Latest / truthunedited / It_s happening_ What will people be like during the last 7 years of the book of Revelation
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- 0:00Speaker 1: Before the second coming of Christ. I want to show
- 0:03you how cold, how devoid of God, how sinful people
- 0:07on this earth will become. Now before we dive in,
- 0:11let this be a warning to you. Pray that you
- 0:13never become this type of individual. The first group of
- 0:16people I want to highlight are those found in Revelation nine. Now,
- 0:21for you to understand how evil these people are, you
- 0:24first need to understand what happened in chapters eight and
- 0:26nine of Revelation. For context, the world undergoes seven trumpet
- 0:31judgments that occur during the tribulation period after the rapture
- 0:35of the Church. Here's a brief summary of each judgment,
- 0:39and you will be shocked to hear how people react
- 0:41after going through all of this. The first trumpet, according
- 0:45to the Bible, hail and fire mixed with blood are
- 0:48thrown to the earth, causing destruction of vegetation and trees.
- 0:52One third of the world's trees are burned in this plague,
- 0:56and all the grass is consumed. By the second trumpet,
- 1:00a great burning mountain is thrown into the sea, resulting
- 1:03in the death of one third of the marine creatures
- 1:06and the destruction of ships. One third of the sea
- 1:09turns to blood. One third of the ships sink and
- 1:13one third of ocean life dies. The third trumpet will
- 1:17see a great star fall from the sky and it
- 1:19poisons one third of the rivers and springs, causing many deaths.
- 1:23This star is called wormwood. By the fourth trumpet, the
- 1:27earth will see one third of the sun, moon, and
- 1:30stars struck, resulting in one third of the day and
- 1:34night being darkened. The fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpets are
- 1:38referred to as the three Woes. For the fifth trumpet,
- 1:42something truly terrifying is released. According to the Bible, a
- 1:46bottomless pit is opened, releasing demonic locusts that torment those
- 1:51who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
- 1:54The sixth trumpet will bring the introduction of four demonic mercenaries.
- 1:59Four AELs are released to kill one third of humanity
- 2:03with an army of two hundred million horsemen, resulting in
- 2:06great devastation and death. Now, the seventh and final trumpet
- 2:11announces the coming of God's kingdom and the judgment of
- 2:14the nations. The Bible, in Revelation eleven, verse nineteen says,
- 2:19then God's temple in Heaven was opened, and within his
- 2:22temple was seen the ark of his covenant, and there
- 2:26came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake,
- 2:30and a severe hailstorm. Now, after all of this, after
- 2:35all these supernatural and devastating events, you would think that
- 2:39people would fall to their knees and cry out to
- 2:42God for mercy. But no, that is not what happens.
- 2:46Revelation nine, verses twenty and twenty one says the rest
- 2:49of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues still
- 2:53did not repent of the work of their hands. They
- 2:55did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone,
- 3:01and wood, idols that cannot see or hear or walk.
- 3:05Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts,
- 3:08their sexual immorality, or their thefts. How hardened must you be,
- 3:13how cold and sinful must you be, to refuse to
- 3:17repent even after a series of extraordinary judgments by God.
- 3:22This is the unfortunate reality of the last days. People
- 3:25will turn away and reject the faith. People will prefer
- 3:29to listen to doctrines of demons rather than the truth
- 3:32of the Gospel. People will harden their hearts Some will
- 3:35start in Christ but fall away later in life. Others
- 3:39will begin in the world but come to Christ later
- 3:42in life. And this has been the case since the beginning.
- 3:45When Jesus had twelve disciples, they all saw the miracles.
- 3:49They all saw people being healed and incredible acts of God.
