Scripture: Ezekiel 28 v 13 - 16: "Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire."
Job 1 v 6 - 7: "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
7 And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."
The last verses of both portions of scripture identify the first and main menace to society. Satan is called by God 'the covering cherub'. What is his possession to cover, this Earth!
The world is his system, and he is landlord to the Earth. We don't really belong here, those who are born again Christians are passing through here on our way home. Those who neglect God's salvation will find themselves in a fiery place inside this Earth.
There are no grey areas to this scenario. If Jesus knows us as His followers and friends in a personal relationship, which is guaranteed by our names being written in the Lamb's Book of Life, the Day of Judgment will be a time of great rejoicing.
The Menace, Satan, influences billions of people surreptitiously to like him and be like him. He was created with all the instruments of music within him, so one of his greatest triumphs is to brainwash people with music.
The enemy of our souls has influenced many to secretly or overtly follow his ways and become tyrants, megalomaniacs, all-powerful gods of their own domains. The war in Ukraine dominates our news channels. The megalomaniac tyrant turned terrorist, killing his own people to reclaim access to seaports, and supposedly liberate people from Nazi oppression, is heading for a hiding.
Because of him the threat of famine in whole countries of Africa is now a reality. Ukrainian wheat crops have been ruined on purpose, and ships loaded with wheat for Africa have been prevented from sailing. The wheat is rotting by now so countries like Egypt, Somalia, Chad, Ethiopia are trying to source fresh supplies.
Big grain farming nations are blocking exports because of their own needs. Russia has also banned all export of its wheat. Jesus said in the last days there will be famines and He always spoke the truth.
How do we as Christians deal with this growing evil in our society. Firstly, we need to unite in the truth in God's Word. We need to read and understand and apply the Word of God first to ourselves, our family, our friends, then strangers. There are so many different interpretations of the Bible from people in various denominations of churches.
Someone had a vision of this variety seeing hundreds of duckponds. Then the rain came down and all the ponds grew larger until it became one enormous ocean. The interpretation is that when revival comes in the form of rain it will be so powerful that the churches will unite and be in one accord.
A blessed hope indeed, which in my humble opinion will occur in the first half of the Tribulation. When Israel signs the 7 year peace treaty with ALL Arab nations, we can set our clocks. That's when revival will come.
We need to discern our own standing with the Lord, and ensure those around us are safely in the Kingdom of God. This is the modern day Ark. The invisible Kingdom, our safety zone. Whether we live or die, if we are in this Ark, we are safe for eternity. It is the ONLY safe place on this planet.
Secondly, we need to pray like never before that we are not deceived. Jesus said that Deceiver, Satan, is seeking our souls and his weapon is deception. He has successfully invaded many churches with false doctrines and wolves in sheep's clothing. He has put his own plans and agendas in place in the church and the gullible have bought into it and do not realise that the Lord has removed His candlestick from them. Unless they return to the truth in the Word they will see their hopes go dark on Judgment Day.
The Lord also spoke very compassionately in Isaiah 55 v 6 - 7: "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
We have all the promises of God to trust in but we must overcome the Menace whose rise as the Antichrist pervades every society today. Only the true, staunch, uncompromising, praying warriors can withstand him. He is the supreme conman who will be adored by billions as the saviour of mankind.
He will bring peace, stability, wealth, to all the world until his hooks are well into every human soul. Before long the tables will turn and the world will turn on its people. The faithful remnant, the Body of Christ, will vanish in a moment of time, to ever be with the Lord. This will be a time of rejoicing on Earth as the blame for woes will fall on the absent.
However, at the mid-point of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will declare himself God in the Holy of Holies, and the Jews will have their epiphany. They see the imposter now who beguiled them and realise in that moment that their true Saviour and Messiah is Jesus Christ, whom they rejected and killed, and their hearts will break with sorrow.
Revelation 1 v 7 - 8: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."
So to avoid disappointment on the Day, learn to resist the Menace now! James wrote, Submit to God (be saved and obedient), resist the devil (say an emphatic no to all his lies), and he will flee. Keep at it as he will try it again in every convincing way. He is the original Conman. Jesus calls him the Father of Lies.
Build Your faith on the immovable Rock of Ages. He withstood every temptation and gave us the ability to do likewise. Don't procrastinate nor be lazy about your spiritual life. Your eternal home depends on fighting the good fight from now on. Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you until you take the mark of the beast on your right hand or forehead. That cancels your name out of the Book.
Revelation 14 v 9 - 11: "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name."
Life is all about choices and we must choose the Lamb and follow His ways, take His nature upon us, and love one another as He loves us.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, its no longer hard to imagine what's coming as there are already many menaces in the world. Help us to avoid this evil through obedience to Your Word and prayer. Keep us safe in the Ark of the Body of Jesus, and remind us to resist temptation so the enemy flees. Help us to spread the gospel and back it up by being a good witness to Jesus. In Jesus' name. Amen.