Demons vs Angels

He plotted with his followers to overthrow the Power that ruled the universe. He made the case to those who would listen, “If you will follow me we will be great and rule the universe.  We no longer need anyone to tell us what to do. We are powerful and do not need God!”

This was most likely a scene in heaven before Satan was cast out with one third of God’s angels following him. Isn’t that what Mankind has done on this earth. Every type and form of religion has been devised so that man can “rule himself.” The folly of that thinking is immeasurable. Can a man plan what happens the day after his death? Of course not! Like Satan and his angels, man has been trying to be in control since the Garden of Eden.

Just like he tricked his angels into following him, Satan came to Eve with the promise of greatness.  Genesis 3:6 says, “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.” Notice it says, “. . . also desirable for gaining wisdom.” What wisdom was she looking for? The wisdom of God! The previous verse has the serpent, Satan, saying, “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” She was looking to be like God.

Man has been doing the same thing ever since. 1 Corinthians 11:3 says, “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” Satan still works from the same playbook in the twenty-first Century! Because of the arrogance of man, he does not need to change his tactic. If something works why change it?

·         Barak Obama, “We are no longer a Christian Nation”

·         Oprah Winfrey, “There are many ways to get to heaven outside of Jesus”

·         Rick Warren, “Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, megachurch pastors, speakers: Christians and Muslims should build relationships which ‘genuinely reflect our common love for God and for one another’.”

·         Joel Osteen in an interview with Larry King, “Answering whether Jews or Muslims would go to heaven, he was noncommittal, ‘You know, I’m very careful about saying who would and wouldn’t go to heaven… I spent a lot of time in India with my father. I don’t know all about their religion. But I know they love God. And I don’t know. I’ve seen their sincerity. So, I don’t know’.”

Translation of all of these comments: The Bible is not true. Anyone can go to heaven if they sincerely love God. However, one has to ask, “Which God?” You might be thinking, “Rick, if there is one God of the universe wouldn’t that mean that everyone is worshiping him?” It is true that there is only on true God, he is Yahweh. He is the Creator of the universe. He makes up the Triune Godhead of the Father, Jesus, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Even so, many worship the gods they have created themselves. Allah, Buddha, Hindu gods and goddesses and even those who claim to worship Jesus but worship him in their own image instead of the image of God are not worshiping the one True God.

Innumerable Angels

He stood in awe of sights never seen before by man. The magnificence of the moment was breath taking. There was nothing common about the sights before him; nothing set by chance. Everything was perfectly ordered. No one could have dreamed of the wonders he beheld.

There, before him, was a Great Throne Room; the likes of which has never been seen. He stood speechless; breathless. He was not even sure he could take another breath. His mind was racing and he had to force his body to pass air through his lungs.

Before him was a court of angelic beings. The court was not quiet and stately; it was bustling with excitement and praises. This is a paraphrase of a partial account from John the Revelator as he had this vision in Heaven.

As he continues with the story he cites the presence of a multitude of angels. Revelation 5:11 says, “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.”

How many angels are there? Of course, no one really knows. The number “ten thousand times ten thousand” is already a huge number; 100 million to be exact. However, the number is most likely much higher.

The highest common number of the time was 10,000. That does not mean that was the highest number known, but it was the highest common number. For example, in the sixties the highest common number would probably be millions, in the eighties it would most likely have been billions; today we talk about trillions. We have bigger numbers, but our highest common number is trillions.

So, if John were writing Revelation today he would probably say he saw 10 trillion times 10 trillion. Get the idea? In other words, the angels are innumerable. God commands an all-powerful army that he doesn’t even need. The truth is, he need only to speak and everything in the universe must submit to him. Nevertheless, these beings were created by him to be his messengers.

Hebrew 12:22 (KJV) - “But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels . . .”

The power of God is unfathomable. There will be a day when the Lord returns. He tells us to be ready for his eminent return. Satan and his angels will be gathered together and thrown into the abyss until the Final Day of Judgement.

You, however, have access to a much better scenario. You have the opportunity to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and live with him for eternity.

God Will Not Be Mocked

God Will Not Be Mocked

Because of the complacency, or in some cases apathy, America is experiencing the withdrawal of the blessings of God. God will not be mocked. Even so, in the past several years it seems as though America has mocked God on a daily basis.

Perhaps you ask, “How have we mocked God?” In the 60’s we said we don’t need God in our schools. Since then, violence, teenage pregnancy, minimal grade scores and much more has plagued our schools. The church remained silent.

In the 70’s we allowed abortion to become the law of the land. Since then we have murdered millions of babies at the altar of convenience. The result is a lower work force to replenish the country, not to mention the sin of the murder itself. The lower work force has resulted in not enough labor to fill jobs which have led to a disastrous economy, poverty and hunger in the streets of America, not to mention the flippant way we have cast human life aside; again, the church remained silent.

In 2009, Obama declared that America was no longer a Christian nation without any reprisal from the church. Once again, the church was content to sit in their auditoriums and cry, “Bless me Lord!”

In 2016, homosexual marriage has been declared the law of the land. America has once again proclaimed that God did not know what he is doing and we can handle this. The church cried out for a total of one week in “outrage.” Then, they not only went back to business as usual, but embraced the decision in the name of “inclusiveness.” It is time for the church to repent and become the church of Jesus Christ. 

Peter and the other apostles proclaimed the Gospel no matter the cost. The angels “had their back.” The angels have your back as well, but you have to get in the battle. If you are not willing to fight you will remain in relative security; that is until the battle runs over you.

I was watching “The Patriot” the other day. It is a movie starring Mel Gibson about the American Revolution. In a town meeting, the star of the movie, Benjamin Martin, declined to get into the battle. He said that he wanted to stay out of the fight and keep his family safe. Instead, the battle found his house and one of his sons was killed before his very eyes. Later, he repented to one of his remaining sons because he waited too long to get in the battle which led to losing the first son.

Is that what you’re doing? God wants his children to get into the battle. It is ironic to me that America has tried to remove God from every aspect of her existence until a disaster happens. Then everyone says, “Where was God in this?” I’ll tell you where he was. He was outside of America allowing her to have what she wanted.

We cannot have it both ways. God wants to be a part of our lives if we will allow him to. But he will not force himself on us. It is his will that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Even so, he has given us the plan he has for us to inherit eternal life. John 6:28-29 says, “Then they asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent’.”