Aliens and the Antichrist: Unveiling the End Times Deception (41 page)

1 John 4:1-4
(bold emphasis added)

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

According to these scriptures, there are essentially two tests for prophets. First, if they don’t have any divine ability to back up what they’re saying—they predict things that
don’t
happen as they say—then they are clearly not from God. Second, even if they do exercise a certain degree of accuracy in foretelling future events, but their doctrine they preach is false, then again, they are clearly false prophets. Two examples of false doctrine are given in scripture. First, that Jesus Christ is not the messiah he said he was, and second, any word spoken in the name of other gods. The second test will be the one in which the Antichrist will publicly break with his religion advocating a strange god. For more examples of various deceptions, conduct research on other religions, such as Islam (which claims that Jesus was not the Son of God and that he did not rise from the dead). Also, simply pick up practically any book from the New Age section of any local bookstore and browse the gambit of philosophical belief systems that describe the number of ways people can go about perfecting themselves, essentially becoming gods. Deception is everywhere, but truth is everywhere too; pray to God out of a hope that he is love, and he will guide into all truth.

Psychics frequently fail the first test, then attribute their misses to fluctuations in Earth’s magnetic field, or make other excuses. Prophets, on the other hand, need no excuses for being wrong because they should never be wrong about what they are prophesying. The distinction between a true prophet and one who claims to have the gift of prophecy but actually doesn’t was a fatal distinction in Daniel’s time because King Nebuchadnezzar didn’t accept any excuses for being wrong. If they were wrong about their prophetic abilities, then they were lying to him—the king—and were thus ordered to be executed.

•   Knowing whose side to be on is just the beginning. The next step is to never accept the mark of the beast, or the name or the number of the beast, when this becomes a requirement in the nations the Antichrist will rule (Revelation 13:17). Not everyone in the world in those days will be forced to make this decision, but for those who are, if they don’t want to go to hell, they had better not take the mark, the name, or the number of the beast. Only those who will not take this mark will be resurrected and escape the second death (Revelation 20:14-15).

•   Have courage and be strong in the faith—especially when it becomes a life-and-death situation (Revelation 12:11; 14:12). Don’t ever give up hope, even if it looks as if torture may come; God either rescues his saints or empowers them to endure the unimaginable. Many books have been written which document the amazing feats of thousands of martyrs throughout the millennia. The Jesus Freaks book I mentioned earlier, along with its second volume companion, is full of miraculous stories of bravery, sacrifice, and God’s direct intervention. In any case, God will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). Even if it comes to loved ones being tortured, one should never give in. Always remember

that evil lies in the hands of the one committing the acts, not in the hands of one being manipulated through such evil coercion.

• The days following the rapture of the church will be days in which Christians will display remarkable supernatural power unlike ever before (Joel 2:29-32; Acts 2:17-18; John 14:12). Christians should be ready, willing, and eager to accept this power because they’re going to need it, and they should never limit what God can do through those who believe in him.

As I’ve already stated, the primary beneficiaries of the material presented in this book are those who remain on Earth after the rapture of the church, but this book serves a purpose to people before the rapture of the church as well. I have written it not as an intellectual quandary, but to give people a taste of the reality of the kingdom of heaven. It’s a real, physical, tangible place!

The spiritual dimension of reality doesn’t just need to be understood; it needs to be known in the heart so that it affects the way we think, the way we live, and the direction of all of our relationships. As Christians, our lives should be a witness of the glory within us—a perfection we pursue with our commitment to God. The fact that we know what’s going on around us—that we’re in a war that constantly puts us to the test, and that our every action is being evalu- ated—should place a deeper meaning on our lives. The sky above our heads and the stars that sparkle in the vast cosmos at night are the realms we can look at and see with our own eyes, and they are realms we will one day explore.

The religious people of Jesus’s day (scribes and Pharisees) would have intellectual debates with Jesus about the scriptures, which they knew a great deal about. But then, in the same breath, they would accuse him of violating the Sabbath when he healed someone (Matthew 12:10; Mark 3:2-6; Luke 6:6-11; 13:10-14, and many others). Didn’t they realize what just happened? If that weren’t enough, they plotted to kill Christ when they couldn’t win their little intellectual squabbles. Apparently all their intellectual knowledge amounted to squat because their hearts were so far away from God, they couldn’t see God’s kingdom displayed right before their eyes in glaring physical manifestations. Those scribes and Pharisees back then aren’t any different from many people of today.

