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3. The Angel of Judgment Testifies to the End of the Antichrist (Revelation 17:7-9a)
The Demonic Temptation of Mankind Ahead of the World-wide Divorce (v8): The angel of judgment described to John the great separation to occur before the final judgment with few words: “Those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world.” (Revelation 17:8) So begins the demonic temptation of mankind, of which Paul warned the church in Thessalonica: “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10) The apostle, therefore, made sure to impress upon the people of his churches: “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
Jesus, also, expressly warned His apostles: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. (Daniel 12:1) And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.(…) For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:21-22, 24; Revelation 13:13-17)
We shouldn’t read these prophecies too quickly, or accept them lightly or superficially. Instead, we should conscientiously pray: “Our Father in heaven, … lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13)
The beast must come to test and try everyone, to see whether they love Jesus above all else, whether they trust Him entirely and are ready to offer their earthly life for their eternal Lord (John 21:15-19).
The demonic wonders of the end time will be breathtaking. People will quickly become used to them and take them for granted. Who would have thought one hundred years ago that people would be flying at 12,000 meters altitude from continent to continent, eating, drinking, and even sleeping? Who would have suspected that without the insemination of a ram a sheep could still beget a sheep alone by cloning? Who would have dreamed that man would today be walking over the moon, splitting atoms on earth, or isolating physical genes for transplantation? Who would have thought it possible that man would yearly be impeding or aborting millions of embryos, so that we become a nation of mass murderers? Telephone, fax, television and internet have made our earth into a sinful, shrunk-together global village, with the result that multitudes subconsciously carry the fear of someone intentionally dispersing anthrax bacteria? Such positive and negative wonders follow quickly on the heels of each other. But how will mankind respond to such satanic machinations of the antichrist and his future false prophet? In spite of increasing skepticism, by nature we all have a craving for miracles, and are eager to put our faith in science. Few recognize that alone the love of God in and around us can bring peace and rest. Eternal life only enters into us through the One who was crucified and resurrected. His atoning death in place of all sinners is the narrow and only open door to God (Bab-el), to His Spirit, and to His kingdom. Without the cross of Christ the world would sink into hopelessness, taken captive by satanic temptations and condemned under the wrath of God.
PRAYER: We worship You, heavenly Father because You allowed the temptation of great apostasy to come that he who had committed himself completely and truly to the Lamb of God, and he who swings between Christ and antichrist might become apparent. Establish us in our Savior Jesus that the evil enemy may have no right on or authority over us or our beloved ones. Amen.
QUESTION:
- How will the devil succeed in his temptation of the multitudes?