The Deceptiveness of World News

One day I was watching TV on a Sunday and I came across a TV evangelist and this was about three days after the invasion of Kuwait and of course the feeling in the protestant world was that this particular gentleman from Iraq was of course the beast. If you read some of their writings and of course he was living in the ancient ruin area so to speak of old Babylon and so therefore the Babylon of Revelation 18 and this man was synonymous and a lot of the protestant people operate from that particular point of view. About three days after this invasion of Kuwait this particular evangelist speaks to the audience and he said very simply: "Have you got your rapture clothes ready?" "Have you got your rapture clothes ready?" Well, why? Because his perception of world affairs in the light of his understanding of bible prophecy brought him to the place that he thought any time now because this is the fulfillment of Revelation 17 and 18.

Some years ago during the height of the extreme drought that gripped the Mid-West and the South and a little bit North of there probably the old Missouri basin was the real area that was affected, an evangelist of our church preached a sermon in which he said this is the prophesied drought and we will have famine from this time on. The sermon went on to talk about it step by step by step. The drought broke that fall and we had the next two years above average rainfall and I guess you might say the poor man had egg on his face and his creditability was hurt very, very badly.

Let me give you a title for this sermon this afternoon. I titled it "The Deceptiveness of World News or the Missing Dimension in World Affairs." "The Deceptiveness of World News or the Missing Dimension in World Affairs."

Now God gives us warning from both sides of the pendulum as we strive to understand prophecy so let's begin by turning to Luke 21, Jesus Christ told them the following:

Luke 21: 7 And they asked Him, saying, "Master when shall these things be and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?"

Verse 8: And He said: "Take heed that you be not deceived for many shall come in My name saying ‘I am Christ' and the time draws near, go you not therefore after them."

Verse 9: "But when you shall hear of wars and commotions, (that is instability and tremendous upheavals that will be going on in the world) be not terrified for these things must first come to pass but the end is not by and by." (or the end will not come immediately, that's the meaning of the scripture here.)

So He's telling them that you're going to have to realize that there will be many things going on in the history of the world but He says you've got to be careful because instability will occur in the world that you live in and it looks like it's immediate but the end will not come right away because of the deceptiveness of world news is understood by the fact that things continue to develop over a period of time. Now the other side of that problem is found in I Thessalonians chapter 5. Let's go over there for just a moment because we want to see both ditches for just a moment before we take a look at this particular topic. Paul said:

I Thessalonians 5:1 Of the times and of the seasons brethren, you have no need that I write unto you.

Verse 2: For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night.

Verse 3: For when they shall say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction shall come upon them as travail upon a woman with a child. And they shall not escape.

So we see that there are times that will also be out there that will look very peaceful and people can be lulled asleep; again another aspect of the deceptiveness of world news. So we recognize we need a balance in dealing with world news. Being too specific in certain areas or being overly stimulated in the wrong ways is just as bad as really not being able to perceive and to discern. We found in years gone by as Mr. McCrady pointed out this morning that when world news takes an ominous turn people jump into prophecy, they get out their chronology sheets, their time tables and many times they hurt themselves because they really don't realize that they need to see the whole thing in a proper perspective. Current events tend to portray the end of the age. Current events tend to portray the end of the age but we must always keep these things in the context with the big picture.

Today the sermon I hope will help you understand the meaning of this particular day and how we worked down toward it as members of God's church because the reason I say that is the missing dimension in world affairs. We must learn to factor into our thinking the unseen factors or horses which can simply throw off our calculations. To put it very simply, key point to the sermon today, there is much more than that which meets the eye. There is much more than that which meets the eye.

Let's turn to the book of Revelation chapter 6 for a moment. Let's take a look at a number of statements that are made here because this section of the bible is very important to understanding how everything unfolds and as it roll's out for us in God's church that we need to have an understanding of what is about to occur. When you look at the six or seven seals of Revelation, six, seven and eight, you begin to realize the first four seals really have a lot to do with man doing to other human beings and to himself through sin, through the transgression of the law, through deceptions that will come, the false prophets arising, wars and famine and pestilence and all of those things, we see this as man doing it to himself. It is the proliferation of that that continues to grow; it continues to develop, kind of like a snowball rolling down the hill. Then you come to the fifth seal which is the martyrdom of the saints and the persecution of Israel taking them into captivity and we see this not so much as God's doing but actually Satan using human beings to do this to other human beings.

