The STRATEGY For SATAN’s FINEST HOUR--part A,-#IV
—Revelation 13:1-18
Satan’s end-time strategy preys upon & depends upon the surrender of your free-will to the weakness of your flesh...
The strategy you may concoct on your own to fix your situation may not be very effective, so that it ‘comes back to bite you’ as it were...destined to fail.
And, If your strategy is well thought out it MAY indeed be effective...though spiritually unsuccessful...
*However, if it is well thought-out by God’s design in Christ, then it WILL ABSOLUTELY Be SUCCESSFUL!
Satan’s strategy is well thought out & is effective at keeping people from living by truth. However since pride is the driver of that strategy, it is ‘ultimately’ doomed to failure. Praise God that Satan’s end-time strategy is limited in time.
By examining ‘Satan’s Finest Hour’, then we are better able to plan around his trickery/wiles/schemes/cunning. We will then be able to see our own spiritual shortcomings & needs, & see that our needs commend themselves to God’s ability rather than Satan’s, our own, or someone else’s.
By our recognizing & avoiding Satan’s deceptions, we will lead fulfilled spiritual lives & lead others to experience that same fulfillment.
Eph. 6:11-13—“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh & blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, & having done all, to stand.”
God furnished, to the apostle John, a picture of Satan’s finest hour.
Those who trust Scripture are furnished a clear picture of Satan’s end time strategy.
What strategies will mark Satan’s last days?
2 major strategies for Satan’s finest hour are...
A--Satan’s Counterfeit CHRIST(:1-10)
&
B--Satan’s Counterfeit PROPHET(:11-18)
Today we are going to continue looking at Part-A
A--SATAN’s COUNTERFEIT CHRIST(:1-10)
We will examine some Satanic strategies that are wielded thru the counterfeit Christ.
Previously we’ve discovered that
Satan’s strategy for his finest hour Turns...
1. POLITICS/Rule His Way(:1-2a)
2. EMPOWERMENT His Way(:2b)
3. ATTENTION His Way(:3a)
4. COMMITMENT His Way(:3b-4, 8)
5A(:5)—Satan’s strategy for his finest hour Turns...
POLARIZATION His Way(:5-6)
Explanation:(:5-6) Denouncing
:5—“And he was given a mouth speaking great things & blasphemies, & he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.”
To Polarize something is to cause it to go one way or the other with no middle ground. To decisively choose sides.
“And he was given a mouth speaking great things & blasphemies,...”
It is stated & implied that the dragon(AKA-Satan/the devil) “gave” the beast(AKA—Antichrist) his “mouth” which continually speaks “great things”(implied arrogance)[:2, 4; cf.-Dan. 7:8] along with “blasphemies” against God[Dan. 7:25a].
Dan. 7:8, 11, 20, 25—““I was considering the horns, & there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. & there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, & a mouth speaking pompous words.”.....“I watched then because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, & its body destroyed & given to the burning flame.”.....“& the ten horns that were on its head, & the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes & a mouth which spoke pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.”.....“He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, & shall intend to change times & law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand For a time[1 yr.] & times[2 yrs.] & half a time[1/2 a yr.].”
“Speaking great things”—
Great, Large, Many, Much....& in this case, 'Arrogant things’—i.e., impressed with & calling attention to his own abilities!
The Antichrist will be no slouch or dimwit. His great intellect—unsubmitted to the Lord—will cause him to fall victim to the sin of ‘unchecked’ pride. He will truly believe in his heart of hearts that he is ‘all that & a bag of chips.’ So for the Antichrist, God is secondary & is also his greatest rival & thus his nemesis!
Dan. 7:8—“...In this horn was...a mouth speaking pompous[brbr] words.”[NKJV]--OR--“...This horn possessed...a mouth uttering great boasts.”[NASB]
•“Pompous/Great”—brbr rab-rab’(Aramaic)—Adj.—1) Great—1a) Great, 1b) Great(fig. of power). Noun—2) Captain, chief. Strong—Huge(in size); Domineering(in character). Used 8X.?From—br rab[duplicated]—Abundant(in quantity, size, age, number, rank, quality). Contracted from bbr[to cast together, i.e. increase, especially in number; also to multiply by the myriad].
