Satan's Organizational Structure

More and more often we see innocent men, women, and children gunned down in their homes and public places. Another mass shooting this week at Fort Hood. Three people killed. I don't know if some of those three or four were critically injured, whether or not they had died. With a gunman turning the gun on himself, and they said, well, just shortly before he killed those people and shot 16 or so, he had had an altercation with some of the men. So his solution was to go kill innocent people and kill himself. That is not, of course, the mind of a sound mind.

And around the world we see innocent men, women, and children blown to smithereens by what is called suicide bombers. How have the people of the world come to the point that they are so filled with hate for their fellow humans that they are willing to die to kill a person who is made in the image of God? Christ even says in Matthew 5 that if you call your brother a fool, Rekha, you are in danger of hell fire. And one of the main reasons for that is because human beings are made in the image of God with the potential of being in the very God family of the same essence and spirit of God.

Genesis 1, 26, and 27 tells us that God made them male and female in His image. Notice James chapter 3, which to some degree summarizes what I just quoted there in Genesis 1, 26, and 27.

I'm sure that basically all of us are familiar with God made us in His image. I don't think we really focus on the import and significance of those simple words. In James chapter 2, maybe it's 3, in James chapter 3, in verse 8, In verse 8, But the tongue can no man tame, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father, and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

Homeosis is the Greek word for similitude. It means to be in the image, to be alike, of the same likeness as God. And as I've already noted that Jesus says in Matthew 5, 21 through 24, that if you call your brother Recca, that is, you fool, that you are in danger of hellfire. It was God's intent that members of the human family walk in a reconciled position with Him, with God, and with humankind.

Of course, you remember the two great commandments. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and the second is like unto it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, on these two hang all the law and the prophets. So, in a sense, the whole Bible is summarized by Jesus Christ with those two commandments.

But humankind has been deceived and influenced by the great deceiver, that in some religions they're deceived to the point that they believe they can attain unto eternal life by killing innocent people who are made in the image of God.

72 virgins are awaiting, somewhere in paradise, they say, for those who are involved in the jihad, the so-called holy war against the infidels.

It's difficult to understand how someone could be so deceived. God so loved humankind, potential spirit-filled sons and daughters, that he created a spiritual realm of angelic beings to minister to the heirs of salvation. You turn back there a few pages to Hebrews chapter 1, and we'll see that. In Hebrews 1 verse 5, For unto which of the angels said he at any time, You are my son, this day have I begotten you, And again I will be to him a father, and he should be to me a son.

Well, when? Never. He never promised angels sonship. They are sons of God by creation. We are to be born sons of God through the resurrection, sons of God through begettle and birth through the resurrection. By the same spirit that he raised Jesus from the dead, he will raise or quicken, make alive our mortal bodies by the spirit that dwells in us. Now you notice verse 13, which repeats that question, But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool?

Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation? Now, if you were an angel and intelligent, very beautiful, You go on and on with a description of what an angel might look like. I don't think we really know what they look like in their spirit form. We see various depictions of them because the Bible talks about them having wings, that seraphim have wings. And then we know that angels can at times appear as human beings, as in Genesis 19, where they came to the house of Lot to help them get out of Sodom.

But the main purpose of angels was to minister to the heirs of salvation. And that includes Lucifer, the one who became the devil. Now, let's go to Ezekiel 28. Ezekiel 28, in our ABC class this week, one of the students asked, well, why can't God create perfect character? Well, God can create perfect character. He can create one in a perfect state, as he did with Lucifer and the angels. But he gave them free will, just as he gives us free will.

When Adam and Eve were created, they were innocent. They had not sinned. And God instructed them to look to him for the knowledge of good and evil. They had what we call free will. In Ezekiel 28, verse 12, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyreus and say to him, this is Ezekiel writing. This is somewhere in the range of circa 600 B.C. Ezekiel was taken captive early.

What the conquering armies did back in the ancient times was take the most promising, most intelligent, brightest young people to their land, and hopefully they would be enmeshed in their education system and culture and be an asset to them. Of course, I would say that Ezekiel and Daniel were terrible disappointments. So were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. You seal up the sun full of wisdom, perfect in beauty. You have been in Eden. Of course, he was there, that old serpent, Satan the devil, deceiving Adam and Eve.

