You Have the Chance to Know Truth.

 Do you believe that the dead communicate with us? Do you go through your day and perhaps see a symbol of something you shared with a dead loved one and believe they are communicating with you through that symbol. Perhaps you believe it's just their way of saying hello, or that they are there to comfort you, that they know what's going on in your life and they are there with you in some way?  I don't know about you but I've seen many memes online that are created with that very sentiment. The sentiment being that the dead loved one is still alive just in another realm. The realm of choice being - heaven, that better place most people seem to want to someday go to when they die. 

Did you know that spiritualism is basically considered communicating with the dead? I personally do not know of anyone who uses a Medium to call on the dead for them. I DO know a lot of people who believe they receive communications of sorts from their dead loved ones.  I say communication of some sort because I don't know anyone who says they talk to their dead loved ones in a literal sense. Sure, they may talk to them, but not with them as if having a real conversation with the dead loved one talking back to them. Still, they believe their dead loved one is listening, that their dead loved one knows this, that and the other thing about them and their life.

What's my point here? My point is, while spiritualism in the sense of people holding seances and trying to communicate with the dead through mediums isn't all the rage in our day and age, it still exists in many various forms, and in the many beliefs of the majority of people. 

Spiritualism- lies upon the foundation of the immortality of the soul- and the immortality of the soul is the concept of eternal life- that we go from losing our physical body to living in a spirit body INSTANTLY upon death.  Don't get me wrong here, I BELIEVE IN ETERNAL LIFE, just not in this sense.

While you may refuse to be called a Spiritualist based upon the fact you don't go to a medium to converse with the dead, you STILL believe as they believe- that the dead are alive, just not alive in their former bodies. You are by default, a Spiritualist, believing in the immortality of the soul, a concept not found in the Bible.

How can our Bible tell us plainly that the dead know nothing, and then people insist they do, that in fact, the dead know everything.  How can our Bible tell us death is a sleep and then people insist the dead are awake and very active in their new awake state most likely not needing any sleep whatsoever? How can our Bible tell us that when Jesus Christ returns the dead that are His will rise to meet Him in the air and people believe they are already with Jesus and have been since their deaths? How can our Bible tell us Jesus remained in the tomb - not rising in any spirit form instantly upon death and yet, people still believe death means instant spirit life- a life Jesus wasn't given instantly upon His death?  

People are deceived. Most are NOT deceived intentionally. They've been given this tradition of man through their churches, through the faith their parents have passed down, through stories on tv, and in books. They believe it because people have used near death (obviously NOT true death) experiences to convince them of this fallacy. Anyone who has ever had a truly horrifying nightmare of crazy convoluted things, or seeing their dead loved ones in the dreams and such can attest to their minds giving them these nightmares, these dream, and yes, some of those dreams have felt extremely real to us. The dreams don't convince anyone that dream images are real, yet people allow people who have NOT truly died to convince them by telling them things they've seen in the near death state.  

As a rule most people who believe in instant heaven upon death are good hearted, well intentioned, loving, kind, wonderful, sincere people. They simply want to imagine those they love who have died are in a better place. They simply want to feel connected to them still because it's so devastatingly heartbreaking to lose their presence in their life. 

The thing is, Satan's first lie to mankind was that they wouldn't die. And guess what, all those who believe in instant heaven after death are believing that lie. 

People can received immense comfort in the Biblical truth of death being a sleep. A sleep. Think about the last time you slept. What happened while you were sleeping? Were you aware of things going on while you slept? Sleep cuts us off from all knowledge, from all interaction. We don't know what's happening while we sleep. We aren't feeling in a conscious way of knowing, while we are sleeping. We have to wake up to become aware again. Death is the best, dreamless sleep ever and when Adam and Eve died and entered death's sleep they lost all knowledge of the thousands of years that have passed since then. The next thing they are going to know is Christ's Returning and calling them from their graves- their dead/sleeping state. Jesus waking them up! How glorious! There was no death awareness, they haven't spent thousands of years watching humanities horrors. For if dead loved ones can see us and comfort us and so on, they can also witness all the trials and tribulations we go through- what heartbreak! 

 Unfortunately people have their eyes glazed over by Satan and are spiritually blind unable to search out the truth of God's word, because they choose to believe the lies and traditions handed down by man. They refuse to listen to common sense, logical reasoning, sound exegesis, clinging instead to their misguided beliefs. These beliefs may very well keep them forever blind to the truth only to recognize it when it is too late to change, too late to accept truth. The scales will fall from their eyes too late when they hear the words of our Lord telling them to get away from Him, that He doesn't know them. He won't know them because they never chose to know the real Him from His word. They will have believed in a false messiah perpetrated by the churches they go to, encouraged by ministers and preachers likewise deluded. The Bible they claim to believe will have been falsely read, falsely interpreted, and they will have been deceived. God is reaching out to all who would truly be His! There will not be a single person lost who didn't turn their back on God's truth when it was offered to them. Not a single person will be able to refute Jesus' claim that He never knew them, they'll know in that moment where and when they rejected Him knowingly, willingly choosing not to follow Him and His truth. They might cry out they were deceived and not to blame, but they'll know they made the choice from their heart and that heart wasn't right with God. 

Don't follow Satan through deception, don't follow Satan unwittingly, you have a chance to know truth.

Please LORD, please, we would KNOW YOU and BE KNOWN BY YOU! PLEASE! Let all the scales on our eyes fall away and let us see Your truth and LIVE in Your truth- by You, for You! Please! We don't want to be deceived, please!  All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!!!!!!! Right NOW and FOREVER!!!!!!! AMEN!

*******

CHAPTER XIII. THE BEAST WITH TWO HORNS

continued… ((Note- when this was written in the late 1890's Spiritual Mediums and seances and the like were all the rage. Spiritualism since then has taken on a great disguise as noted in the section above))

The foundation of Spiritualism is the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. 

And as nearly all professed Christians regard that as one of the leading doctrines of Revelation, and inasmuch as they had no direct proof for it in the Scriptures, and Spiritualism proposed to demonstrate that it is true, it was easy to foresee that a compromise between the parties would not be difficult to effect. And the consequence is just what was anticipated. Tens and hundreds of thousands of members of all the leading denominations, who would yet be unwilling to be known as Spiritualists, are following it. 

Many hold social circles, where neighbors meet to converse with their supposed friends, and where mediums are developed. These parties suppose that their conduct is innocent; but they do not consult the word of God in regard to the nature of Spiritualism. They take it for granted that it is the spirits of

their lost friends with whom they hold converse, and are unwilling to be aroused from their delusion. If they would turn to the Bible they would learn better. This work is well characterized by the prophet of God, in these words:-- 

"And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter; should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Isa. 8:19, 20. 

Shall men turn away from the word of God, to seek knowledge of the dead? Shall a living man go to inquire of the dead? That is done in these days, but the Scriptures utterly condemn the practice. 

Thus the Lord said to the children of Israel:--

"There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer." Deut. 18:10, 11.

A necromancer, literally, and as the original plainly reads, is one who inquires of the dead. The Lord said to his people that they should not learn to do after the abominations of the nations that dwell in the land of Canaan. He then enumerated the prohibited works, as here quoted, and added:--

"For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord; and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee." Verse 12.

The Lord declares that inquiring of the dead is an abomination in his sight; but this practice is the very life and front of Spiritualism. But it has been argued that this law was for Israel, and for no other people, and cannot bind us. But mark this: The Lord did not say that these things were the abominations of Israel. They were the abominable practices of the nations in Canaan, whom the Lord drove out before Israel. And he said it was because of these wicked practices that he destroyed them out of the land. "For," said he, "all that do these things are an abomination to the Lord." And the folly as well as the wickedness of this practice is shown in the Bible, which plainly declares that "the dead know not anything." Eccl. 9:5.

But one replies: If the dead know not anything, as, indeed, the Bible plainly says, what can be the harm of inquiring of them, seeing they cannot hear or know what is said? But the facts of Spiritualism abundantly prove that somebody or something hears and answers the inquiries. The scripture under investigation (Rev. 13:13, 14) says that these miracles are wrought to deceive; and one part of the deception is this, that the spirits consulted profess to be our dead friends, when they are not. God has stored the treasures of knowledge in his word--in the law and in the testimony. They who neglect this word, and seek knowledge from forbidden sources, must expect to be deceived. Jesus, speaking of the last days, the days preceding his second coming, says:--

"There shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." Matt. 24:24.

They profess to be Christs, sent of God; but they are not. They profess to be prophets, commissioned of God to speak to the world, and to instruct mankind concerning the future, but they are not. They are living spirits, the angels of the adversary, Satan. Compare Matt. 25:41; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6.