- 3:53But Judas turned away. The Bible says that the devil
- 3:57entered his heart. King Saul was anointed when he began,
- 4:00but he lost his way, and the Bible tells us
- 4:02that the spirit of God departed from him and he
- 4:06was tormented by an evil spirit. He started well but
- 4:10fell away. In Second Thessalonians two, verses one to three,
- 4:15the apostle Paul warns the Thessalonian believers about the coming
- 4:19rebellion or apostasy that would precede the day of the Lord. Now,
- 4:23I'd like to give you four illustrations of how someone
- 4:27can fall away and rebel against God. Firstly, it can
- 4:31happen through a gradual drifting away. Imagine a ship without
- 4:36an anchor, slowly drifting off its intended course. Apostasy often
- 4:41begins with a gradual drifting away from prayer, a gradual
- 4:45drifting away from reading God's word, a gradual drifting away
- 4:49from walking with god fearing friends, and choosing to spend
- 4:52more time with ungodly people. Hebrews chapter two, verse one
- 4:57warns us and says that we must pay the most
- 5:00careful attention therefore to what we have heard, so that
- 5:04we do not drift away. Apostasy can begin by neglecting
- 5:08our relationship with God, drifting away from his presence, and
- 5:12prioritizing worldly matters over spiritual ones. For a believer who
- 5:18once eagerly attended church and read the Bible daily, if
- 5:21not careful, they may gradually find themselves less engaged, and
- 5:26if this continues for too long, they will eventually replace
- 5:29their passion for God with worldly passions and distractions. This
- 5:34can be the beginning of drifting away. My second point
- 5:37is the allure of false teachings. A man once traveled
- 5:41to a foreign country. He was an adventurer, a thrill seeker.
- 5:45But in this particular place, the resort where he stayed
- 5:48was a compound, and all the tourists were instructed not
- 5:52to leave the compound under any circumstances. But this man thought,
- 5:57this is a beautiful country. Every person I've come across
- 6:00so friendly and welcoming. What's the worst that could happen
- 6:03if I went out to do a little sight seeing. Well,
- 6:07he did so, and in doing so he was exposed
- 6:10to all kinds of dangers and became the victim of
- 6:13a crime. You see, just because everyone he met was
- 6:16smiling doesn't mean they had good intentions. And to day,
- 6:21just because someone quotes the Bible or sounds like a
- 6:23Christian doesn't mean they are. In tewod Timothy chapter four,
- 6:27verses three to four, Paul warns that the time will
- 6:31come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead,
- 6:35to suit their own desires, they will gather around them
- 6:38a great number of teachers to say what their itching
- 6:41ears want to hear. Apostasy can take root when believers
- 6:45are lured by false teachings that cater to their desires
- 6:49instead of God's truth. My third point is a deep
- 6:52internal issue. It's about complacency, or the erosion of convictions.
- 6:58Imagine a fortress with a sturdy wall that begins to
- 7:01crumble gradually under the relentless assault of the elements. Apostasy
- 7:06can occur when a believer's convictions are eroded over time,
- 7:10often due to peer pressure, social norms, a desire to
- 7:13fit in or compromise. Just like in Galatians chapter five,
- 7:18verse seven, we are warned you were running a good race,
- 7:22who cut in on you to keep you from obeying
- 7:24the truth. Apostasy can happen when we compromise our convictions
- 7:29in the name of worldly acceptance. When we begin to
- 7:32compromise God's standards and consider certain things acceptable even when
- 7:37God's word says otherwise, this is the start of apostasy.
- 7:41My final example is neglecting spiritual armor. Imagine a situation
- 7:47where there is a fierce war between two sides, and
- 7:50there's a soldier who neglects to wear his armor on
- 7:52the battlefield, exposing himself to enemy attacks. In Ephesians chapter six,
- 7:58verses ten to eleven, the Bible says, finally, be strong
- 8:01in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on
- 8:04the full armor of God, so that you can take
- 8:06your stand against the devil's schemes. Apostasy can take shape
- 8:10when believers neglect their spiritual armor, leaving themselves vulnerable to
- 8:15the enemy's attacks. A more practical example of this is
- 8:19a Christian who over time becomes lax in their prayer
- 8:23life and begins to neglect reading the Bible, leaving themselves
- 8:27spiritually exposed and unprepared to face the challenges of faith. However,
- 8:32in these last days that we are speaking of, I
- 8:35want to encourage you as a believer. There is no
- 8:39need for us, as children of God, to live in fear,
- 8:42because the Bible tells us in Acts chapter two, verse seventeen.
- 8:46In the last days, God declares, I will pour out
- 8:50my spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
- 8:54Your young men will see visions, your old men will
- 8:58dream dreams. The Bible says in Titus chapter two, verse thirteen,
- 9:03while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of
- 9:06the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Saints,
- 9:11we have a blessed hope Jesus Christ. The return of
- 9:15our Lord is the blessed hope we have as his children.