Deceiving Eve, Adam was not deceived but followed his wife. You have been in Edom, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering. It lists those stones. And your pipes was prepared in you in the day that you were created. And by interpretation, many think that was the ability to make music. One of the main things that Satan has done is perverted music through the ages.

See, music, because it has a certain beat and the human body has a certain beat and a certain rhythm to it, music is one of the ways that you can stir the human emotion. You can control to a large degree human emotion through music. So we have the trumpeteer leading the charge of the army. Music has an uncontrollable effect on the human nervous system.

When I was coaching football, we would bring the guys down. I didn't do it every time, but when we were especially facing a big game, I guess you would call it, bring the guys to the locker room early, and we would play Ballads of the Green Beret, fighting soldiers from the sky, men who jump and die, all that kind of stuff, get them all fired up. And of course, to a large degree, our culture has been turned upside down by perverted music, especially beginning in the late 50s and continuing to this day.

So your pipes was prepared in you in the day that you were created. You are the anointed carob that covers, and I have set you so. The anointed carob, above the mercy seat, there were the carobs that covered, and the mercy seat was a replica of God's throne. So he was actually at the throne of God at one time. You were up on the holy mountain of God. You have walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created. Can God create something that is perfect? Yes. But He gives it free will. God wants us to obey Him, to choose to follow Him voluntarily, not to be forced. He doesn't want automatons. He could create automatons, I suppose. But as you have heard so often through the years in the church, God doesn't create character by fiat.

That we are joint participants in the process. You were perfect in the day that you were created, till iniquity was found in you. By the multitude of your merchandise, they have filled the midst of you with violence, and you have sinned. Therefore will I cast you as profane out of the mountain of God, and I will destroy you, 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. Of course, Satan has a highly organized system, has had a highly organized system, from the time that he began his rebellion, through the ages to the present day.

We'll note that in a bit. Well, why did he rebel? Probably because he came to understand this great plan of salvation, that the angels were created to be ministering service to the heirs of salvation. But what about me? Look at me! I am so bright, beautiful, intelligent, great wisdom. Why would I take a backseat to anybody in the universe? He apparently did this out of jealousy. I think we read this last week, but we will turn there again this week. James 3, or hopefully you will. In James chapter 3, what hath it wrought from Cain and Abel? Of course, Satan and the one-third of the angels that followed him, to Cain and Abel, and Cain killing Abel.

And James writes, James 3, 13, Who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge among you? Let him show out of a good conduct his works with meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against their truth, this wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion in every evil work. John 8, 44 says that Satan was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. From the time that he set out to rebel against God, and who knows how long it took him to engineer this great rebellion and to take one-third of the angels.

Could God have stopped the rebellion? Yes, I'm sure he could have, but he didn't, because he wants us from the heart voluntarily to follow him. Now, thankfully, two-thirds of the angels remain faithful. I think sometimes we focus too much on the one-third that didn't.

But on the other hand, in recent years, in the preaching in the Church of God, we have not heard much about the devil and the demons. The devil and the demons are more active than they have ever been. It is not a sound mind that performs the kind of awful acts that we see and read about almost every day on television. Generally, that's the way most people get most of their news. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion in every evil work, but the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy, to be entreated full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, without hypocrisy.

And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. Satan's strategy is to destroy all the potential sons of God and replace the kingdom of God with his kingdom of demonic spirits. But on the other hand, I believe that Satan and the demons know, and I guess if they have the back of their mind, their fate. Remember the one demon that asked Christ, Have you come to torment us before the time? Now let's note his 1 Peter chapter 5. Forward a few pages there from James 3. In 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 8, 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 8, Be sober, be vigilant. That word sober means watchful. Now this thing is popping and all of that. I don't know why. I just wrote in a regular mic.

Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. Satan has been on the job since the time he set out to rebel.

Does God really mean what he has inspired to be written here? Satan hates you and he desires to see you dead. That within itself should be motivation. If some human being were to say, Oh, I really know I'm out to get you, I mean, we would be watchful. But since you don't really see Satan, and Satan, as we shall see as we go along here today, in today's world, the satanic things that are about us have become, I guess you would say, more sophisticated, more difficult in one way to recognize than in the ancient world, that we just sort of gloss over all of it, as if, well, it's all because of mental illness. It's all because of the environment. And it's all because, and you fill in the blank, of various things. Just like in all the cases this week, after this man shot those people, well, we're going to really look into his background, and we're going to see what led up to this, and all of this. And there were signs along the way, and so on it goes.

