All Sin Starts With Suggestion of Pleasure

“The foolishness of a man twists his way, and his heart FRETS AGAINST THE LORD.” Proverbs 19:3 God gets blamed for a lot of things that he doesn’t do. People do foolish things and then blame God when som ething goes wrong. The next time you find yourself blaming God for something, look at the issue more closely. Is it really God who caused it? Or was the trouble the result of something you or someone else did foolishly? There is yet another source of trouble, when something bad happens but it's unrelated to anything we did. And that is the enemy of our souls. Who is he? Where does he come from? What is his intent? Lucifer was created the most beautiful of all the angels in heaven. He held the highest seat, was in charge of the worship, and none could be compared to him. But instead of being thankful for his beauty and high position, his heart filled with pride and he decided he wanted to surpass God himself. He mustered a third of the angels to follow him in a rebellion to dethrone God. For this, he was cast out of heaven along with the angels who sinned with him. From then on he is called Satan, which means "the adversary." Satan lost his high place, his beauty, his position, and he absolutely hates God for it. And he hates all that God loves, including us. The defeat of a proud heart caused a terrible hatred toward the one who defeated him. In his raging anger, Satan hates all that God loves, and he especially hates mankind because mankind is going to replace him in heaven. Satan’s aim is to defile and attack all that is of God. He afflicts believers, he desecrates marriage, he seeks to pollute the souls of our youth, he cleverly fosters every manner of sin known to man. When God created the earth and put mankind on it, Satan the adversary immediately crafted a plan to destroy them. In the garden where Adam and Eve were placed, there was one tree that God forbade them from taking from it. Satan knew that if he could break the relationship between Adam and God, then he could gain Adam's authority over the earth through Adam’s sin. He came to Eve and lied to her about God, he told her that what God said wasn’t really true! She took the fruit and gave it to Adam. They both sinned - and the rest is history. Read it in Genesis 3:1-8 When Adam fell into sin BY BELIEVING THE LIE about God, he forfeited his authority over the earth and Satan took over. From that day the world lives under “the god of this world” (2nd Corinthians 4:4) - a fact that is oh so terribly obvious, isn’t it! "...the whole world lies in wickedness." 1st John 5:19 Now we have disease, wars, pain, suffering, death, and all manner of evil that Satan’s hatred brings about. He causes the wars, it is Satan behind the violence, and he delights in all the horror he can bring upon the earth …just by getting man TO DISBELIEVE GOD'S WORD. And this will go on until his allotted time is over, then Jesus Christ will come and end Satan’s career. So back to the first sentence above, “a man twists his way and his heart frets against the Lord.” Satan suggests pleasure to man in order to get him to sin, the man sins and twists his way, and then when evil comes - he blames God. Satan’s method is the same as it was from the beginning, because it works. He knows that if he can destroy the Word of God in the minds of people, then he has created a successful means of their destruction. All sin is the result of suggestion to the mind that pleasure will come of it. It’s deception. It causes all manner of suffering, then God is blamed. You might ask why God allows it to go on. Only he knows the whole answer to that, but one reason is that SHOWING a principle is more effective than just telling about it. If your child insists in wanting to touch the wood-stove after you’ve told him not to, and he has not believed your word, you’ll finally let him do it so that he will learn for himself not to touch it. Telling him didn't stop him. He had to learn it the hard way. God has given Satan a period of time to remain in control, so that mankind can learn for themselves that the one thing you do not do is refuse or pervert the Word of God. Look around today and see the results of denying the Word of God. The world is coming to ruin - under "the god of this world." Our journey in this lifetime is a learning experience, and the most important thing we can learn is to believe what God has said and to obey the principles he has established. This is how you defeat the enemy on this journey. Satan greatly tempted Jesus three times, promising him pleasure, and each time Jesus responded with “No! It is written…” The only way to victory on our journey is to respond to everything in life with “it is written…” Take the Bible, the Word of God, and read it, for it shows man the way, the truth, and all about life. Read it, then believe it and live by it. Then when the journey is over, we will be restored to a faultless world, a world wherein all is “good.” Satan's allotted time will be over. This is a sure promise …because it is written!

