Evil spirits that looked like frogs leapt from their mouths. Revelation 16:13-14.

 I ended the previous post with these verses.

Revelation 16:13-14 NLT  And I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs leap from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.  (14)  They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty.

What can I gather from this?

That the evil spirits leap from the mouths of the dragon/Satan; the beast/antichrist; and the false prophet. The spirits are clearly identified as demon spirits. Demons are not some bizarre, original creation, they are fallen, angels. Now, there might be some association with the hybrids created by the Nephalim having sexual relations with human women, but I will leave it at that.

Defining the false prophet is not a simplistic answer, so let's dig into this for a moment.

If I were to say, there was an oil spill, would you assume it was an oil tanker in the Persian gulf that got hit with an explosive UAV, or would you theorize that I had a bad moment while trying to fry chicken?

As you can see the answer requires a bit more information doesn't it, especially if I wanted you to be able to perceive an accurate mental picture. Now apply my logic, in this case, to whom or what this person is.

Another assumption we make, as religious Christians, is that we cannot look outside of the religious box we live in. Let's apply this assumption to the oil scenario. If you are a chef, can you receive information that provokes you to consider oils other than, olive or vegetable oil, especially if you wanted to comprehend something like a ruptured oil line in Long Beach Harbor, that was damaged by a ships anchor and polluted miles of beaches? Any reasonable person would and should.

Why tell you any of this?

Because there was a day at church when we were having lunch together. I can be rather introverted at times and on this particular day, I chose to make conversation with some people I had seen frequently but never talked with. Just days before this moment I had come across archaeological information from Israel that opened a door that changed the way I look at Jesus, “the carpenter.”

The first consideration about Jesus being a carpenter, and part of my religious mentality is,

• He did NOT say these words about Himself; they were spoken by others about His father.

  Matthew 13:55 "Is not this the carpenter's son?

• Secondly, those speaking about Him did NOT say carpenter, they called Him a tektōn.

  A tektōn is a craftsman and does not limit Him to being a carpenter. The idea of Him being a carpenter came from tradition and tradition said, you learned your father's trade. If you want to have a problem with this, you can take guesses as to how old Jesus was when Joseph died.

• So we cannot assume that Jesus was a carpenter, but we do.

  So we live in an extra-biblical world on a regular basis.

So, how does this information change my life or perception?

Perhaps it does not change anything unless you are willing to consider information OTHER than direct Biblical information.

Guess what I talked about with these strangers? Archaeology, and how the Israeli archaeologists had uncovered a granite quarry, no more than a quarter-mile outside of Nazareth, the town Jesus grew up in. At the quarry, those scientists found broken and partially completed remnants of granite drinkware, all of which showed clear lathe marks. The family I shared this information with seemed to follow what I was saying.

With only a moment's hesitation, the husband says, “I do NOT believe that we should consider anything extra-biblical in forming our understanding of Jesus.”

I responded by saying, fascinating that you should say that, as we accept the idea that Jesus was a carpenter when the Greek terminology tells us that Jesus was a tektōn. We don't challenge what the word tektōn means, we merely accept that it means Jesus was a carpenter, however, it is an undefined term and cannot be defined without additional information.

So what do we do?

We chose to ignore that archaeology has intelligibly demonstrated that it was possible for Jesus to be a craftsman at this particular quarry.

You might try to tell me that we have no evidence to demonstrate that Jesus was a craftsman with granite, but we do, and it is NOT so un-biblical. In the second chapter of John's gospel, Jesus and the disciples were invited to a wedding in Cana of Galilee.

“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, "They have no wine." And Jesus *said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." His mother *said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."”
(John 2:1-5 NASB)

No other disciple recorded this incident so we have NO other biblical information to pull from, and, therefore, have to make logical, even non-biblical assumptions.

• What we do see is a mother inserting herself into a situation that may not have been her responsibility.

• We do not know how she would know they were out of wine,

• And, neither do we know the nationality of the servants that Mary spoke to.

  To say they were Jewish servants is pure conjecture on your part. Since the Jews were so quick to tell Jesus, we have NEVER been slaves to anyone, we must presume that these were Gentile slaves.