But we really never get to the root of it.

So why are the nations in the world in such a state of decay and disarray at the present time? Let's go to Psalm 2. In Psalm 2, why do the nations rage? The nations are raging today.

They're absolutely raging, and they are on an edge.

The world is on an edge, and the fuse is there. There's someone, the right spark, and here we go. In Psalm 2, verse 1, why do the nations rage? And the people imagine a vain thing.

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the eternal. What's it all about? It's against God. So we either make the choice to be ruled by God, or to be ruled by Satan, his agents, who appeals to the base nature of humankind, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

Against the eternal, against his anointed, saying, who is his anointed Jesus Christ, the Messiah, let us break their bonds asunder and cast away their cords from us. Let's be free of this God thing, as so many authors now have written, who have been the recipients of great acclaim and praise, and interviewed widely, and quoted, and so on and so on.

Let's break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. He that sits in the heaven shall laugh, I mean, come on now, who has the power, who really has control. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his swordless pleasure.

So in view of what the nations rage, I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. Of course, Zion is symbolic of the church. Zion was a specific geographical location. In Hebrews 12, verse 22 and 23, Paul says, you've come to the Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, and so on. I will declare the decree, the Lord has said unto me, you art my son. This day, this yom, Hebrew for day, have I, yalad, the equivalent of ganau in the Greek, this day have I brought you to birth. Paul quotes this in Acts 13, verses 34-35.

You shall break them with a rod of iron, you shall dash them in pieces, like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O you kings, be instructed, O you judges of the earth, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with tremulate. Kiss the sun lest he be angry, and you perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little, blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

I mean, the nations are having their day. Satan is having his day in his sway, and it's going to increase to some degree. We're all familiar with 2 Corinthians 4-4. Satan is a god of this world. Or Ephesians 2-2, he is the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. Jesus Christ in John 12-31 calls him the prince of this world.

Let's go to Hebrews 12. Hebrews 2. Hebrews 2. Satan had the power of death over humankind until Jesus Christ came on the scene. Have you really studied, taken note of these verses? In Hebrews 2, we might start earlier than verse 12 or 14. Maybe we'll start somewhere around there. In Hebrews 2, verse 12, saying, I will declare your name unto my brethren, the reason that he calls us brethren, you look in verse 11, for both he that sanctifies, and they who are sanctified, that's you and I, are all of what? Of the same essence, the Spirit of God, for which cause he's not ashamed to call them brethren? So there is this family relationship. Romans 8-17 says, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, joint heirs with Jesus Christ. Of course, we're not greater than Christ. Christ has all authority in heaven and in earth, sitting at the right hand of the Father, saying, I will declare your name unto my brethren in the midst of the church. Will I sing praise unto you? And again, I will put my trust in him, and again, behold, I and the children which God has given me. For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise, that is Jesus Christ, he also likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that has the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham, flesh and blood, human being, but still divine.

Emmanuel, God with us, Matthew 1.23, wherefore it all things that beheut him to be made like unto his brethren, and he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the world. So he came and set us free from sin and death, for in that he himself has suffered, being tried, tested, tempted, he is able to succor them, that our tempted, tried, tested. That's why Satan tried so desperately to kill the forefathers of Jesus before he was born, then tried so desperately to kill Jesus after he was born. Satan especially hates Israel and the Church of God. Satan really, really hates the Church of God because the members of the body of Jesus Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit, begotten sons, are destined to rule the universe.

He has made us kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth. Revelation 5.10.

Satan believes that he can destroy mankind and thwart the plan of God.

And turn now to Matthew 24, please. Matthew 24, Olivette prophecy. You remember the disciples came to Jesus and asked, What shall be the sign of your coming in the end of the age? And Jesus begins to give the various signs of his coming in the end of the age.

