On Feb 1, 3:59 am, "Read The Bible" <biblever...@yahoo.com> wrote:

u2fan said on Jan 30, 11:38 am: When you look at
the target of Satan it is the church

I think his ultimate target is heaven; "For thou
hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into
heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of
God; I will sit also upon the mount of the
congregation, in the sides of the north; I will
ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be
like the most High" (Isaiah 14:13-14).

Here the "stars of God" could mean the angels of
God, for stars can represent angels; e.g. "The
seven stars are the angels of the seven churches"
(Revelation 1:20b); so when Satan says "I will
exalt my throne above the stars of God" that could
mean that he wants to rule over all the other
angels in heaven. But they will resist his attempt
to take them over; "And there was war in heaven;
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon;
and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed
not; neither was their place found any more in
heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old
serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him"
(Revelation 12:7-10).

Satan knows that as a created entity he can never
be God Himself, the only uncreated entity; but he
still desires to be "like the most High" (Isaiah
14:14b) in the sense of having supreme authority
over all other created entities. But when his
attempt to take over heaven fails, and he's
imprisoned on the earth, he'll have "great wrath,
because he knoweth that he hath but a short time"
(Revelation 12:12b); that is, he'll know from the
scriptures that the day is soon coming when he
"shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of
the pit" (Isaiah 14:15). That will happen at the
second coming of Jesus Christ, when a powerful angel
will bind and imprison Satan; "And I saw an angel
come down from heaven, having the key of the
bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he
laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is
the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand
years; and cast him into the bottomless pit, and
shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should
deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years
should be fulfilled" (Revelation 20:1-3).

The time between when Satan's coup d'etat in heaven
fails and when Jesus returns, will be the worst time
ever for Christians, indeed for the whole world;
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was
not since the beginning of the world to this time,
no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should
be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but
for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened"
(Matthew 24:21-22). This means that that time will
be so terrible, that unless it were shortened all of
mankind and all animals would go extinct on the
planet.

Satan will begin the great tribulation by empowering
one man, known as the Antichrist, to become like God
on earth; "The dragon gave him his power, and his
seat, and great authority" (Revelation 13:2b). The
Antichrist will have accepted the offer which Jesus
had refused; "And the devil, taking him up into an
high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of
the world in a moment of time. And the devil said
unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the
glory of them, for that is delivered unto me; and to
whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt
worship me, all shall be thine" (Luke 4:5-7). So
Satan himself will be the Antichrist's God; "In his
estate shall he honour the God of forces, and a god
whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold,
and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant
things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds
with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and
increase with glory" (Daniel 11:38-39).

Even though the Antichrist will glorify Satan as
God, he will also demand the whole world to worship
him, the Antichrist, as God; "And the king shall do
according to his will; and he shall exalt himself,
and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak
marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall
prosper till the indignation be accomplished, for
that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall
he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of
women, nor regard any god, for he shall magnify
himself above all" (Daniel 11:36-37).

At a certain event called "the abomination of
desolation", the Antichrist will make his grand
announcement to the whole world that he is God; "And
that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,
who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God
sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that
he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:3b-4). This means that
he will sit in a temple, which the Jews will have
rebuilt for themselves in Jerusalem, and proclaim
himself God. He will forbid the Jews to make any
more sacrifices to YHWH, and will place an image of
himself in the innermost sanctum of the Jewish
temple to be worshipped; "And arms shall stand on
his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of
strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice,
and they shall place the abomination that maketh
desolate" (Daniel 11:31).

-From the time of the abomination of desolation
until Jesus returns to destroy the Antichrist,
Christians may need to wait 1,335 days; "From the
time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away,
and the abomination that maketh desolate set up,
there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety
days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the
thousand three hundred and five and thirty days"
(Daniel 12:11-12); "Behold, I come as a thief.
Blessed is he that watcheth" (Revelation 16:15).

When Christians see the abomination of desolation;
"Ye therefore shall see the abomination of
desolation" (Matthew 24:15), that's when they'll
know that the great tribulation has begun; "For
then shall be great tribulation" (Matthew 24:21).

Satan's failed putsch in heaven could happen shortly
before the abomination of desolation, which will
be the signal that even though God has denied Satan
rule over heaven, He will for a time allow Satan and
the man he appoints (known as the Antichrist or the
beast) to take control of the entire earth and be
worshipped by the whole world as God; "And they
worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the
beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is
like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with
him? And there was given unto him a mouth speaking
great things and blasphemies; and power was given
unto him to continue forty and two months. And he
opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to
blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them
that dwell in heaven.
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And it was given unto him to make war with the
saints, and to overcome them: and power was given
him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him,
whose names are not written in the book of life of
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If
any man have an ear, let him hear. He that leadeth
into captivity shall go into captivity, he that
killeth with the sword must be killed with the
sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the
saints" (Revelation 13:4-10); "Here is the patience
of the saints, here are they that keep the
commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I
heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write,
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from
henceforth; Yea, saith the Spirit" (Revelation
14:12-13).

So God will allow Satan and the Antichrist to make
war against the church and imprison and kill
Christians; just as God had allowed Satan and some
Roman emperors to do the same thing to some in the
early church; "Fear none of those things which thou
shalt suffer; behold, the devil shall cast some of
you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall
have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto
death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches" (Revelation 2:10-11).

So Christians will have to be faithful to Jesus
Christ even unto death; they'll have to be willing
to be killed rather than worship the Antichrist or
his image, or receive his mark upon themselves. The
souls of those who are killed by the Antichrist
because of their faithfulness to Jesus Christ will
enter into heaven as victorious martyrs; "And I saw
as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire, and
them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and
over his image, and over his mark, and over the
number of his name, stand on the sea of glass,
having the harps of God" (Revelation 15:2).

God will allow many Christians to be beheaded by the
Antichrist; "And I saw the souls of them that were
beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word
of God, and which had not worshipped the beast,
neither his image, neither had received his mark
upon their foreheads, or in their hands" (Revelation
20:4b); just as God had allowed many Christians,
even including the Apostle Paul, to be beheaded by
Roman emperors.

So Randy, here is some further elucidation by your compatriot
regarding the nature of the Post-Trib, Pre-Mill Rapture. Do you say
correct to this, also? Or am I still confusing you with the facts?

The Eastgate is open, the King is in Residence!
Whosoever will, may come in!

Gatekeeper