Multitudes In The Valley Of Decision

"For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of my people, my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also DIVIDED UP MY LAND." Joel 3:1-2 This is the generation in which God has brought back the Jews who were scattered throughout the world for 2,000 years. And in this generation he is going to gather Israel's enemies to war in the Valley of Jehoshaphat which is just outside Jerusalem, and there the enemies of Israel who come against Jerusalem are going to be destroyed. There are three last-days wars coming which we know of. There may be others, but the Bible specifies three. First will be the Psalm 83 war. Psalm 83 names the peoples who will come against Jerusalem, and these are the countries immediately bordering Israel. In this great war God will bring an end to the so-called "Palestinians" who have caused terror in the land of Israel. These are the peoples who are loudly declaring that they will drive Israel into the sea and take her land. But God has news for them. In this war THEY will be destroyed and Israel's territory will be greatly increased. vs:19 “Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom a desolate wilderness, because of violence against the people of Judah, for they have shed innocent blood in their land." In the second war, foretold in Ezekiel 38, there will be a coalition of nations under Russia (Gog of Magog), Iran (Persia), and Turkey (House of Togarmah.) Iran has been boasting for years how they are going to eliminate Israel forever. Well, God has news for them also! Surely they will come against Israel, but in this war God himself is going to destroy them. The third war will be the war of Armageddon in which all the remaining nations who hate Israel will come against her, surround Jerusalem, and come to their end. Until then, the subject of Israel is the great subject which polarizes the entire world. On the one hand are those who have no interest in God's Word, along with those who support the enemies who are determined to create their Islamic state within the borders of Israel. Yes, they want to create their country WITHIN Israel's borders; if that's not obvious, nothing is. This includes the Arabs and other Muslims, the Palestinians, the UN, and most of the world. On the other hand are the believers - those who know God's Word and who have refused to believe the lies that Satan has created against God's people Israel and her land. It all comes down to one thing: one's response to the Word of God and what he has said about "the last days." vs 14: "Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." Believers in the Bible are proclaiming to all who will hear that these are the days prophesied from the ancient Scriptures concerning "the last days," because all the signs mentioned are right now on the scene. The multitudes will make their choice - whether to accept the Word of God, or whether to side with the deception concerning the Satanic AGENDA behind these things. Most of the World will reject what God has to say on the subject, and they will go into the Great Tribulation where the wrath of almighty God will be poured out upon an unbelieving world. Make your choice for the Word of God - or against it - now while there is still time. But know this: refusing to make a choice, is a choice. There will be terrible, terrible judgment upon those who have ignored or refused the Word of God. "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be." Matthew 24:21 Their defiance will reap its reward then, and hell will follow. All the signs of the times are declaring that that time is about to begin. If you are not sure about your eternal state, it's time to turn to Jesus Christ and surrender your life to him. If you do, you will be saved and these judgments will not be yours. More: God's Covenant With Israel

Then They Shall Know Who Is God And Who Isn't

"Thus says the Lord God:

'When I have gathered the house of Israel

from the peoples among whom they are scattered,

and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles,

then they will dwell in their own land

which I gave to my servant Jacob.

And they will dwell safely there, build houses,

and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely,

WHEN I execute judgments

ON ALL THOSE AROUND THEM WHO DESPISE THEM.

Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God.’ ”

Ezekiel 28:25-26

..."they will dwell safely" ..."when they will dwell securely..."

Right now Israel is not dwelling safely. The Gentiles hate Israel. The United Nations despises her. Israel has been gathered back to her land, but that land is surrounded by the Arabs who hate her so much that they are willing to give their lives to destroy her.

But God has said that he will be hallowed as the God of Israel in the sight of the Gentiles. How can that be? Their hatred of Israel and of the Jews possesses them.

Oh but yes, it surely will be. It will be "when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them." THEN they shall know that God is the God of Israel - and that he is NOT the "moon god" called Allah.

Be watching for this, because he brought them back to the land of their forefathers in 1948, and it is now near the time for these prophecies to be fulfilled and when they are, all will know that the God of Israel is the most high, the Almighty. It will be clear who is God and who is not. He will bring terrible judgments against those who hate his people Israel and Israel will then dwell safely in their land, the land which he gave to Abraham, Abraham's son Isaac, and Isaac's son Jacob in an everlasting covenant. (Ezekiel 16:60)

The story of Israel is well underway and the whole world is watching. The sentiments of the world are upon Israel's enemies, "the poor Palestinians," the worshipers of a false god who is not god, no, but IS the "god of this world." They call him Allah but in fact he is Satan himself. Jesus said Satan comes "to steal, to kill, and to destroy." It's only so obvious.

The world thinks the Arab-Israeli conflict is a conflict between the descendants of Ishmael and the descendants of Isaac and Jacob, and indeed it is. But it goes beyond that. THIS IS THE CONFLICT BETWEEN SATAN AND GOD. Satan is amassing all his forces for the showdown between himself and the God of Israel, and then the conflict will be settled once and for all:

"The devil, WHO DECEIVED THEM,

was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone

where the beast and the false prophet are.

And they will be tormented day and night

forever and ever."

Revelation 20:10

"When I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them,

THEN they shall know that I am the Lord their God. ”

Whose side are you on? Must we choose sides? Oh yes, you either believe the Word of God or by default you find yourself on the losing side.

Not to choose is to choose. We are all are born in a fallen state, into a fallen world, a world under the dominion of Satan himself who the Scriptures say is "the god of this world" (2nd Corinthians 4:4). That is why Jesus said we must be born again. To be born again is to be delivered from the world system under “the god of this world” - to be born into the kingdom of God.   

"But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,

whose minds THE GOD OF THIS WORLD has blinded,

who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,

who is the image of God, should shine on them."

2nd Corinthians 4:4