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| Satan The Corrupted Dawn Star The true purpose of sin told by the story of Satan's beginning and foretold end (NIV) |
(Note to light readers and new Christians: This is a comprehensive article on sin, the origin of sin, the creation of Satan, the purpose of faith, holding to faith, the end of the world, and the ultimate destruction of Satan and triumph of Christ over all evil. For a less overwhelming and shorter explanation on God's plans read my articles "The Death of America: Pre-end times Catastrophe of America" about the one world religion and pre-end times events (called signs of the times), and then read "The Great Tribulation and Millennial Kingdom" for the actual end of the world events. Both articles each have all of the information from the article below but without some of the heavier elements that may be difficult to understand. When you're ready to understand sin, Satan, and the spiritual warfare of the world and Christians in full context, dive into this article. Also, if you're struggling with why God allows sin and evil in this world, read "Why Evil Is Allowed," which gives a solid explanation why.
And the story begins...(Note to light readers and new Christians: This is a comprehensive article on sin, the origin of sin, the creation of Satan, the purpose of faith, holding to faith, the end of the world, and the ultimate destruction of Satan and triumph of Christ over all evil. For a less overwhelming and shorter explanation on God's plans read my articles "The Death of America: Pre-end times Catastrophe of America" about the one world religion and pre-end times events (called signs of the times), and then read "The Great Tribulation and Millennial Kingdom" for the actual end of the world events. Both articles each have all of the information from the article below but without some of the heavier elements that may be difficult to understand. When you're ready to understand sin, Satan, and the spiritual warfare of the world and Christians in full context, dive into this article. Also, if you're struggling with why God allows sin and evil in this world, read "Why Evil Is Allowed," which gives a solid explanation why.
Ezekiel 28:12 (NIV)
12 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “‘You were the seal of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden,
the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
topaz, onyx and jasper,
lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.[a]
Your settings and mountings[b] were made of gold;
on the day you were created they were prepared.
14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade
you were filled with violence,
and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
I made a spectacle of you before kings.
18 By your many sins and dishonest trade
you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire come out from you,
and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes on the ground
in the sight of all who were watching.
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| Satan is the red Cherub on the left, red perhaps as
a depiction of his evil nature. Christ is pushing out
Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Christ
is usually depicted in Roman art with a large halo
around his head during a phase of Christianity
that involved iconography (icons/symbols of holy
people/objects). This was the way the old Roman god
Sol Indicts (means "Invincible Sun," named also
Apollo / Sol), was depicted. The Romans used this to
signify Christ as the true deity, the true invincible sun,
so to speak, where Sol is merely a halo on
the glorious body of Christ. |
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In heaven, Satan committed unspeakable sins. Due to his unique role in heaven, where he even sat on the Mount of God, Satan came to the point where he was brazen and brimmed with arrogance for his status in heaven, and his beauty filled him with great pride. These verses are paralleled to the king of Tyre, who, while on his Earthly throne, was having his strings pulled by Satan like a puppet. But absolute wickedness was found in Satan, and in these verses it says God cast him to the Earth in disgrace for those sins. And although this fall from heaven was long before the king of Tyre was even born, there are references to kings watching this mighty angel's disgrace and defeat, and becoming consumed with fire. This is not only a reference to Satan's fall from heaven which occurred shortly after the creation of man, but also illustrates his ultimate demise in the end times where humans kings watch his defeat by Christ, ultimately with Satan being consumed in fire, and thus ending all sin in the universe. Yet regarding the king of Tyre, this could be an allusion regarding Satan's ultimate failure to fully control the greedy king and get the entire city destroyed as Ezekiel proclaimed would happen. Perhaps the king repented? All that is known is that the destruction never occurred, and God does not relent on dishing out well-deserved punishments, nor does he forget his promises. It should be safe to say that the King and Tyre repented, though nothing is mentioned.
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We, as Christians, must realize just how powerful God really is. We should never waiver, but our limited abilities to understand inhibit us in many ways. This is when faith in Christ is so vital, since Christ reveals so much to us over time, but only if we are open to it. As it says. those who have ears; let them hear. And those who have eyes to see, let them see. When Paul wrote to the Romans, he made it clear that this works in reverse, for people with eyes and ears choose not to hear and see, and their hearts are hardened for it over time as Pharaoh's was in the Exodus.
