Chapter 9

The last three trumpets, also known as the three woes, have to do with three demon invasions of the earth. We have demons on the earth, invisible of course. There are demons who actually indwell unbelievers [demon possession] and we also have what is known as demon influence whereby the demon cannot indwell the body of the believer because it is the temple of the Holy Spirit, but he can, of course, invade the personality. Demon influence is personality invasion; demon possession is body invasion. These are the general functions of demons in relationship to mankind at the present time. Back in Genesis chapter six demons were visible, very handsome, and there was a sexual infiltration which led to the whole system of mythology as we have it today, mythology not being mythology but based on truth. There is in the future, however, in the middle of the Tribulation something that has never occurred before. Three great demon armies are going to invade the earth when Satan is cast down from heaven, never again to be in heaven. So Satan is going to be cast down, at which time he is going to be permitted to release his three hard-core demon armies. They attack human beings physically.

First of all there will be the first demon assault army which we will meet in the first thirteen verses of chapter nine. It is led by the second ranking demon of all time called Apollyon or Abaddon. The attack is going to be made over a period of five months against man. There is only one restriction on the target: only those in the cosmic system can be attacked. Those who are outside the cosmic system, believers, are protected by a wall of fire. These demons will attack and torture for five months. The result is that people will want to die who are being tortured but they will not be permitted to die.

The second hard-core demon assault army comes from the vicinity of under the Euphrates. It is led by four demon general officers and they will kill one third of the people of the earth.

The third demon assault army is the last trumpet [the 7th], the third woe. It occurs at the end of chapter eleven and goes into chapter twelve. It is an attack upon all Jews and it is the greatest wave of anti-Semitism the world has ever known.

The demon attack upon the human race will be unprecedented. There has never been anything like it. There is demon possession today, there is demon influence, in the past their has been demon sexual infiltration, but none of these can in any way compare with what will happen in the last part of the Tribulation.

Chapter nine of Revelation is entitled “Demon Invasions.” There are two of them: the first woe, the same as the fifth trumpet, the invasion from the abyss by the first demon assault army, verses 1-12; the second woe, the same as the sixth trumpet, the invasion from the Euphrates of the second assault army, verses 13-21.

We begin by noting that Satan is the ruler of this world, he is the highest of all fallen angels. There are certain angelic creatures who passed him during the angelic conflict. In his original state from creation Satan was the highest of all angelic creatures. The highest creatures at creation were cherubs and Satan was the anointed cherub, but he lost out along the way and there are at least nine angels out of the millions of angels who have passed him in achievement.

Principle: It isn’t the person who is spectacular who makes a sudden rise, it isn’t the person who has obvious talents; the person who really makes it is the plugger, the one who plugs with Bible doctrine.

Satan was the highest of all angels by creation but he lost his high estate and seraphs are all angels who in the prehistoric angelic conflict thought more of Bible doctrine, doctrine was more real to them, they were persistent and consistent in the perception of doctrine. They were the highest achievers of all time in the realm of Bible doctrine. The only people in the human race to come close to them are people like Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, the apostle Paul, the apostle John, and even Peter might be included.

Arrogance inevitably leads to inordinate ambition and there is no greater ambition than the ambition of Satan. He was the highest of all angelic creatures. He is the ruler of fallen angels, according the Matthew 8:28; 9:34; 12:26; Luke 11:18, and many other passages. Therefore we have to recognise Satan as the prehistoric super creature. Embodied in this one creature is all of the beauty and attractiveness and brilliance. Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 describe him. In his hard-core second assault army, as well as in his first assault army, we will see some of these characteristics. There are a tremendous number of demons operating in the atmosphere and around planet earth but these of his assault armies are so tough, so hard-core, that they are actually kept out of the picture until the end of the Tribulation until the sovereignty of God permits them to become functional. That is exactly what we are going to be studying, the great Satanic offensive against mankind; mankind whom he rules, believers who live in the cosmic system and unbelievers living in the cosmic system. Satan is going to turn against his own human servants, people who are living in the cosmic system.

Satan has three falls. One of them is mentioned in the first part of chapter nine; Satan has two advents, first in Genesis three where he found man in perfect environment and he destroyed that perfect environment through being very persuasive, very attractive as a personality; secondly in Revelation 20 at the end of the Millennium. Every time Satan has an advent it is always under conditions of perfect environment. Perfect environment in the garden: he came and destroyed it; perfect environment in the Millennial reign of Christ: he will come back and destroy it through the Gog revolution. So he is the central antagonist of the angelic conflict, he is a great organiser and administrator, but his administration will fall apart at the ruler of this world in chapter nine.

He is a murderer from the beginning, according to John 8:44; he is the opponent of Bible doctrine, according to Matthew 13:9,39; he is the enemy of the Church and the royal family of God, as we have seen in Revelation 2; 9,13,24. But always remember, he is the ruler of this world and has been since the fall of man, and will be until the second advent of Christ, according to Luke 4:5-9; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2.

He has a strategy regarding nations; he has a strategy regarding unbelievers in the world to blind them lest they believe in Christ.

“Next to the lie itself, the greatest delusion Satan imposes — reaching to all unsaved and to a large portion of Christians — is the supposition that only such things as society considers evil could originate with the devil — if, indeed, there be any devil to originate anything. It is not the reason of man, but the revelation of God, which points out that governments, morals, education, art, commercialism, vast enterprises and organisations, and much of religious activity are included in the cosmos diabolicus. That is. the system which Satan has constructed includes all the good which he can incorporate into it and be consistent with the thing he aims to accomplish. A serious question arises whether the presence of gross evil in the world is due to Satan’s intention to have it so, or whether it indicates Satan’s inability to execute all he has designed. The probability is great that Satan’s ambition has led him to undertake more than any creature could ever administer. Revelation declares that the whole cosmos-system must be annihilated — not its evil alone, but all that is in it, both good and bad. God will incorporate nothing of Satan’s failure into that kingdom which He will set up in the earth …

“… Since in pursuing his determination to exalt himself above God Satan must oppose the divine undertakings, his opposition naturally will be exerted where God is acting at a given time. Since God has no present program which He is following along the lines of reformation, education or civilisation (and any record that such undertakings are in God’s present purpose will be sought in vain), there is no conflict or satanic resistance in those spheres. The present relation of God to the cosmos, beyond His sovereign permission and restraint of it, is to save out of it an elect people for His heavenly glory. On the other hand, Satan’s twofold objective — to exalt self, and to oppose God — is the key by which much may be known that otherwise would be unknown. It is still further disclosed that the enmity of Satan is not only toward the Person of God from whom he has everything to fear, but also toward every true child of God. Too much emphasis cannot be placed on this fact. Satan has no controversy or warfare with his own, unregenerate people, but there is abundant scripture to prove that he makes unceasing effort to mar the life and service of the Christian ...”

“Since the blood redemption of the cross is the central truth and value of the true faith, it being the ‘power of God unto salvation’ (Rom. 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:23-24), any counterfeit system of doctrine which would omit this essential, must force some secondary truth into the place of prominence. Any of the great scriptural subjects which are of universal interest to humanity, such as physical health, life after death, morality, unfulfilled prophecy, or religious forms, may be substituted in the false systems for that which is vital. And while those subjects are all found in their proper relations and importance in the true faith, the fact that people are universally inclined to give attention to them furnishes Satan an opportunity to make a strong appeal to humanity through them, using these subjects as central truths in his false and counterfeit systems. Many are easily led to fix their attention upon the secondary things, and to neglect wholly the one primary thing. Especially this is true since the secondary things are tangible and seen, while the one essential thing is spiritual and unseen; and Satan has blinded their eyes toward that which is of eternal value...”

“… The idea that man will stand on the basis of personal worthiness has been the chief heresy, opposing the central doctrine of grace, from the time of Christ’s death to the present hour. It so permeates the church that few who preach are able to exclude it from their attempts at gospel preaching. It is safe to say that wherever the element of human merit is allowed to intrude into the presentation of the plan of salvation, the message is Satanic to that extent.”

— Lewis Sperry Chafer, “Systematic Theology”, vol. 2, pp 100-101, 108, 110.

Satan has a strategy with regard to us as believers, the royal family of God. It is so stated in 2 Corinthians 2:11. In many ways this strategy keeps him in heaven for part of the time, for there is where he goes to accuse believers, according to Job 1:6-11; Zechariah 3:1-2; Revelation 12:9-10. He also sponsors various forms of reversionism and tries to get the believer distracted from making Bible doctrine number one in his scale of values. This is taught in 1 Corinthians 10:19-21; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 11:13-15. He seeks to frustrate the will of God in the life of the believer in three categories: mentally, Ephesians 4:14; geographically, 1 Thessalonians 2:18; operationally, James 4:7,8. He seeks to neutralise doctrinal application, especially through worry and anxiety, 1 Peter 5:7-9. He seeks to destroy the believer’s focus in life, getting the believer to get his eyes on people, as per Jeremiah 17:5, or eyes on self, 1 Kings 19:10, or eyes on things, Hebrews 13:5,6. He seeks to get the believer involved in improvement of the devil’s world, hence the reversionistic believer becomes humanistic, occupied with temporal solutions to man’s problems, advocating systems to improve man’s environment; and, of course, this means social action, social gospel, welfare state, etc. Also the inculcation of fear regarding physical death.

Religion plays a great part in the devil’s strategy. Basically, religion has been created by the devil to counterfeit the plan of God. Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship with God through faith in Christ. Religion is a system of works whereby man seeks to gain the approbation of God. In religion Satan has counterfeited almost everything that is true. There is a counterfeit gospel in 2 Corinthians 4:3,4; there are counterfeit ministers in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; there is a counterfeit doctrine in 2 Timothy 4:1; there is a counterfeit communion table in 2 Corinthians 10:19-21; there is a counterfeit system of spirituality based on self-righteousness and competitiveness, inordinate competition in Galatians 3:2-3; there is a counterfeit righteousness in Matthew 19:16-28; there is a counterfeit power and dynamics in 2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 (which includes the tongues movement); there are counterfeit gods in 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4.

So, of course, this means that Satan has false teachers. False teachers have a phoney and hypocritical facade, says Matthew 7:15; Romans 16:18. False teachers use human public relations systems and legalistic flirtation to court believers, according to Galatians 4:17,18; 2 Timothy 5:3-7. False teachers appeal to human ego and human pride, 2 Corinthians 10:12. They promote idolatry as a part of the devil’s communion table, Habakkuk 2:18,19. False teachers promote legalism, self-righteousness, 1 Timothy 1:7,8. And false teachers always encourage people to gossip and malign others, and therefore ignore the principle of privacy.

Satan has a policy which we have studied under the principle of evil as it relates to the cosmic system.

In Revelation chapter nine we note first of all the first woe. The first woe is the first invasion of the demon assault army, it is the same as the fifth trumpet, verses 1-12.

Verse 1, the fifth angel is one of the pur sui vant messengers in the college of heralds. The aorist active indicative of the verb salpizw is the word “sounding.” The constative aorist contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety, the signal for the first woe. The active voice: the fifth pur sui vant messenger produces the action of the verb, and this is a declarative indicative mood for a statement of fact. This is the beginning of the first woe. Then we have the phrase, “I saw a star fall from heaven.” The star here is a person, Satan, and it says he had fallen to the earth. We have the perfect active indicative of the verb piptw, and it is correctly translated “to fall.” The perfect tense is a dramatic perfect, it emphasises the results of the action. In the middle of the Tribulation Satan is confined to the earth. The active voice: Satan produces the action of the verb and the participle is circumstantial presenting that attendant circumstances of Satan being confined to the earth, whereas at the present time he has access to heaven and the universe at large. The direct object is in the accusative case, it is the noun a)sthr in the Greek. It refers not to a, literal star but to Satan being cast out of heaven.

The documentation for this is found first in Isaiah 14:12, “How you have fallen from heaven, O star,” speaking of Satan in the context of Isaiah 14, “of the morning [son of the dawn]” — The Lord Jesus Christ is called the morning star, as we have seen prophetically. Satan was called the star of the morning, the son of the dawn, “you have been cut down to the earth, you have weakened the nations!”

Satan went from a position of great strength and power — he was the greatest of all creatures — to a position of great weakness, and he made this transition through arrogance, the greatest enemy of man at the present time. With arrogance you can never be in a position of strength, no matter how strong your position may be it is a house of cards and it could very easily crumble unless you have what is necessary to accompany it, and that is humility.

Satan weakened the nations by becoming the ruler of this world; God provided something to protect the nations: the laws of divine establishment. This same fall is mentioned in Ezekiel 28:16, “By you widespread [social] intercourse [or trade] which is the spread of discontent and revolution,” leading to the prehistoric angelic conflict, “you were filled with violence and you sinned,” the violence and the sin has to do with arrogance, “therefore I drove you out of the mountain of God in disgrace: and I have destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire,” the stones of fire was the highest spot in heaven, the highest position occupied by an angelic creature or any creature. Now he has been excluded from that.

Luke 10:18, “And he [our Lord Jesus Christ] said unto them, I saw Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” Then later on in Revelation 12:7-9 we will see once again this star being cast out of heaven.

So “a star from heaven,” e)k plus the ablative from the noun o)uranoj, and this means that he went from the highest position to the lowest. Principle: You cannot maintain a position of strength as a creature apart from humility. Arrogance immediately puts you into a position of great weakness. No one can survive the damage done by arrogance.

The fact that Satan is called a cherub in Ezekiel 28:16 indicates his place in both the angelic college of heralds and his prominence in heaven. Satan is now the ruler of this earth, he has succeeded in becoming the ruler of planet earth, but in so doing he lost out. He went for the earth. To him the most glamorous thing in the world was to rule planet earth and that is exactly what he did. His inordinate ambition, his desire, was to be the ruler of the earth and he succeeded. He is not happy, he is miserable. There are now seven other angels whose desire was not in the field of ambition. Because of humility their desire was the perception of doctrine, and their perception of doctrine gave them a greater personal love for God than any creature among the angels. Therefore, they had the greatest relationship with other angels, impersonal love directed toward all. This is how the angelic college of heralds was started.

Above them all was the star, but the star fell down from heaven. The star is no longer in top position. The application should be quite obvious to anyone: inordinate ambition is simply a part of arrogance and inordinate ambition always gives people a desire to achieve, to be admired, to be attractive to a maximum number of people. But we are talking about people, and anyone who knows anything about people knows that the worst thing that can happen to you is to have the entire mob, all people, be attracted to you. Tomorrow it will be someone else and then someone else because one thing that characterises people is their fickleness. To seek to gain the approbation of people is the quintessence of human arrogance as well as stupidity. Many smart people are arrogant and as a result they become stupid because they go for people as if somehow if the majority of people like you then God must like you, is their attitude in the spiritual life. If the majority of the people like you then you are right, no matter what you have done, and you are never wrong. So you can rationalise through arrogance just about anything in the world and make yourself miserable for life. Therefore the only answer to this is humility. Satan is the ruler of this earth but he lives in heaven. He commutes to the earth for the administration of his dictatorship. As a part of the angelic conflict certain angels in prehistoric times became higher than Satan though maximum perception of Bible doctrine, the major factor in spiritual growth. These angels are called seraphs, they are the highest-ranking angelic creatures in the college of heralds.

Next we have where Satan was hurled, e)ij plus the accusative of the noun gh, “to the earth.” This takes place in the middle of the Tribulation and onward in human history. Satan will never again be permitted to be in heaven. he is kicked out permanently so that his range of operation for the last half of the Tribulation is his own kingdom that he wanted more than anything in the world. He wanted it so badly that he tried to upstage God and as a result he is going to spend the last three years of his rulership of this earth in his own kingdom. And he can’t get out. With his fallen angels Satan is limited to planet earth and its atmosphere, hence the time is fixed for these demon invasions in the last half of the Tribulation. The three woes or trumpets five, six, and seven occur in the last half of the Tribulation.

Other passages indicate that stars are used to designate angels, like Job 38:7, “When all the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God [angelic creatures] shouted for joy.” Well, Satan is a fallen star in the most literal sense of the word.

The divine dynasphere is where we live as believers when we are fulfilling the plan of God. Inside of something similar to the divine dynasphere we have the seraphs. The seraphs, because of maximum perception of doctrine have a tremendous personal love for God. That is thanksgiving, that is worship. The greater your genuine love for God [personal love is only a virtue when directed toward God] the greater your thanksgiving to God. All true thanksgiving must come from personal love for God. There can be no thanksgiving unless you personally love God. Today we live in a time when the average Christian doesn’t personally love God. He can’t personally love God because that calls for maximum perception of Bible doctrine. You can’t even be grateful to God or even begin to express thanksgiving unless you have a personal love for God. If you have in worship personal love for God you will have that greatest asset, impersonal toward man. And the result is those who are the beneficiaries of your virtue, your honour, your integrity from that impersonal love will also be grateful to God in a secondary way because of who and what you are. There is thanksgiving right there.

Thanksgiving is the order of the day for believers living in the divine dynasphere. If you are arrogant, if your are living in the cosmic system — and only you know that — there is no way that you can fulfil the principle of thanksgiving today, tomorrow or any day because thanksgiving is related to the filling of the Holy Spirit, to virtue in your life, to humility. Without humility there is no way. The seraphs will have a great thanksgiving because they have more doctrine than any of the angels. They also have more humility, more virtue, and therefore they have a perpetual happiness. You will never understand the true meaning of thanksgiving until you recognise that every day is thanksgiving. But there is no way that you can truly have gratitude in your soul unless you are learning doctrine, unless you are consistent in living and residing inside the divine dynasphere, and unless you have a genuine personal love for God.

Satan now understands the meaning of thanksgiving and he certainly will do everything to make sure that you don’t, for it was Satan who learned the hard way that even though he wanted to be like the most high God because he had the approbation of literally millions of angels it didn’t work out that way. But there is someone who even understands it better than Satan. His name is Apollyon or Abaddon, the most ruthless, the most powerful of all the fallen angels. He is second in rank only to Satan himself in the kingdom of demons and he understands what thanksgiving means. And when his turn comes to get out of jail and leads a great demon army he is going to make as many people as he can, millions of people, pay for his frustration; for you can’t get away from arrogance, you can’t get away from yourself, no one can. Therefore you can very easily determine the true meaning of thanksgiving in your life by your own status quo. So the angels which taught us how to worship in chapters four and five now teach us another lesson: arrogance doesn’t pay, never has, never will.

God has given us just so much life on this earth, so many heartbeats, so many seconds, so many minutes, so many hours, so many days, so many years. And we by our own arrogance actually blot out and destroy those wonderful things in life that we could enjoy and have such a great time with. We do it by living in the cosmic system. Every moment we spend in the cosmic system we have just blotted out another heartbeat, your happiness, your blessing, your heritage as a member of the royal family of God.

We learn from the elect angels a great deal about worship. We are now learning from the fallen angels a great deal about arrogance.

The corrected translation of chapter four verse nine: “And when the angelic heralds,” the living creatures who through great faithfulness to the Word of God in the prehistoric angelic conflict learned more doctrine than any other group of creatures in history, and as a result were promoted to a new life that apparently did not exist at the beginning of angelic creation: they were promoted to seraph rank in the college of heralds. Therefore, more than anyone else, because of their perception of doctrine, they know more about worship, they have a greater understanding and appreciation of worship than anyone else. We learn from them a great deal about worship.

“shall give glory,” the beginning of the expression of their worship. You cannot give in worship what you do not possess. When these angelic heralds gave glory it is because they possessed glory, just as in the future many believers who have been faithful in the perception of doctrine and who have grown in grace, who have attained maturity, who have fulfilled the plan of God for their life, are going to receive glory at the judgment seat of Christ. These angelic heralds, members of the college of heralds, have already received their glory, therefore they can give in worship what they possess.

“They shall give glory,” category one worship limited, of course, to the eternal state and the resurrection body, “and honour,” category two worship. Only honourable believers in time can give honour to the Lord in worship. The highest thing you can give to the Lord in worship is honour but you have to have honour to give honour in worship, “and thanksgiving,” category three worship.

Cosmic believers are arrogant and have no capacity for thanksgiving and therefore capacity for gratitude must precede the expression of thanksgiving in worship. You cannot give thanksgiving unless you possess the necessary ingredients to do so. You cannot give in worship what you do not possess. To have gratitude demands residence and function in the divine dynasphere, the filling of the Spirit, honour and integrity, humility, everything that it takes to have capacity for thanksgiving.

Next we notice in verse 10 that we switch from the angelic college of heralds to the angelic order of battle. Second in the angelic order of battle are the 24 staff officers who will fall down before Him who sits on the throne [our Lord Jesus Christ]. And they, the angelic staff, will “worship him who lives forever and ever.” You cannot give in worship what you do not have. They also possess glory, honour and gratitude, and therefore they give in worship the same as the angelic heralds, glory, honour and thanksgiving, “and lay down their crowns before the throne.” In other words, they have crowns, they have decorations which they earned in the prehistoric angelic conflict. Not only have they earned these but they give them back to our Lord as the highest expression of thanksgiving in worship.

Verse 11, “You, O Lord, are worthy [possess the ultimate merit for optimum worship], to receive glory [category one worship in the eternal state] and honour [category two worship based on residence in the divine dynasphere and maximum perception of Bible doctrine] also the power [all worship must be conducted inside the divine dynasphere, the power. That is, of course, the filling of the Spirit]: because you [the Lord Jesus Christ as eternal God] have created all things, also because of your sovereign will [purpose, desire] they existed and they were created”.

Category three worship is open to any believer in the Lord Jesus Christ every day of his life throughout phase two of the plan of God, the believer in time. Thanksgiving is the act of rendering thanks or gratitude to God. Hence, it is a mental attitude, it is humility, it is doctrine, it is the filling of the Spirit, it is the function inside the divine dynasphere. In Ephesians 5:20 we are told to be always thankful for all things in the sphere of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, even the Father. Thanksgiving begins therefore when one believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and begins to learn Bible doctrine. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” To give thanks to God for everything, both the blessings of life and the adversities, both prosperity and disaster. To be able to do this and worship you must have gratitude, you must have humility, you must have the filling of the Spirit, you must have everything contained inside the divine dynasphere. The expression of thanksgiving as worship, of course, again goes back to the principle: You cannot give in worship what you do not possess. You cannot have gratitude to express thanksgiving if you are living in the cosmic system, if you are arrogant or vain or petty or vindictive or implacable or full of self-importance and self righteousness or feeling sorry for yourself. Thanksgiving can only be given in worship if you have gratitude. You cannot give to God in worship what you do not possess.