Mat 25:41  Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels

2Pe 2:4  For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment

Jud 1:6  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

But again it is asked, How can we be deceived? We have heard the familiar tones of the voices of our friends, and some have beheld their very faces. They must be what they profess to be. But this reasoning is not good. All Spiritualists confess that spirits have not material forms nor visible faces. They say that these are materialized for the occasion. And if they have power to assume forms which do not properly belong to the nature of a spirit, they can certainly assume one form as readily as

another, and can personate whom they will. And that they do so we are well assured. The apostle says that Satan is transformed into an angel of light. And if he can assume the form and appearance of an angel of light, it is no marvel that his ministers profess to be the ministers of righteousness; that his angels assume to be Christs and prophets. 2 Cor. 11:14, 15.

2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 

2Co 11:15  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.

To be continued…

Satan Destroyed

 (Excerpt)  THE DESTRUCTION OF SATAN

Will Satan be destroyed? This question may seem strange to some, for we are aware that there are some who regard the eternity of Satan as well settled in their minds as the eternity of God. In the popular opinion the devil and his angel will never cease to exist, but live to all eternity in hell, blaspheming God and tormenting the lost. 

But is this reasonable? Is it scriptural? For God to perpetuate the existence of the devil and all the wicked, would not benefit them; they are lost beyond recovery, and their punishment is not reformatory. Could a God of love and mercy take delight in such a scene of woe and suffering? Is it necessary to keep such an example eternally in view of the saints and angels to keep them in subjection? Shall such a foul blot eternally remain to mar the beauty and happiness of God's fair universe? 

No; such a thought is as abhorrent to reason as it is opposed to the Bible. Truth and righteousness are alone enduring and eternal. Sin and sinners are both abnormal developments, at war with the Creator and Governor, and, in the very nature of things, must come to an end. God once had a clean universe, and he will have it again. 

The Bible teaches that both wicked men and demons will be destroyed, and cease to pollute God's kingdom and government. Speaking of the humiliation of Christ, Heb. 2:14 says; "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood. He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil."

Then, as surely as He died, so surely will He destroy the devil, for the object of His death will be accomplished. We have seen that the covering cherub of Ezekiel 28 is the devil. God says of him; "I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness; I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more." 

Here we see that Satan is to be brought to ashes upon the earth, and that he will then cease to exist, for he "never shall be any more." He is the king of rebels. For him God will prepare the lake of fire. All who follow his ways will with him be cast into it. To the wicked the Lord will say, "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Matt. 25:41. 

Upon the same subject the prophet says: "For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large; the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it." Isa. 30:33. 

The devil will be blotted out of existence, and all his works with him. Wicked men are the works of the devil. See Matt. 13:38, 39. "The tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that sowed them is the devil." Will they be destroyed? Let John answer; "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." I John 3:8. 

Not only will the devil himself be destroyed, but those also who have followed his ways. Says David, "All the wicked will He destroy." Ps. 145:20.

The Lord says by His prophet: "Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the

proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." Mal. 4:1. 

Jesus said to His disciples, "I am the vine, ye are the branches." John 15:5. The followers of Christ are branches of the Heavenly Vine, because they bear heavenly fruit by strength drawn from Him.

In Rev. 14:18 an angel cries to the reaper on the white cloud, "Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe." 

As Christ is the Heavenly Vine, of which the Father is the Husbandman, so Satan is the vine of the earth; his followers bear fruit that is "earthly, sensual, devilish." They are confederated in clusters of all kinds; but they do not gather with Christ. Root and branch will be destroyed together. Said Jesus, "Every plant, which my Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." Matt. 15:13. Not a vestige of them shall be left to mar the creation of God. In harmony with this, the book of Revelation speaks of a time when "every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 5:13. 

The word of the Lord says; "Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth; much more the wicked and the sinner." Prov. 11:31. 

When the earth is made new, the righteous will have it for an everlasting possession. But they will have a reign of a thousand years in the city of God in heaven. The wicked have their recompense in the earth, for it is here and here only that they suffer their punishment. In this sense they are recompensed in the earth "much more" than the righteous. Peter says; "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." 2 Peter 3:7. This present earth is reserved unto fire; for "the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." Verse 10. This shows that not yet the devil and the wicked are suffering in the fire unto which they are appointed. Jesus says that their departure into fire is after He comes in His glory. Matt. 25:31-41. 

Peter says that this earth will melt with fervent heat in the day of perdition of ungodly men. And so the book of Revelation. When Satan gathers the hosts of the wicked about the camp of the saints and the beloved city, fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them. This is after the thousand years, after the resurrection of the wicked dead. This is the fire that melts the earth, and burns up everything that pertains to sin and the curse. This is the fire of gehenna, for the melted earth will be the lake of fire in which Satan and his angels, and all his followers, will be destroyed; when all that do wickedly shall be burned up and left neither root nor branch. Here the controversy between righteousness and iniquity is ended.

Now what has Satan gained by his rebellion?-Nothing but the miserable satisfaction of having done evil for a season. He has lost all the joys of heaven, the pleasure there is in doing right, and the consciousness of being pure and innocent, and the happiness of being the friend of God. But above all he has lost eternal life. Had he remained obedient to God, he would have lived to all eternity without pain, or sickness, or the fear of death. But now he has to die-to sink into the darkness of everlasting oblivion. Oh, what an awful thought it must be to Satan, who once occupied such an exalted position in heaven! Can we suppose that the devil has been happy for the last six thousand years, in the woe and misery that he has produced in the world?-No; it is impossible. And what shall be said of those of Adam's race who have been his willing dupes and followers? They have been warned, they have been entreated, by the terrors of death, by the joys of eternal life, by the preciousness of the blood of Jesus shed for them, to turn and live; but against all they have turned away to ruin. Now they appreciate the question of the Saviour: "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul" (or life)? When this is lost, all is lost. To them is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. Jude 13

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry-  (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

Satan Bound.

 Do you want to know what happens to Satan when Jesus Christ returns? This Bible study reveals that truth right there in God's Holy Word!

Did the ancient realm of Babylon really exist? Yes. 

Did the Medo-Persian rule really exist? Yes.

Did Alexander the Great conquer Medo-Persia for Greece? Yes.

Did the Roman Empire conquer Greece? Yes.

Did the Roman Empire dissolve into ten main realms? Yes.

Did you know the Bible predicted ALL the above? 

Did you know that there will never be another empire like the Roman Empire upon the earth? 

The Bible accurately predicted all that ancient history- but it didn't stop there. We are told that Jesus will return and destroy all the evil upon earth.  

Did you know that if all that was predicted above came to pass that there is NOTHING that can stop the rest from taking place? It's true.

If you want to know what happens to Satan upon Jesus' return, read on… study God's word! Look up the Bible verses, study like you've never studied before, search as if you're searching for a hidden treasure!  Yes, it's a long study, but the treasures of truth that are revealed are eternally priceless. God be with you opening your heart and eyes to all His truth, through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior now and forever! AMEN!!!!!!!

(Excerpt) SATAN BOUND

In connection with the first resurrection, John had a view of the triumph of Jesus over the enemy who shut up man in the prison of death. The resurrection of the just takes place at the coming of Christ, as the apostle says: "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. 

John's vision of these events is described as follows:-

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a 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, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and 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. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon

their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." Rev. 20:1-5.

To understand the full meaning of this text we must examine the subject of the sanctuary-one of the most important and instructive subjects presented in the Bible. The meaning of the word "sanctuary," as given by the best authorities, is "a holy or sanctified place, a dwelling-place of the Most High." (Cruden.) The Lord commanded Moses, saying, "And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them." Ex. 25:8. But the sanctuary built by Moses, and used so long by the children of Israel for the offering of sacrifices and the service of the priests, was only a type of the real sanctuary in heaven, where Christ, our great High Priest, now officiates, Heb. 8:1-6; 9:1-24.

In the typical sanctuary service every day in the year the people brought their offerings to the tabernacle and confessed their sins over them. The sacrifices were then slain, and the blood, representing the life of the victims over which the sins were confessed, was taken into the sanctuary. Thus the sins of those who made their confessions were conveyed from themselves into the sanctuary during the entire year. Heb. 9:1-7; Lev. 1:3; 4:1-7. At the end of the year the high priest presented two goats before the door of the sanctuary, and cast lots upon them. One lot was for the Lord, and the other for the scapegoat. Lev. 16:1-8. The one upon which the Lord's lot fell was then slain, and his blood was taken into the sanctuary, and by it the sins taken there by the high priest (for he acted in behalf of the people) were atoned for. Verses 9-19. Then these sins were taken out of the sanctuary and placed upon the head of the scapegoat, and he bore them away to a land not inhabited. Verses 20-22. All this was typical of Christ's ministration in the true sanctuary above. Heb. 8:1-5. Therefore, Christ will minister in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary till the day of atonement or judgment. During this time the sins of God's people are conveyed, by faith in the blood of Jesus, into the heavenly sanctuary. At the day of atonement, the blood of the Lamb of God will be offered to cleanse the heavenly sanctuary from these sins.