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Remember, after God created man from the dust of the Earth he said it was very good. This leads some people to believe that Satan was created by God with undeniable intent-- knowing full well he'd turn on God, and perhaps God was counting on it. Reason being, is that God allowed Satan to tempt Adam and Eve knowing full well they would choose not to obey. God could have very easily prevented Satan from entering the Garden, but chose not to. Satan is not powerful to God, so do not misconstrue anything. For a while I wondered just how powerful he was compared to God until I read everything possible about God, Satan, and God's plans. My conclusion goes thusly: Satan is a puppet on strings, where God is so powerful that even when Satan does evil, that evil produces good results. This shows such overwhelming power over Satan, where even evil produces good (for purposes of faith; seasoned Christians probably already know where I am going with this article.)
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Regardless of what conclusion you come to, remember that God never infringes on free will, so Satan and other angels were made with good intentions and were all allowed to choose to follow God or Satan, and one-third of all the angels of heaven fell into sin with Satan from his corruption. He must be a very good deceiver, for this makes a very loud statement of its own because God is omniscient and knew what would happen in the Garden of Eden and instead chose to let Adam and Eve maintain their free will, along with the angels in heaven. This is where sin has its purpose, but this article will take some time to flesh out this confusing notion of sin and what purpose it could possibly serve for God that despises all sins. If you want a quicker explanation, read my article called "Faith: Improve Your Relationship with God in 10 Minutes Flat!" The possible explanation for God allowing sin into the universe will be answered as the article moves forward.
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Now below are the verses which show that when God made Adam and Eve, he stated that they were "very good," which is very high praise if you take it from an artist's perspective. Unfortunately this scene of beauty and new life for the first two humans is drenched in tragedy but with impeachable hope as well, as I will explain more and more as you read.
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Genesis 1:31God saw all that he had made [(mankind)], and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day...
Genesis 3:1-7 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked;...
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Adam and Eve were confronted by the snake in the Garden of Eden while they were still sinless. The snake was Satan, and he tempted them into the same sin which brought him and one-third of the angels of heaven to the Earth in disgrace and damnation. The sin itself was pride and disobedience, where Satan said if they ate the fruit of the tree of life they'd be like God and "know" more than what they were allowed to know. This illustrates pride, since Adam and Eve chose to be autonomous from God by choosing their own path and attempted to supersede their station. It almost makes no sense since they were both gods of the Earth already. Could you imagine being given the entire Earth and yet you wish for more? Adam and Eve were tasked with caring for the Earth and also subduing it as gods, for they were made in God's image and given full control of all life on the Earth. However, Satan was very clever. He tempted them to rise above their allotted stations and demand more which took the form of Adam and Eve eating the fruit of the tree of life. And just as Satan tried to rise above his own allotted station when he tried to dethrone God (more on this below as well as the purpose of sin), so did Adam and Eve when they desired to know as God knows, rather than trusting him. They disobeyed God and allowed their pride overcome their better judgment. They found though, that seeing as God does was not at all what they expected, as they saw that they were naked and became ashamed of their bodies, and even hid from God.-
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And the story continues...
Isaiah 14:12-16 (NIV)
12 How you have fallen from heaven,These verses here directly describe Satan as one of the stars of heaven, where "stars" reference the angels of heaven. Now Satan is often referred to as Lucifer, which is not a real name, but actually a Latin word that simply means "shining one," derived from the Hebrew word helel. The confusion comes up often among newer Christians because the NIV translation does not show this word for what it really is in the footnotes; it simply says "morning star" which means Lucifer in Latin. Shining One is a name attributed to Jesus, where the term Lucifer cannot apply properly since it's not an actual name (proper noun vs. adjective.) Isaiah's verses after the ones above immediately move on to Assyrian kings like Nebuchadnezzar and/or Sennacherib from Babylon; kings who reigned long ago on Earth that were revered as gods in their kingdoms just as Satan desires for himself. Babylon is called the seat of evil in Revelation and for the foretold end times because of this worship of kings as gods (see below).
morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.[a]
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”
15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,
to the depths of the pit.
