Chaos – Spirit of Antichrist – Connect the Dots :: By Gary Ritter

Published on: June 9, 2020 by RR7

Prophecy Update: Chaos – Spirit of Antichrist – Connect the Dots

Lately we’ve seen an incredible outbreak of violence around America. At one point I Googled “list of cities with violent protest.” From Wikipedia I ended up with a forty-five-page document showing every state with cities large and small, plus a description of the protest activity. How should we as Christians view all this?

This essay is as much a teaching as it is a Prophecy Update. We’ll briefly discuss a number of dots that will bring the title of this piece into understanding.

The God of the Bible as creator brings order out of chaos. We see that from the very first sentences in Scripture:

Genesis 1:1

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

Chaos is a place without God. The earth without form was a void of darkness in a watery expanse. Bible writers use the sea and wilderness as metaphors for chaos. In the beginning, before God began to create, there was chaos in the nothingness.

The Garden of Eden was God’s holy mountain. It was where He dwelt in peace and order. Now, you may ask, “Where does a mountain fit into the concept of the Garden?” Ezekiel and other Scriptures make it clear:

Ezekiel 28:14

“You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.”

Where God dwelt when He created the earth wasn’t only a garden; it was a mountain garden. Mountains are the abode of gods—both Yahweh and pagan gods, i.e. fallen sons of God who raised themselves up in pride to become gods. Where did God give the Law? Mount Sinai. Where is His holy city? Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, a.k.a. Mount Zion. When God’s rebellious sons came as gods to the earth in Genesis 6:1-4, they more than likely descended on Mount Hermon. Mountains are remote, often inhospitable, places for humanity. They’re hard to ascend. They are the place where God and gods dwell. (Caveat: When I speak of gods, I’m not referring to a pantheon whereby God is one of many. He is God Most High who created all. He is unique. He created the spiritual entities who became His spiritual sons, who then rebelled, fell, and appropriated positions as gods.)

When Adam and Eve fell, what did God do? He cast them out of the mountainous garden abode. Since the Garden was sacred space as the dwelling place of God, their casting out was to a place of non-God. Symbolically and literally, God cast them out from order to chaos, from sinless perfection to the place where sin dwells.

Leviticus brings this into focus:

Leviticus 16:6-10

“Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.”

Many Bible translations say “the scapegoat” rather than Azazel. However, Hebrew grammar makes it plain that this is a proper name, not a description. We don’t say “the Yahweh,” because the grammar demands the word Yahweh be treated as a proper name. It’s the same with Azazel.

Who or what is Azazel? He was a goat demon, perhaps even Satan himself. From their time in Egypt, the Hebrew people learned to worship the goat demon, and God would have none of that from His people:

Leviticus 17:7

“So they shall no more sacrifice their sacrifices to goat demons, after whom they whore. This shall be a statute forever for them throughout their generations.”

In the Leviticus 16 passage the scapegoat, i.e. the goat for Azazel, was sent into the wilderness. The wilderness is Azazel’s domain. It is anti-Eden, anti-God, outside of God’s sacred space.

The wilderness or the desert represents:

Death, desolation, destruction
Lack of food & water with frightening creatures that live off death & threaten life
Used as symbol for divine judgment & apocalypse
Dwelling place of evil spirits

When Jesus began His ministry, where did He go for forty days? What happened there? The wilderness was a place of temptation where Satan, the poster boy for demonic spirits, desired Jesus to sin.

Leviticus 16 deals with the yearly Day of Atonement. It’s when the temple, the priests, and the people are cleansed of sin for another year. A little further in the chapter, and we learn how this atoning occurs:

Leviticus 16:20-22

“And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.”

One goat is sacrificed for the blood to cover the sin. The priest lays his hands on the other goat and sends it outside the camp into the wilderness. The first goat is for the Lord. Sin is placed on the second goat and sent to Azazel, to the wilderness, where sin belongs. You might ask, “Is this a sacrifice to the demon Azazel?” No. Sin is banished to non-sacred space, outside of God’s presence. It is sent to the realm of the dead.

Another dot:

Revelation 13:1, 11

“And I saw a beast rising out of the sea…”

This is Antichrist.

“Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth…”

This is the False Prophet.

During the Tribulation, these beasts rise out of chaos, from the land, i.e. the wilderness, and the sea, which are both places outside of God’s protection. As a reminder of the sea and its chaos, think Jesus and the disciples as they crossed the Sea of Galilee. When He calmed the waters, the disciples were amazed. Why? Only God could bring order, calm, and peace out of the chaos of the raging seas.

The Greek for beast is “therion.” It means wild beast, wild animal, having a brutal nature, and dangerous. Antichrist and the False prophet are both described this way, i.e. as agents of chaos.

One more dot:

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

“Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.”

This is the Antichrist. What is lawlessness? The Greek word “anomia” describes it as iniquity, disobedience, wickedness, sin, and having an utter disregard for God’s law.

Where does lawless, i.e. sin, belong? In the realm of the dead: outside of God’s protection in the wilderness.

We’re getting closer. Here’s a critical dot:

Leviticus 18:24-29

“Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you (for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people.”

What happens to nations or individuals who commit abominations in God’s sight and become unclean in His eyes? Does it matter whether they are people of God or not? God has declared that anyone and any nation committing abominations make the land unclean. When the land is unclean, what will it do? It vomits out its inhabitants. We see that the land vomited out pagan nations. We also know that it vomited out Israel: Northern Kingdom in 722 BC; Southern Kingdom in 586 BC; Jews with the destruction of the temple in 70 AD; a final vomiting in 135 AD after the Bar Kokhba Rebellion. It was this last instance where the Jews were vomited out that resulted in the Romans renaming the land to Palestine.

The final dots:

1 John 3:4

“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.”

1 John 4:1-3

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.”

Here’s a Biblical equation I think you can take to the bank:

Lawlessness = antichrist spirit = abominations to God = vomit out of land

Back to our original question. How should Christians view all this violence?

I’ll put this in the form of an equation as well:

U.S. riots = lawlessness = antichrist spirit = chaos = anti-Eden, anti-God = wilderness with wild beasts = death, destruction = divine judgment

Thus, we must ask ourselves: Will God allow the land to vomit us out of America?

One of the interesting dilemmas we face is that, other than a possible oblique reference in Ezekiel 38-39 in the context of the upcoming Ezekiel’s War (i.e. in some Bible translations Ezekiel 38:13 as being among the young lions—descendants of England and/or Spain), America is wholly absent when this conflict occurs. We’re Israel’s best and most important ally today, so what happens? Why aren’t we there for her at the advent of this terrible war? Obviously, something happens to preclude our involvement.

What we’re seeing now is the literal tip of the iceberg for the lawlessness that is coming. This is all the leadup to the Rapture of the Church and the subsequent Tribulation. According to the Bible, conditions will only get worse as that time approaches. (Sorry New Apostolic Reformation—NAR—adherents, you are not going to Christianize the planet through a great revival and hand this wonderful work over to Jesus when He returns.)

So, if there isn’t going to be a worldwide revival, and the earth is going to plunge further into sin, lawlessness, and an antichrist spirit, what are we as the people of God to do as the land vomits us out? How do we respond to all this? Should it be in despair and hopelessness?

NO! We are to rejoice in the Lord always:

Philippians 4:4

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”

We are to look to Jesus and Him alone for our redemption and for our joy. Only Jesus brings an answer—THE answer—to the mess of this world with its chaotic violence. All the Social Justice reforms, all the government initiatives, all the secular martyrdom, all the community policing reforms: they are doomed to fail.

The church should not get caught up in them. Believers are called to a different standard. We are called to be Watchmen on the Wall (Ezekiel 33). We are to warn others of God’s soon-coming judgment and His escape plan: salvation through Christ alone.

We are to occupy while there is still light. God has made each one of us with a purpose. Let’s fulfill that purpose and be about the Lord’s business. Let’s pray, witness, and serve, all with purposeful believing loyalty in Him that demonstrates there is no other god but God come in the flesh as Jesus Christ.

……………..

