For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians 6:10).
In a recent survey by the Barna Group, four out of ten Christians strongly agreed that satan “is not a living being, but is a symbol of evil,” and an additional 19 percent “agree somewhat” with that notion. What I find astonishing is that nearly 60 percent of individuals, who claim to be Christians, espouse views about satan that are inconsistent with the Scripture. While the Scripture is clear about his origin, his downfall, his incursion into the affairs of humanity, and his future demise, the majority of people who believe that Christ came to offer himself for the sins of humanity, believe that the devil is a metaphor for evil. The paradox in this instance is stunning: That a person, claiming allegiance to Christianity, can believe on the one hand, that God disrobed Himself of his royal diadem and entered miraculously into the human family for the express purpose of suffering at the hands of evil men; yet, on the other hand, they deny the existence of satan.
It takes less of a leap of faith to believe that there is a physical being behind the carnage in the earth – rape, pillage, murder, genocide, war, famine, and disease – than it does to embrace the notion that God Almighty set aside his divinity in order to live as a man and die on the cross as a sacrificial lamb for the sins of humanity. The Apostle Paul attests to how some people view this message as silly: For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). Notwithstanding the apparent foolishness of the preaching of the cross, to those who believe, it is the power of eternal life; yet, many who proclaim to embrace the message of God’s birth, death and resurrection, deny one of the central tenets of the Scripture: that satan goes to and fro in the earth, walking up and down in it, seeking whom he may devour.
How has satan created a clandestine sanctuary from which he has furtively operated over the course of human history? In the first part of this series, The Mystery of Iniquity, I have graphically demonstrated how he has used his incredible skill of deceit to control the destiny of human civilization. However, this does not explain how human government will have coalesced over the centuries to bring us to that moment in Revelation chapter 13 when the world will freely worship satan: And they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him (Revelation 13:4b)?
In the second series, Western Civilization’s Unrelenting Expansion, I will demonstrate the only “worthy” candidate who is able to build the necessary infrastructure – political, military, economic, social, and electronic – for the rise of the son of perdition. The next eight articles will be extremely challenging for some to embrace, because many people have their own personal biases towards the institutions that they believe in. Although we have Scriptural evidence that satan deceived angels; that he has deceived Pharaohs; that he has deceived kings; that he has deceived apostles, bishops and the most astute of God’s servants, it would be difficult for some to embrace the notion that he could deceive today’s religious and political leaders; many whom are highly revered. This absurd notion seems to suggest that modernity is a qualified refuge from satanic stealth. If satan was successful in deceiving angels; if he was successful in deceiving men who walked with Christ; if he was successful in deceiving churches that were being shepherded by the original apostles; if he was successful in establishing a perch from within one of the churches in Asia where he ran his entire kingdom, then how can we reasonably expect that the institutions of our modern era have been unscathed by his deceit?
Theologians and other bible scholars have participated in a game of bible trivia for centuries, attempting to name the antichrist. There are religious institutions that have been built by espousing the notion that the Pope of the Catholic Church, or his more opaque colleague, the Jesuit leader, aka the Black Pope, will be the man of sin. Some promoted the belief that President Ronald Wilson Reagan was the antichrist, because the letters in his name equal the number of the beast – 6 6 6 (see Revelation 13:18 – quoted below). The idea that President Barack Obama is the antichrist has been gaining traction on the Internet for a few years now. There are even some who are teaching the ridiculous notion that Oprah and Joel Olsteen are the antichrist.
It will be just as tricky to name the antichrist as it was for the leaders at Pergamos to discern that the devil was sitting at the apex of their church leadership. In fact, I believe that it may (stressing “may”) be impossible to know with absolute certainty who the antichrist might be for a number of reasons: First, to inspire our modern world to make the leap from spiritual indifference at best and spiritual hostility at worst to worshipping the son of perdition according to Revelation 13:4 (see above), will be satan’s crown achievement in the earth. Consequently, it will be the greatest piece of deception that the world has ever seen; I believe on par with his deceit of the angelic host.