So we see man having done in the first four seals to himself and to other human beings and then in the fifth seal you see that Satan begins to be loosed and allowed to deal with the problems of Israel and deal with some aspects of the church during this period of time. But what is this sixth seal about? What is this sixth seal about? The sixth seal actually really begins to open up something that perhaps we have not thought about all that much and that is the fact that the sixth seal opens up the whole overall concept of who's in charge of the universe. Who's in charge of this earth? Have you ever noticed this?

Let's go over to verse 12 for just a moment. Let's take a look at this because these particular events, if we analyze prophecy of three and a half years at the time of the end and two and a half of those years have occurred, then we come to what we describe as the introduction to the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord being a concept of one year; two and a half years for tribulation and one year for the Day of the Lord. I think most of your prophecy students understand that, that's what our literature says so let's go to this particular sixth seal. This is going to occur probably about approximately one year before Christ returns. It introduces the Day of the Lord which introduces the fact that there will be seven trumpet plagues and that will introduce the seven last plagues when Christ returns to this earth. So what we're seeing now is the opening up of the reality of what this particular seal will do for us. So he says in verse 12.

Revelation 6:12 When he had opened the sixth seal, behold there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood.

So we begin to see something supernatural occurring in a major way. We're not seeing false prophets, we're not seeing famine and pestilence, we're not seeing earthquakes in diverse places, what we're seeing here is something where the whole atmosphere and the whole heavens are convulsing before all of as us human beings. He says:

Verse 13: And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, even as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.

Verse 14: And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled up and every mountain and island was moved out of its place.

Verse 15: And the kings of the earth, the great men, and the rich men and the chief captains and the mighty men and very bondmen and every free man hid themselves in the dens and in the rock of the caves.

And what did they say?

Verse 16: Hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!

You see, what this does is that one year before the return of Jesus Christ it signals God's intervention, an event that will occur that will shock the world and the heavenly signs reveal more than anything in the rest of the prophecies of the early going, the fact of whose in charge of this earth. Who's in charge of this universe?

Because it says, hide us from the face of Him. Now I don't understand exactly and most of the commentaries really can't tell you for sure what that means but something happens in the heavens and men see something that reveal to them the concept of looking upon the face of Him who sits on the throne upon the wrath of the Lamb. Whether they see something, whether the heavens open and the third heaven is seen to whatever degree, perhaps, I don't know.

But the point is very simple thing and that is men are going to then begin to realize for the first time who runs the show and that's what this day is about. Is it not? The Kingdoms of this world have become the Kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ and He shall rule forever. Is that not the bottom line, the government of God on this earth finally, the reality that God is in charge of every human life? That's the point of this day. It's being introduced here one year before.

Now men plan, they connive, they plot, they manipulate and they work all their plans and their ideas. Let's go over to Psalm chapter two. I think it's a priceless Psalm to look at because this is the way of men. This is over in Psalm the second chapter. Let's read what David has to say about how God looks upon men at this particular time. I would say that this particular scripture has a tremendous meaning for us at this time when men have been working their plan, they've been working their plot, they've been working their ideas, they've been manipulating all kinds of things to control the world and now he says over here.

Psalm 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, (this is just before the millennium, just before Christ returns) and the people imagine a vain thing? (or a tumultuous thing or the kind of thing where they want to control the world or other human beings).

Verse 2: The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His anointed, saying,

Verse 3: Let us break away their bands asunder; cast away their cords from us.

Verse 4: He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; and the Lord shall have them in derision.

Verse 5: Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and vex them in His deep displeasure.