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And yet, why did God not simply destroy Satan immediately? It's actually because Satan caused sin to enter the world, and since God distributes justice to all fairly, God would have had to hold Adam and Eve accountable for their sins as well, and destroy his humanity. Obviously God refused to do that, since we are still here, but instead God chose to make his son Christ our Messiah to save humanity and end sin and the power of Satan indirectly. By sacrificing his own body as a blood offering and temporarily allowing himself to die (Satan's greatest power is death), Jesus set the stage to overcome Death itself (overcome Satan) through his own resurrection. Humans are destined also to experience this resurrection through faith in Christ. Since Christ vanquished Satan's power over himself, all humans who have faith in Christ will also take part in overcoming Death (overcome Satan.)
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Death is Satan's ace of spades; it's his most devastating power. He is allotted this power for a time, and where Satan's ultimate power over us is guaranteed if we do not accept Christ as Savior, for it is only through faith in Jesus that we can take part in the resurrection. All humans die because of Satan and sin, but most people simply do not realize that humans were never made to die-- we were made as eternal beings meant to live forever on Earth, but Satan changed that when Adam and Eve chose to trust Satan's word over God's, thus breaking God's power over us with our choice of autonomy from God and condemning humans to die. Sin separates us from God since it is the power of Satan, so as you sin you bring yourself away from God and closer to Satan.
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However, in typical God fashion, he makes sure to show his complete supremacy over Satan without ever violating our gift of free will, for while Satan was given perfect beauty and unimaginable wisdom, God's ultimate power is truly unlimited. This show of strength has already occurred, for God the Father had sent Christ the Son to die for our sins and end Satan's power of Death over us once and for all. Christ was sent to experience Satan's power of Death, which is the same as saying Christ was allowed to be subdued by Satan, except that Christ completely overcame Death during this so-called submission, ultimately destroying Satan's ace of spades for all humans in a triumphant show of raw power and love.
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Amazing! Where even when Christ is subdued to Death (Satan's power) he still overcomes it as promised, where his body becomes a blood sacrifice for our sins and his glory spread across the entire Earth for all to share in, for to triumph over Death itself is surely a victory that reaps great glory. And so shall we share in that glory!
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| Archangel Michael: Such a cool picture!! Click it to make it it's original size/resolution |
The epic conclusion...
Revelation 12:4-9 (NIV)
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads.4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”[a] And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. 7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
This is where Satan, the great Accuser, perhaps even a literal dragon (flying serpent, but I doubt it will be that obvious who he is until the very end), comes into his beginning in human history, as well as his temporal reign over humans in spirit form (reign via sin). This brief passage is loaded with many meanings and Old Testament references, much like all of Revelation, but most likely not all of it is literal, but who knows? God has a real flare for the dramatic, and Earth has always been the main stage for his glory. Do not doubt that much or all of Revelation could be literal, for if you were a God, wouldn't you demonstrate your marvelous power? (Of course you would!)
Below is a brief explanation (yes, very brief in fact) of the mid-tribulation belief that Christians will witness the Antichrist become a ruling power over Earth. The pre-tribulation belief is where Christians are raptured before any of the last days events occur, where in fact the rapture is the first sign of the end of days. I like both beliefs but I do not believe that God would allow for his chosen people (us) to endure the entire tribulation. Simply put, it is completely unclear when and where the events will take place, but instead Christ says for Christians to stay awake, which simply means to follow Christ with alertness, do not stray but love God with all your heart.
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15 “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
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MID- TRIBULATION: This is the only real time reference we can go on concretely as to when the end days will come, which simply says BEWARE. Anyway, according to mid-tribulation beliefs, during the first 1,260 days (3 1/2 years) Satan will be trying to establish himself as a god over humanity. It is thought that during this period of 3 1/2 years that Christians will have a chance to safely fight the words of Satan with the Word of God, winning more souls for Christ, and sweeping victory away from Satan. After the Christian safekeeping of 1,260 days expires, the Christians who fought Satan (verbally) are to be raptured, and the remaining 3 1/2 years are the "last chance days" for the remaining non-Christians to accept Christ and continue to fight Satan, where only the words of God and the raptured Christians warnings and witnessing are there to guide them. The idea behind this, is that Christ says "Those who have ears, let them ear," and the Word of God is a mighty echo that they can choose to heed or disobey. Those who obey and accept Christ are tested however, for they are protected spiritually but not physically. Satan will find these "last chance" Christians and execute them, most likely torturing them horrifically in the process. The remaining Christians will not have a happy 3 1/2 years at all, but it's still better than Hell.
