"He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints," is this speaking of the Antichrist?

Recently, Joel Richardson, the author of The Islamic Antichrist; The Mideast Beast; When a Jew rules the World, and a few others, posted a true or false question on his twitter account.

This is a close approximation of what he posted.

“He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.”

The question was put forth: Is this speaking of the Antichrist; true or false? 

On Joel’s Twitter page, results were indicating an ongoing vote. At the time I saw this message, 90% had voted true.

Have you ever heard the saying, if all your friends were jumping off a bridge to their deaths, would you blindly follow them to their ends? Well, simply because the majority were voting true, does not make it so. I will tell you I voted false; how would you have voted?

I thought about the statement, aware that it was a quotation from somewhere in the Bible, but I wasn’t sure where I could find it at the moment and did not have the time to look it up. I know that one of the major players in end times events are the false prophet; and, I understand how that in Islamic eschatology this man is known as the enforcer of Sharia and therefore commands those who will sever the heads of “Christians.” If there were a moment in time in which I could see a war against believers, I would think this would be it. However, that is not what the scripture tells us, and that alone forces us to do our homework and cross-reference. One of your cross-references will take you to Revelation 13.

"There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him." (Revelation 13:5-7 NASB)

The praying church is the one entity that is withstanding and restraining the Antichrist from erupting on the scene in full force. This restraint, we as a church apply, has little or nothing to do with the afflictions Jesus said would come upon the whole earth in the last days. These tribulations include the unpredictable and deadly weather we have been having across the globe.

"You will hear the noise of wars nearby and the news of wars far off; see to it that you don’t become frightened. Such things must happen, but the end is yet to come. For peoples will fight each other, nations will fight each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various parts of the world; all this is but the beginning of the ‘birth-pains.’ At that time, you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and put to death, and all peoples will hate you because of me. At that time, many will be trapped into betraying and hating each other, many false prophets will appear and fool many people, and many people’s love will grow cold because of increased distance from Torah. But whoever holds out till the end will be delivered. And this Good News about the Kingdom will be announced throughout the whole world as a witness to all the Goyim. It is then that the end will come." (Matthew 24:6-14 CJB)

As the evening progressed and I was thinking about my response, a second post showed up on Joel Richardson’s Twitter account indicating that he had obtained the quote from Daniel 7:25.

I now had something substantial to pursue, and I began to probe the Bible application on my phone.

A short time later, Joel made another post to his Twitter account. This time he asked, if you voted false, briefly describe why. I rarely do anything briefly, but as I began studying Daniel 7:25 in an appropriate manner, I found it to be precisely what he was trying to convey; a description of the Antichrist. Knowing that I had the time I began pursuing this passage in full detail – I can’t stand to give out wrong information, nor do I like to feel like I did an inadequate job of studying.

Rule number one in my book: Unless I am very familiar with a passage, I will never simply allow someone to feed me one verse as though it means something in particular; that means that I look at the context. An example of this is the word “He” in the paragraph in the question above. Let me show you.

In the previous verse, Daniel 7:24, it speaks of ten kings arising. So, ten horns equal ten kingdoms, and perhaps, ten kings, and yet none of them are individualized, that is, until we get to this peculiarity – another will arise after them. We had been talking about kingdoms, but suddenly it becomes a he.

Daniel 7:24 NASB ‘As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise, and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will subdue three kings.

These days, there are very few countries, or nations, that are ruled by kings, and so I cannot cling tightly to a literal kingship. An example could be Britain. Britain is “ruled” by a Queen, but that is not even a true statement; Saudi Arabia is also ruled by a king. Saudi’s religion is considered to be 100% Muslim, while in Britain, you have the right to be a Muslim. Note how different these two kingdoms are.

Joel Richardson’s post tells us that “He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One.” This sounds very similar to Revelation 13:6-7

"And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him." NASB

Revelation chapter 13, it so happens, is a very detailed version of Daniel 7:25.

So what exactly does Daniel 7:25 say?

 " He will speak words against the Most High and try to exhaust the holy ones of the Most High. He will attempt to alter the seasons and the law; and [the holy ones] will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time." ( CJB )

Eugene Peterson’s Message translation, says it straightforwardly,

  “Then he will blaspheme the High God,”

If you find the idea of blasphemy confusing, join the crowd. Many people have come for prayer, whining that they have committed the unpardonable sin of blasphemy, and therefore cannot be saved. Jesus explained blasphemy in the simplest of terms in Mark chapter 3. There, the Pharisees and elders had said, He can heal only through the power of Satan. Well, not quite in those words, but you get the idea. You get the sense that Jesus spun around, pointed, and said, NOW you’ve crossed the line with this blasphemy. So, attributing the things of God to Satan does the trick.

