The Battle - Defeating The Enemy Of Your Soul Part 9

THE ANTICHRIST WILL HAVE a magnetic, charismatic personality and will quickly win the favor of the nations of the world. Most will place their trust in him because of his ability to seize the moment, control the crowd, and speak with mastery. At the time he a.s.sumes leadership, nations will desperately look to him to bring them together under a system that will settle the economic crisis, the military tension, and eliminate famine, poverty, and epidemic illnesses. He will be full of ideas and strategies. Perhaps he will even have a peaceful solution to the unrest in Yugoslavia, Central Africa, or the Middle East.

A false peace will come over the world at the beginning of the Antichrist's rule. It won't be long, however, before his true motives will be revealed. Without apology, the Antichrist will quickly turn against people who pose a threat to him. To keep the world under control he will orchestrate the persecution and killing of millions, making the Holocaust look small by comparison. He will be the sociopath to end all sociopaths and a master intimidator.

Some have questioned whether one human being could exercise such ultimate control over the destiny of mankind. Many have thought that the world will not stand by and let a leader destroy millions of innocent people. However, history reveals that this type of leadership has existed before. Why can't it come to pa.s.s in even greater magnitude in the future?

In his book Exploring the Future, John Phillips writes, Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union for twenty-five terror-filled years. Genghis Khan and Ivan the Terrible were novices compared with Stalin.... It is estimated that Stalin killed ten million peasants in his drive to collectivize the farms of Russia. An additional ten million Ukrainians vanished; another five million died of famine. Stalin's secret police shot and hanged whole villages. Millions were forced into slave-labor camps to build roads and ca.n.a.ls, cut down forests, open mines, and gather harvests.

Stalin killed at least a million members of his own communist party and purged the leading generals and thirty thousand officers from leadership of the Russian army. All Red Army officers who had gained experience in the Spanish civil war were brought home and shot.

Stalin banished his wife's sister to a concentration camp for writing her memoirs. During and after World War II he supervised the disappearance of some three million Jews in Russia, the Baltic states, and Soviet-controlled Poland. At the time of his death he was planning the systematic extermination of every Jew in the Soviet Union.15 Under the Antichrist's leadership many nations will once again close their eyes to the destruction of millions of guiltless people.

Famines will increase, and pestilences such as AIDS and the Eboli virus will become widespread. Natural disasters will happen more than in any time in history. The world will seem out of control. Literally billions of people will die during the seven-year period called the tribulation. The world will see human destruction such as has not been seen since the flood of Noah's day, yet even the number who died then will not compare with the number who will die during this short period of time. The Antichrist will become only more heartless and insensitive as the human devastation intensifies. His only concern will be world domination.

John Phillips explains, The antichrist will be an attractive and charismatic figure, a genius, a demon-controlled, devil-taught charmer of men. He will have answers to the horrendous problems of mankind. He will be all things to all men: a political statesman, a social lion, a financial wizard, an intellectual giant, a religious deceiver, a masterful orator, a gifted organizer. He will be Satan's masterpiece of deception, the worlds false messiah. The ma.s.ses will follow him with boundless enthusiasm and will readily enthrone him in their hearts as their worlds savior and G.o.d.16 The Antichrist will be clever. He will be a flatterer and have unparalleled boldness (Dan. 8:23-25; 11:21). He will be full of pride and arrogance, like the evil one he will serve (Isa. 14:12- 17). He will be a deceptive liar like no other. He will be a man without integrity, but will have the ability to make ma.s.ses of intelligent people think his integrity is impeccable.

He will invent his own laws and disregard any law he chooses, as in his breaking of the covenant with Israel. He will be unbridled, out of control, illegal, and a law unto himself (2 Thess. 2:7- 8). "The man of sin" will be the incarnation of sin itself. He will try to do what Satan has sought to do for thousands of years: make himself equal to G.o.d.

This leader will pretend to accept all religions, including the Jewish faith, Islam, Buddhism, and the counterfeits of Christianity, but eventually he will even turn on all these with intense hatred and destruction. During this time many will realize that Christianity is the true faith, however. Yet these new Christians will not take the mark of the beast, and most will be martyred for their faith in Jesus.

Ultimately, after a reign of only a few years, the Antichrist will attempt to do battle with G.o.d at the war of Armageddon. That war will be his end. He will not be destroyed by a gun or a bomb, but by the second coming of Jesus Christ Himself (see Revelation 19:11-21).

Satan has tried over and over to bring a person into a position of supreme authority over the earth, but G.o.d has never permitted it. When the Antichrist is revealed, it will only be because G.o.d has sovereignly allowed it to take place. At present there is a restraining power over Satan's desire to introduce this man to the world. When the church is raptured from the earth, the restraint will be removed.

