The Antichrist as Anti-Revelation, Part 2

Last week we talked about the Antichrist and how the Antichrist might come to power and the great deceptions that are coming upon the earth. We continue today with that. One of the things that I did this past week had to do with looking at the Internet with regard to some of the things that are being said. Back in the 1950s, going back in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, somewhere around 1982 or 1983, Wanda and I went to Liberty College at that time.

They were celebrating going to Liberty University. We had received an invitation from various schools in the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges to attend this celebration of Liberty College at that time, becoming a university. Of course, Liberty was founded and headed by Jerry Falwell until he died. Now his son, Jonathan, has taken over and decided to go. Because we were as early as 1980 and even before that back into the 70s, we were well on our way.

But because of certain political things that we shall not discuss today, which is really not germane to the sermon, but I'm just telling this story to illustrate one point. So we decided to go. There were many dignitaries there that day. Senator John Warner from Virginia gave the keynote address, and then Falwell himself spoke a very moving speech in which he quoted from the book of Esther, who knows whether you've come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Now many of those who had attended dressed in their academic regalia and marched in and out, but I did not choose to do that.

So they had marched out, and Wanda and I trailed along behind and walked down this long hall, and after a little while, we looked up and there was Jerry Falwell right in our face. And he spoke and said something, and we said, well, we're from Ambassador College. He said, oh, Herbert Armstrong. He said, you people have had, and Mr. Armstrong has made a great contribution to the field of prophecy.

And we chatted a little bit, and that was that. If we, at that time, of course it was beginning to change even then, we had what would be called sort of a corner on the market with regard to prophecy, versus long before the Internet. I did three searches. One I titled, The Pope as False Prophet. The Pope as False Prophet. I got 1,870,000 hits in 30 seconds. 1,870,000 hits. Pope as False Prophet. Is New Pope Francis the False Prophet? You too. Pope, False Prophet. Be second, Be's New World Order. Is the next Pope False Prophet? Who is the second? Be's prophesied over in the Book of Revelation.

The Pope or the United States. Is Jesuit Pope Francis the Antichrist or the False Prophet? That's the first three or four hits. 1,870,000. The next one I did, The Pope as the Beast. I got 9,900,000 hits in 24 seconds. 9,900,000. Almost 10 million. Then I did, The Revived Roman Empire as the Beast. I got 1,280,000 hits in 30 seconds. So basically, all of the evangelicals and fundamentalists and religious people and others, the question comes with regard to this statement. Jesus Christ made in Matthew 24, verse 24, if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived.

And more insight into how this might be. There are so many forces that are moving, and of course, Satan is the God of this present evil world, as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4, that if the gospel is being hid, it's being hidden from those who are being lost. Satan is the God of this world. He says, by the God of this world. Then I looked at alien movies. You can go to Wikipedia, and they have a list. They must have somewhere between a 50 and 100 listed there. Then I saw this one says, 30 must-see alien movies.

Let's face it. Extraterrestrials are scary. Most of the following films don't typically portray our Galaxian brothers and sisters as cute, ET-like creatures. Often they're evil, bloodsucking, and anxious to steal our beautiful earth men and women. As Men in Black 3 invades theaters, here are 30 great invasion films.

Don't call it entertainment. Call it survival research for when aliens attack. So many things are out there. How many articles, programs, movies, so-called scientific evidence are there of life outside of Earth? Last week we covered the fact that every day and every way Satan and his minions can conceive. They're trying to deceive the peoples into believing that there is superior intelligence in the universe and that we somehow are the offspring of this superior intelligence, that there is no great creator God. Satan's goal is to deceive the peoples of the world into believing that the Bible is not true, that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is not the true God, and that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God.

I don't think that someone is going to pose as an alien to be the Antichrist or whatever. It would be some human being is what I believe, but the deception will be so great that Jesus Christ makes that statement. We'll be hearing more and more about space exploration. We'll be seeing more and more movies depicting alien life beyond planet Earth. This week, Soviet astronaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space.