Daniel 7:25 also has some properties that are very similar to Daniel chapter 8. In Daniel chapter 8, Daniel is having a rather violent vision of a ram and a goat.

"I looked in the vision, and while I was looking I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam; and I looked in the vision, and I myself was beside the Ulai Canal. Then I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a ram which had two horns was standing in front of the canal. Now the two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, with the longer one coming up last. I saw the ram butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before him nor was there anyone to rescue from his power, but he did as he pleased and magnified himself. While I was observing, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. He came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the canal, and rushed at him in his mighty wrath. I saw him come beside the ram, and he was enraged at him, and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns, and the ram had no strength to withstand him. So he hurled him to the ground and trampled on him, and there was none to rescue the ram from his power. Then the male goat magnified himself exceedingly. But as soon as he was mighty, the large horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven. Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land. It grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down. It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host, and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. And on account of transgression, the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper." (Daniel 8:2-12 NASB)

In Daniel 8:15, we find Daniel seeking an explanation of the vision; and, he gets one.

“In the latter period of their rule, When the transgressors have run their course, A king will arise, Insolent and skilled in intrigue. “His power will be mighty, but not by his own power, And he will destroy to an extraordinary degree And prosper and perform his will; He will destroy mighty men and the holy people. “And through his shrewdness, He will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; And he will magnify himself in his heart, And he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, But he will be broken without human agency. (Daniel 8:23-25 NASB)

So, again, we see traces of Daniel 7:25.

Here is a familiar passage to students of Eschatology.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 NASB (3) Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, (4) who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

I have already shown you Daniel 7:24 where we see ten kingdoms, and yet another comes out of them. Daniel and The Revelation refer to this kingdom as one man and calls it, he. Can you see any potential confusion here? If I am going to analyze passages, then I have to ask if the “he” is a solitary man, or entire kingdom (in this case an ideology?) The answer is both. When it comes to the solitary man, this is definitely speaking of Antichrist’s role. There are strong suspicions as to who this man is, but no one can tell you at this point, who we are looking for. I can say to you with a firm conviction that this man will be a Muslim leader.

As you continue to cross-reference, Daniel is one of those who inform you that the Antichrist will call for peace. We have always assumed that this peace will be with Israel, but look closely, for Israel is not mentioned aside from the destruction it receives.

My “brief” response to Joel Richardson, was a much shorter version of what I have tried to tell you.

So why the lengthy response?

I wrote this because I wanted to point something out; that something, in my case, is that I allowed a false teacher to bring confusion into my life, to the point that I did not trust what I knew was right. Fortunately, this was not a life or death situation and I simply had to reestablish the correct information in my mind and spirit. Some might say, how did you let that happen? It happened because I allowed my religious upbringing, along with a man, who, under the guise of approved religion brought a consistent outpouring of dreadful teachings. The man in question, at his own word, had, at one point, obtained a certification from the Assemblies of God, indicating that he was an approved teacher of God’s word. That might have been the case at some point, but no longer.

I have come to understand that maybe I am not just talking to myself, perhaps this is you, but what if no one had ever pointed any of this information out to you, would you know if the information was true or false?

Can you now distinguish between the Antichrist and the False Prophet, based upon scripture?

Has anyone ever told you that Islam has their own eschatology and it parallels, in many ways, the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Revelation?

Has anyone ever effectively told you that we, the Church, are the thing that is holding back the Antichrist from unleashing in full force upon the world? We do that by prayer.

The book that started this journey of understanding for me was The Islamic Antichrist by Joel Richardson. He laid out the information like no other, and I believe that he has been given to us for this moment in time.

If you have eyes and ears, then you are aware that we are in the last days. War with Israel will break out at any moment. Ezekiel 38, 39 tells that God will save Israel, but not without severe damage, by sending a firestorm upon a leader the Bible calls Gog of Magog and the armies amassed with him. Scripture tells us that Gog will be buried in Israel. I feel strongly that this firestorm will open the way for the last temple to be built, and along with that action, the church will be removed from the earth as Jesus calls His bride back home. These are not comfortable times for any of us, as the world is turning its back on morality and common sense. If you are a follower of Christ, then you have probably heard the warning, put on the armor of God daily. Well, I am telling you, NEVER take it off. Learn to sleep in it; wake up with it on, and clang all the way down the aisles at work. The atmosphere has shifted, and it is time for the warriors upon the walls to call out the warning. 

I pray somebody is listening.

Saul, the witch of Endor, and one very angry prophet. 1 Samuel 28.

I get asked a lot of questions. Some of them are sound and reasonable, others, not so much. This one initiated with some vehemency about who the witch of Endor called up from the dead. Because the Dake's Bible side notes indicate that this was a demon she called up, apparently several men bought into that lie. This was a study that I did on the subject in order to allay the false teaching.