William Barclay makes three helpful observations about this end-time leader: (i) There is a force of evil in the world. Even if he could not logically prove that there was a devil, many a man would say, "I know there is because I have met him." We hide our heads in the sand if we deny that there is an evil power at work.

(ii) G.o.d is in control. Things may seem to be crashing to chaos but in some strange way even the chaos is in G.o.ds control.

(iii) The ultimate triumph of G.o.d is sure. In the end nothing can stand against him. The Lawless One may have his day but there comes a time when G.o.d says, "Thus far and no farther." And so the great question is, "On what side are you? In the struggle at the heart of the universe are you for G.o.d-or Satan?"17 G.o.d will never be outsmarted by the devil. G.o.d knows exactly what the enemy of our soul is doing. G.o.d has been patient with mankind, wanting as many people as possible to come to salvation. Now that the time is short, the events are rapidly pa.s.sing, and the scene has been set for the final chapter of history, before the tribulation. It could be that this man is waiting and being prepared even now for Satan's greatest attempt, to take over the people of this world.

TWELVE.

Resisting Temptation.

Dave was going to be married in just a few weeks. I was concerned how his new wife would react to the tremendous fear that was .haunting him.1 Even though Dave lived in one of the safest parts of the city, he went to bed almost every night wondering whether something terrible would happen to him.

"I have several locks on all of the doors going outside. I have installed extra locks on all of the windows. I sleep with a loaded shotgun next to me," he told me.

I said, "Dave, I believe that we need to protect ourselves, but what you have described to me is more than protection. Whatever is happening here is paralyzing your life." I had given Dave and his fiancee a temperament a.n.a.lysis test and observed that his fear indicator had almost gone off of the chart. "What is it that is making you so afraid?" I asked him. "You have a black belt in karate, and you are a big person. You come from a solid Christian home. Where's the fear coming from?"

Dave said, "I don't know. I think I live a normal life, I live in a safe neighborhood, and I can't think of any experiences in my life that would make me p.r.o.ne to this."

"You know that your new wife is going to sense your fear when she moves into your home, don't you?"

"That concerns me. I'm not sure what to do." Dave responded.

I began asking Dave a series of questions because I suspected that he was feeding his mind fearful things. "Dave, please tell me what kind of television programs you watch, what videos you rent, and what kind of books you read for entertainment."

He paused, then said, "I really like the programs with a lot of killing, violence, and suspense. These are the kind of videos I rent and usually the kinds of books I read in my leisure time."

For the next thirty minutes or so, Dave and I talked about all of the specific storylines. There was no question that they were full of fear, and violence. I said, "Dave, do you want to overcome this fear that you suffer with? I believe you can, within a few weeks or months."

Dave immediately responded, "No question, absolutely! I need to get this thing under control before I get married."

I said, "I'm going to give you an a.s.signment. I want to speak to you again in two weeks, but starting now, I want you to stop watching and reading anything that has to do with violence, killing, or fear. I want you to take the time you would have normally spent entertaining yourself with this kind of stuff, and instead, read your Bible, read good Christian books, and partic.i.p.ate in wholesome activities." I watched Daves face as I was giving him the plan. I knew he was with me, he was desperate for help. I added, "Please call me every two days and let me know how you're doing."

A couple of weeks later Dave came back to the office with a smile of success on his face. I said, "Dave, how's it going? Are you feeling any relief from your fear?"

He said, "It's amazing, I did everything you asked me to do. I haven't watched television, or videos, and have read no secular books-just the Bible, and some Christian books that I've wanted to read. I feel calmer, and I'm sleeping better at night. The intense fear is not there."

We sincerely enjoyed our conversation that day and I again a.s.signed him to continue in the habit of feeding his mind good things. He continued to gain control over his unusual fear because he began to think about things that were healthy, pure, G.o.dly, and true.

Dave was frequently tempted to be full of fear and anxiety. When this happened he literally paralyzed his social life and his relaxation at home. He was often captive to thoughts that continued to ask him, "What if someone breaks into my home tonight?" Or, "I wonder if someone I know will be murdered in that way?" After he watched a violent television program late at night or fell asleep reading a book about murder or suspense, he was unable to get any rest.

Dave's temptation is not uncommon. If we continually feed our minds with negative things, we will be full of negative thoughts. What we read, watch, or listen to has a tremendous effect on our lives. Moreover, the devil is constantly watching for an opportunity to bring even more of the temptations we struggle with. He cannot discern our thoughts, but he can observe our behavior and hear our conversation. When the enemy notices that we have a weakness, he will always take advantage of it.

Jesus said, "Out of the heart come evil thoughts" (Matt. 15:19). The apostle Paul said we must "take captive every thought" (2 Cor. 10:5). How do we control our thoughts? How do we gain control over the temptations that the devil brings to us?

Paul offers the solution: "Whatever is true, whatever is n.o.ble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things" (Phil. 4:8).