And in verse 21, Matthew 24, 21, For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, known or ever shall be. It is the greatest time of trouble in the history of humankind. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. But for the end of the day, the earth shall be the greatest time of the world to this time, for the end of the day, for the end of the day, for the end of the day, for the end of the day, but for the elect's sake, those days should be shortened. Would Satan be so foolish, so dumb, so stupid as to think that maybe he is going to win? Satan is organized for the purposes that he has. He is organized. Satan has an invisible governmental structure. Each nation has a prince, a demon assigned to it, and has had since the Garden of Eden. Satan constantly tries to set up world governments and destroy Israel.

We notice his organizational structure in Daniel chapter 10.

Daniel prayed this prayer concerning the 70 weeks prophecy in Jeremiah, where 70 weeks are determined upon Israel. The 70 weeks prophecy becomes the 70 years, as it were, in the interpretation. Now, I want us to look at Daniel. Daniel prayed this prayer, and he was fasting, and he had fasted for 21 days. He was waiting for the answer to come. Eventually, the answer did come.

In Daniel chapter 10, verse 3, I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine on my mouth, neither I anoint myself at all till three whole weeks, 21 days, passed.

And in the fourth and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is a deckle, then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of yupas.

His body was also like barrel, his face his appearance of lightning, his eyes his lamps of fire, his arms and his feet like a color to polish brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. So this is somewhat a description of his spirit being.

And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision for the men that were with me, saw it not, but a great quaking fell upon them so that they fled and hid themselves, and I was left alone.

And there remained no strength in me, for my commonness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength, as they say, weak as water, ready to collapse. Yet heard I the voice of his words, and when I heard the voice of his words, then I was in deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. And behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees, and upon the palms of my hand, so in a crawling position.

And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man beloved, understand the words that I speak unto you, and stand upright, for unto you am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not Daniel, for the first day that you did set yourself to understand, and to chasten yourself before your God, your words were heard.

And I am come for your words, but one of Satan's principal princes, one of the great demons, but the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days.

But lo, my kill, one of the chief princes, one of the archangels assigned to Israel, came to help me, and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Now I am come to make you understand what shall befall your people in the latter days, and yet the vision is for many days.

Then he explains the vision.

Then he says in verse 20, Then said he, Know you therefore, know you, wherefore I come unto you, and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia.

And when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grisha shall come. So Alexander the Great came.

But this prince that he's talking about is not Alexander the Great. He's talking about the demonic spirit over the nation.

See, my kill was not fighting against a flesh-and-blood human being that allowed this one to come and deliver the message to Daniel.

But I will show you that which is noted in the scripture of truth, and there is none that holds with me in these things but my kill your prince.

Now you turn forward to Daniel 12.1.

And at that time, what time? At the time of the end.

And at that time, my kill shall stand up, that great prince which stands for the children of your people.

There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since, as we read in Matthew 24, 21, and 22, such as never was since there was a nation even to the same time.

And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book, that is, the Lamb's Book of Life.

Everyone whose names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life will be deceived by this great system that is going to come upon the earth and bring the great tribulation.

Israel worshiped devils from Egypt to the coming of Christ.

And of course, the world continues to worship devils, and we'll continue to worship devils to the very bitter end in which it talks about in Revelation 16, 12-13, how the beast, the false prophet, and the devil went out to deceive the nations of the world to gather them to Armageddon to fight against Christ and the returning saints.

Leviticus 17.7. Let's notice here what Israel engaged in. Some of this is prophetic as well.

In Leviticus 17, verse 7, And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring.

This shall be a statue for ever unto them throughout their generations. Also, let's note Deuteronomy 32-17. Deuteronomy is quite a long prophecy given toward the end of the life of Moses.

In Deuteronomy 32, verse 17, They sacrificed unto devils, not to God, to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

Of the rock that beget you, you are unmindful, and you have forgotten God that formed you.

And when the Eternal saw it, he abhorred them because of the provoking of his sons and daughters.

And he said, And it goes on and on, And it goes on and on, describing some of the things that will take place toward the end of the age. Now, look at 2 Kings 21, verse 6. In 2 Kings 21, verse 6, we're getting close to the time of the captivity and some of the last kings in the nation of Israel. In 21, verse 1, when he began to reign, when he began to reign, of course, they would have regents to help him until he was of age. And he reigned 55 years in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Hepzibah.

Verse 4, And he built altars for all the hosts of heaven, and the two courts of the house of the Eternal in the temple.