The story begins by speaking of David. David has been running for his life, as Saul wants to kill him, but now the Philistines are mounting an attack and David has the fear that he may die at their hands. But this story isn't about David; it is, about Saul, a witch, and Samuel – who has been dead for a period of time at this point.

I am using the KJV unless noted.

1 Samuel 28:3,4 KJV
Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. 4) And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa.

1 Samuel 28:5,6 And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. 6) And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.

Nothing is working for Saul, not even the prophets.

Prophet – nâbı̂y' naw-bee' From H5012; “a prophet or (generally) inspired man: - prophecy, that prophesy, prophet.” (To put this in perspective, Balaam was considered a prophet, although he was much like a gun for hire.)

1 Samuel 28:7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.

Understanding terminology such as a familiar spirit may be beneficial.

The NLT translation tells us, “Saul then said to his advisers, “Find a woman who is a medium, so I can go and ask her what to do.” His advisers replied, “There is a medium at Endor.”
Unfortunately, simply saying a medium does not really help either, as a medium or one with a familiar spirit covers two realms: the very real and often intense spiritual side, and the charlatan or fake.

The Hebrew word 'ôb – obe has the implications of one that mumbles, that is, a waterskin (from its hollow sound); hence a necromancer (ventriloquist, as from a jar): - bottle, familiar spirit.

Strong's tells us that 'ôb is the same as H1, which is the Hebrew word 'âb awb. This is the basis for the Greek word Abba with which we refer to God. The word 'ôb also carries the implications of a chief and is apparently through the idea of prattling a father’s name.

To prattle is to talk too much on trivial affairs. So, in the case of a medium, they are most often deceiving you simply by speaking incessantly on nothing, much like an effective salesman.

1 Samuel 28:8 And Saul disguised himself and put on other raiments, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.

Why did Saul, the tallest man in Israel, try to disguise himself? 
Because he knew the “Law” and, what should be done to someone who is a necromancer, or medium. Doesn't this imply that Saul knew the potential that this person could really talk to spirits? If she was talking to spirits, who was she talking to? Demons/Fallen angels.

So, what then was the law?
Leviticus 19:31 KJV — Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

Lev 20:6 And the soul that turns after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go whoring after them, I will set my face against that soul and will cut him off from among his people.

Lev 20:27 A man also or woman that has a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 NLT  “When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there.  (10)  For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft,  (11)  or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead.  (12)  Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the LORD your God will drive them out ahead of you.

Even the witch knew the law.
1 Samuel 28:9 NLT  “Are you trying to get me killed?” the woman demanded. “You know that Saul has outlawed all the mediums and all who consult the spirits of the dead. Why are you setting a trap for me?”

Whether her abilities are real or not, her actions could mean her death.
1 Samuel 28:10,11 And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD lives, there shall no punishment happen to you for this thing. 11) Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.

Keep in mind our definitions of a medium, and add to the effect that these mediums, put on a show to convince the simple-minded.

1 Samuel 28:12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
Samuel is not what she expected.

1 Samuel 28:13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.

Saul asks her, what do you see. 
Here, in KJV, we are told, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. However, she only describes one person or entity, Samuel.

So, did she other things? 
Perhaps. The AMP states, “I see a god.” The Complete Jewish Bible conveys that she saw “a god-like being coming up”, and the ISV translated this as “I see a divine being.” So which is it?
Unfortunately, Finis Dake took the liberty of placing a capital E in front of the word elohim, a word which means god(s), among other things. He also stated that since it was not GOD Himself, then it had to be a demon.
Really, a demon would not have known or cared about the prophetic Word spoken against Saul by Samuel; and, now we have Samuel continuing to elaborate upon that Word by telling Saul that the kingdom is stripped away.

“gods,” in this case, is 'ĕlôhı̂ym el-o-heem'. It is the plural of H433 and means gods in the ordinary sense; the supreme God; magistrates; angels, someone who is very great, judges, and mighty (ones.) H433 is 'ĕlôahh el-o'-ah and implies a deity or the deity:

This is the same word used in Genesis 1:1 CJB  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 
If, the word elohiym can represent God here in the creation, why would it represent a demon in 1Samuel 28?

So the question is, what did she see?
- We can't exclude multiple entities arising, but she only identified one and made no effort to identify any others.
- Both she and Saul believed this entity to be Samuel.
- 1Samuel 28:12 shows us the woman turning to Saul; identifying the disguised Saul, and saying what have you done to me. She said this because she knew it was Samuel and now she can be certain that she is talking to Saul.
- Neither can we exclude the possibility that she saw Samuel. This brings up another question, do we have any way of knowing if she had physically seen Samuel while he was alive? No, but then neither had Peter and John physically seen Elijah and Moses and yet, they recognized them speaking with Jesus on the mount of Olives that night.