“Great”(See :2, 13)—megav/megalh/megaloi—Adj.—1) Great—1a) Of the external form or sensible appearance of things(or of persons); 2) Predicated of rank, as belonging to—2a) Persons, eminent for ability, virtue, authority, power, 2b) Things esteemed highly for their importance: of great moment, of great weight, importance, 2c) A thing to be highly esteemed for its excellence: excellent; 3) Splendid, prepared on a grand scale, stately; 4) Great things—4a) Of God's preeminent blessings, 4b) Of things which overstep the province of a created being, proud(presumptuous) things, full of arrogance, derogatory to the majesty of God. Strong—Big(literally or figuratively, in a very wide application).
“Speaking...Blasphemies”—
Slander, Rail, Detract from one’s good standing.
“Blasphemy”—blasfhmia—Lit=‘injurious fame/report’—Noun Fem.—1) Slander, detraction, speech injurious, to another's good name; 2) Impious & reproachful speech injurious to divine majesty. Strong—Vilification(especially against God). Used 19X.?From—blaptw—a primary verb; properly--To hinder, i.e. by implication--To injure.—&—fhmh—1) Fame, report; Strong—A saying, i.e. Rumor(“fame”).
The title(diabolov) regularly translated ‘devil’ in the NewTestament, actually has ‘blasphemy’, ’slander’, & ‘false accusation’ for it’s core meaning. Our English adverb, ‘diabolical’ comes from this same Greek title.
2Pet. 1:21--21:2, 9-13, 17-22—“for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”.....“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, & bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.”.....“then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations & to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, & especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness & despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, whereas angels, who are greater in power & might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught & destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, & will utterly perish in their own corruption, & will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots & blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you,”.....“These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever. For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them & overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” &, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”
Mk. 3:29-30—“but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation--because they said, “He[Jesus] has an unclean spirit.””
Mat. 15:18-19—“But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, & they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
Rev. 17:1-6—“Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came & talked with me[the apostle John], saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, & the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads & ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple & scarlet, & adorned with gold & precious stones & pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations & the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints & with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.”
•This pictures a worldly political system that is built around elevating Satan & fleshly desire, over & above the Living & true God.
1Cor. 3:18-20—“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; & again, “The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”
“And he was given authority to continue for forty two months”—
The beast will also be “given” his “authority” to continue in his chosen arrogance, but only for a limited number of months[Dan. 7:25e]. So, there is another—& a more powerful force—simultaneously at work with the beast.
Even though “great authority”(:2) has been given to the beast by the dragon(Satan), the beast(& thus Satan himself), will yet be ‘limited’ in his time of perverse “authority.”
God Himself will decidedly limit any & all opportunity given to the beast(& Satan). So the beast’s “great authority” will be limited by the hand of God. The beast’s & thus the dragon’s(:2) ultimate perversions will be limited to a mere “forty-two months” or 3 1/2 years.
•The time spoken of here refers to the latter half(3 1/2 yrs.) of the Tribulation period.