And he made his sons pass through the fire and observed times and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits with demons and wizards. He wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Eternal to provoke him to anger. He set up a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son in the house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of the tribes of Israel, Will I put my name forever?

Now, the good news about Manasseh was, or is, I guess you would say, before he died, he'd repent. But he did all of this kind of evil. Now we notice 2 Kings 23-24, we're close there. 2 Kings 23 and verse 24 will back up to 23.

But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, wherein this Passover was holden to the Lord in Jerusalem, it was one of the greatest Passovers ever. And Josiah, he was very young when he came to the throne, and he restored the worship of the true God. And one of the things that he did was, moreover, the workers with familiar spirits, the wizards, the images, the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, in other words, the drove the demons out? He put away that he might perform the words of the law, which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Eternal. And like unto him there was no king before him that turned to the Eternal with all his heart, no king before him, that turned to the Eternal with his heart and soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses, neither after him rose there any like him. Notwithstanding, even in view of this, the Eternal turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindle against Judah. They had gone too far because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him with all. And the Eternal said, I will remove Judah. Also, out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem, which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, my name shall be there.

We also notice in Micah 6 a summary of what Israel had done, and in like manner of what God wants them to do, and is a summary of what he wants us to do today, this continuing theme in the Bible of judgment, mercy, and faith. In Micah 6, as we talked about the week before last, the two great requirements for keeping the Passover reconciled to God in Christ and each member of the body of Christ. In Micah 6, verse 6, He has shown you, O man, what is good and what does the Eternal require of you to love mercy, first of all, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before your God. It's the same thing as saying, wait in your matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. Now, we have read, Daniel 12, 1, The Prince of my people shall stand up. Now, even with the blessing of little children, we go to Matthew 18, verse 10. Here, the good angel part is depicted in Matthew 18. Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones, for I say unto you, that in heaven there angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. I am very sure that there are angels in this building and around this building. I'm sure there are angels round about our homes, and so there is the other side. The other side that God has set a hedgerow round about His people. Unseen battles are being waged in the unseen world. Look at Ephesians 6, and we'll come back to Ephesians 6 at the close. In Ephesians 6, verse 10, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. We read of some of that in Daniel chapter 10, the Prince of Persia, the Prince of Grisha, all the various wicked kind of spirits that Israel engaged in and worshipped before they went into captivity. And then later Judah goes into captivity. God set a hedgerow round about Israel. We go now to Isaiah 5. And to some degree, I believe that God set a hedgerow round about this nation called the United States of America. Because the United States of America was basically the only country on the face of the earth from which the gospel should or could go out. Because the other nations, especially the Oriental world, the Eastern nations, were so engrossed in demonism that it would be almost impossible for them to turn to God. And then as the gospel went out, Jesus Christ said just before His ascension, that you shall preach this gospel beginning in Jerusalem, Samaria, into the uttermost parts of the earth. Well, basically the gospel took hold no farther east than maybe parts of Iran. Maybe it got into Afghanistan somewhat. Maybe a little bit of India. But basically not much beyond that to the east.

And then the gospel that was spread, Christianity, nominal Christianity, to the west and to Europe, was quickly perverted. And all kinds of laws were passed, and basically the Catholic Church controlled not only religion and the state. And so even in England laws were passed that made it very difficult to worship. One of the reasons why people left England and left Europe was for freedom of worship.

In Isaiah chapter 5 verse 1, Now will I sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard, using metaphoric language. Somewhat this God is saying, my love affair with Israel. My well beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. And he fenced it and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with a choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein. And he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, in the inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. What could I have done more in my vineyard than I have done in it?

Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, it brought forth wild grapes. And now go to, I will tell you, what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up and break down, the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down. And that is what has happened. It seems that God has removed his hedgerow even from the United States of America. The beginning, especially, the Korean War, and then the hippie movement, and the demons from the East moved in, and the drugs and the drug culture, and the make love, not war, and all the various elements of it, the satanic music and the satanic culture that came out of it, and it just multiplied and multiplied to what we see today. And I will lay at waste, it shall not be pruned or dig, but there shall come up briars and thorns. I will also command the clouds, they rain, no rain, appointed. Of course Amos talks about too much rain here, not enough rain there.

