HOW AMAZON SLAVE ANTS BEST ILLUSTRATE OUR OWN BIRTH… WHEN WE ARE BORN INTO SATAN’S WORLD
In 1965, a British rock group called “The Animals” came out with their big hit: “It’s my life.” Living in Trail, British Columbia at the time, I do remember that this was my rebellious anthem song I used to sing to along with many others in those days. The lyrics went something like this: “It’s my life… Let me do what I want… Don’t tell me.” I think some of you might remember the song. Anyway, all of us have times when we would like to be completely free to do whatever we want. We long to break out of our restricting circumstances. But total freedom or complete independence is never an option for us. The Bible declares that we are servants by nature, even though we might not realize it.
Years ago, I read about some slave-making ants from the Amazon that I think illustrates man’s predicament on earth. Thousands of these ants periodically swarm out of their nest to capture neighboring colonies of weaker ants. After destroying resisting defenders, they carry off cocoons containing the larvae of worker ants. When these “captured children” hatch they assume that they are part of the family and launch into the tasks they were born to do. They never realize that they are forced-labor victims of the enemy. Just as these little creatures (slave ants) are captives from the time of their birth, so are we, when we enter this world at birth enslaved to sin and to Satan. Every one of us at birth is born into Satan’s “world.” We’re like puppets and Satan is pulling the strings. You’re in his world and he is the “god of this world.” Your thinking reflects his thoughts and ideas he puts into your head. You think you are independent, thinking your thoughts, but that is not the case. Its thoughts he puts in your mind. It’s his world and we’re oblivious to what’s happening around us; spiritually. We just go about our daily life not knowing that we’re slaves in bondage to Satan’s sinful world.
We did not know that we were children of God, that our grandparents, Adam and Eve were created by a loving God who wants to have fellowship and a love-relationship with us. We didn’t know that Satan deceived our grandparents and tricked them into disobeying God and then sin entered into the human race nor that Satan took over rulership from Adam and Eve and we are now being held hostage; born into Satan’s world. We are not aware of our sin nature when we’re born into this world. We were not aware of how each and every one of us was born spiritually dead as we come into this world and separated from our Creator. We were not aware of our condition or destination at birth and if we just went about our life from day-to-day and if we did nothing in this world to change or repent of our sins, we’ll be on the same road as Satan and his demonic beings – thrown into the lake of fire. Let me explain: the greatest tragedy of human history took place in the Garden of Eden. Deceived and tricked by Satan, Adam and Eve traded their God-given inheritance for a piece of fruit. Their disobedience (sin) affected every part of Adam and our own triune nature – body, soul, and spirit. In his God-given spirit (Adam) was cut off and separated from God. In his soul he became a rebel, henceforth at war with His Creator. In his body he became subject to sickness, aging, decay, and ultimately physical death. That is why Jesus came down to earth to reveal to man our true sinful nature and His plan to set the captives free. If you let Him, He will free you from your slavery or bondage to sin and your enslavement to Satan when you put your total faith and trust in Him (Christ Jesus). Yes, God came down to earth in the Person of Jesus Christ, laying down His life for us and becoming the atoning sacrifice for our sins and paying the sin death penalty for us that we were not able to pay as we were dead in our transgressions.
Jesus came to tell us what our true condition was when we were born into Satan’s world and who we really are. He came to tell us that we are sinners and in need of salvation. He came to tell us that God loves us, and God is willing to forgive us, and God is willing to heal us from our sinful condition. Jesus came to tell us that God wants to bring us back to that same loving relationship with Him just like He had in the beginning with Adam and Eve. He wants us to know that we can be reconciled to God through faith in His Son Christ Jesus and what He accomplished for us on Calvary’s cross – taking away our sins; past, present, and future, never to be seen again before the eyes of God. It does not matter how intellectual those slave ants, or you and I might be – they could not know where they came from. They just went about doing their business thinking, well that’s life, that’s the way it is. If God did not send down His only begotten Son to reveal Himself to man and man’s deprived condition, we would be in the same boat as those slave ants and no wiser about our predicament when we were born into this world.
We are like pawns in a spiritual war – the conflict of the ages between God and Satan. It is reassuring to know that when we read the last pages of the book of Revelation, we find out that we win, and Satan is destroyed. Therefore, my question to you is: “Whose camp are you in – God’s or Satan’s?” If you know you’re not in God’s camp following Him, then you must be in the enemy’s camp. My next question is: “Why would you want to be on the losing side?” Why would you want to play into the hands of your enemy, Satan; the one who is trying to destroy you by taking away your eternal salvation? In the end he is going to take all unbelievers with him, like sheep to the slaughterhouse. Why would you let him do this to you? Imagine being separated from God; being all alone and consciously tormented night and day for all eternity in a place that was not originally reserved for you, but for God’s adversary Satan and his demons. Think about it seriously, is that really where you want to go? Look, God has given you a free will to choose to either follow Him or to be condemned with Satan and thrown into the lake of fire. The book of Revelation clearly tells us that unbelievers will be judged and “anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
I know that some of you may say, “Oscar, are you not being kind of harsh?” Yes, I am, but that is the reality according to Scripture. Would you prefer that I sugarcoat this message and lie to you and have you ending up in the lake of fire? Would that make you happy? You have to understand that God never forces anyone because if that is your choice, God will abide by it. Also, by procrastinating and not making a decision, it is a “no” decision – rejecting the only one who can save you, Christ Jesus. f this all makes you uncomfortable then maybe it is a good thing because it made me very uncomfortable. I had to swallow my pride as I read the Bible with the Holy Spirit convicting me that I am a sinner, in need of salvation, in need of Christ Jesus. I was born into this world serving Satan, who is the ruler of this world, and I didn’t know it. I was a slave to my sinful nature and did not know it if God’s Holy Spirit hadn’t convicted me of it.
The truth of the matter is that we are all born into this world on that road that leads to spiritual death and destruction until we make that 180° turn of repentance and being reconciled to God through His Son Christ Jesus. If you do nothing or procrastinate, while you’re still alive, to change the direction of the road you’re on your destiny will be sealed as it is with Satan. You will be thrown into the lake of fire and separated from God for all eternity. You have a serious choice to make while you’re still alive. Your decision will go towards determining your final and eternal destination, which will be in one of these two places. Being with a loving God who created you and having an everlasting relationship with Him for all eternity or rejecting Him and being separated from God for all eternity in a place originally reserved for Satan and his followers. You can rationalize this all you want but that is the reality you face according to Scripture.
A Final Comment:
Yes, the Bible teaches that we are all born sinners with sinful, selfish natures when we are born into this world. David says, “Surely, I was sinful at birth…. sinful from the time my mother conceived me (Psalm. 51:5). Here’s a good example: No one has to teach a child to lie; rather, we must go to great lengths to impress upon children the value of telling the truth. Toddlers are naturally selfish, with their innate, although faulty, understanding that everything is “mine.” Sinful behaviour comes naturally for the little ones because they are born sinners – born into Satan’s world.
Oscar Leske F/B – Signs Of Our Times – UnderstandingTheSignsOfOurTimes.com