Psalm 110:3-5, “Know that the Lord himself is God: it is he who made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture”.

Too many times believers get into the cosmic system. We are studying believers in the cosmic system who are about to become the target for the demon assault armies. The first demon assault army of the first half of Revelation chapter nine is commanded by the second highest ranking demon, next to Satan himself, a cherub like Lucifer the son of the morning in the prehistoric angelic conflict. Yet this demon general will lead an assault army which for five months in the Tribulation will torture many many believers as well as unbelievers, those who live in the cosmic system. Those believers who live in the cosmic system have no capability for worship, for the principle of worship, you cannot give to God in worship what you do not possess, and because of arrogance there is no way that you can have gratitude, and if they do not have gratitude, capacity for life, capacity for blessing, capacity for happiness, they are unable to clearly express thanksgiving. It is easy to open your mouth and to enunciate the words, “Thank you Father,” but to actually fulfil the principle of worship requires a great deal more than simply the overt expression of those words.

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise,” this was the courts of the temple; “give thanks to him, honour his name.”

There it is, category three worship: “Give thanks to him”; category two worship: “honour his name.” You cannot give in worship what you do not possess. If you do not have honour and integrity you cannot give it in worship. If you do not have gratitude you cannot express thanksgiving.

“For the Lord is good; his grace is everlasting; his faithfulness belongs to all generations.”

Psalm 116:17 tells us that thanksgiving is a priestly sacrifice. We live in the Church Age, the dispensation of the royal family of God and therefore, as believer priests we have the privilege of expressing thanksgiving on a daily, even hourly, basis to our Lord. But you cannot give in worship what you do not possess. Without humility, without gratitude there is no way that you can express thanksgiving.

“To thee shall I offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and call upon the name of the Lord”

Psalm 107:22, “And let them also offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his works with joyful singing.”

Amos 4:5, “And offer up also a thanksgiving offering from that which is leavened, and proclaim free will offerings [make them known]: for, saith the Lord, so you express personal love for God.”

Hebrews 13:15, “Through the same one [Jesus Christ] let us be constantly offering up a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of the lips acknowledging his integrity.”

You cannot give to God as a believer priest what you do not possess. If you do not have the humility of gate three of the divine dynasphere there is no way that you can enter into thanksgiving. “In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God concerning you” — 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

Colossians 3:15, “And the blessing and prosperity from our Lord, may it be caused to live in your right lobes, into which you also have been elected to privilege in one body; therefore keep on becoming thankful ones.”

If you are fulfilling God’s plan for your life by residence and function in the divine dynasphere, this day is meaningful to you, you have capacity for gratitude, you have personal love for God, you have great integrity from life and residence in the divine dynasphere. Therefore thanksgiving is a meaningful word.

2 Corinthians 4:15, “For all things are for your sakes, that the grace which is being multiplied to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.”

Logistical grace is the basis for the royal possessing a perfect plan from God. God is perfect, His plan is perfect. He has provided a perfect vehicle for the function of His plan. That perfect vehicle is the divine dynasphere and it depends on our volition. Thanksgiving can only abound to the glory of God if you are living in the divine dynasphere, if you are taking in Bible doctrine, if you are growing in grace, if the perception of doctrine has resulted in that great capacity for life and love and happiness.

2 Corinthians 9:10,11, “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing [material blessing], and increase the harvest of your righteousness; you will then be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.” Here is the relationship between thanksgiving, prosperity, and the true basis of it, the harvest of your integrity, your honour, inside of the divine dynasphere. Personal testimonies from mature believers indicate the same thing. You cannot give in worship what you do not possess. If you do not possess gratitude from humility you cannot express it in category three worship which is thanksgiving.

Daniel 2:23, “To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom [application of doctrine] and power [the ministry of the Spirit].”

John 11:41, “And so they removed the stone … Now Jesus raised his eyes, and said, Father, I thank you that you have heard me.” Our Lord Jesus Christ, at the resuscitation of Lazarus, knew that He was about to bring Lazarus out of the grave and He possessed that magnificent humility which is a part of honour and integrity. And from a base of this indwelling humility, total freedom from arrogance and the cosmic system, He offered thanks to God the Father.

Thanksgiving is motivated by Bible doctrine, Colossians 2:7, “Having been rooted, and constantly edified in him [constantly been stabilised by means of doctrine in the soul], in the manner in which you have been taught, overflowing in thanksgiving.”

1 Thessalonians 2:9, “For what thanksgiving can we offer to God for you in return for all the happiness with which we rejoice before our God on account of you.” A basis for thanksgiving is happiness. Happiness comes from Bible doctrine resident in the soul.

Philippians 4:6, “Stop worrying about anything; but in everything by prayer and supplication after thanksgiving let the thing sought be revealed in the presence of God.” The capacity for thanksgiving in worship is not there unless you have that doctrine, that humility, that gratitude, that personal love for God which is the basis for all true worship. Thanksgiving is category three worship.

2 Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift.”

Revelation 7:12, “Blessing , and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, belong to our Lord forever.” Worship therefore is the great issue in thanksgiving.

Category two worship is honour. We can give honour to God. Honour comes from love which is developed inside the divine dynasphere. Again, we as believers are royal family of God and we are commanded by mandate to live in the divine dynasphere. We have two commissions from God to do so. Every believer is a priest, every believer is an ambassador. The priesthood must function toward God, the ambassadorship toward man and circumstances. The ultimate in the function of our priesthood is the virtue of personal love directed toward God. That is motivational virtue as well as worship. Also there is impersonal love directed toward man as the highest virtue in that direction.

The personal love directed toward God begins with honour. We can give honour to God. That means love, gate five of the divine dynasphere. All true love begins with respect and the Greek word for honour in this passage is timh and it means first of all respect. And the question should be asked: Do you have respect for God? Respect is impossible apart from the perception of Bible doctrine for you neither know nor understand God, nor have any respect for Him or His plan.

The second meaning of timh or honour is reverence. The concept of personal love for Christ in worship begins with respect but it continues with reverence. Respect is the worship of the immature believer; reverence is the worship of the mature believer in the divine dynasphere. Respect and reverence are therefore possible for the believer in time. Respect and reverence are the function of the believer’s royal priesthood, his motivational virtue and worship. All motivating virtue must express itself in the function of worship for all motivating virtue is directed toward God and demands personal love.

Timh therefore means in the third place, honour. It is so translated in Revelation 4:9. To honour God in worship requires virtue, integrity manufactured inside the divine dynasphere through the daily perception of Bible doctrine. Only honourable believers can glorify the Lord and give honour to the Lord in worship. You cannot give in worship what you do not possess. If you do not have honour you cannot give honour in worship.

Category three: the giving of thanks. Thanksgiving is the most basic form of priestly worship in the royal family of God. The capacity for this worship is gratitude, gratitude for the plan of God, gratitude for the provision of God. Everything is provided on the basis of grace. We do not earn it, we do not deserve it, we do not attain it through any possible system of human merit, it is a gift. The divine dynasphere is a gift, the various categories of gates is a gift, doctrine is a gift, everything is a gift. The logistical grace to be alive, to be healthy enough to be able enough to hear Bible doctrine, to have a sound mind and therefore volition in the sound mind to make decisions for doctrine. The capacity for this worship is gratitude for the grace of God, the plan of God, the person of God, the provision of God. Capacity for thanksgiving comes, then, from perception of doctrine while gratitude is the expression of that worship toward God.

The believers in the cosmic system we will study in chapter nine who are living in the cosmic system are going to be attacked by a demon assault army. They are then going to be attacked by a second assault army. Many of them who are Jews will then be attacked a third time by the third demon assault army. They will be tortured for five months, many of them will die; but they will not die to glorify the Lord, they will die the sin unto death, they will die under divine discipline because they have failed to utilise the plan and provision of God and therefore they have failed in the realm of humility. Arrogance is the total absence of thanksgiving. Arrogance, therefore, is devoid of gratitude no matter what is done for the arrogant person, and that means the arrogant believer, either by God or by man. It is never appreciated. The arrogant believer does not appreciate what God has and is doing for him through logistical grace, he has no appreciation for the integrity of God, he doesn’t even understand it. All that he understands is that he is saved by faith in Christ and he has not advanced beyond that point. Therefore believers who are arrogant, who are ungrateful to man, are also ungrateful to God. Arrogance destroys capacity for life, capacity for love, capacity for happiness, capacity for worship and, therefore, capacity for thanksgiving. And all this is a terrible double-edged sword, for the person who is arrogant, who has no gratitude in his soul, is neither a good lover, a good friend, or a good human being. He is the source of all of his own misery and he makes those around him miserable as well. He has nothing to give the Lord in worship and that includes thanksgiving.

The ingredients of worship which include thanksgiving must include personal love for God, humility, subordination to divine authority. God cannot be first in the life and the object of true worship apart from enforced humility. That is, the enforced humility of submission to divine authority as delegated in Bible doctrine. Genuine humility, gate three of the divine dynasphere, is teachability, the teachability of the believer resulting in perception of doctrine, inculcation of the Word of God and love for God resulting in genuine worship. Genuine humility, then is not only the basis for all true worship of our Lord Jesus Christ but it is capacity for love, for life, for happiness, for blessing in human relationships. There cannot be true love in any category apart from genuine humility of the soul. The ingredients of worship, then, include the filling of the Spirit, gate one, the objectivity of impersonal love, gate two, the enforced and genuine humility of gate three, and then, of course, the perception and application of Bible doctrine at gate four. This results in the worship of God at gate five of the divine dynasphere which begins with personal love for God, but under momentum from perception of doctrine results in occupation with the person of Jesus Christ. “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with inexpressible and glorious happiness”. Therefore, of course, true worship is fulfilled. In worship you can only give to God what you have.

The angelic staff officers of Revelation 4:10 gave their crowns before the throne as an expression of their worship. The angelic general staff had these crowns because of their tremendous advance in the prehistoric angelic conflict. In prehistoric angelic history God provided for these elect angels just as He has provided for us as believers. And through positive volition toward doctrine and the multitudes of good decisions in expressing positive volition toward God’s plan in the prehistoric period they were rewarded and decorated with these golden crowns. These 24 angelic staff officers subordinated their volition to God in achieving these crowns, they could not give to God in worship what they did not possess. They possessed crowns; they gave those crowns to Him in worship. Worship, therefore, to them was the expression of their love, their reverence, their humility, their capacity, their thanksgiving directed toward God. And in their worship the angelic staff officers gave what they had. They had golden crowns, they gave them to God.

That is true of the believer as well. The believer has doctrine in his right lobe, he can express that doctrine in worship. The capacity for worship is based upon the amount of doctrine resident in his soul. If he has love of truth or doctrine he can express it in worship giving concentration to Bible teaching. If the believer can apply the doctrine of soteriology and Christology he can participate in the communion service.

We cannot give to God what we do not have, and everything we have belongs to God, He is the source. Worship must recognise the source. If you recognise God as the source of your blessings, if you recognise God as the source of your life, both the physical life which He imputed to you at the moment of birth and the spiritual life which He gave to you at the moment of salvation, if you recognise that you are alive today and that everything that you have and everything that you will be is because of who and what the Lord is, then you have the basis for true thanksgiving. When we part with what we have in worship we express the fact that we still have the Lord, and because worship expresses our love for the Lord we still have, and always will have, the object of our love. Personal love for God expresses itself in worship, which means giving what we have to Him — our love, our thinking, our concentration, our time, our energy, our money (if we have it), our honour, our total respect and devotion. If you do not have the filling of the Spirit, if you do not have Bible doctrine in the right lobe, if you do not have virtue, honour, integrity from residence and function in the divine dynasphere you have nothing to offer God today.

There have been four demon attacks upon the human race. There was the genetic attack in Genesis chapter six; secondly, demon possession; thirdly, demon influence which is a demon penetration of thought and personality. Hence, demon influence on the soul of anyone who resides and functions in the cosmic system. When people live in the cosmic system there is, of course, demon influence. Only unbelievers can be demon-possessed. Believers can be under demon influence. Demon possession affects the body but demon influence affects the soul. Both, of course, can affect the personality. Those who are demon-possessed and demon-influenced live and reside inside the cosmic system and to get there they must use their own volition. Therefore the principle: involuntary demon-possession does not exist, it is a myth. When anyone is demon-possessed it is through the function of their own bad decisions.

Our subject does not deal with the genetic attack which only occurred once and will never occur again. We are dealing here with the fourth attack, the physical attack of demons against mankind. This phenomenon of violence is reserved for the last half of the Tribulation and it involves three demon assault armies.

The first demon assault army will torture residents of the cosmic system for five months. The second demon assault army is actually an army group composed of 200,000,000 demons. It is divided into four armies, forming an army group. It will be released with the sounding of the sixth trumpet to kill one third of the people living at that time on the earth. There is, of course, a previous destruction of people on the earth: one quarter of the people on the earth will be killed by the fourth horseman of the apocalypse. This attack of an army group, the second demon assault army, is described in detail in Revelation 9:13-21. The third assault army is commanded by Satan himself.

The second assault army comes out of the river Euphrates and there is a reason for that.

The third will attack on the sound of the seventh trumpet [which is also the third woe] — Revelation 11:15-12:17. It will be involved in warfare in heaven and will be defeated by the army of elect angels under the command of Michael — 12:7-8. The result of this defeat of warfare in heaven at around the middle of the Tribulation, the defeat of the third demon assault army, will cause the expulsion of Satan and the retreat of that army. They will then be hurled to the earth and there they will be confined to planet earth, according to Revelation 12:9. The third demon assault army then attacks all the Jews of the earth, according to Revelation 12:12-17. Demon torture and killing of men is an historical trend reserved for the last half of the Tribulation. This does not exist and will not exist before that time. Demon attacks on man are limited at this present time to demon possession of unbelievers and demon influence of both believer and unbeliever who reside in the cosmic system Arrogance, of course, is the key to such vulnerability.

Verse 2, “Then he [Satan] unlocked the shaft of the abyss.” That bring us to the connective conjunction kai which is really a result conjunction here. Kai can be used in about five different ways in the Greek and this is a very rare use. Kai is simply used to connect the two phrases and to show a result relationship, “with the result that.” Then we have the phrase, “smoke went up [ascended] from the shaft like the smoke of a giant furnace.” This smoke explains several verses related to the demon prisons in Hades. Remember that in Hades there are two areas where demons are imprisoned. The first is Tartarus, and there is smoke in Tartarus. The second is called the abyss, and there is smoke in the abyss. The description of this is in 2 Peter 2:4, “For if God himself did not spare the angels who sinned [the sons of god in Genesis chapter six], but he incarcerated them in Tartarus with chains of darkness, keeping them for judgment.” Please note: “chains of darkness.” This is the explanation of the smoke. Jude 6, “And the angels [fallen angels] who did not keep their status quo, but forsook their proper dwelling place, he has incarcerated them in eternal chains under thick darkness for the judgment of the great day.” Notice again the phrase, “darkness.” They were chained with darkness.

With the release of this demon army there is the release of smoke coming out of the shaft of the abyss. The affect of this smoke is described in terms of darkness in the next phrase, “and,” we have a connective conjunction (in fact two of them to set up an alternative) kai, “both and,” “both the sun and the atmosphere became darkened.” The word for sun is e(lioj, and the word for atmosphere is a)er. Both the sun and the atmosphere are darkened, the aorist passive indicative of the verb skotow which means here to become dark. The ingressive aorist tense contemplates the action of the verb at its beginning. Once that shaft was opened smoke came out and, with the smoke, darkness began to spread in a certain locale of planet earth. The passive voice: light from the sun and the atmosphere receives the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for the future reality of this phenomenon resulting from the opening of the abyss. With this we have a prepositional phrase, e)k plus the ablative of kapnoj [smoke], and frear which refers to the shaft, “because of the smoke from the shaft.”

The smoke from the shaft affects probably the troposphere which is the first six miles up, and the stratosphere which is up to twenty-eight miles. This cuts off radiation from the sun and immerses planet earth in a blackout, very thick smoke and temporary darkness. Of course the demons are used to the darkness, they brought it with them as a barrage to hide their advance and their attack. The darkness becomes the environment and the context for the attack of the first demon army which has been imprisoned in the dungeon called the abyss.

Translation of verse two: “Then he [Satan] unlocked the entrance of the shaft of the abyss, with the result that the smoke like the thick smoke of a giant furnace ascended from that shaft; both the sun and the atmosphere became dark because of the smoke from the shaft of the abyss.”

Verse 3, the description and the weapons of the demon army are described. We are going to note two analogies. They are not scorpions and they are not locusts; these are analogous. The function and the modus operandi of the locusts on the one hand and the function of the scorpion on the other hand are the best ways in which, in the ancient world, it was possible to describe the function of the first demon assault army.

We have the nominative plural a)krij, the Greek word for locust. “And from the smoke locusts [the first demon army] invaded the earth.” The destruction of Nineveh, by the way, in the book of Nahum is described in terms of a locust plague. So using a locust plague as an analogy for an overrunning army is used several times and therefore becomes a basis for helping us to understand the passage.

Nahum 3:15,16, “There [Nineveh] the fire will consume you; the sword will cut you down, it will consume you like the locust does … You have increased your trade more than the stars of the heaven: and the creeping locust strips you and flies away.” Even though they were having great business prosperity they were going to be overrun by an army and destroyed.

The use of the word “locust” has a principle behind it. It always refers to invading armies when used as an analogy. Locusts invade the land and destroy crops, therefore they are analogous here to the demon army which invades planet earth from the abyss. Locust is a term which applies to insects which function in swarms and are very destructive.

These demons are incarcerated in the abyss and they are solitary, but as soon as Satan opens that shaft they form up in status gregarious [they will be in ranks]. There is one difference between the literal locust and the demon locust army. The literal locust is described in Proverbs 30:27 — “The locusts have no king, yet all of them go in ranks.” This locust army has a king but they still function in ranks. In the solitary stage no one leads them but in the gregarious stage they march in ranks. When locusts travel they convert day into night. Whenever they form up and go into the air their wings make an awesome sound and they literally darken the sky around them. Nothing can stop the locusts. In other words, they provide an excellent analogy for this invading demon army. Nothing is going to stop this demon army at the time of their invasion.

Then we have the invading verb, the aorist active indicative of the verb e)xerxomai, which means to go out, here it connotes invasion, “and from the smoke they went out against the earth.” The constative aorist tense contemplates the locust invasion of the demon army in its entirety. The invasion of the first demon assault army from the abyss is gathered up into one entirety. The active voice: the first demon army from the abyss produces the action of the verb, they invade planet earth. They are not permitted to do so until the middle of the Tribulation. At the present time Satan does not have that key and he not have that key until he is cast out of heaven in the middle of the Tribulation. The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic statement of historical trend, a new trend without precedent in history.

We then have the scorpion analogy. The nominative singular subject from the noun e)xousia means either authority or power. Here it means power, “and power was given,” the aorist passive indicative of didomi. And with this we have the intensive pronoun a)utoj in the plural used as the third person personal pronoun and translated here, “to them” — “and power was given to them.” We are talking about that demon army, the personnel of that first demon assault army.

Then we have the comparative particle setting up the analogy, o(j, “like,” and then the second part explains the analogy, the function of this demon army, the nominative plural subject skorpioj, “scorpions,” “and power was given to them like the scorpions have,” the present active indicative of e)xw. The present tense is a perfective present, it denotes a fact which has come to be in the past but is emphasised as a present reality. Scorpions have a certain kind of power. The active voice: scorpions produce the action. The declarative indicative mood is for a real analogy, “like the scorpions have power,” and then the accusative direct object with the genitive of place gh, “on the earth.”

The scorpion belongs to the spider family. They are five or six inches long. The venom apparatus of the scorpion is located in the tip of the tail. There is a single sharp stinger at the end of two very small orifices in the tail. Two relatively large venom glands feed those two openings. The scorpion string is a very painful sting and is used in the analogy to torture here.

Translation: “And from that smoke [behind the barrage] locusts [the first demon assault army] invaded the earth: and power was given to them, like the scorpions have power on the earth.”

In verses 4 and 5 we do have a diving restriction placed on the demon invasion. The target is going to be made up of people, those who live in the cosmic system. And it is going to be made up of believers and unbelievers of the Tribulation who live in the cosmic system. We have the target restriction in two areas. We have a mandate regarding vegetation and a mandate regarding people in verse four.

Verse 4, the aorist passive indicative of the verb legw introduces the mandate. The aorist tense is a constative aorist contemplating the instructions in the entirety. The passive voice: the first demon army receives the action of the verb, a mandate of restriction. This first demon army is restricted; the second demon army is not restricted, though there are people who are protected from it. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of target restriction. The dative plural indirect object of a)utoj, the intensive pronoun, is used as a personal pronoun referring to the demon army. The idiom says: “They were instructed [commanded].” The conjunction i(na introduces a semi-final purpose clause and it is translated “that”, with the future active indicative of the verb a)dikew and, strangely enough, with the indicative, the negative mh. The negative for the indicative mood is o)u or o)uk, but here we have the negative mh. This is not a declarative indicative but a potential indicative, “that they should not injure.” The gnomic future tense is for a fact or performance which may be rightfully expected under the mandate from God. This is a semi-final or sub-final purpose clause, it denotes the direction of the action in the main verb toward a given result which is anticipated by divine mandate. Translated, that means to you and to me that this first demon army is going to have certain restraints. It is going to torture people and, in fact, torture people so badly that they will try to commit suicide. But there is an alternative to trying to commit suicide and that is to accept Christ as personal saviour or, in the case of believers, to rebound and get out of the cosmic system. And five months of torture ought to be motivation enough for anyone. The active voice: the first demon army is prohibited from destroying vegetation. In addition to that they are not permitted to kill their targets, torture only. The reason they are given the mandate is because a demon can kill a human being very easily.

So we have the active voice of a)dikew, the first demon army is prohibited by mandate from destroying vegetation and, later on, killing people. They can torture but not kill. This is the potential indicative of obligation, they are obligated to observe this mandate, which they do. And so we translate: “And they were instructed that they should not injure the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree.” This is the function of the first trumpet judgment and the first trumpet judgment is not to be repeated by the demon assault.

This mandate also keeps demons from interfering with nature and the natural cycles ordained of God. Furthermore, this mandate indicates that demons cannot argue and disobey the power of God. Therefore these restrictions on the first demon assault army stand without contest or even a hint of disobedience. Furthermore, only God who invented the cycles of nature and the weather machine can interfere with them to administer discipline or judgment to the human race. God does not trust demons to tamper with the cycles of nature. And just as God Himself judges man through the destruction of nature in the first trumpet judgment so He will continue the process Himself in the plagues of the wine goblets in Revelation chapter sixteen. When we get to wine goblet number two, number three, number four and number five we will see that God will again use nature as a vehicle of judgment. While demons can perform extra natural and supernatural acts in the environment of planet earth they cannot control anything in planet earth apart from divine permission. And divine permission is only given where it involves the perpetuation of the angelic conflict in human history.

