The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news! – Mark 1:15

A couple of months ago when God started showing me new things about his kingdom, he gave me a basketball dream. (Sorry in advance if you’re not into sports; I’ll try to make it simple.)

I’m the center (C), the tallest guy on the blue team, guarding the center on the red team, their biggest guy. My job on defence is to stay close to the basket and block shots, but the other center could shoot a 3 pointer, so in the diagram below I have to go out and guard him and leave the basket unprotected.

Their forward (red F) sets a screen on me, so I can’t get over to block the 3 pointer. Their center (red C) hesitates, so his forward yells, “Shoot the 3!”. The center replies “Coach says I’m not allowed to shoot 3s anymore”. Then there’s this awkward pause, as I look at him and he looks at me, and he realizes I now know he’s not a threat from distance.

That means I can play the rest of the game near the hoop, clogging up the lanes and messing up their whole offence. They, however, are stuck with their game plan, as they can’t completely overhaul their scheme in the middle of the game. So we keep playing, but they’re at a significant disadvantage. Their center still has his power, but he’s lost some authority.

The only chance they have to win is to trick me into thinking their center will actually start shooting 3s, so I’ll guard him out at the 3 point line and leave the rim unprotected.

This is our world today. Satan has lost his authority over this world, but he still has power. This puts him at a significant disadvantage, unless we believe his lies.