(Another older writing)
Today, it all became clear to me. It wasn’t always that way; for many years I felt caught between two worlds or more accurately between two brothers. I (Marcus) was the second of my fathers’ three sons; born seven years after my brother Phillip and just a year before my brother Andrew. My father is the King of this great land and of course that makes each of us a Prince. The affairs of the kingdom have kept my father away for as long as I can remember and thus much of what I know of him has come through my older brother Phillip.
As the first born and the first heir to the throne, he has access to things within the kingdom that Andrew and I don’t. I’ve never struggled with that knowledge, but it has always been a point of resentment for Andrew. He’s never seemed content with his role in our family or in the kingdom. All through our childhood his discontent grew stronger, along with his resentment of Phillip. I tried to stay out of that conflict, but eventually I was drawn into the middle and forced to choose a side. To understand that choice, I must go back to the beginning.
Andrew and I have always been close; I suppose this is largely due to the small difference in our age and the fact that Princes rarely have the opportunity to interact with other children. Even so, our temperaments seemed to fit well together. Andrew is fierce and impulsive; full of passion, emotion and expression; while I am naturally cautious and thoughtful; more of an observer and slower to speak. Though I am older, I’ve always tended to yield to Andrew, even in the times when I’ve disagreed with him. I guess that I’ve rarely felt passionate enough about my own beliefs to fight with him; and to disagree with Andrew will always mean a fight. We spent almost every waking moment of our childhood together and this forged an unbreakable bond between us, or so I thought.
Phillip is very much a reflection of our father. He is even tempered, wise beyond his years and deliberate in all that he does. He always seemed much older than us and has always been busy with the matters of the kingdom. I can scarcely remember a time when he’s acted like a child, even when he was one. Everything that he says or does seems to be motivated by either, “the kingdom calls” or “it is what father would want”.
Those phrases tend to aggravate Andrew, but I’ve never sensed any pretense in Phillip, so I tend to view them as noble. Phillip was always fair with us, though he could be very firm as well. I know that he was aware of Andrews’ feelings toward him, yet he never acknowledged them or acted in a way that I thought was retaliatory. He didn’t really have to force us to do anything, but often Andrew would complain bitterly whenever he asked anything of us. Though Phillip and I are probably more alike, we’ve rarely spent much time together and thus we haven’t shared the closeness that Andrew and I have.
As we reached early manhood, I sensed Andrew becoming more distant. He would leave the palace and be gone all day. He was rarely willing to speak of where he had been or what he’d been doing. In this time, his resentment for Phillip seemed to grow into hatred. Just the sight of him would cause Andrew to seethe. On occasion I tried to reason with Andrew about this condition, but his anger would normally just turn on me, so I quickly abandoned that effort. As much as I could, I tried to remain neutral, but the day eventually came when that became impossible.
Late one evening, I was lying in my chamber, when I heard the foot steps of many men moving through the passageway. I quickly moved to the door, just in time to see the door of Andrew’s chamber close. I quietly moved down the passageway, intent on learning the source of this commotion, and as I paused at the door, I could hear Andrews’ impassioned voice. He was describing how they were going to overtake and kill “him” and I suddenly realized that the “him” that they were speaking of was Phillip.
I was immediately torn as whether to burst into the chamber, letting them know that their plan was exposed or whether I ought to run to Phillip. After a momentary pause, I chose the latter and quickly went to awaken Phillip. Even coming out of a deep sleep, he seemed immediately coherent and calm. As I excitedly conveyed what I’d heard, he didn’t seem at all worried or even surprised. When I was finished, he told me that he knew that this day would eventually come and then he asked me a disturbing question. He said, “Which side are you going to take”?
I was instantly irritated by the idea that he would expect me to choose between my brothers and after some hesitation, I blurted that out. Phillip calmly agreed that no man should ever have to make such a choice, but went on to say that all of my tomorrows would hinge on that choice tonight. He also reminded me that if Andrew was successful in killing him, that I would be the next in line for the throne, which is something that I’d not yet considered. Phillip genuinely seemed more concerned with what decision I was going to make, than with the fact that Andrew and his accomplices could arrive at any moment.
It felt as though either way I chose to go, one of my brothers surely would be destroyed. I asked Phillip, “how does one make such a choice”, to which Phillip replied, “For me it is simple; what would father have me do”, “but the question you must resolve is whether that will be your standard”? As I sat there in a daze, Phillip eventually broke the silence, thanking me for warning him and assuring me that he would handle Andrew’s uprising. Before I departed from him, he reiterated that no matter what happened, whether I acted or failed to act, I will have made a choice.