I don't know about you, but I watch human beings always planning and plotting and trying to manipulate to get things to go their particular way. I heard one of the funniest stories last week. I've got to share it with you because here's a story of a gentleman that had plans to do something and it backfired. It's typical of the world we live in. Listen to this:

This is a story of the lawn chair man. It's a true story now; the lawn chair man. Listen to what happens: Larry Walters went to a local Army & Navy surplus store and he purchased forty-five weather balloons and several tanks of helium. He securely strapped the balloons to his sturdy lawn chair and he anchored the chair to the bumper of his jeep and inflated the balloons with the helium.

Now Larry then went ahead and he packed several sandwiches and a six pack of Miller Light and he loaded his pellet gun figuring he could pop a few of the balloons when it was time to descend. Now Larry's plan was to lazily float up to a height of about 30 feet above his backyard. That's what he was planning to do and then shoot a few balloons and then finally come back down. Well, listen to what happened. Things didn't quite work out for Larry.

When he cut the cord anchoring the lawn chair to his jeep, he streaked into the L.A. sky as if shot from a cannon. He didn't level off at 30 feet; he leveled off at 16,000 feet. At that height he couldn't risk shooting any of the balloons so he stayed there drifting, cold and frightened for more than 14 hours; when he found himself in the primary approach of the L.A. airport. Listen to this. This is priceless. A Pan Am jet pilot first spotted Larry and he radioed the tower describing passing a guy in a lawn chair with a gun on his lap. Radar confirmed the existence of this object floating 16,000 feet above the airport. LAX immediately went into emergency procedures. A helicopter was dispatched to investigate. An off-shore breeze began to flow and carry Larry out to sea. Right out on Larry's heels was a rescue helicopter. The helicopter descended to a position several hundred feet above Larry, lowered a rescue line, Larry snagged the line with which he was hauled back to shore and as soon as Larry was hauled to earth he was arrested by waiting members of the L.A.P.D. for violating the LAX air space.

You know, only stop and think about, it, that's funny. I have to tell you I had some people in the office wondering if Richard had gone crazy. I was sitting at my computer, I was laughing so hard, people down the hall were saying: "What's wrong with Pinelli? Has he just gone bananas? You know, one too many problems." But it was so funny to me because it makes you realize that men do this. Men plan and they connive and they plot and you know they don't realize what they're doing to themselves. This is what God says over here in verse 4.

Verse 4: He sits in the heavens and shall laugh.

Isn't it true? You know isn't it true? You can just imagine people shaking their fists at God saying: "Where are you God? You don't exist." Then all of a sudden the heavens scroll opens up and God says: "Here I am." That poor guy just gets so awfully scared to the point that he has some serious problems and I think it's most interesting to realize that this is what we have to realize that man is going to be facing when he comes to that particular period when the heavens are rolled back. The world will finally come to understand who's in charge around here. Who's in charge around here? They used to say God didn't exist. Now all of a sudden they found out that they're just a puny little human being sitting there who's about to be dwelt with and I just imagine when it says they ran for the rocks in the caves to hide them from the face of Him who sits upon the throne. I imagine that is an understatement. I can just imagine how much of an understatement that is.

I'd like you to turn with me would you over to II Kings. I'd like to take you to an example of the fact that you and I understand something that perhaps we need to have renewed in our minds today as we come to the beginning of this fall season. II Kings chapter 6 and verse 13. I think it's priceless because we realize here was Elisha and he had been dealing with the sons of the prophets and now as a result of what he had gone through now we find that the Syrians were coming down to make life miserable for him.

II Kings 6:13 So he said, "Go and spy where he is, (that is where's Elisha?) that I may send and fetch him." It was told him, saying, "Behold he is in Dothan."

Verse 14: Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army and they came by night and surrounded the city.

Verse 15: And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?"

I mean it was Elisha and his servant and here were thousands perhaps of individuals and at least hundreds of individuals with horses and chariots and you know you begin to realize that this is what the world doesn't see. It doesn't understand the missing dimension in world news. It doesn't understand the importance of what we are about to look at, at this particular moment. Here the servant saw and thought the end was eminent. It looked like a city of minutes away from destruction. What we see that's going to happen is a complete reversal of a geopolitical situation, another dimension of reality, the unseen spirit world. So it goes on to say:

Verse 16: So he answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with then."

