Spirits of Devils Working Miracles.

More studying on Armageddon--  Please, Father in heaven, please….open our understanding so this becomes truth to us, that the Holy Spirit can use this to guide our comprehension of the days to come, so we know what to watch for, and that we are not taken unaware.  All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever!!!!!!!

Excerpt--

1978 Oct -- THE BATTLE OF THE GREAT DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTY -- Part 1 --

We in our thinking have come to consider Armageddon to be a battle,

while the Scripture is clear that it is the PLACE of the battle.

The battle is the battle of the great day of God Almighty (Rev. 16:14)  (1) 

And for that battle, "the spirits of devils" gather the leadership of the whole world "together into a PLACE called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." (Rev. 16:16)

((((Rev 16:14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 

Rev 16:16  And he gathered them together into a PLACE called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. )))

In this series of studies we shall note three separate, yet interrelated topics. The first study will be merely to direct attention to certain Old Testament texts with brief observations.

In the third chapter of the Bible, we read:      Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Gen. 3:1)

In the third chapter from the close of the Bible, this serpent is defined as it is used in the symbolism of prophecy. There it reads:      And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. (Rev. 20:2)

The medium which was used to seduce our first parents became the representation of Satan, and that symbol is used for him in the prophecies of the second section of the book of Revelation, save in Rev. 16:13-14, 16, where the spirits of devils are symbolized as "frogs."

((((Rev 16:13  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 

Rev 16:14  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 

Rev 16:16  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. )))

In the first gospel promise - also found in the third chapter of the Bible - there is pictured a conflict. It reads:       I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Gen. 3:15)

This promise is symbolized in prophecy as the last section of the book of Revelation is introduced a woman, with child, is revealed in vision to John, and standing before the woman is the dragon or serpent seeking to devour the child as soon as it should be born. But this seed of the woman - as Michael - enters into battle with the dragon, or serpent, and overcomes him, so that a voice is heard in heaven saying - "Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ." (Rev. 12:1-10) This conflict portrayed p 2 -- in prophecy continues through the prophetic representations of this second section of Revelation, and climaxes in the battle of the great day of God Almighty.

Consider now a second text:        And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow into it.  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. 0 house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers. (Isa. 2:2-6)

Certain concepts should be carefully noted from these verses which direct our attention to "the last days." A group of people consider themselves to be the followers of truth. This people inspired by what appears to be the exaltation of the "Lord's house" call for a gathering to the "mountain of the Lord" where they assume "the God of Jacob" will appear to teach them "his ways" - for they say that "Out of [what they call] Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." But we must consider that the Law of God has already been proclaimed - gone forth - from Mount Sinai, and thus any law going forth from a false "Mt. Zion" would be an altered law. God's response to this proposed gathering, and the people inspired thus to call such a gathering is clear and distinct - "Thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob." Interestingly, throughout these verses, the term "Jacob" - a supplanter, a deceiver - is used rather than "Israel," which signifies, an overcomer.

Consider now a third verse:       How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also 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. (Isa. 14:12-14)

p 3 -- In these verses God has revealed the heart of Lucifer - his plans, and his objectives. One of these objectives is especially important as we consider the battle of the great day of God Almighty. LUCIFER DECLARES AS ONE IF HIS INTENTS TO SIT ALSO UPON THE MOUNT OF THE CONGREGATION IN THE SIDES OF THE NORTH. In the Psalms we read: Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. (48:2)

Inspiration reveals to us that Satan - that old serpent - has designs upon Jerusalem. Consider - with Isaiah 2:2-6 - the people of earth who are deceived by the exaltation of the house of the Lord, direct a call to go there to receive their religious instruction from the one they assume to be the Lord, but he is only the God of the Jacobites, those who deceive and are deceived! An ultimate in deception is here prophesied to come "to pass in the last days." (Isa. 2:2)

[In the next thought paper, we shall consider the Seven Last Plagues in the light of the Battle of the Great Day of God Almighty.]

(1) Perhaps a technical clarification needs to be made. A "battle" is often named for the "place" where it was fought, such as the "Battle of Lexington," in our own Revolutionary War. This battle had wider connotations - the liberty of a people was at stake. Just so, we could call the final battle of earth, "The Battle of Armageddon," if in so doing, we do not miss the focus that it is in reality, the battle of the great day of God Almighty. The Greek word - translated "battle" in Rev. 16:14, could be just as accurately translated, "war''. It is so translated in Matt. 24:6. If so considered, we could call it the "battle" of Armageddon for the "place" - and then consider it a part of the "war" of the great day of God Almighty.

"There are only two parties in our world, those who are loyal to God, and those who stand under the banner of the prince of darkness. Satan and his angels will soon come down with power and signs and lying wonders to deceive those who dwell on the earth, and if possible the very elect. The crisis is upon us. Is this to paralyze the energies of those who have a knowledge of the truth? Is the influence of the powers of deception so far reaching that the influence of truth will be overpowered?

"The battle of Armageddon is soon to be fought. He on whose vesture is written the name, King of kings and Lord of lords is soon to lead forth the armies of heaven on white horses clothed in fine linen, clean and white. John writes: - (Rev. 19:11-21 is quoted) - E. G. White, Ms. 172, 1899 (See also, Testimonies, Vol. 6, p. 406)

((((What have we learned from this first part of our study?

1. The Battle of Armageddon - is like the Battle of Lexington in that the name of the Battle is naming the place where it happened. The Battle of Armageddon is the Battle of the LORD ALMIGHTY to take place at ARMAGEDDON. 

2. Not ignoring the prophecy in Isaiah we can truly comprehend that there is GREAT deception that will take place in the last days. This deception will truly deceive ALL but the very elect. Stop for a moment and consider deception and how it works. The deceived as a RULE do NOT know they are being deceived. How do you realize you might be in a position to be deceived? You have a certain knowledge of something and you believe in that knowledge- can ANY knowledge be deception? You spend your life believing in something and then you are PROVEN to have believed in something that was a lie. Imagine your response to that revelation. The gut wrenching sick feeling you'd have. No one likes to be deceived, no one. When you are WARNED that you might be deceived don’t you have a little bit of an advantage? You can be on the lookout for possible deception. We MAY be deceived in the last days! We WILL be deceived if we aren't seeking TRUTH, only TRUTH.

3. Satan was there in the beginning of the human race as a serpent, and he will be with them at the end as a serpent- a deceiver.

We can't ignore truth, we just can't. God will help us.

4. Satan has an invested interest in Jerusalem. Ever since God laid claim to Jerusalem, ever since God allowed Solomon to build a temple there, Jerusalem has been considered God's. How tempting for Satan to know where God stakes a claim. Satan has focused his attention on Jerusalem. Remember this--  

Mat 4:5  Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 

Mat 4:6  And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. 

Mat 4:7  Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 

Satan took Jesus up into the HOLY CITY and set Him on a PINNACLE of the temple.

The Holy City. Satan has laid claim to it time and time again because God's chosen people have abandoned God time and again. Truly there is a going to be a NEW JERUSALEM- a NEW CITY OF GOD and that new city will come DOWN FROM HEAVEN.  We've been given Jerusalem as a sign by Jesus Himself.  The city Jerusalem, here on earth is an important focal point for prophecy in these last days. We can't ignore this. Everything going on in Jerusalem today is necessary leading towards the fulfilment of prophecy- we MUST watch, we MUST NOT be deceived- all through the power of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST now and forever!