Dear brethren, with prophetic events picking up speed, and with this Work on the very cusp of having far greater impact than ever before, Satan the Devil will not sit idly by! More than ever, Satan knows that his time is short. No doubt he will soon launch his final attack on the very throne of God (Revelation 12:7). Then, Satan will be cast down and will return to this already deceived world with a furious wrath- beyond anything humanity has ever experienced! When this happens, he will especially persecute the true Church of God.
So, we must be ready.
All of us must draw closer to our God through intense Bible study, deep meditation, fervent prayer and fasting. For, even now, I can sense that Satan is involved in hurting and discouraging God’s own people. Though Almighty God is allowing this to test us, certainly Satan may be involved in the unusual number of God’s people who are right now suffering from potentially terminal cancer and other very serious illnesses.
Most of these dear brethren are already in their 60s or 70s—some past the “three score and ten” years that God has allotted for most human beings to live (Psalm 90:10). But cancer, suffering and death always bring discouragement. I know. I lost my first wife to cancer when she was only 40 years old. And now, I have been blessed with a loving marriage with my second wife for more than 34 years. Yet, she is now in serious condition because of cancer—as are quite a number of other beloved brethren all up and down the east coast of America. And no doubt dozens of other brethren around the world are also suffering, many of whom I do not personally know. They all need our fervent prayers!
We must realize that our adversary, Satan, will use this human suffering to distract and discourage God’s people—if we let him! God inspired the Apostle Paul to warn true Christians that we are, in fact, “wrestling” with wicked spirits! Paul wrote, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:10–12).
Paul wrote about the “wiles” of Satan the devil (v. 11). The New Bible Commentary Revised points out that this word “wiles” is translated from the Greek word methedeia—which, in this context, describes the various evil machinations of Satan and his demons. So, as the prophesied droughts, famines, earthquakes, storms and disease epidemics begin to strike with greater intensity than ever before, we must not allow Satan and his demons to discourage us, or to turn us aside from God or from our mission to preach His message to the world—while we still have the opportunity!
Remember, even though God protected and delivered our ancient forefathers in Egypt, He nevertheless allowed them to suffer through the first three plagues that He brought upon Egypt. Then, as God began to initiate the fourth plague, a swarm of flies throughout the entire land, He stated, “And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land. I will make a difference between My people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall be” (Exodus 8:22–23).
The “Mind” of God
The Bible is certainly the “mind of God,” and by revealing His approach to His people in ancient Egyptian captivity, He also indicates how He will intervene in our day. God may indeed allow His people to suffer through a number of terrible sicknesses and diseases—some even leading to death. However, at some point, He will intervene and supernaturally protect His own people. The word of God, of course, indicates that He will begin to empower His true ministers to perform miracles, more than ever, at the end—just as He will allow Satan’s ministers to perform false signs and lying wonders. “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Mark 13:22).
So, although we can look forward to a time—we hope it is soon—when God’s true ministers will have increased power to perform miracles and healings, we must nevertheless grow in faith and courage to fight and prevail in this “spiritual warfare” in which we are engaged against Satan and his demons. As British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said, regarding the physical battle of Britain, we must “never, never, never, never give up!”
Dear brethren, we must remember the Apostle James’ admonition, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:7–10). Our part is to “resist” Satan the devil, and his discouraging and distracting influences. Our part is also to “draw near to God”—to seek Him with all our heart, strength and mind. We must not do this in a half-hearted manner. We must realize that our very lives are at stake—not only our physical lives, but also our spiritual lives! And we must always remember the constant admonitions, from virtually every person God has inspired to warn us about Satan and his machinations—that is, that we must humble ourselves, get rid of vanity and self-will, and truly seek God’s will above all else.
Dear brethren, I sense that many of us, perhaps in most cases without realizing it, think we are spiritual “supermen.” That is wrong! We must profoundly realize our own human weaknesses. We must realize that even Jesus Christ fasted—in His case, for 40 days and 40 nights—when He knew that He would have to confront Satan directly (Matthew 4:2). We must always remember the inspired account of how Jesus’ own disciples were absolutely unable to cast out a demon who caused a young man to be thrown down, gnash his teeth and become rigid. When Jesus was told about this, He said, “Oh faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me” (Mark 9:19). The father of the young man cried out, with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (v. 24). Jesus then directly commanded the unclean spirit to come out.
But His disciples did not fully understand what was wrong. They asked, “Why could we not cast it out?” Jesus then answered, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting” (vv. 28-–29). Do we somehow think that we are spiritually stronger than Jesus Christ? Do we dare go through these end times, when Satan is more and more often going to attack us directly—thinking that we can somehow “get by” without fervent prayer and fasting—two vital practices that Jesus even commanded to the disciples of His day?
What did Paul do when he was struck down and blinded by God? He cried out, “Who are you, Lord?” Hearing Christ speak to him, Paul was trembling and astonished, and asked, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” (Acts 9:5–6). Christ then gave Paul a command to go into the city, where he would be told what more to do.
Awaiting God’s instruction, Paul then “was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank” (v. 9). So, this humbled and blinded person—who went on to become one of the greatest servants of God in history—recognized that he needed to fast completely and to “seek God” for three solid days! He knew what God expected of him.
Peter’s Admonition
Near the end of his life, the Apostle Peter gave a powerful exhortation calling upon Christians to resist Satan by drawing truly close to God. He wrote, “Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1 Peter 5:5–9).
It is important to recognize that God resists people who are proud, arrogant, self-willed and self-satisfied. Brethren, please think about this! As Peter reminds us, God “gives grace” to the humble. And we are to remain “steadfast in the faith” in order to resist the devil. For Satan does indeed go about among God’s people like a “roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Are you well prepared to resist him? Are you truly strengthening yourself spiritually, so you can better endure through the trials and tests that lie just ahead?
We know that the time is soon coming when we will be confronted with a “spirit war” after Satan is directly cast down to this earth and begins to attack God’s people with unmitigated fury! So, we must realize our need to become more spiritually oriented, to recognize the “war” we are involved in, and to seek God earnestly—above and beyond what we have ever done before. May God help each of us to take heed!
Let each of us think through, carefully and humbly, how Satan may use the trials and tests in our lives to distract and discourage us. Let us think through how we can all do better in truly seeking our Father in heaven, and let us meditate on the reality of His power and His purpose, as we genuinely study His word—“feeding” on Jesus Christ in this way (John 6:57), and so having far more of the mind and power of the living God within us, as we fight the spiritual battles that are sure to come. Our great God is now guiding world events, and is guiding this very Work toward a powerful conclusion. May each of us prepare with all of our hearts to do battle against our adversary, to overcome and to be successful warriors—humble Christians fully prepared to totally surrender our lives in faith to the great God who made us, who gives us life and breath, who is fashioning and molding us—and who, as we read in Hebrews 13:5, will never leave us nor forsake us.