The Seat of Wickedness (Part 4)

See the series here

Where might this seat be during the anti-Christ government?

 

The Bible’s eschatological, strategic plan calls for a short, potentially global reign of the anti-Christ (a strong man who will possess all the powers of satan), followed by the long promised Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ with all His first-resurrection, then immortal, saints from across the first 4 (of 6) ages on this current version of Earth. Paul refers to the anti-Christ:

And then [implied: after the next rapture] the lawless one will be revealed, whom The Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 

(2 Thessalonians 2:8. See also: Isaiah 11:4 and Revelation 19:15. Zechariah 14:5 gives us an idea, on a small scale (the 1st War of Gog and Magog) of what Revelation 19:15 might be like (Armageddon). For more, see: Revelation - Future Attacks in Israel.)

Though the strongman government of the anti-Christ is predicted (Daniel 7:8 and Revelation 13), the relatively short interval of his rule is omitted in the visionary dream King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had in Daniel 2. Daniel 2:44-45 skips from a reference to the remnants of the Roman Empire (i.e., the statue’s toes and feet of mixed iron and clay), to the Millennial Kingdom of Christ. Similarly, there is no clear reference to the anti-Christ’s government in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Rather, these chapters address:

(a) spiritual forces that will motivate the first War of Gog and Magog (See: Future Attacks in Israel), and 

(b) all the troops who will fight in that war, and who be destroyed by this initial portion Christ’s invasion. 

Yet, overlaying many other scripture references, affirms and confirms there will be an important role for a man, who will effectively be given powers by satan, just as Father God empowered His Son, Jesus, The Lord God. Mimicking Jesus, the anti-Christ will be ‘the son of satan’.

Moreover, Zechariah 12:9 reveals, after the war, Christ will ‘seek to destroy’ all the nations that deployed troops to fight in that war.

 

Since satan, operating through his chief demon, gog, will be the spirit behind (motivating) this government, it may help to review what The Bible reveals about satan from a geographic perspective. In Heaven, lucifer (now satan) became obsessed with replacing Jesus on The Throne of God. With a third of the Heaven’s angles, he organized a coup d’etat, pridefully declaring in his heart,

‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like The Most High.’ (Isaiah 14:13-14. Did you know there are clouds in Heaven? See: Your Heaven IQ (Series))

 

For this sin of gross wickedness, lucifer and his supporting angels were cast out of heaven, and became devils and demons on Earth. They were very likely present to witness the creation of Adam. If so, satan was likely ‘the god on Earth’ prior to Adam, lord over his demon crew!

 

Let’s juxtapose satan’s affinity for ‘the farthest sides of the north’ in Heaven, with The Lord’s personal declaration regarding the seat of wickedness from which the 1st War of Gog and Magog will be catalyzed on Earth.This war will signal the run-up to the final, significant act of the anti-Christ prior to his own destruction, noted in Revelation 19:11-21, the Armageddon War.

• [To Gog, perhaps satan’s top demon, The Lord declares…] I will turn you around, put hooks into your (spiritual) jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops - many people are with you. (Ezekiel 38:4-6) 
• Therefore, son of man [Ezekiel], prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. (Ezekiel 38:14-16)
• “And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. (Ezekiel 39:1-2) *

These references to satanic spirit(s) and to troops they will catalyze, are the clearest references to the likely geographic location of the seat of government of the man who will:

1. Be possessed by the spiritual beast – satan, himself (Revelation 13)
2. Speak pompous and blasphemous words against God and all things Godly (four references in Daniel 7, and four in Revelation 13)

Ezekiel's references to ‘the far north’ prompt the logical question, ‘North of what?!’ 

Though The Bible is quintessentially a spiritual book, the core of its geographic focus is obviously the land promised to Abraham and his descendants through Jacob, i.e., Israel. (Recall, ancient Israel and Judah only conquered a tiny slice of the massive amount of land The Lord promised to Abraham, and to his descendants through Jacob/Israel, land stretching from the Nile-to the-Euphrates rivers!) All the land in ‘the current far north’ of Israel is The Federation of Russia. Russia is now, not only the nation with currently the largest land mass, but it is aggressively seeking to conquer and control even more lands, as if being the largest nation is not enough.

