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Mission Impossible

SERIES: Anatomy of Sin #7 of 8

2009-11-15

PRODUCTION #: 1077

SPEAKER: Shawn Boonstra

The devil's mission is to seize the throne of God. That's the thing he dreams about day and night. It's been his ambition since the very beginning, but that mission is mission impossible.

As a kid, I used to wonder why in the world the devil would waste so much time and energy trying to get me to do the wrong things all the time. What possible benefit could he realize from tempting people? Why does it bring him so much pleasure when people do bad things? You'd think after he was expelled from heaven that he'd be happy that God didn't destroy him and he'd find some nice quiet corner of the universe to retire to and just leave the rest of us alone.

But his rebellion against God had gone so far that he wasn't able to just disappear. Even though he lost his battle in heaven, he wasn't yet convinced that he couldn't seize the throne of God.

In the fourth chapter of Matthew's Gospel, we catch a little glimpse of the aspirations of this fallen angel, when he approaches Jesus in the desert shortly after his baptism. In the last temptation, the devil offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, if He would only bow down and worship him.

Here's what the Bible says (Matthew 4:8, 9):

"Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, 'All these things I will give You if you will fall down and worship me.'" 

Of course, one of the first questions that comes to mind is this: How in the world could the devil lay claim to the kingdoms of the world in the first place? What right did he have to offer all those things to Jesus when God is the One who created it all?

The answer is quite simple. In the Book of Genesis, we discover that God gave man dominion over the whole planet. But when Adam succumbed to temptation and fell from grace, he effectively switched his allegiance from God to Lucifer, and he handed him the keys to the planet.

When Jesus came to earth as a human being, one of His primary objectives was to take back the planet and restore us to paradise; but the road that Jesus had to take was unbelievably difficult, because it involved carrying the weight of everybody's sins.

So, the devil approached him early in His ministry and offered Him a shortcut. "All you have to do," he said, "is bow down and worship me, and then I'll just give it all back. You won't have to suffer and you won't have to die on a cross."

Now, as Satan spoke those words, he demonstrated to the entire universe that his ambitions hadn't changed a bit. Thousands of years of exile had failed to change his rebellious heart, and the thing he still craved most of all was the throne of God. If he could only get Jesus to bow down to him, it would prove to millions of on-looking angels that God Himself recognized the superiority of Lucifer.

Everything he does, and everything he plans, revolves around this ambition. If you want to know why he wastes so much time working on you, you can answer it in the context of his ambitions.

If he can get you to rebel against God, it's one more proof that God's requirements are unreasonable. It's one more proof that nobody would ever choose God of their own free will if they were given an alternative. It's one more example of how someone who was created in the image of God can never live up to God's expectations.

Satan's objective in the art of temptation is much bigger than just trying to get you to do bad things. What he's trying to do—person by person—is establish his right to this planet, and what he's hoping in the end is that he will sit on the throne of God.

In the Book of Revelation, there's a remarkable passage where the Second Coming of Christ has already happened, and those who have chosen God are safely located inside the New Jerusalem. The Bible describes a thousand year period of time after Christ's return, known to many Christians as the millennium. During this time, the Bible says that the devil is bound. He is incapable of tempting anybody, but after the thousand years is over, he is released for a little while.

Let's read it, in Revelation, chapter 20, where the Bible says (Revelation 20:7-9):

"Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison, and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them." 

This is one of the most remarkable passages in the Bible, because it completely blows the lid off the devil's cover. It shows us, conclusively, that right to the very end the devil's one and only objective is to take over control of the universe.

You see, the throne of God is located inside the New Jerusalem, and he convinces an army of men that even though the Second Coming has already happened, and the work of judgment is over, there is still a chance that they can take heaven by force. It shows us that even when the game is over, the devil won't give up. His ego is so big that he doesn't even realize when he's lost for good.

So, what does that have to do with tempting you or me? It's really very simple. You'll notice that the devil has an army of people in the end who are so deluded, so completely deceived that they still believe him, even when it's all over. They still follow him, even though the Second Coming has already taken place.

You see, they've come to the point in their spiritual experience, where they've committed the sin of grieving the Holy Spirit, which simply means that they have ignored God's Spirit so often that they can't even hear Him any more.

The deception is utter and complete. Even a miracle from God wouldn't convince them. They have become so accustomed to listening to the devil's voice that they can't hear anything else, and so they actually believe that they can take heaven by force.

But that last-day army of angry unbelievers doesn't just come out of no where. It's made up of human beings just like you and me. It's made up of people who have fallen for the devil's lies again and again. They've said "yes" to the prince of darkness so often that they follow him on moral autopilot.

You see, every time you cave into temptation, you give up just a little more ground on the battlefield of your mind. Bit by bit, you are yielding control and giving the devil permission to take the reins of your life.

Now, I know this might sound a little old-fashioned or simplistic to some of you, because a lot of preachers don't talk about this stuff any more, and sometimes those who do, come off as religious fanatics. But the Bible, if you read it seriously, paints the world of fallen angels as a painful reality.