Then we have the elliptical use of two particles e)i mh, an Attic Greek idiom, used to describe the exception to the mandate. Certain people can be attacked, this is an exception to the previous mandate and, therefore e)i de mh in the Attic Greek is translated “otherwise,” just e)i mh, “except.” We must find a translation which connotes the exception, “except the men who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads.” Now they can attack man but there is one limitation. We have seen from Revelation 7:3ff that this refers to the Tribulational evangelists, but it also applies to Tribulational believers who will survive the Tribulation with all of its horrors and historical adversities. These certain Tribulational believers are fulfilling certain principles of spiritual advance that keep them out of the cosmic system. Remember the target is believer and unbeliever in the cosmic system, but there is no permission to attack believers. Today you cannot be attacked if you are inside the divine dynasphere. The divine dynasphere is God’s game plan for the Church Age. Inside the divine dynasphere there is a wall of fire; in the cosmic system there is no wall of fire for the believer. There is no divine dynasphere in the Tribulation but there is the equivalent and the main objective of believers in the Tribulation in growing in grace is to stay out of the cosmic system because demons are going to be permitted to do things in the Tribulation that they have never been permitted to do before in all of human history. To avoid being mugged by a demon you have to stay out of the cosmic system in the Tribulation. So it is not simply those who have the sealing in the forehead who are protected but there are a tremendous number of believers in the Tribulation who will not be attacked, who will be protected, who will be under the principle of the wall of fire. However, we should note that many believers are going to be tortured and, later on, killed by demons simply because they live in the cosmic system.

Translation of verse 4: “They were instructed that they should not injure the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree; except the men who do not have the seal of God in their foreheads.”

They can attack any human being who is not protected by that seal, the 144,000 and believers who are growing in grace, who put Bible doctrine first, and who are utilising that doctrine to stray out of the cosmic system.

Never before in history and up to this time and to the middle of the Tribulation have demons ever given direct violence to people, demons attacking people directly. The demons attack only by possessing someone else and then they use that person as the vehicle for their violence. We do know that there are certain categories of demon possession that are extremely violent. In the middle of the Tribulation there is going to be a dramatic change when Satan is cast to the earth. There are three demon armies that are going to be especially involved in this type of activity.

The target for these demon assault armies is very important to understand because the target includes some believers as well as unbelievers, but they are all involved in the cosmic system. Perhaps this is one of the more dramatic passages in the Word of God warning people to avoid life in the cosmic system. The repercussions, of course, are absolutely horrible.

There is a principle that we should be aware of and one which has to do with the Tribulation as well. The fact that there are believers in the cosmic system in the Tribulation and the fact that there are believers in the cosmic system right now is the principle of cosmic evangelism. Cosmic evangelism is conducted by cosmic believers who are under the control of Satan and his power system. It isn’t some demon who is going to grab you by the ears and haul you into the cosmic system. In fact, no one can put you in the cosmic system but yourself; you have to make the decision to get into the cosmic system — cosmic one with its interlocking systems of arrogance and cosmic two with its interlocking systems of hatred. The cosmic evangelistic appeal is from friends who are Christians; it is conducted generally, but not entirely, by believers; people in your periphery, people with whom you are friendly. It is accomplished through the facade of flattery or intellectuality or affection or passion or something by which you relate to another member of the human race. The objective is to lead you into a state of arrogance in the cosmic system. Arrogance is very easily influenced by evil because arrogance is the source of all evil. That is why 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Be not deceived: evil friends corrupt good morals,” i.e. the virtue and integrity which we derive as royal family from the divine dynasphere.

When the mature believer in the divine dynasphere is led astray by his love for the cosmic believer the resultant arrogance means loss of discernment. His cosmic friends may be moral or immoral but the result is always the same: the moral cosmic believer is affectionate without being passionate and with his affection he lures the believer living in the divine dynasphere into the cosmic system. On the other hand the immoral cosmic believer is also an excellent evangelist. He is passionate without being affectionate and with passion lures the believer in the divine dynasphere into the cosmic system. In the first case of the moral cosmic believer friendship means more to the believer than doctrine. In the second case, to the immoral cosmic believer sex becomes more important than doctrine. Affection comes from the soul and is very meaningful and wonderful when it includes virtue, integrity, honour and capacity for love. Passion comes from the body and is meaningful only as an expression of category two love where virtue, honour, integrity pre-exist it. Where love, honour, integrity and virtue is developed in the divine dynasphere it can be very quickly destroyed by the cosmic system.

It is very hard for believers to realise that they are constantly undergoing change, for the better or for the worse, and that none of us stand still in the Christian life. We are moving in one direction or the other and therefore the importance of the daily intake of Bible doctrine, and far more important is the application of it and the discernment that must be developed. For all of us have met people to whom we were attracted and who were able to lead us astray through the evangelistic system of arrogance. The objective of cosmic evangelism is to get the believer today, who is living in the divine dynasphere, into the cosmic system. The objective doesn’t change. The only thing that changes in the Tribulation is that there is no divine dynasphere; but there is, of course, an equivalent. Arrogance cannot discern, of course, between passion and affection nor relate them to love, honour and integrity and virtue. Therefore arrogance assumes that a show of affection from the opposite sex is an invitation to passion. Arrogance assumes that a show of passion from the opposite sex is a sign of affection or love. Therefore arrogance cannot distinguish and once the believer is hooked, entering gate one, cosmic one, from then on it is all down hill. He is led astray. Most people who are led astray spiritually are led astray by someone they admire, someone they respect, someone they love or someone for whom they have a strong attachment or affection.

Of course you cannot blame the cosmic evangelist, you must assume the blame yourself because you make the decisions in your life. You call the shots in your own life and therefore you have no right ever to blame someone else who leads you astray. You have to assume the responsibility for your own decisions. It is true now, and even more so in the Tribulation, that people are going to find someone else to blame for their failures.

This is the target for these demon assault armies in the Tribulation. Protected from these attacks are going to be those believers who have doctrine and who remain in the plan of God through the daily perception of doctrine. There will be accelerated spiritual growth for positive believers in the Tribulation and they will have their wall of fire protecting them from demons just as we have a wall of fire in the divine dynasphere.

Verse 5, the target limitation regarding people is amplified. They are not permitted at this time to kill any target, they are only permitted five months of torture. The adjunctive use of the conjunction kai is translated “also,” and with this we have the aorist passive indicative of the verb didomi which means to give, “Also he was given.” With this the dative plural indirect object of the intensive pronoun a)utoj, however it is not used as an intensive pronoun in the Koine Greek, except rarely. It is used for the personal pronoun, third person. There is no Koine personal pronoun, third person and as a result a)utoj is used instead. The Koine, therefore, is a sloppy language of communication compared to the Attic or Classical Greek. The dative plural indirect object of the intensive pronoun, used as a personal pronoun, then refers to the first demon assault army.

Next come the introduction of a purpose clause, i(na, and i(na mh following becomes an idiom, “also they were not permitted.” So we are not taking the literal translation because you cannot correctly translate from one language to another unless you recognise idiom when you find it. Then we have the present active subjunctive of the verb a)pokteinw which not only means to kill but it implies very definite violence, “also they were not permitted to kill them,” i.e. mankind living in the cosmic system. Remember the target is the believer and unbeliever in the last half of the Tribulation who is living inside of the cosmic system. It must be remembered that killing will occur later on in this passage, as it has before. The fourth horseman of the Doomsday book was permitted to kill one quarter of the population in the first half of the Tribulation. In the last half of the Tribulation, among the surviving population, the believer and unbeliever living in the cosmic system is first of all going to be tortured by the first demon assault army and then an army group made up of four armies, the second demon assault army group, will do the killing. But the first wave of attack is a torture wave; the second wave of attack will be a killing wave.

Now we have the conjunction i(na plus the negative mh which introduces a negative semi-final purpose clause which directs the action of the main verb toward a given result. First of all it is a negative result. The first demon assault army is restricted regarding their target, they cannot kill, only torture. Then we have the present active subjunctive of a)pokteinw, “that they should not kill.” The present tense is a static present representing a mandate taken for granted as a fact. If they are going to be tortured they cannot be killed. When they die the torture is all over, and they must be tortured for five months. This includes a lot of people who are born-again believers and they are tortured by permission from God, by a negative mandate from God. They are tortured because of their failure to fulfil the divine plan and it is a case of turning them over to Satan for punishment. The active voice plus the negative mh prohibits the first demon army from killing and the subjunctive mood with i(na introduces the negative purpose clause. Also this is a potential subjunctive implying a future reference and qualified by the element of contingency. They must first be released from their present incarceration in the abyss.

Then comes the accusative plural direct object from that same intensive pronoun a)utoj, again used as the personal pronoun, third person, referring to the target of the first demon assault army, the believers and unbelievers who are living in the cosmic system. So their target includes only those people who actually reside in the cosmic system.

The cosmic system is the most dangerous and horrible place in the world. The Tribulational evangelists are protected by the seal in their foreheads while the believers who are advancing under the plan of God through the perception of doctrine are protected by the wall of fire, they are not the target of these demon assault armies. There is no wall of fire for believers, however, in the cosmic system. It will be noted that Satan’s target for the first demon assault army is mankind, man in the cosmic system serving Satan. We have already noted the principle that arrogance has no integrity and owes no allegiance to those who serve faithfully the ruler of this world. Satan is arrogant; Satan invented the cosmic system from arrogance, and there is definitely no loyalty on the part of Satan to his own servants.

Literally, the sub-final purpose clause is translated: “that they [the first demon army] should not kill them [man in the cosmic system].” However, the purpose clause must be translated in its idiom: “also they [the first demon assault army] were not permitted to kill them [mankind in the cosmic system].”

Then we have a positive part to the purpose clause. It begins with the adversative conjunction a)lla. This indicates a contrast with what precedes. What is this demon assault army permitted to do? And with this we have a conjunction to show that there is a mandate on the positive side, i(na. They are allowed to do something, the future passive indicative of the verb basanizw which not only means torture but it means intense torture; it means the object receives genuine pain in every sense of the word: “but that they might be tortured.” The future tense is a gnomic future for a fact or performance that may be expected from this mandate. The passive voice: believers and unbelievers in the cosmic system receive the action of the verb for five months.

When Satan is through with his human servants he has no compunction about making them miserable and eventually destroying them. The wages of serving Satan is torture and misery from his own hand. Arrogance has no integrity, no sense of responsibility toward subordinates. Therefore the arrogant leader is ruthless, using people to establish his position, to provide him promotion, and then discarding them. Therefore, you as a believer should never be shocked or surprised after doing a good job under supervision or command or leadership of someone else to have that person turn on you. It should not even surprise you a little bit. Learn from the Tribulation, learn from the assault of the first demon army that people who are arrogant are not good leaders. They lack the greatest thing in leadership and that is integrity. Integrity takes cognisance of subordinates and is loyal to those who have done a good job.

The subjunctive mood with i(na indicates a purpose clause: “but that they might be tortured for five months.”

Principle

1. Satan possesses the optimum of arrogance, therefore he can be classified under arrogant leadership. All arrogant leadership in history in any category follows the same pattern.

2. Arrogant leadership is preoccupied with self and motivated by inordinate ambition.

3. The arrogant person is constantly competing with everyone else around him, including his subordinates in business and his contemporaries in social life.

4. As long as the subordinates are useful or helpful to the business executive, the commanding officer, the department head, he is tolerated or used. This is why we as believers must always do our job as unto the Lord. Even when we are being used we are not doing our job to please someone else.

5. The person who is doing a good job and is tolerated is not the object of integrity or gratitude.

6. The moment something goes wrong the arrogant leadership will turn on you, fire you, make your life miserable, force you out. In other words, the antithesis of gratitude.

7. Many of the people of the Tribulation living in Satan’s cosmic system were serving him even during the last days of the Church Age.

8. But now that Satan’s defeat is near in the middle of the Tribulation he turns on them by permitting his first two demon assault armies to first torture for five months and then to kill.

9. Arrogance in leadership is parlayed into evil by means of outside pressure. Satan’s outside pressure: he is cast out of heaven. It is inevitable that those who are arrogant and under pressure will pass their pressures on to their subordinates. Their subordinates will often absorb those pressures without a murmur and do a good job until, of course, they are discarded.

Before the second advent comes Satan turns on his own kingdom. Remember that he is the ruler of this world and he destroys his own kingdom before the second advent of Christ. Satan is going to terminate his own rulership by his own decision before the second advent. When Christ returns to the earth the world is a shambles. Satan’s whole system is going to collapse under his very nose by his own arrogant decisions.

Translation of verse 5: “Also they [the first demon assault army] will not be permitted to kill them [mankind living in the cosmic system], but to torture them for five months: and their torture is like the torture of a scorpion when it strikes a man.”

The question arises: How can people in the Tribulation avoid being the target for these demon assault armies?

The question arises as to how people in the Tribulation avoid the demon attacks. There are two categories of people who could avoid the attacks: unbelievers through adherence to the laws of divine establishment and believers in their modus operandi within the plan of God as it exists in the Tribulation. About the only thing that is different is the absence of the divine dynasphere which belongs to the Church Age believer only. God the Holy Spirit is removed as a restrainer during the Tribulation and that makes a change in the way of life for believers in the Tribulation. It should be understood that the 144,000 Jewish evangelists who are sealed in their foreheads will not be attacked at all under any circumstance; but there are others who will be attacked who are believers, and that is the problem. Why are certain believers going to be attacked? The problem there is cosmic involvement.

Now the question. Under what conditions do believers in the Tribulation avoid demon attack? The first issue is the old sin nature. You have to know how to handle the old sin nature, Satan’s inside agent for temptation. The old sin nature resides in the cell structure of the human body and because of this fact we are ageing in the human race as well as this being an inside source of temptation. All ageing is the result of man having the old sin nature. Adam and the woman did not age in the garden at all, they could have lived indefinitely in perpetual youth. The primary consideration of the old sin nature residing in the cell structure of the body is temptation. That is the issue.

Guarding the gate of the soul is human volition. When temptation comes your way it is one of two categories: you know it is a temptation therefore it is a temptation of cognisance; you do not know it is a temptation therefore it is a temptation of ignorance. The question is not whether you know it is a temptation or not, the question is, Do you want to do it or not? You never have any problem with demons or sin or anything else apart from your own volition. Volition is the issue.

Suppose it is a temptation of ignorance and you don’t really know it is a sin. You wanted to do it so you passed it into the soul. This is how the old sin nature gains control of the soul — through sin, and this is how we as members of the human race enter the cosmic system and thereby become vulnerable to whatever demon activity, whatever Satanic modus operandi, may be extant in that dispensation of history. So the old sin nature throws up the temptation. It can be cut off at the pass, all you have to do is say no, and that is as far as it goes. If, however, you let it pass through then it becomes sin. Sin originates from man’s volition, not from the old sin nature. The old sin nature can only tempt, it can only make a suggestion. You can accept or reject the suggestion. You may not know that the suggestion is sin but that is all beside the point. You are still responsible because you wanted to do it and you are just as responsible for your sins of ignorance as your sins of cognisance. So whether it is a sin of cognisance or a sin or ignorance it puts you instantly inside the cosmic system. As a matter of fact you can get into two areas of the cosmic system: cosmic one and cosmic two.

In the Tribulation this is vulnerability to demon assault. Any arrogance, any bitterness, any vindictiveness, any implacability, any hatred or self-pity, any guilt modus operandi, any maligning, any gossip or revenge motivation any function, make’s that person instantly vulnerable to the cosmic system. But it will be much worse in the Tribulation. We are going to see later in this chapter that even though the people involved were under attack from the demon assault army they did not repent of the number of things mentioned there. In verse 20 it has to do with idolatry which is a means of demon possession. In verse 21 it has the sins related to the phallic cult. And this is why people are vulnerable to demon assault in the Tribulation. It can be a believer or an unbeliever. Today we have the divine dynasphere. Believers in the Tribulation will not have the divine dynasphere but they will have fellowship with God. The minute any believer sins he loses fellowship with God and enters into the cosmic system. The Tribulation has the same option we have: rebound and get out of the cosmic system. Whenever the demon assault armies attack whatever believers are in the cosmic system are instantly vulnerable. To avoid being attacked in the Tribulation the believers will either have to say no to the temptation in the first place or instantly rebound in the second place.

There is another way in which Tribulational believers will become vulnerable to attack, and that is through people. They will make friends. People can only become a distraction where you permit it, it is a matter of your scale of values. If doctrine is first in your scale of values generally you can avoid this thing, but social life, sexual life, business life involve people and often people take precedence over doctrine. Therefore, people become inadvertently or deliberately the agents of the cosmic system. Once in the cosmic system the believer in the Tribulation will, in effect, be subject to demon attack.

People, then, are always a source of problems or a source of blessing. Whether they are a source of blessing or a problem has nothing to do with your environment or with their deception; it is your responsibility, you still have your own free will. In the Tribulation the same thing is true: people will be a source of cosmic evangelism and as a result of this cosmic evangelism many believers will be caught in the cosmic system when the demon assault armies make their attack. Once they are in the cosmic system they will suffer everything that the unbeliever suffers in the cosmic system. And there is only one possible way for them to recover, the same way we do: the rebound technique.

There is one other factor in the Tribulation. Strangely enough there will be prosperity. There never has been a period of world-wide historical disaster that did not bring prosperity to someone. Prosperity is perpetuated just as disaster is perpetuated and in the history of the world, in times of the greatest adversity, there is always someone who prospers for one reason or another, so that prosperity may not always be evident but it is just as perpetuating in history as is adversity. It is inevitable that any believer who gets a good start in Bible doctrine and has a good scale of values is eventually going to have prosperity, even in times of terrible adversity. Believers have their prosperity in perception of doctrine, and that principle goes right on even in time of great historical adversity. The Tribulation is a time of great historical adversity, a time when there will be disaster piled upon disaster. But in the midst of it all there will be prosperity. Some believers are going to become very prosperous in the historical adversity of the Tribulation. Then they face the greatest test of all. Prosperity testing is one of the most difficult of all problems: individual prosperity testing in which some form of success challenges with regard to priorities; collective prosperity where one belongs to a group who is prosperous, a nation, a city, individuals formed into some business group, etc. where you become very prosperous and therefore in sharing that prosperity there is also the possibility of distraction. So prosperity is probably one of the most subtle and most dangerous attacks against the soul of the believer. Prosperity can only be enjoyed by continuing to put doctrine first. The perception of doctrine gives capacity for that prosperity. But where that prosperity becomes a source of arrogance, a source of loss as far as your scale of values is concerned, then you become a victim of the cosmic system by your own decisions. You associate that prosperity with you rather than the grace of God. You become arrogant about that prosperity and you begin to look down your nose at other people. You find yourself in the cosmic system.

This is going to happen in the Tribulation. There will be a category of believers who will never grow up. Once they accept Christ as saviour one category will always be babies and will go into the cosmic system. Then there will be those who reach adolescence and then go into the cosmic system. Then there will be those who go beyond adolescence to maturity and these face the prosperity test. If they flunk the prosperity test then they are just as vulnerable to demon attacks as the babies and adolescent believers who went into the cosmic system. The Bible does not tell us but perhaps the majority of believers in the Tribulation are going to fail. They are going to be just as much the target for these demon attacks as unbelievers are. As a matter of fact unbelievers can even escape demon attack through the laws of divine establishment, and perhaps there will be a rare few who do so.

If you have prosperity without capacity for happiness the prosperity always is going to cause difficulty. Capacity must precede the actual prosperity and that will be true in the Tribulation just as it is true now.

So basically, then, the answer to the question as to how Tribulational believers avoid these things is very simple: rebound when necessary, have the same attitude toward doctrine that you have as a believer in the divine dynasphere, the scale of values which will not be changed, and the avoidance of any form or system of arrogance.

We have been studying the demon assault armies in the Middle of the Tribulation, that which is without precedent as far as demonology is concerned. It is the only time in history when demons are permitted to make an attack upon members of the human race and to use violence directly against them. It is interesting to note that the function of these three great demon armies is very much like the concept of modern tactics on the battlefield, the concept of war in general. The first demon assault army commanded by Abaddon is the torture army. The second demon assault army is an army group made up of four demon armies from the Euphrates. The third demon assault army comes from heaven when Satan is cast out and it makes a special attack against Israel. Each one of these demon armies is related to one of the three woes.

The Bible has a great deal to say about warfare. Our Lord Jesus Christ made it very clear that there would be wars and rumours of wars until He comes. Until the second advent there will always be warfare. There is no way to hinder war, there is only a way to protect one’s self against war. That is why we have a book of Numbers in the Bible. It is not a book of numbers at all, it is the mobilisation plan of client nation Israel. All of the details of the book of Numbers deal with that subject. In the laws of divine establishment the only way to maintain national freedom is to be well prepared for war.

Numbers 21:14 tells us that “in the book of the wars of the Lord, Jehovah takes in the storm [takes by storm]”. If they would follow the laws of divine establishment found in the book of Numbers they would never have any problem. One of the first things you find in the book of numbers is a draft and all men at age twenty were to spend a certain amount of time in military service. Whenever the Jews were lax in fulfilling the mandates of the book of Numbers they found themselves in very serious trouble, as in Nehemiah 4:8,9ff where they were finally able to pull together a scratch army and save Israel.

What is noticeable in Revelation chapter nine is that the demon armies are assault armies, armies on the offensive. There is not one word about defence in all of Revelation chapter nine and the second great principle of warfare is the principle of the offensive. The offensive is the only action by which a decision is gained in warfare. Offensive brings victory; the defensive can only avoid defeat. The only offensive way to wage war is to act on the offensive, destroying the enemy armies. Offensiveness increases the effectiveness of the force which adopts it, it raises morale, it permits concentration of effort, it allows freedom of action. The defensive should be used to assist the offensive action elsewhere, to gain time, to utilise good terrain or to compensate for weaknesses. The offensive should be used when there is any reasonable chance of success. In the two demon assault armies which we are studying they are always on the offensive. There is not one reference to the defence. They also follow the third great principle of warfare which is the principle of mass. Mass in military terms means combat power. Furthermore it means concentration of combat power at the point of maximum effectiveness. Mass combat power includes numbers, weapons, tactical skill, discipline, fighting and, of course, the resolution, morale and leadership that are so involved. Success in warfare is attained by the proper employment of mass in a main effort, that is, to attack at the proper time at the proper place for the accomplishment of a definite objective. We are going to see that these demon armies are always using the principle of mass.