- 9:18Do not be discouraged. Do not be disheartened by the
- 9:22events of this world, but keep your eyes fixed on
- 9:25Jesus Christ. The Bible gives us a vision that there
- 9:29will be a series of events that will shake the
- 9:32Church of God here on earth. The Bible speaks of
- 9:35certain events that will impact the Christian community. And you
- 9:39will find that almost the entire chapter of Second Thessalonians
- 9:42two is dedicated to warning us as believers about these
- 9:47things to come. I won't read the whole chapter, but
- 9:50if you read Second Thessalonians chapter two, verses one to twelve,
- 9:55you will see that the Bible tells us several things
- 9:57to be aware of when it comes to the return
- 10:00of Christ. This passage of scripture speaks about a great
- 10:03rebellion against God that will take place. Different translations use
- 10:08different terminology, but the meaning is the same. Repeatedly, in
- 10:13the last days, there will be a great falling away,
- 10:17a great rebellion, the great apostasy. And briefly, let me
- 10:21read Second Thessalonians chapter two, verse three. Don't let anyone
- 10:25deceive you in any way, for that day will not
- 10:28come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of
- 10:32lawlessness is revealed, the Son of destruction. So we will
- 10:36see people falling away from Christ. To put it another way,
- 10:39imagine there is a train called Christianity, and this train
- 10:43is traveling to a destination called Heaven. Now on this
- 10:46train called Christianity, you can see the world. You can
- 10:50see the glitter and glamour of the world. You can
- 10:53see the riches of the world. You can see all
- 10:55of that. And as this train called Christianity gets closer
- 10:59and closer to its destination, a man appears at every station.
- 11:04This man is the Antichrist, and he targets everyone on
- 11:07the train, calling them to step off the train and
- 11:10enjoy life in peace. Telling the passengers to relax, he says,
- 11:15you can leave this train and come back at any time.
- 11:18Enjoy life and see this is what happens in the
- 11:21last days. The closer we get to the return of
- 11:24Jesus Christ, the more we will see people who have
- 11:26been on this train called Christianity for many years step
- 11:31away and rebel. If it's hard to believe, just look
- 11:34at how many pastors started well but ended up falling
- 11:38and never recovered. This is not to judge, because we
- 11:41all fall, but we need to open our eyes to
- 11:45what the scripture says. There is a difference between falling
- 11:48into sin or a moral lapse of judgment, and living
- 11:52a double life. And to further explain the role of
- 11:55the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction, or in
- 11:58other words, the Antichrist, let me read the amplified version
- 12:02of Second Thessalonians, Chapter two, verses one to three, so
- 12:06that we can fully grasp the gravity of what we
- 12:09are being told. The Bible says now, in regard to
- 12:13the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and our gathering
- 12:16together to meet him, we ask you, brothers and sisters,
- 12:20not to be quickly unsettled or alarmed, either by a
- 12:23so called prophetic revelation of a spirit, or a message
- 12:27or a letter alleged to be from us to the
- 12:29effect that the day of the Lord has already arrived.
- 12:33Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you,
- 12:36for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first.
- 12:39That is the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith
- 12:43by professed Christians, and the man of lawlessness is revealed,
- 12:47the son of destruction, the Antichrist, the one who is
- 12:50destined to be destroyed. So if we break down this verse,
- 12:54we can come to the understanding that first there will
- 12:57be a gathering to meet Jesus Christ. This is in
- 13:01verse one. Second, there will be people speaking falsely claiming
- 13:05to be prophetic, who will try to deceive and say
- 13:07that Jesus has already come. This is in verse two.
- 13:12The third point is that we are warned, let no
- 13:14one deceive you in any way. This is a clear
- 13:17and indisputable warning to us as believers. And then the
- 13:21Bible tells us that a time will come when there
- 13:24will be a rebellion against God, where people who claim
- 13:28to be Christians, people who profess to be Christians, people
- 13:31who appeared to be Christians will turn their backs on
- 13:35the faith and walk away from the church. I believe
- 13:38this is the effect and result of the Antichrist's deception.