1 Samuel 28:14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man comes up, and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed himself.

And Saul perceived that it was Samuel probably based upon the description alone. 
Did Saul see what she saw? Maybe not, although the Hebrew word opens the door to the possibility.

The Hebrew for perceive is yâda‛ yaw-dah' and means to know (properly to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially.

So, even though Saul may not have seen Samuel, he still fell on his face before the old prophet. This may represent respect or Saul saw something.
We still do not have a definitive answer.

1 Samuel 28:15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted (disturbed) me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou may make known unto me what I shall do.

I can take this two ways. 
One is similar to the story of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus. Having both died we find the rich man (a Jew) in torment, while Lazarus, also a Jew, is comforted in Abraham's bosom. The rich man calls forth, declaring that he is in discomfort and that Lazarus should go and bring him some water. Saul may be conveying a similar attitude. Or, the second possibility, is that Saul is at a complete loss as to what to do, and calling a dead man back from the dead is his last resort. (Does this seem odd to anybody else? What changed that might have prevented followers of Christ from being brought back from the dead? Perhaps the mere fact that we followers of Christ are in Him, and that as Paul says, being absent from the body places us in the presence of the Lord.)

1 Samuel 28:16,17 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then do you ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from you and is become your enemy? 17 AMP) The Lord has done to you as He said through me He would do; for [He] has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to your neighbor David. ¹

1 Samuel 28:18-19 MKJV  Because you did not obey the voice of Jehovah, nor execute his fierce wrath on Amalek, therefore Jehovah has done this thing to you now.  (19)  And, Jehovah will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. Jehovah also shall deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.

This was not what Saul wanted to hear.
1 Samuel 28:20 Brenton  And Saul instantly fell at his full length upon the earth, and was greatly afraid because of the words of Samuel; and there was no longer any strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all that day, and all that night.

Samuel has spoken, and whether Saul is slipping into diabetic distress or another of mental breakdowns is not clear; nonetheless, the story is somewhat over, except for one small detail.

1 Samuel 28:21-25 NET. When the woman came to Saul and saw how terrified he was, she said to him, "Your servant has done what you asked. I took my life into my own hands and did what you told me. (22) Now it's your turn to listen to your servant! Let me set before you a bit of bread so that you can eat. When you regain your strength, you can go on your way." (23) But he refused, saying, "I won't eat!" Both his servants and the woman urged him to eat, so he gave in. He got up from the ground and sat down on the bed. (24) Now the woman had a well-fed calf at her home that she quickly slaughtered. Taking some flour, she kneaded bread and baked it without leaven. (25) She brought it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose and left that same night.
I had answered the question and it was clear that this was not some demon as Dake suggests. Obviously, there are no definitive answers as what took place that day, but we agreed that it was not a demon. However, one other thing became apparent as we studied this 28th chapter of Samuel, and I cannot remember a time that anyone said a thing about it; the witch of Endor was a Jew, for she baked the loaf without leaven. Give that some thought if you will.

1- I Sam. 15:22-28

His invisible qualities—both his eternal power and his divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they can be understood from what he has made. Romans 1:20,21.

Although I ended on Romans 1:20 previously, that was several weeks ago, and we probably forgot what it says; besides that, it helps us understand verse 21 better.

Romans 1:20-21 CJB  For ever since the creation of the universe his invisible qualities—both his eternal power and his divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they can be understood from what he has made. Therefore, they have no excuse;  (21)  because, although they know who God is, they do not glorify him as God or thank him. On the contrary, they have become futile in their thinking; and their undiscerning hearts have become darkened.

I used to communicate with Pastor Paul Begley, but I don't anymore as he has become inundated doing videos and speaking about prophetic events. His opening line for every breaking news broadcast is, “are you serious?” The implications are that the incident he is about to report on, is such a flagrant insult of logic and common sense that it must be challenged with a harsh reproof such as, “are you serious?”

Well, that is how I feel about Paul's statement here, are you serious?

• “For ever since the creation of the universe His invisible qualities – both His eternal power and His divine nature – have been clearly seen, because they can be understood from what He has made.

Everything around us, in terms of God's handiwork, demonstrates both His POWER and, His NATURE. These two invisible aspects of God surround us. From where I live, only a few miles from the mountains with its trees, streams, and waterfalls, I can see the hills that lead up to the beauty that is hidden over the ridge. And then, there are the “natural” clouds and the spectacular shapes and effects they can have.

