0:00:03.840,0:00:08.916 EARTH IS A BATTLEFIELD[br]with Scott Christiansen 0:00:12.656,0:00:16.656 SCOTT CHRISTIANSEN[br]Author, Planet In Distress 0:00:17.626,0:00:21.332 I'm sitting beside the Sabbath[br]Trail, which is this really cool trail, 0:00:21.332,0:00:25.082 that starts and ends at the Washington[br]Seventh-day Adventist Church, 0:00:25.082,0:00:27.511 in Washington, New Hampshire, 0:00:27.511,0:00:29.745 which is the first[br]Seventh-day Adventist church, 0:00:29.745,0:00:31.669 the oldest Seventh-day Adventist church. 0:00:31.669,0:00:34.737 And this is a trail that[br]winds through the woods 0:00:34.737,0:00:37.936 for about a mile, it's got[br]twenty-two separate stops on it, 0:00:37.936,0:00:43.567 each of which has a part in tracing the[br]Sabbath through the Bible, through the ages. 0:00:43.567,0:00:46.478 If you ever get a chance to[br]visit, I highly recommend it. 0:00:46.478,0:00:50.063 For our purposes, this trail [br]is an ideal spot to continue 0:00:50.063,0:00:53.046 our look at the selfishness paradigm. 0:00:53.046,0:00:56.592 We have to wait to see a pure expression[br]of the loving-kindness paradigm, 0:00:56.592,0:00:59.056 God's paradigm --[br]we won't see that until heaven. 0:00:59.056,0:01:02.319 But today, even though Satan[br]has twisted things around severely, 0:01:02.319,0:01:05.728 God, as master designer of[br]the earth, can still be seen. 0:01:06.578,0:01:09.151 The author Ellen White, in[br]the book Desire of Ages, 0:01:09.151,0:01:11.823 talks about how there's[br]both good and evil in the world, 0:01:11.823,0:01:14.288 and we can see God in nature still. 0:01:14.288,0:01:18.303 Where the only thing that is,[br]or can completely be, evil, 0:01:18.303,0:01:22.351 is the hearts of those humans[br]who decide to be wholly evil. 0:01:22.351,0:01:26.255 And here is what she says[br]on page twenty of her book: 0:01:26.255,0:01:29.264 she says, "Now sin has[br]marred God's perfect work, 0:01:29.264,0:01:30.944 yet that handwriting remains. 0:01:30.944,0:01:34.320 Even now, all created things[br]declare the glory of His excellence. 0:01:34.320,0:01:39.375 There is nothing, save the selfish[br]heart of man, that lives unto itself. 0:01:39.375,0:01:43.055 No bird that cleaves the air, nor[br]animal that moves upon the ground, 0:01:43.055,0:01:46.128 but ministers to some other life. 0:01:46.128,0:01:50.176 There is no leaf of the forest, or lowly[br]blade of grass but has its ministry. 0:01:50.176,0:01:54.079 Every tree and shrub and leaf[br]pours forth that element of life 0:01:54.079,0:01:57.215 without which neither[br]man nor animal could live. 0:01:57.215,0:02:02.773 And man and animal, in turn, minister to[br]the life of the tree and shrub and leaf. 0:02:02.773,0:02:07.600 The flowers breathe fragrance and unfold[br]their beauty in blessing to the world, 0:02:07.600,0:02:11.169 the sun sheds its light to[br]gladden a thousand worlds. 0:02:11.169,0:02:15.137 The ocean, itself the source of[br]all of our springs and fountains, 0:02:15.137,0:02:21.058 receives the streams from[br]every land, but takes to give. 0:02:21.058,0:02:25.058 The mists ascending from its bosom[br]fall in showers to water the earth, 0:02:25.058,0:02:27.810 that it may bring forth and bud." 0:02:27.810,0:02:31.282 So, we can even still see God in His earth. 0:02:31.282,0:02:36.040 And we can see Him, even in the soil,[br]if you'll remember video number one. 0:02:36.040,0:02:39.923 The soil is full of micro-organisms, there[br]are probably literally billions of them 0:02:39.923,0:02:41.276 in a handful. 0:02:41.276,0:02:44.611 And while there is war[br]going on in our soil, 0:02:44.611,0:02:46.706 and war going on at[br]every level all around us, 0:02:46.706,0:02:51.261 so also is there a little cooperation, a[br]little sharing, a little passing of blessings. 0:02:51.261,0:02:55.826 We see a little bit of that[br]paradigm -- God's paradigm. 