She spoke during a press conference in Star City outside Moscow on June 7, just yesterday. Tereshkova, the first woman to go in space, says that she's ready to soar and ready to score another coup and fly to Mars, even if it would be only a one-way trip. Russia's Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to go into space, said on Friday she was ready to fly to Mars. Mars is my favorite planet, the 76-year-old said at a news conference in Zethnitsky, Kora Dok, which English translation is Star City outside Moscow, home to a cosmonaut training center. She became a national heroine at the tender age of 26 when she made a solo spaceflight in 1963.

She'd been part of the group who studied the possibility of going to the Red Planet. But we know the human limits, and for us, this remains a dream. Most likely, the first flight will be one-way, but I'm ready, she said. Under the call sign Chaka Segal, Tereshkova, during her three-day mission, circled the Earth 48 times, her flight becoming a major propaganda coup for the Soviet Union.

It was on the heels of this Kennedy who got things cranked up for the U.S.'s moon mission. In 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to go into space.

We see from the following passages that we're about to read that this one will exalt himself above all that is called God. So we turn to Revelation 13, and after we read these passages and a few more of the review of basically what we said last week, we'll continue on. In Revelation 13, verse 4, And they worshiped the dragon, that old dragon, that old serpent, Satan the devil. So this is Satan. They worship Satan. His insatiable quest to be worshipped will eventually be realized.

They worshiped the dragon, Satan, which gave power unto the beast. There are three in this unholy triad, Satan, the beast, and the false prophet.

Which gave power unto the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great and blasphemies, great things and blasphemies. Power was given unto him to continue three and a half years. He opened his mouth and blasphemed against God to blaspheme his name in his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

He's saying that he is above all gods, and it was given unto him to make war with the saints, to overcome them. Power was given unto him over all kindreds and tongues and nations.

Now in Daniel 7.25, Daniel 7.25, Daniel 7 is very similar to Revelation 13 in a lot of ways. And Daniel 8 is very similar in a lot of ways to Revelation 13. In Daniel 7.25, Daniel 7.25, he shall speak great words against the Most High, the little horn. He shall wear out the saints of the Most High, think to change times and laws, and they shall be given into his hands, that is, the saints, until a time and time, three and a half years, and the dividing of time. Now in Daniel 11.36, Daniel 11.36, And the king shall do according to his will, he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished, for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god, for he shall magnify himself above all. The God of his fathers, that idiom there in Hebrew generally refers to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The desire of women, we talked about. A lot of women desire the Jews are still looking for a Messiah, as we will note later. The Jews are still looking for a Messiah. They're not looking for the Son of God because they are strict monotheists. Nor regard any god, for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate, in his dwelling place, in his domain, where he does business, shall he honor the God of forces, and a God whom his fathers knew not, shall he honor with gold, silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. Now, this God of his fathers, the early church fathers, and we would need another sermon to go into this, into depth, I did some study on this way back years ago in graduate school with regard to Irenaeus. Irenaeus was one of the early church fathers. Irenaeus was taught by Polycarp, and Polycarp was taught by the Apostle John.

A lot of the early church fathers thought that the Antichrist would be Jewish as far as, in an ethnic sense, but most of the scholars today would say that he will be a Gentile. Thus shall he do in his most strongholds with a strange God, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory, he shall cause him to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. Of course, the two-state solution might figure into that. We read that article where Carey says that within the next couple of weeks, the fate of the Middle East will be decided for years. If we're not able to bring this about, you cannot expect any kind of peace in the Middle East. And we also know from the Revelation 11 that it will be divided. That is Jerusalem. It's already divided to some degree, east and west, with the Arabs controlling, or the Palestinians controlling, the eastern part of Jerusalem, and that's where the holy sites and the Temple Mount are located.

