Angels, Aliens and Satanic Delusions pt. 2

Mark Finley: This is our God, he's coming in dazzling brightness. This is our God, he's coming to raise the dead. He's coming to take us home. This is our God. We've waited for him, and he'll save us. What do you say, church?
Female Announcer: This is Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message, Angels, Aliens, and Satanic Delusions. Part two. Enjoy, and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with Hope Lives 365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.
Mark Finley: I've told you a number of stories about my dear friend Mikael Kuakov. But I'll tell you one I haven't told you before. Mikael Kuakov was the president of our work, of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Soviet times in Russia. He and I were dear, dear friends. We often traveled together in the Soviet night, and he would share with me his experiences in prison, share with me what it meant to stand for Christ, share with me what he meant when he was oppressed by evil forces, when the government was trying to oppress God's people there. He told me that on one occasion he was put in prison for five years. And during the time in prison, he was praying, "Oh God, oh God, in this prison bring your light, bring your truth to me more deeply." I asked him, "What was the most difficult time in prison?" He said, "Mark, the loneliness, the loneliness." He said, "Secondly, the hunger." He said, "I was always constantly hungry." He said, "Thirdly, the shivering cold. I was cold, I was hungry. My body was weakened with the horrible conditions, and you're about ready to give in under those circumstances." But he said often, often it was like angels were in my cell. Often it was like the cell was illuminated with the glory of God. And he said, "Let me tell you an interesting story." He said, "In prison there were many rabbis, Jewish rabbis, and I always wanted to learn Hebrew." "So my graduate course became a prison course in Hebrew. The rabbis taught me Hebrew." And then he said, "I wanted to learn Greek," and I met a Greek scholar in prison, New Testament Greek scholar, and he taught me Greek. "And I wanted to learn English, so I learned somebody else, I found taught me English." So he said, "In prison those five years, I learned Hebrew, Greek, and English." When he got out of prison, he established the Russian Bible Institute, Russian Bible Translation Institute. Because the old Russian Bible was written in a form of Russian called Synodal Russian, and it was very hard for anybody to understand. So he got out of prison and he said, "Now that I know the Hebrew of the Old Testament, I know the Greek of the New Testament, I'm going to work with a start-up Bible translation institute and translate from the original languages of Hebrew in the Old Testament, Greek in the New Testament. I'm going to translate the Bible so the Russian people can read it." It was a 10-year project, and he translated into Russian, and you see it here on the screen. This is a Russian edition of the Bible. Incidentally, I had one of the first copies that came off the press. It was a Russian edition of the Bible that was translated by Pastor Kuakov's team. It took them 10 years to translate it, and now that is the standard Bible used in Russia. All because he learned Hebrew, and Greek, and English in prison, guided by heavenly forces and angels. Satan has a third of the angels, but God has two-thirds. And when the final crisis breaks upon this world with unabated fury, the devil is going to use force, he's going to use coercion. He's even going to use false miracles to try to get us to disobey Christ. He's going to seduce us in areas that we do not expect. One of the ways he's going to work in the last days is through signs, wonders, and false miracles. And to a media-minded generation that wants the sensational, the devil is going to pull off sensational miracles. What if? Now, don't you go away and say Pastor Finley predicted that, because I'm not. I'm saying, what if? What if there were cosmic beings that landed or appeared in Washington D.C.? What if they were in a great stadium? What if people were coming and being healed, so-called, I put quotes around "healed," of cancer and heart disease? Well, what if anything like that ever happened? You say, "Pastor Mark, it cannot happen!" Did you read your Bible? Second Thessalonians. Second Thessalonians, you're looking there in the Bible. God is preparing us for the almost overwhelming delusions that's going to come. Second Thessalonians chapter 2. And you notice we're going to start there with Second Thessalonians 2, verse 3. "Let no one deceive you by any means. For that day," that's the coming of Christ, "will not come unless there's a falling away," that's an apostasy first, "the man of sin is going to be revealed. He opposes himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped. He sits in the as God in the temple of God, showing himself he is God." So there will be a being that will attempt an individual, a person who tries to a religious leader, who tries to unite church and state, sits in the temple of God. That is, he claims, he speaks from the chair, ex cathedra, infallible. But notice how the devil is going to deceive, verse 8 and on. "Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord's going to consume with the breath of his mouth, destroy with the brightness of his coming." But notice verse 9. "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power." What is the word before power, everybody? What is that?