- 13:41I believe that some will be deceived into falling away
- 13:45and others will choose to walk away. But regardless of
- 13:48the method or influence, the message I want to convey
- 13:51to you to day is to not be included in
- 13:54this group of people the Bible prophecies about. Don't be
- 13:58part of the group that falls away from the faith.
- 14:01Pray for discernment, Pray for the Lord to pour out
- 14:04his spirit in your life so that you are not
- 14:06led into error. We need to stay grounded in the
- 14:09fundamental principles of the Gospel, a gospel that teaches us
- 14:13in John chapter fourteen, verse six, that Jesus Christ is
- 14:16the way, the truth and the life. And there is
- 14:19no other way for you and I to get to
- 14:21Heaven or to God without acknowledging that Christ died and
- 14:25rose again. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar.
- 14:29We need to remain firm in the fundamental principles of
- 14:32the Gospel. The message of John the Baptist in Matthew
- 14:35chapter three, verse two is still relevant today. Thousands of
- 14:39years ago he preached the message of repentance, saying repent
- 14:44for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. That same message
- 14:47of repentance is needed today. You do not mix holiness
- 14:51with sin. You do not mix darkness with light. Good
- 14:55and evil do not coexist. One displaces the other, and
- 14:58any doctrine that tells you you otherwise will lead you
- 15:01into deception. Any doctrine that tells you that you can
- 15:05sin freely and still walk with God is lying to you.
- 15:09In conclusion, I pray that you hold on to Second
- 15:12Thessalonians chapter two, verses fourteen to seventeen. To this he
- 15:18called you through our gospel that you may obtain the
- 15:20glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, then, brothers and sisters,
- 15:25stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you
- 15:28were taught by us, either by our spoken word or
- 15:32by our letter. Now, may our Lord Jesus Christ himself
- 15:35and God, our Father, who loved us and gave us
- 15:38eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts
- 15:42and establish them in every good work and word. A
- 15:47group of Christian students was asked, how many of you
- 15:50believe in signs and wonders? Someone quickly said it depends
- 15:54on who they're from, the devil or Jesus. The teacher
- 15:58responded and said, regardless of who they're from, how many
- 16:02of you believe that signs and wonders can happen? All
- 16:05hands went up immediately. He then asked, so you believe
- 16:09that Jesus Christ can perform signs and wonders. The class agreed, yes,
- 16:14he can. Then the teacher asked, do you believe that
- 16:17the devil can perform signs and wonders? The students responded hesitantly,
- 16:22without much conviction about the answer to this question, but
- 16:25most raised their hands. Then the teacher boldly said, Matthew
- 16:29chapter twenty four, verse twenty four, for false Christs and
- 16:33false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders,
- 16:37so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. You see,
- 16:42many people believe that only Jesus can perform great signs
- 16:45and wonders. However, this is also true for the devil.
- 16:49The Bible says that my people perish for lack of knowledge.
- 16:53And if you don't have the knowledge that is in
- 16:55the Bible, the knowledge that reveals how the devil is
- 16:58capable of performing great signs and wonders, then how will
- 17:02you distinguish the work of God from the work of Satan. Second,
- 17:06Thessalonians Chapter two, verses nine and ten say, the coming
- 17:10of the lawless one will be in accordance with how
- 17:13Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of
- 17:17power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and
- 17:20all the ways that wickedness deceives Those who are perishing.
- 17:24They perish because they refuse to love the truth, and
- 17:28so be saved. Now listen to this carefully, with all
- 17:32sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that
- 17:36serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives
- 17:40saints of God. There is a great evil among us,
- 17:43and that evil is called deception designed by the enemy
- 17:46in an attempt to trick us, to make us believe
- 17:49that evil is good. So the task at hand for
- 17:52all believers is how to distinguish the divine from the diabolical.
- 17:57First John, Chapter four, verses one says, dear friends, do
- 18:02not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see
- 18:05whether they are from God, because many false prophets have
- 18:09gone out into the world. This is how you can
- 18:11recognize the spirit of God. Every spirit that acknowledges that
- 18:16Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.