The Jews are saying, Jerusalem, undivided, eternal, capital of the Jews. The Palestinians are saying, we must have a part of Jerusalem as our capital. And Jerusalem is viewed by the Islamic world as the third most holy site on the face of the earth behind Mecca and Medina.

Satan and his minions will fight against the returning Christ and the saints. We go once again here to Revelation 12, where the vials of wrath are being poured out. The vials of wrath are being poured out. The seventh trumpet is divided into the seven vials of wrath. And in Revelation 16, those vials of wrath are described. In Revelation 16, verse 10, The fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast, and his kingdom was full of darkness. And they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven, because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds. And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. It says in Daniel 11, verses 44 and 45, that news out of the north and out of the east shall trouble him, and he shall go and conquer many, and plant his tabernacles between the two seas.

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and this is the devil, Satan, out of the mouth of the beast, out of the mouth of the false prophet. So they're still in league at the very end, just before the battle, what is commonly called Armageddon, which is a misnomer. Armageddon is a place where the armies gather.

The actual battle is the battle of the great day of God Almighty, as we shall see. They are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and to the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. So that's the gathering place. The battle is the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Why is that so? Because at that battle, the forces of Satan, beast, and false prophet will fight against Christ and the returning saints. So perhaps the great deception here is that Satan and the scientific world and Hollywood and everybody else that jumps on the wagon will deceive the world into believing. There is an invasion coming from outer space, so we have to be prepared. Yes, there is. Jesus Christ is going to return. If you turn there to Revelation 19. Revelation 19.

In Revelation 19, verse 5, A voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you, his servants, and you that fear him, both small and great. And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, the voice of mighty thundering, Hallelujah! For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. That is the wedding garment that we must have on to be accepted at this wedding ceremony. And he that doesn't out have a wedding garment on, as you read one of the parables in Matthew, will not be permitted to participate. And he said unto me, Right, blessed are they which are called, under the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, These are the true sayings of God. And I fell at his feet to worship, and he said unto me, See ye do it not, I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren, that have the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus is his word, the record that he gave.

Worship God for the testimony of Jesus. The record, the word, the witness that he gave, is the spirit of prophecy.

And I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he does judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and his head were many crowns, and a name written that no man knew but he himself, and he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. So you have the John 1-1 connection, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, showing existence and eternity.

The verb was, in the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, relationship, the Word was God, identity, and his name is called the Word of God, and the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses clothed in fine linen, white and clean, and out of his mouth goes a sharp two-edged sword that it should smite the nations. That two-edged sword is the Word of God. Hebrews 4-12. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, he treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he had on his vesture and on his thighs a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun, and cried with a loud voice, saying, To all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together, under the supper of the great God, and this is popularly called Armageddon, but correctly called the Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty. Tying in with Revelation 16, 12, 13, 14. That you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together, gathered together at Armageddon, to make war against him that sat on the horse and against his army.

And the beast was taken with and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them, that had received the mark of the beast, and then worshipped the image. And these both were cast alive into a lake of fire, burning with brimstone.

Some speculate, well, they're cast alive into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone. Is this the second death for them? Will they be resurrected from this? Will they be in the second resurrection? Surely doesn't say that they will be. And we know that when you're cast into the lake of fire, it seems to me that is the second death. You look at Revelation 20, verse 15, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast in the lake of fire. Verse 14 above, and death and the grave were cast in the lake of fire. This is the second death. There is no resurrection from the second death. So some speculate, well, did they ever know the truth? Did they know the truth and reject God? There are all kinds of questions like that that people ask that you don't know for sure the answer to, but you do know that God is not a respecter of persons, and He gives every person who's ever lived or ever will live an opportunity. So that's sort of a question that hangs out there. And the remnant were slain. See, these two, these two ringleaders, as it were, they're cast into the lake of fire. The rest of those that gathered there at that battle, the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that set on the horse. Which sword proceeded out of His mouth? And all the fowls were filled with the flesh, and I saw an angel come down from heaven. See, these three, that unholy triad, having the key of the bottomless pit and great chain in His hand, and He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. Cast him into the bottomless pit, shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled, and after that he must be loosed a little season. So He gets a second go of it, even after the millennial reign of God and the saints on the earth. For a thousand years, Satan is loosed. He goes out and deceives the nations. And many of them are deceived. How is this possible?