Gary W. Ritter is a lay pastor, Bible teacher, and serves as Missions Director at his church. He is also a prolific author. His Whirlwind Series is comprised of three books: Sow the Wind, Reap the Whirlwind, and There Is A Time. These books are contained in the collected volume of the Whirlwind Omnibus. Gary has been given the Christian Redemptive Fiction award for two novels: The Tattooed Cat and Alien Revelation. He has recently released a new novel on eco-terrorism called Green Dreams, and Looking Up – Volume 3, a non-fiction work that contains essays and devotions on end-times and prophetic events. Gary’s intent in all his writings is to bring a strong Christian witness to what people read. You can reach him at his website: www.GaryRitter.com or his Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/gritter3390. You can also see his video Bible teachings on his Gary Ritter YouTube channel – look for the fish symbol.

The Voice of The Good Shepherd :: By Nathele Graham

Published on: June 7, 2020 by RR7

“For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of his glory. The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! For they have rewarded evil unto themselves” (Isaiah 3:8-9).

God is patient and He withholds His judgment as long as possible; He gives plenty of warning before letting people reap what they sow. The above passage was one more warning to the Southern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom had already fallen to the Assyrians because of their wicked ways. They embraced paganism and turned against God. Elijah the prophet had been sent to warn them, but the nation ignored the warnings and fell deeper into sin. King Ahab and his evil wife Jezebel led the nation deeper and deeper into sin. They followed false prophets who told them what they wanted to hear rather than listening to the voice of God. It wasn’t cool to follow the path of righteousness, so they chose to follow Satan.

After they died, the kingdom continued down the wrong path, and soon there were no more chances. The Northern Kingdom fell because of their refusal to follow God Almighty. The Southern Kingdom should have learned from the mistakes of the Northern Kingdom. They didn’t learn a thing. They rebelled against God and refused to honor His commands. God had blessed them abundantly, but when they had abundance, they forgot the ways of the Lord.

We might wonder how God’s chosen people could turn against Him after all He had done for them. Well, Christians, look in the mirror. Unless we follow the voice of the Good Shepherd, we are following the path of destruction. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd.

Christians aren’t perfect. We sin every day. The difference between us and the nonbelievers around us is that we should know better. We have Scripture to guide us. Let’s take a survey. Raise your hand if you read Scripture daily? If you do read it, do you think it applies to you or everybody else?

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Scripture shows us God’s ways. We can learn from the history of the Old Testament and know where we are in history by studying prophecy. The New Testament tells us about Jesus and how we should live. We learn that embracing the sin of Sodom will lead to destruction. There’s no excuse for embracing sin while professing to follow Christ. Scripture sets our feet on the right path; and if God’s ways matter to you, you will pray for His help in overcoming the sin in your life. If you choose not to study Scripture, then you might ask yourself if you really care what God has to say. If you don’t care what He has to say, can you truly love Him? Are you saved? These are important questions to figure out the answers to now.

With all that’s happening in the world, now isn’t the time to ignore God. Now is the time to listen to His voice and follow Him closely. He is our Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. Christians need to live our life for Him.

God doesn’t want His people to be ignorant of His ways, so He gave us Scripture. It’s been said that B. I. B. L. E. stands for “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth,” but who reads instructions, right? It seems to be human nature to put a bookshelf together or build a model airplane by relying on our own knowledge rather than reading the instructions. When our efforts fail with a bookshelf, we can always buy another and try again, but in life we can’t do that.

“Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day” (Psalm 25:5).

The only way to follow the path that leads to eternal life is to follow God’s instructions. Set your heart on following the voice of the Good Shepherd.

Today we’re being led down a very wrong path. Many Christians listen to the false prophets found on CNN, MSNBC, and other fear-mongers rather than God. We have to isolate, stay home, don’t touch, wear masks, etc. These “facts” are fed to us by people who want to control and feed our fear. Brothers and sisters, we need to heed the voice of the Good Shepherd. Scripture tells us to gather together.

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

But we allow ourselves to be banned from assembling as Christians. If you’re sick, stay home and call for the elders to come and pray.

“Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” (James 5:14-15).

Christians are told to greet one another warmly with brotherly love.

“Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss” (1 Thessalonians 5:26). [shaking hands or hugging by today’s tradition]

Here are some facts you won’t hear on the liberal news:

Yearly influenza cases worldwide are more than 35.5 million with over 34,000 deaths.
Cigarette smoking causes more than 480,000 deaths a year (41,000 from second-hand smoke) in the US alone.
Well over a million people die each year from AIDS worldwide, and millions more are infected but aren’t quarantined and are possibly infecting other people.
Abortion causes 40 to 50 million deaths around the world yearly.

Do we see any isolation because of these avoidable deaths? No. “…and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not…” (Isaiah 3:9).

On the other hand, it’s a known fact that the statistics for the coronavirus are padded. When someone dies of heart disease or cancer, the hospital will get thousands of dollars if that death is called COVID-19. Cancer deaths don’t create panic; but if it’s called COVID-19, then the hospital gets rich, the flames of panic are fanned, and we’re one step closer to the new world order. We need to use logic. Stay home if you’re sick or have a compromised immune system. You can still support ministries or use the time to study Scripture and pray. Christians are told by our Lord to share the Gospel with every creature, but we cannot share with the lost or support fellow Christians if we keep our distance. God’s law is higher than man’s law.

When you decided to give your life to Jesus, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit.

“That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:12-14).

He lives inside of you and will guide your way, but you need to listen to Him and follow His lead. You can choose to listen to other voices…those of the world which is ruled by Satan…but those voices will lead you away from God. That’s what the Northern Kingdom of Israel did. They allowed Ahab and Jezebel to bring their idol worship into the nation. The Southern Kingdom also stopped obeying God, which led to its 70-year captivity in Babylon. We can choose to follow Jesus or ignore His voice.

“Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

If you choose to listen to the voice of the world, you’ll soon only hear Satan’s voice. There are many false teachers, and the internet is full of them, from Rick Warren to Joel Osteen and many others who aren’t so well known. If you don’t study Scripture, you run the risk of following a false prophet who leads the flock astray. Study Scripture to know the path to follow. Scripture tells us how to live life to honor Christ and how to worship Him; we need to pay attention. When we listen to the world, we will fail.

The events of the past few months have pushed us along the prophetic timeline by a big jump. That’s how Jesus said it would happen.

“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Revelation 22:12).

The world “quickly” is from the Greek word “tachy” and means without delay…quickly and speedily. The birth pains are growing stronger and coming closer together.

Did you know that the United Nations has a website regarding the new world order (unnwo.org)? Its motto is “Let’s take our planet back”? When you read what they’re about, it says:

“The United Nations New World Order Project is a global, high-level initiative founded in 2008 to advance a new economic paradigm, a new political order, and more broadly, a new world order for humankind, which achieves the UN’s Global Goals for Sustainable Development by 2030, and the happiness, well-being, and freedom of all life on Earth by 2050.”

It promotes things like “happytalism.” What’s that, you ask? “Happytalism is a new economic paradigm which places happiness, well-being, and freedom at the center of human development models, systems, and all life.”

Scripture tells us that God is to be the center of our happiness… He gave His life for our redemption, and that makes me happy. There’s much more disclosed on that website, and it all sounds very much like the stage is being set for the appearance of the Anti-Christ. The panic caused by the coronavirus has moved Satan’s agenda along. If you’re a Christian, you have nothing to fear. Things will continue to worsen, but the Rapture will occur prior to the Anti-Christ appearing on the scene. We will see a lot more things like famine and pestilence happen before then. Christians must listen to God and share the Gospel with the lost before it’s too late. Listen to God and don’t quench the Holy Spirit’s guidance by ignoring Him.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28).

If you’re following any voice other than the voice of Jesus, then you need to get back on the right path. Study Scripture and obey what it says.

Brothers and sisters, we will all leave this world one day, but only what we do on earth for Jesus will last for eternity. If we close our ears and our hearts to Him, we will find ourselves following false prophets and going down the wrong path. Study His word and be led by the voice of the Good Shepherd.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

www.straitandnarrowministry.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Ron and Nathele Graham’s previous commentaries archived at https://www.raptureready.com/featured/graham/graham.html

All original scripture is “theopneustos” – God breathed.

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