As I made my way back, I noticed that all was silent in Andrew’s chamber and I tried to convince myself that it had all been talk; but as I stepped through my own door, a voice emerged from the shadows, “good evening Marcus”. Surprised, I stammered, “Andrew, what are you doing here”? He said, “I’ve come to speak with you brother, where have you been so late in the evening”? I replied, “Well it seems as though we’re all having difficulty with sleep tonight, what is it that you’ve come to speak about”? “We’ve come to discuss the future of the throne”. “We”, I replied; “Yes, I’ve some friends with me”, said Andrew. I could sense their menacing presence in the room as I said, “Since when does a brother need friends to speak to his brother”? To which Andrew replied, “My friends haven’t come for you”.
“Who have they come for” I inquired. “I think you know” responded Andrew. I let out a sigh and said, “Yes I suppose I do; but then what happens”? “Why you’ll become the first heir to the throne of course”, he replied. After a silent moment, I asked, “What if I refuse to be a part of this…brother”. At that moment Andrew stepped out of the shadows, with his sword drawn and moved slowly toward me. Upon reaching me, he raised the tip of his sword to my chest, just poking through the cloth of my shirt and said, “The choice is yours…brother”.
I could barely breathe at the revelation that my own brother was willing to destroy me, but before I could respond, Phillip and a squad of palace guards poured through the door. Before Andrew could fully turn, Phillip had knocked the sword from his hand and had his sword drawn on Andrew, while his accomplices were immediately subdued by the guards. To my surprise, Phillip did not address Andrew, but instead he queried me.
He asked, “So have you decided Marcus”? “Decided what”, I responded weakly. “Which side you choose”, said Phillip? After a moment I asked, “What if I choose Andrews’ side”? “If that is your decision, I will lay down my sword, surrender my claim to the throne and put myself at Andrews’ mercy”. His words were like a kick in my stomach, no matter what I chose it would mean the destruction of one of my brothers. As my mind flooded with thoughts and memories; memories of Andrew and I laughing together as children, thoughts of his sword at my chest; it suddenly became very clear to me and I said the only thing I could think of, “what would father want”?
At those words Andrew screamed in agony and it was finished.
In the time that has passed since that night, I’ve often wrestled with whether I’d made the right decision, but today it was resolved forever in my mind. Today, our Father came home.
This story is a parable about the relationship between our body, soul and spirit. In the story, Andrew represents the body, or more rightly our flesh (i.e. our carnal nature). We naturally feel more connected to the flesh, because we grew up being guided by it and our relationship is much closer than to that of the spirit. Like Andrew, the flesh always wants its way, even to the eternal destruction of the soul. Phillip on the other hand represents our spirit, which is our connection to the spiritual realm and to our Father in heaven. Like Phillip, the spirit is motivated by the things of the kingdom and is edified by doing the Fathers will. As in the story, the spirit is not willing to destroy the soul to gets its own way, but if we are willing to submit (through our spirit) to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, the kingdom rule of our King will be manifest, even in His apparent absence. Marcus represents our soul (i.e. our mind, will and emotions), which is what makes us who we are and lives on for eternity. As in the story, we don’t like to have to choose, but the Bible clearly says that the flesh wars against the spirit and that what is pleasing to the flesh is not pleasing to the spirit; it goes on to say that the flesh needs to be put to death, so that we can partake of a life in the Spirit. While the battle between the flesh and the Spirit may be difficult and confusing today, it won’t be on the day we come face to face with “Our Father”.
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The Way
Posted in Commentaries, tagged admonish, anti-christ, authority, champion, connection, deceive, deception, discern, embodiment, end times, eternal, eternity, evoke, exchange, fix our eyes, focus, genuine, hate, illusion, image, influence, Jesus name, kingdom, life, manifest, Sceva, seen, Spirit, spiritual, substitute, temporal, transform, truth, unseen, warning, way on September 25, 2025| Leave a Comment »
The danger of living in the social media age is that we can gather a following of like-minded folks, spend our days shouting into the echo chamber, and cancel anyone who dares to disagree with us. Devoid of any contrasting perspective, it’s easy to deceive ourselves into believing that our perceptions have become reality. And with the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), we can be sure that our electronic feed will remain full of voices that endorse and reinforce our illusion.
While this type of pattern is unhealthy on many levels, it is most dangerous from a spiritual standpoint. Throughout the scripture we are warned against leaning on our own understanding (Prov.3:5-7), about the deceitfulness of our hearts (Jer.17:9), and of the great deceivers and deceptions that will be visited upon God’s people (Matt.24:24). We are cautioned against focusing on what is seen, as it is perishing (2Cor.4:18). And most importantly, we are told to fix our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Heb.12:2).