 

From this account, satan’s seat of wickedness for his anti-Christ ruler is inferred to be within the land currently known as Russia, irrespective of whether the name of this land may change over time, as I perceive it may if The Millennial Reign is significantly delayed.

 

Alas, three times, Daniel 4 emphatically declares The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it (i.e., lands and people over whom to rule) to whomever He will or chooses, and interestingly, one verse adds, ‘And [He] sets over it the lowest of men.’ (Daniel 4:17, 25, 32) Any cursory review of the history of world leaders clearly reveals the reference to lowest of men does not infer their humility! Quite the contrary, world leaders were largely already, or quickly became the most prideful among men! And in their increasing haughtiness, they were eventually cast down and defeated, typically because they failed to realize it was The Lord, not their clever military or political skills or the great wealth their nations accumulated, Who raised them to their lofty positions, in His strategic service. What might the phrase, ‘the lowest of men’, possibly indicate, spiritually? 

 

What might be the impetus for this ‘lowest of men’, the anti-Christ, to come to power? (Think King Saul, Israel’s first king.)

 

I believe the answer to this question may well be a steadily growing proclivity across the world for strongmen governments, especially:

• As tribulation precursors multiply (e.g., the global climate crisis, uncontrollable lawlessness and migration, pestilence outbreaks, wars, etc.) and 
• With the full onslaught of The Lord’s tribulation plagues on our God-rejecting world. 

In the face of these mounting, worst-ever pressures, folks the world over will press for ‘somebody, ANYBODY’ to stop the carnage!!! When this occurs, it will be very easy for satan, the great Jesus mimicker, to exploit this context, and ‘give his kingdom seat to whomever he wills or chooses’. Count on it!

See: Europe: Iron-Clay Mix (Poem), for a quote from Paul-Henri Spaak, former Belgian Prime Minister and President of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe nearly 50 years ago, reported in Europe in Prophecy.

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* See: Gog and Magog (Q&A) if you might believe Gog is a mere man, and not a motivating demon.

Jesus, The Lord God (Poem)

Jesus is The Lord God, in service to His Father God,

Who to His Son, delegated ALL things,

Both in and under Heaven, including Earth that’s sin-flawed. ¹

 

One in spirit and purpose, They are and have always been.

One in ways you and I can’t possibly fathom!

One in Their love for righteousness, and Their disdain for sin. ²

 

So what exactly does ‘Lord’ infer, what might it mean,

Especially for those who limit ‘God’ to the number, one?

Here is my take, so let’s see what from it you might glean: 

 

L —> Has Legal authority over everything, spiritually and physically.

O —>Has Ordained/allowed past things, ordered future predictions.

R —> Will Reign physically and spiritually on Earth 1,000 years.

D —>Has Delegated to you to discern/decide your eternal ‘So what?’

 

While true Christians discern the rational for shedding Christ’s blood,

(Which washes away the eternal stain of our sin),

Discerning His body might get lost in …carnality’s flood.

 

Adam’s sin made humans to bow to, and serve a new god,

Separating us from Father God and His Lord.

Our links to perceive, and desires to obey Them were flawed.

 

Living as a son of man, like a master builder, as it were,

Jesus laid the foundation to re-establish our links.

His whipping, crucifixion and resurrection finished His work.

 

Before His death, He learned obedience from His parents,

Respectful son to Mom, and understudy to Dad.

In His death, He displayed obedience to Providence.

 

In death, His spirit and soul continued to live,

Just like ours will do, when from this life we are gone.

Trust me, that’s the core point many Bible verses give! 

 

In spirit, He preached His Gospel to folks who died,

While waiting, in faith, for His long-promised coming.

Though their bodies were long dead, their faith was revived!

 

Since by His death, He had paid the price for their sin,

From their temporary prison, they now would be set free.