This same differentiation can be made between the mind and the heart concerning this book. The format and style of this book is generally intellectual in nature, with the application of scriptures, logic, and deductive reasoning, but the goal is not to pass on the accumulation of knowledge. The goal of this book is to wake people up and inflame their imaginations with images of the kingdom of Heaven and the days that lie ahead; images of the vast worlds that lay beyond, of the immensity of the war in which we are entrenched, and the eternal spiritual reality that surrounds us all. The embers of our complacent hearts must be kindled, and we should all live in a perpetual state of anticipation, never being satisfied with the distractions of this fading world.

Just as the apostle Paul said, without love (that portion of our hearts connected to God), all the knowledge and mysteries of all creation amount to nothing (1 Corinthians 13). Only love remains in this world as the truest representation of God that will survive forever. So let’s take this truth and live by it, dream our dreams of the frontier awaiting us, and walk with a vision of the future that will carry us through this small, transitory tunnel of mortality.

*** the END ***

APPENDIX 

The Gospel

WHY DID GOD CREATE?

The heart of the Creator of all things is love (1 John 4:16). Because God is love, he decided to create a beautiful universe and fill it with life. Why? So he can be with and love his children (1 Corinthians 2:9; Ephesians 1:4-5; John 1:1-2, 1:14). Love grows, and love enjoys loving relationships. God didn’t want this relationship to disappear someday. He wants to spend eternity with his loving children, so he created his children as eternal beings (Acts 24:15; Daniel 12:2; Genesis 1:26-27).

WHY DOES EVIL EXIST?

Of course, in order for his children to love him, they must freely
choose
to love him. Therefore, God decided to create life with free will (Genesis 2:16-17; Deuteronomy 30:19-20; Joshua 24:15).

Because of the existence of free will, the opportunity to choose not to love and obey God exists. This can be a sad fact because many will choose not to love and obey God, but it must be so, in order for love to bear true meaning. This is why evil exists. God allows evil to exist for a short season (on the scale of eternity), in order for all to choose him with their own free will. Once this choice has been made throughout all creation, evil will pass away (Revelation 20:14-15).

THE MEANING OF LIFE

That’s the meaning of life, by the way—to choose to love and obey God, and have an eternal loving relationship with him. Only those who have true love in their hearts can understand this. Once this choice is made, the meaning of life grows to incorporate revealing this truth to others, so that they may also choose to love and obey God and have an eternal loving relationship with him (1 Corinthians 2:9; Ephesians 1:4-6; John 1:1-2, 1:14).

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN FREE WILL IS USED FOR EVIL?

Unfortunately, because of the existence of free will, sin has occurred on Earth, beginning in Genesis 3:6. What’s worse, sin has a spreading effect once it is turned loose. There is no human means to stop its corruption. Sin was turned loose on Earth with the very first man and woman (Adam and Eve) and has spread throughout the entire Earth since that time (Romans 3:23, 5:12-15).

Because God is perfect (Psalms 18:30), there is no tolerance for sin; the penalty of sin is death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 5:12). God defines death as returning to the dust of the Earth (Genesis 3:19) and calls it a curse, known as the last enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26). In essence any rejection of God’s rule is sin. It began with Adam and Eve and has since been endorsed by all humanity (Romans 5:12). Therefore, it appears there is a great dilemma, because after sin was introduced into the world, all have been born into sin, living in bodies with a sinful nature. All are penalized with death, even from birth.

GOD’S METHOD OF DEALING WITH SIN

God knew that humanity needed a means of overcoming sin. That’s why the first thing he said about sin concerned his means of correcting it (Genesis 3:14-15). His Son, Jesus, is the answer, who is first mentioned as the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:14-15. God decided that since humanity doesn’t have the power to deal with sin and death (despite all the religions and doctrines in the world that claim otherwise), he had to take care of this problem himself. He therefore embedded himself inside the womb of a human female by the name of Mary and became a human being. The Creator of all things became human (John 1:1-2, 1:14; Colossians 2:9-10). His name was Jesus and still is. He lived a life of purity and obedience to God—a life of love, healing, and forgiveness. Because of his willpower, he was able to live perfectly, without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He then ended his life on Earth by sacrificing himself for all (Romans 5:8-10; 1 Peter 3:18). Again by his power, he defeated death by rising from the dead (John 10:17-18, Romans 8:10-11).