Verse 17: And Elisha prayed and said, "Lord I pray, open his eyes that he may see." Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Verse 18: So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said,

"Strike this people, I pray, with blindness." And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

You know the course of human events is not just by the visible. The course of human events is not just by the visible. There is an unseen hand behind the scene. The world we live in is not always as it appears to be.

You know if you look in the book of Ephesians for just a moment you'll see in the first chapter of Ephesians that Jesus Christ is the head of the church. It tells us that in verse 22, it says that Christ is the head of the church. But who do you and I see? If you go over to chapter four of the book of Ephesians and you look at verses 11 through 13 you see apostles, you see prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. There's a great mistake is there not, there's a great mistake in only seeing human offices or the servants that are in them attributing solely to human leadership only the human dimension. I think this is one of the problems that I think mankind is simply going to have to come to grips with and that is the fact that this great being that you and I serve while He is unseen, He is in charge.

One particular author made this comment. He said most modern Historians have overlooked one major factor in the rise and fall of nations and empires. In their reconstruction and interpretation of history, the vast majority has rejected the notion that the course of history has been guided and influenced by providential intervention, that God rules the nations; that God rules the nations; that God is in charge of all the things that go on. Yet he said, when the evidence is examined the conclusion that history in its broad outlines is providentially governed is inescapably apparent. Many of the actual makers of history, great statesmen and military leaders at helms of nations and armies have come to that very conclusion. Winston Churchill clearly perceived God's hand in history. In an address before the U.S. Congress, December 26, 1941 when he said: "He must indeed have a blindfold that cannot see some great purpose and design being worked out here below." On another occasion in Britain ten months later the war time leader further expounded his belief in divine intervention observing: "I sometimes have a feeling of interference, I have a feeling sometimes that some guiding hand has interfered."

Benjamin Franklin of course, another man that was known in the early years of the United States in crafting the constitutions and the by-laws and the things that we have before us today made a similar convicting statement speaking to the Constitutional Convention, he said the following: "The longer I live the more convincing the proofs I see that God governs in the affairs of men and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice (in reference of course to Matthew 10:29) is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid." Profound statement isn't it? A profound statement!

Another example that was found by this particular author he made this set of comments. Listen to what he said. Whether or not miraculous circumstances are readily apparent at all crucial turning points in history, the bible repeatedly assures us that God is in complete control of events.

The prophet Daniel says God removes kings and sets up kings. To King Nebuchadnezzar of ancient Babylon, Daniel affirmed the God of heaven has given you a kingdom and power and strength and glory. The seven years of punishment of Nebuchadnezzar was for the purpose that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdoms of men and gives to whomever He will and sets up over the basest of men.

The author went on to say the prophet Isaiah says that God brings princes to nothing. King David said simply that God is the judge and He puts down one and He sets up another.

Going on in the last paragraph of this particular section he said: "It is important to understand that God's intervention in events is not of a capricious play-it-by-ear nature. Millennial goal God who knows the end from the beginning set forth a definite scheme of history as revealed in the ancient prophecies of the bible." He said at certain times it was necessary for God to directly intervene to influence events to conform with the timetable of that overall master plan. In this regard Victor Hugo writing the unusual insight in his description of Napoleon; Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo declared it was time for this vast man to fall. I think those are interesting points.

Why? Because we recognize that this day pictures and that event that occurs at the sixth seal tells us that God is supreme. He is the supreme creator, ruler and sustainer and only men see human forces; only men see human forces, as even with church government that we recognize that God has in His church. You have to look beyond the physical or what the human eye sees in the geopolitical world. I'd like you to turn with me to the book of II Kings if you would. We're going to go to chapters 18 and 19. It's the story of Hezekiah, it's the story of the invasion of Sennacherib in Judah and of course they were out manned, the people of Judah were out manned, outnumbered and no match for the Assyrians. Now let's go to chapter 19 of II Kings to begin the story because I think it applies so directly to what we're talking about here today in the sermon.