I suspect that popular renderings of a singular “Anti-Christ” figure, from our depictions of the End Times, have clouded our understanding of the true spirit of anti-Christ, which manifests in many forms. While we’ve been taught to make bold declarations against such things, I have found that these spirits are not nearly as intimidated by our use of Jesus’ name as we might think. Like the sons of Sceva, the Chief Priest (Acts 19:13-16) or those people Jesus spoke of in Matthew 7:21-23, we can try to evoke His name while having no genuine connection to Him (John 15:5). In such instances, this word carries no spiritual authority.
Ultimately, attacking the authentic, life-giving connection to Christ is the aim of the anti-Christ spirit. It tries to redefine the “work of God” as being something other than believing in the One that He sent (John 6:29). It offers symbols and rituals and formulas and brokers as a substitute for a genuine one on one relationship with the person of God. It offers earthly prosperity and temporal gains as a substitute for genuine spiritual authority.
It encourages us to know ministers by their gifts instead of by their fruit (Matt.7:16). It fills the atmosphere with voices and things to look at, so that we don’t discern the still small voice of God (1Kings 19:11-13) or fix our gaze on the Giver of Life (Heb.12:2). It inspires religious leaders to build an earthly replica of the kingdom, so that the genuine Kingdom does not become manifest.
This spirit does not care that Jesus’ name is plastered all over our buildings, bumper stickers, t-shirts and letter heads, as long as we don’t look anything like Him (Rom.8:29). It does not oppose our gatherings, as long as people aren’t genuinely connecting with the Savior (or each other). It does not resist our endless Bible study, as long as the scripture remains little more than a tool for the rationalization of our own carnal interests (John 5:39-40). It is not against us viewing Jesus as a resource for strength, as long as cultivating an authentic relationship with Him never becomes the goal. In such cases, the inclusion of Jesus’ name actually lends a sense of legitimacy to the whole deception.
Evidence of this spiritual influence would be a people who call themselves “Christians” yet aren’t identifiable by their love and grace for one another (John 13:35); who aren’t concerned about the fact that they nor their leaders look or sound anything like Christ (Rom.8:29), and who are more concerned with current events (i.e., the seen realm) than eternity (i.e., the unseen realm) (2Cor.4:18). They would likely be a people who were known more for their divisions than their unity (Eph.4:4-6).
In the absence of Christ’s Lordship, such a people would be destined to idolize mere men, and likely to crown themselves an earthly king (1Sam.8). And apart from the guidance of Christ’s Spirit, they would be highly susceptible to hollow and deceptive philosophies, which depend on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world (Col.2:8).
It would be difficult to argue that this isn’t a fairly accurate portrait of Western Christianity.
There are so many scriptures that appear to be warnings for individuals who count themselves as believers, or followers, or even disciples. Passages referencing a people who possess a form of godliness but also deny the power thereof (2Tim.3:5), who honor Jesus with their lips, but whose hearts remain far from Him (Matt.15:8), and/or who will exchange God’s thoughts for the rhetoric that fuels their true passion (2Tim.4:3-4). Yet we can convince ourselves that these words don’t really apply to us because we are good and moral people, who hate what is evil and champion the proper value system.
Despite the fact that many Christians would say that we are fast approaching, or perhaps even living amid the “end times”, there seems to be little concern regarding the Lord’s admonishments to the churches in the book of Revelation. If we really believe His return is imminent, we should probably be mindful of what it looks like to forsake our first love for some other passion (Rev.2:1-7) and perhaps be on the lookout for the false prophets who threaten to lead us astray (Rev.2:18-29). We might also want to ponder what might cause Him to view us as “lukewarm” (Rev.3:14-22).
Jesus taught that He is the way, the truth and the life; and that there is no other path to the Father (John 14:6). But the anti-Christ spirit works diligently to separate our concept of these things from the person of Jesus. It invites us to fix our eyes on anything but Him. Unless Christ becomes the embodiment of our truth, we will never walk in the way He’s ordained for us, nor experience the life He died to give us.
Ultimately, God’s ways are much higher than our ways (Isa.55:8-9) and that pattern was so perfectly demonstrated by Christ that at the end of His life He was able to say that, if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father (John 14:9). Through this perfect reflection of the Father’s heart, Jesus became “The Way” for us (John 14:6), and now the only thing that keeps us from walking in that way is “the way that seems right” to us (Prov.14:12) instead.
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