This message Mark Finley exposes Satan’s final strategy to deceive three main groups: secular unbelievers, superficial Christians, and even the committed faithful. Through global conflict, natural disasters, counterfeit miracles, false revivals, and spiritual impersonations.

<p>This message Mark Finley exposes Satan’s final strategy to deceive three main groups: secular unbelievers, superficial Christians, and even the committed faithful. Through global conflict, natural disasters, counterfeit miracles, false revivals, and spiritual impersonations.</p>

<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

HopeLives365

Mark Finley

Satan’s Final Deception EXPOSED!

In our program today, we're going to look at Satan's final strategy.

And what to do to overcome his deceptions and not be deceived?

A Number of years ago, there were a series of robberies in Miami, Florida.

At 1 of the homes, a very expensive television was stolen.

At another 1 of the homes, a distant part of the city, jewels were stolen.

Another place a valuable painting was taken.

As the police looked at these, they initially looked at them as separate robberies.

Until 1 detective began to notice a similarity between every 1 of the robberies.

He called it the modus operandi or how these thieves were actually operating.

He studied the pattern, and then they anticipated where the robberies might take place next, the neighborhood.

You know, It's important in any kind of battle, any kind of struggle, any battle with the forces of evil, it's important to know the modus operandi.

So we're gonna wanna look today at how Satan is gonna try to deceive the world just before his coming, before Jesus coming, and how you and I can be prepared to meet his deceptions.

Now, the first thing that's important to notice is the objects of Satan's attack or the 3 groups that he's going to attack.

The first group that the devil deceives are secular materialists.

We might call them atheists, agnostics, they are unbelievers.

Second group that he focuses on is half committed, half-hearted Christians.

Those who have a superficial religious experience.

I mean they may claim to be Christians but their experience is very superficial.

He has a special object of attack for them.

And then those that have a growing relationship with Jesus, they're committed Christians.

The unbelievers, atheists, agnostics, those who are secular materialists, second group is nominal Christians, and third group is committed believers.

So let's group it, let's look at group number 1.

How is Satan going to lock them in deception?

What can he do to get them to disbelieve in God?

You remember in Matthew chapter 24, we often look at this as 1 of the signs of the times.

It is, but it's also part of a strategy that Satan has, as you will see.

Matthew chapter 24, Jesus giving the signs of his time says, you'll hear of wars and rumors of wars.

See that you're not troubled for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

So we've had wars down through the centuries.

A single war is not simply a sign of the times.

But when you see wars happening at an increasingly ever frequent scale, when you see these wars magnified on a global scale, Jesus says, verse 7, for nation shall rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom.

There'll be famines, pestilence, and earthquakes in different places.

So we listen to that 1 verse, 2 things, wars, conflicts, strife among nations, and natural disasters.

Why would Satan be interested in stirring up the hearts of nations for war because it raises a question.

Why would Satan want to bring about natural disasters and tamper with the laboratories of nature?

And here's the question it raises by many secular people.

I find it as I travel the world with my evangelistic meetings.

If God is so good, why is the world so bad?

If there is a God who is love, then he must not be very loving, they say, if all these people are being blown apart in war, kids having their legs blown off, innocent seniors having their houses destroyed and bombed with drone bombs, and the cities being destroyed.

And look at all the floods that sweep away whole villages and the typhoons that take out island communities and the hurricanes that destroy.

Ellen White makes an interesting comment about war, rumors of war.

For it excites the worst passions of the soul and then sweeps into eternity Its victims steeped in vice and blood It is his object whose object Satan's object to incite the nations to war against 1 another for he can thus divert the minds of the people from the work of preparation to stand in the day of God." So the devil's desire is to bring about war and that accomplishes 3 purposes.

1, people that are unprepared it sweeps them into eternity.

Secondly, it causes disrepute on the character of God.

And thirdly, it distracts from the preparation to meet Jesus.

So war is, and rumors of war, are 1 of the devil's strategies to attack, deceive secular people.

Also, what about this Satan working through the elements of nature?

What about Satan tampering with the laboratories of nature?

Satan works through the elements also to garner his harvest of unprepared souls.

He studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature.

He studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature and he uses all in his power to control the elements so far as God allows.

In accidents and calamities by sea and by land and great conflagrations, what's that, fires.

In fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms and tempest floods, cyclones, tidal waves, earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms.

He sweeps away the ripening harvest and famine and distress follow.

These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous.

Because he wants us to blame God for those things.

He also wants to sweep people who are unprepared.

They've had every opportunity to prepare, of course, but he wants to sweep them unprepared into eternity.

And then thirdly, the devil wants to distract us to keep us focused on what's going on around us rather than to prepare for the coming of Jesus.

The devil knows if he can do this, he can get people to blame God for these wars and natural disasters.

And he also eventually, as church and state unite to enforce the mark of the beast, the devil can say, if we only all came in unity, these problems of war, conflict, strife, natural disasters would be solved.

It's those, that faithful remnant of God, who are not yielding to the demands of the state.

Who is it that is the responsible for all this disastrous and conflict strife?

It's those who won't yield to the commandments of men, but they're holding on to this idea, the importance of Sabbath.

So that's how he's gonna try to deceive group number 1.

Back to Menu

Satan’s Final Deception EXPOSED!

Transcript

Description

Sponsor

Recorded

Sound Doctrine