- 18:18But every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not
- 18:22from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which
- 18:26you have heard is coming, and even now is already
- 18:29in the world. So you see, if you are going
- 18:32to witness great signs and wonders, test the spirits. And
- 18:36you may be wondering, well, how exactly do I test
- 18:39the spirits? What do I do? Well? The passage of
- 18:42Scripture we just read said in verses two and three,
- 18:46every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in
- 18:49the flesh is from God. But every spirit that does
- 18:52not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the
- 18:56spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard is coming
- 19:00and even now is already in the world. If that
- 19:03spirit recognizes that Jesus Christ came in the flesh here
- 19:07on earth, died, rose again, and is now seated at
- 19:10the right hand of God, then that spirit is from God. However,
- 19:15if that spirit says anything that is not about Jesus,
- 19:18the Bible says, this is the spirit of the Antichrist.
- 19:21So the next time you see a preacher, a prophet,
- 19:24or anyone performing something supernatural, before you applaud, before you
- 19:29accept it, before you say anything, pray that the Holy
- 19:32Spirit gives you discernment, and then wait, wait to see
- 19:36if that act glorifies Jesus Christ as Lord. Before applauding,
- 19:41test the spirit to see if it confesses that Jesus
- 19:43Christ is Lord. Test if that miracle, that healing, that
- 19:47act or wonder truly glorifies God, or if it is
- 19:51exalting that person is God being glorified and honored? Or
- 19:55is it the man or woman on stage saying look
- 19:58at me, I can do this all day. We need
- 20:01to test the spirits. And I believe that most of
- 20:04the Devil's Signs and wonders come down to four main
- 20:07goals money, fame, pleasure, and power. The devil will perform
- 20:12signs and wonders through people motivated by one of these goals.
- 20:17First John, chapter four, verses four to six says, you,
- 20:20dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because
- 20:24the one who is in you is greater than the
- 20:26one who is in the world. They are from the world,
- 20:29and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and
- 20:31the world listens to them. We are from God, and
- 20:35whoever knows God listens to us. But whoever is not
- 20:38from God does not listen to us. This is how
- 20:41we recognize the spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
- 20:46So understand there are two spirits at work, the spirit
- 20:50of truth and the spirit of error. The spirit of
- 20:53error is in the world. It is the spirit of
- 20:55the Antichrist, and the Bible clearly says that they speak
- 20:59from the world, and the world listens to them. However,
- 21:03you and I are not of the world. As children
- 21:05of God. The Bible tells us that we have overcome
- 21:08them because greater is he who is in us than
- 21:11he who is in the world. So test the spirits
- 21:14before you allow any one to stand before you as
- 21:17a man or woman of God. Pray for sensitivity. Pray
- 21:21that the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth
- 21:24so that you are not led astray. There are people
- 21:27of God out there, people who are being mightily used
- 21:30by the Lord in various ways. However, there are also
- 21:33those sent by the Devil to create confusion, to create
- 21:37an illusion of truth, when in reality it is deception. Therefore,
- 21:42I encourage you. We must be a people united with
- 21:45the spirit of truth. We must be a people filled
- 21:48with the Holy Spirit. We must be a people who
- 21:51test the spirits. We must be a people governed by
- 21:54the truth, which is Jesus Christ. Even though we live
- 21:58in this world, we should not us not fight our
- 22:01battles the way the world does. In fact, the weapons
- 22:05we have available to us are not physical weapons. But
- 22:08notice how the Bible says that the weapons of our
- 22:11warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God. The Word
- 22:15of God is one of the weapons we have as
- 22:17children of God. It is a powerful weapon. The conflicts
- 22:21you face, the battles you encounter, the Lord has the
- 22:25final say over all of them. So I encourage you,
- 22:28people of God to trust in God, Trust in the
- 22:31word of the Lord, trust in his promises, and you
- 22:35will have victory. No one is so holy or so
- 22:38saved that they don't have internal or private issues they're
- 22:41dealing with. The Bible says that those who belong to
- 22:44Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
- 22:49This verse is about identifying that internal sin, that unholy desire,
- 22:54that harmful passion, and then saying no to it. Get
- 22:58to the point where you say, my love for God
- 23:00is greater than my love for anything else. That's how
- 23:03you crucify your flesh. Identifying your stronghold. The best way
- 23:09to identify what stronghold you're facing in your life is
- 23:12to look at the area in your life where you
- 23:15face a constant battle, the area you struggle with the most.