I grew up in farming country.2 As a young boy I watched the farmers prepare the soil each spring for the seed they were going to plant. I often wondered why they had to spend so much time turning the soil and breaking it up. One day I realized that the answer for a good crop lies in the soil and the seed. If the dirt was rich, well prepared, and watered enough, it was ready to receive the seed. Getting the soil ready was half the battle. The next thing the farmer did was to give that "ready" soil the best seed he could afford, because good seed produces good crops. Bad seed produces bad crops. No matter how well he prepared the soil, if the farmer planted sick seed into the ground, it would not produce good crops.

Our minds are like the farmer's soil. In Christians, G.o.d has worked and reworked the soil. He has given us great potential for producing an excellent crop, but we must feed our soil excellent seed-the qualities that Paul commends. When we do this, we greatly limit the enemy's ability to bring temptation to us. If Satan were to bring a "seed of temptation" when our minds are not receptive, that thought will die. The tempting thought is not the sin-it's what we do with that thought. D. L. Moody said, "When Christians find themselves exposed to temptation they should pray to G.o.d to uphold them, and when they are tempted they should not be discouraged. It is not sin to be tempted; the sin is to fall into temptation."3 William Shakespeare said, "Tis one thing to be tempted, Another thing to fall."4 Dr. James Dobson relates this experience with temptation: Shirley and I had been married just a few years when we had a minor fuss. It was no big deal, but we both were pretty agitated at the time. I got in the car and drove around for about an hour to cool off.

When I was on the way home, a very attractive girl drove up beside me in her car and smiled. She was obviously flirting with me. Then she slowed down, looked back and turned onto a side street. I knew she was inviting me to follow her.

I didn't take the bait. I just went on home and made up with Shirley. But I thought later about how vicious Satan had been to take advantage of the momentary conflict between us. The Scripture refers to the devil as "a roaring lion look-ing for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). I can see how true that description really is. He knew his best opportunity to damage our marriage was during that hour or two when we were irritated with each other.5 Dr. Dobson's soil was not prepared to receive the enemy's temptation, and he immediately reacted in a G.o.dly way. Because of his personal Christian disciplines, his mind was full of purity, faithfulness, and truth.

Our responsibility as Christians is to keep the soil of our minds and spirit receptive to the seed of G.o.d's truth and ready to repel any seed of temptation that the enemy would try to plant.

Everyone faces temptation because as long as we live there is an enemy who wants to defeat us. C. S. Lewis said, "No one knows how bad he is until he has tried to be good. There is a silly idea about that good people don't know what temptation means."6 Oswald Chambers suggests that in tempting Jesus, Satan was trying to put Him on the way to becoming King of the world and Savior of men in a way other than that predetermined by G.o.d (see Matthew 4:1-11).7 The writer of Hebrews says of Jesus' temptation, "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted" (Heb. 2:18).

Satan has a unique strategy for every human being. He never plays fair. His evil forces keep an eye open for every opportunity to tempt us-when we have been involved in behavior that he knows will weaken our Christian faith, when we are emotionally depleted, mentally tired, or overwhelmed from battle fatigue.

In Paradise Lost, John Milton imagines a dialogue between Satan and his fallen angels over how they will influence human beings to join their conspiracy against G.o.d: ... perhaps.

Some advantageous act may be achiev'd

By sudden onset, either with h.e.l.l fire

To waste his whole Creation, or possess

All as our own, and drive as we were driven,

The puny habitants, or if not drive,

Seduce them to our Party, that their G.o.d

May prove their foe, and with repenting hand

Abolish his own works. This would surpa.s.s

Common revenge, and interrupt his joy8 (italics added).

The enemy would like nothing more than to persuade human beings, created in G.o.ds image, to yield to temptation and blame G.o.d for the punishment they receive as a result.

In a recent survey, pastors were asked, "When are you most likely to face temptation?" Their responses: When I have not spent much time with G.o.d 81%.

When I have not had enough rest 57%

When life is difficult 45%

During times of change 42%

After a significant spiritual victory 37%

When life is going smoothly 30%9.

How Satan Tempts Us.

ONE OF THE MOST striking accounts of temptation in the Bible is the story of David and Bathsheba. It is alarming because David was known for his love for G.o.d, but at this time in his life he had let his faith weaken. The Bible gives no indication that David had planned or antic.i.p.ated an adulterous encounter prior to the night he saw Bathsheba.

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hitt.i.te?" Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her (2 Sam. 11:2-4).

Bathsheba became pregnant, so David plotted a cover-up through lies and deceit that eventually led to the murder of Uriah. It is a sickening story of how the enemy will carry our weaknesses to the furthest degree, if we let him.