Audience: All power!
Mark Finley: All power. "With all signs, with all power, signs, and lying wonders." So the devil is going to work with all power, with all signs, with all lying wonders. He will work miracles to deceive. And if one is not anchored in the Word of God and wants sensational miracles, and substitutes miracles for truth, they will be deceived. Now notice what scripture says. Verse 10, "With all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive," what, everybody? "Love of the truth that they might be saved." For this reason God will send a strong delusion that they should believe a lie. Can you believe a lie? If you believe a lie long enough, will the lie become truth?
Audience: No.
Mark Finley: But if I believe it long enough, you can never know a lie. You can only know the truth. But you can believe a lie. And so what the devil is going to do is going to attempt to work sensational miracles for a generation that does not know the Word of God, who wants sensational, who wants emotional. And the devil will work those miracles to draw them in. And the Bible tells us why they're going to be deceived. It says because they received not a love of what?
Audience: The truth.
Mark Finley: The truth. So what's our safeguard in these last days? It is a love of what? The truth. Revelation, the 13th chapter, the 14th and 15th verses. Revelation, the 13th chapter, the 14th and 15th verses. And here again, what is the devil's goal in deception? Well, it says in Revelation 13, that he would deceive those who dwell on the Earth by the signs and wonders that he could perform in the sight of the beast. Now, if you have the King James version, you have King James version? What does it substitute? What does it say for signs and wonders there? You use another word. What is it?
Audience: Miracles.
Mark Finley: Miracles, you got it. So these signs and wonders are false miracles that deceive them. Who do they deceive? Who do these false miracles deceive? What does the Bible say? Deceive those that receive what?
Audience: The mark of the beast.
Mark Finley: The mark of the beast. So the devil is going to unite church and state. And in an attempt to enforce his decrees, he will use false miracles to give so-called credibility to his work and activity. Revelation the 19th chapter and the 20th verse. So there's a battle between good and evil in the universe. The good angels and the evil angels fight in this battle. In this battle, just before the end of time, Satan is going to pull out every stop he can to deceive. He will use false miracles. Now, does God work miracles?
Audience: Yes.
Mark Finley: Yes. Can God work miracles? Certainly. Will God work miracles in the last days of Earth's history?
Audience: Definitely.
Mark Finley: Definitely. But will he work miracles to strengthen people in their disobedience of the clear teachings of God's word? Will he do that?
Audience: Not at all.
Mark Finley: Not at all. So the true miracles of God lead people to faithfulness to God's word. They lead people to a deeper experience with Christ. False miracles lead you to be anchored in the falsehood that you've already believed. Okay? Revelation 19 and verse 20. "Then the beast was captured." This is talking about the second coming of Christ, when Satan is bound as the millennial period begins, according to Revelation 20. "Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet, who works signs in the presence by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast, and those who worshipped his image." The King James Version says, "he worked miracles." So signs, wonders, and miracles will be used to deceive those that receive the mark of the beast. But there's one final last deception of Satan. If the world is waiting for the second coming of Christ, would it not be just like Satan to pull off or attempt to pull off a counterfeit second coming? Could it be possible that he would use, notice my words carefully, could it be possible that he would use technology to try to do that?
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Mark Finley: Could it be possible that the world is being conditioned for an invasion from outer space through the paranormal movies and all these space movies? And what if the devil pulled off a counterfeit second coming? He could never counterfeit the way Jesus is going to come. The Bible says in Revelation 1:7, he comes with clouds and every eye will see him. When Jesus comes, every eye is going to see him. When Jesus comes, it's going to be lightning from the east to the west. When Christ comes, his feet will not touch the Earth. When Christ comes, the graves will be open. The devil can't do that, can he? He can't resurrect the dead, right?
Audience: No.