- 23:19The reason why you need to identify this is because
- 23:22the devil is cunning and deceptive. He will know what
- 23:25giant or stronghold your battling, and so we need to
- 23:29be alert. The devil will plant a seed in your mind,
- 23:33a seed that he will try to tempt you with,
- 23:35and if you take the bait, not only will that
- 23:38seed lead you into sin or oppression, but it will
- 23:41also open the door to a possible stronghold or some
- 23:45type of captivity. As an enemy, the devil will never
- 23:48present someone else's weakness or struggles to you. He won't
- 23:52plant a thought about alcohol if he knows you struggle
- 23:55with lust. No, he will always find the area where
- 23:58you are weakest and use that against you. That's why
- 24:02it's so important to be honest with ourselves and look
- 24:05introspectively at the areas we need deliverance from, because the
- 24:09enemy will see it as a route to disrupt our
- 24:12walk with Christ. This is supported by Second Corinthians, Chapter two,
- 24:17verse eleven, where the Bible says that we should not
- 24:20be outwitted by Satan, for we are not ignorant of
- 24:23his schemes. The devil is cunning and has evil plans,
- 24:27so we must be diligent, vigilant, alert, and always on
- 24:31guard against any possible breach the enemy might try to
- 24:34make in our minds. When the devil can't affect you physically,
- 24:38he will try to plant a seed in your mind.
- 24:41This is what I mean when I say name your enemy.
- 24:45Take a good, honest look at yourself. What is the
- 24:48devil trying to use to distract you from being an
- 24:50effective Christian? What is he using to discourage you doubtful thoughts,
- 24:55thoughts of insecurity or inadequacy. Name your enemy and rebuke it.
- 25:00Name your enemy and rebuke it. In this world there
- 25:04is so much evil. The Bible in Second Corinthians, Chapter four,
- 25:08verse four says that the God of this world has
- 25:11blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see
- 25:14the light of the Gospel that displays the glory of Christ,
- 25:18who is the image of God. Think about that for
- 25:22a moment. The God of this age, the God of
- 25:24this world, Satan, has blinded the minds of unbelievers to
- 25:28prevent them from seeing the light of the Gospel. In
- 25:32case you didn't know, the devil is very influential on
- 25:35this earth, whether you realize it or not, whether you
- 25:39believe it or not, the devil can and does have
- 25:41influence over the ideals, opinions, and standards of this world.
- 25:46That's why the Bible says that the God of this world,
- 25:49the devil, has his clause in worldly philosophies. They are
- 25:53present in so many institutions, and you might think, well,
- 25:57how exactly does he do this? Look at the driving
- 26:00force behind many large companies. It's money. Money has become
- 26:05a god an idle for many people, including the heads
- 26:08of many large corporations. They track your movements, monitor what
- 26:13you watch, analyze what you click on, and some even
- 26:16take your personal information and sell it for what purpose?
- 26:20Money has become the number one goal, the only goal
- 26:24for so many institutions in this world. Yet the Word
- 26:28of God says that the love of money is the
- 26:31root of all evil. But you see, the God of
- 26:34this world, the devil blinds the unbelievers, and they don't
- 26:38see this. They don't see how money has become an
- 26:41idol to them. Another example to illustrate how the God
- 26:45of this world, the devil has blinded the minds of unbelievers.
- 26:49Is this the Bible tells us to flee from sexual immorality.
- 26:54The Bible tells us that fornicators, adulterers, and the sexually
- 26:58impure will not inherit the kingdom of God. However, in
- 27:02this world, what kind of content is most sought after
- 27:05on the Internet. It is all sexually explicit content that
- 27:10opposes the word of God. A site called Covenant Eyes
- 27:14reported that thirty percent of Internet content is pornography. Thirty
- 27:19percent of online content is aimed at promoting sexual impurity.
- 27:23And the sad thing is that the number of visitors
- 27:25to these sites is in the billions. This is the
- 27:28work of the God of this world. Certainly, if you
- 27:31look at this world through the lens of the Bible,
- 27:34you will notice a pattern. What the Word of God
- 27:37stands for the world opposes. What Jesus Christ represents and upholds.
