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Old 07-31-2017, 01:33 AM
phareztamar phareztamar is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 484
The enemy

THE ENEMY

The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Salvation isn’t some deep, dark mystery that only bible scholars can find. It sits right there on the surface of both His word, and His Creation. Anyone can find it. Everyone is supposed to. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. Its surface truth alone will save your soul and get you to heaven. But, you could also spend a lifetime mining its deeper riches.
In America, 85% claim to be born again Christians. Worldwide, that number soars to over 2 billion. It appears the strait gate, and narrow way, have found a windfall of tax dollars. The path has been widened into an interstate, with many onramps. Two billion souls is a lot of people, considering our Lord’s own word’s: Straight is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. So, how many is few? Two billion souls? This same word few crops up again in Peter’s math, as he recounts Noah and the Ark: ... Wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
In Noah’s day, “few” meant 8. World population in Noah’s day is estimated at around 235 million souls. Eight of those found bible salvation. Now that’s what I call few. That’s a salvation rate of 0.0000034%. If this rate as it was in the days of Noah, is applied to our 6.5 billion people today, then the few there be that find it would translate to 221 souls. While I hope that number is a little bit low, I also suspect that 2+ billion is a tad high.
If Satan were the empire state building, Hollywood has only showed you the first floor. You know, the cheaper rentals. It works, because so few really believe he exists. I mean, really, a snake talking to a naked woman in a paradise garden? But for the few who do believe he exists, here is the rest of the Empire State Building.
God himself defines the enemy for us. First, he is full of wisdom. Not just wise, or even very wise, but to the brim; completely full of wisdom. That makes him much smarter than you, or me, or any other human…save the greater than Solomon. If this weren’t enough, God also says he is perfect in beauty. More than the lilies of the field that out-shine Solomon’s wardrobe. More than Job’s stunning three daughter’s. More than a breath taking sunset on a warm summer night. Perfect in beauty. Flawless in every detail. Satan’s brilliance and beauty are a work of creative perfection. … thus saith the Lord God; thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. What a remarkable combination….and there’s still more. God also describes him as a master musician of the very highest order. Heaven’s song leader, if you will. He once occupied the high office of the anointed cherub that covereth. His musical influences are global, and the ranks of Christianity are no exception. If it gets in your feet before it gets in your heart, consider the source. Satan’s power is so formidable, that even God’s most feared arch angel would not bring a railing accusation against him. Unlike you and I, this enemy is not limited by time. We are given 70 years, plus or minus the grace of God. But Satan can work his mischief slowly and subtly, across the pages of time. He’s a long-term investor … line upon line … here a little and there a little. What better example of this, than the utter corruption of today’s television? We started so innocently…Andy of Mayberry, Father Knows Best, Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies, and maybe Bonanza. But in small, baby steps over the next 40 years, we’ve arrived at Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. He is labeled God of this world. As such, Satan commands a host of billions…a vast spiritual empire, made up of principalities, powers, and rulers in both the civil and religious arena‘s. The bible tells of his ability to kill us with the forces of nature, and to smite us with grievous physical afflictions. He boasts ownership to all the kingdoms of this world, and the glory that comes with them. And finally, Satan is an accomplished Bible scholar. This is God’s own description, of the enemy of your soul…straight from His word.
God’s other testimony…His creation…gives another description of Satan…one that I find truly remarkable. Remember the fourth day of creation? When God made the sun, moon, and stars? It was here that God named the darkness “night”. It should here be noted, that in the bible, “light” represents good and righteous things, while “darkness” stands for evil things. On the fourth day, God made the moon “ruler of darkness”. While the moon may give the appearance of light, it’s actually lying to you. It has no light of its own. It’s simply a reflection, or a mirrored imitation, of the sun’s light…the light of the world. Small wonder then, that we read of Satan’s greatest ambition being: …I will be like the Most High.
Science tells us that the moon’s gravity controls the rise and fall of our ocean tides. The strength of this gravity, varies from moon shift to moon shift. When the moon is bright (full moon), the gravity is stronger. When the moon is dark (new moon), the gravity is weaker. This might be of little consequence, were it not for a verse found in Revelation: And he saith unto me, the waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. The waters represent the masses of humanity. How long we’ve joked about a full moon affecting human behavior, and bringing out the nut cases. Yet here, in creation’s portrait orbiting our earth, is a veiled confirmation of this. Satan’s influences as God of this world, have shaped and molded the state of humanity since the beginning.
