SATAN IN THE LAST DAYS

Demons. Satan. Evil. These themes are increasingly appearing in songs, music videos, and movies. What does it mean and why does it matter? Christian Post reporter Ian Giatti breaks it all down on this week’s episode of “The Inside Story.”

“The thing is, the devil doesn’t show up with horns and pitchforks, but actually masquerades as an angel of light, something beautiful, glorious even,” Giatti wrote in a recent review of rapper Doja Cat’s new music video in which she dons a demonic persona. He cited 2 Corinthians 11:14, which reads, “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”

The Inside Story” takes you behind the headlines of the biggest faith, culture, and political headlines of the week. In 15 minutes or less, Christian Post staff reporters and editors will help you navigate and understand what’s driving each story, the issues at play — and why it all matters.

https://player.edifi.app/embed/index.html#/episodes/Are-Generational-Curses-Biblical-Demons-Evil-and-‘The-Secrets-to-Generational-Curses’/6119286

Fortunately, God has told us in His Word that in the last days before Jesus returns to bring righteous rule to the Earth, Satan understands his time is short. In the near future, he will be cast down to earth and indwell the Antichrist. Biblical prophecy reveals God will give the Antichrist, 3 1/2 years to rule planet Earth but during that time God will also pour out His wrath upon the Earth for the last one year and ten days (same time as God poured out His wrath with the worldwide flood of Noah’s day). What follows is Jesus’ Millennial reign on this Earth with the glorified Saints. Satan is bound in the Abyss but at the end of the 1000 years, he is released and is still able to raise an army like the sand of the sea to come against Jesus and the Saints.

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,Revelation 20:7-9

What follows is revealed in the following Scripture. This earth and heaven are destroyed.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.Revelation 20:11-12

THE FEAR OF THE LORD

Concerning The Fear of the Lord, God has spoken to the Timothy 2 Team (www.Timothy2.org) in this way: “The Fear of the Lord has all but left My Church. It must return if the ‘Church’ is to stand. It must return if the ‘Church’ is to make a difference. I am about to judge My ‘Church’, and the first thing that will be judged is the lack of The Fear of the Lord!”

The Dictionary says: “Fear: Awe or reverence for God, to have reverential regard for, as to fear the Lord.”
The Bible says:
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil….” Proverbs 8:13
“…by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.” Proverbs 16:6The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech, I hate. Proverbs 8:13He that walks in his uprightness fears the Lord: but he that is perverse in his ways despises him.” Proverbs 14:2Be not wise in your own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.” Proverbs 3:7And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” Job 28:28

Each of us must ask ourselves this question: Do I really hate evil; have I really departed from evil, or is there a compromise in my own life? Have I allowed the values of the world to become my values? When I discover evil in my own life, do I confront it and get rid of it, or do I make excuses for it? Do I encourage purity and The Fear of the Lord in the lives of those for whom I am responsible to teach and disciple? These are very serious questions. We cannot be in bed with evil and claim to fear the Lord.

The Lord has commanded in Leviticus 19:2You shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.” But the only way that we can live an untainted life in a world filled with darkness is by walking in the Fear of the Lord. It is “The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord” that produces holy and righteous living in us. Also, it is through the Fear of the Lord that we gain access to an intimate relationship with God: Psalms 24:3-4 Who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart…Matthew 5:8Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Deuteronomy 10:12-13

You shall not fear other gods, but you shall fear the Lord your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” 2 Kings 17:39

The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. Psalms 19:8-9

What tremendous blessings are in store for those who choose to walk in the Fear of the Lord!

And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.Isaiah 11:2-3

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.John 16:13

Note the six attributes of the Spirit of the Lord (Holy Spirit) given by Isaiah: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, and the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. The seventh attribute is given by Jesus in the N.T., the Spirit of truth. When the Bible speaks of the Seven Spirits of God it is referring to these seven attributes.

God the Holy Spirit is also known as “The Seven Spirits of God”. (Revelation 1:4, 5) Since there is only ‘one’ Holy Spirit, God shows us that the “Seven Spirits” are actually seven ‘Attributes’ of the Holy Spirit.

When we are born again Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the third person of the Trinity to indwell our spirit which was God’s plan from the beginning: Proverbs 20:27 says: “The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord,“, Our spirit is the lamp of the Lord which requires oil, the Holy Spirit, to function properly. When Adam and Eve rebelled against God, the Holy Spirit departed their spirits immediately so they died spiritually and then died physically some nine hundred years later.