There is also a principle known as the economy of force, the means by which mass is employed in the main effort, the time and place of the main effort having been determined means that troops are conserved by reducing their employment in other directions to a minimum consistent with safety. That is what we are going to see, especially with the second assault army.

Then there is the principle of movement. Movement means manoeuvre of combat elements. In the offensive this principle is used to bring mass in closer grips with the enemy to secure decisive results. Movement is designed to place mass in the best place for an attack. Movement is most effective when concealed. In many cases movement is only possible by the effective employment of fire power.

There is also the principle of surprise. To obtain maximum effect with minimum loss surprise must be employed. It may take the form of time, place, direction, force, tactics or weapons. The main factors of surprise are preparation, secrecy, and rapidity. The smoke coming from the shaft of the abyss provides a perfect barrage by which surprise is achieved in Revelation chapter nine.

There is also the principle of security which embraces all measures taken to guard against observation and surprise to ensure against hostile interference with operations to gain and maintain power and momentum of free action. This has already been fulfilled by the fact that all of these demon armies have their own security system until they are ready to launch their attack.

One of the greatest and most ignored of all principles of warfare is the principle of simplicity. Military plans should be simple so as not to sponsor complicated movements. Orders should not be ambiguous but direct and free from contingencies. Frequent changes of plans should be avoided. Unity of command must be observed. All of these are fulfilled by these demon assault armies.

There is also the principle of co-operation. There is a tremendous amount of teamwork involved between the first two demon assault armies. So we learn from the principle of warfare that they have not exactly been ignored by Satan in this great co-ordinated attack against the human race in the last half of the Tribulation.

Verse 6, the torture of the cosmic residents. The fact that this army makes its successful assault is brought out in the fact that they are able to torture for five months without hindrance certain categories in the target. They are able to torture those who are in the cosmic system, believers and unbelievers. The result of this is now found in verse six. After five months of being tortured born-again believers and unbelievers living in the cosmic system follow this principle: “And in those days shall men seek death, and not find it: and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.”

Normal people, people who are free from arrogance, have a very healthy respect for death. They understand as believers the principle of death. Dying means to be absent from the body and face to face with the Lord. Death means to move into an interim state in an interim body, and therefore a place of great blessing. But once believers become involved in the cosmic system then their attitude toward death changes to one of great fear. And that is exactly what happens to the believers involved in verse six. Their fear is so great with regard to the attacking armies that their attitude toward death becomes abnormal, an abnormality brought on by arrogance from living in the cosmic system. Instead of resisting or doing anything about it they simply seek to die.

The corrected translation will bring out a few differences. We begin verse 6 with the connective conjunction kai, translated here “consequently,” as a result of the attack of the first demon assault army. This introduces a result from what precedes. The assault of the first demon army on those who reside in the cosmic system brings out this result. We have next a nominative plural subject from a)nqrwpoj, used for men. With it we have the generic use of the definite article which sets up a category of man: just those believers and unbelievers who are living in the cosmic system. The believers in the Tribulation will not have a divine dynasphere but they will have doctrine under logistical grace and they will have the opportunity of accomplishing what we do in the divine dynasphere; they will accomplish it through sheer perception of and application of Bible doctrine. But many of them will become involved in the cosmic system and once they do their attitude changes completely. Only when a believer is in fellowship, only when the believer is learning Bible doctrine and using it by way of application, only when he is executing the plan of God and fulfilling the mandates for the Word of God does he have any way of coping with adversity. Here are literally millions of believers living in the Tribulation who cannot cope with this adversity and who do not have the good sense to start reversing their bad decisions. Good decisions result in great blessing and prosperity; bad decisions result in great adversity. And, of course, man is the product of his own decisions and his decisions determine which way he is going in life, something that is true especially in a dramatic way in the Tribulation for the only target for these demon assault armies will be believers and unbelievers living in the cosmic system. As a result of living in the cosmic system they will seek as the only solution to their problems the one solution that is not a solution but a total admission of defeat: they will seek suicide. They will not find it, however, it is not God’s intention to let them avoid the issue. After five months of terrible torture that drives them to the point of suicide they still do not understand the issue. They are alive because they have volition, they could begin to reverse their terrible course of bad decisions, they could begin by making one good decision — rebound, recovery from the cosmic system, the only defence against that demon assault army which is attacking and torturing. And because they have five months we have a very clear principle involved from the Word of God: God always provides grace before judgment; God always provides solutions for the problem. We have never had a problem for which there was not first of all an answer provided. If we have rejected the answer through the perception of Bible doctrine then obviously nothing is left but to endure the adversity. In the Tribulation believers in the cosmic system have five months to rebound; the unbelievers in the cosmic system under attack have five months to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but they do not do so.

We have the generic use of the definite article with a)nqrwpoj indicating believers and unbelievers locked into the cosmic system. It individualises a group rather than a single object and points out that the group is identified by certain characteristics — bad decisions. We are all the products of our own decisions, not our environment. These certain characteristics relate to involvement in the cosmic system. The generic definite article may or may not be translated, and here it is not translated, “Consequently men,” believers and unbelievers.

Next we have a prepositional phrase, e)n plus the locative of the remote demonstrative e)keinoj, and with it the Greek word h(mera, “Consequently men in those days.” That is a very important prepositional phrase because it refers to the last half of the Tribulation and it has absolutely nothing to do with the present time. You cannot be attacked by a demon. You can be attacked by a demon-possessed person but demons today can offer you no violence. The hard-core demon armies are locked up and out of the way until the time of their attack comes, and that will not be until Satan is cast out of heaven and no longer has access to heaven. In the meantime the only two categories of demon phenomenon we have now are demon possession and demon influence. Our greatest danger from demons is our residence in the cosmic system under the category of reversionism. Believers and unbelievers living in the cosmic system “in those days.”

Then we have the future active indicative of the verb zhtew, translated “will seek.” The future tense is a predictive future, it anticipates an event expected to occur in future time in the Tribulation. The intense pain from torture resulting in the desire for death, even though death means Hades and greater torture, plus the eternal lake of fire and perpetual torture, is involved here. That is the unbeliever, the believer simply seeks a way out through death. The active voice: believers and unbelievers who have been living in the cosmic system produce the action of the verb. They seek as their only solution physical death, not the use of their volition to rebound in the case of believers or to accept Christ as saviour in the case of unbelievers. Nothing is more defeated than the person who is alive and wants to die. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal action from the viewpoint of future reality and, of course, present application.

With this we have the accusative singular direct object from the noun qanatoj, the Greek word for death. It is a reference to physical death to escape the five months torture from the assault of the first demon army. Believers and unbelievers living in the cosmic system are totally preoccupied with self, they have locked-in arrogance, they have locked out all of the good solutions. Arrogance cannot endure torture for arrogance is a state of tenseness, increasing vulnerability to pain. The same humility that provides capacity for life in time of blessing and prosperity also provides the ability to withstand pain in time of adversity. But this humility is the monopoly of life inside of the divine dynasphere or, in the Tribulation, believers positive toward doctrine. Its equivalent in the Tribulation becomes very important, it is the only protection against the demon assault armies. The desire for death is abnormal and results from various categories of arrogance such as self-pity, psychopathic arrogance, emotional arrogance, the arrogance of discouragement and others.

Demons, the fallen angels under the command of Satan, are capable of two categories of violence: indirect violence and direct violence. Direct violence is that in which the demon must use another human being as the vehicle for the expression of his violence. This is the attack of man against man. That means a demon-possessed or demon influenced person attacks another person or persons in the human race. This category is operational today. All terrorism, criminal activity, the function of religious cults, the function of such organisations as KGB, are the result of either demon influence or demon possession. In the case of idolatry and certain religious activities there is demon possession, but much more common than demon possession is demon influence. Demon influence from the cosmic system is the source of most violence at the present time in history. This would include any act of hatred, anger, any form of arrogance. There are exceptions. When the violence involved is the function of the military establishment in the defence of the freedom of a nation there is no demon activity related to it. The support of third-world terrorism by the World Council of Churches is a case of demon influence in the function of the cosmic system. Believers and unbelievers, apart from the perception of doctrine and fellowship with God in the divine dynasphere are vulnerable to cosmic involvement and therefore demon influence.

The second category is direct violence from demons. This is a phenomenon reserved for the last half of the Tribulation. This category uses visible demon armies in a direct attack upon mankind who are living in the cosmic system. The demon attacking force includes three assault armies which do not function on planet earth at the present time.

So far in verse 6, “Consequently in those days men will seek death.” And where does this all begin? Why do believers, for example, get into such a jamb? Romans 12:3 — “For I say, through the grace which has been given to me, to every man which is among you, stop thinking of self in terms of arrogance,” that is entrance into cosmic one, equivalent to grieving the Holy Spirit in this dispensation, “beyond what you ought to think;” that in entrance into cosmic two, equivalent to day to quenching the Holy Spirit, “but think in terms of sanity,” modus operandi of the divine dynasphere, the divine viewpoint of life, “for the purpose of being rational without illusion, as God has assigned to each one a standard of thinking from doctrine.”

1 Peter 5:5, “In the same way, comparative novices, be under the command and authority of pastor-commanders. All of you in the congregation, fasten yourselves to each other with grace thinking: because God makes war against the arrogant, but he gives grace to the humble.”

That is the order of the day for the Church Age and that same principle is transferred to the last three trumpet judgements which are also the three woes. God is going to actually permit and use as a vehicle of divine discipline these three great demon armies which at the present time are non-operational. God makes war against the arrogant but He gives grace to the humble. The arrogant believer is the enemy of the cross, he lives in the cosmic system, and God makes war against arrogance in believers and unbelievers. That is why believers in the last half of the Tribulation, living in the cosmic system, are just as much the targets of these demon assault armies as unbelievers.

1 Peter 5:6, “Therefore become grace oriented under the authority of the ruling hand of God, [living in the divine dynasphere] that he may promote you at the proper time.”

Luke 14:11, “Everyone who exalts himself [cosmic one function] shall be humbled; but he who humbles himself [residence in the divine dynasphere] shall be exalted.”

1 Timothy 6:3,4, “If anyone teaches a different doctrine, and does concur with sound doctrine, those doctrines of our Lord Jesus Christ, even doctrine pertaining to godliness; he has received arrogance [entrance into cosmic one], understanding nothing; furthermore he has a morbid obsession about controversies and verbal conflicts from which originate jealousy, discourse, and evil speculations.”

All of that is a description of cosmic two and arrogant believers involved in social action, who are trying to straighten out this or that thing, who become hypersensitive about some organisation with which they are associated, are all involved in this. This is why the masses of believers, as well as unbelievers, are today under demon influence which is not the same as demon possession. But under certain circumstances demon influence is just as violent, just as antagonistic, just as hateful, and just as evil as demon possession. Usually the differences in demon influence is the rational approach to killing, to destroying in terrorism and guerrilla warfare, whereas the demon possession is more violent, more irrational in it s modus operandi. But that refers to the function of the dispensation in which we live. In the future God is going to permit these demon assault armies to attack members of the human race but, strangely enough, only those members of the human race who are Satan’s servant in the cosmic system. Satan has many servants today, he is the ruler of this world, but he is incapable of handling the rulership of this world in a way that will bring about the Millennium before Christ returns. He is seeking to do so but he is incapable of doing so, even though he is the greatest creature genius that has ever lived on the face of the earth. In the last half of the Tribulation as a result of a kingdom of darkness divided against itself demon armies literally, physically, violently, are attacking human beings who are the servants of Satan, the word will be in a shambles at the second advent of Jesus Christ. Christ returns to find that Satan has totally failed even before He arrives.

Even believers in the cosmic system will try to commit suicide. All believers living in the cosmic system are under the influence of arrogance, therefore they become the enemies of God and the servants of Satan. When Paul was addressing these people in the third chapter of Philippians he called them the enemies of the cross. Even though they are believers and cannot lose their salvation and will spend eternity in the presence of God, at the present time they are under cosmic influence. This distorts and destroys their perspective of life. Arrogance plus pain or pressure produces the motivation for suicide.

It should be noted that all forms of arrogance do not result in suicide or the motivation for taking one’s life. Some forms of arrogance result in obsession and the desire for destroying others. But in this context five months of torture by the first demon assault army results in the insane desire for suicide. The unbelievers inconsistency should be noted for unbelievers have already heard from the evangelists of the Tribulation that there is a second appointment that awaits them. For the believer death is a source of great blessing and what happiness afterward is even greater. Death is to be absent from the body and face to face with the Lord. It is the place of no more tears, no more pain, no more death, the old things have passed away. The believer has an interim body and great happiness awaiting the resurrection body. Death, therefore, is a great thing as far as the believer is concerned. But for the unbeliever who had heard the message of the Tribulational evangelist, the witness of other believers, who has been exposed and saturated with the gospel, and they know that death means even greater torture than what they are suffering. But arrogance becomes irrational. When a genius becomes arrogant he is no longer rational, he can no longer think straight, and that is exactly what happens to these people, both believer and unbeliever. The influence of the cosmic system is greater than the influence of rational thinking and the truth.

The next three words in the Greek are kai o)u mh and are very important. This kai acts like an adversative conjunction because it has a very strong double negative of prohibition following, the emphatic double negative. A double negative in the English is a positive; a double negative in the Greek is a strong and emphatic adversative. Then we have a future active indicative in the verb e(uriskw which with the negatives is “but they will not find,” the accusative singular direct object from the intensive pronoun a)utoj, “it,” referring to death. The gnomic future tense is for a statement of fact anticipated under these conditions. The active voice: the targets of the first demon army, believers and unbelievers living in the cosmic system, produce the action of the verb. They try to commit suicide but they will not find it. The indicative mood is declarative for an unqualified assertion of fact, unprecedented like the demons’ attack. Part of their punishment for cosmic involvement is to remain alive and suffer the results of serving Satan in the cosmic system. Life in the cosmic system never pays and the prolongation of their torture proves this. Furthermore, those living in the cosmic system have lost the power of decision, they are not making decisions from a position of strength, they are now making decisions from a position of weakness. In reality they are too weak to make the right decisions.

Many times in life we make bad decisions and bad decisions put us in a place of weakness. When we start to make decisions from a position of weakness we are in real trouble and this applies to many things in life. If you are fired off a job or you say, “I quit,” your decision is from a position of weakness. If you leave a job with high recommendations and regrets on the part of a firm or business or organisation, then you leave from a position of strength, and decisions that you make thereafter are made from a position of strength. If you have some form of illness and you go to a doctor who gives you some kind of medication you are making decisions in life from a position of strength. That medication was designed to keep you living and functioning in a normal way. But if you refuse to go to the doctor and you allow the disease to take over in your life you are then making decisions from a position of weakness. When you start to make decisions from a position of weakness then your whole life becomes weak, you are on the wrong course. To make decisions from a position of weakness is disastrous. The tragedy of believers living in the cosmic system is that they make their decisions from a position of weakness. That means to be under demon influence.

So in this difficult situation in the Tribulation we have believers who could make a decision from a position of strength; there are unbelievers in this difficult situation in the Tribulation and they could make a decision from a position of strength, and yet we go on to read in verse six, a connective conjunction kai followed by the future active indicative of the verb e)piqumew which means to have an intense desire, “and they will have an intense desire to die,” the aorist active infinitive of a)poqnhskw.

But first we look at e)piqumew. The gnomic future tense anticipates the attitude of those under torture from the first demon assault army. The active voice: man in the cosmic system produces the action of the verb, believers and unbelievers living in the cosmic system. The indicative mood is declarative for a simple statement of fact. What is their decision? To die: the aorist active infinitive of a)poqnhskw. The culminative aorist tense views the desire to die in its entirety but it emphasises it from the viewpoint of existing results, the frustration of intense desire. The idiom is translated by the English perfect tense, hence the insertion of the word “have” in the future, “and they will have an intense desire to die,” the infinitive of purpose. That is their purpose, that is their decision from a position of weakness.

This is followed by the adversative use of kai, “but,” and then the nominative singular subject qanatoj, “but death.” It is followed by the verb feugw which means to elude or to flee, and it is in the present active indicative, “but death will flee from them,” an idiom meaning “but death will elude them.” The futuristic present tense denotes and event which has not yet occurred but is regarded as so certain that in thought it may be contemplated as already occurring. The active voice: death produces the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for a dogmatic statement of fact.

Translation of verse six: “Consequently, men [both believer and unbeliever living in the cosmic system during the Tribulation] in those days [the last half of the Tribulation] will seek death, but they will not find it: they will have an intense desire to die but death will elude them.”

The torture of body and soul, the intense pain of the cosmic servants of Satan functioning from a position of weakness in the use of their volition simply adds to the pain. Once decisions from free will are made to live in the cosmic system the person involved loses the ability to make good decisions from a position of strength. Bad decisions are made from a position of weakness; good decisions are made from a position of strength. Free will loses its power in the cosmic system. All decisions made under the influence of arrogance and evil in the cosmic system, then, are made from a position of weakness; all decisions from the divine dynasphere or from application of Bible doctrine are decisions made from a position of strength. Decisions from a position of strength require the filling of the Spirit, objectivity from impersonal love, the flexibility of humility. The only good decisions which can be made from a position of strength in the cosmic system is for the unbeliever to make the one decision: to believe in Christ for eternal life; and the believer to make the one decision: rebound. This would clear each category from the cosmic system and give them a position of strength in the grace of eternal salvation or in the grace of recovery of fellowship with God. All other decisions in the cosmic system are made from a position of weakness, therefore the inevitability of disaster and torture from those decisions.

The principle: the believer living in the divine dynasphere is designed to make decisions from a position of strength; the believer living in the cosmic system is designed to make decisions from a position of weakness. While the Tribulational believer does not have the divine dynasphere he possesses its equivalent under logistical grace provision of Bible doctrine and its application to experience.

The angelic conflict has extended into human history and man was created to resolve the angelic conflict. This means that the millions and millions of fallen angels under the command of Satan seek to frustrate the plan of God in this regard. As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ you are aware of the fact that God has a purpose for your life, and that life not only has purpose but meaning and definition and that the perfect plan of God is far greater than anything that Satan can throw against you.

There are four great attacks upon mankind. The first one was in the antediluvian civilisation and will never be repeated. It is the story of Genesis six and 2 Peter chapter two, of Jude six and 1 Peter 3:18ff. It is the story of the sexual infiltration of the human race, the attempt to destroy true humanity before the flood, the attempt to hinder the first advent of Christ, the incarnation and the hypostatic union; all of which was necessary for the accomplishment of our so great salvation.

The second and third attacks are in process today and have been during the entire course of the post-diluvian civilisation. These two attacks involve demon possession and demon influence. Demon possession, of course, is the demons penetrating the body of the unbeliever. The believer cannot be demon-possessed, his body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The greatest of all attacks throughout all history until the middle of the Tribulation, however, is demon influence, the function of Satan’s fallen angels in the penetration of the soul and the personality of both the believer and unbeliever in the cosmic system.

There is a fourth category which will not exist until the middle of the Tribulation. That is, demons directly and physically attacking members of the human race. At that point demons will be visible in their attack and they will do great violence both through torture and killing members of the human race.

Demon influence, being the demon penetration of the human soul and personality, is very definitely a problem for believers. Both demon possession and demon influence are impossible apart from human consent and the function of man’s free will related to the cosmic system. Demon possession is a phenomenon, then, related to the unbeliever only in the cosmic system; demon influence is a phenomenon involving both believer and unbeliever in the cosmic system. At the end of the Tribulation mankind in the cosmic system will become the target for the greatest demon attack in history, an attack without precedent. Demons are capable of two categories of violence. One category exists today, the other category is reserved for the passage we are studying. The first is indirect violence. Indirect violence is that in which a demon must use another human being as a vehicle for the expression of his violence. This is the attack of man against man. This is a demon-possessed person or a person under demon influence attacking or doing violence to another member of the human race. This category is operational today and has been observed historically many times — like terrorism, criminal activity, the function of many religious cults, the function of such organisations as the KGB, all of which are the result of either demon influence or demon possession.

Believer and unbeliever, apart from perception of doctrine and fellowship with God in the divine dynasphere, are vulnerable to cosmic involvement and, therefore, demon influence. The direct form of violence does not exist today but we are in the process of studying it in Revelation chapter nine. Direct violence from demons is a phenomenon reserved for the end of the Tribulation. This category of violence used is visible demon armies in direct attack against mankind.

We have been studying decisions from a position of weakness that result in demon influence. The origin of position of weakness is fourfold. Primarily it is the cosmic system with its two cosmic dynaspheres: cosmic one which is grieving the Spirit; cosmic two which is quenching the Holy Spirit. There is also a by-product from the cosmic system and a second origin of making decisions from a position of weakness: arrogance plus ignorance. If you are in the cosmic system and therefore have any degree of arrogance (which you would) then ignorance becomes the basis for making decisions from a position of weakness. Then there is thirdly the lust pattern of mankind, a modus operandi related to the old sin nature. Finally, there are the pressures of life which cause people to make decisions from a position of weakness.

The concept of decision from a position of weakness is relatively simple. All decisions made in the cosmic system are decisions made from a position of weakness rather than a position of strength. All decisions to enter the cosmic system are decisions made from a position of weakness. Only two decisions can be made in the cosmic system from a position of strength. The first is the decision of the unbeliever to receive Jesus Christ as his personal saviour. The second in the decision of the believer in the cosmic system to rebound, to get out of the cosmic system, to recover his fellowship with God. Decisions made in the divine dynasphere are decisions made from a position of strength; decisions made from the cosmic system are decisions made from a position of weakness. Since man is the product of his own decisions it is imperative that he makes good decisions rather than bad decisions.

The target for attack from demon assault armies at the end of the Tribulation is the personnel living in the cosmic system. Two categories of mankind live in the cosmic system: believers and unbelievers. They are the victims of violence from demon assault armies because they have made many decisions from a position of weakness. Therefore they suffer and die from demon assaults of the first and second demon assault armies because they have made their decisions in that way from a position of weakness.

The rationale of Satan in destroying his own servants in the cosmic system is fairly obvious. He is cast out of heaven in the middle of the Tribulation and he is confined to the earth which he rules. Once he is cast out of heaven and is confined only to the earth he makes a shambles out of the earth before the second advent of Christ. Satan cannot use losers once he becomes a losers himself, and since he cannot use losers who have made decisions from a position of weakness he then discards them in the very violent manner we are studying. Satan is losing and that will become obvious to him in the Tribulation and he will not carry losers in his organisation. Satan is arrogant and therefore destroys his own servants.