But the most telling trait of the moon, stems from its appearance to the eyes of man. Unlike the sun, it does not appear the same yesterday, today, and forever. Instead, the moon can appear as total darkness (new moon), total light (full moon), or one of its fractional phases in between (quarter moon, half moon, etc.). This is where we will find the rest of the Empire State Building. It is this characteristic of Satan, that the world just doesn’t get. Satan’s influence covers both ends of this light/dark cycle, and everything in between.
At the dark end of the human race, we find perversity, violence, and blatant evil. True to our Creator’s moon portrait, this dark end of the spectrum requires minimal influence. Leaving evil men alone, and letting the law of sin in their members do its work, is enough. It is these lower floors of our Empire State Building that the world can clearly see, and that Hollywood exploits. But at the bright end of the spectrum (full moon), we find the good neighbors, noble causes, wonderful education and welfare systems, kindly humanitarian gestures, exemplary civic conduct, explosive knowledge and technology, and yes… even dynamic Christian exploits. And like the bright full moon, it is here that Satan’s influences are exerted the strongest. The world only credit’s the dark end to Satan, but the whole gamut…the entire light/dark moon cycle is his playground. This is the world that Satan has shaped, and his influence can be found in every aspect of it.
We have then, two excellent testimonies: God’s direct description of Satan from His Word, and God’s portrait in the skies above us. In addition, our enemy has a track record worth noting. Through the ages, Satan’s tool of choice has always been deception. By definition, this means that the one deceived, honestly believes they are right. He came to Eve with an enlightened understanding of the words of God. No furniture levitation here, just an innocent Bible study. Even Jesus the Christ was not exempt from this wily tactic. In their historic encounter, we find the first Bible debate ever recorded. Scripture versus scripture. Satan tempts Jesus to use his power, and turn the wilderness stones to bread, to satisfy his hunger. Jesus replies by quoting scripture: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then, instead of barfing green slime on him, Satan quotes scripture back to Jesus! His verse selection is rather interesting: … if thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. While being clear enough on this side of calvary, this was not an openly prophetic scripture about the coming Messiah, on the shadow side of the cross. Even my Tommy gun (The Thompson Chain Reference Bible) sub-titles this passage as “The happy state of the Godly.” If Satan hadn’t made us privy to his personal Bible studies, we might never have known that this passage in Psalms, is a prophetic reference to the coming Christ.
Have you noticed that none of this is lining up with Hollywood’s image, or the world’s concept, of Satan? Notice also the direction Paul sends us in. He warns us not to look for our enemy in the dark closets of society’s evils…not in the porno or vice chambers…not in the houses of murder and pillage and wanton rioting. No, he directs us to an opposite arena entirely: For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 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. Even in the church nursery of Paul’s day, Satan’s footprints were to be found wherever righteousness was being ministered. It could only be worse by today.
Satan’s exploits across the pages of time are not confined to the dark end of the spectrum. Indeed, he is most active at the very brightest end. Scriptural deception has always been Satan’s forte.
Jesus warned that the signs indicating his soon return, and the end of the age, would include wars, famines, pestilence, and great earthquakes. But these weren’t the first thing he warned of in the 24th Chapter of Matthew. His first warning; repeated three times in the same chapter, was: … take heed that no man deceive you … Stop and think about it for just a moment. If you were Satan, how would you go about deceiving the entire world? You were created with perfect beauty, and you possess an unlimited supply of wisdom. There is plenty of time to work with … 2,000 years to develop and nurture your strategy. So you plant seeds, and harvest knowledge and technology to keep the lost occupied. Then you harvest some wacko religions, tailor-made for different cultures and environments. These things, upon reaching maturity, take care of two thirds of the world. But there is one obstacle still in your way … one thorn in your flesh to deal with: … and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. So right up front, at the start of your 2,000 year effort, you know that you can’t stomp out the church that Jesus Christ established. It stands like a mighty oak tree in the forest, with a yellow ribbon tied around it, saying “this is that church which hell shall not prevail against.” So what would you do? With all of your stellar assets, and this single hindrance, how would you go about deceiving this last one third of the planet? You’d probably do the same thing Satan did. Tie a yellow ribbon around all the other trees.
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