- 27:42The world resists. Those who have been blinded by Satan
- 27:47live under an illusion. They won't see that the love
- 27:49of money drives so many wicked things. Instead, they will
- 27:53focus on the notion that everyone needs money, everyone needs
- 27:57to make a living. Of course, and the Bible never
- 28:00says that money is evil. It says that the love
- 28:03of money is evil. And when you love money so
- 28:06much that you are willing to do unethical and immoral things,
- 28:10then money has become an idol. When you are willing
- 28:13to steal or overlook the harmful effect you have on
- 28:17others just to make money, then it has become an
- 28:20idol for you. When you love money so much that
- 28:24you are willing to stand in front of a camera
- 28:26and not only commit sexual sin, but lead others into
- 28:30sexual sin. Then money has become an idol. Look at
- 28:34what the amplified version says in Second Corinthians, Chapter four,
- 28:39Verses three and four. But even if our gospel is
- 28:42in some way hidden behind a veil, it is hidden
- 28:45only to those who are perishing among them. The God
- 28:49of this world, Satan, has blinded the minds of the
- 28:52unbelievers to prevent them from seeing the illuminating light of
- 28:55the Gospel, of the glory of Christ, who is the
- 28:58image of God. The devil wants to keep you as
- 29:02far from Jesus Christ as possible. He wants you to
- 29:05be blind to the truth, even if it is right
- 29:09in front of you. The devil wants you to treat
- 29:11God casually, not seriously, meaning you use God like a
- 29:15convenience store. You go to him when you need something,
- 29:19and if you don't, then you set him aside. This
- 29:22is blindness. Now, with all this being said, I want
- 29:26to be very clear about this next point. Although the
- 29:29devil is described as the God of this world, he
- 29:32is limited. He is not all powerful. The devil reigns
- 29:35over the earth in a limited way, but he does
- 29:38not own the earth, nor is he omniscient. Omnipresent or omnipotent,
- 29:42he has limits because God is still sovereign and has
- 29:46the final say. Revelation chapter twelve, verse twelve says, Rejoice,
- 29:51o heavens and you who dwell in them. But woe
- 29:54to the earth and the sea, for the devil has
- 29:56come down to you with great wrath because he knows
- 29:59that his time is short. The devil's time on earth
- 30:03is short. And what I want you to understand is
- 30:06that Hebrews chapter twelve, verse two says, fixing our eyes
- 30:10on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who,
- 30:14for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning
- 30:17its shame, and sat down at the right hand of
- 30:20the throne of God. When you look to Jesus, no
- 30:23devil or demon can blind you. When you look to Jesus,
- 30:26there can be no love for money in your heart
- 30:29because your love for Christ is greater. When you look
- 30:32to Jesus, you cannot be blinded, distracted, or led astray
- 30:36by immorality, sin, greed, or pleasure. I encourage you to
- 30:40truly focus, to be fixed on the Lord. This way
- 30:44you cannot go wrong. This world needs believers who are
- 30:48full of Christ it needs spirit filled believers who can
- 30:51be the salt of the earth and the light of
- 30:53the world. Be so full of the Word that the
- 30:56light of Jesus Christ shines through you to this world. World.
- 31:00We are not commanded to hate anyone in this world.
- 31:03We are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. The
- 31:08love that the Bible speaks of is one that can
- 31:10only be shown to others when you yourself have received
- 31:14Jesus Christ. Unbelievers may be blinded by the God of
- 31:18this world, but as Christians, we must ensure that we
- 31:22are overflowing with the love of Jesus Christ in such
- 31:25a way that they have to see the truth. They
- 31:27have to see the path to eternal life. If you
- 31:31enjoy our content and want an even more complete experience,
- 31:35consider becoming a member of the Channel. As a member,
- 31:38you'll have access to a variety of exclusive benefits, and
- 31:42you'll help us continue creating the videos you love. If
- 31:46you like this video and want to learn more about
- 31:49spiritual warfare, I invite you to watch the video that
- 31:52will appear on the screen, where we discuss an intriguing question,
- 31:56why can't God destroy Satan and the fallen angels? Discover
- 32:01the spiritual reasons behind this question and how it relates
- 32:04to the divine purpose. Don't miss it.