As we have just covered, the primary attribute of the Holy Spirit is Fear of the Lord. Now that the Holy Spirit has been restored to our spirit as our Counsellor, Teacher and Comforter, all seven attributes of the Holy Spirit are available to us.

“The Seven Spirits of God” are made available to us through the ‘Fullness’ of the Holy Spirit. This is not to be confused with the ‘Charisma Gifts’ or the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’. Rather it is walking in the ‘Fullness’ of “The Seven Spirits of God”.

EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE WHO FEARED THE LORD

ABRAHAM: “He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now, I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” Genesis 22:12

HEBREW MIDWIVES OF MOSES TIME
Read Exodus 1:15-21 for the full story.
But the midwives feared God, and did not as the King of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.Exodus 1:17

ISRAEL
And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.” Exodus 14:31

And he [Saul] took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.1 Samuel 11:7, see 1 Samuel 11:1-7

THE EARLY CHURCH

And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.” Acts 2:43
Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied. Acts 9:31

BLESSINGS FOR THOSE THAT FEAR THE LORD

Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! Psalms 34:9 The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,” Psalms 25:14For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.” Psalms 103:11
The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.” Psalms 147:11
Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy.Psalms 33:18
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.” Psalms 103:13
And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.” Luke 1:50O fear the Lord, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.” Psalms 34:9
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.Psalms 145:19
Surely his salvation is near to them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.” Psalms 85:9
The fear of the Lord leads to life: and he that has it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.Proverbs 19:23
The angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear him, and delivers them.” Psalms 34:7
You that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield.Psalms 115:11
In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” Proverbs 14:26-27
The fear of the Lord prolongs days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.” Proverbs 10:27
By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.Proverbs 22:4
Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.” Proverbs 15:16
Oh, how great is your goodness, which you have laid up for them that fear you; which you have wrought for them that trust in you before the sons of men!” Psalms 31:19
Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord; that walks in his ways. For you shall eat the labour of your hands: happy shall you be, and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of your house: your children like olive plants round your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that fears the Lord. The Lord shall bless you out of Zion: and you shall see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Yea, you shall see thy children’s children, and peace be upon Israel.Psalms 128:1-6 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.Proverbs 2:2-5

There are more, many more perhaps I will do another post on the Fear of the Lord.

MAN IS NOT GOOD AND HE CANNOT PERFECT HIMSELF 

Man, apart from God’s grace, is a sinner, not a saint.

To fail to recognize our own inherent corruption and the need for God’s saving grace leads to chaos and lawlessness.

In every generation man’s unconstrained impulse to have faith in his own righteousness and act upon that faith, reemerges. Today we see it in a radical Leftist agenda in America that is fueled by ambiguous intellectual movements which seek not just to find flaws in the American system that might be fixed, but which cry out for the system’s total destruction— to “tear the whole thing down.” Everything that came before must go, not just those ideas or structures that have rightly been judged as cruel or unjust. 

The forces that hold to the unconstrained vision, men and women who reject any need for divine aid or help and who really believe a new revolution can solve the problem, are once again at work. Trade-offs are unacceptable for the advocates of the unconstrained view. Only total solutions are acceptable. Perfection is within society’s grasp if we would only reach out and grab it. However, perfection is a high bar. Thus, any identifiable flaw in the fabric of society must inevitably spur on the next revolution. “Perpetual revolution” (not reformation) is the explicit doctrine of the foot soldier for the unconstrained vision of man.

The problem, of course, with this view is that it consciously rejects what it regards as the most detestable doctrines of the Christian faith: original sin and the desperate need for God’s grace.

The truth is the following three realities:

  1. Man is a sinner, prone to war and wickedness, and mutual slaughter.
  2. Any virtue in man is a gift from God. God the Father’s ultimate gift to mankind is the second person of the Trinity, Jesus, who by His death and resurrection made it possible for the Father to send the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit to indwell every believer who accepts Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
  3. By living in the power of the Holy Spirit we are liberated from the world’s system, even to the point of welcoming our own persecution, which is to God’s glory and the glory of His Church. 