There is an application to us in contemporary history. Every day many thousands of believers are making hundreds of thousands of decisions from a position of weakness. This makes them vulnerable to demon influence. Many political decisions, in fact most of them, are made from a position of weakness. Like people who decided for a nuclear freeze. That is a decision made from a position of weakness. Antigun legislation is a decision made from a position of weakness. The abolition of capital punishment is a political decision made from a position of weakness. Taxing industry out of existence is a political decision made from a position of weakness. Any government decision which destroy free enterprise or permits bureaucratic interference is a decision from a position of weakness. Through cosmic arrogance and ignorance labour unions make decisions from a position of weakness. They make decisions to strike in time of depression and economic recession.

These contemporary illustrations fall into the same pattern as for residents of the cosmic system in the Tribulation. Both believers and unbelievers make decisions to live in the cosmic system and to remain there. These decisions are made from a position of weakness and they result in one of the most horrible experiences of history, violent attack by demon assault armies resulting in both torture and death. Revelation 9:6 describes how they feel about it.

It is very difficult for people to understand all that is involved in demon influence because so many Christians, in their thinking, are under demon influence today. Perhaps a reminder of some of the gates of cosmic two of the cosmic system will help us to appreciate the situation. Cosmic one are the twenty-six gates of interlocking systems of arrogance. Cosmic two are the nine gates of interlocking systems of hatred. Perhaps more than anything else, apart from arrogance, cosmic two helps us to understand demon influence and decisions made from a position of weakness.

Gate one of cosmic two is negative volition. All negative volition places the believer in a position of weakness. God consciousness is the point at which becomes an issue in the life of any individual. It is the point at which the individual becomes aware of the existence of God and therefore becomes accountable for his relationship with God, since he has free will, since he has two frontal lobes, he has an awareness through this function of God’s existence. The unbeliever enters gate one of cosmic two by negative volition at either God consciousness or gospel hearing, or both, or the truth in between which is the laws of divine establishment, the principle by which he has freedom to be evangelised. Therefore the decision made from a position of weakness — I don’t want to know God — results in rejection of establishment principles and the authority that God has ordained in them. It brings the person to gospel hearing with that same negative volition.

The object of the attack in the Tribulation, the victims of the demon assault army, are people who follow this pattern. They have entered gate one of cosmic two, they are in the cosmic system and are therefore under demon influence. Demons have penetrated their soul and personality with the result that their thought pattern has changed. They have used their own free will to go negative at God consciousness; they have used their own free will to go negative toward the various systems of authority in the laws of divine establishment; and when they hear the gospel as they will many times in the Tribulation they remain negative and their own decision produces demon influence or demon possession. With believers it can only be demon influence. This negative volition which results in demon influence is mentioned in Romans 1:18-25, “ … they exchanged the truth of God for a lie,” and that is a definition of demon influence, exchanging divine truth for a lie. That is the way in which one enters gate one of cosmic two. For the believer it quenches the Holy Spirit; for the unbeliever it is rejection of the gospel. “ … they both worship and serve the creature [Satan] rather than the creator [our Lord Jesus Christ], who is blessed forever.” This is the beginning of demon influence.

A description of them is found in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross [teaching of the gospel] is to those who perish foolishness [that is demon influence]; to those who are saved, however, it is the power of God.”

2 Corinthians 4:3,4, “But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who perish: in whom the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of those who do not believe [demon influence], that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

2 Peter 2:20-22 — “For if after having escaped the defilement of the cosmic system by the knowledge of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them [cosmic one and cosmic two], and are overcome [demon influence], the latter stage becomes worse than the first,” the latter stage was demon influence; the first stage was God consciousness, “for it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, having known it, to turn away from the holy mandate [to believe in Christ]. It has happened therefore to them according to the true proverb [Proverbs 26:1], The dog returns to his own vomit [a description of demon influence].”

The believer’s rejection of Bible doctrine would also be another way of someone entering cosmic two.

2 Corinthians 6:11,12, “O Corinthians, our mouth is open to you [teaching of doctrine], our right lobe is enlarged [you have to know doctrine to teach it]. You are not hindered from learning doctrine by us [Pastors like Paul], but you are hindered by your own emotions.” Cf. Romans 16:17,18; Philippians 3:18,19.

Gate one is one of the two ways which one enters cosmic two. Gate two is simply the result of it all, and that would be called cosmic degeneration. This is demon influence being parlayed into degeneration such as in Romans 1:24-27. In other words, here is the beginning of making decisions from a position of weakness. Gate one is simply the source of the function of gate two and the degeneration of society is a manifestation of the fact that a maximum number of people in society, believers and unbelievers, are under demon influence.

Gate three then leads to the problem that causes it all. This is that interim principle, the principle between God consciousness and gospel hearing. They reject the laws of divine establishment designed for the freedom and the perpetuation of the human race. Therefore gate three of cosmic two is the antiestablishment gate and every decision directed toward antiestablishment is a decision from a position of weakness. For example, 2 Timothy 3:2-7 — “For men will be lovers of self [involvement in cosmic one], lovers of money, braggarts, arrogant, slanderous, disobedient to parents” — sociology is still trying to explain what has happened these last few generations: the disregard for parents which is the most basic authority in life and the only system of authority that can launch one into life under the principle of humility and capacity for life, “ungrateful,” antiestablishment persons. All degeneracy in society, all antagonism toward the basic systems of authority in society become a part of demon influence. There must be a breakdown of the laws of divine establishment before Satan can have his way with man on planet earth.

Verse 3-5 says: “no capacity for love, implacable, malicious gossips, without self-discipline, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, thoughtless, having become conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; having a form of godliness [often religious], although they have denied its power [the power is the divine dynasphere]; also avoid such men as these [because they are cosmic evangelists].”

Verse 6, “For among them they who creep into homes [local churches] and captivate silly women weighed down with sins, led on by various categories of lusts.” Anytime anyone makes a decision from a position of lust they have made a decision from a position of weakness; “always learning [false doctrine, demon influence] and so they are never able to come to a true knowledge of [e)pignwsij] doctrine.” Therefore, gate three is hatred of establishment. This is brought out in Romans 1:28-32. They hate the police officer, they are antiestablishment. They have rejected the authority of parents, they have rejected the authority of law and order, they reject the authority of the police officer, they reject every form of human authority. The “depraved mind” in Romans chapter one is referring to demon influence.

“And just as they did not see fit have God in their knowledge any longer, God delivered them over to a depraved mind,” demon influence, “to do those things which are not proper.” What do those believers and unbelievers in cosmic two do? They are “filled with unrighteousness, evil, greed, malice; full of jealousy, murder, dissension, strife, discord, deceit, evil motivation; and from that they have become gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent [rejection of authority], arrogant [involved in cosmic one], boastful inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ignorant ones, without understanding, lacking honour and integrity, unloving, implacable; and although they know the ordinance of God [the laws of divine establishment], that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only are they doing the same things, but they give hearty approval to others who practice them.”

Gate four then shows the other side of demon influence. Not only is there degeneracy in society but there is also the concept of arrogance related to cosmic panaceas. Arrogant self-righteous people are always trying to improve everyone in their periphery. This is seeking the solutions to life apart from divine truth in its three categories. This gate rejects the laws of divine establishment with the result that there is a substitution of human viewpoint solutions to life. Hence, the Satanic administration of planet earth. Instead of freedom they demand equality, but equality can only be achieved by the destruction of freedom. Equality means slavery; inequality is a sign of freedom. Equality demands the full mobilisation of the envy and jealousy of those under demon influence. Hence, to promote equality, taxation of the successful, confiscation of property, nationalisation of industry, and therefore demon influence always advocates the destruction of the economic results of the laws of divine establishment. The identity of the human being must be characterised by sameness, says demon influence. They must all be the same. No one must appear better than anyone else, no one must appear superior to everyone else, there must be a standardisation of life.

Cosmic panaceas lean toward big government and little people. The citizen is the slave of the state instead of the state being the servant of the people. Hence, to be different becomes a crime in the eyes of the state. That is demon influence in thinking. The government must not permit autonomous developments, therefore there must be the regulation and destruction of private enterprise, the confiscation of private property, the redistribution of wealth.

This gate includes utopianism, the arrogance of recreating and refashioning all forms of human existence. The cosmic panaceas lead to violence, terrorism, revolution under the principle of social engineering. Therefore always demon influence justifies violence in the name of social engineering, the application of what is false to life. The state must train the children to be oriented to the dictates of the state rather than the authority of their parents. In other words, a total rejection of freedom and authority in the function of the laws of divine establishment. They ignore the fact that without freedom you cannot have a destiny and without authority you cannot have freedom, and therefore cosmic panaceas attack both freedom and authority in the laws of divine establishment. That is a brief idea of what demon influence is in that category.

Gate five is the religious gate. Religion is Satan’s counterfeit of the plan of God for believer and unbeliever. Religion is a part of Satan’s policy of evil. Again, we must always note that Christianity is not a religion, for in religion man by man’s efforts seeks to gain the approbation of God or what he has set up as God. In Christianity man is related to God through faith in Christ and therefore God provides the blessing. Hence, in religion man seeks God through his personal merit and works; in Christianity God seeks man totally apart from works in grace.

Paul describes religious leaders in that fashion in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, “Such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles for Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds.” Cf.. 2 Timothy 3:7-9.

Gate six is actually the demonism gate. This is the function of fallen angels under the command of Satan. In the case of unbelievers to penetrate the body; in the case of believers to influence the thinking, the penetration of the frontal lobes of the soul, the penetration of the personality. Cf.. 1 Timothy 4:1.

In 1 Corinthians 10:20,21 we actually have the sacrifice to demons mentioned, things which Gentiles sacrifice to demons and not to God, “I do not want you to become a sharer in demons,” i.e. participate in their viewpoint. The believer who is under demon influence in the cosmic system is partaking of the devil’s communion table, he is influenced in his thinking by the Satanic viewpoint. To drink the cup of the Lord you have to be in the divine dynasphere; to drink the cup of demons you have to be in the cosmic system.

Gate seven is the area for those who are suffering from academic arrogance: anthropocentric academic speculation. It is described in 2 John 9 — “Everyone who advances in knowledge out of bounds and does not remain in the field of play.” The field of play is the divine dynasphere; out of bounds is the cosmic system; “by means of the doctrine of Christ, does not have a relationship with God; he who remains with doctrine [inside the divine dynasphere], this one has a close relationship with both the Father and the Son.” So in the field of academic speculation there is the whole concept of all of the philosophical attitudes, psychological attitudes, of human viewpoint.

Gate eight is the attack of the old sin nature.

Gate nine is the evil policy of Satan.

When believers are trapped in the cosmic system they are under demon influence.

That brings us to Revelation 9, verse seven. In verses 7-9 we have the locust description of the first demon assault army.

The corrected translation of verse seven: “Now the appearance of the locust demons was like cavalry horses which had been prepared for warfare; and on their heads , as it were, crowns like gold, and their faces like the faces of men.”

Two factors are found in this verse. First, for battle the locust demons of the first assault army are described in terms of cavalry. That means they have mobility, fire power, and shock. They will be able to cover the entire world with their torture of five months. Secondly, they have a military insignia like a gold crown. It isn’t a gold crown, it is a comparative word, “like,” the Greek word o(j. They have a patch which has a gold crown on it. It implies that they think they are a victorious army.

The third thing that we have in this passage is the appearance of the demon. They have faces of men, indicating the fact that demons do appear as men and have greater intelligence and adaptability. The last time that demons appeared as men was in the sixth chapter of Genesis, and from that time until the middle of the Tribulation there is no such appearance. These demon armies which will appear in the future are now incarcerated. The significance of the patch is victory and this first demon assault army comes out of the abyss shouting victory. However, for this demon army it is a false victory since the only combat victory is against those members of the human race who, during the Tribulation, reside in the cosmic system of Satan’s minions. To win a victory over believers and unbelievers who have a profile of making bad decisions, and decisions from a position of weakness, isn’t really much of a victory. Hence, their only victory is against Satan’s human servants.

According to the next verse these men are very handsome. They are attractive as the demons in Genesis six were attractive.

There is no such thing as legitimate exorcism. The exorcist, the one who alleges to cast out demons, is a faker and a liar and therefore to be avoided at all costs. The problem is the same always where there is a person who alleges to speak in tongues or a person who alleges to be a divine healer or whether he is an exorcist. They all fall into the same pattern. The issue in the angelic conflict is volition, the function of man’s free will, and all of these things blur that distinction.

There are two kinds of demon activity today: demon possession and demon influence. Both of them are involvement in the cosmic system. Demon possession is for unbelievers only; demon influence for believer and unbeliever. Any believer or unbeliever in the cosmic system is under demon influence, for demon influence is the invasion of the personality, the thought pattern, the soul of either a believer or an unbeliever. Demon possession is demon invasion of the body. The demons who can do this are invisible; they are disembodied spirits; but all demons are not disembodied spirits. We are studying visible demons who are not operational on the earth today. Visible demons were operational in the antediluvian period of history and visible demons will be operational at the end of the Tribulation.

When people are demon possessed they often have been put in contact with an “exorcist”. There is no such thing as an exorcist. Only one person ever cast out demons legitimately and that was our Lord Jesus Christ during His first advent. And He did not even cast out demons in the power of His own deity, He used His humanity in the prototype divine dynasphere. He said in Matthew: “If I by the Spirit of God cast out demons [first class condition: and I do].” No one else has that power and that ability. Our Lord delegated that power to the apostles as a spiritual gift but whether it is our Lord Jesus Christ or the apostles whom He had delegated authority, only for their ministry and no one else’s, neither could cast out a demon apart from the function of positive volition on the part of the patient, the victim. Every time our Lord cast out a demon or demons the person always came to Him for help, so that volition was the issue. When they came to the apostles the same thing was true: they had positive volition and they wanted “out,” and they came to the one who could help.

In the Tribulation we are going to see something new in demonism: demon assault armies which are visible just as demons were visible in the antediluvian civilisation. We are going to see these demon armies in operation. The victims, the target for these demon armies, are believers and unbelievers in the cosmic system. In other words, believers and unbelievers under demon influence. We are also going to see those who are under demon possession. In the Tribulation the demon army we are now studying tortures for five months. That is grace before judgment, and opportunity to recover, and people can only recover from demon possession or demon influence by their own positive volition. For the unbeliever under demon possession that positive volition must express itself by faith in Christ; for the believer under demon influence that positive volition must express itself by rebound. Volition is still the issue. The major system of demon possession is idolatry; the major system for demon influence is arrogance. When arrogance invades the personality and the thinking of the soul, the decisions of the soul are made from arrogance and the emotion of the soul is related to arrogance, then you have the first form of demon influence. While only unbelievers can be demon possessed both believers and unbelievers in the cosmic system can be under demon influence unless they get out by rebound.

Verse 8, “Furthermore,” taken from the conjunction kai, “they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions.” The Bible must be interpreted in the time in which it was written and always in every period of history there are certain buzz words that mean certain things. Long hair on women meant beauty in the time in which this was written. So this is a buzz word for beauty; the woman’s hair depicts beauty and attractiveness. Note the description of Satan, for example, in Ezekiel 28:12. The beauty of demons, of course, is a trap for those who are attracted; a facade to lure victims. The teeth of the lion indicate that behind the facade of beauty is the ruthless desire to destroy. So we have a case here of where beauty attracts the victim. Beauty destroys, and the connotation of attraction is the long hair of the woman; the connotation of destruction, the teeth of the lion. That is the concept of the passage. Beauty can be a source of appreciation or distraction, the key is to know what is behind the beauty. With demons, of course, there is neither integrity, honour, sensitivity, nor capacity for love behind the facade of great beauty. Instead, when contact is made there are the teeth of the lion, hence the formula for torture. Behind the facade of great beauty are the teeth of the lion representing power, cruelty, arrogance, and torture.

Next, in verse 9, we have their battle equipment. “Also they have breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the noise of chariots plus many cavalry horses running into battle.”

The breastplate is defensive equipment. They are on the offensive and the breastplate is merely a picture of them in relationship to their army. The breastplate of iron is mentioned because in the Roman world it was considered the best piece of defensive equipment. It emphasises the fact that demons are not vulnerable to human attack and therefore human beings have no protection against these demon armies unless they are behind the wall of fire. In fact believers do not have power to cope with demons but they are protected by using logistical grace. Again, remember the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, demons cannot possess the body of the believer; but you can come under demon influence which means thought control through the inculcation of cosmic doctrines, culture, philosophy, related to personal arrogance. The only defence against demons, then, is from your fellowship with the Lord. This means for the believer in the Church Age residence and function in the divine dynasphere. That is our wall of fire. What it means for the believers in the Tribulation is walking in fellowship with the Lord.

The breastplate emphasises that demons are not vulnerable to human attack, which means that believers must rely on Bible doctrine, the plan of God, the provision of logistical grace, the wall of fire, the function of God the Holy Spirit. In past eras of history God had to give certain believers, like prophets or apostles, the ability, the delegated power, to cast out demons; but that gift never functioned apart from the volition of the victim. That gift and that authority has not been extended into the Church Age, therefore we must leave this to God and avoid the arrogance of assuming power that we do not possess. Victory over the power of evil includes both the cosmic system and the attack of demons which, of course, cannot be attained by human works or by any self-effort. Positional truth resulting from the baptism of the Spirit at salvation, residence and function in the divine dynasphere: that is our protection. Remember that unbelievers are only potential victims of demon possession, while believers and unbelievers are only potential victims of demon influence. The system for resistance becomes very important.

Demon influence results in distortion of doctrine, becoming involved in the cults, getting involved in the tongues movement, getting hooked up with so-called divine healers, getting involved with exorcism, in ritual without reality. This is the arrogance of human viewpoint, this is pseudo-intellectualism, this is self-righteousness, crusader arrogance that seeks to whitewash the devil’s world.

The demon assault armies do have specified objectives. The objective constitutes the guide for the interpretation of orders, the formulation of decisions, and the deployment. This principle is true with regard to these angelic assault armies. Their orders are related to the type of objective they face. The principle of objective always deals with the decisive defeat of the opposing armies and the principle of offensive is the principle that these angelic armies use. Offensive is the only action by which a decision is gained in the military. That is not only true in the military but it is true of almost everything else in life. Offensive brings victory; all the defensive can do is avoid defeat.

We have noted that the breastplates of iron in verse nine are defensive equipment, but the breastplate of iron is mentioned for only one reason: because they are invulnerable to any counter attack, and as far as their victims are concerned. Any defence against these demon armies must come from other than counter violence or counter attack in any type of a military consideration. The defence comes from an entirely different realm.

In fact believers do not have the power to cope with demons today but they are protected by logistical grace. The only defence against demons is not to counter attack them but to rely upon the power of God. This means for believers of the Church Age residence and function inside of the divine dynasphere which sets up our wall of fire. The divine dynasphere will not be operational for believers in the Tribulation and therefore they will have other means related to the same principles of perception and application of Bible doctrine. One problem which we have today and which will be amplified in the Tribulation is that believers who do not take in doctrine on a daily basis and cannot apply it to their experience are going to lose a personal sense of destiny. The first great wave of attack from the demon assault army panics the believer in the cosmic system and he loses all sense of personal destiny. The real problem is when these demon waves start their assault throughout the world, especially the second demon assault army, because believers are going to lose a personal sense of destiny. As a result of that they are going to fail to make the right decisions to break out of the cosmic system. The right decisions relate to one thing: the rebound technique.

Principle

1. The breastplate emphasises the fact that these demon assault armies are not vulnerable to counter attack. This means that believers must rely in the Tribulation, as now, on the daily perception of Bible doctrine, the plan of God as it is revealed for any given dispensation, the logistical grace modus operandi from heaven which is operational in every dispensation, the divine provision of the wall of fire.

2. In past dispensations or eras of history God has given to certain believers like prophets or apostles, the authority, the power, the ability to cast out demons, but very few. No one has the power to cast out demons today. Demons are removed from people under two conditions: when demons are commanded by Beelzebub to get out when there is someone around to whom Satan wants to give credibility with the human race; a false teacher usually. When that demon gets out then the credit goes to the false teacher; and, secondly, the power of God. But the power of God does not counteract human volition. Therefore human volition can make decisions that will separate one from demon possession.

3. Therefore avoid the exorcist syndrome. Some pastors have acquired this and destroyed their ministry.

4. The breastplate of iron therefore reminds us as believers that we have no power or authority to deal with demons in the post canon period of the Church Age. We are protected from them in the divine dynasphere, we have no power to deal with them, the victim himself must deal with the problem by making a right decision from a position of power. The only position of power is grace, God’s grace provision. The only two decisions that will release people from any form of demonism are decisions made from a position of strength.

5. Therefore we must leave the problems of demonism to God and avoid the arrogance of assuming a power which we do not possess.

6. Victory over the power of evil, including both the cosmic system and the attack of demons, cannot be attained by human works or self-effort, by magic formulas or incantations of a pious nature.

7. The whole basis for the believer’s protection today begins at salvation with the baptism of the Holy Spirit, that moment when God the Holy Spirit picks us up and enters us into union with Christ.

8. Remember that unbelievers are potential victims of demon possession and demon influence. Believers can only be under demon influence.

9. In the case of demon possession the human body is invaded, whereas in the case of demon influence the human soul and personality is invaded by cosmic thought. Demon influence results in the distortion of doctrine, in getting involved in some cult. It is ritual without reality; it is the arrogance of human viewpoint; it is pseudo-intellectualism.

It says at the end of verse 9, “and the sound of their wings was like the noise of chariots of many horses running into battle.” These are not the wings of the demons. These demons do not have wings. These are the wings by analogy, the wings of the locusts.

Principle

1. The locust in flight is never alone. There are hundreds of thousands of locusts in a swarm and the sound they make is awesome. In other words, by analogy the noise going into battle is awesome. The first thing we note about the attack is that before they hit they have already paralysed their victims with fear. One of the great principles of living in the cosmic system is vulnerability to fear. When a person becomes frightened he stops thinking and switches to emotion. Emotion cannot think; it has no common sense; it cannot apply doctrine or truth to any situation or experience. Therefore all fear is related to emotion. The principle is that their sound is intimidating as they take the offensive against believers and unbelievers in the Tribulation living in the cosmic system.

2. Up to this point in the Tribulation all cases of demon possession and demon influence are preceded by the function of human free will to reach that state. The victims of the attack are there because they made bad decisions from a position of weakness.