• What is made very clear to us, is that Mary understood Jesus' capabilities for the miraculous, and told the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

What happened next is extraordinary.

• Jesus seemed to know that there were stone pots, of enormous size.

  Remember, we have NO other constrictive information, so anything we assume about this is conjecture.

Now there were six stone water-pots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus *said to them, "Fill the water-pots with water." So they filled them up to the brim. And He *said to them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it to him. (John 2:6-8 NASB)

Nobody pays attention to the fact that these stone pots were most likely handcrafted, lathed, and capable of holding up to thirty gallons of water; and quite possibly made one-quarter mile outside of Nazareth. The other significant thing was that they were made of stone.

What is the big deal about that?

Israel had some severe sanitary laws, laid out by God, that they had to abide by. For example.

'As for any earthenware vessel into which one of them may fall, whatever is in it becomes unclean and you shall break the vessel. (Leviticus 11:33 NASB)

For the longest time, all they had was wood or clay vessels from which to eat. However, history records that several years prior to this wedding, an enterprising Jewish council member, realizing that the restrictions of God's law said NOTHING about granite and therefore was meant by God to always be ceremonially clean, This entrepreneur presented his case to the council and they agreed. From that day forward granite was declared perpetually clean and is looked on as clean to this day. For the most part, we Gentiles know nothing about Jewish laws concerning cleanliness, nor do we know that a Jew could explain this to you if you asked, as they hold to this exception today. If those pots had been earthenware and Gentile slaves had touched them, the pots would have to be broken and trashed; but since they were granite, Jesus could have slaves fill them, without a thought.

Is it possible that the craftsman, Jesus, made those very pots?

We have nothing to tell us otherwise. Because Jewish law was modified, it was now possible for Gentiles to fill the waterpots without harm. All this information may have played a role in Jesus turning the water into wine, but should you exclude it because it is extra-biblical?

The answer from this man I spoke to was, no.

If I have done my job in conveying this story, then you should be able to see that extra-biblical information might help to explain who this false prophet is.

While we, in the Christian community, have prophetic Words and scriptures contained with the Bible to guide us in our attempt to understand, don't be shocked to find out that Islam does as well. For them, scriptures are the words of the Qur'an and they have their own prophetic words in writings called hadith.

Our imagery of the false prophet varies so much that some portrayals show the man as a vicious wolf covered in sheepskin; and yet, this is how Islam portrays Jesus, although they don't call Him that, they call him the Dajjal¹.

Here is a short definition of what they perceive the Dajjal to be.

Dajjal means "deceiver" in Arabic. In Islamic eschatology, Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal is an evil false prophet who, it is said, will come to earth and try to lure people into following Shaytan (Satan). It is believed he will then be destroyed by Christ or the Imam Mahdi.

The Dajjal, to Muslims, is the false prophet, which we believers understand to be Jesus. How convenient that Jesus shows up about the same time as the biblical end of the false prophet, and Islam's Mahdi – the antichrist.

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."" (Revelation 19:11-16 NASB)

And the beast [the Antichrist] was seized and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast [An interesting fact is that the only one who takes this mark will be those who DO NOT have their names written in the book of Life.] and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. (Revelation 19:20 NASB)

How does the Bible describe the false prophet?

Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. (Revelation 13:11 NASB)

The fact that he had two horns like a lamb is indicative of him being a representative of “godly teaching,” either that or a Jew. Keep in mind, that the Bible sitting on your shelf, is a Jewish book and is centered on the Jews. We, the church, are just a side note.

As I have pointed out in previous posts, there is a man that already exists and fits this role. His name is Rabbi Baruch Kahane, and he has been the high priest designate since 2016. When I mention this and show the picture of the Rabbi, their response is, he seems like a nice man.

This phrase “ he seems like a nice man” is exactly what the enemy wants out of us, as it will be the catalyst for a great deception. Think about this, scripture tells us that he has two horns like a lamb. City folk, like myself, perceive the horns as a bad thing not knowing that sheep are born with horns and that the shepherds presumably cut them off to preserve the wool of other sheep.

"For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. (Matthew 24:24 NASB)

If, a loved man, like this, suddenly began performing great signs and wonders, do you think it might be possible to draw Jewish teachers away from their fragile relationships with God?

