Satan (Part 26) - The Epic War: Satan is Loosed to Deceive the Nations Again
Submitted by Pastor Chad Wagner on Sunday, February 24, 2019.
12. Satan is loosed from his prison and goes out to deceive the nations once again. A. When the figurative 1000 years are fulfilled, Satan is loosed for "a little season" to deceive the nations once more (Rev 20:3 c/w Rev 20:7-8). i. Season n. - II. gen. A time, period, occasion. 12. a. A particular time or period during which something happens, or which is defined by some characteristic feature or circumstance. b. for a season: for an indefinite period, for some time, for a while. ii. The length of time for this "little season" is unknown, but in that it's a little season, it will be small in proportion to the length of the "thousand years." B. It is possible that Satan was loosed in the early 1800s. i. Remember, the nature of the binding of Satan was to prevent him from deceiving the nations as he had done prior to the coming of Christ (Rev 20:3). a. Prior to the coming of Christ, all nations outside of Israel were involved in false religion. b. When Christ came and bound Satan, the gospel went into all the world (Col 1:6, 23) and turned it upside down (Act 17:6). ii. In the 19th century there was an explosion of Satanic doctrine and religion by which Satan once again deceived the nations. a. Premillennial Dispensationalism was first taught in the 1830s. (i) The pre-tribulation rapture doctrine was first taught by a London preacher named Edward Irving (who was influenced by the vision of Margaret Macdonald) in the 1830s in Scotland. (ii) It was later promoted by John Nelson Darby of the Plymouth Brethren in Britain. (iii) In the early twentieth century was popularized by C.I. Scofield in the Scofield Reference Bible. (iv) Dispensationalism teaches the following Satanic doctrine. 1. Jesus failed to setup his kingdom and failed to assume the throne of David at his first coming because of the Jews' rejection of him. 2. The Second Coming of Christ will be in two stages, one secret and invisible, and one open and visible seven years later. 3. Jesus will come back secretly and resurrect the righteous dead and rapture the church up to heaven prior to the great tribulation on earth. 4. The Church Age ends and God's plan for Israel resumes when the Church is raptured at the beginning of the tribulation. 5. Jesus comes back at the end of the tribulation to destroy the kingdom of the antichrist, bind Satan, and to set up his kingdom on earth for 1000 years. 6. The millennium is Israel-centered: It rules over all other nations, and animal sacrifices are performed in the Temple as in the Old Testament. (v) For a refutation of this Satanic doctrine, see the sermon series on Millennialism: https://www.excelsiorspringschurch.com/millennialism. b. Mormonism was founded by Joseph Smith in 1830. (i) Mormonism denies the Trinity and Monotheism, teaching that the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost are three gods. (ii) Mormonism teaches Satan's age old lie that "ye shall be as gods" (Gen 3:5), teaching that faithful Mormons can become gods themselves. (iii) "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become." (Lorenzo Snow, 5th President of the LDS Church, 1840) c. Charles Darwin published his infamous book On The Origin of Species in 1859 which is considered the foundation of the false science of evolutionary biology. (i) Darwinism is the foundation of atheism. (ii) Darwinism has destroyed many people's belief in the Bible as the word of God because it contradicts the creation account in Genesis. (iii) For a refutation of the doctrine of evolution, see the sermon series on Creation vs. Evolution: https://www.excelsiorspringschurch.com/evolution. d. Seventh-day Adventism was founded in 1863 by Ellen G. White (and a few others). (i) Seventh-day Adventism teaches annihilationism which is the denial that the soul of the wicked goes to hell to be tormented after death. (ii) They teach that Christians are still under the sabbath laws. (iii) They also hold their founder Ellen G. White's writings to be inspired by God. (iv) "The ministry of Ellen G. White is commonly referred to as the "Spirit of Prophecy" and her writings are considered "a continuing and authoritative source of truth", though ultimately subject to the Bible." (Seventh-day Adventist Church, Wikipedia, 4-12-2018) e. What later became known as Jehovah's Witnessism was founded in the 1870s by Charles Taze Russell. (i) Jehovah's Witnesses deny the deity of Jesus Christ and the Trinity. (ii) They also teach annihilationism which is the denial that the soul of the wicked goes to hell to be tormented after death. (iii) They deny