Please take a close look at the image at the following link:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32386095448.html
At first glance, we may think this is a confrontation between two equal forces … one, evil, and the other, good. But the representation of the devil arm-wrestling with Jesus doesn’t actually show equality. Look at the artist’s rendition of Jesus’ face. It is serene. Calm. While the devil’s face is tortured. Angry. Jesus seems to be holding the devil at bay effortlessly while Satan is struggling to keep his equilibrium.
The truth is that if Jesus ever did choose to arm-wrestle with Satan, He would have already won before the match had even begun. There is no equality between Jesus and the devil. There is no equality between good and evil. Jesus is THE Victor over all evil, which means evil has no chance against good.
Now, you and I have the choice on which side we choose to be. Choose the devil’s side — you’re going down. Choose Jesus, and you choose eternal life with Him. Wouldn’t you think that would be a no-brainer? Well, something called life gets in the way of our choices, sometimes. Life often blurs the lines of good and evil. At times, what seems to be an informed, positive choice actually turns out to be the first step on a slippery slope to destruction. Evidence for this statement is found in Genesis 3.
The Serpent said to Eve (in modern language), ‘Ah, c’mon Eve. Did God really say not to eat from any tree?’ Of course, the LORD didn’t say those exact words, and Satan knows that. He is conditioning the woman to do his bidding. And Eve replies, ‘We can eat from any tree we want, except from the tree that grows in the middle of the garden. If we do, we will die.’
Oh, the crafty one is slimy and wily. ‘Eve, you will surely not die. What will happen is that when you eat that fruit, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’
The implication is that God doesn’t want His created beings to be like Him, which is as far from the truth as possible, for we were created in His own image. Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.”
In Scripture, when a fact is repeated, as it is in this verse, it is like a sign that says, ‘Listen up! This is important!’ Of course, God wants us to be like Him … He created us to be like Him. The key phrase is “in the image of God.” He created us to be LIKE Him — not to B.E. Him.
At any rate, the woman decided she had better have some of this fruit, and when she tasted it, she found it was good and gave some to Adam. Then their eyes were opened to what they had done. Please note that it wasn’t eating the fruit that was their downfall; it was their disobedience to a command from their Creator and their obedience, instead, to their tempter!
Satan thought he had won a victory over the One Who had created him, but God … but God … immediately put His Plan of Redemption into place to bring His own begotten Son to the earth to personally atone for the sin of humankind, that anyone who believed in the Son of God would be saved for eternal life with Him.
Genesis 3:14 and 15 – First, the LORD God cursed the serpent. Then He said, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
I think it’s safe to say that Satan was outraged. No doubt, he began scheming against God’s Plan of Redemption as soon as it was put in place. Since that day, the evil one and his minions have been working feverishly to get to wreak revenge on humans and somehow overturn God’s redemptive plan for His beloved human beings.
Now that all the prophesied end-times indicators are converging on point zero, we see evidence also of the increased activity of evil in the world.
Someone wrote recently, “Imagine what Hitler could have done with COVID.” This cringe-worthy statement actually ought to wake up people to the evil that is happening everywhere in the world, right now, as a result of this so-called pandemic.
Since April 15, 1960, when the discoverers of DNA, Brenner & Crick, conceived the idea of mRNA, a cooperative effort among several nations, including the U.S. and China, has been searching for a way to use this breakthrough technology. At one time, science thought it could be used to cure diabetes and even cancer. However, testing showed that while it had some benefits, the long-range outcome was that the host’s immune system could be compromised, perhaps even destroyed. At that point, all research and development were suspended.
Enter one Dr. Anthony Fauci and a handful of colleagues, who decided the technology might have merit after all. They began researching something called “gain of function” for mRNA. There must be something it is good for was the rallying cry, and lo and behold!
On October 18, 2019, in New York, a high-level pandemic exercise was held, coordinated by The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in partnership with the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Called “Event 201,” the exercise illustrated areas “where public/private partnerships will be necessary during the response to a severe pandemic in order to diminish large-scale economic and societal consequences.” Quote, unquote! Google’ Event 201′ for more details.
Just a little over a month later, the first cases of COVID-19 began to appear, and by March 2020, it was declared a full pandemic. Dr. Fauci’s gain-of-function research for mRNA was developed with money supplied by Bill and Melinda Gates, and the rest is history. The shot was rushed into production and application without the usual five to ten years of testing.