I accentuated the word natural, knowing that I really did not need to mention it, except that globally we have been inundated by chemical clouds. These clouds are the end result of those long trails spewed by airplanes as they cross the skies, at very high altitudes, on what seems like a continuous and daily mission. These “chemical trails” can create a spectacular colorization at sunset; however, they are incredibly harmful to our food supply, water supply, and our general health. (If you are interested, take the time to look up the incredible array of chemicals and particulates they are intentionally spraying in these chemtrails.)

The idea of seeing God's handiwork in a pleasant outdoor environment has always been with me. Honestly, I don't know if I would have come to the conclusion that there was a God on my own, as I can see the destruction in a piece of granite (Destruction is a concept that seems in opposition to creation.) So I am quite sure that my parents, by their conversations to and in front of us, must have imprinted this idea of God in the creation upon us as very young children because I cannot remember a time that I was not aware of God's hand being involved with what I was experiencing. I also, cannot remember a time when I did not know God, and maybe that is a legitimate reason or explanation for my own understanding.

Being raised in a church, I can now say that a tremendous amount of the hurt and injury to my thinking came out of the church, or at least from some twisted religious concepts that were shoved down my throat. My mother, God rest her soul, had some dreadfully, distorted legalistic ideas. She did not seem to have any concept of grace; I assume that because she taught us to pray a ghastly prayer that goes like this – “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord, my soul, to keep...” I shall not go on for it caused me, for years, to live in a state of fear that the slightest indiscretion would cause God to stop loving me and send me to a fiery hell. I learned that a belief like that is not valid, but it took me years to undo the damage and change my misconceptions that conflicted with this nature and character of God. Sadly, I realized that I did not know God; fortunately, all that changed, and, it evolved through studying on my own. The overarching theme I found, is that He is Love, and He redeemed an entire world through the death of His only Son when it did not love Him.

So, because since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and divine nature, have been clearly seen and understood through what has been made, they are without excuse. But the question must now be, who is the “they?”

The Jews knew they were chosen, but that did not stop them from worshiping everything but God, nor did it force them to honor or obey Him. This information makes them the prime suspect as I try to determine who Paul is speaking of.

As I sat in Bible study recently, the leader used background information, given in the form of a commentary on the Roman church. The author of this commentary was Dr. James Dobson. It turns out that Dr. Dobson saw history as an avid hobby. The leader of the Bible study, following Dr. Dobson's lead, talked about Paul being a missionary to the Gentiles. Think about how in every town Paul went to – he went to the synagogue; is this where you ordinarily find Gentiles? Not hardly. Paul himself, tells us, that eventually, he did take his message to the Gentiles, but after the Jews stoned him, flogged him, had him arrested, and a few other things.

The Jews considered anyone outside of Judaism to be a godless pagan – a Gentile, and so a generalization is to think of the “they” as the Gentiles because the presumption is that they were outsiders without God. We, in the Christian world, adopted the word Gentile to mean non-Jewish believers. At this point, the generalizations point me to, not only the Jews but just about anyone else.

One day I made a bold statement about how Jesus could come back at any moment. An acquaintance of mine attempted to angrily rebuke me, saying, that is impossible because we are told that every human being would have to have obtained a copy of the Bible for the prophecy to be fulfilled and therefore allow for Jesus to return. Paul didn't see it that way, and neither do I.

Verse 21 tells us:

Romans 1:21 CJB  because, although they know who God is, they do not glorify him as God or thank him. On the contrary, they have become futile in their thinking, and their undiscerning hearts have become darkened.

Again, I am dealing with this vague “they.”

The Jews did not gain the title Jews until long after the exodus from Egypt. Upon their leaving, they were merely known as“my people,” or the people whose God is named I am who I am. The name Jew emanated from Judah, one of Joseph's sons. In time they became the people of Israel.

If I were to say, once again, that Israel saw the signs, I would have to include, the plagues God dumped upon Egypt as He tried to impress upon Pharaoh the necessity to let His people go. Indeed, these signs would have demonstrated God's power. Was Israel awed? Hardly, for it seems but days go by when (a bit over 40,) and, while Moses is gone up into the mountain without food and water for forty days – not something normal men survive, when this group of people, who should KNOW God, set up the “tent of Molech”, one of the many items they happened to bring with them out of this Egyptian bondage. They enlist Aaron, Moses' older brother, to make the statue of Molech out of gold – a statue that was designed to roast children as sacrifices - while they indulged in a sexual orgy dance-off as they worship the goddess Rephaim.

Now, in light of Paul's statement, although they know who God is, they do not glorify him as God, who do you think the “they” is talking about? Again, this is not just talking about Israel.

• On the contrary, they have become futile in their thinking; and their undiscerning hearts have become darkened.

Futile is the Greek word mataioō and has the implications of becoming foolish, morally wicked, idolatrous, or to become vain.