I’ve made a variation of the following statement a number of times during this series, and I don’t want it to become simply a mantra, but if Pharaoh could not detect satan; and if the king could not detect satan; and if the most astute of God’s followers could not detect satan; and if all of the churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 could not detect satan; and if presidents, prime-ministers, CEOs and directors of large institutions could not detect satan, then how will the world escape his guile of planting his own son at the apex of human government?
Second, and more importantly, the Scripture gives us one clue to who satan’s son will be: Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six (Revelation 13:18). To think that this Scripture simply means that we can perform a mathematical expression that adds the number of letters in a potential candidate’s first, middle and last names – Ronald (6); Wilson (6); and Reagan (6) – betrays satan’s cunning ability to deceive and frankly does not give him credit for properly planning the secret takeover of world government. Ironically, those who are looking for a man with six letters in his first name, six letters in his middle name, and six letters in his last name will also be the first ones to defend this wicked global leader’s public policies when he arrives on the scene.
It is my belief that Revelation 13:18 refers to the genetic sequence of this individual. I am also inclined to believe that he will be the literal offspring of a sexual union between satan and a highly guarded female. I will conduct a more thorough examination of this notion in Part 16.
The antichrist and his government will rely on the technological advances of modern society to keep track of every individual on earth. The Scripture teaches that only those who are affixed to the electronic database will be able to engage in commerce, which in a modern era is survival itself: 16.And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17.And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name (Revelation 13:16-17). It will take enormous social, political, military, logistical and economic dexterity, on a scale that has never before been witnessed, to control civilization at the level of Revelation chapter 13.
The proper place to begin an examination into which civilization could possibly support the antichristic infrastructure is to perform a process of elimination to rule out those regions in the earth that are incapable of sustaining a global government. I’ve studied a number of historians, including Carroll Quigley and Samuel Huntington, who differ on the number of civilizations that still remain in the earth today. However, I will use Huntington’s list from 1993 of the world’s major civilizations: African; Hindu; Islamic; Japanese; Latin American; Orthodox, or the Former Soviet Union (excluding the Baltic states); Sinic, or Chinese; and Western (from The Clash of Civilization and the Remaking of World Order, p. 85).
It should immediately occur to anyone with a basic understanding of world history and politics that African, Latin America and Orthodox Civilizations would not be able to sustain the antichristic government. Although one would not outright discount the prospects of Hindu, Islamic or Japanese Civilizations ruling the world, it would be highly unlikely considering the two remaining superpowers: The United States, which some have called an empire, but it is certainly the dominant influence within the Western Civilization; and China, which is the dominant influence within Sinic Civilization. However, by looking at China’s migration from a society of pure socialism to a Western form of capitalistic economy over the last dozen years, it is apparent that only the Western world has the capability to transplant its values to the broader world community and to simultaneously sustain a global village.
The United States/Western Civilization…
- Is the global security officer;
- Created and maintains the global, electronic funds transfer system;
- Controls the major international lending institutions (World Bank; IMF; Bank for International Settlement; World Trade Organization; International Finance Corporation; etc.);
- Polices the sea lanes;
- Controls the majority of the world’s research laboratories;
- Has a military arm, NATO, which spends more on defense than the rest of the world combined;
- Is capable of sending massive aid in the wake of natural disasters and has the ability to raise enormous amounts of money for such disasters;
- Is the world’s largest customer;
- Can provide moral leadership during times of global crisis;
- Basically funds the United Nations;
- Monitors access into outer space; and
- Can stabilize global economies during times of global, economic crisis…
Consequently, over the next eight weeks, I will be demonstrating how Western Civilization has taken the lead role in forging the future for mankind; whereby it is greasing the skids for the rise of the antichrist. The cabal of men who stand at the signposts of life’s highway, directing the world like a shepherd watching over his sheep, believe that the future of human civilization is too important to leave in the arbitrary hands of a democratic electorate. Ever wonder why the American presidency is selected by the Electoral College and not the popular vote of the people? The Electoral College is the method used by this cabal to preserve the succession of power from one generation to the next.
In an examination of Western Countries’ foreign and domestic policies – past, present, and the predictable future – there will be those whose vision is too impaired to see anything but Uncle Sam’s white hat. To those, I caution you to have a prescription filled for motion sickness, because the earth beneath you is about to start shifting.
…to be continued
© 2011 David R. Tolson
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