Luke 21: 33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
One of the most common devices of satan is to set up decoys and distractions to draw away attention from something that is much more important. This has been done time and time again in the scripture and we should expect it to proliferate in these final days of earth’s history.
The effect that decoys have is that persons begin to focus on issues of lesser priority, while the enemy of souls makes advances in the other areas that are of much more consequence. And, if persons are in the dark as to what is taking place, they could miss the boat entirely.
Several instances of satan setting up distractions, and decoys are given in the Bible, so that as persons stand upon the brink of eternity, we may be fully aware of his devices. Some of these distractions can come from seemingly legitimate sources, and others can be just annoyances or irritations, that are alike designed to distract.
One day as Jesus was preaching and ministering to the people, His family members came to see Him, on what was probably some important matter. But if He were to leave off His sermon, the devil would have gained his objective. In order of priority, the work of saving souls was the more important, and therefore, Jesus didn’t fall for the decoy. Let’s read:
Matthew 12: 46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
In another instance, Jesus was again speaking to the people the words of life, when out of the blue satan moves upon someone to bring up a personal family feud about some real estate. This decoy occurred in the middle of Christ’s sermon, and again, Jesus does not fall for it, as we too often do.
Instead, He turns the distraction on its head and He pivots to addressing covetousness as the root of all sin, a reaction which caught satan off guard and one that that he would have much preferred to have left uncovered. Let’s read:
Luke 12: 12 For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.
13 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divides the inheritance with me.
14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.
Again, the devil goes to work in what we refer to as apparently good distractions, meaning, that in and of themselves there may be nothing wrong with the decoys perse. But if it distracts from something that is of much more importance, he would accomplish his diabolical objective.
Let us just say here that the overwhelming majority of temptations are good temptations, but if they will lead individuals to lose focus, or turn their attention from that which is really important, the devil would have achieved his objective, for as the saying goes, a distracted squirrel is a dead squirrel.
In this next decoy many people would actually agree with satan on the course of action he suggested and yet, Jesus intervenes to put things in the right order of priority. This does not necessarily mean that the decoy in question was bad, it was just a good decoy. Let’s read:
Luke 10: 38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she helps me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things.
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
In other words, even if Jesus was hungry, the more important issue was hearing His words and if it were to come to a head, He would take hunger instead of food, no matter how appetizing the ackee and yam. That’s because a good decoy is exactly that, a good decoy, no matter how it is dressed up.
In the next example, satan utilizes the strategy of if you can’t win them join them, once he distracts the servants of God from their most important issue. In this instance he will go so far as to take a personal hit, only if he can get the apostles to stop preaching. In other words, the end will justify the means at any cost. Let’s read:
Acts 16: 16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.
17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, these men are the servants of the Most-high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
In the next example we see Nehemiah busy with the work of building the wall, a work that was ordained of God, and an important work for the restoration of Jews. But just like in the other instances, satan is on the ground with varied decoys, to try to stop the work from moving forward.
He tries and tries again and again, but Nehemiah is like a racehorse, with the blinkers strapped to his head so that he doesn’t lose focus on that which is important.
Horses have a nearly 360-degree field of vision that, in a high-stimulus environment like a racetrack, can make them easily distracted by the crowd, by other horses, or movement around them. Blinkers do limit their side and rear vision, encouraging them to look straight ahead and concentrate on the objective of running a straight path to the finish line. Let’s read:
Nehemiah 6: 2 That Sanballat and Geshem sent unto me, saying, Come, let us meet together in some one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But they thought to do me mischief.
3 And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?
4 Yet they sent unto me four times after this sort; and I answered them after the same manner.
5 Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me in like manner the fifth time with an open letter in his hand;
6 Wherein was written, It is reported among the heathen, and Gashmu saith it, that thou and the Jews think to rebel: for which cause you build the wall, that thou mayest be their king, according to these words.
The reason why God is giving us so many examples is that in our day currently, The Christian could be in grave danger of losing focus on the things that really matter. With all the protests and killings and arson, and with all of the wars and rumors of wars, if folks are careful we may forget that there are much more important issues to grab our attention.
Some of these are listed below so that we may focus on Christ, and the work that He is finishing up in the heavenly sanctuary, and the corresponding work of preparation to stand in the final conflict that would take the world by storm, and unawares.
[1] One of the real issues that ought to be on the front burner of our minds is that “This gospel of the kingdom must be preached in all the world and then shall the end come.” And we are almost there folks!
Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
Adventist.org. Mission to the World: Summary of Statistics as of December 31, 2023
Countries and Areas of the World as Recognized by the United Nations 235.
Countries and Areas of the World in Which Seventh-day Adventist Work is Established 212. That leaves us with only 23 countries to go, and with artificial intelligence and satellites now widely available, we are looking at sooner rather than later.
[2] Another of the real issues is that whilst persons are becoming all riled up and angry at the current state of things, probation is drawing to a final close.
