In such articles as "Who Is Hindering The Antichrist?", I
share some rather intriguing Scriptures found in the Apostle
Paul's second Epistle to the brethren at Thessalonica. In
these verses, Paul warns the Christian brethren to not be
shaken by persistent rumors that the day of Jesus Christ's
Return is at hand. Paul then continues by providing a clear
sign, so that when that Wonderful Day is about to arrive,
those who are alive at the time, will know beyond a shadow
of a doubt.

And what is that sign? Paul tells us that some time prior to
the Lord's Return, a powerful spiritual leader will arise,
who will not only sit in the temple of God, but who will in
fact, through powerful deceptive signs and wonders, convince
people that he is God. Here are Paul's exact words, as they
are found in the King James Version of the Holy Bible. For
the sake of clarification, I have inserted a few words in
brackets:

"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, [the
Rapture] that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled,
neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as
that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by
any means: for that day [Christ's Return] shall not come,
except there come a falling away first, [the Apostasy] and
that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; [the
Antichrist] 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. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told
you these things? . . . then shall that Wicked be revealed,
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth,
and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even
him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all
power and signs and lying wonders, And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish;
because they received not the love of the truth, that they
might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them
strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they
all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness."
2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 8-12, KJV

Now, whether one is a Christian or not, that is still a very
profound statement to make. Paul is plainly stating that a
powerful spiritual leader will arise on the world stage, who
is going to convince many people that he is God. Somehow, he
is going to prove that he is God. He is going to literally
show people that he is God, by the wonderful miracles that
he will be able to perform; but, as Paul tells us, this will
not be by his own power, but by the power of Satan himself.

Paul explains to the brethren that this event will happen
before the Return of Jesus Christ, and that the arrival of
this deceptive figure, will be a clear harbinger of Christ's
soon Return. Until this event occurs, Paul is saying, don't
believe it when some misguided people tell you that Jesus is
going to return at any minute, because it simply is not the
truth. God has His own Plan, and His own time table, and He
will follow it through; regardless of the false, twisted,
unscriptural doctrines that some people choose to invent.

Notice that Paul says "all power". In other words, it is my
understanding that just as Jesus was filled with the Spirit
of His Father without measure, this coming spiritual leader
will likewise be filled with satanic power to the brim. This
is going to be Satan's last chance to deceive the world for
a great while, so we can be sure that he is going to resort
to every means possible, in order to achieve his objectives.
He is going to spew forth such a flood of lies, that most of
the world will be cast under a dark veil of deception. This
leader will in a sense, be the-devil-in-the-flesh, just as
Jesus was the Son of God in the flesh.

Now, if you are shaking your head in disbelief, and scoffing
at such a thought, you are probably not alone. Just look at
the world we live in today. Has society ever been filled
with so much doubt, fear, skepticism, paranoia, and lack of
trust? Given this current atmosphere, how in the world could
anyone ever possibly convince people that he is God? Such a
notion sounds absolutely absurd, doesn't it? Yet God's Word
clearly predicts that this is precisely what is going to
happen.

It would be equally silly to expect Satan to just come right
out and say, "Hey folks! Pleased to meet you! I'm the Devil!
Bow down and worship me!" It becomes obvious then, that he's
going to have to employ some other method, in order to trick
the people of the world into accepting him as their new lord
and master. How much wiser and more deceptive it would be of
him, to suddenly arrive on the scene, posing as the world's
savior, from some advanced alien civilization. This evil man
could easily attribute his satanic power to advanced alien
technology, which we Earthlings can't begin to understand. I
suspect that many people would readily accept this lie.

Why?

Because the propaganda war to instill such thoughts in the
minds and hearts of people worldwide, has been going on for
decades. As I briefly mentioned in part two, if we stop and
consider what themes have been the most popular with people,
as well as the most lucrative for the moguls of the movie
and television industry, tales of beings from Outer Space
have probably been near the top of the entertainment list.

Productions such as the "Star Wars" and the "Star Trek"
franchises, "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind", "E.T. :
The Extraterrestrial", "Stargate", "Cocoon I and
II", "War
Of The Worlds", "Fourth of July: Independence Day", "V",
"2001 and 2010 Space Odyssey", "Mission To Mars",
"Contact",
"Taken", "Invasion", "First Wave", "Dark
Skies", "Roswell",
"The X-Files" and a plethora of others, have mesmerized us,
and captured our imaginations; not to mention that they have
earned billions of dollars for their creators, directors,
producers and actors. In short, a lot of people have become
totally absorbed by such films and television shows.

Aside from the excellent special effects that we see in some
of these productions, I suspect that another reason why so
many people enjoy them, is because even though we obviously
realize that such movies and television programs are purely
fantasy, they still resonate within us, and we identify with
them; because we all possess this inner desire to know what
is "out there"; and we don't want to believe that we may be
alone in this vast Universe. So in a sense, such productions
fill a certain need.

Despite the deep skepticism which has currently grasped the
world, I suspect that if some day, a race of alien visitors
were to arrive from Outer Space, a significant percentage of
of the world's population would be inclined to embrace them,
although their leaders and military would probably react in
an exact opposite manner. I think that even now, many people
are ripe for such an extraterrestrial encounter; and that as
the conditions of our planet continue to decline due to our
foolish misuse of it, people will be even more receptive to
an alien encounter; in the hope that these entities will be
able to save us from our own hands. If you research New Age
thought and UFOlogy as I have done, you'll quickly discover
that the proper management of, and the protection of the
Earth, is indeed one of the central concerns of those who
embrace these ideologies. In fact, they refer to the Earth
as a living being, which they call Gaea, or Gaia, which is
the ancient name of the Greek goddess of the Earth.

Ironically, while such people would be quick to extend open
arms to aliens from Outer Space, some reject the notion that
God exists, or the Devil for that matter, and this is very
dangerous indeed. The fact that they are skeptical of their
own Creator's existence, yet can so easily accept the idea
that aliens are real, is something which I find difficult to
understand. While the proof of God's existence is all around
us in the form of His wonderful Creation, the intricacy and
complexity of which is absolutely mind-boggling and rather
astounding, in reality, there is extremely little proof of
the existence of extraterrestrial beings. As the Apostle
Paul wrote concerning God's Hand being so evident in the
natural creation:

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the
world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that
are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they
are without excuse:"
Romans 1:20, KJV

So as I have noted before, as a result of the ample physical
proof of God's existence which surrounds us, no one has any
excuse for not believing in God.

Please go to part seven for the continuation of this series.


Written by the WordWeaver

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