In His letter to the Ephesians, this is what Paul writes (Ephesians 6:12):

"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. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." (Ephesians 6:12)

Not only are evil angels real, says Paul, but they have plans to bring you down. As you give into one temptation after another, you find yourself becoming more and more vulnerable to attack. Cracks begin to form in your armor, and before you know it, you are completely helpless.

And one person at a time, that's how Satan is building his last-day army that tries to take the heavenly city by storm.

You know, as a minister, people ask me a lot of questions, and one question I get asked a lot has to do with Bible prophecy.

"Pastor," they say, "do you think we are actually living in the last days? With all those hurricanes, wars and earthquakes, do you think it's almost time for the Second Coming?"

Well, my answer is yes, but it's a qualified yes. The Bible is crystal clear that no man knows the day or hour, and so I can't know for sure. But it also says that when the time draws close, we are going to know that it's getting close. So the Second Coming could be another 50 or 100 years away, but world events seem to indicate that we are getting very, very close.

And because of that, we need to become especially prayerful and observant so that we don't fall for some of the overwhelming last-day deceptions that the Bible says the devil has planned. As the time gets closer, he's going to get more restless, and he's going to pull out all the stops as he tries to build an army that will be so completely under his control that they dare to storm heaven itself.

So, the question is this: How in the world do you keep yourself from falling for the final deception? If it's going to be as overwhelming as the Bible suggests, how in the world can you shelter yourself, so that you don't end up on the wrong side of the final conflict?

Well, fortunately, the Bible gives us enough information so you can go into the last days of earth's history with your eyes wide open, and in the time we have left, I'd like to take you on a quick tour of what the Bible says the devil is going to attempt. And believe me, as we rip away the devil's disguise with the Word of God, you are always going to be in for a few surprises.

The first warning I want to point out is found in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians, where he shows us that the devil plans to present himself to the human race as a member of God's church.

Now, I know that Hollywood may portray a scary devil who makes things go bump in the night and tries to scare the living daylights out of us. But the Bible shows us a far more subtle attack that most of us would miss if we weren't looking for it.

Here's what Paul actually writes (1 Corinthians 11:13-15):

"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works." (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

Now, I hope you were listening carefully, because this is important. A lot of popular books on Bible prophecy teach us that the biggest problems Christians face in the last days will come from outside the church, but Paul warns us to take a good look inside the church, too.

Apparently, not everything that walks and talks like a duck actually is a duck. Because over the centuries, the devil has perfected the art of deception so completely that he knows actually how to pass himself off as an angel. And worse than that, he also knows how to make a false teacher look like an actual minister of God.

And the counterfeit will be so convincing that even Christians will start falling for it. How do I know? Well, it's quite simple: Jesus said so when He was giving us warning signs for the Second Coming.

In Matthew, chapter 24 Jesus says (Matthew 24:23, 24):

"Then if anyone says to you, "Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, to deceive, if possible, even the elect."

Here you have it in plain language. The final deception will be so convincing, so overwhelming, that even God's own people will be at risk of believing it. In fact, not only does Jesus warn us that false prophets are coming, men and women who teach dangerous deceptions, but He also warns us about false Christs.

Now, just a little survey of the last few years will convince anybody that Jesus was right. The list of people who thought they were Christ and started a cult full of followers is getting longer by the minute. From Charles Manson and Jim Jones to David Koresh and Marshall Applewhite, the world is full of modern examples of what Jesus was talking about.

But what if there's something even more convincing just around the corner? Most of us would never fall for a nut case or a religious fanatic, but what if something even more persuasive came along, something that actually looked like the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?

Impossible? Not at all. Don't forget that Jesus Himself said that even the elect, even His own followers would be susceptible to a last-day delusion. And while most of Jesus' followers would never fall for Charlie Manson or David Koresh, they might fall for something that looks and sounds like Jesus Himself.

And this is where our study becomes really important today, so I hope you'll pay careful attention.

The Bible warns us that in the end, it's going to be really tough to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit spirituality. According to the Book of Revelation, the whole world will be swept up in an overwhelming last-day deception that has most people worshiping the wrong god.

In a vision, the apostle John was shown a beast climbing out of the sea, and the whole world worships it.

Here's what he writes in Revelation 13 (Revelation 13:4):

"I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?" (Revelation 13:4, 5)

Then, as if that weren't enough of a problem, he describes a second beast a little bit further on (Revelation 13:11-14):

"Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast." (Revelation 13:11-14)

If one thing is crystal clear in the pages of Bible prophecy, it's that the final deception will be an issue of worship. The whole world is going to line up on one side or the other. Either you worship the God of heaven or you worship a counterfeit.

And the most troubling thing about it is that all the evidence will seem to point in the wrong direction. It's the beast power who performs all the miracles. It's the beast power who seems to go through a miraculous resurrection after receiving a deadly wound; and it's the beast power who brings fire down from heaven to convince everybody that they are headed in the right direction.