According to the pattern, when the heavenly sanctuary is cleansed by the blood of the Lamb of God, the sins of the righteous will be conveyed by the High Priest (Christ) and placed upon the head of the scapegoat, who will then be sent into a land not inhabited. Now we inquire, Who is this scapegoat? The following testimonies afford satisfactory information on the subject:-  

"The Scapegoat.-The next event of that day, after the sanctuary was cleansed, was the putting of all the iniquities and transgressions of the children of Israel upon the scapegoat, and sending him away into a land not inhabited, or of separation. It is supposed by almost everyone that this goat typified Christ in some of his offices, and that the type was fulfilled at the first advent. From this opinion I must differ, because: 1. That goat was not sent away till after the high priest had made an end of cleansing the sanctuary. Lev. 16:20, 21. Hence that event cannot meet its antitype till after the end of the 2300 days (1844). 2. It was sent away from Israel into the wilderness, a land not inhabited. If our blessed

Saviour is its antitype, He also must be sent away,-not His body alone, but soul and body (for the goat was sent away alive)-from, not to, nor into, His people, neither into heaven, for that is not a wilderness, nor a land not inhabited. 3. It received and retained all the iniquities of Israel; but when Christ appears the second time, He will be without sin. 4. The goat received the iniquities from the hand of the priest, and he sent it away. As Christ is the Priest, the goat must be something else besides Himself, which He can send away. 5. This was one of the two goats chosen for that day, of which one was the Lord's, and was offered for a sin offering; but the other was not called the Lord's, neither offered as a sacrifice. Its only office was to receive the iniquities from the priest, after he had cleansed

the sanctuary from them, and bear them into a land not inhabited, leaving the sanctuary, priest, and people behind, and free from their iniquities. Lev. 16:7-10, 22. 6. The Hebrew name of the scapegoat, as will be seen from the margin of verse 8, is Azazel. . . . The Syriac has Azail, the angel (strong one), who revolted. 7. At the appearing of Christ, as taught in Revelation 20, Satan is to be bound and cast into the bottomless pit, which

act and place are significantly symbolized by the ancient high priest's sending the scapegoat into a separate and uninhabited wilderness. Thus we have the Scripture, the definition in two ancient languages, both spoken at the same time, and the oldest opinions of the Christians, in favor of regarding the scapegoat as the type of Satan."-Crozier.

On this subject Dr. Charles Beecher, "Redeemer and Redeemed," p. 66, says: "Two goats were to be presented before the Lord by the high priest. They must be exactly alike in value, size, age, color,-they must be counterparts. Placing these goats before him, the high priest put both his hands into an urn containing two golden lots, and drew them out, one in each hand. On the one was engraved 'La-Yehovah' (for Jehovah); on the other, 'La-Azazel' (for Azazel). "The goat on which the lot La-Yehovah fell was slain. After its blood had been sprinkled in the holy of holies, the high priest laid his hands on the head of the second goat, confessed the sins of the congregation, and gave him to a fit man to lead away and let go in the wilderness, the man thus employed being obliged to wash his clothes and person before returning to the congregation." With regard to what this scapegoat represents, he says that "one opinion is that Azazel is a proper name of Satan. In support of this the following points are urged: The use of the preposition implies it. The same preposition is used on both lots, La-Yehovah, La-Azazel; and if the one indicates a

person, it seems natural that the other should, especially considering the act of casting lots. If one is for Jehovah, the other would seem for some other person or being, not one for Jehovah, and the other for the goat itself. What goes to confirm this is that the most ancient paraphrases and translations treat Azazel as a proper name. The Chaldee paraphrase and the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan would certainly have translated it if it was not a proper name; but they do not. The Septuagint, or oldest Greek version, renders it by άποποµπαιος [Apopompaios], a word applied by the Greeks to a malign deity, sometimes appeased by sacrifices. Another confirmation is found in the book of Enoch,

where the name Azalzel, evidently a corruption of Azazel, is given to one of the fallen angels, thus plainly showing what was the prevalent understanding of the Jews at that day. Still another evidence is found in the Arabic, where Azazel is employed as the name of the evil spirit. In addition to these, we have the evidence of the Jewish work Zahar, and of the Cabalistic and Rabinical writers. They tell us that the following proverb was current among the Jews: 'On the day of atonement, a gift to Sammael.' Hence Moses Gerundinensis feels called to say that it is not a sacrifice, but only done because commanded by God.

"Another step in the evidence is when we find the same opinion passing from the Jewish to the early Christian church. Origen was the most learned of the fathers, and on such a point as this, the meaning of a Hebrew word, his testimony is reliable. Says Origen: 'He who is called in the Septuagint, [Greek] (Apopompaios), and in the Hebrew, Azazel, is no other than the devil.'

Lastly, a circumstance is mentioned of the Emperor Julian, the apostate, that confirms the argument. He brought as an objection against the Bible that Moses commanded a sacrifice to the evil spirit-an objection he never could have thought of if Azazel had not been generally regarded as a proper name. "In view, then, of the difficulties attending any other meaning, and the accumulated evidence in favor of this, Hengstenberg affirms with great

confidence that Azazel cannot be anything else but another name for Satan."-Id., pp. 67, 68.

In conclusion on this point, Dr. Beecher says: "Would it not be strange if, in all the symbols of the sacrificial system, there was not a single intimation of the serpent's existence? And where should we expect to see his baleful shadow, if not here on this great day of atonement?"-Id., p. 73. 

In addition to these decisive testimonies, we offer the following from German commentators. Dr. A. Sulzberger, in Christliche Claubenslehre, pp. 101, 102, says:-

"The next time Satan appears no longer in the dark, disguised as a beast, but as a spiritual, personal being, in the desert, known under the name of Asasel (Lev. 16:8), to whom, on the day of atonement, one of the two goats, laden with the sins of the people, is sent, in order to bring these sins to the father of all sin, and to inform him that the atonement for the people has been made, and that he, as accuser of the people, has consequently no claim on those whose sins have been expiated.

"That under Asasel a spiritual personality, and this the head of the evil spirits, is meant, becomes evident from the fact that of the two goats which are first brought before Jehovah, one is offered to Jehovah, and the other, laden with sin, is sent to Asasel into the wilderness, the abode of demons. From the relation into which Asasel is brought here to Jehovah, it becomes evident that on both sides stand personal beings; opposite to the personal Jehovah can only stand the personal Satan. With this view side Hengstenberg, Kurtz, Gesenius in his 'Thesaurus,' Delitzsch, Keil, etc." 

To this he adds the following note:-

[Word printed in Hebrew script] from the root [another word printed in Hebrew script] to remove, and expressing a higher degree of the same, signifies, according to the definitions of many Rabbins, Rosenm¸ller, Hengstenberg ('The Books of Moses,' p. 166), Gesenius ('Thesaurus'), Ewald ('Antiquities,' p. 402), Vaihinger (Herzog's Real Encyclopedia, I, p. 634), 'the one completely removed.' According to Baumgarten, 'the apostate.' According to the LXX, [Greek], averruncus, a demon, who is driven far away."

August D‰schsel, "Commentary in Loco," says:

"The word [printed in Hebrew script] (La-Asasel), which occurs in the whole Bible only in this chapter, Leviticus 16, and here only four times, is differently explained by different interpreters." "Most interpreters, however, and this justly, appeal to the fact that to the first

lot-'for the Lord'-only such a second could correspond, upon which, likewise, the name of a personal being, or a proper name, comes. Now they take Asasel in this sense, 'The one wholly removed, the one completely separated,' and understand herewith the devil, the originator of sin, the head of the fallen angels, who is called, in the book of Job, Satan, and by the Rabbins, Sammael." 

Also A. Kinzler, "Biblische Alterth¸mer," p. 215, says:-

"The most singular fact in all the ceremonies of the day of atonement is the proceeding with the second, the living goat, which is driven, laden with the sins of the people, into the desert, for Asasel. The latter word occurs in the whole Bible only in this chapter, Leviticus 16, and signifies neither the solitary wilderness, nor the respective goat itself (Luther, 'the free goat'), nor 'for entire removal;' the words, 'a lot for Jehovah and one for Asasel,' demand, without question, that Asasel is to be considered as a personal being, who is placed in contrast with Jehovah. One can think in this only of the ruler in the realms of the demons, of Satan."

Thus we see that it is susceptible of very clear proof that Satan is the great antitype of the scapegoat. Indeed, we can come to no other conclusion. How fitting, how just it is that Satan, the great author of sin, should receive back upon his own head the sins and transgressions into which he has led God's people!  In the type they brought the scapegoat "alive before the Lord," and the high priest confessed "over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat." So it will be in the antitype. Satan will be arraigned, and Christ, his

conqueror, will place upon him the sins and iniquities which he has caused the Lord's people to commit, and send him away into a "land not inhabited." This is that to which reference is made in the text quoted at the beginning of this section. Rev. 20:1-5. That old serpent, Satan, is bound a thousand years, and shut up in the bottomless pit, the abyss.