There is no place that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth. So one of the great hallmarks of the day is to say we rejoice in diversity. God loves all people, all races, kindreds, races, and tongues, but all peoples have their various cultures and their gods. And so when you open the door for everything, you open the door for everything. And I'm not saying anything against anybody. But mainly what we rejoice in diversity today in this United States of America is diversity and morals. Diversity in right and wrong. There is no one that declares something to be profane. Anything goes. So America now prides itself in multicultural diversity. All of these cultures have their gods and forms of worship. Look at 1 Corinthians 10. Does God address anything about that? In 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 21, we will start in verse 18. 1 Corinthians 10.18, Behold Israel after the flesh. Are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What shall I say then? That the idol is anything, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is anything. The thing of itself, the meat itself, the replica, the icon itself. But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils and not to God. And I would not that you should have fellowship with devils.

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord. This is in view of verses 14, 15, 16, 17 concerning the Passover. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. You cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and of the devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? All things are lawful for me. Paul is talking about the first, going all the way back to chapter 8, that the meat is nothing and the icon, the idol is nothing. And if you have knowledge and it doesn't violate your conscience, then you could eat of it.

But then he's saying, you need to keep this in mind, that all of this stuff is sacrificed to devils. And you can't eat of both tables. So all things are lawful for me, and you could add the ellipse that are lawful. Obviously, murder is not lawful.

But all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me. But all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth or welfare.

Now, you go back to verse 14. These things are said in view of the Passover and meat sacrificed to idols. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry, I speak to wise men, judging what I say, the cup of blessing which we bless is not the communion of the blood of Christ. It represents the very life essence of Christ that was given for the sins of the world. The bread which we break is not the communion of the body of Christ, for we being many are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. Needless to say, that all is not of God.

Satan seeks out the control points of society. Society is controlled by government, economics, media, the various social institutions, especially education, and then, of course, the family. Satan has gotten to our leaders now. Our leaders are determined to blend our nation with the rest of the world. Satan is in control of government, false religion. Satan has even planted tears in the Church. And you wonder at times, and even I've asked myself, am I a tear? You go to Matthew 13. Matthew 13, do tears know that they're tears?

Well, I think I could go back and I could name some tears that have been in the Church. It's not my purpose to do that here right now. In Matthew 13, 24, another parable put forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man which sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came, sowed tears among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tears also.

So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in the field? So that being the case, you sowed the good seed. Now we have these tears in plain language. Verse 28, He said unto them, An enemy had done this. The servant said unto him, Will you then that we should go and gather them up? And he said, No, lest while you gather up the tears you root out the wheat with them. Let both grow together unto the harvest, and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather together first the tears, and bind them in bundles to burn them, But gather the wheat into my barn.

Of course, God knows who the tears are, and sometimes I wonder, Do the tears know that they are terrors? It would be, I guess, a fruitful thing not to know. You look at verse 36. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house, And his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the terrors of the field.

He answered and said unto them, He that sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seed are the children of the kingdom, But the terrors are the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, end of this age, Aeon, And the reapers are the angels. As therefore the terrors are gathered and burned in the fire, So shall it be in the end of this age. The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, And they shall gather together out of his kingdom all things that offend, And them which do iniquity, lawlessness.

One of the great ways you know whereby, as it says in Isaiah 8.20, If they speak not according to the law and testimony, It is because there is no truth in them. And shall cast them into a furnace of fire, There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the Son in the kingdom of their Father, Who hath ears to hear, and let him hear.

So Satan is in control of the institutions of this world. Satan is already worshipped by some. Satan is in control of media. The news is brought to us by the major corporations of the world. They must profit. And they profit greatly from war. One of the main profit-making, should we call it an institution, Is of course making war.

Satan is in control of education, our public education system. Evolution is taught as a fact. Toleration of all lifestyles is taught. The only thing standing between Satan and world dominion is God. In some degree, the families in the Church of God. Satan hates the family because it parallels the spiritual process, whereby we are born into the family of God. It hates the family because the family provides somewhat of a cocoon and protection against Satan, against demonism. The family is our life raft, our respirator. So the family stands in the way of world government because a nation is nothing more than a family grown large.