No doubt in my mind, although religious teachers, who ignore God's words, portray this “misleading” differently and try to make you think this is talking about you instead of God's chosen – the Jewish leadership. Remember, there is always a context and it applies to a time when the church, as the body of Christ, is gone. It would be impossible to mislead the church if it has been caught away. Secondly, this time is halfway through the seven years of God's wrath upon Israel and the nations – the time seen as the time of the antichrist.

• Horns like a sheep are telling us that the false prophet is a religious man.

• Performing great signs only happens at the halfway point, and, up to this point has NOT been a regular part of the false prophet's functions. If this man, who becomes the false prophet, has been acting as the high priest, imagine the awe and respect he will have.

• When it comes to signs and wonders, you have to keep in mind that there have been two witnesses from God, and they have been performing signs and testifying of God's greatness for three and one-half years. With their mission accomplished God allows for them to die. You have to realize that everyone has tried to kill them without success or harm. These two witnesses have been doing the very thing that this false prophet will do. It is not a question of mimicry, but it is exactly what Satan/the serpent/the dragon does, he perverts God's will and ways, and, as scripture shows us, he is empowered by Satan just as the beast is.

Revelation 13:11-12 NASB “Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence...”

Daniel 8:24 is speaking about the insolent king that will come when he says this.

"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. (Daniel 8:24 NASB)

Since you know that the false prophet exercises ALL THE AUTHORITY of the first beast, then you should understand that it is the dragon that gives the false prophet this authority. If you want validation of what I just told you above, then read the entirety of Revelation 13:11-17.

One last comment.

These two passages that I initiated this study with are here to show you a purpose.

And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.
(Revelation 16:13-14 NASB)

The entirety of their purpose is to gather the kings of the whole world for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.

“kings” is the Greek word basileus, and according to Thayer's definitions also means leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land.

It would seem that everyone who thinks they have power is being drawn to this battle.

The terminology that the NASB uses is the phrase “the war of the great day of God, the Almighty,” Many focus on the term Armageddon and will deem this battle we see in Revelation 16:14 to be that very battle.

If you do a word search for the term Armageddon the KJV produces one result, while the NASB gives us NO instances of the term.

The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury defines Armageddon in this manner. It is called

• The hill of slaughter,

• The Mount of Decision or Sentence (Lange).

• The Meggido Valley,

• A symbol of defeat;

• A hill of victory.

• Armageddon is also known as, the Hill of Megiddo, where the Lord would avenge the crime of the heathen (Gebhardt, p. 274, cited in Dusterdiek, Note LXXX, p. 425)

• I will add that virtually every Biblical battle has been fought in this valley.

  An example of this comes from the book of Judges.

  "Kings came; they fought. Yes, the kings of Kena`an fought at Ta`anakh, by the waters of Megiddo; but they took no spoil of silver. (Judges 5:19 CJB)

• And that Megiddo is situated in the plain of Jezreel, which happens to be where David killed Goliath.

  1 Samuel 29 tells us of how David, running from King Saul, went to Achish and allied himself to him, in the land of Philistines, the Jezreel valley.

Though we are not there yet, the only place we find Armageddon in the scriptures is in Revelation 16.

And he shall gather them together into a place which in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

(Revelation 16:16 DRB)

Notice that it does not imply that you will find the word in the Old Testament, merely because it says, “in Hebrew is called Armageddon.”

So, in the world of battles, we have the

• Gog, Magog war of Ezekiel 38,39

  This will be a massive attack against Israel. It almost sounds as though this war has some nuclear weapons being launched, and God appears to launch fireballs against the enemies of Israel. This might happen moments before the rapture of the church, or a short time later; it's hard to say.

• The antichrist calls for peace, but keep in mind that Israel is not mentioned in that call. Three and half years later, the false prophet will launch a deadly war against believers and Jews. At some point 2/3 of Israel is killed or destroyed.

• Revelation 19 tells us that Jesus returns at the end of the time of wrath. All those who chose to fight against Him will be killed. This battle also happens in the Jezreel valley, and there is where the blood will run as high as the horses' bridle.