We can plainly see in this the antitype of the scapegoat. But he was sent into the wilderness, a land not inhabited. Then it is an important point for us to determine what this bottomless pit is, into which Satan is to be cast. If, on examination, we find it to be a "wilderness," or a desolate place, this will confirm the truthfulness of our position, that Satan is the antitype of the scapegoat. Rev. 20:3 says that Satan was cast into the bottomless pit. Rev. 9:1-3 locates the bottomless pit on the earth: "And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven [where to?] unto the earth; and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit."

What is the meaning of the term "bottomless pit"? The idea commonly attached to it is that of an eternally-burning hell. But this is not the Bible meaning of this term. Its primary

signification is, a dark place, a waste, a wilderness, an uninhabited region. The original word, abussos, which, in Rev. 20:1-3, is rendered bottomless pit, is in other places rendered deep. Thus Gen. 1:1, 2: "In the beginning God created the  heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness  was upon the face of the deep," or the bottomless pit. The word is literally the abyss, as given by the American Bible Union. Thus, Rev. 20:1-3: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the abyss." This, compared with Gen. 1:2, "Darkness was upon the face of the deep," the abyss, or bottomless pit, locates this place very definitely. It is the face of this earth in its dark, void, chaotic state.

Then if, in the future, Satan is to be cast into the deep, or abyss, this earth must be reduced back to its original chaotic state, so that it shall be without form and void, and darkness upon the face of the deep. Will this ever be? Listen to Jeremiah, who had a vision of the future condition of the earth (chap. 4:19-28): "I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled; suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?" He then

Gives the result of this sound of the trumpet, alarm of war, and destruction upon destruction: "I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light." Compare this with Gen. 1:2: "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep." Then the time is coming when this earth will be reduced back to its original condition. But  he continues: "I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate."

The prophets plainly declare that all the earth will be desolate of its inhabitants and turned into a wilderness, so to remain for a period of a thousand years. Remember that it was a place similar to this into which the scapegoat was turned; i. e., a wilderness, a land not inhabited. This is the place where Satan, the great antitypical scapegoat, is to be bound a thousand years. Rev. 20:1-5 places the commencement of this period at the time of the resurrection of the blessed and holy, which is shown by 1 Thess. 4:16 to be at the second advent of our Lord. The battle of the great day, by which all the enemies of the Lord are

slain (Revelation. 16; Jeremiah 25), takes place at that time. So that is the time of the binding of the dragon and the desolation of the earth. And as this battle takes place in "the day of the Lord," and as the utter and final overthrow of the wicked at the end of the thousand years of Revelation 20, also takes place in the day of the Lord, according to 2 Peter 3:7-10, it follows that the thousand years are in that period covered by this phrase, "The day of the Lord." Of course in that day the desolation occurs. Thus Isaiah says: "Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty." "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it." Chap. 13:6, 9. "For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof [Idumea] shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever." Chap. 34:8-10.

The expressions "forever and ever" and "from generation to generation" show that the earth will be desolate for no short period of time. As we have seen, this desolation of the earth takes place at the beginning of the day of the Lord,-the commencement of the thousand years. This is also the time when Jesus makes His second advent, for He is the one who destroys the nations. Ps. 2:7-9. In Revelation 19 His advent is described, together with the destruction of the nations and the desolation of the earth: "And I saw heaven

opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had 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. . . . Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron; and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and  gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and 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 to make war against Him that sat on the horse, and against His army. And the beast was taken, 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 them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth; and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." Verses 11-21. This leaves the world desolate of its inhabitants. The prophet continues: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [abyss] and a 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, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and

set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled." Rev. 20:1-3. Thus we see that just as soon as the earth is made a wilderness, Satan is cast into this desolate region to remain a thousand years. But where are God's people at this time? They are caught up to meet the Lord, and are taken to heaven, where they reign with Christ during the thousand years. Paul says: "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. Jesus directly states that the saints will go to heaven. (Compare John 7:32-34; 13:33-36.) Then He tells them when and how

they shall go there: "In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I

would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:2, 3. This shows that the saints will be taken to heaven when the Lord comes. In Rev. 19:1-10 John sees the saints in heaven, after their deliverance, praising God: "And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God." At His second coming Jesus takes His people to heaven, to that  place which He has prepared for them. The wicked, as we have seen, are all slain upon the earth.

Thus Revelation 19 presents us with these two grand facts: (1) The deliverance of the saints and their triumphant entry into heaven. Verses 1-10. (2)  The destruction of the wicked upon the earth. Verses 11-21. Thus the earth is left entirely desolate, without an inhabitant. The next verses describe the binding of Satan, and his being cast into the earth. Rev. 20:1-3. A query may arise as to how Satan is bound. Evidently in this manner: The saints are all in heaven beyond his reach. The wicked are all dead and in the earth; and

hence they are out of his reach. Thus the devil is bound, having nothing to do but to roam up and down this desolate earth and meditate upon his sad condition. And it would also seem that he is confined to this earth, and not allowed to go to other worlds. That the wicked are not raised till the end of the thousand years is directly stated in Rev. 20:4-7: "They [the saints] lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of dead [the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." It was through the devices of the devil that the human family was led into sin, and brought under the dominion of death. Since that time he has ruled in the kingdoms of this world. He has stirred up men to war and carnage, till at last, at the beginning of the thousand years, the whole earth is desolated of its inhabitants. It is now one vast heap of ruins, of crumbling palaces, smoking villages, and forsaken cities. On every hand, in every clime, is written, in characters of blood, Ruin, Destruction, and Desolation. Thorns and brambles grow in the streets of once populous cities; wild beasts and satyrs roam through

forsaken temples, and the doleful wind moans through their silent chambers. Ghastly skeletons of the dead lie strewn over all the earth. The clouds above are black, and the earth beneath sends up fire and smoke, according to the words of Isa. 34:8-10. 

When this is fulfilled, in what awful state the earth will be! Fire and brimstone on the face of the earth, and clouds and thick darkness above it! This is to be the home, this the kingdom, of the devil and his angels for one thousand years! How changed the scene from the years of his triumph! He tempted, persecuted, and martyred the righteous without any mercy. But now his power is broken. The strong man armed has been bound by a stronger than he, and his house has been spoiled of its goods. Luke 11:21, 22. Christ, the mighty

Conqueror, has bound the strong enemy, opened the grave, and brought forth the saints. They are now out of Satan's power, and he is bound before them. What a scene! The devil in chains before the God against whom he rebelled, before Christ, whom he despised, before the angels, whom he insulted, and before the saints, whom he persecuted and murdered. Behold him, majestic and terrible, even though fallen, as he stands and views

the scene of ruin, of desolation, and of terror, the work of his own hands. As he looks upon the dark visages around him, the faces of his companions in woe; as he beholds their features, like his own, haggard and worn; as he glances at the awful scenery around him, his thoughts wander back to Eden, to heaven, to the beautiful city of God. He remembers that he was once there, that he was a glorious and holy angel, the companion of Christ, the friend of God. He was then happy, because he was obedient. Heaven was his home. He was surrounded by beauty, innocence, and loveliness. But he rebelled against God, and behold the result! Could he repent, could he be forgiven, oh, how quickly he would embrace the opportunity! But no; he sinned against too much light and knowledge and grace ever to be forgiven. He has so deeply stamped rebellion into his very being that heaven must not again be imperiled by his influence. He caused the Son of God to be put to death, and all the universe now holds him in abhorrence, and justifies his condemnation. He must suffer the consequences of his sins; for a long, dreary thousand years he must wander up and down this dark, desolate earth, without employment, except with his own thoughts, to meditate upon his sad condition. Lack of employment, the absence of hope, the certainty of his final doom, and the wrath of God resting upon him-all these must

render him indescribably miserable. This is the harvest of evil-doing. He has fought God, but now the blows have rebounded upon his own head; he has persecuted the righteous, but now they are beyond his reach and triumphing over his downfall; he has ruined their beautiful home, and now it is his prison. Thus he has fulfilled the proverb: "Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit; but the upright shall have good things in possession." Prov. 28:10. He must remain a thousand years in his own pit and suffer for his own evil deeds and for the sins of the righteous, which he instigated, and which have been justly laid upon him by Jesus the Son of God, our merciful High Priest. 

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry-  (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

Satan Lies, Do You Believe Him?

 If dying isn't a punishment, but just a prelude to an instant eternal reward then why is dying at all such a big deal- other than the fact we leave behind people who love and miss us?

Death is not something we were intended to experience (death in all of its forms). God told the first couple that they would die if they disobeyed him. If death wasn't something detrimental, why would it be used as a punishment? 

Satan lied and said we wouldn't really die and guess what, the majority of people believe him. That death is an end and not just a continuance of life is Biblical truth, God's truth.

