self-control (1 Timothy 4:4), a baseline requirement for exercising dominion properly.
As for fathers, they are not to be Conquer and Dominate tyrants. Paul writes, “Fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children” (Ephesians 6:4), and “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they won’t become discouraged” (Colossians 3:21). Rather, they are to “bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). Understanding the difference between exercising godly dominion with love and ungodly domination through force is a foundational principle for parenting.
As children grow, their responsibilities increase as the parent’s control lessens. Paul reminds the children of his messianic congregations, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, because this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land” (Ephesians 6:1-3) and “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord” (Colossians 3:20).
Godly parenting aims to produce the Lord’s next generation of imagers and shapers who will take their place alongside the previous generation to be God’s kingdom on earth through their personal lives.
Employers and Employees
Another area of conflict caused by the ungodly Conquer and Dominate drive is employer-employee relations. The best-case scenario is for the employer and employees to work together toward the business’s success and the mutual benefit of all involved. Sadly, that doesn’t always work out.
For example, an employer may unfairly adjust wages and benefits to improve their company’s bottom line, which can create serious financial difficulties in their employees’ lives. Employers can adjust work hours to maximize production at their employees’ expense, wreaking havoc on family schedules and contributing to family strife.
On the other hand, employees may feel “cheated” by workload demands or insufficient compensation, so justifications are made for theft of time (late arrival, early departure), theft of supplies, poor performance, bad-mouthing employers, managers, etc.
What’s most egregious is if the employer and employee are both followers of Jesus and treat each other poorly, not mindful of their heavenly Master. When employer-employee domains collide, significant damage can be done from a one-on-one microscale to a multi-national strike causing international financial upheaval. What’s needed is for employers and employees to use their God-given dominion drive to shape their work domains cooperatively according to their respective roles and responsibilities.
While Paul uses the terms “slaves” and “masters,” his writings have much to say if we think of them in an employer-employee light.
For employers, they can start with Jesus’ teaching on position, greatness, and not “lording over,” and add in Paul’s directive “(employers), treat your (employees) the same way (with an eye toward God and a good attitude), without threatening them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him” (Ephesians 6:9).
For employees, God desires that they “obey your human employers with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as you would Christ. Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will from your heart. Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to people, knowing that whatever good each one does…he will receive this back from the Lord” (Ephesians 6:5-8).
Employees are also to “regard their (employers) as worthy of all respect, so that God’s name and His teaching will not be blasphemed. Let those who have believing (employers) not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but serve them even better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved” (1 Timothy 6:1-2). They are instructed to “submit to their (employers) in everything, and to be well-pleasing, not talking back or stealing, but demonstrating utter faithfulness, so that they may adorn the teaching of God our Savior in everything” (Titus 2:9).
And finally, Peter weighs in with “submit to your (employer) with all reverence not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel” (1 Peter 2:18). There are times when Jesus’ follower finds themselves in the employ of a less than an ideal employer. However, it is essential to understand that the employee works within the business owner’s domain and is subject to the “laws” within that employer’s workplace dominion. Within the framework of the biblical guidelines for godly subdue and rule, it’s wrong for an employee to willingly enter into a working relationship only to start infringing on the employer’s prerogatives, encroaching upon their workplace rules, or usurping their authority.
As with parents and children, employer-employee relations involve a “domain within a domain” structure that can be terribly difficult or powerfully productive depending on how each party conducts itself according to the mutual Subdue and Rule submission model or the Conquer and Dominate approach.
Elders and Their Congregations
The New Covenant Subdue and Rule instructions should most apply to Jesus’ community or believers. Within His community, numerous personal “dominions” interact, and the guidelines for interpersonal, parenting, and employer-employee relationships apply beautifully to help individuals cooperate as they go about God’s work. Even so, there are specific instructions regarding leaders that help minimize conflicts within the local congregation when domains collide.
First, since Jesus called himself the good Shepherd (John 10:11) and church leadership is likened to shepherding (Acts 20:28), leaders are under-shepherds with a function among, not a position over the sheep. Their function is to lead, feed, care for, and protect the sheep within their God-given domain (a small group, congregation, or larger assembly). Their area of leadership is not “their” domain, nor are the sheep “their” sheep. As with the original commission, the shepherds are given God-delegated authority, power, and responsibility to oversee a specific part of God’s domain.
Again, there are no positions within God’s kingdom to be sought after (that’s the post-Fall, Conquer and Dominate hierarchy paradigm), but simply functions to be carried out side by side within the body of Messiah. As we’ve seen with Adam and Eve’s example, leadership was intended to work horizontally in a cooperative organizational function. And even if there’s any chain of command hierarchy in Jesus’ congregations, leadership should serve up, not rule down. If any “position” is to be regarded at all, it is to be under the community, supporting the people, not over the community, exploiting them.
Paul writes that aspiring to a leadership function is noble (1 Timothy 3:1), but it requires proven character and abilities demonstrated in one’s personal and family life (1 Timothy 3:2-5; 3:8-12). Paul calls on his communities to recognize those who “labor among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you,” serving them as leaders (1 Thessalonians 5:12).