0:02:55.826,0:02:59.674 We can see bacteria capturing nitrogen from[br]the air to make it available to plants, 0:02:59.674,0:03:03.282 who then provide the bacteria with[br]nutrients, and fungus in the soil, 0:03:03.282,0:03:06.882 the filaments of fungus cycle[br]nutrients and enhance plant life. 0:03:06.882,0:03:10.565 Plants provide food to the[br]fungus; symbiotic relationships. 0:03:10.565,0:03:13.685 So even though the tapestry of[br]creation is tattered and faded, 0:03:13.685,0:03:16.645 we can still catch a glimpse[br]of God's paradigm in it. 0:03:16.645,0:03:20.900 And in catching this glimpse, we can better[br]understand that He wants us to return 0:03:20.900,0:03:25.898 to a much, much better world[br]than the one that we now live in. 0:03:25.898,0:03:29.365 But, for now we're here, in the midst[br]of this war between Christ and Satan, 0:03:29.365,0:03:33.227 this pitched battle, which started in[br]heaven and will soon end, praise the Lord, 0:03:33.227,0:03:34.599 here on Earth. 0:03:34.599,0:03:36.791 And this war has been[br]raging without pause. 0:03:36.791,0:03:39.046 And we're going to look at[br]a couple of the skirmishes 0:03:39.046,0:03:42.575 between these paradigms we've been[br]talking about, as recorded in the Bible. 0:03:42.575,0:03:46.358 We'll start with the temptation of[br]Adam and Eve, in the garden of Eden, 0:03:46.358,0:03:48.375 in Genesis 3:3 and 4. 0:03:48.375,0:03:51.768 Satan cleverly offered to Adam[br]and Eve an alternate paradigm, 0:03:51.768,0:03:53.656 disguised though it was. 0:03:53.656,0:03:57.689 To this first couple, who had[br]everything, he offered more. 0:03:57.689,0:04:00.071 He told them that God was a liar. 0:04:00.071,0:04:03.991 And he told them that by disobeying Him,[br]they would receive the amazing thing 0:04:03.991,0:04:07.008 He was keeping from them, and[br]that they would become like gods, 0:04:07.008,0:04:08.648 knowing good and evil. 0:04:08.648,0:04:12.808 Well, they fell for it. And they were[br]ashamed, they were appalled, 0:04:12.808,0:04:15.110 and they were incredibly[br]sorrowful as a result. 0:04:15.110,0:04:20.536 God then pronounced a broad-ranging[br]curse in Genesis 3:14 through 19. 0:04:20.536,0:04:23.621 But within that curse, is[br]something very, very interesting. 0:04:23.621,0:04:27.401 He put enmity between us and Satan. 0:04:27.401,0:04:31.736 I read this to say in part, that God[br]gave us the ability to resist Satan, 0:04:31.736,0:04:33.528 who had just conquered us. 0:04:33.528,0:04:37.032 Our friend in Maine, Arnet Mathers,[br]who has studied this deeply, 0:04:37.032,0:04:40.185 and he concludes that[br]Satan didn't see that coming. 0:04:40.185,0:04:45.235 That our ability to resist him after he[br]conquered us, was a surprise to him. 0:04:45.235,0:04:49.519 That perspective gives us a sense[br]of just how dynamic this war was, 0:04:49.519,0:04:51.160 and is. 0:04:51.160,0:04:55.936 Next, going to the book of Job, we[br]see Satan claiming that Job serves God 0:04:55.936,0:04:59.845 only through selfishness, and[br]asserting that Job follows God 0:04:59.845,0:05:03.418 only because God has[br]blessed him, and protected him. 0:05:03.418,0:05:10.169 Note that Satan is accusing God of employing[br]the selfishness paradigm to get followers. 0:05:10.169,0:05:11.561 Wow! 0:05:11.561,0:05:15.322 God responds by saying that He[br]will remove His protection from Job. 0:05:15.322,0:05:19.946 And eventually, Satan takes[br]everything from Job except his life. 0:05:19.946,0:05:24.745 But even though Job regrets his[br]being born, he does not curse God. 0:05:24.745,0:05:28.441 Satan and his paradigm[br]were defeated, soundly, 0:05:28.441,0:05:31.162 and God restored to Job what he had lost. 0:05:31.162,0:05:35.468 But the Bible's ultimate hand to hand[br]combat between Christ and Satan, 0:05:35.468,0:05:37.954 the ultimate clash of paradigms? 0:05:37.954,0:05:42.491 That's what we're going to look at in[br]the next and last video in this series. 0:05:42.491,0:05:44.219 It's fascinating. 0:05:44.219,0:05:45.664 Join me.