3. Bad decisions regarding the cosmic system or false doctrine result in unbeliever demon possession. In believers it results in coming under demon influence. No one gets into the cosmic system apart from his own consent.

4. The attack of the first demon assault army in the Tribulation occurs in a literal, visible and audible sense for those who have reached the zenith of bad decisions made from a position of weakness. It is amazing to realise that the greatest power that you carry in your soul is a greater power than the attack of demons — your volition. Your free will is the key to your life because God gave us free will in order to resolve the angelic conflict.

5. Only those living in the cosmic system will be the recipients of torture, a torture which continues for five months.

6. For the unbeliever demon possession is the decision and the responsibility of the one who is possessed. For the believer demon influence is the decision and the responsibility of the one who lives in the cosmic system.

7. Remember that while exorcism does not exist today as a legitimate function our Lord cast out demons on numerous occasions, but only when He was approached by positive volition. He was recognised as Lord, His power was recognised, His saviourhood was recognised, and furthermore Jesus demonstrated the principle of His messiahship, Matthew 12:28.

In the Tribulation the removal of the restraint of God the Holy Spirit is one of the characteristics and therefore demons are permitted under certain circumstances to physically and violently attack and, in this case, torture human beings. This is not permitted today, God the Holy Spirit is the restrainer. When He is removed as the restrainer (2 Thessalonians 2) then certain things will come to pass and at the end of the Tribulation those who are in the cosmic system are vulnerable to something that has never occurred before in all of history. Demons have been seen in the antediluvian civilisation but no one has ever had physical violence from a demon. In demon possession they motivate another human being to attack a human being but they haven’t done it themselves. In other words, before these people are tortured for five months they have made many bad decisions leading to that torture. Note that the two demon assault armies in this chapter are not released until the middle of the Tribulation, until Satan is confined to planet earth.

Today in the Church Age the attack against believers is the doctrine of demons, 1 Timothy 4:1. It is not physical violence but the worst kind, spiritual violence: false doctrine, legalism, antinomianism, asceticism, rationalism, humanism, communism, socialism, welfare statism. These are demon attacks today.

In the middle of the Tribulation that attacks will be visible, horrible, and tactful. So effective will be these demon attacks in the future that Satan’s kingdom will be in a shambles as a result of it. Satan will have destroyed his own rule of the earth through arrogance before our Lord returns. The second advent finds Satan’s kingdom destroyed by the arrogance of Satan. Satan, then, as the ruler of this world is a total failure.

Verse 10, the scorpion description of the first demon army. We have seen the locust description, that is the audible attack, the noise that intimidates. Now we see the torture part, the scorpion description of the first demon assault army.

“Also they had tails and stings like scorpions, and in their tails was their power to torment, to hurt, to injure those men five months.”

Their limitation comes in the word e)xousia which is delegated authority. Their power and authority originates from God. God never permits this to happen until the end of the Tribulation and the five months of torture without death is one of the greatest illustrations of the justice of God and the grace of God in giving them five months in which they could repent. The demons can do nothing apart from the sovereign will of God, they are limited to torture and their time limit is five months. The aorist active infinitive of a)dikew is the verb involved here. It means to hurt, to injure. Obviously it is a synonym for the word in verse 5 which we have already studied, basanizw, which means to torture. The aorist tense is a constative aorist contemplating the action of the verb in its entirety, an action extended over a period of five months. The active voice: the first demon assault army produces the action, This is an infinitive of actual results. It is followed by the accusative plural of the definite article touj. The definite article is used as a demonstrative pronoun, therefore it is translated “those.” Then there is the accusative plural direct object from the noun a)nqrwpoj, used here for mankind, man as a category. It refers to a specific category of mankind living in the cosmic system, believers and unbelievers who through their own decisions from a position of weakness have entered the cosmic system.

Then it goes on to say, “and in their tails is their power [authority] to torment [to hurt, to injure] those men [living in the cosmic system] five months.”

Now we come to a brief profile of one of Satan’s commanding generals. Satan, by the way, has princes. One of them is Beelzebub who is in charge of manoeuvring disembodied spirits, called demons, in and out of people to give credibility to Satan’s human servants, e.g. so-called divine healing. “We do not war against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against princes of darkness in high places” — Ephesians 6:12, and one of those great princes is the general commanding the first demon assault army.

Verse 11, we have the present active indicative of the verb e)xw, correctly translated “they have,” rather than “they had.” The perfective present tense refers to a fact which has come to be in the past but is emphasised as a present reality. This demon prince has been commanding the first demon assault army based in the bivouac in the abyss for a long time. He is now identified as the commander. The active voice: the first demon assault army produces the action of the verb. Abaddon or Apollyon is the commander of this army. There are four unnamed angels in verse 14 who command the second demon assault army group. The third assault army is commanded by the great red dragon, Satan himself, Revelation 12:3,4. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of a demon general commanding this army. Furthermore, he is a prince in Satan’s realm. The fact that he is called a prince is in the accusative singular direct object from the noun basileuj: it means a king, but it is used here for one possessing the highest power.

Then there is the prepositional phrase which indicates he is in command, e)pi plus the genitive plural of the intensive pronoun a)utoj, used in the Koine Greek for the third person personal pronoun, and it is in the plural and translated “over them.” Then we have an appositional accusative from a)ggeloj, the Greek word for angels. With that is a descriptive genitive from the noun a)bussoj, “the abyss.” “They had a king [commanding general] over them, the angels of the abyss.”

The fact that this leader is described as an angel means again a fallen angel or a demon. There are basically two categories of fallen angels: visible or invisible. Visible demons possess a body which is observable by a member of the human race; an invisible demon is a disembodied spirit and therefore not seen by the human race. At the present time the human race is often under attack from the disembodied type of demon under two categories: demon possession and demon influence. Before this leader’s fall he was undoubtedly like Satan, a cherub, the highest rank of angels before the fall. There is now a higher rank called the seraphs. The abyss is one of the compartments of Hades where fallen angels are incarcerated.

This is the hard core first demon assault army. The identification of this commanding general is given, “whose name in the Hebrew language is Abaddon, while in the Greek he is called Apollyon.” In the Hebrew his name is Abaddon, and it is transliterated into the Greek as Abaddon. Abaddon is a word that occurs quite often in the Old Testament. It occurs as a synonym for Sheol or Hades. In Job 26:6 Abaddon is a synonym for Hades, “Naked in Sheol before him, and Abaddon has no covering.” Abaddon means place of destruction. In Job 28:22 Abaddon is personified. The question in the context deals with wisdom. The answer begins in verse 20, “Where then does wisdom originate? and where is the place of true understanding? Thus it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the sky. Destruction [Abaddon] and death say, With our ears we have heard a report.” Abaddon is personified in this passage.

Proverbs 15:10,11, “Stern discipline is for him who forsakes the way: he who hates reproof shall die. Sheol and destruction [Abaddon] are unveiled before the Lord: how much more the frontal lobes of men?” Again, Abaddon is a synonym for Hades.

Psalm 88 — we have a prayer for deliverance from the sin unto death. Verse 10, “Will you perform wonders for the dead? will departed spirits rise and praise you? Will your grace be declared in the grave? Will your faithfulness be known in destruction [Abaddon, here a synonym for Hades and it means place of destruction]?” Hence, Abaddon means place of destruction and is a synonym for Hades. But Abaddon is also the name of a demon prince, the commanding general of the first demon assault army, which is at the present time incarcerated in that section of Hades known as the abyss and will remain there ready to attack, but not able to attack, until released by Satan himself in the last half of the Tribulation.

When Jesus Christ was on earth He cast out demons and He sent them to the abyss, according to Luke 8:31. In Proverbs 27:19,20 we see again Abaddon linked with Hades, “As in water face reflects face [like a mirror], so in the right lobe of man he reflects man,” you know what you are like by what you think, is what this proverb is saying, “Sheol and destruction [Abaddon] are never satisfied; nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied.”

From the name Abaddon, used for Hades, and the meaning of it in the Hebrew [place of destruction], comes the name, then, of this demon prince who commands this first demon army. His name means destruction. His name in the Greek also has a similar meaning, A)polluon, and it can be seen that it is very close to the Greek word for Apollo. Apollo, next to Zeus, was one of the top demons involved in the attack on the human race in Genesis chapter six, beni ha Elohim, which means sons of God, a technical word used only for angels. A)ppolluon is very close to that, it is taken from the verb a)pollumi which means to destroy. So his name in the Greek means destruction or, even a better translation, exterminator. In that case Apollyon, as we call it in the English, is simply a participle meaning the exterminator. In the Hebrew he is called destruction; in the Greek he is called the exterminator. Next to Satan he is the highest-ranking demon out of millions of demons who followed Satan is the prehistoric angelic conflict.

Translation of verse 11, “They have a king [commanding general] over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in the Hebrew is Abaddon [destruction], while his name in the Greek is called Apollyon [exterminator].”

Verse 12, we have the woe count. “One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.”

We start out with the ordinal mia, translated “one.” The ordinal is also dealing with succession, “One woe [o)uai]”. With it we have the aorist active indicative of the verb a)perxomai which means “is past,” “Behold, one woe is past,” the attack of the first demon assault army, “behold two woes are still coming after these things.” We have the present active indicative this time of e)rxomai, translated “are coming,” and then, “after these things.”

Principle

1. By way of anticipation there are two demon assault armies who are to attack at the end of the Tribulation; three altogether but three in this context.

2. The attack of the second demon army is synonymous with the sixth trumpet judgment, the second woe. The attack of the third demon assault army is the third woe, the seventh trumpet.

3, While the first demon assault army under the command of Abaddon is limited in its target function to torture, the second demon assault army group under the command of four demon generals, verse 15, is a killer army.

4. The third woe, which is the seventh trumpet judgment, is mentioned first in Revelation 11:15 but the actual attack does not occur until 12:17.

5. The third demon assault army is led by Satan himself. It is the elite guard army and the target is all the Jews of the world.

6. The bivouac of each demon army is also noted. For example, the first demon assault army is bivouacked in the abyss and are not allowed on planet earth yet. The second demon assault army is under the Euphrates river and the third is located in the second heaven and will be forced out of heaven by an army of elect angels under the command of Michael.

7. Satan’s attack does not terminate with these woes or demon army offensives. This is merely the account of demon army attacks.

8. Next, Satan uses people to attack Tribulational believers, like the two great dictators of Revelation chapter thirteen, but the Lord counterattacks in Revelation chapter fourteen.

9. Then comes the judgment of the seven plagues or the seven drinking goblets of chapters fifteen and sixteen.

10. After this comes Satan’s final attack against the human race, the attack from ecumenical religion, chapters seventeen and eighteen. Then comes the second advent of Christ in chapter nineteen.

There is a parenthesis in Revelation 10:1 through 11:14. Then there is the third woe from 11:15 through 12:17. This is followed by the great attack of Satan from the two great dictators of chapter thirteen. The Lord’s counterattack is in chapter 14 followed by the drinking goblet judgements in chapters 15 and 16. Satan’s trump card, his final great attack, is the attack of ecumenical religion in chapters 17 and 18. Then comes the second advent in chapter 19. Therefore the Satanic attacks upon mankind during the Tribulation are varied: three demon assault armies, two human dictators. But our Lord counter attacks by the resuscitated Moses and Elijah in chapter 11:1-14, plus the intensification of evangelism in chapter 14, plus the judgements of chapters 15 and 16. But the greatest of all of Satan’s attacks does not come from direct demon assault, it comes from demon inspired religion, chapters 17 and 18.

Principle

1. The real problem with the first two woes of this chapter is the fact that Satan uses his demon assault armies to destroy his own servants in the human race, believers and unbelievers living in the cosmic system.

2. While it does not make sense to us and appears incompatible with the genius of Satan a study of the cosmic system helps us to understand the principle involved.

3. Here is the first principle involved, one that applies to you and to me right now: arrogance has no loyalty to arrogance. Believers and unbelievers in the cosmic system are arrogant. Satan, the inventor of the cosmic system, is arrogant. Therefore, sooner or later, arrogant people having no capacity for love and no integrity seek to destroy those in their periphery.

4. Loyalty demands integrity and arrogance is devoid of integrity.

5. Those who live and reside in the cosmic system either lose in the first place, or they do not possess in the second place, integrity. Hence, the arrogance of the cosmic system cancels integrity, honour, virtue, capacity for love, capacity for friendship, capacity to command.

6. In the first two woes Satan launches two hard-core demon assault armies against his own servants. Once Satan is confined to this earth and no longer has access to heaven and the presence of God, which he has at the present time, he demonstrates with all of his genius and great ability the principle of no capacity to command, no capacity to rule, no executive ability. He is going to leave his kingdom, the earth, in shambles before Christ returns.

7. The first demon assault army is commanded by Abaddon, the second is commanded by four angels. In the third woe Satan leads his own imperial guard, the third demon assault army, his last reserve. It will be against Jews, and many of those Jews are his own servants.

Principle

1. Even though unbelievers and believers alike may serve Satan well through residence and function in the cosmic system, when Satan no longer has any use for them they will not only be discarded, they will be destroyed.

2. Human beings who live in the cosmic system use exactly the same pattern. Those living in the cosmic system, believer or unbeliever who have positions of authority and possess at the same time arrogance, means lack of virtue, lack of honour, lack of capacity for love or loyalty, and it also means ruthlessness. Therefore, such leadership lacks sensitivity, a sense of responsibility for those under their command or supervision or responsibility.

3. Lacking integrity and virtue they possess neither loyalty no gratitude, and under pressure they either ignore or fail to appreciate loyal service from their subordinates.

4. Many Christians have been utterly shocked by executives, senior officers, supervisors, whose promotion and success resulted from their own hard work and faithful service, are discarded.

5. Yet, when they were no longer useful or a source of some petty pressure or appeared to jeopardise their own exalted position, then they turned on faithful subordinates and persecuted them out of the organisation.

6. This happens in business, professional organisations, political organisations, social, religious and cultural organisations, wherever any arrogant leadership exists.

7. Arrogant leadership knows no loyalty to faithful subordinates, has little appreciation for past service. Consequently, service to Satan in the cosmic system is not protection from Satan’s pettiness and vindictiveness, as illustrated at the end of the Tribulation by the violent assault of theses demon armies.

The second woe is synonymous with the sixth trumpet. It is the invasion from under the Euphrates river, Revelation 9:13-21. We are now going to meet the second demon assault army group. It is not an army but an army group.

Translation of verse 13: “Then the sixth angel [a pur sui vant messenger from the angelic college of heralds] sounded his trumpet, and I heard one voice from the horns of the golden altar which is before God.”

The golden altar is analogous to the golden altar of incense which was in the tabernacle and the temple, and it represents the imprecatory prayers of the Tribulational saints which we studied in chapter 6:9-12. It reminds us one again that all trumpet judgements are administered in answer to the imprecatory prayers of Tribulational believers. This explains the dilemma of how Satan’s demon assault armies attack, torture and destroy Satan’s human servants who have been carrying out his will faithfully in the cosmic system during the Tribulation. These servants, of course, are both believer and unbeliever. The four horns of the golden altar reminds us that all answers to prayer, including imprecatory prayers, are related to the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. No animal sacrifice is ever tied to the golden altar, only to the brass altar. But each one of those horns is there to demonstrate the fact that all prayer is answered because Christ went to the cross and took our place. We have entered into a relationship with God through faith in Christ which gives us the privilege and the opportunity of answered prayer. So no animal sacrifices are going to be tied down there. The point is that the Lamb of God has already gone to the cross and that is the basis for answered prayer in the Church Age as well as in the Tribulation.

“and I heard one voice,” this is the voice of the pur sui vant officer of Revelation 8:3. He has cherub rank in the college of heralds. He answers from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God. The one voice, then, belongs to cherub-ranked angel who commands the trumpeters. The trumpeters are pur sui vant messengers but the one who commands them is a pur sui vant officer. Note that the divine administration follows the chain of command. It goes from God to the flying eagle, he herald of Revelation 8:13, the fourth herald of 4:7 who is the seraph in the college of heralds, he is in charge of the three woes. From the herald the command is relayed to the altar and the officer who commands the pur sui vant messengers.

It is a reminder by way of application to us of a verse of scripture found in 1 Corinthians 14, “Let all things be done decently and in order.” Administratively there is no excuse for being sloppy in the administering of spiritual affairs of the local church and everything related to it. God uses good administration and He follows a chain of command in the administration of these judgements.

Verse 14, the order to release the commanders of the second demon assault army group. The recipient of the order is the pur sui vant messenger. He is the lowest rank in the college of heralds. The present active participle is the basis for communicating the order, and legw is the participle form, “And he gave the order,” rather than “And he said.” The descriptive present tense indicates what is now going on at that moment. The active voice: the pur sui vant officer commanding the seven pur sui vant messengers who have the seven trumpets produces the action. Ordinarily legw means to say, to speak, to communicate, but in this context it connotes giving an order. The circumstantial participle is translated like a finite verb with the conjunction “and.” “And he gave the order to the sixth angel who had the trumpet.”

We have the aorist active imperative of the verb luw which means release. It is the command to release demon princes, a command which has been restrained up until now and will be until the middle of the Tribulation. The command is restrained because the only demons who are allowed to operate on planet earth at the present time are disembodied spirits who cannot do violence to the human race. Physical violence directly will not occur until the end of the Tribulation. This command is a mandate to do violence, starting with the four demon generals, each of whom commands a great demon assault army, “Release the four angels.” The ingressive aorist tense contemplates the action of the verb at its beginning. Once you release them they will know what to do. They will attack the human race. The active voice: the pur sui vant messenger in charge of the administration of the sixth trumpet judgment produces the action. This is the imperative mood of command. With it we have an articular present passive participle from the verb dew which means to bind, to put in prison, to incarcerate, to imprison. It is translated “who have been incarcerated.” These demon armies all have bodies, they have weapons systems, they have armour, they have uniforms and patches; they have a full military organisation. They are not permitted on planet earth at this time. The definite article in the participle is used for a relative pronoun whose antecedent is the four demon general officers who command each one a demon army in the army group. The perfect tense is intensive for a completed action of incarceration with emphasis on the existing state intensified. They are held back, there is no way they can counter the power of God. Their prison is locked and there is no way they can come out until God permits it. These four demon generals have been in prison for a very long time, during the entire course of human history. Obviously, they were imprisoned for something which happened in the prehistoric angelic conflict before man was created. The passive voice: the four demon general officers receive the action of the verb in prehistoric angelic conflict. The incarceration of these high-ranking demons is not without precedent since Satan himself will serve a prison sentence of a thousand years between the second advent of Christ and the Gog and Magog revolution. This is a complementary participle, it completes the idea of action expressed in the main verb.

With this we have a prepositional phrase, e)pi plus a number of words. With e)pi we have the accusative case which emphasises position. Here we have e)pi plus the definite article de, and then we have potamoj, the word for river. The entire phrase says “at the great river Euphrates.”

So the entire translation would be: “And he [the pur sui vant officer of cherub rank] gave the order to the sixth angel [the pur sui vant messenger in the angelic college of heralds] who had the sixth trumpet, Release the four angels [the demon army commanders] who have been incarcerated at the great Euphrates river.”

The Euphrates river is 1700 miles long. In the ancient world it was the boundary between the land of Israel, which is given in the Palestinian covenant, and Gentile nations. The boundary was stated in Genesis 15:18 and Joshua 1:4. It is also the boundary between the Roman empire and the Parthian or Persian empire at the time of writing the book of Revelation. The preposition e)pi does not infer where along the river they were incarcerated or whether it is along the entire 1700 miles of the river below the surface. In keeping with the context of Hades below the surface of the earth it is assumed that their prison is underneath the Euphrates and the 1700 miles of river would also be long enough to provide a barracks for 200-million demons. These are demons with bodies. In essence, the 1700-mile length of the Euphrates is a landmark for many things, including the barracks where this army group is presently stationed. Note that the first order from the pur sui vant officer of cherub rank to the pur sui vant messenger holding the sixth trumpet is to release the general officers. It is not to release the army, they will do that. So fierce was this army group that it was imprisoned in a separate place from the demons who are in Tartarus. This is a very hard-core search and destroy army group. The river Euphrates is one of the four rivers which flowed from the garden of Eden, hence a river of great significance.

Verse 15, the time and the objective of the second demon assault army. We have the sequential use of the conjunction kai which we translate “then,” “then the four angels [the demon army commanders] were released,” the aorist passive indicative of that same verb luw. The culminative aorist tense views the release of the four demon generals in its entirety but it regards it from the viewpoint of existing results, the formation of the second demon assault army group. The passive voice: the four demon generals receive the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of the formation of the second demon assault army group and the release of the four demon generals is the planning stage of their campaign. Their objective is stated at the end of the verse. They are released first in order that they might put into operation their plan and issue the necessary orders for the assault on that part of the human race which at that time will live in the cosmic system. There will only be one exception: certain demon-possessed unbelievers will be exempted from their attack. The reason is because they are going to make the final attack in the Tribulation against God’s plan. That final attack will be religion.

Next we have D-day, the time of the attack. This is a relative clause to be inserted after the subject, the four angels. The relative clause is formed from the articular present passive participle of the verb e)toimazw which means to prepare, “and the four angels who have been prepared.” They have kept in a state of readiness, they have a plan which can go into operation immediately. The definite article is used for a relative pronoun whose antecedent is the four demon generals. The perfect tense is the intensive perfect indicating a past completed action with a state of readiness or red alert intensified. The passive voice: the demon generals receive the action of the verb for they have been prepared by God in the prehistoric angelic conflict for the hour of their attack. The participle is complimentary, it completes the action expressed in the main verb.

Notice the prepositional phrase, e)ij plus the accusative of o(ra for a specific time, right down to the second, “for this hour,” the hour of the attack. This hour is permitted by God and it falls on exactly the right day, month and year. Hence we have the ascensive use of kai and we translate it “even the day.”

So we have so far: “Then the four angels [the demon generals] who had been kept in a state of readiness for this hour, and day, and month, and year, were released.”

That brings us to the end of the verse where we have a purpose clause, the purpose of the attack, i(na plus the subjunctive mood, “in order that.” Then the present active subjunctive of the verb a)pokteinw which means to kill, “in order that they might kill.” The futuristic present tense denotes an event which has not yet occurred but is regarded as so certain that in thought it may be contemplated as already occurring. The active voice: the second demon assault army produces the action of the verb under the command of these four demon generals. The subjunctive mood is used to form the purpose clause with i(na. The potential subjunctive also implies a future reference qualified by the element of contingency. Contingency is confined to a year, a month, a day, and hour in the Tribulation when the attack is launched. The subjunctive means we are in the Church Age, it cannot happen now. We in the Church Age will never face a demon in a body. It is sometime after the middle of the Tribulation at a specific time that God permits this to occur and it is all is related, of course, to imprecatory prayers, the nature of the Tribulation, the entire situation. A point to remember is that nothing can happen in history apart from divine consent; nothing can happen to you apart from divine consent. The bad things that generally happen to you have nothing to do, however, with divine consent, they have to do with your own volition. We make our own misery by the use of our own volition in the cosmic system and under the principle of demon influence.