The Complete Jewish Bible tells us that they became futile in their thinking. The Amplified Bible, which typically gives you all the other definitions without the Greek word, includes vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations.

This idea of absurd speculations takes on a valid meaning when someone, whom you would think would have a greater understanding of God's Word, asks absurd questions about multiple levels of hell or heaven. That might seem reasonable to you, but when you realize that most of our ideas about levels within hell come out Dante Alighieri's book The Inferno, where he placed corrupt politicians, priests who should have been defrocked, and persons who had harmed him, into some form of disgusting purgatory.

Since Jesus destroyed the fear of death and took the keys of hell from Satan, then this is a non-issue. Any answers we have for such a primarily come from two sources, the story of the rich Jewish man and the Jewish beggar, Lazarus. The rich man went to a place of discomfort where he complained about the heat. While Lazarus was now being comforted in paradise. Jesus, speaking to the thief on the cross, said, this day you will be with me in paradise.

Does this place, paradise, still exist today? We, don't know, and can only conjecture. A conjecture is when you convey that something is real but have no evidence.

• And their undiscerning hearts have become darkened.

It is even more brutal than that.

2 Corinthians 3:14 CJB  What is more, their minds were made stonelike; for to this day the same veil remains over them when they read the Old Covenant; it has not been unveiled, because only by the Messiah is the veil taken away.

But there is always hope.

2 Corinthians 3:15-16 CJB  Yes, till today, whenever Moshe (Moses = the Torah) is read, a veil lies over their heart.  (16)  "But," says the Torah, "whenever someone turns to Adonai, the veil is taken away."

A little more proof.

Deuteronomy 30:2 CJB  and you will return to Adonai your God and pay attention to what he has said, which will be exactly what I am ordering you to do today—you and your children, with all your heart and all your being.

This is a brief step aside from my study on Romans as I look at a portion of a Frank Peretti book.

I have been rereading a Frank E. Peretti book called Piercing the Darkness. Years ago I heard Dr. Dobson interview Mr. Peretti about the books he has written because there was such insight into the spirit world, and Dr. Dobson, like so many of us, wanted to know how he came to that understanding. It seemed that Mr. Peretti merely paid attention to what the Bible had to say and added that knowledge to what we know about the spirit world from public information. Frank Peretti simply added a little color and background story of his own.

Do we have anything in scripture that speaks to and about the spirit world?

The answer is absolutely and overwhelmingly. Now when I say spirit world, I am talking about one-third of the angelic forces that followed Satan in his mutiny against God. We call these fallen angels demons, and it would seem that in many cases, they represent themselves to their victims as bizarre and unusual looking creations. I would not be surprised that the so-called alien grays are nothing more than fallen angel representations.

• One of the most ignored and misunderstood is Genesis 6, where we are told:
  In the book of Job, Satan comes strolling before God, right next to angels called sons of God, that did not fall. (Job 1:6,7)

Nephilim – Strong's concordance defines them as bullies and tyrants. The Word Study Dictionary tells us this: “These beings evidently appeared on the earth in the ancient past when divine beings cohabited with woman, and Nephilim, the mighty men or warriors of great fame, were the offspring. This huge race of Nephilim struck fear into the Israelite spies who had gone up to survey the land of Canaan.”
There is nothing cute or benign about this story. Fallen angels somehow began propagating with humans for the purpose of destroying God's plan. Nephilim where not just big humans, they were Titans, people that were the basis of legends. And, because of their insertions into the human lineage, God had to destroy everyone short of Noah's immediate family. Read Genesis chapter six to get the full story.

• After flexing some “Godly” muscle, King Saul outlawed all mediums in his realm. Later, when things were not going so well for him, he found a medium and consulted with her to call up Samuel the Prophet, from the dead. When Samuel came forth Samuel was extremely irritated at Saul and demanded to know why Saul had disturbed him and brought him up? You can find this all spelled out in 1Samuel 28. The Complete Jewish Bible says the conversation went like this: “Try to find a woman who tells the future by communicating with the dead; I want to go and consult with her.” I recently learned from a site called End Times Headlines, that a Baptist church in Texas hired a psychic and put her on staff. She, the article said, frequently consults with the dead, and reports those conversations back to the church staff.

• The Apostle Paul also had a run in with a medium. Acts 16:16 brings her into the story. Pay attention to how she is introduced. Read Acts 16 for the full story on how they dealt with her and what happened to them.

“A spirit of divination. Literally: “a python spirit.” That expression comes from Greek mythology; Python was a snake that guarded the oracle at Delphi. Essentially, this girl was a medium in contact with demons that could supposedly predict the future.” (Read Deuteronomy 18:9-12) - (John MacArthur's commentary)

As you read this excerpt from page 191 of This Present Darkness, think about your governmental leaders, how they talk and act. Do you see any correlation between the description in the last paragraph and their actions?

