God's Final Battle - 1

Here Be Dragons

CHAPTER 1

HERE BE DRAGONS

“Beloved,” said the Glorious One, “unless thy desire had been for me thou wouldst not have sought so long and so truly. For all find what they truly seek.”

— C.S. Lewis

Jesus Christ first came to earth 2,000 years ago, and his own people knew him not. When Antichrist comes, will we know him? Or will we be just as deceived as the Jews were long ago? I often wonder if much of Christendom might even cheer on the Man of Sin and become his loyal followers.

Will it literally take the return of the true Messiah to shake us from our folly?

Whether we are willing to admit it to ourselves or not, there is a supernatural battle being waged around us and within us during these last days. The kingdom, Jesus said, is within you.

The territory at stake is the human heart. And destinies hang in the balance.

Satan and the forces of darkness know that all is lost and that their end draws near. They know the timeline. As we will discover throughout this book, the well-timed moves they are directing their human underlings to make in these days proves their knowledge beyond a reasonable doubt. But they will do whatever it takes to keep you from understanding the lateness of the hour because they want as many humans as possible with them in their doomed kingdom. That is the whole game.

In fact, Satan’s minions are busy completing their Master Work and setting up the capstone – esoteric code for a deeper reality – right at this very moment in time. Centuries of effort, culminating only just now. What are the odds?

The occultists believe this period of time to be critically important. So why are most Christians still sleeping through it?

To achieve his final harvest of witless human souls, Satan has saved his greatest earthly weapon. The Son of Destruction. The long-foretold Apollo. The Antichrist.

Oftentimes, talk of this eschatological foe can take on a nearly mythic quality. Our perceptions of him have become so steeped in legend and lore that we are liable to forget this villain will be an actual flesh and blood man. And what’s more, that we will be the very generation to witness his rise.

But let us not fall into the same trap the Jews once did. They had read so often of the legendary deeds of the Messiah in their sacred texts that they were caught off guard when he appeared among them in the flesh. If we think ourselves above this mistake, then perhaps we should account for the fact that our own generation is destined to witness the grandest deception ever wielded against mankind. The Devil’s final ploy. To see through the trick will surely take all the discernment we can muster.

As I warned in my first book, though, these truths will only be found precious by a remnant. Sadly, they will always be distasteful to the plebeian masses. Sir Isaac Newton indicated as much in his unpublished writings on the book of Revelation.

Having searched after knowledge in the prophetique [sic] scriptures, I have thought my self bound to communicate it for the benefit of others, remembring [sic] the judgment of him who hid his talent in a napkin. …

I would not have any discouraged by the difficulty & ill success that men have hitherto met with in these attempts. This is nothing but what ought to have been. ffor [sic] it was revealed to Daniel that the prophecies concerning the last times should be closed up & sealed untill the time of the end: but then the wise should understand, & knowleg should be increased. Dan 12.4, 9, 10. And therefore the longer they have continued in obscurity, the more hopes there is that the time is at hand in which they are to be made manifest. If they are never to be understood, to what end did God reveale them? Certainly he did it for the edification of the church; & if so, then it is as certain that the church shall at length attain to the understanding thereof. I mean not all that call themselves Christians, but a remnant, a few scattered persons which God hath chosen, such as without being led by interest, education, or humane authorities, can set themselves sincerely & earnestly to search after truth. For as Daniel hath said that the wise shall understand, so he hath said also that none of the wicked shall understand.

Let me therefore beg of thee not to trust to the opinion of any man concerning these things, for so it is great odds but thou shalt be deceived. Much less oughtest thou to rely upon the judgment of the multitude, for so thou shalt certainly be deceived. But search the scriptures thy self & that by frequent reading & constant meditation upon what thou readest, & earnest prayer to God to enlighten thine understanding if thou desirest to find the truth. Which if thou shalt at length attain thou wilt value above all other treasures in the world by reason of the assurance and vigour it will add to thy faith, and steddy satisfaction to thy mind which he onely can know how to estimate who shall experience it.

— Sir Isaac Newton (Untitled Treatise on Revelation)[1]

I can think of no better admonition for those seeking to discern the truth about Antichrist and his final deception. The truth once attained is surely beautiful beyond words and priceless in value. Yet the road there is not for the faint of heart, nor for the slothful of mind.

Nevertheless, as followers of Christ in these last days, it is our duty to be watchful and to discern the signs of the times. Newton has more to add here, too.