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These "last chance" Christians will be in a world ruled by Satan physically; a world where Satan becomes a human god temporarily and deceives the world into thinking he is the true Christ. Satan will even mimic Christ to the best of his evil ability, but is described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing," so anyone with eyes will clearly see him for who and what he is. But the people must choose Christ in order to see, otherwise they will be deceived. This simply means that just as in today's life we cannot fight sin on our own, so too these remaining Christians will fail to understand Satan as the Father of Lies unless they allow Christ into their hearts...a Christ, this Messiah, who will open their eyes. The rest of humanity will sign the evil covenant with Satan though since they are all deceived through their rejection of Jesus as true God, and they will make Satan god of the Earth. |
| Plague of Boils and the sun and moon are darkened. |
The Plagues of Egypt and of Revelation
The third column shows how the righteous will have protection and assurance in Christ
The third column shows how the righteous will have protection and assurance in Christ
| Exodus parallels | |||
| 1 | flies, 8:20 | earth, sores, Rev. 16:2 | Physical safety for Christians with mark of Christ on foreheads. Those with the Mark of the Beast (666 or Satan's name on either hand or forehead) endure plague and famine, pestilence and sores |
| 2 | livestock struck, 9:1 | 2sea, blood, Rev. 3 | Most of, if not all animals will die of starvation, and normal looking drinking water will instantly turn into blood in the mouths of non-Christians who drink, but Christians will not experience this (water will remain water for them) |
| 3 | boils, 9:8 | rivers & fountains, blood, Rev. 4 | Christ is the Water of Life: Almost all major sources of water on Earth will become pure blood, killing all sea creatures and life in oceans |
| 4 | hail, 9:13 | terrible heat from sun, Rev. 8 | Sun will be so hot to non-Christians they will be seared as if walking into open flame. Plants become scorched and animals will be cooked alive. Christians will not feel this heat |
| 5 | locusts 10:1 | seat of beast, painful darkness, Rev. 10 | 33% of the Sun, Moon and stars' lights will be darkened, making days significanly darker and shorter. The darkness will be painful |
| 6 | painful darkness, 10:21 | Euphrates prepared for kings, Rev. 12 | Reference to Babylon's Seat of Evil from Isaiah. Earth's remaining humans will suffer spiritual dryness unless they do not repent very soon...Christ's coming is also prepared, where the seat of evil is to be conquered by Christ very shortly from this point |
| 7 | firstborn struck, 11:1 | air, earthquake and hail, Rev. 17 | God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit come to Earth with booming voices and an Earth-splitting quake that completely annihilates Babylon. God now sits on the Earthly throne and rules the Earth. Non-Christians and the Beast all rally together to attempt to resist God one final time in a war called Armageddon but are totally defeated. Hailstones weighing 100lbs fall from the sky, killing many people. Still, surviving non-humans curse God and resist. |
End of the first reign of evil and the Millennial Kingdom events
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Satan’s followers
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All people who took the Mark of the Beast are sent to Hell with Satan
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God reigns for 1000 years over all Earth. Millions of humans who did not take the Mark of the Beast will survive and has one last chance to accept Christ. During these 1000 years no death will ever occur, and all Christians become judges of what's left of non-Christian humanity.
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End of Evil
Rev 20:3
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After 1000 years, Satan is released one final time to test the faith and love of the remaining humans, where humans are allowed to choose Christ or Satan. Satan's and his new followers will rally to defy God, but they will all be instantly transported to Hell forever, and this marks the complete annihilation of evil from all existence.
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God loves faith. Everything is all about simply having faith in God. Being alive in Christ simply means your goal is to believe in God. Nothing more. If you take the time to read all of Revelation, every time a judgment occurs (trumpet judgments, etc.) it is to capture the attention of non-Christians and make them realize they are being tricked by Satan. While Revelation seems terrifying, you should read it not for the sake of being prepared for the end of the world, as some do, but read it and instead see just how far God has gone and will go to win the faith of humans. Surviving these terrible events is all linked to faith. Period! Having faith is the name of the game. Nothing is more important to our Great God.