So, what does this have to do with Satan trying to overturn God’s Plan? Well, it turns out mRNA is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to revisioning God’s creation called homo sapiens. Science has decided it now knows better than God how the human body ought to work. It would appear that mRNA is just one step in the technology platform to replace our God-given immune system with a man-made one. But God will not be mocked. He cannot divide Himself, which means He is not at the center of this technology … and it doesn’t take much connecting of the dots to lay it all at the feet of the great serpent of old … Satan.
The point is, we have seen people running super scared, throwing away their rights and freedoms, and ultimately their health, with both hands for … what? “Health and Safety”? Does that phrase remind you of something? How about, “While people are saying ‘Peace and Safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labour pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
Labor, or birth pains, begins intermittently at first, then slowly increases in occurrence, intensity and duration. In 2021, it almost seems we are seeing the whole world going through birth pains, with an unprecedented number of higher magnitude earthquakes (7.2 in Haiti!), more explosive volcanic action across the globe, a higher number of landslides, tornadoes, floods, and other Acts of God, as insurance companies like to call them.
One of the most unexpected prophesies we have seen come to pass in recent years is pestilence. Of course, the pandemic COVID but also in Australia earlier this year was what was billed as a mouse pestilence of Biblical proportions. The rodents overran whole towns, looking to escape from flooding rivers. Also, Somalia and Ethiopia and nine other countries in Africa and the Mid-East have been battling billions of locusts as the plant-eaters swept through, denuding fields and gardens of anything green.
Add to the locust plagues the widespread drought and flooding this year, and know that world food supplies are going to be in critical shortage before too long. We call that famine.
In the U.S. over the past 18 months, the BLM and Antifa movements have devasted downtown areas of several cities, giving rise also to the Defund Police movement. An increase in lawlessness is another manifestation of the coming of the Day of the LORD.
So many Christian friends right now appear to be under siege, from horrible illnesses, loss of family members and friends, loss of jobs, houses, cars, possessions, and sometimes, as a result of physical and material loss, loss of self-esteem. Suicides are on the increase as people turn away from God and then don’t know where to turn.
Here’s the thing: If these are not in the End Times, the pre-tribulation days right now, what do you think those days will look like?
Years ago, a friend told me, “We all have a God-shaped hole in each of us that can only be filled by Him. If we don’t fill that hole with God, we will try to fill it with things which anesthetize the pain of life, such as drugs, alcohol and other addictions.” As our options diminish in the world, we need Jesus more than ever before. We need to fill that God-shaped hole with the only One Who can fill it.
Our Scripture from Ephesians 6 tells us, “Finally, my brothers [and sisters], be strong in the LORD and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers – against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
The darkness of the spiritual realms of the Evil One is manifesting increasingly in our modern world, and modern people have no idea how to cope with it. Our churches have not prepared people well for what is now coming into the world. For years, congregations have begged for ‘nice’ messages. Pastors were happy to hold ‘church lite’ because it is easier to preach only the Love of Jesus Christ than it is to preach the whole of the Gospel of Christ, including Prophecy of what is to come. 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”
So today, my fellow believers, I am telling you that it is imperative for Christians, now more than ever before, to learn the Word of God and be strong in the LORD. What does that mean? It means we need to keep our God-shaped hole filled to the brim with Father, Son and Holy Spirit at all times. In other words, we need to put on the full armor of God.
“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the LORD’s people” (Ephesians 6:14-18).
Now more than ever, we need to put on our spiritual armor every day so we will not be intimidated by the world, and so we are able to stand strong in the LORD.
And always remember: Jesus has already won the war over evil.
Let us pray: Dear Heavenly Father — Our thanks and praise cannot be loud enough or heart-felt enough for Your great plan of redemption for those of us who love You. This week, dear LORD, please, may we feel Your sure Presence by our side as we live our lives in this fallen world. Please help us also to give encouragement to each other and to encourage those not yet in Your sheepfold to know that peace is available through Your grace and mercy, through our LORD Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.
If anyone reading this article has not yet received Jesus as their Saviour, but God has touched your heart by His Holy Word, please email me (amadea649@gmail.com) or find a Bible-believing local church and ask the Pastor what you must do to be saved in Grace. In the meantime, please consider the ABCs of Salvation:
A – Admit
Admit what you have done wrong and ask forgiveness.
Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death.”
1 John 1:9 ‘If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
B – Believe
Believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again as payment for your sins.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
C – Confess and Choose
Confess and choose to allow God to be in charge of your life.
Matthew 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”
Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
This article, based on God’s Holy Word, was written by the inspiration of God’s own Holy Spirit. All glory to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.