But it's nothing more than a clever fraud the culmination of centuries of effort on the part of the devil to perfect the art of deception, and what if he could top it all off by impersonating the Second Coming of Christ?

There's a little prophecy found in the second letter to the Thessalonians that suggests that might be exactly what the devil is planning. Speaking of the antichrist, Paul writes this (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4):

"Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4)

Again, the devil's ambition has always been to sit on the throne of God, and if it couldn't happen in the courts of heaven, maybe he can make it happen here on earth. The book of Revelation told us that the whole world will worship a beast, and here the Bible says that the antichrist will pose as God Himself.

And then it goes on to say just a little bit more (2 Thessalonians 2:8):

"And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming." 

The final deception, this antichrist who poses as God on earth, is going to be destroyed by the actual Second Coming of Christ, and when Paul describes Christ's coming, he uses the Greek word "parousia," which is the word you would use when a king makes a grand entrance into the room. It's a word that the Bible uses over, and over, and over again for the Second Coming of Christ.

But in the very next verse, the Bible says that the antichrist is going to make the same kind of entrance. Here's what it says (2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10):

"The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved." 

Now, here is a clear description of what the devil has planned for the last days. Just like the Book of Revelation said, there will be someone who has the ability to work convincing miracles that will lead the whole world into worshipping the wrong god.

And what's really interesting is when Paul describes his appearance on this planet, he calls it the "coming of the lawless one." And the word he uses for "coming" is parousia, the very same word the Bible uses over, and over again, to describe the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ.

At some point, according to Bible prophecy, a powerful miracle-worker is going to make a dramatic entrance into this world, and he will be so convincing that everybody worships him. Is it possible that the devil is going to actually counterfeit the Second Coming of Christ?

I don't think I would count it out. Let's review the evidence. First of all, this lawless person makes a dramatic entrance into world history.

Secondly, he is able to persuade people with signs and wonders that he is worth following.

Thirdly, we've seen that the devil often uses the strategy of making himself look like an angel of light, and his followers look like ministers of God.

Fourthly, we know that the life-long ambition of the devil is to climb up on to the throne of God and have the whole universe worship him. So, why is it, with such lofty ambitions, that he wastes his time tempting people like you and me? It's really very simple. In the end, he needs an army of people who have become so accustomed to following him that they are ready for the final deception. He needs people whose loyalty to him has already been cemented before he pulls off the final deception, and the more time we spend saying yes to his ideas, the more vulnerable we become, as he sets up his final gambit in the conflict of the ages.

But the good news is that there's a way out. There's a way to make yourself impervious to his suggestions. There's a way to make yourself ready so that you will never fall for the last deception.

When the devil tried to persuade Jesus to cave into his proposals, three times Jesus answered him by saying, "It is written." And by doing that, Jesus gave us the perfect antidote to temptation, the Word of God.

In the last days, all of the evidence is going to point in the wrong direction, we know that from the repeated warnings that God gives us in Bible prophecy. The problems will emerge right within the four walls of the Christian church, and our senses will deceive us. But if we have filled our hearts and minds with the Word of God, we are not going to fall for it.

In the end, this book is going to be the only place you can safely stand, because this book tells the truth, and this book is the voice of your Creator. It's a guardrail against temptation.

If you have spent time in the Word of God, getting to know who Jesus is, and paying careful attention to details, you are not going to fall for the devil's lies. You will recognize his lying voice almost immediately when he speaks, because you have spent so much time listening to the voice of God.

Let me ask you an important question. As time runs out for planet earth, how much time are you spending in the Word of God? How well do you know the voice of your Savior? There will come a time, in the not-too-distant future, when that's going to become all-important. The devil's mission is to seize the throne of God. That's the thing he dreams about day and night. It's been his ambition since the very beginning, but that mission is mission impossible.

According to the Book of Revelation, the blood of Christ has already defeated Satan. As he nailed Jesus to the cross using the hands of sinful human beings, he must have thought for a moment that he was accomplishing something, that somehow he was defeating Christ. But there came a point when the devil realized that cross had been his undoing, and those of us who make it through to the end victoriously defeat the devil with that same blood that was shed at the cross.

Let me ask you a question today. Are you one of those people who is going to weather the storm?

Why don't you and I pray together right now?

PRAYER:
Father in heaven, teach us to treasure the Word of God, and teach us to look for our beautiful Savior coming in the clouds of glory to take us home. We want to worship only the one who rightfully belongs on heaven's throne. We give you all the praise and glory. In the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Scriptures Used in “Mission Impossible”

"All these things I will give You if you will fall down and worship me."
—Matthew 4:8, 9

"Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison, and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them."
—Revelation 20:7-9

"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works."
—2 Corinthians 11:13-15

"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. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
—Ephesians 6:12

"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works."
—2 Corinthians 11:13-15

"Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ or There!' — do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect."
—Matthew 24:23, 24

"I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?'"
—Revelation 13:4, 5

"Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon. And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast."
—Revelation 13:11-14

"Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."
—2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4

"And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming."
—2 Thessalonians 2:8

"The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved."
—2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10