--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied…" description: "\"“Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of secret society to undermine the devil? Why is He not landing in for..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/c-s-lewis-121_end-of-the-world_why-is-god-landing-in-this-enemy-occupie_1928498.jpg" --- # Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in… ![“Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of secret society to undermine the devil? Why is He not landing in force, invading it? Is it that He is not strong enough? Well, Christians think He is going to land in force; we do not know when. But we can guess why…” quote by C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/c-s-lewis-121_end-of-the-world_why-is-god-landing-in-this-enemy-occupie_1928498.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/c-s-lewis-121_end-of-the-world_why-is-god-landing-in-this-enemy-occupie_1928498.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/c-s-lewis-121_end-of-the-world_why-is-god-landing-in-this-enemy-occupie_1928498.jpg) > ““Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of secret society to undermine the devil? Why is He not landing in force, invading it? Is it that He is not strong enough? Well, Christians think He is going to land in force; we do not know when. But we can guess why He is delaying. He wants to give us the chance of joining His side freely. I do not suppose you and I would have though much of a Frenchman who waited till the Allies were marching into Germany and then announced he was on our side. God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realise what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on to the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else -something it never entered your head to conceive- comes crasing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realised it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.”” [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. God delays direct intervention to let humanity freely choose allegiance, avoiding a forced, catastrophic confrontation. **In simple terms:** God lets us choose before a final, overwhelming judgment. Key Takeaway Choose wisely now, before the inevitable. Themes faith free will apocalypse choice divine timing Mood contemplative pensive hopeful Type theological philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal decision - ethical reflection - religious discourse - theological debate Key Concepts theodicy existential risk spiritual agency Questions to Reflect On - What would you do if you knew the end was imminent? - How does free will shape your moral responsibility? A Different Perspective Some argue that divine hiddenness is necessary for genuine love, not merely a test. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [End of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-the-world/) [Secret society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret-society/) [Strong enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-enough/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) ## Related quotes > [“God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realise what it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/god-will-invade-but-i-wonder-whether-people-who-ask-god-to-interfere/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realise what it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/god-will-invade-but-i-wonder-whether-people-who-ask-god-to-interfere-2/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [When the author walks on the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right...something so beautiful to some of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-the-author-walks-on-the-stage-the-play-is-over-god-is-going-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.' These men without possessions or power, these strangers on Earth, these sinners, these followers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/blessed-are-the-merciful-for-they-shall-obtain-mercy-these-men/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“As long as we insist on being in control, God will not interfere. He will allow us to go our own way, until we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherie-hill/as-long-as-we-insist-on-being-in-control-god-will-not-interfere-he/) [Cherie Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherie-hill/) > [ Let not a god interfere unless where a god's assistance is necessary. \[Adopt extreme measures only in extreme cases.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/let-not-a-god-interfere-unless-where-a-god-s-assistance-is-necessary/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Let the presence of God INVADE you today. It's all about Him...don't get distracted by the stupid things of the enemy. Remember, God wins!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kari-jobe/let-the-presence-of-god-invade-you-today-it-s-all-about-him-don-t-get/) [Kari Jobe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kari-jobe/) > [I want to see the glory of God invade this generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/i-want-to-see-the-glory-of-god-invade-this-generation/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [We have to keep letting go, and slowly and surely the great full life of God will invade us in every part, and men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/we-have-to-keep-letting-go-and-slowly-and-surely-the-great-full-life/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [The Chief Justice's ... main point seemed to be that the references to God in the Pledge of Allegiance aren't really religious and therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-buckner/the-chief-justice-s-main-point-seemed-to-be-that-the-references-to/) [Ed Buckner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-buckner/) > [When it comes to engaging and influencing culture, too many Christians think too highly of political activism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/when-it-comes-to-engaging-and-influencing-culture-too-many-christians/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) > [One of the gifts of the Jewish culture to Christianity is that it has taught Christians to think like Jews, and any modern man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-e-rees/one-of-the-gifts-of-the-jewish-culture-to-christianity-is-that-it-has/) [William E. Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-rees/) > [There are Christians who think there were seven actual days, or that creation was over time. They have answers for dinosaurs and things of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-michaels/there-are-christians-who-think-there-were-seven-actual-days-or-that/) [Shawn Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-michaels/) > [“I am most interested in encouraging Christians to think and read well. Christians, of all people, should reflect the mind of their Maker. Learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-sire/i-am-most-interested-in-encouraging-christians-to-think-and-read-well/) [James W. Sire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-w-sire/) > [Christians think a long record of church attendence and Bible reading is equivalent to an advanced degree in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-kendall/christians-think-a-long-record-of-church-attendence-and-bible-reading/) [Graham Kendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-kendall/) ## More by C.S. Lewis > [“At the moment, then, of Man’s victory over Nature, we find the whole human race subjected to some individual men, and those individuals subjected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/at-the-moment-then-of-man-s-victory-over-nature-we-find-the-whole/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Isn’t it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified of the other?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/isn-t-it-absolutely-essential-to-keep-a-fierce-left-and-a-fierce/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“All Hell is smaller than one pebble of your earthly world: but it is smaller than one atom of this world, the Real World.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/all-hell-is-smaller-than-one-pebble-of-your-earthly-world-but-it-is/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“the greatest service we can do to education today is to teach fewer subjects. No one has time to do more than a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-greatest-service-we-can-do-to-education-today-is-to-teach-fewer/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“If the Divine call does not make us better, it will make us very much worse. Of all bad men religious bad men are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/if-the-divine-call-does-not-make-us-better-it-will-make-us-very-much/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“The husband is the head of the wife just in so far as he is to her what Christ is to the Church -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-husband-is-the-head-of-the-wife-just-in-so-far-as-he-is-to-her/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“We use a most unfortunate idiom when we say, of a lustful man prowling the streets, that he "wants a woman". Strictly speaking, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/we-use-a-most-unfortunate-idiom-when-we-say-of-a-lustful-man-prowling/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Después de cada fracaso, pedid perdón, levantaos del suelo y volved a intentarlo. Muy a menudo, lo que Dios nos otorga primero no es…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/despu-s-de-cada-fracaso-pedid-perd-n-levantaos-del-suelo-y-volved-a/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Then two wonders happened at the same moment. One was that the voice was suddenly joined by other voices; more voices than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/then-two-wonders-happened-at-the-same-moment-one-was-that-the-voice/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/because-free-will-though-it-makes-evil-possible-is-also-the-only/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Laugh and fear not, creatures. Now that you are no longer dumb and witless, you need not always be grave. For jokes as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/laugh-and-fear-not-creatures-now-that-you-are-no-longer-dumb-and/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“When two humans have lived together for many years it usually happens that each has tones of voice and expressions of face which are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/when-two-humans-have-lived-together-for-many-years-it-usually-happens/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“He sees as well as you do that courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/he-sees-as-well-as-you-do-that-courage-is-not-simply-one-of-the/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“If you do not take the distinction between good and bad very seriously, then it is easy to say that anything you find in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/if-you-do-not-take-the-distinction-between-good-and-bad-very/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“Now the whole offer which Christianity makes is this: that we can, if we let God have His way, come to share in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/now-the-whole-offer-which-christianity-makes-is-this-that-we-can-if/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) [Explore all 1,165 C.S. Lewis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) ## More End of the world quotes > [“Is it necessary to recall that the earth is not infinite, and that our civilization is close to having invaded all of it? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-tarde/is-it-necessary-to-recall-that-the-earth-is-not-infinite-and-that-our/) Gabriel Tarde > [“Will this generation be able to turn things around and learn a valuable lesson from all of this? I hope so, but I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-b-powell/will-this-generation-be-able-to-turn-things-around-and-learn-a/) [Aaron B. Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-b-powell/) > [The end of the world is on people's minds. We have the power to destroy or save ourselves, but the question is what do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/the-end-of-the-world-is-on-people-s-minds-we-have-the-power-to/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [People always wonder when the world is going to end. I believe that the world will end when everyone stops loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichole-fickes/people-always-wonder-when-the-world-is-going-to-end-i-believe-that/) [Nichole Fickes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichole-fickes/) > [End-of-the-world stories tend to ring true. I've always been drawn to them, but as I wrote my own, I found surprising pleasure in creating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/end-of-the-world-stories-tend-to-ring-true-i-ve-always-been-drawn-to/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [The end of the world begins the moment you die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/the-end-of-the-world-begins-the-moment-you-die/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [When I come home from work, if I just played a really good game and I'm on top of the world, I think changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-cousins/when-i-come-home-from-work-if-i-just-played-a-really-good-game-and-i/) [Kirk Cousins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-cousins/) > [When I wrote 'The Good Body,' I turned 40 and suddenly had this stomach. It seemed like the end of the world. Because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/when-i-wrote-the-good-body-i-turned-40-and-suddenly-had-this-stomach/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Funerals and weddings were commonplace, and nothing could have been so interesting to them as the coming of the end of the world ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-eggleston/funerals-and-weddings-were-commonplace-and-nothing-could-have-been-so/) [Edward Eggleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-eggleston/) > [“Even my Buddhist friends have been feeling despair and when they go bad, you know the end is nigh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/even-my-buddhist-friends-have-been-feeling-despair-and-when-they-go/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [Let the end of the world be inside you, then you don't need to fear the end of the world out there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/let-the-end-of-the-world-be-inside-you-then-you-don-t-need-to-fear/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [The planets survival has become so uncertain that any effort, any thought that presupposes an assured future amounts to a mad gamble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/the-planets-survival-has-become-so-uncertain-that-any-effort-any/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Listen, we've drafted guys that wouldn't come in for workouts before. It's not the end of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-ainge/listen-we-ve-drafted-guys-that-wouldn-t-come-in-for-workouts-before/) [Danny Ainge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-ainge/) > [There was one part of my life where I would go out every night. Ha-ha, if I missed going out to the club, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-electra/there-was-one-part-of-my-life-where-i-would-go-out-every-night-ha-ha/) [Carmen Electra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-electra/) > [Oh my gosh, I'd give so much advice to a younger version of myself. I would say it really does get better as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/oh-my-gosh-i-d-give-so-much-advice-to-a-younger-version-of-myself-i/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) [Browse all 976 End of the world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-the-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of secret society to undermine the devil? Why is He not landing in force, invading it? Is it that He is not strong enough? Well, Christians think He is going to land in force; we do not know when. But we can guess why He is delaying. He wants to give us the chance of joining His side freely. I do not suppose you and I would have though much of a Frenchman who waited till the Allies were marching into Germany and then announced he was on our side. God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realise what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on to the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else -something it never entered your head to conceive- comes crasing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realised it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "C.S. Lewis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/why-is-god-landing-in-this-enemy-occupied-world-in-disguise-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "End of the world" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/why-is-god-landing-in-this-enemy-occupied-world-in-disguise-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/c-s-lewis-121_end-of-the-world_why-is-god-landing-in-this-enemy-occupie_1928498.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/c-s-lewis-121_end-of-the-world_why-is-god-landing-in-this-enemy-occupie_1928498.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/580/c-s-lewis-121_end-of-the-world_why-is-god-landing-in-this-enemy-occupie_1928498.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of secret society to…” — C.S. Lewis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "C.S. Lewis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Why is God landing in this...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/why-is-god-landing-in-this-enemy-occupied-world-in-disguise-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/why-is-god-landing-in-this-enemy-occupied-world-in-disguise-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```