II Kings 19:20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz began to prophesy and he said: "Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘That which you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib King of Assyria I have heard.'

Verse 21: This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him: ‘The virgin, daughter of Zion, has despised you, laughed you to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head behind your back!"

Verse 22: "Whom have you reproached and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice, and lifted up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel."

You know David did the same thing with Goliath, he didn't make the battle between him and Goliath; he didn't make the battle between him and Goliath. He said very simply: "You have come against me with a sword and spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts." Now what he did was he put God between him and Goliath. Now it's the same thing that is said here in verse 22: "You have lifted up your voice against the Holy One of Israel." God says, I'm making the battle between you and Me; not between the Jews and the Assyrians but between you and Me. Now that changes the odds real fast and the reality was simply that God was now about to intervene. Let's go to verse 35.

Verse 35: And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when the people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses, all dead.

Now I don't know how that happens. When they arose, I don't know who arose. I don't think the corpses arose. But I guess the children of Judah arose, they saw all hundred and eighty-five thousand people laying dead on the ground. Then Sennacherib took off as fast as he could and of course he was then killed by his sons in the temple back in his own country. The point is very simple. It was not time for Judah to fall; the end was not as soon as some thought.

Now if you stop and you look at some of the other major events that have occurred when you look at the example of the fortified city of Jericho you begin to realize that it was a major fortified city on the coastal area of the Canaanites leading into the promised land and it was powerfully manned and it was controlled by a double wall, just like the city of Babylon. The city of Babylon had such a large wall that seven chariots at one time could run across it, seven chariots wide could run across the wall of Babylon.

Well Jericho was not quite that big but it was such a powerfully manned and controlled area that there was no way that a group of people could walk around a building for seven days and do what they did and then on the seventh day to shout and somehow by their powerful voices rumbled all of the rock and break it apart and let it fall down. The bible shows very simply that when the walls came out, they did come out and spewed them down the hill and it was a powerful, powerful thing that occurred, not by man but by God. The end came swiftly and it came unexpectedly because God was in charge and He was planning for the Israelites to take over the Promised Land. It was part of His plan and that was the way it happened.

In the book of Daniel chapter 5, let's go over there for just a moment. This is Daniel; the fifth chapter for just a moment and take a look at this particular section of the book of Daniel. We won't stay there too long, but we want to look at it for just a moment. We see that what happened here in the book of Daniel chapter 5 that one of the decisive events of antiquity was the fall of the city of Babylon.

Daniel 5:5 In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

Verse 6: Then the king's countenance changed and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees locked against each other.

I think that's a very unique description. I don't know about you, but you know have you ever seen somebody really shaking and quaking? Well that's basically what happened to Belshazzar at this particular time. The bible predicted that God through the man called Cyrus in Isaiah 45 would loose the loins of this particular king and open before him two leave gates and the gates would not be shut. It's a priceless example of how we see Cyrus cleverly diverting the waters of the Euphrates into empty reservoirs and then wading knee deep under the wall of the city through these leave gates and where the river was flowing before it was no longer flowing and God prophesied that these things would occur. It was a great city which had non penetrating walls and now of course they were completely destroyed with very little blood shed and with very little destruction that had to take place because it was done surprisingly. Brethren, people failed to see that there is a spirit world.

People fail to see that there is a spirit world; that God is in charge of His plan and He's carrying it out on this earth. Sometimes we don't always see that. Sometimes we don't always recognize it because sometimes things go along without a lot of problems but we recognize that there are angels as well; His angels help to carry it out.