The progression of David's sin went as follows. He was innocently taking a walk on the palace roof and undoubtedly surveying his capital city, Jerusalem. He noticed a woman bathing-still no problem. The sin began when David didn't turn his head and walk away. He watched the woman and began to think about her. When he was told who she was, the fact that she was married apparently didn't even phase him. David had probably already decided that he was going to "have" her.

After that night, David's life was never the same. G.o.d forgave him (2 Sam. 12:13), but his son was taken from him and he had to live with the memory, the embarra.s.sment, and the shame. David had let G.o.d down. He hurt his family and did things he thought he would never do. We can imagine in Davids mind he concluded a hundred times, "The small amount of time I spent in a l.u.s.tful act was not worth the price I've had to pay for it."

Erwin W Lutzer writes, "No matter how many pleasures Satan offers you, his ultimate intention is to ruin you. Your destruction is his highest priority."10 With us, there is a progression to temptation as there was with David. We see, talk about, or hear something. Then we linger over what we have just seen or heard. Our emotions become involved, and a desire grows. Next, we begin to meditate on this sinful behavior. Last, we plan a way to fulfill what we have been meditating on, and we satisfy the sinful desire in our hearts. James tells us, "Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death" (James 1:14-15).

Thomas a Kempis said, The process works like this. First, the thought is allowed to enter into our minds. Second, the imagination is sparked by the thought. Third, we feel a sense of pleasure at the fantasy, and we entertain it. Fourth and finally, we engage in the evil action, a.s.senting to its urges. This is how, little by little, temptations gain entrance and overcome us if they are not resisted at the beginning. The longer we let them overcome us, the weaker we become, and the stronger the enemy against us.11 John H. Eastwood said, "People do not decide to be drunkards, drug addicts, prost.i.tutes, murderers, or thieves, but they pitch their tent toward Sodom, and the powers of evil overcome them."12 Had David turned his back and walked away when the temptation first came to his mind, his life would have been different. The second look trapped him.

The place to halt the process is at its beginning.

We cannot blame G.o.d when we fall into temptation. G.o.d is not the author of it. "When tempted, no one should say, 'G.o.d is tempting me.' For G.o.d cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone" (James 1:13). G.o.d may test us in order to strengthen our Christian walk, but He will never tempt us with sin. Our temptations come from two sources. Either they arise from what we have fed ourselves in the way of thoughts, behavior, communication, or observation, or Satan has arranged a trap when we least expect it.

In his commentary on James, William Barclay says: ... what is responsible for sin is man's own evil desire. Sin would be helpless if there was nothing in man to which it could appeal. Desire is something which can be nourished or stilled. A man can control and even, by the grace of G.o.d, eliminate it if he deals with it at once. But he can allow his thoughts to follow certain tracks, and his steps to take him into certain places and his eyes to linger on certain things; and so foment desire. He can so hand himself over to Christ and be so engaged on good things that there is no time or place left for evil desire. It is idle hands for which Satan finds mischief to do; it is the unexercised mind and the uncommitted heart which are vulnerable.

If a man encourages desire long enough, there is an inevitable consequence. Desire becomes action.13 Thomas a Kempis said, "Temptations discover what we are."14 An old proverb says, "He that lies with dogs rises with fleas."15 How strong we are when a temptation comes depends on how well we have protected ourselves from the evil influences of this world. It's our choice.

We all have weaknesses, but times of temptation can serve to put us on the offense against them. We can decide to spend more time in prayer and deliberately do everything possible to counter that weakness. Erwin W. Lutzer said, "Temptation is not a sin; it is a call to battle."16 If we go to the Lord in prayer when temptation seems overwhelming and, in turn, resist the temptation by walking away from it, we can feel a.s.sured that G.o.d will help us win.

Why Do Some People Give In?

OVER THE YEARS I have watched people rationalize certain behaviors that at one time they were "dead set against."17 Something happened whereby they began to compromise. They began losing interest in daily Bible reading. They prayed less, began to miss church, and perhaps began to enjoy entertainments or activities they used to avoid. At times, when I am with such people, I can sense a wandering heart.

One evening my wife and I were having dinner with a prominent speaker who was visiting our city.18 We took him to a restaurant that was known for its pleasant atmosphere. The waiters and waitresses sang to their customers, and there was a happy feeling in the place.

During the dinner conversation, we asked our friend about his wife and children. He quickly replied, "Oh, they're fine," then abruptly changed the subject.

He began talking about a recent visit to a beach in Europe where many people didn't wear bathing suits. He laughed and said, "We have these friends that love to go over there, so we go with them every year-to keep them company."

The other couple were Christians as well. I thought, How could they go to this place?

I asked, "Doesn't it offend you to go to that kind of beach?"

He was quick to respond, "No, it's all in fun. It's no big deal."

The subject of conversation changed again. Our friend mentioned how much money he was making on a new side business and asked whether we would like to get involved in it. There was nothing wrong with this business except that it had become the focus his life and was keeping him away from his wife and children.