The words- 'The living know that they shall die, but the dead know not anything- Eccl 9:5) It is RIGHT THERE IN GOD'S WORD.  I'm alive, I know I'll die… is that true? YES. Ergo 'the dead know not anything' must be true! If I KNOW not anything once I'm dead as the Bible says, then am I in heaven knowing things? NO!

Death- when we have a complete and utter end of our life- we think no more, we do nothing, we do not have a single thought after we die completely. I'm adding completely because a lot of people say they die when their life is interrupted temporarily - for medical reasons their hearts stop, their breathing stops but they are brought back to a living state. They say they died, but the truth is, they couldn't have died unless there is no coming back- without a miracle that is such as Lazarus. We have a lot of people who are considered brain dead all higher function ended, and so we believe what? All their ability to think is gone. There is no sense even trying to keep them alive because there is nothing of their brain to continue on giving them the thoughts they need to be considered living. We pull plugs, we take them off machines, we let them go- they are dead?

People have been deceived tragically and they don't even care when its pointed out to them. They don't want their cherished beliefs to end, they love those beliefs more than they love truth. They don't like those who bring them truth, they call them liars. They hold on so tightly to those beliefs nothing else matters to them.

Right now it may not seem like such a big deal, we say let them believe in their lies it hurts no one. They say everyone believes differently and God will sort it all out. 

God has given us HIS WORD. God has given us HIS TRUTH. If we ignore His word and His truth do you think will be rewarded for that? If He has sorted it out already and we have access to the sorted out truth right now, do you truly believe that we aren't supposed to know that truth?

I'm waiting for my Savior to return and ONLY when that happens will those who are dead right now be raised up from the dead and given their thoughts back at the same time they are given their immortal bodies. This is salvation, this is our reward, this is our eternal life that Jesus is preparing for those who love Him. 

Ask yourself this question-  if you believed Lazarus was raised from the dead then you have to believe that Jesus took Lazarus out of heaven and put him back on earth, why in the world would Jesus EVER DO THAT?! Wouldn't it have been better for Jesus to have Lazarus come back in his spirit form and tell everyone how wonderful heaven is?  Life immediately after death is NOT REAL! It's a lie!

The danger in believing lies is we no longer are believing truth and Jesus is the way, the truth, the life! 

Jesus left His disciples, His apostles on earth and before leaving He did not reassure them by telling them not to worry, they'd see Him in a little bit when they die, He NEVER said that! He told them that HE WOULD RETURN and that was what their hope would be, in the return of JESUS!

Satan has GRAND delusions planned for the very end times and those delusions are going to include in a huge way the belief in going right to heaven after death and living on. Don't be surprised if Satan's evil demons impersonate your loved ones who have died, what better way than to do that to get you to hold fast to the lies of Satan? The evil spirits will be able to impersonate our loved ones perfectly because they know all the secret things of our lives, just as God's angels, our guardian angels know all our lives every bit of it, every sin and every praise we've given to God- they know it all. How easy it is going to be to cement the lie into the hearts of people who have rejected the truth. They are going to use the evil spirit impersonated loved ones to cry out that they were right, that they are the ones with the truth, but it is ALL just a huge  deception of Satan's. Satan's net is ENORMOUS and he's filling it up with most of the earth's population, filling it up with his lies, his deceptions!

SEEK the truth please! I IMPLORE YOU! If you are reading this and you want the truth of the LORD seek it! Please! Don't believe my words, believe GOD'S words!

All through Jesus Christ our LORD, our SAVIOR now and forever!!!!!!! AMEN!

(Excerpt)

MAN IN PRISON

It is written in the Scriptures that "we must needs die." 2 Sam. 14:14. But this necessity was not according to God's original purpose or arrangement. God is the God of life. He has no pleasure in the death of any of His creatures. Eze. 18:23, 31, 32.

Eze 18:23  Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?

Eze 18:31  Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? 

Eze 18:32  For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. 

He pronounced the sentence of death on Adam, but He had warned him against incurring the guilt that would certainly bring it; He peremptorily forbade his pursuing a course that would result in death. Gen. 2:16, 17. 

Gen 2:16  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 

Gen 2:17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

That the Lord loved man, and had a strong desire that he should live and not die, is shown in the wonderful provision He made to recover man from death. "Sin entered into the world, and death by sin." Rom. 5:12. And "he that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning." 1 John 3:8. By his deception and falsehood he led our first parents to sin; but as death inevitably follows sin, he who introduced sin introduced death. Therefore also it is said that he that had power of death is the devil. Heb. 2:14

Concerning the children of Rachel, the Lord promised that they should come again from the land of the enemy. Jer. 31:16. These children were cruelly put to death. See Matt. 2:16-18. Paul says that death is the last enemy. 1 Cor. 15:26. It is the last enemy, for when death overtakes us, no other enemy can reach us. Life is the first and the greatest of all blessings; so death is the greatest and last of all evils. 

They were under the power of death, under the dominion of Satan, for Satan, in introducing sin and death, opened the gates of the grave, that great prison house of mankind.

Sheol, the place of all the dead, is always spoken of as a realm of darkness, gloominess, and terrors; its inhabitants have neither light nor knowledge; all their hopes, their fears, their joys, their sorrows, their thoughts have perished. Let us hear the word of the Lord on this subject:- 

"For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished." Eccl. 9:5, 6. "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." Verse 10.  

Job, speaking of the condition of those who fall under the power of death, says: "Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them." Job 14:20, 21. The Psalmist gives a striking illustration of the realms of death, as follows: "Wilt Thou show wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise Thee? shall Thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave? or Thy faithfulness in destruction? shall Thy wonders be known in the dark? and Thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? "Ps. 88:10-12. And again; "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish" Ps. 146:4. And it is not merely their knowledge and thoughts of, and interest in, temporal things that have perished; they have lost their knowledge of God and their power to praise Him. "For in death there is no remembrance of Thee; in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?" Ps. 6:5. This does not refer to the grave as we consider that term; it speaks of sheol, the place of the dead in general; as Lange says, it refers to that place in which the soul of Christ was not left. Compare Ps. 16:10 and Acts 2:27, 31. We read again; "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." Ps. 115:17. And yet again, where the contrast between the condition and the power of the dead and the living is shown in the most emphatic terms: "For the grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for Thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day." Isa. 38:18, 19. 

It was not in the order of God that man should come to such a condition as that described by these texts, or descend to such a state of darkness, gloom, and forgetfulness. It was all the work of the enemy, whose object it was to mar the perfect work of the Creator. Man in the grave is represented as being shut up in its darkness and gloom, as prisoners are shut up in a prison or dungeon. "There the prisoners rest together." Job. 3:18. 

Speaking of punishing the kings and high ones of the earth, the Lord says: "And they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit [or dungeon], and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited." Isa. 24:22. Such is the condition of all who go into the grave. 

But many, in all sincerity, believe that only a part of man dies; that a part of him returns to dust, and another part evades the penalty, and continues to live somewhere else, or in some other condition. Of this we find no intimation in the law, nor in the penalty,  nor in the sentence pronounced upon the sin. "The wages of sin is death." "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." Rom. 6:23; Eze. 18:4. This being so, the whole question turns on this point, as to how much of man, or what part of man, committed the sin.

All that sinned must die. Recognizing the fact that man is constituted of parts, we cannot say that a part of  him sinned, and a part did not sin. 

While it is true that the wages of sin is death, it cannot be true that the real man, the truly responsible part of man, does not die.

If any part escapes the penalty, it ought to be that part which is the least responsible. But the Scriptures do not countenance such a theory. They, indeed, teach that man is constituted of different parts, but it takes the different parts to constitute the man. The man-the whole man-was involved in the sin, in the fall, and the whole man must suffer the penalty. 

No other doctrine than this is consistent with the scriptures we have quoted. In death there is no remembrance of God, no thanksgiving to Him. Death is the land of darkness and forgetfulness. In sheol there is no device, no knowledge, no affections. When man dies, his thoughts perish. All this we have read in plain terms in the Bible, and we must either believe it or deny it. Which will we do? 

It is this fact which makes the doctrine of the resurrection of such immense importance. Says Paul: "But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen; and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain; . . . for if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised; and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." 1 Cor. 15:13-19.

Here it is plainly shown that without a resurrection we have no hope beyond this life; and, with out a resurrection, they who are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. This is not according to the most popular view, that the dead are already in glory, which makes their salvation and happiness independent of the resurrection.

And again the apostle says, in verse 32:- "If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die."

On this text Dr. Clarke makes a very appropriate and truthful comment, as follows:- "What the apostle says here is a regular and legitimate conclusion from the doctrine that there is no resurrection; for if there be no resurrection, then there can be no judgment-no future state or rewards and punishments; why, therefore, should we bear crosses, and keep ourselves under continual discipline? Let us eat and drink, take all the pleasure we can, for tomorrow we die; and that is the end of us forever." In this Dr. Clarke is quite correct. It is, indeed, the legitimate conclusion from the doctrine that there is no resurrection, but it is not the legitimate conclusion from that doctrine according to the more popular view that the dead are already saved in heaven, and glorified without the resurrection. According to the Scriptures man is truly in prison.