Adapted from article “Trying To Be Good Without God, Or Hoping “We Won’t Get Fooled Again”

 DECEMBER 3, 2021 by Anthony Costello http://www.patheos.com

WITCHCRAFT IS NO LONGER EVIL

Deeply disturbing reality purportedly at center of new Disney film ‘Hocus Pocus 2’

The film has an unexpected twist: Witchcraft is no longer evil. When “Hocus Pocus,” directed by Kenny Ortega, was released in 1993, “satanic panic” had been running wild across the country for more than a decade, as witches and Satanists were blamed for harming young children and corrupting teenagers

Flash-forward 29 years. Satanic panic is ancient history and modern witchcraft has fully emerged from the proverbial broom closet, legally recognized and accepted as a spiritual path and religion. Pentacles appear on gravestones even in veteran’s cemeteries. Prison chaplains host Wiccan circles and Satanists fight openly for religious equality.

Belissa Escobedo as Izzy, left, and Whitney Peak as Becca in Disney’s “Hocus Pocus 2,” exclusively on Disney+. Photo by Matt Kennedy. © 2022 Disney Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved

Occult practices, such as tarot, are now openly practiced by teens from all walks of life and all faiths.

The portrayal of witchcraft and the Sanderson sisters in the new film had to change to meet the times.

Disney’s writers did this by injecting a prototypical “Sabrina” teen witch into the narrative. “You’re a witch,” exclaims Izzy (Belissa Escobedo) to Becca (Whitney Peak), two of the three teenagers who make up the new movie’s new coven and learn to combine their girl power to fight evil magic. The writers add crystals, herbs and moon pendants, all available at the local metaphysical store. The teens banish a curse with counterclockwise movements and use salt as a means of protection. 

In the new film, witchcraft is just a tool that can be used as its practitioners see fit. “Power is meant to be shared,” Izzy says. 

Director Anne Fletcher (“The Proposal”) includes a glimpse of the 1993 Marshall scene as tribute to the original, but Satan is no longer the source of the witches’ magic — nature is. The forest, where the teens’ rituals are held, is called sacred and, as shown in a flashback to the witches’ childhood in old Salem, the spell book they use is given to them by another woodland witch, not the devil. 

This is just more evidence we are in the prophesied “last days” prior to Jesus return. As I have mentioned many times on this website there were 300 plus prophecies of Jesus first coming to earth as given in Isaiah 53.

But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.Isaiah 53:5-6

But there are 2000 prophecies about Jesus second coming to earth so we cannot say Jesus has not warned us beforehand.

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short… For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.Matthew 24:21-22, 24-25

DAVID’S PRAYER WAS ALSO AN AMAZING PROPHECY

Thank goodness we have the Psalms: how helpful they are in our Christian walk, they explore the full range of human experience in a very personal and practical way. However, one psalm, Psalm 22 stands out because Jesus quotes verse 1 as His last words from the Cross. Why did Jesus take us to this psalm? It is obvious when we read the rest of the psalm, the psalm is a prophecy of what Jesus was experiencing on The Cross at the time He spoke it.

David had no understanding God was using Him to deliver a prophecy that provides incredible detail about what Jesus would experience on The Cross one thousand years later. David was obviously going through a terrible time in his life to have expressed the words he did in this prayer but consider that God gave David the words to pray so that His prayer could be used by Jesus to prove He is who He said He was, the promised Redeemer of not only Israel but the World.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.
Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you, they trusted and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet— I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots..
. ” Psalms 22:1-8

Note how Psalm 22 ends, David understood that regardless of whether God answered his prayer, God is still in control of His universe and this scripture will come to pass:

As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to Me, and every tongue will give praise to God.Romans 14:11

Moreover, it reveals that King Jesus will rule over the nations from Jerusalem in His soon coming Millennial Kingdom.

I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation, I will praise you: You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him but has heard when he cried to him. From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations. Psalms 22:22-28

They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:4-6

A lot of bad theology inevitably surfaces when we face suffering. When people lose their faith because of suffering, it suggests a weak or nominal faith that didn’t account for or prepare them for evil and suffering. Any faith not based on the truth needs to be lost—the sooner, the better.

Suffering and evil exert a force that either pushes us away from God or pulls us toward Him. But if personal suffering gives sufficient evidence that God doesn’t exist, then surely I shouldn’t wait until suffer to conclude He’s a myth. If my suffering would one day justify denying God, then I should deny Him now in light of other people’s suffering.

Believing that God exists is not the same as trusting the God who exists. A nominal Christian often discovers in suffering that his faith has been in his church, family, career, or social network, but not Christ. As he faces evil and suffering, he may find his beliefs shaken or even destroyed. But genuine faith—trusting God even when we don’t understand—will be made stronger and purer.

The last three paras have been excerpted from Randy Alcorn’s book “90 Days of God’s Goodness”.