And it shows that you have to do more than give lip service to the truth. You have to do more than give intellectual assent. You have to actually internalize, so that the truth becomes part and parcel of your very being. See, in the millennium it says that there will be a voice behind you. Your teacher shall not be hidden from you, a voice behind you, saying, this is the way, walk you in it. He will rule them with a rod of iron. If you don't come up to Jerusalem to keep the feast, you don't get any rain.

But even with all of that, Satan goes out and deceives the nations, and they gather together, this time, against the camp of the saints.

Verse 8, he should go out to deceive the nations, which are in the four corners of the earth. May God gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth and accomplished the camp of the saints about. The beloved city, of course, Jerusalem, and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet were, see, are as in italics, and they shall be tormented day and night, and shall be not day, and shall be tormented day and night forever.

So Satan, a spirit being, and of course, the speculation there, is he destroyed, or is he tormented as a spirit being forever and ever in that fire? Now, you couple this with Jude 1. Of course, Jude only has one chapter. Jude 14. I mentioned last time the book of Enoch. I don't know if you can go the internet. All you have to do is put in book of Enoch. It'll come up, and you can read it. The book of Enoch was, at one time, in the canon, and eventually the church fathers decided that it would not be a part of the official canon.

In Jude 14 and Enoch also, the seventh from Adam prophesied of these saying, those that are described in the preceding verses, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints.

These passages of Scripture show that Christ comes with the saints, the unholy triad of Satan, the beast, and the false prophet are in league together and will deceive the nations and armies of the world into fighting against the returning Christ and the saints. Why would one who claims to be God be so determined to fight against Jesus Christ and his armies? And why and how would the nations and armies of the world be deceived into fighting against the true God? Of course, the answer is obvious because they are deceived.

Remember the words of Jesus, once again, Matthew 24, 24, If it were possible, the very elect would be deceived. If you love the truth and remain obediently faithful to the end, God will not allow you to be deceived. But that's a big if. As we saw from Scripture clearly last week, there are two created realities in the universe. There is the spiritual creation basically consisting of the angelic realm at the present time, and we are to become a new creation. It's read in the sermonette, any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.

So the spiritual creation, the angelic realm, was created before the physical realm. So we have a spiritual creation, we have a physical creation. When I look at Job 38, we base this on deductive reasoning.

In Job 38, remember Job thought he was being treated unfairly by God, and that God was not just in treating him the way he was because Job said he had always been righteous. And Job apparently was righteous, and you can be righteous too. But at the same time, if that great trial comes upon you, and you blame God for it, then you become an accuser of God.

Job finally learned his lesson. In Job 38, verse 4, Where were you when I laid the foundation to the earth? I declare, if you have understanding, Who hath laid the measure thereof, if you know? Or who has stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the cornerstone thereof? When the morning stars, and stars represent angels in the Bible, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy. Of course, that was a joyous time. And why did God create the earth? He created the earth so that it would be inhabited. You look at Isaiah 45, you look at Isaiah 45 and verse 18, we'll see this very clearly. Isaiah 45 and verse 18.

Now in Genesis 1-2, it talks about the earth became to-hue and boh-hue, confused and upset. And so, one of the great keys to understanding the truth of the Bible and the plan of God is to understand that there, what is called a gap theory, that between Genesis 1 and Genesis 1-2, there is a gap. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Verse 2 became to-hue and boh-hue.

So Satan rebelled during that period of time, and the earth became, to some degree, the universe, confused and upset, and it was set back in order. You notice Isaiah 45 and verse 18.