Heaven’s gates now opened, The Lord said, ‘Come on in!’

 

Now to you, my Friend, He extends the same invitation,

And you need not wait until you die! 

While alive, you can become a citizen of Heaven.

 

This you do when you embrace Him as ‘Lord, personal’,

And by faith, embrace His payment for your sin.

This is what that means, from the perspective, Biblical:

 

L —> Your Love for Him grows, encompassing everything in life.

O —> You Obey Him increasingly via learning His Word and ways.

R —> You Reign over evil in life, daily reaping righteous rewards.

D —> Will Delegate a special role for you in His Millennial Kingdom.

 

I don’t know about you, but this IS a GREAT offer!

There’s literally none greater available to mankind,

One that devils work hard at prompting us …to defer!

 

So throughout life, The Lord sends along folks who are …just like me,

To plant and water Gospel seeds in lives of folks …just like you,

To ponder His offer and ask, ‘What will your decision be?’

NB: Counterfeits can only follow that which is first real and TRUE!

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¹ The Book of Hebrews, chapters 1 and 2, attest to this. Uniquely, The Book of Ezekiel records The Lord's repeated phrase, ‘Then ___ will know I AM the LORD’, a whopping 57 of the 68 times this phrase appears in The Bible. (NKJV) Yet so many of us flat out refuse …to get the point.

² See: Is Jesus God? (Series)

Your Salvation Status (Q&A)

See the Q&A Series here

Q: How can a person know his/her salvation status?

 

A: What a GREAT question, the short answer to which is, it's by faith. But the operative question is, ‘Faith in what exactly and practically?’ Let’s set the stage to address this question.

 

The first thing The Lord did after He brought the Hebrews out of Egyptian slavery was to give them His basic laws (The Ten Commandments) by which He expected them to live. During their 40-year sojourn in the wilderness, He gave them detailed principles to help elucidate practical aspects of these laws. He did all or this through a ‘law and principle giver’, Moses, whom He had pre-selected before they left Egypt. Moses was commissioned to write all of this down. He wrote it in four of the five books of The Bible – Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. He was also the only man whom The Lord privileged to receive Heaven’s account of creation, plus  a summary account of mankind’s first few millennia on Earth - The Book of Genesis. Historically, this account was focused around the lives of three men who would become the patriarchs of a new people, nation and culture – Hebrew. Spiritually, this account was all about laying the foundation for Heaven’s multi-millennial strategy to redeem mankind from the condition Adam plunged all of us hopelessly deep into – sinfulness. The seeds of salvation of The Lord’s ‘elect’ were sown in two promises He gave:

 

(1) first to satan, the spirit who possessed the serpent in Genesis 3:15 – the promise that the woman’s Seed would defeat satan’s kingdom on Earth, referring to victory The Lord, Himself, would achieve over satan in the end.

(2) second to Abraham – the promise that, in Abraham’s Seed, all families of the world would be blessed, again referring to the birth of The Lord, Himself, as The Seed of woman, (Genesis 12:3 and 26:4) ¹

 

Now let’s transition to the manner in which salvation seeds sown in these promises, would begin to bear fruits in the form of born-again Christ-followers, i.e., the church. This particular status only became broadly available to us with the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Prior to His death, people who died in faith toward Him as ‘the unseen Lord God’, became His ‘saints’.

 

Shortly after His ascension into Heaven, The Lord applied a strangely very similar pattern in His pre-selection and commissioning of Paul as an apostle, to do the equivalent of what Moses had done! The strategic parallelisms between these two men are astounding, though likely missed by many. I refer to Paul as ‘The New Testament Equivalent of Moses’. ² After his shocking conversion, Paul was privileged to receive highly specialized insights and revelations into Heaven’s multi-millennial plan of salvation, including a unique vision into Heaven, itself! He was commissioned to preach and write about most of this, which He did with deep passion to the point of his execution. ³ Paul wrote most of The New Testament, from Romans-to-Philemon, and some suspect He may have also written The Book of Hebrews as well. Moreover, The Book of Acts is largely the history of the early church, mostly about Paul’s international church-planting journeys.