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry-  (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

Evil Reality.

 We don't believe it's real. We don't  know anyone who is affected in this way, not personally. We see sensationalized, fictional movies, and read fiction best sellers with this content- but they are just made up stories meant to excite your imagination with something that is harmless, not reality at all. We glorified the subject and make it into weekly tv series, or mini-series on our streaming networks, and we just don't think too much of it all because it's  just not real. Plain and simple it doesn't really exist so we can toy with the subject all we want, in any way we want to. A long running television series pitted demons, angels-good and bad, men and woman affected by them, those fighting against all the evil and this series lasted for a long, long, very long fifteen years. That show ended but there are still many new show out there with the same type of premise- different names, different actors, different scenarios but same bottom line theme underneath all the glitter and makeup. 

Evil in the form of demons, in the form of a real presence of Satan- just doesn't truly exist for the majority of people. The reality has been fictionalized away so very much the truth of it all is lost. We'd sooner sit down and watch these stories of make believe than contemplate any truth of evil. We'd be laughed at if we suggested anything remotely portrayed in these shows could be real. It's harmless so long as we know it's not real, or so that's what we've been made to believe. 

How do we imagine the REAL Satan looks at all these evil themed shows. You say as long as the good has defeated the evil that they are okay, so he can't like the shows because he doesn't want evil defeated? That's possible. Good vs evil… with good winning- this is what we desire.

A Christian wants this very thing in REALITY. God has defeated Satan, only Satan isn't done filling his coffers with followers, and God isn't done preparing places for his saints.  THERE will come a day- we don't know when- but there will come a day when God will declared the cup filled and it cannot be filled any further- evil has gone as far as it will ever go. All those that are God's are sealed as such, and all those that are Satan's are marked as such- and all that remains is for the last horrors of evil's reality to arise and God's sealed will suffer greatly and then….Our Savior Jesus Christ Our LORD will return, calling all His saints, all the sealed to Him.

Reality. There is a lot of reality mixed up with fiction and Satan wants us to be desensitized to the evil and he's done a very good job of that. Do you ever find yourself rooting for the demon side over good? Do you ever just love the supposed good, moral upstanding demons fighting against bad ones? Are you ever happy watching monsters wreak havoc because, they are good monsters? Desensitized to evil, so that we call evil good- and mean evil is harmless when it is anything but.

What a world we live in. What tragic times. Will God find faith on earth when He returns?

Luk_18:8  I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Mat 24:9  Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 

Mat 24:10  And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 

Mat 24:11  And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 

Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 

Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 

To ENDURE means having something you need to endure.  This world is corrupted and the disguises once worn by evil have been removed so that they are believed to be good, accepted as good, believe to be good, and truly appear to be good to all who look upon them. Enduring to the end, enduring the deception that overcomes all but the very elect. Praying to be among those who endure, to be one of the very elect this is what we must do.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 

2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 

2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 

2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 

2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 

May we believe ONLY TRUTH!

May we ENDURE to the END!

All through the power of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST! 

Please Father in Heaven, please almighty God to whom we give all glory and honor, all praise and thanksgiving, please, keep us from all the evil of this world, let us belong to our Savior now and always! Please, this is our prayer, this is our plea!  All in the name of Jesus Christ, now and forever! AMEN!

(Excerpt)

POSSESSED WITH DEMONS

We use the term "demons" because it is the language of the Scriptures; to conform to the language and the facts of the Bible we keep up the distinction between the devil, or Satan, and the demons, the fallen angels, who are under his control. Those who were possessed with demons acted strangely. Sometimes they were exceeding fierce (Matt. 8:28); no man could bind them, no, not with chains; they dwelt among the tombs (Mark 5:3, 4); they would cry out and cut themselves

(verse 5); they would throw themselves into the fire and into the water (Matt. 17:15); they knew Jesus and cried out that he was the Son of God (Luke 8:28, etc.). It is expressly said that these persons were possessed with demons; that the demons had entered into them. And it is manifest that the devil had in some way gained possession, or control, of these persons, so that he and his angels acted through them, and made them act just as he pleased. All their actions were attributed directly to the devil, or to demons, and not to themselves. Mark 9:17-26.

It is well known that there is such a thing as mesmerism, or hypnotism, by which one person of strong nerves and a strong will can so control another of weaker nerves and will as to gain entire possession of him, body and mind. Then the mesmerizer can put his own thoughts into the mind of his victim, and make him speak and act just as he pleases. In short, the person so mesmerized

becomes the passive agent, or medium, of the person who has mesmerized him. And so it is with persons possessed with demons. They have allowed Satan to mesmerize them until he has gained complete control over them, mind and body. Then he and the demons use them as mediums through whom to speak and act.

Modern Spiritualism, the work of spirit mediums, is nothing more nor less than this. The spirits magnetize the mediums, and thus gain control of their organs, and then speak through them.

Judge Edmonds, a noted believer in Spiritualism, speaking of a manifestation through Dr. Dexter, medium, said:- "It was conducted throughout with unusual, and, indeed, unknown violence. He [the spirit] took entire possession of the doctor, not merely his arm."

Professor Brittan, another Spiritualist, says:- "We may further add, in this connection, that the trance mediums for spirit intercourse are equally irresponsible. Many of them are totally unable to resist the powers which come to them from the invisible and unknown realms."-  Telegraph's Answer to Mahan, p. 10. In many cases the spirits treat their mediums just as they did those possessed in the days of Jesus. Here is an example given by Dr. Gridly. Of a Medium he says:-

"These spirits would pinch and pound him, twitch him up and throw him down, yell and blaspheme. They forbade his eating, to the very point of starvation. He was a perfect skeleton; they compelled him to walk day and night, with intermissions, to be sure, as their avowed object was to torment him as much and as long as possible."-Astounding Facts from the Spirit World, pp. 253, 254. Compare this with Luke 8:26-30, and it will be seen that the possessions are identical in nature. There is not a particle of difference between the Satanic possessions in the days of Christ and the spirit control of the present time. When once the demons got control of them, the persons possessed had no power to free themselves from their influence. But Jesus had power over these spirits, and He gave the same power to His disciples, through faith in His name. And at the

present time, the mediums become helpless in the hands of the demons. But they can get no control over those who resist them steadfast in the faith of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 5:8, 9; James

4:7, 8; Eph. 6:10, 11.

Spiritualists themselves assure us that each medium has an attendant spirit, which appears at every call, and can personate any for whom inquiry is made. This gives opportunity for any amount of deception, and it is identical with the doctrine of familiar spirits, so often mentioned in the Scriptures. But consulting familiar spirits was strictly forbidden, the Lord declaring that it was an

abomination to Him. The spirits are demons of darkness, and consulting them leads away from God and from His revealed truth.

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry-  (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

Satan- The God of This World (2 Cor. 4:4)

 (Excerpt)

(Satan-) HE GAINS POSSESSION OF THE EARTH

Satan, having lost his place in heaven, seemed to have been inspired with the determination to do all the mischief that he could. Man had been created and put in possession of the earth: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." Gen. 1:26. "The heaven, even the heavens, are the the Lord's; but the earth hath He given to the children of men." Ps.115:16. God made man to possess and rule over the earth. It was his to occupy and enjoy. He himself was made of the earth; his destiny was linked with that of the earth. Satan, as the result shows, had a design upon both man and his possession.

Did Satan have anything to do with the fall of man? The Scriptures plainly show that he did. In Rev. 12:9 the prophet speaks of "that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world." If he deceiveth the whole world, he must have deceived our parents in the beginning. John says: "He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning." 1 John 3:8. In verse 12 he says that Cain "was of that wicked one, and slew his brother."

Then that wicked one was in the world in the days of Cain, and instigated him to kill his brother. "That old serpent" which deceiveth the whole world, deceived Eve. He lied to her, and made her believe that it was for her good to eat of the fruit that they were commanded not to eat. Says Paul, "The woman being deceived was in the transgression." 1 Tim. 2:14. She did not do this deed willfully, but she was deceived. "And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." Gen. 3:13. To argue that it was simply the reptile that did all this is absurd. But when we understand that Satan was there with all his cunning, and used the serpent as his medium to deceive Eve, all is rational and harmonious. And this shows the truthfulness of the saying of Jesus, that the devil was a liar from the beginning. ((Our beginning))

We must not lose sight of the fact that God did not bestow upon man unlimited control of the earth. He did not resign his own right and authority as proprietor of the earth, but constituted man ruler under his directions. Man was the creature, the servant of God. He was appointed to subdue the earth and bring it all into the condition of the garden of Eden. Gen. 1:28; 2:8. God was his Benefactor, his Counselor, his Sovereign. He crowned man with glory and honor (Ps. 8:3-8), and gave him a right to the tree of life (Gen. 2:9, 16, 17). This was given to perpetuate his life, that he might live forever. Gen. 3:22, 23. Notice what man lost by his transgression:-

1. He lost his life. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." "For the wages of sin is death." Rorn. 5:12; 6:23. Death came as the result of sin. If man had not sinned, he would have lived forever. "And the Lord God said, . . . and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden." Gen. 3:22, 23.