In Isaiah 45 and verse 18, For thus says the eternal that created the heavens, God himself that formed the earth, and made it, he hath established it, he created it not in vain, it was not created in a state of confusion. He formed it to be inhabited. I am the eternal, and there is none else. Who did he create it for? Psalm 115.

Psalm 115 and verse 15. Psalm 115 and verse 15.

Dating all the way back when I first started teaching fundamentals of theology, I would point this out to students, because even back in the late 70s and early 80s, you were beginning to hear this thing about aliens and space and that kind of thing, and is there life out there? Is there superior intelligence in the universe? And to me, this verse here, along with what we've just read, and also to understand that the Bible reveals the creation of God. God created the spiritual realm, and God created the physical realm. And Genesis 1.1 deals with the recreation after Satan's rebellion. In Psalm 115 verse 15, you are blessed of the Eternal, which made heaven and earth. The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's, but the earth has He given to the children of men. Of course, they're talking about colonizing Mars. The earth is becoming overpopulated, they say, and that the earth is not capable of sustaining the population that will exist. In... I don't know exactly when the decades are, but something like 2050 or whatever it is. And by the way, I meant to mention this in announcements. Did any of you really observe the skies yesterday? Especially from noon and on into sunset. When you... Sometime in the morning, it was a perfectly clear day. Then you began to see these contrails across. There were contrails upon contrails, east to west, and then a few north to south.

And the sun set there, and it was... you know, it was a pretty sunset. But there's a lot written about contrails. Now, this morning, along about 8 o'clock, I looked out there, there were two contrails going from north to south. And of course, at a certain altitude, an airplane's exhaust will freeze and leave some kind of a vapor trail. But if you are an observer of weather in the sky like I am, maybe you noticed that yesterday. And of course, there are all kinds of theories out there with regard to this. Some say, well, they're trying to control the weather. Some say, well, certain regions of the nation, they want dry. Other areas, they want rain. Some say, well, they're spraying some kind of chemical that will harm you in the atmosphere.

What it is, I don't know for sure. I do know that yesterday, this was all over this area, and the skies were covered with it. So we see here that the earth has He given to the children of men. There is a physical creation. There is a spiritual creation. We know from Ezekiel 28, let's go there, that Satan tried to take over the throne of God. Ezekiel 28.

I would imagine that Satan and Lucifer was among those who shouted for joy when God hung the earth out there in space. For these people who tried to deny that there's a Creator, just think about earth suspended out there in space in this galaxy, in this solar system. That it is tilted on its axis 23.5 or something like that degrees. That it revolves around the sun. And that if it were closer by just fractions, you would burn to death. And if it were farther away, you'd freeze to death.

Just that alone. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth and suspended it like a jewel out there in space? It is a mind-boggling thing. And only a fool would say, oh, that all happened by chance. It all happened by chance. There was a great explosion, and somehow this happened. Satan, I would think, was probably there when that happened. And the morning stars sang for joy.

Verse 14, Ezekiel 28, you're the anointed carob that covers. I've set you so you were upon the holy mountain of God. You walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. You were perfect in your ways from the day that you created till lawlessness was found in you. By the multitude of your merchandise, they have filled the midst of you with violence. You have sinned. Therefore I will cast you out as profane out of the mountain of God.

This part about casting out is very important in Jermaine, too, the end time. I will cast you out, O covering carob, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness. I will cast you to the ground. I will lay you before kings, that they may behold you. You have defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your traffic. Therefore, while I bring a fire from the midst of you, it shall devour you, and I will bring you to ashes upon the earth and the sight of all them. They behold you. Now, in Isaiah 14, here Satan is depicted as a type of the king of Tyre. It talks about merchandise and trade. Tyre was one of the great commercial cities of the ancient world. And so was Babylon.