But we also realize that Satan and his demons are there as well. They have always tried to hinder the plan of God yet believe it or not he has become a pawn. He doesn't know it. I still don't understand it but I do recognize that he has become and they have become pawns in God's hands and in His plan. Now Satan is called the prince of demons; he controls the kingdoms of this world. Jesus said that. When he came to Jesus and tempted Him. He said: "I'll give you all the kingdoms of this world if you'll fall down and worship me." Jesus did not say: "You don't own them." He didn't say that. He recognized that Satan was trying to tempt Him by giving Him power, giving Him an appealing to the supposed ego of a man. But we recognize that he does control the kingdoms of this world. He is involved as an unseen spirit that is working in the overthrow and the changing of the guard in the world that we see. He is the prince of this world, the god of the world, the prince of the power of the air. God has permitted him to have a certain amount of controls. Satan and his demons have worked intimately with the governments of this world. He's a failure and so are many of the government; so are many of the governments.

We're told that he is a thief; he comes to kill and destroy utterly. He's set in opposition against God. He's the power behind many thrones. You can read that for yourself in Revelation chapter 12 in verse 3. I won't take the time to do that today because I think you know some of these things. The Day of Atonement is coming. I'm not preaching on the Day of Atonement, I'm simply showing you that there is a spirit world and God is using that spirit world to do some of His bidding for Him. He seems to manipulate world events and world leaders. Satan is a great illusionist; he's done that for over six thousand years of humankind. The world of evil spirits in our world is well understood in the Middle East. I think there's a gentleman that taught some years ago to Mr. Armstrong and he said the western world has outgrown the wisdom of the Middle East and we believe the devil is at work in the midst of world events. He said Satan is known by a certain name in the Mid East and he has according to them five henchmen or lieutenants who plant the seeds of chaos. So they recognize it; our western world is outgrown that.

I believe that many of our theologians say today that the devil is not a being, he's just kind of, it's an evil aspect of what's going on in the world there. But how can you see a world or world events without this major dimension seemingly playing a major part in running much of the world?

Now you have to understand simply that God and the hand of God Himself is in ultimate control. I think we read just a few minutes ago from that one particular author who said that the Most High God rules and always ultimately determines the destiny of all nations. But He has allowed certain events to run within that particular plan. Let's go over to Psalm 33 for just a moment and see what God says about this. Notice what he says:

Psalm 33:10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.

Verse 11: The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.

Now this is basically what He is doing. He is in charge of the overall plan.

Some years ago I had thought Mr. Armstrong had said that God simply has created; He set things in motion and then He stepped back. I began to realize that he really didn't mean that God simply stepped back and let things run as they were but I began to realize that God had an intimate part in what is going on and how the prophecies and the plan of God is going to be fulfilled and sometimes the devil comes along and tries to make it look like it's going to be going that way and all of a sudden it flips over and it goes the other way. I had to understand why. I had to understand that there is a conflict between superhuman intelligences in the bible. There is a conflict between superhuman intelligences in the bible. Now the bible says simply the wicked spirits are in high places in this particular world. They exercise power in ruling. They're involved in more than just petty things.

I want to take you over to Daniel chapter 10 and you begin to see here in Daniel chapter 10 this particular conflict. God had to use high ranking angels to remove these wicked spirits that were trying to take control and thwart the plan of God. This over in the book of Daniel chapter 10 and let's just read verses 12 and 13. The story has to do with how they were trying to remove one of the kings of the spirit being that was in charge over this particular empire and what happened was that this particular spirit being did not want to go and so he's called the king of Persia and he did not want to go, he wanted to stay. He was forcing God to have to deal with him because God was now going to bring about a new kingdom that was going to come on the scene but he had to remove this spirit being and his power from that particular area of the world. So let's read it:

Daniel 10: 12 Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.

Now Daniel had to wait 21 days. He had to fast, he had to go through a period when it was not working out and it looked like the prince of Persia was not simply going to go.

So it says here, notice what it says:

Verse 13: But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me (Who did he withstand? He withstood another spirit being. He withstood God's angels; he withstood the power that God was trying to develop to move or to overthrow him and these powerful high ranking demons just simply wouldn't move.) 21 days and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me for I had been left along there with the kings of Persia.