• After all this, we enter a thousand years of peace. While people stop fighting, considering that the nations, though limited in number, will continue to live during this time and still have their free will choices. At least Satan will be bound and unable to affect their decision-making process. At the end of this thousand-year period,  Satan will be released to deceive the nations one last time. They will rise up in a war against God and the Holy City, where most of us will live. This battle will also take place in the Jezreel valley.

With this information and lack of scriptural witnesses, it seems that it would be inappropriate to walk in confusion and call everything the battle of Armageddon.

Hopefully, this helps.

Today would be a great day to turn your life over to the Lord.

1I had intended to give you extensive, extra-biblical, information, but I get whined at about my posts being too long already. If you want more information then I suggest you do an internet search for: Dajjal; Isa ibn Maryam; The Mahdi; Twelvers; Islamic prophecies; Qur'an, and Islamic eschatology. You should find the answers you seek.

Submission to authorities. Romans 13:1-7.

Romans, chapter 13 is entitled:

Submission to the Authorities

I am already struggling with this title, but let's be patient and see what the chapter is telling us.

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities.
For there is no authority except from God,
and those which exist are established by God.
Romans 13:1 NASB

The idea that every person is to be in subjection is rather comprehensive, as no one is excluded. However, Paul is writing specifically to the church body that gathers in Rome, and generally to the entire body of Christ.

This letter about subjection may be especially important since this group of believers, which is majority Jewish, had recently made a return after either Claudius or Nero expelled the Jews from Rome. Why don't I pronounce one or the other as the author of a decree to expel the Jews? Because Nero shared power with Claudius, his adoptive father, and therefore Rome was also under the governance of Nero (37-68AD), but one of the most disturbing leaders was Claudius. Nero became the emperor in 54AD after the death of Claudius. History tells us that the Emperor had been using the Jews for torches, and Claudius made it known that the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus – a Grecian derivative for Christ.

Based upon what they understood from the Torah, the Jews knew they were not to lay down and be doormats for this Roman oppression. This scenario should have us scratching our heads in bewilderment as we try to understand what Romans 13:1 is asking us to do.

Subjection, according to the dictionary, means to be: inferior in order, dignity, power, and influence. It also means to be subordinate, but NOT enslaved.

Do I think, for a second, that God desires for you to feel inferior? Not a chance, and neither did Paul. 2 Corinthians 11:5 Paul says, “I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.” And in 2 Corinthians 12, Paul not only speaks again about how he is in no way inferior to the apostles, but he states that he has never treated any of the body of Christ as inferior.

Strong's shows us the Greek word hupotassō, which means to subordinate; reflexively to obey: - be under obedience (obedient), put under, subdue unto, (be, make) subject (to, unto), be (put) in subjection (to, under), submit self unto. This Greek word is a derivative of two others, hupo meaning under, and tas'-so, which means to arrange in an orderly manner, that is, assign or dispose (to a certain position or lot.

We are being asked to submit ourselves to the authorities in an orderly manner. Another way to look at this, we are being asked to put ourselves at their disposal.

Is Paul saying, for any foolish endeavor?

I seriously doubt it, but if you study life of the Apostle Paul, you find him arguing his case “before the courts,” but NOT screaming, yelling, and making an absurd scene. He carries himself with dignity.

What purpose does Paul's submission serve?

It allowed for the gospel message to go to the Gentiles, caused the gospel to spread, and the gospel was preached to the highest levels of government.

What is the reason behind such a request by “God?”

As the NLT puts it,

Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. (Romans 13:1 NLT)

Look at how distinctly the explanation comes.

Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God;

and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

Romans 13:2 NASB

• “Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God.”

God has put them there in positions of authority, even if they are morons. There is a purpose behind everything.

We, in America, are coming to Presidential elections once again. The vote in which President Trump was elected did not start with him in the race. He threw his hat into the ring at the last minute. For me, before Mr. Trump jumped in, there was NOBODY sane worthy of a vote, but to be straight with you, most of us knew what kind of brash person the man was, and we all knew he had weaknesses, but the man has demonstrated that there is more to him than the shallow louse who loved to say, you're fired.

So let's try to glance at two scenarios.