The loss of life involves the loss of everything. We may lose many things in life, but when our life is lost, we have no more to lose. Life is the greatest of all gifts and blessings, for all other blessings are comprised in it and dependent upon it. In giving Adam the tree of life in the garden in which he was placed, God made provision for the perpetuation of his life; he might "eat and live forever," By sinning he lost this privilege. 

2. He lost his dominion over the earth. Adam and his posterity did not retain that dominion which was given to him in the beginning. In the beginning every beast, and the fowls, and the fishes, were under his sway. After the fall they became wild, and in many cases became the enemies and destroyers of man. And man became the enemy of his fellow-man. Discord and strife seemed to enter into the hearts of all creatures. Everything became changed from the original arrangement. And the Lord placed a curse upon the earth-upon the dominion which he had given to man. Instead of flowers and pleasant fruits, thorns and thistles sprang up spontaneously, to add to his cares and sorrows. Why was this? In order that we may understand why a curse was placed upon the earth, we raise the inquiry, When man sinned, did the Lord God take back to himself the dominion which he had bestowed upon him? It is true, as was said, that when man sinned he lost everything, but did the Lord withdraw the dominion that he had given him? We do not read that he did. Indeed, we do not believe that he would have put it under a curse if he had taken back to himself all the right with which he had invested man at the beginning. What, then, was the exact nature of the change that took place? Let us examine some facts presented in the New Testament. We have seen that man, in the beginning, turned from his kind Creator, disobeyed His direct commandment, believed the falsehoods of his enemy, and did just what Satan wished him to do. The woman was beguiled to disobey, and the man joined her in disobedience. Now hear the testimony of the Scriptures: 

"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?" Rom. 6:16.

Again: "For of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage." 2 Peter 2:19. 

They obeyed Satan and became his servants; they were overcome by him, and therefore they were his bond servants. He was the means of their losing their lives, for he had the power of death. Heb. 2:14. When they died, they went into sheol, "the land of the enemy." Jer. 31:15, 16; 1 Cor. 15:26. And he was surely the means of their losing the dominion of the earth, for it was lost by sin. It is evident that Satan gained dominion over man and over the earth; that man, in becoming the bond servant of Satan, let his dominion pass into the hands of his new master. The Lord did not at once destroy Satan for his sin, nor did He at once execute the sentence of death upon man, nor did He take back from the usurper the dominion that was given to Adam, of which he had been defrauded, but He put a curse upon it, and reserved further changes till after the judgment shall pass upon all offenses-until the seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent. Here we will notice again some of the titles that are applied to Satan. He is called "the God of this world." 2 Cor. 4:4. Jesus Himself calls him "the prince of the world." John 14:30. Paul, speaking of the foes with whom we have to contend, says: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world." Eph. 6:12.

Is it indeed so that Satan is the god, the prince, the ruler of this world? So the Scriptures surely teach. And we have yet more testimony to the same point, and if possible more decisive. Consider the temptation of the Saviour. His adversary is called the tempter, and the devil, but Jesus addressed him as Satan. The devil is a title, but Satan is a proper name. It was not an imaginary being that tempted Him, nor was it the mere impressions or imaginations of His own mind, or the promptings of His passions. All such theories and speculations are but the suggestions of the enemy himself; to enable him to conceal his person and his character. Jesus, having fasted forty days, became hungry. The devil said to Him, "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." The tempter appealed to His appetite, made keen by His long fasting, and challenged Him to prove that He was the Son of God. But Jesus refused to gratify his caviling spirit, giving us an example, that we should not bow to the suggestions of Satan, either to meet our own wants or to prove our calling of God. Our relationship to our Heavenly Father should be borne in humility, giving no place to spiritual pride. Jesus quoted that scripture which leads to dependence upon the word of God. But Satan was not to be baffled thus; he, too, quoted the Scripture. But in this another lesson is given us,-not to believe everyone who quotes the Scriptures. Satan quoted the Scriptures correctly, but he misapplied them. The text he quoted has no reference to such an occasion. By reading Psalms 91, anyone can see that it refers to the future time of trouble, when the plagues of God's wrath shall be poured out upon the earth. See Revelation 16. But here Jesus met him with a scripture that is of universal application, and applied especially at that time: "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." A fitting rebuke to the tempter was contained in these words. Again the devil took him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of this world, and the glory of them. A magnificent sight, that has always proved so captivating to the men of this world! "And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine." Matt. 4:1-10; Luke 4:1-13. 

Now it is written that "the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Ps. 37:11; Matt. 5:5. But they can never delight themselves in the abundance of peace in the present sinful state of the world. Jesus said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation." Great changes must take place before Ps. 37:11 can be fulfilled. "The righteous shall be recompensed in the earth," but not until the curse is removed, and the design of the original gift to Adam is fulfilled. The promise that he should be the heir of the world was made to Abraham and his seed (Gen. 12:1-7, etc.; Rom. 4:13); and that seed was Christ (Gal. 3:16); and the heir is to be the Redeemer of both man and his inheritance, according to the Scriptures. But redemption could only be wrought by the power of His blood; His life was the precious price He was to pay to purchase man from his bondage. But Satan set before Him an easier method of getting possession of the dominion. It had been committed to him, and he gave it to whomsoever he would, and he would give it to Jesus if He would bow down to him. But many make this reply: Satan told a falsehood; he had nothing to give; nothing had been committed to him; neither the kingdoms of the world nor the glory of them were in his power. But if that was so, the Saviour surely knew it. And if He knew that the devil possessed nothing-that he had no power to confer any dominion or glory-then wherein was He tempted? If Satan had them to give, if Jesus could have obtained the dominion of the earth without the dreadful alternative of dying, it would surely be a temptation. If He knew that Satan had no power to fulfill his promise, that his words were an idle boast, there could not possibly be any temptation in the case. But the sacred record sets it down as a temptation, and we believe that it was. To Adam it was given in the beginning; Satan obtained supremacy over man; he took all the title that Adam held, which was but a limited power. The possessor of that power could go no further than God sees fit to permit. By overcoming man, Satan became the prince, or god, of this world.

And this is yet more clearly proved in Rev. 11:14-18. The third woe comes upon the earth when the seventh angel's trumpet is sounded. This is the last of the trumpets, and closes up this dispensation. Under this trumpet it is said: "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ." We are accustomed to recognize the Scripture fact that the Father is to bestow the dominion, the kingdom, upon his Son, Jesus Christ. But this text shows that they become the kingdoms of our Lord, as well as of His Christ. Again, the elders, worshiping him who sits upon the throne, say: "We give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned." The next verse shows that this is when the time has come to judge the dead and to give reward to all the servants of God. What power but that once conferred upon Adam could the great God take to Himself, and give to His Christ, just before the close of this dispensation? How can the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, except by our Lord dispossessing the great usurper, and taking back to Himself the dominion of the earth? Then He confers it upon the second Adam, who redeems it, removes the curse, and restores man to his own inheritance; in a word, recovers from the enemy all that was lost by the first Adam.

In regard to the present condition of the world, John says: "And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness." 1 John 5:19. On this text Dr. Adam Clarke comments as follows:-  

"Lieth in the wicked one,-is embraced in the arms of the devil, where it lies fast asleep, and carnally secure, deriving its heat and power from its infernal fosterer. What a truly awful state! And do not the actions, the tempers, propensities, opinions, and maxims of all worldly men prove and illustrate this? 'In this short expression,' says Mr. Wesley, 'the horrible state of the world is painted in the most lively colors, a comment of which we have in the actions, conversations, contracts, quarrels, and friendships of worldly men. Yes, their actions are opposed to the law of God; their conversation, shallow, simulous, and false; their contracts, forced, interested, and deceitful; their quarrels, puerile, ridiculous, and ferocious; and their friendships, hollow, insincere, capricious, and fickle:-all, all the effect of their lying in the arms of the wicked one; for thus they become instinct with his own spirit and because they are of their father, therefore his lusts will they do."

