Thought for the Month - March 2020

"Weapons of Mass Distraction" by Barry Adair
(WMD)

I had a thought spinning around my head this month, so I thought I'd spin it around yours too! In one of the Bible 'end times' accounts, we are told the following -

For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. (Matthew 24:24)

These "great signs and wonders" are that impressive (or appear that impressive) that even the elect of God (born-again believers in God) could be duped into accepting these false Christs, if that was possible (which it is not, thankfully!). So, what on earth are these signs and wonders likely to be? Where will they come from? And what will it all be about? These are the thoughts that had me searching the Scriptures this month. And so, I wanted to share what I had discovered as our 'Thought for the Month'.

Let me take you back a few thousand years to the days of Pharaoh, when Moses and Aaron were before him in Egypt. They were there to petition Pharaoh to allow the children of Israel to be freed from captivity in Egypt. If you remember, Moses and Aaron were able to show that they had God on their side by bringing forth plagues on the land. But do you remember what Pharaoh's magicians were able to do in response to God's miraculous signs? This is recorded for us in the Bible, in Exodus chapter 7. Pharaoh's magicians were able to re-create the first two plagues sent by God i.e. turning the Nile to blood and a plague of frogs. Now, just think of this for a moment. These magicians turned Nile water into blood and brought forth a plague of frogs! In effect, their 'dark arts' were able to mimic supernatural events! And if not by the power of God, then by who's power? By Satan's power, of course! And I believe that these same dark arts will again be witnessed by some in the not too distant future - more on this later.

From the Bible, we know that Satan (the Devil) is a supernatural being with great power to deceive (Job 1:7). He is also referred to as "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2) and as the 'end times' become closer, his influence and power will only grow stronger. Of course, Satan has been active all throughout history but I want to suggest that his 'mind games' have been increasing of late, and will continue to do so. Not that it will be obvious that Satan is behind all the future demonic activity. He is also a master of remaining in the shadows.

The devil's cleverest ruse is to make men believe that he does not exist (Baudelaire)

Satan has been working in the minds of the human race for thousands of years and these future "signs and wonders" will be lauded as coming from someone who is to be worshiped and revered. And Satan has always wanted to deceive, especially to keep people away from hearing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

…the god of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4, addition mine)

So, what could these "signs and wonders" be? The Bible does not tell us what these "signs and wonders" will be. I have a couple of ideas, but please only take these as mere possibilities. I wonder if the whole 'save planet earth from global warming' is ripe for a future 'saviour of the world'. The hype and fear around 'global warming' are growing steadily, and are perhaps being expertly manipulated. There is almost a religious furore around 'saving the planet' from climate change. Now, imagine someone who appears on the scene in the coming years who is able to lower world temperatures dramatically. Or concerning the conflicts going on around the world, perhaps someone will bring about a stable peace between Israel and the Arab World. Or what if someone appeared to be able to stop a future global pandemic and then shared it on YouTube for millions to view? Or what if 'aliens' appeared and threatened life on our planet, only to be removed by someone's sole authority. Or what if it looked like the world was in the direct path of a huge asteroid and someone made that asteroid disappear?

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders (2 Thessalonians 2:9)

You can imagine the adulation this "someone" would receive! You can also imagine that most would not ask where his power had originated from. And you can imagine that many would not care if he wanted more than just adulation! The world will become ripe for a supreme leader / saviour / king / god. Can I also tell you that Satan will use all his powers to distract the human population as to what he is up to? And what he is up to is to keep us well away from the God who made us and loves us!

We live today in a world full of distractions. I love my smart phone and electronic tablet and all that they can do, but I know I'm being influenced day by day. There are the news stories, editorials, adverts, social media posts, films, TV programmes and documentaries. Even if you don't use a smart phone or never even bother with social media, you are still being influenced by television, film, newspapers and even by some of the books you read and the conversations you have. And many of these influences will be satanic in nature.

So where is all this leading to and what will be the outcome?

If you are a Bible-believing Christian, then you have nothing to fear. Although Satan's power and influence are global, Satan is not God. Satan is not omnipresent. Satan is not omnipotent - Satan is not all powerful.

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. (1 John 5:15)

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1)

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)

I also believe that all true believers in God will have been removed from this earth prior to the main 'end times' demonic activities (see our Thought for the Month on the Rapture here.

For those who are not Christians, who remain blinded by Satan's "strong delusion" (2 Thessalonians 2:2) and who are present when these events come to pass, they will witness demonic activity the likes of which will not have been witnessed before. The Bible gives a number of accounts of this time and it isn't pretty!! (See Daniel 12, Matthew 24, 2 Timothy 3 and Revelation 13)

Please flee the satanic mayhem to come. If you don't already know Jesus Christ, please follow the link at the bottom of this Thought. Accept Jesus as your Saviour today and book your place in heaven as your eternal and safe home.

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Until next month (DV)…

(All Bible quotations are from the ESV, unless stated)

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