The decisions that you and I make are marking out our eternal destiny, and rather than focusing on the many decoys satan has set in motion, we should be seeking to become more mature in Christ.
This means that the gray areas in our lives, and any skeletons in our closet must be addressed while we still have an opportunity to make any corrections by God’s grace. The time is now, and the place is here when folks should stop playing church. Let’s read:
2nd Corinthians 5: 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Ecclesiastes 12: 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
[The Great Controversy pp 483] Beginning with those who first lived upon the earth, our Advocate presents the cases of each successive generation, and closes with the living. Every name is mentioned, every case closely investigated.
Names are accepted, names rejected. When anyone has sins remaining upon the books of record, unrepented of and unforgiven, their names will be blotted out of the book of life, and the record of their good deeds will be erased from the book of God’s remembrance.
[3] Another of the real issues is that whilst protests are erupting at home and abroad, the angels on the four corners of the earth are preparing to let loose the winds of strife, which will make current events seem like a walk in the park.
In other words, we haven’t seen anything as yet, for when the sealing work is completed, all the winds of strife will be let loose in the most literal sense.
Therefore, at the forefront of the Christian’s mind should be our relationship with God, for the time is coming in the not-too distant future, when there would be a terrible shaking among the remnant.
And when it occurs and intensifies, it will draw the clear line of demarcation between those who really believed and those who just went along for the ride. This is clearly stated by the servant of The Lord, with the intent that we would do serious soul searching, instead of being consumed with riots. Let’s read:
Revelation 7:1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
3 Saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
[The Great Controversy pp 439] Winds are a symbol of strife. The four winds of heaven striving upon the great sea, represent the terrible scenes of conquest and revolution by which kingdoms have attained to power.
[The Great Controversy pp 614] When he leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth. The restraint which has been upon the wicked is removed, and Satan has entire control of the finally impenitent. God’s long-suffering is ended.
The world has rejected his mercy, despised his love, and trampled upon his law. The wicked have passed the boundary of their probation. The Spirit of God, persistently resisted, has been at last withdrawn.
Unsheltered by divine grace they have no protection from the wicked one. Satan will then plunge the inhabitants of the earth into one great, final trouble.
As the angels of God cease to hold in check the fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old.
[C.O.L pp 411] The class represented by the foolish virgins are not hypocrites. They have a regard for the truth, they have advocated the truth, they are attracted to those who believe the truth.
But they have not yielded themselves to the Holy Spirit’s working. They have not fallen upon the Rock, Christ Jesus, and permitted their old nature to be broken up.
[4] Another of the real issues, which should be clear in our minds is that the natural immortality of the soul, and Sunday sacredness are going to become the cornerstones of efforts made to give validity to the mark of the beast, when it rears its head.
These two central issues should be well thought out and studied intensively, so that when the miracle-working power of devils is released across the earth the you and me would not be shaken down.
Some take it for granted that they know what they believe on these issues, but the servant of The Lord warns us that we are going up against intelligences that have been in the business for about 6 thousand years, and as such, they would be bringing years of experience to bear, in the final conflict. Let’s read:
2nd Thessalonians 2: 8 And 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.
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
[The Great Controversy pp 588] Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul, and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deceptions. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome.
The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of Spiritualism; they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this threefold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling on the rights of conscience.
[The Great Controversy pp 551>552] Here is a channel regarded as sacred, through which Satan works for the accomplishment of his purposes. The fallen angels who do his bidding appear as messengers from the spirit world.
While professing to bring the living into communication with the dead, the prince of evil exercises his bewitching influence upon their minds. He has power to bring before men the appearance of their departed friends.
The counterfeit is perfect; the familiar look, the words, the tone, are reproduced with marvelous distinctness. Many are comforted with the assurance that their loved ones are enjoying the bliss of Heaven; and without suspicion of danger, they give ear to “seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.”
[The Great Controversy pp 557] The apostles, as personated by these lying spirits, are made to contradict what they wrote at the dictation of the Holy Spirit when on earth.
They deny the divine origin of the Bible, and thus tear away the foundation of the Christian’s hope, and put out the light that reveals the way to Heaven.
Here is a scenario where one, pastor Jones had two good friends who have passed away in an accident, and the pastor is grieving unconsolably for his best buddies. Then, two evil angels, named Bonnie and Clyde decide to show up at the pastor’s residence in the form of his former friends, to comfort him with the assurance that they are now living in heaven.
Before proceeding, there are two very important excerpts which we must take our time to read. One has to do with satan’s knowledge of the scriptures and the other has to do with the ability of his evil angels to manifest a perfect counterfeit of persons who have died previously. Let’s read:
[1] [The Great Controversy pp 559>560] Satan can quote Scripture now as in the days of Christ, and he will pervert its teachings to sustain his delusions.