the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. f. Westcott and Hort published their corrupt Greek New Testament in 1881 which became the underlying text for nearly all modern English bible versions afterward. (i) These corrupt bible versions attack the doctrine of the deity of Jesus Christ, the Trinity, sovereign grace, the blood atonement of Jesus Christ, the preservation of the scripture, baptism, hell, Lucifer, and various other parts of the truth. (ii) They have taken the authority and truth of God's word out of the minds of millions of God's children. (iii) See Section VIII,9 of this outline. g. Pentecostalism began in the early 1900s which claimed to be a revival of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit such as speaking in tongues, prophecy, and healing. (i) It, and the Charismatic movement that spawned from it, are filled with lying signs and wonders from Satan (2Th 2:9). (ii) Satan will employ the spirits of devils working miracles to gather the nations together (Rev 16:14). (iii) For a refutation of Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Movement, see the sermon series on The Sign Gifts: https://www.excelsiorspringschurch.com/charismatics. h. Many Baptist churches who once predominantly believed and taught sovereign grace were infected with the false doctrine of Arminianism during the 19th and 20th centuries. (i) Most people today don't know that the majority of Baptist churches in America believed in sovereign grace prior to the 20th century. (ii) For sermons on sovereign grace that refute Arminianism, see these sermons and videos: https://www.excelsiorspringschurch.com/sovereign-grace. i. These examples of the explosion of heresy in the 19th century are compelling evidence for the loosing of Satan in the early 1800s. iii. Another sign of the loosing of Satan is that the nations will be gathered together (Rev 20:7-8). a. Globalization began to accelerate in the 19th century and increased dramatically in the 20th century. b. The inventions of the steamboat, airplane, radio, telephone, and later the internet each played a significant role in gathering the nations together through commerce. c. The League of Nations was formed in 1920 after World War I. (i) It was allegedly founded to promote world peace. (ii) At its peak in 1934-35 it had 58 member nations. (iii) It was dissolved in 1946. d. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were established in 1944. e. The United Nations was formed in 1945 after World War II. (i) The UN had 51 member countries at its founding. (ii) It now has 193 member countries. f. The nations have been in the process of being gathered together for the last century. g. It is very possible that Satan is loosed and has been for a couple of hundred years. 13. Satan fills the churches with the doctrines of devils in the later times. A. Paul prophesied that in the end times, men would depart the faith and give heed to seducing spirits and the doctrines of devils (1Ti 4:1). i. In our time there has been a plethora of false doctrine disseminated throughout the "Christian" world, such as: a. Denial of the deity of Christ. (i) Refutation: (Joh 1:1-3, 14; 1Ti 3:16; 1Jo 5:20) b. Denial of the Trinity. (i) Refutation: (1Jo 5:7 c/w Joh 8:17-18) c. Denial of the doctrine of election and sovereign grace. (i) Refutation: (Eph 1:4-5; Rom 8:29-30; Rom 9:11-13, 16) d. Denial of the inspiration and preservation of the word of God. (i) Refutation: (2Pe 1:21; Psa 12:6-7; Mat 24:35) e. Denial of hell and eternal torment. (i) Refutation: (Mar 9:43-44; Luk 16:22-23; Jud 1:7; Mat 25:41, 46 c/w Rev 20:10-15) f. Sabbath keeping. (i) Refutation: (Col 2:14-17) g. Incorporation of the celebration of the pagan holidays of Christmas and Easter into Christian churches. (i) Refutation: (Deut 12:29-32; Jer 10:2-4; 1Co 10:20-21; 2Co 6:14-18) h. Dispensationalism and Premillennialism. (i) Refutation: (1Th 4:16-17 c/w Joh 6:39 c/w Job 14:12) i. Preterism. (i) Refutation: (Mat 24:30-31; Job 19:25-27; 2Pe 3:10-13) j. Sodomy and transgenderism. (i) Refutation: (Rom 1:26-27; 1Co 6:9-10) k. And the list goes on... B. The Catholic Church is one of the avenues that Satan uses to preach his devilish doctrines such as forbidding to marry (celibate priesthood) and abstaining from meats (only fish on Friday) (1Ti 4:3). i. These are just two of the many heresies taught by the Catholic Church. ii. See Section VIII,10 of this outline for more examples. C. The last days will be characterized by perilous times of all manner of wickedness (2Ti 3:1-4), pretentious religion (2Ti 3:5), and voluminous amounts of information by which men will be ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2Ti 3:7).