Mark Finley: When, when, when, when Jesus comes, the righteous living will be transformed to receive immortal bodies, will be caught up in the sky. But what if the devil appeared in Paris? What if he then appeared in Rome? What if he appeared in Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles? What if there were great meetings? What if people, does the Bible indicate that at all? Does the Bible even hint of that? Revelation chapter 12, verse 11. And let's look even a little earlier than that. "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb." Revelation 12:11. "And by the word of their testimony, they did not love their lives to death." In other words, these people were anchored in Christ. They they testified for Christ. They gave their lives for Christ. Now notice verse 12. "Therefore, rejoice, oh heavens, and you that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the Earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you." In other words, he's appeared to you, having great wrath because he knows he has a short time. So just before the coming of Jesus, the devil knows that he has a short time, and he will come down to try to destroy. Remember in the book of Corinthians, Paul says that Satan himself is transformed into what?
Audience: An angel of light.
Mark Finley: An angel of light. The the appearance of Satan as the great miracle worker is the almost overmastering delusion, Satan's impersonation of Christ. Now there is quite a remarkable statement in the book Great Controversy. And I'm going to look at two statements. One I have on the screen, the other I will read to you from the book Great Controversy. The book Great Controversy helps to prepare us for the events that are coming. Notice this statement. "Satan has long been preparing for his final effort to deceive the world." So in in the laboratories of hell, with his evil angels, he's developing his last day strategy. "Little by little, he has prepared the way for his masterpiece of deception in the development of spiritualism." So there'll be evil angels working. There'll be so-called appearances of dead loved ones. So if you don't know the truth, you can be swept away. "He has not yet reached the full accomplishment of his designs. But it will be reached in the last remnant of time," says the prophet, "I saw three unclean spirits like frogs. They're the spirits of devils, working miracles which go forth unto the kings of the Earth." So he's going to work miracles to the whole world to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Revelation 16, verse 13 and 14. "Except those who are kept by the power of God through faith in his word." How are we kept, everybody? How are we kept? Through what?
Audience: Power of God.
Mark Finley: Power of God, and through faith in miracles? Faith in signs and wonders? Faith in what?
Audience: His word.
Mark Finley: His word. "The whole world will be swept into the ranks of delusion. The people are fast being lulled to a fatal security to be awakened only by the outpouring of the wrath of God." Now, I want to pick up another statement. The Great Controversy, page 624. "As the crowning act in the great drama of deception, Satan himself will impersonate Christ." Did we read that in Revelation 12, verse 12? Did we read that?
Audience: Yes.
Mark Finley: That Satan is going to come down, try to impersonate Christ. "Now the deceiver will make it appear that Christ has come. In different parts of the Earth, Satan will manifest himself among men as a majestic being of dazzling brightness, resembling the description of the Son of God in Revelation 1." The shout will go up, "Christ has come! Christ has come!" But will it be the true Christ?
Audience: No.
Mark Finley: Indeed it will be not not be. How can we be protected from this? Have we ever been visited in this planet by heavenly beings? Indeed we have. Angels of God have come. But has Christ ever come once? He came once and he's coming again. And it's this Christ that came the first time that is coming the second time that can protect us. The Creator of the universe, the Almighty one, paid a visit to this planet 2,000 years ago. Galatians 4:4 says, "When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son." He sent forth his Son at the fullness of time the first time, and he'll send forth his Son at the fullness of time the second time. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Jesus came once, he's coming again. As we have seen and do testify, the Father sent the Son. 1 John 4:14. 1 Timothy 1:15. "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptations, that Christ came into the world to save sinners." See, all through the Bible, he came once and he's coming again. 1 John 5:4. "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith." Is faith in this Christ that came once. Faith in his grace, faith in his mercy, faith in his forgiveness, faith in his staying power. It is belief in his word that will enable us to overcome. What is faith? It is believing and trusting the promises of God. It's being anchored in Christ, anchored in his word. It is not some superficial Christian experience where you expect some electrical impulse to go up your spine so you feel good. It is a solid, bedrock faith that cannot be moved in spite of everything around you that is appealing to your senses to surrender your faith. Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 6, verse 14. Paul tells us just how to survive in the last days. You and I can be survivors and not statistics. You can, and I can survive the overwhelming deception that's coming upon this world. Heaven has provided every resource for us. Ephesians chapter 6. We look there at verse 14. Remember in verse 12, it says, "We don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the hosts of wickedness, against the powers of hell." Verse 14. "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace, taking above all the shield of faith." Stand therefore, girding your waist with truth. In the ancient world, the ancient Roman soldiers had a, they girded their waist with armor around their waist because when you're fighting hand-to-hand with swords, the first place you try to pierce is here in the stomach area. And it says, "Gird your waist with truth." There's a wonderful statement in the book In Heavenly Places that describes how God's people will be protected. It's found here in Heavenly Places, page 297. "Satan brings all his powers to the assault in the last close conflict." All his powers. "And the endurance of the follower of Christ is taxed to the utmost. At times it seems that he must yield. But a word of prayer to the Lord Jesus goes like an arrow to the throne of God, and angels of God are sent to the field of battle." "Then the tide is turned." Our minds are filled with the word of God. On our knees, we're praying, and we send word to Christ. And as we send that word to Jesus through prayer, he sends heavenly angels. And those heavenly angels come down to guide and protect. Prayer is a powerful weapon to defeat the forces of hell. Prayer and the word of God are our safeguards. The role of angels in the relationship to the Bible and prayer is clear. Heavenly angels bear witness to the word of God. As we study it, heavenly angels come to beat back the forces of hell so we can understand the word of God. Heavenly angels minister to those who will be heirs of salvation. Heavenly angels assist us in our understanding of the word of God. In this cosmic conflict between good and evil, heavenly angels beat back the forces of hell. Prayer, the word of God, commitment to Christ, willingness to do whatever he asks us to do. That is our armor of protection. Just a couple weeks ago, I attended the annual council of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In this annual council, our world leaders meet together from all over the world, and we hear reports, we hear stories from all over the world. We hear reports from China, where a number of our pastors are currently in prison. We hear reports from Africa and what God is doing there. Reports from the former Soviet Union. One of the reports that thrilled my heart this time was the report of angel deliverance. The story was told by Arthur Stella, one of my colleagues, one of the vice presidents of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. And Arthur shared with us this story. During the Soviet days, because we were going back as leaders and looking at the miracles that God has worked in the past. During the Soviet days, one of our pastors was put in prison. It was a very difficult circumstance. The prison was cold and dark and damp, and the prison guard was unusually cruel. In the interrogation of this Adventist pastor, the prison guard said this. He said, "Do you believe in the miracles of the Bible?" Of course our Adventist pastor said, "Yes." "Do you believe that that Jesus could break the bread and feed 5,000?" "Of course." "Do you believe Jesus could heal the sick?" "Of course." "Do you believe Jesus could walk on water?" "That's just some myth. That's no story, it's it's a myth." "Oh, yes, I I I believe that," the pastor says. He said, "Okay." The prison was right next to a very, very large river. A very deep, dark river, swift current. And the captain said, "Come with me." They walked out to the river. And he said, "If you believe that Jesus walked on water, then you must believe that he can give you the power to walk on water. So I want to see you walk across that river." The Adventist pastor said to him, "Give me three days to fast and pray." And he went back to his cell, and he fasted, and he prayed. The captain called all of the prisoners out to the prison yard that day, and he said, "Alright, walk. Walk! Walk!" The Adventist pastor knelt down by the side of the river. And there, as he knelt down, he saw a vision in his mind. And the vision was a bridge across the river. And in that vision, the angelic being said to him, "Go now and walk." He got up and walked across the bridge that nobody else saw. All they saw was him walking across the water. And he came back, the captain was absolutely amazed, and many of those prisoners accepted Christ. In the last days of Earth's history, we will be in very trying, very difficult circumstances. But two-thirds of the angels of heaven are at our side. Jesus Christ is at our side. The Heavenly Father is at our side. We have nothing to fear, because Jesus says, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the ends of the Earth."
Female Announcer: You've been listening to Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at hopelives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark.
Mark Finley: The crisis will come, the challenges will come. But as we fill our minds with the word of God, as our hearts are one with Christ through prayer, as we understand that Jesus has done everything he could to protect us in the crisis, although the devil will work his miracles, although the devil will appear, we will cry out one day, as we see Christ coming in the clouds of glory. As we see the heavens illuminated with his dazzling brightness, we will cry out, "Lo, this is our God! We haven't accepted the demonic delusions. We have waited for him. This is our God! This is our God!"