Leadership is a function of responsibility within God’s domain. As such, followers within a local part of that domain are instructed to “Obey your leaders and submit to them, since they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account, so that they can do this with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 3:17, italics author). Likewise, leaders are encouraged to “Shepherd God’s flock among you, not overseeing out of compulsion but willingly, as God would have you; not out of greed for money but eagerly; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:1-3, italics author).
Jesus’ leaders are to exercise dominion among Jesus’ people as He would. The language used to describe the wrong ways to lead is the same language describing the Conquer and Dominate mindset, i.e., lording over. Since God is in the process of restoring Eden’s original pattern, starting within His people and extending to the local faith community, then the idea of how leadership and congregation should work together should not be in any sense hierarchical but a one-level, horizontal community under the One Head, Jesus (Colossians 1:18).
Government
The reality of this present age is Jesus’ disciples exercise Subdue and Rule dominion in a Conquer and Dominate world. Because our dominion drive has been twisted in the Fall, humanity has continually grouped and regrouped according to the whims and machinations of the human pursuit of self-gratification, power, influence, and pride, which are essentially the sins of enjoying (lust of the flesh), obtaining (lust of the eyes), and achieving (the pride of life).
Because humanity threw off God’s government and yet hungered for order and basic needs met, human governmental structures were adopted to replace God to control, protect, organize, and provide for people, among other dominion functions. Ideally, governments are intended for the public good. However, the hardness of humanity’s hearts and sinful nature sadly often leads governments into repression, oppression, and despotism to Conquer (take as much control as possible) and Dominate (maintain control at all costs).
For example, the manufactured divine right of kings “in European history, (is) a political doctrine in defense of monarchical absolutism, which asserted that kings derived their authority from God and could not, therefore, be held accountable for their actions by any earthly authority such as a parliament” (britannica.com/topic/divine-right-of-kings). In short, this political doctrine used the excuse of God’s supposed endorsement for a monarch to lock down absolute power over his subjects. The idea of dynastic rule that God has ordained a particular family to rule is closely associated with the divine right of kings claim.
Viewed through a cold, cynical eye, politics, with its various manifestations, is often just a struggle for domination over other people. When battles for dominion intensify beyond national borders, wars break out and continue until the winners defeat the strength of the losing side and assert the victors’ will over the vanquished.
The United States Founding Fathers recognized humanity’s appetite for domination. When they set up the political structure of the newly independent United States, they created a Constitution which divided political powers and provided checks and balances to prevent tyranny or “absolute despotism” (Declaration of Independence).
So what do the apostolic writers say regarding Jesus’ disciples living within a secular dominion? Paul and Peter give clear instructions. Paul tells his congregation in Rome, “Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God” (Romans 13:1). He recognized God as the source of all authority to rule on earth. God can raise and remove leaders at will, as demonstrated throughout Israel’s history as a theocratic monarchy and secular nations’ history as recorded in the book of Daniel (Daniel 2:20-21, 5:30).
Because of this divine source of earthly authority, Paul declares that those who oppose God’s established authorities oppose God. As a caveat, that presupposes the earthly authority doesn’t oppose God. Assuming Paul’s regard for a “good” authority, believers are to conduct their lives in compliance with the governing authorities as they live within the government’s domain. They are to cooperate with godly authority, to do right, and pay civil obligations whether taxes, tolls, respect, or honor (Roman 13:7). Paul gives a similar direction to Titus (Titus 31:1). The priority for the believer within society and under human authority is “…that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity” (1 Timothy 2:1). This is no doubt led by Paul’s understanding of such scriptures as “A king’s heart is like channeled water in the Lord’s hand: He directs it wherever he chooses” (Proverbs 21:1).
Peter echoes Paul in his encouragement to “Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves. Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:13-17, italics author). According to Peter and Paul, God’s people are to learn how to control their lives and extend God’s influence within the parameters of a societal domain.
Summary
Let’s step back and take a broad look at the Subdue and Rule Mandate and how it arcs across the Bible’s pages. We saw when and for what purpose it was given to humanity in Genesis 1-2 and how it was twisted and redirected against others in the Fall (Genesis 3).
From Genesis 4 to Malachi 4, we see it coursing through humanity and how human beings, specifically through Israel’s story, were driven by their sinful nature to grasp control wherever their influence and personal domains reached, even when it harmed and even destroyed others.
In the Gospels, we see Jesus as His Father’s perfect viceregent. By His complete submission to His Father and total dedication to His will, Jesus became our model and the prototype of what humanity will become in the restoration of all things.
In the apostolic writings, the authors’ directives to Jesus’ New Covenant followers often reveal the proper attitude needed to exercise dominion in our lives without violating personal boundaries and stepping on others in our quest to bring order to our world and retain it.
However, on the road to the restoration of all things, one final great and terrible event stands in the way – the End Times. That’s our next stop in our journey through the scriptures. You may already know a lot about the End Times and Super Antichrist Boogey Man (hat tip to Dr. Dave Nichols, my favorite Bible college professor). But you’ll begin to see that the End Times is all about the Subdue and Rule Mandate and what it morphs into when it’s empowered and directed by Satan – Conquer and Dominate on steroids.
Who will be the human being who will entirely control the earth, its creatures, and humanity?
Sources:
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Divine right of kings, Britannica.com/topic/divine-right-of-kings
Declaration of Independence, archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
Pastor Jay Christianson
The Truth Barista, Frothy Thoughts
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