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The graph above and the verses listed below are the quotes taken directly from Revelation. The verses below correspond to the graph above, but nothing can substitute actually reading Revelation. Some people believe the verses below are all symbolic, but when I read Revelation it seems painfully obvious this is all literal. There's nothing to indicate that this isn't a true prophecy, since prophecies like this in Exodus already came true!! I'm sure the end times will be quite horrible for non-Christians who keep resisting God and Christ. The quotes are broken since Revelation is very long. After reading these verses, take the time to read the entire book of Revelation!
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1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues [(of Egypt)]—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. (Revelation 15:1).
1 I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign: seven angels with the seven last plagues [(of Egypt)]—last, because with them God’s wrath is completed. (Revelation 15:1).
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------3 The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the sea died. (Revelation 16:3).
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4 The third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5 Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
“You are just in these judgments, O Holy One,
you who are and who were;
6 for they have shed the blood of your holy people and your prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”
7 And I heard the altar respond:
“Yes, Lord God Almighty,
true and just are your judgments.” (Revelation 16:4-7).
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8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him. (Revelation 16:8-9).
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10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done. (Revelation 16:10-11).
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12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. (Revelation 16:12).
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17 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds,[a] fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible. (Revelation 16:17-21).
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| Babylon around 630s B.C. |
FAITH AND THE EPIC STRUGGLE: But a person must always keep the true power of God in sight regardless of how you or others interpret Revelation, which is Christ's overcoming Death (Satan.) and continual giving of his love, mercy and forgiveness even in the end times after over 2,000 years of rejection. Humans would give up on a person who rejects them almost immediately, so could you imagine being patient with someone for millennia? Christ knows we struggle with sin, and all he asks for is Faith in Christ, where in faith we can then tackle sin later when we are spiritually strong. If you are intimidated by sin and becoming a Christian, don't worry about it. Just focus on your faith, for it is only by faith that Christ can save you. Repentance will come later as you learn to love Christ, and when you realize after walking with God that he really loves you, I mean, he really loves you. You'll learn to repent when you are a stronger Christian. Too often people get discouraged with sin, when in actuality sin and the law of God simply shows us how doomed we are if we don't have Christ. So with Christ you will eventually gather strength and fight sin, but more than all of this, faith is the foundation.
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Satan doesn't even realize that his evil is actually working for our benefit, where God's glory shines even more as we decide to accept Christ and maintain our faith in him. If you're struggling with your relationship with God, skip to the very bottom of this article and read my prayer and explanation!
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| The Scarlet Whore rides the 10 headed beast of Tribulation. The ten heads represent the hills of Rome during the peak of the Roman Empire's rule over the world. In the end times, we will all be like Rome (we live in a global economy, so we're already there). The Scarlet Whore drinks from a goblet filled with the blood of Christian martyrs and commits adultery with all nations. She is symbolic of Christian persecution and free sexuality of the end times. We live in a world that justifies random sex encounters with strangers, homosexuality, abortion, and pornography. |
It is from this verse, and many, many others that illustrate the end of the reign of Death (Sin=Death), where Satan is allowed to physically rule the Earth for a total time of 7 years, and where for 1,260 days (3 1/2 years) Christians are still on the Earth in a great tribulation and persecution. When Satan comes he will weed out the Christians so his influence can thrive.
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The Bible alludes to a great rapture, where after Christ's resurrection (2000 years ago) he was caught up (raised) into the clouds, and Christ promises this for us. But it does not say when, nor does it say that the Christians being kept safe for 1,260 days are Christians before or after this rapture. But in the end times, it is almost unanimously agreed that once the last remaining Christians are gone (raptured or killed), the Antichrist, this Corrupt Morning Star, will take a seat on the throne of Earth referred to in Isaiah as the evil seat of the Babylonian kings Nebuchadnezzar // Sennacherib, and reign in evil for just 7 years, ebbing worshipped by the last humans who rejected Christ as Savior. Regardless of how people interpret Revelation, Christ is known to come once more and end evil. Everyone agrees on this. How this happens is hard to understand since the Bible is filled with symbolic imagery that is difficult to comprehend. Past, present and future references to old and new prophecies are crammed in single sentences, loaded with so much meaning that we simply cannot know for sure what exactly the references are for, since they appear to describe past, present and future.