 

Just as Moses’ books present and elucidate The Lord’s basic laws and more detailed life principles for the Hebrews, during the 2nd age of our history, Paul’s letters do the equivalent for the church, during the 3rd age of our history. These are Heaven’s laws and principles which bona fide Christians (not fake Christians, folks who may be ‘Christianesque’ in their lifestyles) are to inculcate and practice, by faith. While it is our sincere profession of childlike faith/belief in the virgin birth, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus as Christ/Messiah, that triggers the born-again experience, and guarantees our name is written in The Lord’s Book of Life [Eternal] ⁴, it is the extent and manner of our conviction and commitment that:

 

(a) evidencees our faith to the on-looking world, as we mature in our walk with Jesus, and also

(b) guarantees our name will not be ‘blotted out’ of The Book of Life [Eternal] before we die. (The so-called ‘once saved, always saved’ doctrine is refuted throughout Scripture!)

 

Christian status (your question) is, therefore, ascertained by the growing closeness/intimacy of our walk with The Lord Jesus, empowered by His Spirit. Our walk is informed and energized by an ever deepening knowledge of, and faithful, demonstrated adherence to His Kingdom’s laws and principles. So there are clearly some provisos to retaining salvation. The notion, 'Once saved, always saved', is a bold-faced lie (of Satan and his devilish crew) many believers embrace. 

 

In His wisdom, The Lord designed and created man as an eternal being, in His own personal, tripartite image, as spirit/heart, soul and body. ⁵ Adam’s sin ushered death into the world, and thus, all human bodies became mortal, subject to physical decay and death. Our spirit and soul, however, remain eternal and shall never die. The Lord promises each person (likely all who will have ever been conceived) will be resurrected as an immortal, tripartite being! ⁶

Each part of our being needs to be fed in an on-going, sustainable manner: 

•  Physical food nourishes our body, producing physical energy.
• ‘Soul-ish’ food (things we feed our mind, will, emotions, intellect and imagination) nourishes our soul.
• Spiritual food nourishes our spirit/heart, producing spiritual energy.

The entire Bible is uniquely designed to feed our spirit and soul. Acceptable, Godly faith is the spiritual energy it produces, and by it, we (not Jesus) are admonished to save/renew our soul. Thus, you might call The Bible, Christian Bread or Heaven’s Bread for Christians! ⁷ 

 

Conclusion

 

Our status as a bona fide Christian is only permanent for us who faithfully endure in our life-long, spiritual maturation process until the end of our lives. Again, the  often heard concept, ‘once saved, always saved’, is thus clearly debunked in Hebrews 3:6, 6:11, in Revelation 2:26 and 3:5, 14-22, and is symbolized in ancient Israel’s many ‘yo-yo’ experiences with the so-called promised land. 

 

Like I said, what a GREAT question! I trust this response adequately fleshes out the oft heard short answer, it’s by faith.

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¹ See: God 101 – Who are God’s Elect? Part 1 and Part 2, What If? (Poem on Anti-Semitism) and Human’s DNA Hacked (Poem). The predicted blessing would be The Lord’s sacrificial death via crucifixion, as payment for every sin every human will have ever committed, provided that we receive/accept it by faith, and commit to live our lives according to His righteous requirements, again, by faith.

² See: Is Jesus God? (Part 3). Heavenly revelations Paul received were much broader, deeper and more impactful on God’s long-term redemption plan for mankind than revelations Moses received. Paul was used to expand and then build upon the new foundation Christ had laid, namely the spiritual foundation for His Church, worldwide. This is entirely consistent with the tactical pattern The Lord has used, and continues to use, in downloading His unlimited knowledge, wisdom and understanding to humanity, since Adam! He revealed that tactic in Isaiah 28: 10 & 13. 

³ See: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. Wouldn’t we all love to know what Paul was prohibited to write about re. his visionary visit to Heaven!