GOD’S CALLING

God offers the free gift of salvation to all who will ask. He calls upon all of us to turn from our sinful ways and trust in what he has done for us. We can do nothing to remove our guilt before him. Doing good things doesn’t remove our sin, and since all are sinners, nothing we can do can undo that; it’s only by the mercy of God that we can be saved through what he has done (Ephesians 2:8-10). The gift of salvation is eternally rewarded, but those who refuse to repent and turn to God will have no place in his kingdom. Therefore whoever spurns God’s offer will suffer his wrath in the judgment to come, of which the Bible clearly warns. This terrifying prospect (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10) is a reality that Jesus spoke much of, warning people of their fate.

GOD’S JUSTICE

God is perfect justice (Psalms 19:7), perfect mercy (2 Corinthians 1:3-5), and all-powerful (Romans 1:19-20). Jesus’s sacrifice is the best example of all of these attributes. The fact that he died and paid the penalty of sin is justice. God accepts sacrifice, and allowed his Son, Jesus Christ, to be sacrificed to atone for all of the sin in the world. The price had to be paid, but he picked up the tab! Whatever sins anyone has ever committed—past, present, or future—have all been atoned for. All people have to do is ask, and believe.

GOD’S MERCY

The fact that Jesus died, yet Jesus is without sin is mercy. He didn’t have to die; he is blameless, yet he died for all who would ask him to take their place (Romans 5:8; 1 Peter 3:18). This was the requirement in order for his sacrifice to atone for the sin of the world. If he were a sinner himself, he’d only be getting the punishment he deserved, but because he is perfect, his crucifixion allowed him to be made worthy to forgive all who would come to him and ask his forgiveness.

GOD’S POWER

Jesus’s perfect life (Hebrews 4:15), his miracles, and especially his resurrection, all demonstrate the fact that he is all-powerful. His only limitation was to confine himself to the will of his Father. He died to atone for sin, and rose from the dead to prove that the atonement was not without meaning. He has demonstrated his power over death, and he will give that power to all who ask him for forgiveness of sins and salvation.

WHY JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE

When God the Father allowed his Son to be sacrificed, it wasn’t easy. Would it be easy for anyone to allow his or her child to be murdered? He doesn’t take his Son’s death lightly, despite the fact that Jesus was resurrected. God stands outside of time and space, and can see his Son’s death as if it were present—for all eternity! He can hear the cries of his Son, “Father, why have you forsaken me” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34), for all eternity. This is his means of saving humanity, and there is
no
other way. If there were, he would’ve taken it, because neither he nor his Son desired the brutal murder of the cross. This is serious business, and it’s why God allows for no other means of salvation. We should be glad there is no other way, however, because his way is the surest and the best—though it is sad that Jesus had to be crucified in order to make it happen. Nobody has to go through any rituals or punishments. All people have to do is lay aside their pride and stop trying to reach God by their own strength. All they have to do is look to Jesus, because he is the way, the truth, and the life; there is no way to the Father, except by him (John 14:6).

HOW MIGHT ONE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE?

Salvation is a free gift. There’s only one thing that people have to do to receive it. Ask Jesus for forgiveness of their sins. He forgives all! The only unforgivable sin is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which is achieved essentially by refusing God’s offer and not asking for forgiveness. Of course one must have enough faith to ask such a question. This is a problem for many because they simply don’t perceive what faith actually is.

Let me make this easy. Anyone reading this who fits in this category needs to simply ask him, Jesus—to forgive you of your sins and save you—and hope he’s real, if this is all you can do. I assure you, in his infinite mercy, you are saved if you do this. Put your hope in him, and he will not let you down. You don’t even have to change your life before you come to him. He’ll take care of those details later on. Just stop right now—and send up a prayer to him.

There are other ways of rewording the act of asking God for salvation. For example, Acts 20:20-21 states that one must have “Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” Repentance means a complete change of heart and mind regarding sin—in which a person agrees with God about his or her sin and wants to live a life pleasing to him. Faith in Jesus Christ entails accepting who he is, “The Son of the living God,” that “Christ died for the ungodly,” and that he conquered death through his resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 15:21-22). All of these Christian phrases simply boil down to believing in God enough to ask for forgiveness of sins from his Son, Jesus Christ, and allowing him to work in people to mold them into his likeness. He really carries the brunt of the workload—mainly because people are so spiritually weak and puny.

It’s that easy. God bless you!