So we begin to see as you look at it a very interesting thing unfolding. There is war going on all the time out there and you wonder what's going on. You know you wonder who controls Mr. Saddam Hussein. You wonder who controls some of these leaders in the world. You wonder how they can come to some of the things that they come to; the destruction of the Jews in which he is so bent on and how he tries to gather the entire Arab world to deliver them out of our hands by saying if you attack me you attack the whole Arab world.

I mean some of this is brilliant stuff but the point is, you know, does he have it of and by himself? I think the answer to it is I think you will see that there is a world that is underneath that is trying to destroy and God won't let it happen until or whenever He decides to carry out His prophecy. But the point is that God recognizes that this spirit world is going to be out there trying to thwart even the plan of God as I have said.

So you see this in verses 12 and 13 of Daniel 10 is a conflict between superhuman intelligences and God had to use high ranking angels to remove these wicked spirits in high places.

Now Ezekiel 28, we're going to go there probably on the Day of Atonement aren't we? We see this about the king of Tyre. We see against the city of Tyre and the king of Tyre and it blends into the evil power behind the throne because when you get down to verses 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 you find he's talking about Lucifer. You find he's talking about the spirit being that is actually the one that is behind the throne of the king of Tyre and so we realize it blends into the real evil power behind the throne, the city and the physical man.

Let's go over to I Kings just for a moment, I'd like to show you a scripture there. Notice something that perhaps is not always understood that God uses to get the job done.

I Kings 22:19 Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left."

Verse 20: And the Lord said, "Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?" So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner.

Verse 21: Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said "I will persuade him."

Now let's stop and analyze something here just for a moment. In Revelation 12 there will come a time when the devil will not have place at God's throne. The bible says he's going to be thrown down and he will not have place to be able to go to God's throne. At this time of the writing of this particular scripture both God's angels were there and this spirit world could come up before God. Now God's angels don't lie, you've never seen God's angels lie. This is not an angel of God that's going to lie in this particular case but we recognize that this spirit will do that. The bible does not talk about God's angels as lying spirits; it only talks about Satan's angels. Now here's what happened:

Verse 22: The Lord said to him: "In what way?" So he said: "I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets."

So God permitted this spirit world to do what needed to be done to carry out the destruction of this particular individual, Ahab, to have him fall at Ramoth Gilead and God used this particular spirit world. The conference in heaven and how to influence Ahab to go against the Syrians; God used or permitted that particular spirit to do that. The pagan prophets; the influences that they have upon a battle is not necessarily visible to any of us as God's people but they are there and they do that.

There are historical accounts by the hundreds, by the hundreds that we can go to that simply shows similar accounts of things that happened in a physical world and it looked like it was simply a physical thing but we recognize. I'll give you an example. When Harold Dye in the fateful Battle of Hastings some two thousand years after this particular period that we're talking about here in I Kings, we recognize that he was killed by a shot in the eye by a random arrow. As a result the Norman Conquest was assured when Harold was killed in that particular way and everybody says this was a sheer accident or somebody once said, no it was not it was something that happened by reason of what we see occurring in the spirit world.

We read the history of rulers; we see the occult forces hidden or concealed working behind the scene. We see people deeply immersed in witchcraft and magic and the supernatural and they were used. Listen to this: Gibbons Decline and Fall of Roman Empire, chapter 23; there was an account of Emperor Julian the apostate, 360 A.D. according to what Givens said who hated the Christians and to spite them, he gave the Jews permission to build the temple. According to the account, balls of fire kept coming out of the foundation and making it quite impossible to approach the site. Earthquakes and whirlwinds and other supernatural phenomenon also stopped them. Why? It was not time to build and gather the Jews around the rallying place of the temple. It was not.

Pricus the historian writes something about Attilla the Hun. Listen to this: 452 A.D. this is what Pricus the historian wrote. He said that Attilla attacked Italy and fought up to a bridge on the river Po, just outside of the area of apparently Rome. Pope Leo pleaded with him but with such strength and power of armies, he was no match. Rome's fall was enevitable and then suddenly Attilla backed off. Suddenly he withdrew just as success was within his grasp. Attilla later said he saw something while Leo was speaking. He said: "I saw shining beings standing by his side with flaming swords and menacing death." It was important for European history because Pope Leo came off looking really good. Leo laid the foundation for the temporal power of later Popes.

