Spiritual Warfare

Dear Brethren,

Time is growing short.  This is no time to let down our guard.  For years we have been warned of Satan and his tactics.  We know he is subtle – look at how he handled Adam and Eve, after they had been personally instructed by Jesus Christ.  Very soon now we are told that Satan and his Beast minion will be unleashed on this world with all deceivableness.  Now is not the time to stop watching as so many of our brethren have discontinued their watchful vigilance.  Satan is putting his hand into world events even now.

Revelation 12:9  The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Revelation 12 comes to a close with Satan knowing that his time is short.  God will soon remove the restraints on Satan which, for now, allow the Gospel to be preached to the world.

Revelation 13:2  …The dragon [Satan] gave him [the Beast] his power, and his seat, and great authority.

Otto van Habsburg was the last heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  He bore the oldest and most eminent royal dynastic name in European history.  He died in 2011, so we can stop keeping our sights on him to head up the Beast power, but that does not mean there is no one in the offing – there certainly is!  Are we alert to how serious world conditions are?  Look at how much the world has changed recently.  Satan is being unleashed even now.

2Thessalonians 2:7-10  The mystery of iniquity does already work: only He who now lets will let, until he be taken out of the way.  And then shall that Wicked One be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

We know that Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome have gone the way of the extinct Dodo bird.  It can and does happen to great and powerful nations.  The sun has already set on the British Empire, but America still has the largest economy in the world.  America is physically and spiritually a sick nation.  We are in serious financial trouble with a debt that is not only unwieldy, but will never be resolved because we have a government that is unwilling and inept in passing any legislation that will render us solvent some day.  It is not just America that is in very serious trouble; nearly every major world economy is in the same boat.  That is serious business because that is when sabers go to rattling, and hostilities break out.  There’s nothing like a timely war to get an economy moving – that is if you survive the war!  The Beast of prophecy may be starting to be formed, even as we look on.  Satan is aligning great powers against one another in more ways than we can see.  Satan has always wanted to be worshipped:

Revelation 13:4, 7-8  They worshipped the dragon [Satan] which gave power unto the Beast: and they worshipped the Beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? ...And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Jacob’s Trouble is almost here: The immediate future is fearfully bleak for our Israelitish nations.  Nature abhors a vacuum and there are many nations ready to assume America’s dominant role.  The United States Dollar is still the world’s number one currency, but China, Russia and others would like to see that supremacy come to an end.  Moscow, and Shanghai are busily working at creating a New World Order of big banks and big government by focusing heavily on economic, political and security issues in the region.  Russia has gold, oil and is aggressive.  China has a considerable military, and an assertive space program.  These facts provide a compelling indication of the direction the world is headed.

Sure, the USA will try to maintain its own sphere of influence to counter Russia and Asia with NATO, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, and with Washington DC being their ace in the hole – but because of our sins, it will be too little too late.  It will all come crashing down on our heads before you know it.

1Thesalonians 5:2-3  You yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

We see the terrible havoc that is about to be brought on the entire world by Satan, but let’s realize that more than this, Satan desires the devastation of God’s people.

1Peter 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour.

In today’s sermon we will delve into the Scriptures that explain how we are to wage spiritual warfare in a world devoid of God.

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Sermon:  "Spiritual Warfare"  


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