Rev. 12:12—“Therefore rejoice, O heavens, & you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth & the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
“Given”2X(See :2, 4, 7, 14, 15; :16—“receive”)—didwmi—Verb—1) To give; 2) To give something to someone—2a) Of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage—2a1) To bestow a gift, 2b) To grant, give to one asking, let have, 2c) To supply, furnish, necessary things, 2d) To give over, deliver—2d1) To reach out, extend, present, 2d2) Of a writing, 2d3) To give over to one's care, intrust, commit—2d3a) Something to be administered, 2d3b) To give or commit to some one something to be religiously observed, 2e) To give what is due or obligatory, to pay: wages or reward, 2f) To furnish, endue; 3) To give—3a) To cause, profuse, give forth from one's self—3a1) To give, hand out lots, 3b) To appoint to an office, 3c) To cause to come forth, i.e. as the sea, death & Hell are said to give up the dead who have been engulfed or received by them, 3c) To give one to someone as his own—3c1) As an object of his saving care, 3c2) To give one to someone, to follow him as a leader & master, 3c3) To give one to someone to care for his interests, 3c4) To give one to someone to whom he already belonged, to return; 4) To grant or permit one—4a) To commission. Didwmi denotes “to give” in general, opposite to lambanw “to take”; dwreomai specific, “to bestow, present”; didwmi might be used even of evils, but dwreomai could be used of such things only ironically. Strong—a prolonged form of a primary verb(which is used as an alternative in most of the tenses); To give(used in a very wide application, properly, or by implication, literally or figuratively; greatly modified by the connection).
“Authority”(See :2, 4)—exousia—Noun Fem.—1) Power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases—‚1a) Leave or permission; 2) Physical & mental power—2a) The ability or strength with which one is endued, which he either possesses or exercises; 3) The power of authority(influence) & of right(privilege); 4) The power of rule or government(the power of him whose will & commands must be submitted to by others & obeyed)—4a) universally--4a1) Authority over mankind; 4b) specifically--4b1) The power of judicial decisions, 4b2) Of authority to manage domestic affairs; 4c) metonymically--4c1) A thing subject to authority or rule—4c1a) Jurisdiction, 4c2) One who possesses authority—4c2a) A ruler, a human magistrate, 4c2b) The leading & more powerful among created beings superior to man, spiritual potentates, 4d) A sign of the husband's authority over his wife—4d1) The veil with which propriety required a women to cover herself, 4e) The sign of regal authority, a crown. Exousia is primarily liberty of action; then authority -- either as delegated power, or as unrestrained, arbitrary power. Strong—Privilege, i.e. subjectively--Force, capacity, competency, freedom, or objectively--Mastery(concretely--Magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence.
“Continue/Act/Exercise”(See :7—“make”; :16—“causes”)—poiew—Verb—1) To make—1a) with the names of things made--To produce, construct, form, fashion, etc., 1b) To be the authors of, the cause, 1c) To make ready, to prepare, 1d) To produce, bear, shoot forth, 1e) To acquire, to provide a thing for one's self, 1f) To make a thing out of something, 1g) To (make i.e.)render one anything—1g1) To (make i.e.)constitute or appoint one anything, to appoint or ordain one that, 1g2) To (make i.e.)declare one anything, 1h) To put one forth, to lead him out, 1i) To make one do something—1i1) cause one to, 1j) To be the authors of a thing (to cause, bring about); 2) To do—2a) To act rightly, do well—2a1) To carry out, to execute, 2b) To do a thing unto one—2b1) To do to one, 2c) with designation of time--To pass, spend, 2d) To celebrate, keep—2d1) To make ready, & so at the same time to institute, the celebration of the passover, 2e) To perform: to a promise. Poiew denotes "to do", prassw - "to practice”; poiew to designate performance, prassw intended, earnest, habitual, performance; poiew to denote merely productive action, prassw definitely directed action; poiew to point to the action result, prassw to the scope & character of the result. These words are often used interchangeably. Strong—apparently a prolonged form of an obsolete primary; To make or do(in a very wide application, more or less direct).
The Byzantine Text adds—polemov—‘Make war’(See :7)
CONCLUSION:
Action:
Satan’s strategy for his finest hour Turns...
5A(:5). POLARIZATION His Way(:5-6)
1. POLITICS/Rule His Way(:1-2a)
2. EMPOWERMENT His Way(:2b)
3. ATTENTION His Way(:3a)
4. COMMITMENT His Way(:3b-4, 8)
Pt#5A(:5) Presented 07/14/2019am to:
1stBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave.(SE Ave. A)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Pt#s 2-8 Presented 05/11/2003am to;
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 39897