Pricipipus the historian writes concerning Justinian that some saw the mystical spirit enter his body at night and he said not by human but by some other kind of power Justinian accomplished his evil deeds.

It's been known that Charlemagne had occult advisors. It was known that he had clairvoyant abilities over his foes.

Napoleon had mystical experiences and believed in all kinds of magic soothsay and of course Napoleon's attempt to come back at Waterloo I think was thwarted and I think we begin to realize that individuals knew exactly what was happening. Let me read to you from the same author that I read to you from a little while ago. It said Napoleon's attempted comeback from exile was foiled at Waterloo in 1815 by combined British and Prussian army under the Duke of Wellington and General Given Blucher. Napoleon's defeat however was due in part to a timely pouring rain. So the story goes that the whole thing happened as a result of this particular timely rain and everything that finally occurred from that particular event shows that the man could have won had it not been for the fact that this rain came at a time when it just simply stopped him in the mud.

You know we read that people go to places like India. In 1914 a man went to India to see the power of the Guru's and Swami's and all they could do was say to him: "We can't do anything." They said why? He said: "All our spirits have gone to Europe." 1914 ladies and gentlemen was World War I. Many events happened in World War I and happened in World War II that recorded as miracles and supernatural. You heard about them. It's a part of what we begin to realize that the unseen hand of God is involved in world affairs.

George Washington stated and it was stated about him that men had seventeen clear shots fired at him. His clothing was torn to shreds by gunfire yet he was uninjured. One person aptly put it in history; a great white spirit was protecting him. Interesting isn't it?

The Spanish Armada said that gale force winds shattered them. One man said God blew and they were scattered. What's my point? My point is simple. In these and hundreds of other examples we see the geopolitical equation overturned in one day, in one hour and sometimes in one minute. Factors that you and I can't always discern limit our ability to understand; that's why we have to realize that this day we observe pictures the end of Satan's and man's rule on this earth. It pictures what we talk about in the sixth seal when they're going to begin to realize who's in charge of this earth; whose in charge of this universe. But until that day comes, you and I have to be wise and understanding servants and understand what's going on in the sense of word, the unseen hand in history.

I want to show you one basic principle to leave you with today to make you understand that this is important; that we are perceptive enough. It's found in Luke 21. I'm just going to use one scripture in conclusion of the sermon today. This is found in Luke 21, I think it's a very good one and it tells us we need to understand that God is in charge but also understand that God has a way for us to understand what He is doing. It would have solved our problems in 1969; it would have solved our problems in the 70's, it will solve your problem today if you will simply be cognizance of this one particular principle. It seems that Luke 21 verses 28 through 31 seem to give us a key, it seems to give us a key. So let's look at it:

Luke 21:28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.

Verse 29: And He spoke to them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees.

Verse 30: When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.

Verse 31: So you, likewise, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near."

Two translations put it this way: When you see all these things taken together, when you see all these things taken together, not just one isolated event, when you see the flow of these things and as I call it the snowball rolling down the hill, when you put it all together it simply tells us that when you see all these things taken together and that's what it's saying in verse 31, that's the point that the Greek is trying to get across. So likewise when you see all of these things come to pass, and I'll just add together, know you that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

You know Satan conspires evil. He plots evil against God, his Christ, God's saints; he's always trying to overthrow and thwart the plan of God but within all of that you've seen through the history of this world, you've seen God's mercy. You saw it against ancient Nineveh, it was spared for a time; they bought extra time. God is very merciful when we understand that particular principle. We also realize that the church needs to be ready and will the embryo be sufficiently developed to be born; that of course becomes a major importance to God. The last thing of all; how much work remains yet to be done?

You put all of those things together and you realize the importance of us understanding that in all of our watching, in all of our praying, let us never forget the factor into our thinking the deceptiveness of world news and the missing dimension in world affairs.