1. President Obama: An admitted Muslim, with falsified birth records, and a determination (his own words) to bring this nation down to a level with third world nations, was the President of my country.
   I did not choose him, vote for him, or like him. As long as we had the right to freedom of speech and the ability to vote, I made an effort to get the devil and his demons out of office. Fortunately, he could only be president for two terms, and yet, I had to abide by the laws, mandates, and presidential orders. If there had been a reinstatement of the draft and they had called my name, I would have gone to war – mind you, I would have been muttering the entire way angrily. And one religious zealot, in particular, would repeatedly say, you have to pray for our President. My response, in jest, was, I have, and, unfortunately, he is still alive.
2. The current President, Donald Trump: Is brash, outspoken, and demanding; yet, the nation is running more the way many of us had hoped it would. I pray for his success, well being, and sanity (I think the job of President could easily make anyone nuts.)

Do I feel like I am doing this subjection thing correctly?

Not by a long shot, but know this, I don’t fight with the police, because I have not done anything wrong, as yet. And I do not believe it is appropriate for a Christian to be involved in the activities of Antifa, as their purpose is to fight against leadership and disrupt people’s lives. The day may come when aligning oneself with the scriptures may be a criminal act. At that point, despite what the current administration says, I will become a criminal.

Romans 13:3-4 NASB For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; (4) for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.

You probably noticed how I said, I don't see a need to fight with the police, as I have done nothing wrong. Romans 13: 3,4(a) speaks specifically to that end.

• “Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; (4) for it is a minister of God to you for good.”

Let's just say you ran a red light, now do you feel you are in any place to fight with the police officer that is pulling you over? Some morons do.

• “But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.”

Keep in mind that Paul is writing to believers. Some religious zealots would have you think that as a follower of Christ, we would never do anything wrong. My question to people who buy into thinking like this is, what planet do you live on? 

While it is true that we, who accepted Christ, have buried ourselves with Him in baptism, have died and risen with Him – theoretically; but, as long as we are suited in these bodies, we will always be subject to the sin and death that surround us. 

What advantage then is salvation? 

It gave us a righteous standing with the Father, and that is our entrance into the Kingdom of heaven. Until that day comes and we are changed, we are capable of missing the mark/sin; and sin can get you landed in prison.

Romans 13:5 NASB Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake.

Eugene Peterson does a very good job of giving us another take on this verse.

That's why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it's the right way to live. (Romans 13:5 MSG)

These last two verses define the idea being subject to authorities very well. Because it's the right way to live.

Romans 13:6-7 BBE  For the same reason, make payment of taxes; because the authority is God's servant, to take care of such things at all times.  (7)  Give to all what is their right: taxes to him whose they are, payment to him whose right it is, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor is to be given.

So being subject to authority looks like this.

• Pay your taxes. The reason: “because the authorities are working for God when they fulfill their duties” (GNB)
  This does not say they are Godly people, it merely states that unwittingly, they are working for God, as they fulfill their duties.
• “Give to all what is their right: taxes to him whose they are, payment to him whose right it is, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor is to be given.”
  The Message conveys this, “Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders.” It's simple really, do what is right by the law.

To those who do not buy into the idea of being under the law, I know you think the “law” is explicitly talking about the Torah. Why then did Jesus, in compliance with Roman law, tell Peter to pay the taxes that Rome was demanding? Jesus answered the Pharisee's argument by telling Peter to go fishing. When you pull up the first fish, look in its mouth and pull out the coin that you will find there. Peter did just that. Jesus then said, whose image do you see there? The answer was Caesar. Jesus then said, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and by that, the taxes got paid that day, answering the foolish argument of the Jews.

Are we to comply with the law?

There is no doubt in my mind unless the law demands mandatory worship of the image of the beast - although I do not believe that it will be called the beast, take his number, and worship the beast, that perhaps, all other laws are such that we could comply. [Read Revelation 13 and pay particular attention to the details about the worship of the beast, taking the mark, and the worship of the image that is made to speak. Anyone, who does all three, goes to hell, no questions asked.]

And why could we comply? If we go back to Romans chapter 1, in which Paul introduces himself to this mostly Jewish community. He says, I Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ. Slaves have no right to do anything but comply; maybe this understanding is our biggest clue.

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.