This is a truthful representation of the world in the aggregate. The children of God in this world are so few that they only form an exception to the general rule. They are not of the world, but are chosen out of the world. Of them Jesus said: "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." John 15:19. This is conclusive proof that the world is now under the control of

Satan, serving him. If God ruled in this world, to be a child of God would be to do as the world does. But the truth is, this whole world is in rebellion against God, and is serving Satan, God's great enemy. Hence James says: "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." James 4:4. For a season God permits this in His long-suffering and mercy; in His longsuffering He permits the wicked to fill up the cup of their iniquity; in His mercy he delays the judgments until His elect are prepared for an abundant entrance into His everlasting kingdom. Satan accomplished his purpose when he approached the holy pair in Eden: he destroyed their happiness; ruined an almost countless multitude of their posterity; instilled his own spirit into the hearts of their children; spread crime and bloodshed everywhere; and gained to himself a possession on the earth. But he could not foresee that the Son of God, against whom he had rebelled, would even give His life to purchase all to Himself, and work such a triumph over the enemy of all righteousness as would cause every creature in the universe to rejoice in his destruction. When that day comes, may we be of those who shall join in the triumph of the Lamb of God.

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry-  (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)

AMEN. Please, Lord, we would be Yours! Search our hearts and see if there is any wickedness in them and lead us in the way everlasting! Please! Create a clean heart in us! Satan would destroy us and make us his, please…please, keep us from Evil… ALL by JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD AND SAVIOR! ALL THROUGH JESUS' RIGHTEOUSNESS! YOURS IS THE POWER, THE GLORY, THE HONOR, THE PRAISE, THE THANKSGIVING! ALL TO YOU FATHER, ALL TO YOU! AMEN!

You Don't Have to Understand.

 You do NOT war with yourself. You are warring against unseen entities. Yes, I suppose someone might read that and think I'm looney tunes. It's true though. Life isn't easy for any of us, not a single human being has an easy life- not the richest, not the healthiest, not the most beautiful, not the most popular, not the smartest, not the nicest, and so on. We can't have an easy life because that's just not how Satan works.

Principalities. Powers. Rulers  of Darkness. Spiritual Wickedness.

Eph 6:12  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. 

Doubts, fears, trepidations, anxiety, worry, stress - these terms are commonly used because they fill our lives. Just when you think things are on an even keel, that you have a handle on things, that you're dealing well with the everyday little mishaps of life-- right then -- along comes a very large thing that doesn't even have a handle for you to grab. Like a large bowling ball it strikes you, its human bowling pin, and knocks you over and boy do you wobble a bit as you're falling. This isn't an uncommon occurrence, in fact, it's what we call … LIFE. Yet, we chalk up all this LIFE- the ups, the downs, the sideways, backwards and so ons and so forths- to just LIFE as if it has no other real explanation.  It does have an explanation though.  Satan would have us believe it's just our lack of ability to handle LIFE well that makes us so volatile. That our particular mental short comings (through no fault of our own but rather the genetic short straw we drew) is the reason we can't get a grip on dealing with LIFE without constantly exploding- into tears, or anger, or well you name your particular explosive trait. I know I say I'm just not built that way, I just didn't get whatever it is that makes life easy for others.  (Yeah, I'm under the misconception life is easy for others- which isn't really a misconception- but rather a skewed view) You see, various things in life are easy for some, hard for others. Just because the majority find one thing easy, doesn't mean the minority is screwed up, it just means they find something else easy. Alright, we're going off on too many tangents here- time to reign it in. 

We are being attacked constantly. Every single weakness we possess is being exploited. Satan will harass us endlessly -each of us in our own personal ways. Satan has a tailormade plan for each of us that will keep us under His control. When we veer away from his plan, when we leave His control, he doesn't like that one bit and will attack us that much harder.  

Believing in the REALITY of Satan and his demons allows us to comprehend that WE NEED someone who can fight Satan and the demons for us. 

The truth is… it's our ETERNAL LIFE that is at stake here. 

We are allowed to be Satan assaulted, and that old popular saying…. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger … is true. Or rather… what doesn't kill you has the potential to make you stronger. And by stronger, it's a stronger faith I'm talking about. 

We won't understand- Satan wants us confused, completely and utterly confused by why we have to go through the things we do that make LIFE hard. He wants us to use that confusion to place blame on God for not letting us understand, to get us to despair. We won't understand, but we can admit to that lack of understanding and acknowledge God as being in ultimate control. We are thinking the next moment, day, month, year…. God has eternity on His mind, he has a much better grip on things.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and LEAN NOT unto your OWN UNDERSTANDING. Proverbs 3:5

He tells us right there! Don't do it! DO NOT LEAN UNTO OUR OWN UNDERSTANDING!

But…but…but…. BUT NOTHING! Don't do it! Understand that YOU DON'T HAVE TO UNDERSTAND!

Why aren't we to lean to our own understanding? Because it's very faulty. We don't have the big picture- we don't know how that particular trial in our life is going to increase our faith, we don't know when we're going to need the strength of having survived something horrible for our future, we just don't know. If we TRUST we are in God's control with all our heart then we have a reason for getting through all of the horrors of life, all of them. Even if we are facing death through disease or (insert death producing ailment here), and only have a short while left to live- it is for a reason we don't have to understand, we just don't.

Satan and his evil demons will torment all of us- you don't have to believe in them for them to torment you, you do have to believe in God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ if you want to be kept from the evil they will use on you to steal your eternal life. Then again, if you don't believe they are stealing your eternal life, because they aren't real to do so- and then it turns out eternal life is a reality -you've lost it. 

The truth is that no matter what anyone in the entire world has said, is saying, or will say…  only those with faith to believe there is an eternal life can have that eternal life through JESUS CHRIST. You definitely won't have eternal life if you don't accept Jesus Christ as Your savior, now and forever! 

(Excerpt)

THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS

Properly speaking, there is but one devil, though some translations of the Scriptures would make it appear that there are many. This name is from the Greek, Diabolos. The LXX., the translators of the Old Testament into Greek, uniformly used Diabolos for the Hebrew name, Satan. It signifies adversary. Of Diabolus, Liddell and Scott give the definition, "the slanderer, the devil." Schrevelius defines it, "a slanderer, the devil, Satan."

In Rev. 12:9, 10, "That old serpent, called the devil, and Satan," is also called the "accuser of our brethren." Satan was the adversary and accuser, or slanderer, of Job. See Job 1. And as the serpent he falsely accused God of withholding benefits from Adam and Eve to which they were justly entitled, whereby he deceived them to their ruin. Gen. 3:1-6. Well did the Saviour say of the devil: "He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him." John 8:44.

It has been shown that Satan, also called Lucifer, was once a very exalted being in heaven, one of the cherubim, whose place was at the very throne of the Most High. When he rebelled and fell, he did not go alone. He led others with him in his rebellion, and with him they were cast out of heaven. Thus Peter says: "If God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment," etc. 2 Peter 2:4.

And Jude says: "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Jude 6.

Of the judgment of these fallen ones Paul speaks thus: "Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" 1 Cor. 6:3. The saints shall judge the world-the wicked world-and the fallen angels, the demons or evil spirits who have been the instigators of sin in the world, shall be judged at the same time and by the same judges.

But Satan was the chief, the leader of the rebellious ones. He originated the war against the government of God. He was higher in rank and mightier in power than they, and it was by his superior wisdom and influence that he led so many away from their allegiance to the Most High. And, therefore, names and titles are given to him which are never given to them. While they are uniformly called demons (in the New Testament), he is called the devil, Satan, Apollyon, Diabolus, etc. Because he is their leader and they have given themselves to follow him in his works of inquiry, our Saviour speaks of them together, as the devil and his angels. Matt. 25:41. The same is found in Rev. 12:7-9: "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels." "He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." This identifies the dragon as Satan. In Matt. 9:34 he is called the "prince of the demons;" in Eph. 2:2, "the prince of the power of the air;" and in 2 Cor.4:4, "The god of this world." Jesus also refers to him as "the prince of this world."

A certain writer has well said: "Daimon , in the New Testament, always means an evil spirit, who is under Satan's control, a demon. The word Satan means an adversary, an opposer; it is never found in the plural number, so that the sacred writers acknowledge but one being of that name." But the demons are many, even legions. See Luke 8:26-30. These are Satan's servants, his emissaries to carry on his work in all parts of the world. Against all these Paul warns us, as

follows: "Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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." Eph. 6:11, 12. Not against the rulers of this world, but against the rulers of the darkness of this world.

We are accustomed to place too low an estimate on the majesty and power of Satan and his angels, making them like unto ourselves, or even lower. This is wrong. We naturally stand in awe of the mighty men of earth, such as a great king or a mighty warrior, but what are they compared with the devil and his angels. These are the enemies with whom we have to contend; so we ought to be acquainted with their character, and thus be better prepared to resist them.

But, mighty as they are, the angels who remained faithful to God have all the power of heaven on their side. The Psalmist says that these "angels excel in strength." Ps. 103:20. They are our helpers, our defenders against the powers of darkness. If we trust in God, and are faithful to the trust he has committed to us, we need not fear. For says Paul: "I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus." Rom. 8:38, 39.

Angels: Their Nature and Ministry-  (Excerpt - for continuing study) Revised by J.H. Waggoner.  1891 by Pacific Press Publishing Co.)