[2] Many will be confronted by the spirits of devils personating beloved relatives or friends, and declaring the most dangerous heresies. These visitants will appeal to our tenderest sympathies, and will work miracles to sustain their pretensions.
Thus, the visitants who appear to pastor Jones make perfect manifestations of his former friends, but he, knowing what the scriptures say about the state of the dead, immediately resorts to Ecclesiastes 9: 6, which says:
Ecclesiastes 9: 5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.
However, the evil angels do not panic, because they come armed with scriptures, and they gently remind pastor Jones that he himself has always preached to the people that line must be upon line, and precept upon precept. Therefore, it would be unscriptural to take that one passage in Ecclesiastes and build out an entire doctrine on it.
Thus, they reach for the Bible and endeavor to show that the natural immortality of the soul is indeed a scriptural doctrine, and as they read from the Bible, line upon line, precept upon precept, poor pastor Jones is at a complete loss for words. Let’s read:
Matthew 9:18 While he spoke these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.
23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,
24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleeps. And they laughed him to scorn.
25 But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.
Mark 5:35 While he yet spoke, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why do you trouble the Master any further?
36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.
38 And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.
39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
1st Kings 17: 17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.
19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.
20 And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?
21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.
22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
1st Samuel 28: 7 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.
8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answers me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.
16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?
Ecclesiastes 3: 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.
21 Who knows the spirit of man that goes upward, and the spirit of the beast that goes downward to the earth?
But here we are today focusing on riots and protests and what this or that man can, or cannot do, all the while, the two cornerstones of deception which are slated for the final conflict of the ages are not nearly understood as they ought to be by many Remnants.
The reason why The Lord is raising this as an issue to be clearly understood from the Bible is because the servant of the Lord goes on to say that “WE” will be targets for such manifestations, and woe betide us if like pastor Jones, we come up short on answers. Let’s read:
[The Great Controversy pp 560] We must be prepared to withstand them with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything, and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils. All whose faith is not firmly established upon the Word of God will be deceived and overcome.
[5] Another issue that should be considered is that in preparing for crunch time, the Remnants of God should place themselves in a proper light before the people, meaning that those who are consumed with arrears in debt should be seeking to wipe their slate clean, lest like Daniel, who was subjected to intense scrutiny, some fall short of God’s ideal will.
We have mentioned this issue several times before, and now, if indeed we are looking at the big one on the horizon, it is important that efforts be made by the saints to extricate themselves from delinquency and outstanding debts, so that the name of God will not be reproached, because we had left some stone unturned.
As Jacob was preparing to return home, he made very serious efforts to mitigate those wrongs that were committed by himself earlier. Anything that could appease the wrath of Esau was put in place, and he went to great lengths to smooth the way as much as possible, so that he would not give satan a reason to defeat him.
Similarly in our day, instead on focusing on man and the rising turmoil at home and abroad, the saints of God could use this time to set their houses in order, especially since pharaoh and his hosts are distracted by wars and rumors of wars. In fact, this may be our only golden opportunity to do so.
God is more practical and down to earth than many people realize, and therefore, if there are temporal issues that need to be addressed, if there are long outstanding bills that have been ignored or avoided, and if there is any other matter that can ruffle your feathers, you may want to seriously consider asking God for wisdom to address it.
The reason for this is that satan, the accuser of the brethren will stop at nothing to unearth and expose any skeletons in your closet, and if he were to do so during crunch time our faith will be severely shaken and we wouldn’t have the confidence to plead with God for deliverance, because reproach was brought upon His cause, in consequence of our errors. Let’s read:
Danel 6:4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
5 Then said these men we will not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.
Revelation 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
[The Great Controversy pp 616] Jacob’s night of anguish, when he wrestled in prayer for deliverance from the hand of Esau, represents the experience of God’s people in the time of trouble.
Because of the deception practiced to secure his father’s blessing, intended for Esau, Jacob had fled for his life, alarmed by his brother’s deadly threats. Yet he leaves nothing undone on his own part to atone for the wrong to his brother, and to avert the threatened danger.
So should the followers of Christ, as they approach the time of trouble, make every exertion to place themselves in a proper light before the people, to disarm prejudice, and to avert the danger which threatens liberty of conscience.
As the witch’s brew of turmoil, uncertainty and the constant barrage of bad news envelops the airwaves and the internet, the Christian must be very careful not to get sucked into the vacuum, by becoming so distracted that we may lose focus on the things that really matter.
God is now calling us to put on our blinkers like the racehorse we saw earlier, He is beseeching us to do serious soul searching, and Jesus is encouraging us to pray, study, and obey His word like never before so that we might be rooted and grounded in Christ, when the winds of strife begin to blow.
We therefore end with a passage of Scripture that addresses the urgency of the moment, and it is the will of God that whosoever will, might be found in Christ, before things reach a point of no return. Let’s read:
Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
God Bless!