In Isaiah 14, Satan is depicted as the king of Babylon. And at the first part, it describes some of his activities. Verse 4, you take up this proverb against the king of Babylon and say, how has the oppressor ceased? The golden city ceased. Now, if you look in your margin or concordance, this golden city better translated exactress of gold. The Babylonian system gathers to itself the wealth of the peoples. It talks about in James 5, Go to now and weep, you rich men of the earth, you have oppressed the laborers. The laborers, their cry now has reached up to the ears of the eternal sub-boeoth, and he's going to intervene because of your oppression. And you read articles more and more about how the elite are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and the great gap between the two. The eternal, the broken, the staff of the wicked and the scepter of the rulers, he who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted in non-henders. Now, of course, his cry is liberty while promising them liberty! Oh, the law of God is done away with! It's only grace, give us freedom! Like this guy who plays for the Miami Heat, they call him the bird. His body is almost like a rainbow. So many tattoos, and one of the big tattoos across the neck is freedom. And when he goes into the game, the crowds go wild! The bird man is in the game. He's in there to slash and hash. Verse 7, The whole earth is at rest, and it is quiet, they break forth into singing, because God has dealt with him. Yes, the fir trees rejoice at you. The cedars of Lebanon, since you are laid down, no feller has come up against us. Hell, the grave from beneath is moved for you to meet you at the coming. It stirs up the dead for you, even all the chief ones of the earth. It is raised up from their thrones, and the kings of the nations. And they shall speak and send you. Are you also become weak as we are? Are you become like unto us?

Your pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of your vials, the worm is spread under you. And the worms cover you. You're just rotten.

How are you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning? How are you cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations? For you have said in your heart, Well, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High. Really, what he was saying was, I'm going to take the place of God. Yet you shall be brought down to the grave. Of course, we know that we've read from Revelation 20 that eventually he's placed into the lake of fire. Some say, well, what good does it do to put him in the lake of fire since he's a spirit being? Well, somehow, it's tormented, and I don't know the extent of the metaphoric and figurative language, and neither do you, but we know he's going to be dealt with. They that see you shall narrowly look upon you and consider you, saying, is this the one, the man, that made the earth to tremble and did shake kingdoms, that made the world as a wilderness, destroyed the cities thereof, that opened not the house of his prisoners? And yet, here are people who celebrate Satan the devil and celebrate all the wickedness and all the abominations that are going on in our world today, and they celebrate it, and they clap.

Now, note the words of Jesus in Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10 and verse 17.

This is a really encouraging passage here. The passage is in Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter 10 deals with Christ sending out to 72 by 2 to go into the cities and preach the gospel. It may come to the point, one of these days, that that's the only way that it can get out. In Luke chapter 10 and verse 17, in the 70, he returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through your name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan, his lightning, fall from heaven. In other words, that's no big deal. I created the one who became Satan.

Behold, I give unto you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the powers that enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. As it says in Revelation 13 verse 8, that everyone on earth is deceived except those names that are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Now, contrary to what some think, Satan still has access to the throne of God. And Satan is going to make another attempt. To take over the throne of God.

Now, look at Job chapter 1 verse 6.

Job chapter 1 verse 6. This will show you that Satan does come before, and then we'll turn to Revelation 12 to illustrate it further. Job chapter 1 verse 6. Now, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Eternal, and Satan came also among them. Satan came also among them. They came to present themselves before the throne of God. And the Eternal said unto Satan, Where do you come from? And Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 1 Peter 5, 8 says that Satan the devil walks about his roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Therefore be sober, be vigilant, be watchful. And the Eternal said unto Satan, Have you considered my servant Job? And then Satan says, Well, you know, take everything away and he'll curse you. Now in Revelation 12. Revelation 12.

Revelation 12.

Verse 7. There was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon Satan. And the dragon fought in his angels. So there's been great spiritual warfare in the heavenlies. We read about last week from Daniel 10, where this angel was withstood for quite a long time, trying to get to Daniel to reveal to him the dream.