IN WHOM DO YOU TRUST AND FOR WHAT?

I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.For He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings, you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday ... Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place – the Most High, who is my refuge – no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.Psalms 91:1-6, 9-11

Now, this magnificent poem does not necessarily mean that the faithful – those who dwell “in the shelter of the Most High”– will not get the pestilence or suffer the other afflictions mentioned. 

Satan used this Psalm in his temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:5-7), trying to get him to invoke its promise that angels “will bear you up” by throwing himself off from the pinnacle of the Temple.  But such an interpretation, Jesus points out, would be to put God to the test, violating Deuteronomy 6:16.

But those who trust God as their refuge will be delivered from the evil of the pestilence and from fear of it.

Look at these promises of God to David. They are yours if you hold fast to God in love.

Because He holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect Him because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life, I will satisfy him and show him my salvation
.” Psalms 91:14-16

SIN WILL BE PUNISHED BY GOD

Humanity’s primary problem is sin, and without repentance, forgiveness, and faith in Christ, sin will be punished. When is the last time this was taught in our churches and to our youths? When is the last time, Christian parent, that you have taught such things to your kids? When is the last time we taught them that we will all stand before the Lord on judgment day to give an account for the things we have done in the body, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10)?

Is it any wonder, then, that a generation of young people apparently feel no remorse, no conviction, no guilt for stealing, destroying small businesses, and injuring other human beings? There is no fear of God before their eyes, and our churches bear some guilt in not teaching this paramount truth. 

Rioters burn American flags during a Black Lives Matter protest at Columbus Circle in New York City on July 4. (Photo: Pablo Monsalve/VIEWpress/Getty Images)

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh… if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatian 5:18-21

Social justice matters to God, and so does personal holiness, as this passage teaches. The “you” is addressed to the Christ-followers in Galatia. We are preaching the wrong message, then, if we think that because God loves us unconditionally, He will never punish us if we continue to do wrong and live in a sinful way.

Let’s conclude with Paul’s words, “Shall we continue to sin because we are not under the law but under grace? May it never be so!Romans 6:1-2a. In other words, paraphrasing Paul, “You’re out of mind if you think this way!” Little could Paul imagine that this way of thinking would actually be turning into the norm for westernized Christians in the 21st century!

When human sin has a tendency to be played down in the name of God’s surpassing grace and so-called “unconditional love,” this passage helps set the record straight.

Ask the Lord to help you tell the truth in love but remember all of us a called to complete the Great Commission, especially now with Jesus’ return imminent. All the signs Jesus gave us that would precede His return are playing out now, particularly the increased persecution of Christians and the falling away (apostasy in the churches).

ORIGIN OF EVIL/SIN

The Bible reveals the origin of evil was before the creation of man. The story begins with the dysfunction of a mighty and beautiful angelic being referred to in the Latin translation as Lucifer (Morning Star). Also more commonly known as Satan or the Devil. Other names, Abaddon (destroying angel), Revelation 9:11, Apollyon (destroyer), Revelation 9:11, Accuser of the brethren Revelation 12:10, Adversary (opponent), 1Peter 5:8, Angel of light (messenger of light), 2Corinthians 11:14, Antichrist (possessed by Satan), 1John 4:3, Beelzebub (ruler of the devils), Luke 11:15, Dragon, Revelation 12:7, Father of Lies, John 8:44, God of this world (god of this age), 2Corinthians 4:3 – 4, Great fiery red dragon (serpent), Revelation 12:3, Man of sin (man of offense), 2Thessalonians 2:3, Liar (a falsifier), John 8:44, Power of darkness (power of obscurity), Colossians 1:13.

You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created, they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire, you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade, you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. Ezekiel 28:12-17a

We are told Satan and the angels that followed him (1/3 of the angels) are eventually (God’s appointed time) cast into the Lake of Fire. As are unbelievers after the White Throne Judgement.

How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground,
you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.
Isaiah 14:12-15

I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade, you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.Ezekiel 28:17b-19

The Bible, in eight of its chapters, records seven fascinating and distinct times Satan the devil has spoken. We learn a great deal about man’s greatest enemy right from his own mouth! The first instance the Bible records of the devil speaking is, of course, his tempting of Eve in the Garden of Eden. His subtle deceptions foreshadow the craftiness he will later display in his effort to get Jesus to sin.