If then the Prophesies which concerned the Apostolique [sic] age were given for the conversion of the men of that age to the truth & for the establishment of their faith, & if it was their duty to search diligently into those Prophesies: why should we not think that the Prophesies which concern the latter times into which we are fallen were in like manner intended for our use that in the midst of Apostacies we might be able to discern the truth & be established in the faith thereof, & consequently that it is also our duty to search with all diligence into these Prophesies. And If [sic] God was so angry with the Iews [Jews] for not searching more diligently into the Prophesies which he had given them to know Christ by: why should we think he will excuse us for not searching into the Prophesies which he hath given us to know Antichrist by? For certainly it must be as dangerous & as easy an error for Christians to adhere to Antichrist as it was for the Iews to reject Christ. And therefore it is as much our duty to indeavour [sic] to be able to know him that we may avoyd him, as it was theirs to know Christ that they might follow him.

Thou seest therefore that this is no idle speculation, no matters of indifferency but a duty of the greatest moment. Wherefore it concerns thee to look about thee narrowly least thou shouldest in so degenerate an age be dangerously seduced & not know it. Antichrist was to seduce the whole Christian world and therefore he may easily seduce thee if thou beest not well prepared to discern him.

— Sir Isaac Newton (Untitled Treatise on Revelation)

Take careful note of what Newton says about Antichrist seducing the whole of Christendom. This particular role of Antichrist was well known in prior ages, yet it seems to have been forgotten in our own. But what point would he serve to his dark master if he were meant only to deceive those already lost to the darkness? Snatching those on the edge of the light mere moments before the end is surely a far greater feat of evil and of deception. And as we will discover, this is precisely what the dragon has planned.

The good news is that God has not left us in the dark for these final moments of human history. On the contrary, he has repeatedly gifted us with insights into this time in the Holy Scriptures. And when the various scriptural data points are carefully assembled and understood in their proper historical context, a general picture begins to emerge. A picture which keen observers of our own time will no doubt find all too familiar.

And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.

— Mark 3:24-26

As I will unpack in forthcoming chapters, I believe there is a significant body of evidence supporting the idea that Yeshua’s declaration here about Satan’s kingdom is profoundly prophetic. The dragon of duality will indeed rise up decisively against himself just before his kingdom “hath an end.” And the long-awaited pagan golden age will return for a brief time, snaring the hearts of many.

But Satan’s kingdom was never built to last.

This idea of the serpent using duality and dialectics to deceive is well known to many. Right and left. Light and dark. White and black. However, recognizing this tactic intellectually and in its historical context is quite different from distinguishing its subtle workings in our own time. That feat requires rare discernment.

We are living in the fog of war. If you’re the type of person who thinks a bit more deeply about things, then it’s not all that hard to discern that many governments around the world have turned sophisticated psychological operations against their own people. Multitudes of narratives are being seeded across society, all in service to a larger story. And this misinformation and propaganda extends even to matters of faith.

Unless you do your homework, it can be hard to figure out which way is up with all of the competing narratives being spun at breakneck speed. Yet, if we are grounded in the Word, with a solid knowledge of history, we will be in a far better position to see through this final barrage of deceptions devised for use against our generation.

To gain rare insight into the machinations of the Devil’s last gambit we will need to explore ancient myths and legends. We will need to peer into the beliefs and practices of secret societies enslaved to the evil one. And we will need to understand the Master Work they are even now raising into place over humanity. Only with a solid historical understanding as our foundation will we have the discernment to glimpse the deeper realities behind the events of our own age.

Yet, this sort of measured approach to end times thought and to understanding Apollo Antichrist and his earthly kingdom is anathema to most in Christendom. They have become far too ensnared in the Devil’s carefully aimed propaganda and have failed to develop their own discernment.

Think about it for a second. If all of the popular end times books, movies, and articles on the Antichrist are correct in their fairly uniform views, then why would Jesus have told us not to be deceived? In all three synoptic Gospels, he begins the Olivet discourse – a confidential end times briefing given only to his closest disciples – with the admonition to take care lest we be deceived. If he knew that by the time of the last generation the truth about Antichrist would have become common knowledge in the Church, would he not have told them as much? Would he not have begun his end times briefing something more like this instead? “Don’t trouble yourselves, my friends. By the time of the end, the truth about end times events will be well known, and all of my disciples will have easy access to it.”

Indeed, if the popular eschatology of today is correct, then it would seem that Yeshua’s admonition to be not deceived was misplaced at best. However, logically, the existence of the warning is strong evidence against the end times doctrines being taught in this last age. It is strong evidence that these doctrines are in fact cleverly devised deceptions being promoted by the evil one and his beast system. And it turns out that the rest of Scripture emphatically supports this conclusion.

To be clear, this is not to say that these paradigms do not each have hold of some important elements of truth, but rather that they inevitably veer off into error on one key point or other. The point is that these errors are baked-in by design, and with malicious intent.

If we are to discern the truth, we must have our senses attuned to the hidden realm. And we must spurn the oft-repeated and overly comfortable end times doctrines in favor of the hard truths of Scripture itself.

So, venture with me, if you would, off the charted map, far from the well-worn paths of sickening fictions. For it is in the lonely wild at the back of beyond where we may glimpse the truths of great importance to our age.