In the Peretti book, the current editor of the Ashton newspaper Marshall Hogan is speaking with the former editor of the same paper, Ted Harmel about what happened to him and why he left town in such a hurry. Ted responded to a series of questions, which included questions about the operations of the local university.

Marshall asked, “wasn't it the tiff with them that got you run out of town?” Harmel responded, “That was only part of it. I wasn't controllable anymore. I got in the way. The network took care of me before I could hurt them. But there's no way I can prove it. It doesn't matter anyway. The whole things too big; it's like a huge organism, a cancer that just keeps spreading. You can't just go after one part of it like the regents and expect to kill the whole thing. It's everywhere, at every level. Are you religious?”

Marshall responded, “In a limited sense, I suppose.”

This is the part I want to pay particular attention to.
Harmel replied, “Well, you're going to need something to fight it. It's spiritual, Hogan. It doesn't listen to reason, or to the law, or to any set of morals but its own. They don't believe in God – they are god.”

Is this statement by Ted Harmel even close to reality? Yes, it is, and I will show you the scriptures that back up my assertion.

First, Ted said, “It's spiritual.”
Ephesians 6:12 tells us: our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (NASB)

The Amplified Bible may make this more clear.
For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere. (AMP)

For those, like me, who do not immediately comprehend the word despotisms. Webster's Dictionary tells us that it is: Absolute power; authority unlimited and uncontrolled by men, constitution or laws, and depending alone on the will of the prince.

What's the problem with this definition? It does not take into account that Jesus disarmed them all.

Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. (Colossians 2:14-15 NASB)

If Jesus disarmed them, why then do we have such grief in our lives?

Because Satan and his monstrous band of despots/fallen angels use deception as one of their primary weapons against us. Jesus told us that in this world we WILL have tribulations, hardships, discomfort, and a barrage of attacks from every angle; becoming a “Christian” doesn't make anything go away, in many cases, the trials of life only get worse.
These fallen ones will be put away permanently, but not just yet.

The character, Ted Harmel continued to say, “It doesn't listen to reason.”
“It” being the spiritual entity that seems to control, not only the people in this book but also controls people and power structures in the real world as well.

Focusing on the idea of a spiritual entity is a polite way of saying Satan, but the glaringly obvious thing about Satan is that he is a singular entity – a fallen angel, and cannot be everywhere as God can, and therefore needs help. That help comes in the form of fallen angels/demons (they are one and the same,) and, by empowering people to act on his behalf. Some of those people, willing to work on his behalf, sit by you in the church (let that sink in for a moment.)

We assume that an entity is intangible, but that argument goes out the window when some person acts like the devil.

The Apostle John wrote,
1 John 5:19 We know, that we are of God; and all the world is reposing on the evil one. (Murdock )

There are many translations, it seems the majority took the easy road in interpretation as they use the phrase the whole world “lies in, or under the power of the evil one.” The James Murdock translation almost stands alone as he describes the world reposing most comfortably in the lap of Satan.

(I am reminded how the world loves to refer to our relationship with Christ as a crutch. I suppose they say that because we have this innate propensity to limp back into relationship with Christ when our lives fall apart. While we may come back limping to the one who loves us, how might you explain your reasons for reclining in the arms of a fallen angel who tried to overthrow God?)

The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury makes this comment about 1John 5:19 and the usage of the word Wickedness. As the translator Darby puts it, the whole world is seated in wickedness. Wickedness is used instead of “the evil one,” “in wickedness”. “In this short expression," says Mr. Wesley, "the horrible state of the world is painted in the most lively colors, a comment on which we have in the actions, conversations, contracts, quarrels, and friendships of worldly men.”

Since we have ascertained that “it” is a spiritual entity, and that WE do not wrestle against flesh and blood, then we can focus our prayer attacks and come against the demonic forces that hold the people of earth captive.

The Lord's bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will. (2 Timothy 2:24-26 NASB)

Perhaps now would be a good time to point out, that though we may not be able to stop the demonic activities entirely as they work to bring the end into its fullness, we can, and do hold back the enemies actions.
2 Thessalonians 2:6 And you know what restrains him now so that in his time he will be revealed. (NASB)

Ted Harmel said, “it doesn't listen to reason.”
Reason - according to Webster's Dictionary, means: The cause, ground, principle, or motive of anything said or done; that which supports or justifies a determination, plan, or measure.

