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| Satan Is Real. Do You Recognize Him? |
Most people are totally ignorant of the most powerful spiritual force in the world today.
Satan-worshipers are getting bolder. The Grammy Awards this year featured a presentation of a song titled “Unholy” by performers dressed as the devil and his demons. The number of public schools in America hosting “Satan clubs” has been increasing. The number of people openly identifying as Satanists is growing.
These trends get headlines and have many people concerned. Such blatant evil signals the depth of moral and spiritual sickness of our society. Please read our feature story in this Trumpet issue, “The Dangerous Rise of Demonism.” We also have an article about how Satan is using popular music to reach many people today, especially youths (along with our infographic).
Yet the real threat that Satan and his demons pose in our world goes far beyond the obvious examples.
Very few people really understand the devil described in the Bible. This is a being with tremendous power. Isaiah 14 says he made the Earth to tremble and he shakes kingdoms and empires. Different translations of verse 12 call him “crusher of nations” (Emphasized Bible) and say that he “didst lay low the nations” (American Standard Version) and “enslaved the nations” (The Jerusalem Bible).
That is a much bigger problem than a single perverse performance at an awards show. This powerful spirit being is, in fact, “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Revelation 12:9 warns that he has deceived the whole world! So few people today understand this!
How can we be free from this powerful monster? How can we face and deal with him? The Bible answers.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). If you just submit to God, Satan will flee. That’s quite a power God gives you and me—especially considering what the Bible reveals about the devil’s immense power. We don’t have to fear him if we use God’s power.
Beast Powers
Revelation 13 discusses a political power that has dominated the world scene throughout history. It is described in symbol as a beast with seven heads and 10 horns. This represents the world-ruling Roman Empire. It started in 31 b.c. It absorbed all the empires that preceded it and occupied their territory. Compare verse 2 of this chapter with Daniel 7, and you see the components of those other empires: the head of the lion, representing the Babylonian Empire; the legs of the bear, symbolizing the Persian Empire; the swiftness, cunning and cruelty of the leopard, which symbolized Alexander’s Greco-Macedonian Empire. So God used familiar animals to represent the first three dominant empires. But for the Roman Empire, He combined all those animals into one monster. No single beast on Earth adequately defined the Roman Empire.
“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast” (Revelation 13:3). This wound was inflicted in a.d. 476, when the Roman Empire was defeated, and healed in a.d. 554, with the Imperial Restoration—and it became the Holy Roman Empire, receiving the blessing of the Roman Catholic Church and combining the religious element with the political-military empire. Other prophecies show there would be seven resurrections of this beast—and the seventh and final of these resurrections is about to burst on the world scene.
“And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” (verse 4). Every indication is that this rising European power will be more powerful than America, China and Russia. How is that possible? It’s because they worship the devil! This gives them special power. Your Bible says they will become the superpower of superpowers!
This is a prophecy about a European superpower that we must be aware of. It is going to come on the scene and wreak havoc for 3½ years—after which God will smash it!
Read more:
https://www.thetrumpet.com/27074-satan-is-real-do-you-recognize-him.
https://www.thetrumpet.com/radio/trumpet-daily.