Satan and his agents have planted control points in all institutions. Government, religion, economics, media, education. And his agents continually war against the family. Almost everything that Hollywood and television produces today is against the family. I'm surfing the channels one night this week, and I came on Two and a Half Men. I watched it about 30 seconds. And in that 30 seconds, it was all about sex and going to bed and this and that and the other. And it's on in prime time. And then there are the others. I can't name them. Community.

There's one about the office or something like that. It's all about that. Satan's original name was Lightbringer, and his agents still pose as Lightbringers. Look at 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 14. 2 Corinthians 11 and verse 14. And no marvel for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works. Well, even the ministers of the day now, even the Pope is saying that atheists can go, quote, to heaven. And you can embrace almost any lifestyle you want to.

They are basically trying to rewrite the scripture. And of course they talk about how the scripture is out of date, and it's not up to the tide. It's not in keeping with the times of the day. They were there, they being the liberal element in the Catholic Church, hoping that this Pope would really bring them relief. Well, they need relief, but not from him.

Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.

So there is warning in the Bible. I could turn to other scriptures with regard to that.

Satan's agents pose as intellectuals, swabs, sophisticated. Many use the Gnostic approach, I have special knowledge. And so when an event takes place, they trot out so-and-so and such-and-such, and they interview them and they talk, and it's just that talk.

So brethren, we have our work cut out for us. Satan, of course, wants you to fall into one of two ditches. One, I am the greatest, I will be like the Most High. Satan said, I will exalt my throne above the heavens. And the other is, woe is me, self-pity, I am so depressed, I cannot bear it anymore. So the other extreme from I am the greatest is extreme guilt and depression. And here's where Satan really makes hay and merchandise in the Church of God. It seems we don't know how to handle guilt and low self-esteem. Some try to deal with it by saying they are the greatest. And as we've already seen, that's not the answer. That's what Satan did. The other extreme is guilt and depression and self-defense. Satan is the great defender of self. He will not admit who he is, what he is. In other words, he won't repent and can't repent because his mind is set against God. Satan knows his fate, and is sorry for himself. But it is not godly sorrowed unto repentance. So, brethren, we need to turn at this critical juncture in our lives, critical juncture in human history, with all our heart to the living God, as Josiah did, when he drove out the demons of the land. God leaves certain things outside the dominion or domain of flesh, and one way or the other, you have to come to realize that on your own, you cannot fight the battles by yourself. In order to win these battles against spiritual wickedness in high places, as Paul writes in the great summary there in Ephesians 6, you have to put on the whole armor of God. Satan will promise you everything. To Jesus Christ, he promised him the kingdoms of this world. He will promise you anything and everything. But his motive is to kill you. So we have to turn with all our being to God and put on the whole armor of God. So let's note that as we go home here today in Ephesians 6. In Ephesians 6, we read verse 12 through 10 through 12. We'll read 12 again. Ephesians 6 and verse 12.

Therefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand, stand therefore. That's how it should be punctuated. Having your loinsgirt about with truth, which is the word of God, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, is what Christ told the devil when he tried to tempt Christ into turning stones into bread. Having your loinsgirt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, all your commandments are righteousness, Psalm 119 verse 172. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. In other words, the Great Commission. Go you therefore into all the world, disciple all nations, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. How shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard? How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the glad tidings of peace. And then it says, this is Romans, age 17.

I don't know why I said that. It's Acts 10, 17. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Having on the breastplate of righteousness, having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. How is that so? Because if you have the shield of faith, you know, and you know that you know, that no matter what happens, if you remain faithful and true to God, you're the winner. Just like Abraham, when asked to sacrifice Isaac, he'd already received Isaac as a figure from the dead in resurrection. And take the helmet of salvation, and that is hope. 1 Thessalonians 5, 8, the helmet of salvation, which is hope. What does that mean? That means, for the joy that is set before you. It means that you have a picture of what lies ahead, kings and priests in the kingdom of God. And nothing will turn you away from that vision, that picture, the joy set before you. And the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, analogous, same to the truth, in the verse that we've already read, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. So, brethren, if we put on that armor, if we realize the battle that we're in, Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 10, that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, not physical, but mighty, spiritual, to the pulling down of strongholds. What are the strongholds? Anything that comes on your mind, that grips it, that would have you to cause you to fear, to doubt, that you can make it. Because you can make it. And God has promised, if you remain faithful, you will make it.