Lately, the leadership of the United States and the world have demonstrated that they are incapable of listening to reason. Long before Donald Trump became president, things happened that demanded answers. Congressional representatives, on Congressional panels, tried to find the truth about such things as: why did American Special Forces operators have to needlessly die in Benghazi when there were ample time and support to save them and the American Ambassador who was also inside the compound in Libya? We, the public, may have never known much about this event except that former Senator Hillary Clinton told us all that these men lost their lives due to the outrage of the Libyan people over some movie. Many of those questioning Mrs. Clinton avoided the issue and refused to ask questions that might challenge the powerful, former Senator Clinton. The questions they did ask were pointless and futile. I, and others like me, assumed that their actions were intended to block and interfere with the questioning process. Why would they do that? Was their lack of action simply meant to protect the democratic party?

The former editor added - “It doesn't listen to reason, or to the law.”
Romans 2:14-15 MSG When outsiders who have never heard of God's law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. (15) They show that God's law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God's yes and no, right and wrong.

If God's law is woven into our very fabric, and, we still live in some form of disobedience, then it is most likely a choice we have made. There are, however, exceptions as most are blinded in their minds; I can imagine many reasons for this blinding, we see it all the time, as the love and desire for money drive many on their quest for pleasure and comfort. Others are caught up in addictions of lust, or its sister, gambling. Since lust is merely the act of satisfying our own desires, we could all, easily be caught up in that trap.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4 NASB)

The last part of the former editor's description of “it” was to say that it does not listen to any set of morals, but it's own. They don't believe in God – they are god.”

We should by now understand that the “it,” while potentially looking like a corporation, is really nothing more than individuals who have similar desires. You have to admit, and we can use Nigeria as our example, in that individuals, acting corporately, can be deadly, as “Christians” are being slaughtered with frequency in that country, simply because they profess a relationship with Jesus.
Islam professes that they have a set of morals, as do the lavishly wealthy, but they certainly have no need for a God of restrictions that may try to tell them to stop doing what they are doing.

To say they - those detrimental characters in the book, don't believe in God might seem odd to some, but this breakdown of moral character has been a problem since humanity fell in the garden. Man has ignored the known and chosen the presumed, in other words, idol worship has always been there. Immediately in the retelling of humanities entrance into the earth, Satan, in an attempt to circumvent God and His plan of redemption, tells Eve, you will be like gods.
“For God knows that in the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5 NASB)

If you think the process through, Satan tried a cunning play on words.

Consider, that in the Genesis story we never see God speak to Eve until after sin came into the world, He only spoke to Adam (This pattern of passing along information also shows up in the story of Cain and Able. We never see God giving Adam's two sons any instructions about the sacrifice, and yet they knew because Adam told them. See Genesis 4.) In His conversations with Adam, God must have told Adam all the rules, and it seems there was only one, to not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. For all we know innumerable years passed with no problems, but on that particular day, Satan manipulated words by saying, did God really say that? How could Eve know the answer to that question? This becomes more viable if what I said was true – if what Adam had conveyed was true. Now Eve has to make a decision, did God say those things to Adam? Would Adam lie to me? What a horrendously painful whirlwind Satan creates when you allow him to play in your mind. With Adam standing beside her, close enough to hear all this foolishness come out of the mouth of the serpent, I can't begin to imagine what Adam thought, and yet he stood silent.

Eve is a clone of Adam; there is no mental frailty and Adam was an exacting image of the Father God. God gave the man control over the earth, and consequently, it was his responsibility to tell the woman, which he did. From what scripture tells us, the man Adam may have been here for thousands of years before God formed the woman, retaining that information in his head. If it played out this way, that conversation in which Adam told Eve of the forbidden tree was not one of dominance, for everything they knew and did was built upon the most free-flowing, trusting relationship humanity could have ever experienced, and their example was from God himself as He walked and talked with them in the garden. Since we know this was Jesus in a pre-incarnate state, it is easy to imagine the reality of that statement. Read Genesis chapter 3:9,10.


 So Satan plays the misrepresentation/doubt mind game that he utilizes on all of us - Did God really mean you when He said ...? Of course, God meant it, but WE are broken people thanks to Adam's sin, and that imperfection fuels our doubts. Eve, however, was not handicapped by sin; this was strictly a choice on her part. As I said, Adam stood beside her, and by his silence, he handed the earth over to Satan, and death came to all. The earth was cursed because of their actions. Death entered into the world. God had to kill animals to make clothing for them, and in so doing, taught them both how to make sacrifices to obtain a right standing with God. This was all new to them, but one thing was made clear, and we get a hint when He told Eve that one from your seed will crush his head. That head is Satan, and though this crushing and permanent removal is still a short distance away, it will come.
As tragic and painful as this process was and is, WE who follow after Christ, have hope because that seed is Jesus the Messiah and I look expectantly for His soon return.