And prevail not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil, and Satan, which deceives the old world. He was cast out in the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying, In heaven now is come salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ. For the, and a better word here probably, as some translations have, and slanderer, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night. See, there are some people who just live to bring in accusation, to slander, to try to level. It has been one of the great weaknesses, the human race since the Garden of Eden, to the present time.

I wonder how many times your name, my name, might have come up, or is coming up, and they overcame him. See, after he is cast out and his angels, they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb. No more having this access.

See, before the Flood, demonic activity was great upon the earth.

In 1 Peter 2, we're going to take just a little side trip here and come back to this.

If you look at 1 Peter 2, if you want to hold your place there, in 1 Peter 2, what happens here is, the Apostle Peter under inspiration catalogs the great centers of history. The first part of it, Chapter 2, has talked about that you're going to have false teachers among you, and they're in it for gain and all of that.

You look at 1 Peter 2 for, if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to Tartaroo, a condition of restraint, but at the same time, we have read that Satan had access to the throne of God and has access up until a certain time, and delivered them in a change of darkness to be reserved unto judgment.

And spared not the old world, so he dealt with the sinning angels. He dealt with the old world with only Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives, eight people who were spared. He dealt with Sodom and Gomorrah, and overthrew them, making them an example of what would happen to those who live ungodly. He delivered Lot.

And you look at 2 Peter 3 and verse 18.

I'll walk first Peter 3.18, I guess.

1 Peter 3.18.

For Christ also had once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit, by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, those who were in a condition of restraint. They had certain freedom. Remember the encounter that Jesus had with the demons? He cast out of this one person. He said, What are your name? They said, My name? We're legion. There are a lot of us. He begged them to cast them into the herd of swine, which he did.

And he cast them in the herd of swine. They ran off the cliff into the sea. The pigs drowned. They didn't drown the spirits. But these spirits looked for bodies to inhabit, by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison, which sometimes were disobedient when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was of preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water. Of course, they were on top of the water in the ark, and they were safe.

And like when we come up out of the baptismal waters, we are to live the resurrected life, the new man, and the new man keeping the old man under the water. Now back to Revelation 12. So Christ went and preached to these lost spirits, perhaps placing more restraints upon them, because they had played a large role. The thoughts and the intents of the heart of men were continually upon evil.

And God destroyed that, what we call the pre-flood world. Revelation 12, verse 11, "...they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb." The only way that sins can be remitted is you repent and go before God and Jesus Christ. You exercise faith in the sacrifice of Christ and by the word of their testimony. Their testimony. You know what it says in Luke 21, that you shall be brought before kings and sinners and rulers as a witness, as a record for my name's sake.

Think not what you shall say, but I will give you words to speak at that time. In your patience, possess you your souls. It will probably look like, if you're one of those, or I'm one of those, it probably looked like you were going to die, but you remain truthful to God.

Whether you live or die, you're going to live in resurrection. And by the word of their testimony, and they love not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you that dwell in them, woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down unto you, having great wrath because he knows he has but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast into the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man-child, and the woman were given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place where she is nourished for three and a half years.

There are some who are protected, what we have called so long historically a place of safety. There is a place of safety. It says it very clearly right here. But at the same time, some will die in martyrdom. The Jews are still looking for a Messiah to come and restore to them the prominence they enjoyed under David and Solomon.

So they are looking for a Messiah, not the Son of God. They are looking for a great messianic figure. Remember, the Jews claim to be strict monotheists. Now, to go back to John 5, notice what Jesus says about this. In John 5, here Jesus is in a discourse. I guess that is an understatement with detractors of his day. In John 5, verse 31, If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true.

There is another that bears witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true. Of course, that is the witness of God the Father. After Jesus Christ was baptized, there was a voice. The Spirit descended upon him like a dove. There was a voice of heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Of course, there were other witnesses as well. There is another that bears witness of me, and I know that this witness, which he witnesses of me, is true.