“that they might kill a third of mankind.” Those killed by these four demon armies in one army group are only those who reside in the cosmic system, believers and unbelievers. There is one exception as far as God is concerned: believers who are positive toward doctrine have the wall of fire and they are protected. The one exception in the demon attack plan as far as Satan is concerned is the demon-possessed persons mentioned in the last two verses of this chapter.

Corrected translation: “Then the four angels [demon generals] who had been kept in a state of readiness for this hour, and day, and month, and year, were released in order that they might kill one third of mankind.”

Principle

1. While demons in past human history have attacked the human race the only visible attack occurred in the antediluvian civilisation. It was a genetic attack; it was a demon invasion through sex.

2. There is in the future the direct assault on the human race by demon armies with bodies. They will be visible. They will not be operational until after the middle of the Tribulation, after Satan is cast out of heaven.

3. Once Satan is confined to the earth and no longer has access to heaven he has no need for the majority of those human servants who serve him in the cosmic system, believers and unbelievers. Therefore Satan uses this second assault army group to destroy his own human servants.

It should be pointed out that when it says that they are going to kill one third of mankind, that is the one third in existence in the last half of the Tribulation. We have already studied the fourth horseman of the apocalypse called death, and we have seen that he is going to wipe out one quarter of the population in the first half of the Tribulation. The population in the second half of the Tribulation, is what is left after one quarter of the world’s population is wiped out in the first half of the Tribulation.

4. Certain demon-possessed unbelievers will survive this attack but they do not change their attitude toward demon possession. They had a warning in the first demon assault army. For five months torture gives everyone a chance to make the right decision. We have already seen how that under that torture they could break out and get away from that five months of demon torture. This is grace before judgment, God’s grace opportunity. But no one makes a decision, in fact they go the opposite way with their decision.

This brings us to a point: Once you get away from doctrine, once you become involved in the cosmic system, once you are tainted with that arrogance brush, you are incapable of making good decisions. The decisions we make can destroy us so quickly and we do it ourselves to ourselves. Bad decisions build scar tissue on the soul and when you get so much scar tissue on the soul you lose the motivation, the desire, to reverse the course. Too many negative decisions made from your own free will cannot be reversed even in the face of awful judgment.

One of the great principles of military warfare is the ability to move troops by different routes to a designated spot and concentrate them so that when they make the attack in the tactical situation on the battlefield they have the most troops present. This is a very old principle and one that has determined success and failure in many campaigns of history. Concentration of troops becomes a very important principle in modern warfare and with the use of armoured forces concentration is even more of an issue. The speed with which modern armies move makes that possible. This is exactly the problem that Satan faces today in the angelic conflict; his forces are scattered. They are scattered in heaven because Satan still has access to heaven; they are scattered throughout planet earth and called demons; they are also bivouacked in the heart of the earth in Hades, under the Euphrates and other places that we have noted in this book of Revelation. So today the full fury of demonic attack is not apparent to us. Nevertheless by demon possession and demon influence we certainly, even in this 20th century, have seen a great deal of tragedy in many many difficulties. The last half of the Tribulation is a time of great concentration of demon armies and with that concentration comes the greatest of all demon attacks.

Verse 16 — we have the nominative singular subject of a)riqmoj, “number.” With this we have a sequential and intensive conjunction kai, translated “in fact,” “In fact the number.” Then to show that we are talking about the army group rather than one army we have the possessive genitive plural from strateuma, which means “army.” The corrected translation would read: “In fact the number of the armies of cavalry.” The word for cavalry is a genitive of description from i(ppikoj, and it means cavalry because at the time in which the Bible was written that was the mobile force in armies. Today it would be comparable to our armoured forces. Be we will stay with the translation “cavalry,” remembering that this means mobility, firepower and shock, and would be comparable to armoured forces today.

“In fact the number of the armies of cavalry is,” and then literally from the Greek it says, “twenty thousand times ten thousand.” That is 200,000,000 and is the way we will translate it, “two hundred million.” Then he adds the aorist active indicative from the verb a)kouw. This is a constative aorist contemplating the action of the verb in its entirety. The active voice: the apostle John produces the action. The indicative mood is declarative for the fact that while he could not see 200,000,000 at one time, he could hear them and he was so instructed as to their number, “I heard their number.” The apostle John could not and did not count them, the number was furnished for him. Because of the verbal plenary inspiration of the scripture the number is accurate. The size of the army group is fantastic. Four demon generals imply four demon armies in the army group. If the armies are divided equally among the four demon generals that means that each one had 50,000,000 demons assigned to him. These are shock troops, not invisible demons such as we have in the world today which are disembodied spirits and invisible. These are very visible and they possess bodies.

Verse 17, the description of the second demon assault army group is given. The book of Revelation is literal, not spiritual. The only time that you can take anything from a spiritual standpoint is when analogies are set up. The word often for setting up analogies is the Greek word o(j, translated “like” or “similar to.” Therefore the analogy helps with the interpretation. But apart from analogies everything is literal. This is a literal army group of 200,000,000. “Greater is He that is in you that he that is in the word” is always a source of encouragement to us when we are studying these things.

We begin by noting, then, the connective use of the conjunction kai plus the adverb o(utoj, and kai plus o(utoj means “like this,” “and so.” “And so” means, “Look, you are now going to have some analogies.” You can’t take the analogy literally, it means something; it stands for something. “And so I saw in the vision the horses and their riders.” In other words, from the previous verse he didn’t see all of the 200,000,000 but he saw enough of them pass in review and he knows exactly what they are like. This is a literal army, an army that will attack in the future.

He does spend a good deal of time on the breastplates, “each having,” present active participle of e)xw, indicating the fact that one is issued to each; “breastplates,” the accusative plural direct object from the noun qorac. This is the old word for breastplate and it is used even in medicine today. With this we have the accusative plural adjective purinoj, which actually means “red,” it is the colour of fire. Also another word is brought in, u(akinqoj. This reference to the flower “hyacinth” originated from the blood of Hyacinthus a young Spartan who was accidentally killed by Apollo. The blood which flowed to the ground and stained the herbage was converted into the flower of that name. So it comes to mean “blue.” Apollo is not a god but a demon, so there is a demon connotation in hyacinth, but here it is only the colour that is important. The colour of the breastplate is red, blue, and then the next word is the accusative plural qeiwdhj which means sulphurous, but here it refers to the colour of yellow.

It is fascinating that we have three colours on the breastplate. Instead of having a military patch as did the first demon army, this demon army group has three colours on their breastplates. In the time in which the Bible was written that meant a distinguishing insignia for a military organisation. The three colours on the breastplates of the second demon assault army group is significant to us, it means combat arms. Certainly that is the connotation here. Undoubtedly these colours go far beyond any relationship with modern combat arms, except that the fact remain the same: this is the killing army group and combat arms is extremely important in it. This is an army strictly of combat arms and the three colours of the breastplate indicates simply the distinctive insignia of this army group. Furthermore they combine in their attack features of combat arms. We will see four weapons systems used by this great army group.

We begin now with the heads of the horses, “like the heads of lions.” It is the comparative particle which tells us that this is not a literal lion’s head on a horse. W(j simply indicates an analogy, and the analogy is to the fact that a lion has tremendous teeth. But that isn’t even important, it is the jaw muscle that is important. The lion has a phenomenal jaw muscle. This is a comparative connotation and it has the idea of power. The whole point is that the lion’s head is always in front of the lion, and when he attacks he never backs into his victims! When that is understood it is understood that this is an assault group that attacks straight ahead with great success, with great power, and with great shock. You have mobility, power and shock altogether.

Next, from this, we have also the present middle indicative of the verb e)kporeuomai, the word that means to go out, to issue. It would be used of firing a weapons system and whatever comes out of the weapons system, whatever hits. The pictorial present tense presents to the mind a picture of the emission from the mouths of the horses as a process of occurrence in attack. The middle voice views the subject as participating in the outcome or the action of the verb. The active voice would emphasise the action; the middle voice emphasises the subject or the agent producing the action. In other words, the middle voice in the Greek relates the action more intimately to the subject. This is an indirect middle in which emphasis is placed on the agent as producing the action and therefore great emphasis on the attack of this demon assault army group. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality.

Three things are emitted from the mouth of the horses whose heads are like lions. The first is called pur, “fire.” The second one is called kapnoj, “smoke.” The third is qeion, “sulphur.” So fire, smoke and sulphur are emitted from their mouths.

Corrected translation: “And so I saw in the vision the horses and their [demon] riders, each having breastplates the colour of fire, hyacinth [blue], and sulphur [yellow]: and the heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions; and fire plus smoke and sulphur came out of their mouths.”

It is tempting to relate sulphur to gun powder, hence, weaponry designed to kill. The fire is quite obvious. In modern warfare it would be comparable to flame-throwers, napalm. The smoke certainly connotes chemical warfare. These are killing agents because they are called plagues in the next verse, the word plhgh means a killer. The tendency in modern warfare is toward armoured forces and mechanised infantry. By way of anticipation, the demon assault army group takes no prisoners. The casualty list in the next verse is one third of the world’s population in the last half of the Tribulation. The casualty list includes only those members of the human race who are living in the cosmic system.

Verse 18, we have the weaponry of the second demon assault army. This is found on both verses 18 and 19. The human casualties are mentioned in the first part of verse eighteen. Notice we have the words “fire” and “smoke,” and then the word “brimstone” is used in the King James version. The word “brimstone” is the Greek word for sulphur.

The human casualties are called tritoj, which means a third, one third of the human race in the last half of the Tribulation. And it is called the human race, the descriptive genitive of the noun a)nqrwpoj which means mankind. It is the generic word for mankind. They “were killed,” the aorist passive indicative of the verb a)pokteinw. It is an interesting principle because most people today don’t go out and kill someone when they cannot get their own way. Under the laws of divine establishment life is sacred and life must continue until the Lord takes people out through physical death. The sacredness of human life and property and the sacredness of your privacy are the very foundation stones for the function of human volition in the angelic conflict. You will note that it is Satan who does not regard the laws of divine establishment and this demon assault army group will simply and completely ignore those principles. This demon army has one objective and that is to kill everyone and everything which is a target in the cosmic system. A)pokteinw in the aorist tense is a constative aorist which contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety. Hence, this was the total casualty list from this one army only. The passive voice: one third of the human race in the cosmic system receives the action of the verb, killed by the attack of the second demon assault army group. The declarative indicative represents the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality, future reality at the end of the Tribulation. Again, this killing of one third of the population of the world is not to be confused with the fourth horseman of the apocalypse. He functioned in the first half of the Tribulation; this army functions in the last half. This attack is strictly from the second demon assault army group and the casualties result from the weaponry which they use. There are no prisoners on the casualty list because the dead are already prisoners or the servants of Satan through their residence and function in the cosmic system. All casualties are killed in action.

Protected from this demon army group are those believers who are positive toward Bible doctrine and who have gained spiritual maturity through maximum doctrine resident in the soul. They are protected by the wall of fire, that same wall of fire which protects us when we live in the divine dynasphere. But these believers and unbelievers living in the cosmic system are victims, they are already the prisoners of Satan. Satan kills his prisoners. This is not, again, one third of people in the cosmic system who are slaughtered but one third of the population, indicating the tremendous number of people who are in the cosmic system.

Notice the final prepositional phrase in this part, a)po plus treij plus plhgh. This is correctly translated, “from these three plagues [or weapons systems],” a)po plus the ablative of means. Ordinarily the instrumental case in the Greek is used to express means, but when the means is accompanied by the impact of origin then the ablative is used. Then we have the three weapons systems mentioned again: fire, connoting flame throwers and napalm; smoke, connoting chemical warfare attacks; sulphur connoting the use of conventional weapons.

Verse 19, the fourth weapons system is given. The King James version translation is incorrect. The correct translation is: “For the power of the horses is in their mouths and their tails.” The power of the horses ‘is,’ the present active indicative of e)imi, “keeps on being.” These weapons systems remain constant. The present tense is a progressive present denoting action in a state of persistence, hence linear aktionsart. The active voice: this is the power or the authority to kill. The indicative is a declarative for a statement of fact. Altogether there are four weapons systems, three of which we have noted. Now “in their tails.” You do not come up behind these “tanks,” they are also operational in the rear.

So we have: “for their tails were like snakes, having heads.” Notice the word “like.” This is not a tail with a snake having heads. This language is all to convey information; “and with them they cause pain,” the present active indicative of the verb a)dikew, which means to do harm but also to cause pain. The word for a snake’s head here refers to a poisonous snake head. To be struck by a poisonous snake is a very painful thing and that is the idea in mind here. This is not a literal snake it is simply a weapons system.

In anticipation of the next verse there are some cases of demon possession, unbelievers who are protected from the attack of this army group. Hence, some cases of demon possession do provide immunity and the last two verse in this chapter will provide information on this principle. The reason why these are immune is because they will be involved in the greatest of all attacks. They will be involved in the last Satanic attack in history, human beings against human beings, the attack of religion. Satan’s greatest power isn’t even in demonology as such, it is in religion; religion is the devil’s ace trump.

We now begin to note the results of the attacks from the demon assault armies: the arrogance of the cosmic survivors. The survivors of this attack, as far as the cosmic system is concerned, are certain demon-possessed people. These people have been reserved for a special operation just before the second advent. That operation has to do with religion; it is still Satan’s greatest attack, greater than demon activity, greater than anything else, it is the attack of man on man.

In verse 20 we have the nominative plural definite article, followed by the aorist passive indicative. The definite article is simply used as the relative pronoun, o(i. With this we have the aorist passive indicative of a)pokteinw which means to kill. It is translated, “And the rest of mankind who were not killed.” The culminative aorist tense views the attack of the second demon army group in its entirety. That means all of the four weapons systems we have noted, all of the various concepts with regard to that attack. But it regards it from the viewpoint of existing results. Certain demon-possessed unbelievers were definitely not killed. The passive voice: the demon possessed survivors receive the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative representing the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality. The reality is that Satan deliberately spares some of his own servants, certain ones who are demon-possessed and who are going to form a special human attack against man in the form of religion. This would imply, then, that residents under demon possession in the cosmic system will be the chief targets for this attack.

“And the rest of mankind [certain demon-possessed unbelievers living in the cosmic system] who were not killed in these plagues,” and again we have e)n plus the instrumental of plhgh, and it should be translated “by these plagues.”

Certain types of demon possession were made immune to the attack of the second demon assault army group, and this was by mandate from Satan. Certain types of demon possession were necessary for Satan’s human attack on the human race just before the second advent. While millions of believers and unbelievers under demon influence were slaughtered by the weapons systems of the second demon assault army group, there were those who were spared and these are hard-core demon-possessed people whose modus operandi includes idolatry, religion, the phallic cult. This is the reason why they were spared.

The attitude of the demon-possessed survivors is expressed in the negative conjunction o)ude, translated “did not even.” With that we have the aorist active indicative of the verb metanoew which means a change of mind. The old English translates it “repent,” but it means a change of mind, change of thinking, a reversal of a decision. We will translate it: “also they did not change their minds.” The constative aorist tense contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety. The inconsistency of Satan and the power of God did not even phase these demon-possessed types, and having made hundreds of wrong decisions they now have locked-in negative volition, a locked-in negative attitude toward any divine appeal, either through grace and doctrine communicated to them or maximum divine discipline which is administered in their direction. This aorist tense gathers up the entire process by which these people became hard-core religionists. The active voice: certain demon-possessed unbelievers, very hard-core, produce the action of the verb. The declarative indicative mood represents the verbal idea from the viewpoint of reality. Man can make so many bad decisions from a position of weakness, he can lose all concept of any personal sense of destiny, and having lost all of these things he finally makes decision after decision which produces scar tissue of the soul. The scar tissue of the soul becomes locked-in negative volition.

Then we have the preposition e)k plus the ablative of e)rgon, “about the works of their hands” or “because of the works of their hands.”

“And the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues, they did not even change their minds about the works of their hands.”

The works of their hands is the manufacturing of idols and the modus operandi of the phallic cult which includes human sacrifice. Then we have a purpose clause indicating that idolatry is the worship of demons. And it is a negative purpose clause, it is introduced with the conjunction i(na plus the negative mh. And with it we have the future active indicative of the verb proskunew which means to worship, “so that they did not stop worshipping.” The word “stop” comes from the negative mh. The future tense is a progressive future, plus the negative mh, or better, the imperative future plus the negative mh which indicates that they did not stop what they had been doing. They had been making decisions from a position of weakness, they had lost all personal sense of destiny, and therefore they had this continued. The active voice is going to take some explaining. The active voice always means the subject produces the action of the verb.

1. Demon-possessed unbelievers of the Tribulation who survive the attack of the second demon assault army group produce the action of the verb by refusing to be delivered through faith in Christ. Any one of these people whom Satan had spared to be used at the end of the Tribulation could have changed his mind and believed in Christ. They are living in the cosmic system.

2. Bona fide exorcism does not exist, except in the case of our Lord’s ministry during His first advent, and that was because demon-possessed people used their volition to come to our Lord Jesus Christ or He spotted in the temple their volition. He didn’t cast out all the demons, only where there was positive volition, a desire for the solution. He gave the disciples and several of the apostles the power to exorcise demons. The true gift of exorcism does not exist today.

3. There is no exorcism apart from positive volition on the part of the one who is demon-possessed. Today, in all cases, where the demon-possessed person loses the demons it is through making one decision, the decision to believe in Jesus Christ. That decision removes the demon from that person and never again can that person be demon-possessed, that person’s body is now the temple of the Holy Spirit. Exorcism is not necessary, only the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

4. From their own free will the demon-possessed came to Jesus Christ and recognised His power to deliver them, as illustrated by Mark 1:24, 34; 5:7.

5. When it says that Jesus cast out demons with a word, as it does in Matthew 8:16, it was a word of His authority not some ritualistic incantation or magical formula.

6. The Pharisees implied that Jesus cast out demons through the power of Beelzebub the prince of demons, the one in command of all demon undercover operations — Matthew 12:24.

7. This was the popular theory, that the way to cast out demons was to have some magical formula or ritualistic incantation by which one entered into an alliance with Beelzebub.

8. But Jesus corrected this myth by pointing out that demons were evil, and control over demons cannot come by compromising with evil but by opposing evil by the power of God. The power of God for deliverance from demons is twofold is this dispensation of the completed canon of scripture, the Church Age: to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, for the unbeliever; when out of fellowship, to rebound. Any prolonged stay inside the cosmic system will inevitably produce demon influence among believers.

9. Our Lord did not even cast out demons through His own divine power but inside the prototype divine dynasphere He used the power of God the Holy Spirit at gate one. This is taught in Matthew 12:28, “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God [and I do, 1st class condition] then the kingdom of God has come to you.” He therefore made it clear He did not even use His own divine power to cast out demons, a power He could have used. But the fact that He did this in His humanity in the filling of the Spirit, inside the prototype divine dynasphere, was the great issue.

10. Jewish exorcists alleged to cast out demons through spells and incantations. However, exorcism does not occur except in two cases in any time of recent history, and that is the ministry of our Lord and the apostles in opposition to evil. Exorcism does occur in the evil function of operation mole in which Beelzebub withdraws demons to establish the credentials of false prophets, Satanic evangelists, and even Satanic pastors.

A second principle: “they did not stop worshipping”

1. Our Lord Jesus Christ and the apostles had the power to cast out demons, but only if the subject was positive. No one has ever been able to cast out demons where the subject was negative.

2. Today deliverance from demon possession or demon influence can only occur where the subject of his own free will departs from the cosmic system.

3. For the believer to depart from the cosmic system he must make the positive decision to rebound. Such rebound is the believer’s repentance.

4. For the unbeliever to depart from the cosmic system he must make the positive decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, receiving Him as his personal saviour.

5. The only hope for Tribulational persons in the cosmic system is the same positive volition. The unbeliever can be delivered by trusting in Christ. The subject of our two verses is the unbeliever. These are unbelievers who did not repent (receive Christ as their saviour).

Finally, we have the declarative indicative mood for the reality of demon possession — possessed unbelievers involved in a religious activity called idolatry, involved by their own positive volition toward these things and toward the cosmic system. This is the declarative indicative for the reality that unbelievers have developed so much scar tissue of the soul that they have locked-in negative volition.

Next we have the accusative plural direct object from the noun daimonion, one of several Greek words for demons. It refers to fallen angels and that is why it is transliterated “demons”. It also refers to divinities or gods, like the gods of Mount Olympus, the gods of the Canaanites, which were always demons. The other Greek noun which is very similar is daimwn. Both daimonion and daimwn were Greek words used to denote the gods of polytheistic idolatrous worship. Disembodied demons were called in Classical Greek “shades.” They were the ones who had gone to Hades or the underworld. While daimon covers all categories of demons the word we have in this passage is daimonion, it refers to a category or specific group within the field of demons. Daimwn can refer to either disembodied spirits which are invisible or visible demons such as the ones in Genesis chapter six, beni ha Elohim, translated “sons of God,” but that is not a good translation, it should be translated “the sons of the gods.” The sons of the gods are a technical group of people, the descendants of the Titans of which there are thirteen.

Here we have the word daimonion which only refers to a specific category, and with the genetic use of the definite article, ta, it refers to invisible demons, disembodied spirits of fallen angels which seek to invade the body of idolaters. Idolatry is giving positive volition to demon possession. The demons worshipped by idolaters are, again, a certain category of disembodied spirits. They once had bodies in antediluvian times, now they are disembodied spirits. So they did not stop worshipping the demons; and then a connective kai, and then the accusative plural direct object from the e)idwlon, translated “idols.”

So far we have: “And the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues, they did not even change their minds about the works of their hands [the manufacture of idols, the modus operandi of the phallic cult, the function of human sacrifice], so that they did not stop worshipping demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of bronze, and of stone, and of wood: idols which are not able to see, or hear, or walk.”

While these idols cannot see, hear, or walk they are the place for establishing demon possession. The worship of an idol of the positive volition for demon possession. Demons cluster around idols and invade the bodies of the worshippers in idolatry. Idolatry, therefore, means demonism. In fact, idolatry for the unbeliever is the quickest road to demon possession.