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Ultimately, however, this will not be a time of sorrow and tragedy but rather the opposite, for although horrors will be unleashed this "end time" is the end of evil for all interpretations of Revelation, which takes the form of a "last chance" for the remaining humans. In this period, many miraculous signs will appear on planetary scales. Truly the miracles will be far grander than all of the miracles ever written about in the Bible. And sadly, these miracles will be greatly needed, for the world at this point would be so drenched in pervasive sin and faithlessness that most still will not believe in Christ.
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| A scene from the movie Passion of the Christ. All Christians must watch this movie, for it demonstrates God's true love for humanity. But most humans still rejected him when he came to Earth. Ultimately, Christ was tortured brutally by whipping, flogging, beatings and cutting deep gashes into his head with a crown made from thorn sticks twisted together, and they ultimately hammered nails into his hands to pin him on a cross to die slowly between two thieves. They placed a sign above his head mocking him, which stated he was the king of the Jews, yet hung on the Cross. Christ defeated Satan when he was resurrected after this awful death, and continued to love and bless us with his mercy. He was a true blood sacrifice to end all sacrifices...Would you allow yourself to be tortured for hours for a person who hated you? Would you die like this for the man who is killing you slowly? Christ did. Even the men who killed him were not exempt from his love and forgiveness. |
Sin was allowed, as I said, simply because God judges all fairly, and to destroy only Satan is not the way of a justice-driven God of any universe. By allowing sin, God the Father (Yahweh; means I am; stating his eternal nature; am, was, and always will be) paved a road to his son Jesus Christ to overcome sin and Death, where for our brief lives on Earth we are given a choice to either continue our sin or accept God's love. There are so many misconceptions about sinning, though. Too many people believe they can never stop sinning and just give up when they start, since they come to this inevitable realization. But that is exactly why Christ was sent, not to judge us, for he says his father (Yahweh) is the judge, but that Christ came because he knew that humans could never ever stop sinning even for a single day.
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| Satan tempting Jesus on Earth |
The road to overcoming Death and sin was simple: send Christ to Earth to live a sinless life, to finally be the first human never to sin, and believe me, the Bible makes it abundantly clear that Jesus was thoroughly tempted by Satan. In fact, Christ was tempted far greater than any human who ever lived, where Satan appeared and spoke to Jesus face to face. Now Christ was human and this made him vulnerable, but being a perfect human, he had perfect faith in the Father, and through his relationship with God the Father he was able to overcome sin and eventually die blamelessly....and we all know that Death only inflicts those who are sinful, and so when Christ died he overcame Death simply because of his faith in the Father and living a blameless life. This does mean that a human like you or I could theoretically overcome Death itself as well, but this would require never even thinking a single sinful thought for our entire existences as well as having perfect faith in the Father. This is not possible, obviously, so Christ did it for us. For when we sin (even in thoughts) we allow Satan to control us (we lust, murder, steal, etc.), which is actually Satan's powerful influence gripping us tighter. Christ overcame this Death because he never fell to Satan's disruptive influence, and through the Father, Christ broke the hold of sin upon humanity once and for all by becoming not only the only sinless human to ever live, but by absorbing all of our sins as well, which was the entire purpose of his coming to Earth.
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God is a very thoughtful entity, full of wisdom beyond any angel's magnitude, for as we saw in Satan's story, Satan was given immeasurable beauty and impeachable wisdom to the point where he was God's "seal of perfection," yet his sin (pride) corrupted that intelligence, where he now exists as an entity tortured by his own evil. Evil twists people's perceptions, just like those pessimistic people who always expect the worst to happen, evil can warp one's thoughts. Read Christ's message. I can't imagine a God of limitless power allowing himself to become a weak, frail human, and not only that, to forsake his power and become dependent on another superpower (Father), for Christ who lived as a human was limited to human thought, limited in power, where his power was given to him by the Father, and even died (though defeated death by the resurrection).
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So what have we learned? Ultimately, all of this reading is for the pursuit of knowledge. What of any of this really matters in the end? The lesson to be learned is that anyone who says Christ does not love humanity is a liar and most likely supports their sinful way of life. Christ lived and died for us all-- Jew and gentile. And the gift of life in his name has no price, but is a free gift, and he encourages us to be courageous in his holy name, where by having even a little faith a believer is capable of great triumphs over evil.
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Just remember this verse:
John 3:16 (NIV)
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Amen!