⁴ See: Acts 16:31 and the seven references (the spiritually 'perfect number') to ‘The Book of Life’ in The Book of Revelation. See also: ‘Christianesque’ (Poem).

⁵ Do you know your spirit and soul are uniquely different and they can be ‘divided’ (separated)? I call them our ‘immortal twins’, because The Bible infers they have similar functionalities. We cannot distinguish them. Hebrews 4:12-3 attests only The Word of God can separate them:

For The Word of God (The Bible) is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of the soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the spirit/heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

⁶ This will be accomplished in the set of several firsts, and the last resurrections. See: 1 Corinthians 15:42, Revelation 20:5-6, and also The Goshen Effect, Grand Finalé (Poem, Part 5) and Graves Re-purposed (Poem). See also: For You, Which Resurrection? (Poem).

⁷ See: Romans 12:2 and 1 Peter 2:2. See also: Tale of Two Saviors

Graves Re-purposed? (Poem)

According to The Lord’s strategy for humanity,

Our bodies are now a draft copy for this life’s sojourn. ¹

From Earth’s dust they’re created, and to it they shall return.

Thus, in a grave somewhere, we’ll all be, temporarily. ²

 

But this was not His grand design, originally.

In blazing glory our first parents were designed to endure,

But from such a state, in sin, they took a serious detour.

Bodies in decay, we will die, temporarily. ³

 

‘Temporarily?! Hey, dead is dead, and forever we’ll be!’

That notion is incorrect and so dead wrong.

But with it, many folks are going along,

Folks who think, from giving a­­­­ccount for our lives, we will be free.

Quite simply, we won’t.

 

Way back in antiquity, many folks embraced,

The concept of eternal life beyond the grave,

And that, because of this, in life they should ….behave.

They perceived that, of death, dying is …just a taste. ⁴

 

This accurate perception, Jesus later confirmed,

Then of it, He became an explicit example:

Died in a body mortal, raised in one eternal.

In resurrection, He was gloriously transformed! ⁵

 

It was into a borrowed grave His body was laid,

­­Temporarily dead, as His spirit and soul lived on.

All three were re-united on that resurrection dawn.

To its original purpose, this grave was conveyed. ⁶

 

Let’s fast-forward to the promised first resurrection,

When graves worldwide will suddenly be deprived,

Of all true Godly saints, both dead and alive.

Graves bursting open, imagine the repercussions!!! ⁷

WoW!!!

Ummm, could this be how The Lord will make LOTS of room,

For billions of folks who’ll perish subsequently,

By His promised tribulation plagues, tragically???

If so, my place in my grave …someone might assume!

 

Do you think belief in life after death 

has waned significantly? If so, why??

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¹ Adam and Eve were created as glorified, sinless, eternal beings to serve as gods or lords on/of Earth. See: In vs. Of - A Prepositional Detour. Adam’s purposeful sin ushered death into the world. (Romans 5:12) Further proof is in Genesis 3:6 when Eve was not tempted to eat of the tree of [eternal] life, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

² That is everyone except folks who have been, or will raptured ALIVE. See: The Rapture - When? Part 1 and Part 2

³ Why do you think Adam and Eve did not know they were naked before they sinned? See: Genesis 2:25, 3:7-11

⁴ See: Resurrection in the Old Testament, especially the Bible verses cited.

⁵ That we only ‘taste death’ is confirmed four times in Matthew 16:28, Mark 9:1, Luke 9:27 and John 8:52. Jesus returned to the immortal state He was always in before becoming a mortal man.

⁶ That Jesus was laid in a borrowed tomb is confirmed four times, in Matthew 27:57-60, Mark 15:46, Luke 23:53 and John 19:41.

⁷ See: The Goshen Effect, Grand Finalé (Poem, Part 5) and other posts that discuss the first and second resurrections mentioned in Revelation 20:5-6. The ‘would have been’ graves of alive saints will be deprived because, in the rapture, these folks won’t taste death!