Leviticus 17:7 — “And they shall no longer offer their sacrifices to the goat demon [or saters] to whom the prostitute themselves [the function of the phallic cult]; Deuteronomy 32:16,17, “They angered him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to demons who are not God; to gods [demons] they have not known, gods who recently appeared”; Psalm 106:34-39, “They did not destroy the peoples [during the invasion of Canaan] as the Lord had commanded them: but they mingled with the nations, they adopted their customs. They worshipped their idols which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons, they spilled innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan: and the land was polluted with their blood [human sacrifice, one of the great characteristics of demon possession]. They defiled themselves by what they did, by their deeds they played the whore.”

Idolatry is a basic contact with demons for idolatry gives human volition an opportunity to allow demons to order the bodies of the ones involved, that is, if they are unbelievers. Of course, this is all that demons can do today. The demons once invaded to bodies of women sexually. That was the genetic attack of the antediluvian civilisation. Now they invade bodies as disembodied spirits, and this is in many ways a greater attack outside of the concept of the true humanity of Christ. Demonism is always related to idols and to false doctrine — 1 Corinthians 10:14-21; 1 Timothy 4:1,2. Doctrines of demons are all found in the gates of cosmic two.

Volition, then, is still the issue in the angelic conflict. When human volition makes bad decisions resulting in demon influence or demon possession in the cosmic system only that same human volition can make the decision to get out of the cosmic system, which means deliverance from demon influence or demon possession.

The subject we are studying is a very technical one: the demon attacks upon the human race during the last half of the Tribulation. In each case of demon attack in human history God has provided a grace protection, He has provided whatever is necessary to avoid these things. No demon attack of any kind ever occurs apart from human consent. The key in getting involved is volition; the key in deliverance is volition.

“And the rest of mankind [certain demon-possessed unbelievers in idolatry/religion] who were not killed by these weapons systems did not even change their minds about the works of their hands [the manufacture of idols, the modus operandi of the phallic cult, great emphasis on the human sacrifices], so that they did not stop worshipping demons.”

We have spent time with the future active indicative of the verb proskunew, which means to worship. With the negative mh it means that they did not stop worshipping. This is an imperative future plus the negative, indicating that they did not stop what they were doing even though they had had every opportunity to stop. All they had to do to be delivered from their demon possession and their demon problems was simply to believe in Christ. One decision, but they wouldn’t change their minds.

Paul laid it on the line when he said in 1 Corinthians 10:14, “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” Why? “I speak to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless [the cup of the communion table], is this not the fellowship with God from the blood of Christ? [Of course it is] The bread which we break, is it not the fellowship from the source of the body of Christ? [Absolutely, yes] Because there is one loaf, we who are many are one body for we all share that one loaf. Look at client nation Israel: are not they who eat the sacrifices sharers of the altar? [Yes, they are] Therefore, what am I saying to you? that which is sacrificed to idols, is anything? [No] Is the idol anything? [No] But the sacrifices which pagans offer, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God: therefore I do not want you to become a sharer with demons. [That would be a believer under demon influence] You cannot drink the cup of the Lord [in the divine dynasphere], and the cup of demons [in the cosmic system]: you cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and the table of demons.” So believers have a choice. Either live in the divine dynasphere, and therefore the Eucharist will be meaningful, or live in the cosmic system and have communion with Satan himself.

Demon influence is related to false doctrine: 1 Timothy 4:1-2, “God the Holy Spirit explicitly communicates that in latter periods of time [between the first and second advents of Christ] some believers will [become apostate] revolt against doctrine, paying attention [concentrating on] to deceitful spirits, and the doctrines of demons; by means of hypocrisy from the source of human liars.”

Human volition is the issue in the angelic conflict. When human volition makes bad decisions resulting in demon influence or demon possession in the cosmic system only that same human volition can make decisions to get out of the cosmic system, which means deliverance from demon influence or demon possession. There are, again, no bona fide exorcists today. Only God has the power to cast out demons; only Satan has the power to withdraw demons. Even our Lord during the first advent did not cast out demons in the power of His deity, but He did through the power of the Spirit inside the prototype divine dynasphere. Alleged exorcists appear to have occasional success because Beelzebub withdraws the demon to give credibility to one of Satan’s servants. Every demon-possessed person who came to Christ had positive volition and the Lord cast out the demon, but there were literally thousands and hundreds of thousands of people living on the earth during our Lord’s ministry and the demons were not cast out; only those who came with positive volition.

Verse 21, the last verse in our passage begins with the connective conjunction kai, translated “furthermore.” Then comes the aorist active indicative of the verb metanoew plus the negative o)u, “Furthermore, they did not change their minds.” The constative aorist tense contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety. Over the entire period of the attacks by the two demon assault armies, a period of two woes or the fifth and sixth trumpets, they did not make one positive decision to break out of the cosmic system, they wallowed in the phallic cult. The active voice: cosmic residents of the Tribulation produce the action of the verb. The indicative mood is declarative for statement of future historical trend. They did not change their minds. Then the preposition e)k plus the ablative, which usually means from, or out from, or away from. Here it means “about.” With this we have the ablative or genitive of reference from fonoj which refers to human sacrifice, it means murders. They did not change their minds about their murders. This would be both human sacrifice and homicide since criminal activity is always related to religion as well as well as acts of fanatical violence.

Demon influence and demon possession is the cause of all violence in the human race. You have to be in the cosmic system to get violence. This concept includes the function of the old sin nature as the source of temptation, but the old sin nature cannot do anything reprehensible apart from human volition and human consent. Human volition is the source of all sin; the old sin nature is only the source of temptation. Once the decision is made to sin the person enters the cosmic system. He enters cosmic one through gate one. The believer living in the cosmic system is under demon influence. Every act of demon influence or demon possession involves the consent or volition of the individual involved. Both murder and human sacrifice occur in the phallic cult, both now and in the Tribulation.

Then the passage goes on to say, “nor about their sorceries.” This is occult activity, black magic, witchcraft, necromancy, all related to the drug addiction. The Greek word here is farmakeia. Many people get into demon possession as unbelievers or demon influence as believers through using their volition toward something where they make a decision from a position of weakness which eventually gets them into demon possession. One such decision, and the most common outside of idolatry and the phallic cult, is drug addiction. Drug addiction is related to demonism in every possible way. Next, “nor about their fornication,” the operation of the phallic cult, “nor about their thefts,” a demon-inspired criminality, a reference to stealing as a part of demonism. In other words, crime motivated by either demon possession or demon influence. Theft is an attack on the sacredness of property as the principle of freedom in resolving the angelic conflict, therefore related to demonism. Murder is an attack upon the sacredness of life as a principle of resolving the angelic conflict. Idolatry is antiestablishment, anti-gospel, anti-doctrinal, and therefore is often the key for many forms of demon worship.

Corrected translation of verse 21: “Furthermore, they did not change their minds about their murders [human sacrifice and homicide], nor about their sorceries [the occult activities], nor about their fornication [phallic cult], nor about their thefts [demon-inspired criminality].”

The Tribulation, then, illustrates man’s negative volition under demonism plus the extreme pressure of divine judgment. It started with demonism, it ends up with divine judgment, but neither pressure causes any change of attitude. The Millennium illustrates man’s negative volition under perfect environment and the blessing of prosperity from God. So we have a contrast. Man doesn’t change his mind under demon pressure; man doesn’t change his mind when God adds judgment to that demon pressure. In the Millennium man’s negative volition is related to perfect environment and the blessings and prosperity that come from God.

One decision to believe in Christ would deliver any of the unbelievers involved in verses 20 and 21, for these are unbelievers involved here. This is definitely demon possession. They are being reserved for the great attack of religion which comes just a few days before the second advent. But we have 2 Corinthians 4:3,4 to explain why they refuse, “And even if our gospel is veiled [obscure], it is veiled to those who are perishing [unbelievers in the cosmic system]: in whose case the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

One decision of Tribulational believers to rebound would deliver them from Satan’s cosmic system, as illustrated by Ephesians 6:10-17, “Finally [in the future], my brethren, keep on becoming strong in the Lord, even by means of the rule of his endowed power [the divine dynasphere]. Put on the full armour from God, that you may be able to hold your ground against the tactics of the devil [the cosmic system]. Because our combat [spiritual warfare] is not against blood and flesh [human beings], but against rulers [like Abaddon, Beelzebub, the demon generals], against authorities [demon commissioned officers], against world rulers of this darkness [evangelists for the cosmic system], against spirit forces of evil in the heavenlies. Therefore put on the whole armour from God in order that you may be able to resist in the evil day [the attack of Satan or demon influence in the cosmic system], even after we have done everything to stand [residence and function in the divine dynasphere]. Therefore stand fast, after you have buckled on your combat gear around your waist by means of doctrine [the function of gate four, divine dynasphere], also having put on the breastplate of righteousness [motivational and functional virtue]; also having put on combat boots, put them on your feet by means of the alertness of the gospel of peace [the doctrine of reconciliation]; in addition to all this, take up the shield of faith [the function of the faith-rest drill] with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles from the evil one. Also take the helmet of salvation [reference to the divine dynasphere which was initially received at the moment of salvation], and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God [the perception of Bible doctrine].”

We have studied the doctrine of worship and we have noted several things. The principle that should be emphasised is the fact that you cannot give to God in worship what you do not possess. For example, we cannot give glory to God in worship because we do not possess glory. And even after the judgment seat of Christ when we have a resurrection body only those who are rewarded will have glory to give. There is a category of worship in which today we can function. We can give to God, as we noted before, timh, which means honour; but it has three meanings actually. First of all it means respect, then it means reverence, and then it means honour. From that one word we have the threefold connotation.

This we can give in worship. We can respect our Lord Jesus Christ through understanding His thinking, another way of saying perception of Bible doctrine, and apart from positive volition toward Bible doctrine inside the divine dynasphere it would be impossible to respect our Lord. So respect is the system of worship for those who are new believers, or believers who have been saved for a long time but still babies. Secondly, it means reverence, and the concept of personal love of Christ through worship begins with respect [love of God in gate 5] and continues into reverence which is occupation with the person of Christ. The respect is the worship of the immature believer who is positive; reverence is the worship of the mature believer living in the divine dynasphere. Both worship and reverence are possible for believers in time. If you have respect you can give it in worship; if you have reverence for God you can give reverence in worship. But the highest category is honour. To honour God in worship requires virtue and integrity manufactured inside the divine dynasphere through the daily perception of Bible doctrine. Only honourable believers can give honour to the Lord in worship. You cannot give in worship what you do not possess.

There is also another category, the giving of thanks. Thanksgiving is the most basic form of priestly worship on the part of the royal family. The capacity for this worship is gratitude which comes from perception of doctrine. Gratitude comes from capacity, capacity for life, capacity for love, capacity for happiness, capacity for thanksgiving. All of it, of course, means perception of doctrine.

The believer in the cosmic system has no capacity for gratitude and therefore he cannot fulfil this worship. You cannot give to God what you do not have. If you do not have gratitude and appreciation for logistical grace you cannot give thanksgiving in worship. The arrogant believer does not appreciate what God has done for him and is doing for him through logistical grace, he has no appreciation for the integrity of God and therefore he cannot give in worship what he does not have — thanksgiving. This, of course, has application in many fields — you cannot give love to God in worship unless you love God, and this comes from doctrine; you have to have humility to submit to divine authority delegated through Bible doctrine to even begin to worship. Genuine humility is not only the basis for true worship of the Lord but capacity for life, love and happiness and blessing. Of course, this means function inside the divine dynasphere.

The believer can give certain things to God. He has a right lobe and through the ministry of God the Holy Spirit he can concentrate. If he has any ability to think he has the ability to concentrate, and therefore can give concentration to the Word of God, and this is the expression of your worship. But if he is stupid and has no brains and can’t concentrate, he can’t worship. The most basic form of concentration is perception of Bible doctrine. If the believer has time he can give time in worship. You cannot give to the Lord in worship what you do not have.

Now, the principle applies to false worship as well.

Principle

1. Under the principle of true worship you can only give to God what you actually possess; you cannot give to God what you do not possess.

2. Certain angels, like the 24 elders, possess glory. They gave glory to God in worship.

3. Certain positive and mature believers give honour to the Lord because they possess honour; they give integrity to the Lord because they possess integrity, i.e. in worship; they give reverence and respect to the Lord because they possess reverence and personal respect; they give personal love for the Lord to the Lord because through perception of doctrine they have personal love for the Lord.

4. Under the principle of true worship you cannot give what you do not possess.

5. Under the principle of true worship when you give what you have in worship you still have the Source.

6. Personal love for God expresses itself in giving time, energy, honour, concentration on doctrine, money, whatever it is.

7. Religion has a system of false worship. Religion demands that you give what you do not have. In the function of some religions, like idolatry, you give to demons what you do not possess — human sacrifice, the operation which violates the sacredness of human life; you give to demons someone else’s virtue in the fornication of the phallic cult, a violation of both privacy and human virtue. Demon religionism takes someone else’s money, which violates the sacredness of human property and gives it to the religion. Hence, false worship demands that you give to demons what you do not have.

These two verses are very significant because we have just concluded in our study of the two great demon attacks on the human race at the end of the Tribulation. They are without precedent because they involve demons in bodies physically doing violence to members of the human race. The members of the human race who are the target of these demon attacks are those who are the servants of Satan in the cosmic system: demon-possessed unbelievers, and believers and unbelievers under demon influence, in the cosmic system.

Therefore, since this is without precedent it brings into focus the subject of the demon attacks on the human race since the beginning of history. There are five major demon attacks throughout all of history: the genetic attack of the antediluvian civilisation, Genesis 6:1-13; the attack of demon possession which the attack on the post-diluvian world; the attack of demon influence; the physical attack of the demon armies at the end of the Tribulation; the Gog and Magog revolution at the end of the Millennium, Revelation 20:7-10.

The antediluvian civilisation began with the creation of man and terminated with the flood. The flood destroyed the entire population of the earth except for eight believers, Noah plus his family. Each civilisation begins with believers only and terminates with great divine judgements and self-induced human judgements, all of which are the result of the failure of that civilisation. Each civilisation has its own climate on planet earth, it has its own environment, and has characteristics of creatures involved within the species only. Man has a different life-span in each one of these civilisation. The earth rotated on its axis as it does now but from a different degree and angle, almost straight up instead of tilted. Each species of animal life have differences but there are no transmutations of species, i.e.. a horse may vary in each civilisation but a horse is still a horse.

We have three civilisations in which demon activity is different. The first is the antediluvian civilisation. Antediluvian is simply a technical term for before the flood. This is the period of human history in which demons are involved in a genetic and sexual invasion, and is recorded in Genesis 6:1-13; Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4,5; 1 Peter 3:18-22. We call this a genetic attack upon the human race because it was Satan’s greatest effort to destroy the human race for mankind and, therefore, to win the angelic conflict. The major thrust of the attack was to destroy true humanity on the earth. The post-diluvian civilisation begins at the termination of the flood with Noah and his family. It concludes at the second advent of Christ. In the post-diluvian civilisation there are three demon attacks: the attack of demon possession, the demon invasion of the human body of the unbeliever; the attack of demon influence which applies to believer and unbeliever in the cosmic system; the physical attacks by demon armies in the Tribulation on believers and unbelievers living in the cosmic system.

Whenever a person is demon-possessed there are various battalions of demons. There are demons that produce illness, that produce violence, once they possess the body of an unbeliever. There are three reasons why anyone is ill. One of them is physiological, the second is psychosomatic, and the third is demon possession. When a person is demon-possessed and has demon-induced illness along comes this faker, this liar, Satan’s very own man, believer or unbeliever, who tries to exorcise demons. When this happens, often, since this is Satan’s man, Satan tries to give credibility to this knuckle head who is being used by him. So Beelzebub gives a command to the demons: “Get out.” And they go out, and there is instant miraculous healing, the source has been removed. This person then gets the credit. So his false doctrine, his lies, his imbecility, his stupidity is quickly in the Satanic camp and he is being used of Satan. Satan has given him credibility. This explain so-called divine healers.

There is one battalion of demons called e)ggostramuqoj, and they take control of the vocal cords and they speak in tongues. Of course, all tongues is either demon possession or demon influence. No one has legitimately spoken in tongues since 70 AD when Jerusalem finally fell. All of this is a part of the demon attack upon believers today. Any born-again believer involved in the tongues movement is under demon influence; any unbeliever is under demon-possession. And there is no such thing as a divine healer, no one has that power but God Himself and He has not delegated it since the completion of the canon of scripture.

Then in the Millennial civilisation, which begins at the second advent, at the end of 1000 years of perfect environment on the earth under our Lord’s rule, Satan will be released from prison and this attack will be studied as the God revolution in Revelation chapter 20.

It should also be noted, by way of introduction to our subject, that the antediluvian attack and the Tribulational attacks involve visible demons. Demon activity today includes demon possession, demon influence, but the demons are invisible to the human eye, they cannot be picked up by the process of empiricism due to the fact that they are disembodied spirits. All demon activity today is related to involvement in the cosmic system, it will not exist in the Millennial civilisation until the thousand years of perfect environment are completed. There is also a subject called ethnic demonology which is related to the polytheism of the Greeks and later the Romans who copied from the Greeks; the demonology of the Germanic Indo-European group, as well as the ethnic demonology of the Phoenician Canaanitish mythology. All of this includes human sacrifice, the function of the phallic cult, the modus operandi of idolatry, great violence, great criminal organisations.

Demons, then, appear to fall into two categories: visible demons possessing bodies of some sort; invisible demons or disembodied spirits which are the only category permitted to operate on planet earth today. There will be no visible demons on the earth until the middle and end of the Tribulation. When demons invade the body of an unbeliever today they produce great violence. In fact, all violence in history is directly related to demonism — either demon influence or demon possession.

There are two factors that Satan understood, even as Moses understood it. First of all there must be from Adam plus Eve a line that would go all of the way to Christ, and that line must be true humanity. When Satan saw this in the antediluvian civilisation he made his first great assault on the human race. He made a genetic attack.

Under the doctrine of the hypostatic union, which is the doctrine of the uniqueness of Christ, Jesus Christ in His incarnation, from the moment of His virgin birth and on forever in His person, has two natures: divine and human. They are inseparably united, there is no mixture or loss of separate identity, there is no transfer of properties or attributes. The union of eternal God with true humanity is personal and eternal. In other words, Jesus Christ is true humanity and undiminished deity in one person forever. Jesus Christ is the God-Man, different from God in that He is mankind; different from mankind in that he is God. Jesus Christ is unique in the universe. As God He is infinitely superior to man and angels; as humanity He is now superior to all angels — the subject of Hebrews chapters one and two. The pre-incarnate person of Christ is eternal God, coequal with the Father and the Spirit. The post-incarnate person of Christ includes His undiminished deity combined with His true humanity in one person forever. But in the combination of His deity and humanity there is no transfer of attributes from one to the other. Through the virgin birth Jesus Christ was born without a sin nature, without the imputation of Adam’s sin, and in His humanity, therefore, He was born as Adam was created: trichotomous. We are born with a body and a soul and only acquire a spirit through regeneration.

In John chapter one verses 1-3 we have that wonderful statement about the hypostatic union: E)n a)rxh h)n o( logoj has to do with the deity of Christ: “In a beginning which was not a beginning [eternity past] there always existed the word [o( logoj]”. Jesus Christ always existed, there never was a time when He didn’t exist, that is John 1:1. “In the beginning” [which was not a beginning],” e)n a)rxh. There is no definite article there in the Greek, the absence of the definite article emphasises the importance of the noun. It is a way of referring to eternity. There never was a time when Jesus Christ did not exist as eternal God.

But in John 1:14 that same Word became flesh, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory [His glory inside the prototype divine dynasphere], as the uniquely-born one from the Father, full of grace and doctrine.” Our Lord, by the time He was twelve had advanced to maturity.

Romans 1:3-5, “Concerning his Son, who was born the seed of David according to the flesh,” and the very fact that the seed of David is found in Romans 1:3 means that Satan’s great genetic attack on the human race did not succeed, “who has been demonstrated the Son of God by means of power [the power of the divine dynasphere] according to the Holy Spirit because of the resurrection from the dead. Jesus Christ our Lord through whom we have received grace and apostleship, and from whom is Christ according to the flesh who is over all God, blessed forever.”

1 Timothy 3:16, “For consent of all great is the mystery of doctrine [with reference to our Lord Jesus Christ]: the unique one [Christ as eternal God] became visible by means of the flesh [His humanity]. This same one was vindicated by means of the Holy Spirit [prototype divine dynasphere], He was observed by angels, He was proclaimed among the nations, He became the object of faith in the world, He was taken up into His place of glory.”

Many passages tell us about the hypostatic union. He never made an issue out of the fact that He was equal with the Father and the Spirit. In other words, true humility inside the prototype divine dynasphere. Only arrogance makes an issue out of such things. Only arrogance makes an issue out of one’s race, only arrogance makes an issue out of one’s background or standing as being superior to someone else — or inferior.

The necessity for all of this becomes apparent: Jesus Christ had to be true humanity. He had to be true humanity to be our saviour. As God he could have nothing to do with sin, it was His humanity that bore our sins in His own body on the tree. He is also said to be the mediator between God and man. In order to be a mediator it means that you must be equal with both parties in the mediation. God is party of the first part; humanity is party of the second part. Jesus Christ is the only mediator because He is God, therefore equal with God; He is true humanity, and superior humanity, therefore equal with humanity. He therefore becomes the mediator. There is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.

Then, of course, Jesus Christ cannot be a priest unless He is true humanity, for a priest by definition is a man who represents man to God. The universal priesthood belongs to the royal family of God, but we have to have a high priest and for Jesus Christ to be our high priest He had to be true humanity Hebrews chapters seven and ten.

Jesus Christ had to be a King, and He had to be true humanity in order to be a King, 2 Samuel 7:8-16; Psalm 89:20-37, the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ to Israel that David would have a son who would reign forever. This is why in Romans 1 He is called the seed of David, for Jesus Christ is directly descended from David and Bathsheba.

Therefore it was the objective of Satan to make it impossible for Jesus Christ to come in the flesh, to make the incarnation and hypostatic union an absolute impossibility. And Satan came up with a plan. The only way to do it was to intermarry human beings with angelic creatures, for in the antediluvian civilisation all demons had bodies. All demons had reproductive organs and therefore if there could be an intermarriage between angelic and human races it would destroy true humanity and frustrate the cross.