Adam and Eve cast out of the Garden of Eden

Now the serpent (the devil) was more cunning than any creature of the field which the LORD God had made. And he (through an animal who could speak) said to the woman (Eve), “Is it true that God has said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?'” And the serpent (the devil) said to the woman (Eve), “In dying, you shall not surely die! For God knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like God, deciding good and evil” (Genesis 3:1 – 5)

The devil’s perverted thinking and rebellious spirit spread to the human race by enticing the first humans to think as he does. The apostle Paul wrote about how disobedience and suffering entered the world when he stated, “Therefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and by means of sin came death; and in this way, death passed into all mankind” (Romans 5:12).

God, as the all-powerful Creator, has a right to determine what is right or wrong (good or evil) for the entire universe. He told Adam (Genesis 2:16 – 17) and Eve (Genesis 3:1 – 3) that it was good to eat from the trees in Eden with the exception of just one tree and the consequences of eating from that tree was death. (Genesis 2:17). Adam and Eve’s test was whether they would believe what God had said or reject His instruction and sin by believing Satan, the Deceiver. We are suffering the consequences of their decision.

Thankfully, God knew beforehand the outcome and He already had a plan to redeem mankind from the curse of evil. It is 2020 years since Jesus our Redeemer came and from Biblical prophecy, we know His return to rule and reign for 1000 years is not too distant. During Jesus Millennial reign Satan is bound but when released is still able to deceive a multitude to mount an army to come against Jesus and the Saints.

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him so that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be released for a little while.” Revelation 20:1-3

And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20:7-10

HIGH COST OF DEPARTING FROM GOD’S COMMANDS

Oral sex is causing an oral cancer epidemic in men by outwitting natural defences

Five years ago, when actor Michael Douglas candidly revealed that his throat cancer was linked to having oral sex, two things happened.

He made headlines that mortified his family. And he helped publicize the fact that a pervasive, sexually transmitted virus called HPV was unleashing an epidemic of oral cancer among men.

Since then, scientists have made headway in figuring out why HPV, the human papillomavirus, has this glaring gender bias. Men are four times more likely than women to be diagnosed with oral cancer, a hard-to-detect, hard-to-treat disease that has overtaken cervical cancer as the most common HPV-related malignancy in the United States.

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To be sure, changes in sexual norms over the last few generations have played a role in this alarming trend. But research increasingly shows the real problem is something men have practically no control over: their immune response.

“Likewise also the men , leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.” Romans 1:27

 

END TIMES SIGN – ECONOMIC COLLAPSE

A “LAST DAYS” PROPHETIC EVENT IS UPON US AS ECONOMISTS REALISE THE WORLD’S DEBT IS BEYOND RECOVERY. THE WORLD HAS NEVER BEEN AS INDEBTED AS IT IS RIGHT NOW.

 

In the month of October, 2017 alone, the US national debt has soared by nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars.

The government of the largest, most important economy in the world is completely, woefully bankrupt. And its rate of decline is accelerating.

You’d think this would be on the front page of every major newspaper in the world. But it’s not. It’s shrugged off as par for the course, as if accumulating historic levels of debt is somehow consequence-free. And this complacency is what I find the MOST bizarre. Consider the following: the US government spends nearly the ENTIRETY of its tax revenue on Social Security, Medicare, and Interest on the Debt. Throw in national defence spending and the budget deficit is already hundreds of billions of dollars.

The only realistic way out is for the US government to eventually capitulate… and default. 

This could mean selectively defaulting on holders of US debt (for example– the Chinese, Japanese, Federal Reserve, Social Security Trust Fund, etc.);  one day Uncle Sam simply stops paying.

Or it could mean defaulting on promises made to citizens, like providing a strong national defense, maintaining a stable currency, or paying out Social Security benefits as advertised.

Each of these scenarios has its own particular consequences, ranging from steep inflation to a full-blown global financial crisis.

Bottom line, there is no possible rosy scenario here for the USA and Europe is in a worse debt crisis.  As the global economy is interrelated, if major trading blocks like the Eurozone or countries like the US or China go into recession, it’s likely to affect economic growth around the world.

Sadly, as Jesus prophesied  in the last days there would be a great falling away in the church, even the elect being deceived. This is most evident in the denominational church which is compromising with the world on issues such as gay marriage, homosexual leaders in the church, evolution and billions of years.

Make sure you are in a Bible believing church that understands we are in the “last days” and is equipping the Saints to bring in the harvest. As the world gets darker our light will shine brighter. Our joy and hope in the Lord will be evident and the power of God on display with healing and miracles following. Live eternal NOW.