You sent unto John, that is John the Baptist, and he bear witness unto the truth. Remember, they sent up people from Jerusalem out where John was baptizing in the River Jordan, and John set them straight. But I received not testimony from men, but these things I say that you might be saved. He was a burning and shining light, talking of John the Baptist, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.

But I have greater witness than that of John, for the works which the Father has given me to finish, the same works that I do bear witness of me that the Father has sent me. And the Father himself which has sent me is born witness of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his shape. And you have not his word abiding in you, for whom he has sent him you believe not.

Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. See, the Scriptures, the commandment, cannot give life. They were given to sustain life, but they cannot give life. Paul talks about that in Galatians. And you will not come to me that you might have life.

I receive not honor from men, but I know you, that you have not the love of God. I come in my Father's name, and you receive me not. If another shall come in his own name, him will you receive. There have been many false messiahs that have come and gone through the ages, especially in the year 1666, based on the number, I guess, of 666, in which this one led a group of people claiming that he was a messiah.

I think the story is hazy right now. I didn't look it up. But anyhow, a lot of them died. The beast and false prophet will possess Godlike power, and that power will be provided by Satan the Devil. The peoples of the world will be deceived by this Godlike power.

If we understand Scripture correctly, the Jews are going to restore the sacrificial system before Christ returns. Some say they will not build a temple. Some say that only an altar is necessary. The Temple Institute has been preparing all the elements related to the sacrificial system for several years, including the instruments that are used in the temple for offering sacrifices, the priestly garments. They claim that through DNA they have identified the Kohan priest, the descendants of Zadok, the ones who are to serve in the temple.

They are growing acceptable red heifers in Elot, in Israel. Their intent is to build a temple and restore temple worship. So it seems, unless the Scriptures are figurative, it seems that the sacrifices will be restored. A temple will be built, and the testimony of Jesus Himself validates the prophecies of Daniel. So we go to Matthew 24 and verse 15. I see here that we will round it off here and continue next time.

Of course, the Olivet Discourse is in response to two questions from the apostles. What will be the sign of your coming in the end of this age? War, rumors of war, and all the things that are listed there in the first several verses. We come to verse 15.

So Jesus Christ Himself lends veracity to the prophecies of Daniel. And it's after this abomination of desolation is placed that the great tribulation begins. Verse 21. Or then, when after the abomination is placed, then shall be great tribulation. Such as was not since the beginning of the world, to this time, nor ever shall be. Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. There will be flesh that lives alive, seed from the various nations, who live over into the millennium. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not, Jesus Christ is not going to sit in some kind of earthly temple that man has made. That within itself should be a great clue to everybody. Jesus Christ does not dwell in temples made by hands, and He's not coming to a temple made by man. For there shall arise false Christ, false prophets, and show great signs and wonders in so much that if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived. Behold, I've told you before, wherefore, if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert, go not forth. He's in the secret chamber, believe it not. For here's how He's going to return. As the lightning comes out of the east and shines even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. And then, of course, you'll have the verse 29 and 30 talks about the heavenly signs and the beginning of the day of the Lord. So we're going to round it off here and continue next time with the general theme of the end times, the activities of Satan, the Antichrist, the Deceptions that are coming upon the earth. I hope that we realize, and we're in this lull before the storm, as it were, this period of time in which it seems like all things continue as from the beginning, just like it says in 2 Peter 3, that in the last days scoffers shall come, saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as from the beginning. This is just another cycle.

Don't be lulled to sleep. Don't be one of the foolish virgins. If you want to avoid the great deceptions that are coming on the peoples of the world, you will have to immerse yourself into the Word of God. Remember the words of Jesus, John 6, 63. The flesh profits nothing, it is the spirit that quickens. The words I speak, they are spirit and they are life. And, brethren, let us strive to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.