Satan comes in peacefully and prosperously

There is a great deal of confusion and ultimately misunderstanding as to what satan's role will be when he comes in the last days, as recorded in the book of Revelation and Daniel and other places. Much of the book of Revelation talks about how difficult it will be during the tribulation, specifically satan's tribulation and with the use of metaphors and symbolism throughout the book, one can easily misinterpret what is really meant if you are not careful to stick with what is being talked about. Without understanding the symbolism of Revelation, it sounds like the time of the tribulation will be chaos and war and millions of people will die from the plagues poured out upon the Earth. Although there will be chaos and war it will be more of a spiritual sense than a physical. It is all about satan's deception.

What about the Christians? It is commonly taught that Christians will not have to endure the tribulation because they will be taken away during the so-called rapture. Part of the reason for this belief is due to false teaching that the tribulation will be almost unbearable physically due to the plagues, and that it is only meant for non-believers to have to endure anyway. One must ask, then, why does Paul tell us to put on the whole armor of God to stand against the fiery darts of satan, Ephesians 6:11 and 6:13. There are also many problems with the rapture teaching, one of which is that there is no mention of the word ‘rapture’ anywhere in the Bible. We discuss this topic of the rapture in detail in another document, so we will not go into details here. (see 'Rapture Theory') This discussion is about how satan will get almost the whole world to follow him during his tribulation.

Let’s start by turning to the book of Ezekiel, where it talks about how, at one time. God was happy with satan, long ago, and how he was perfect in all his ways before he became prideful and fell. Ezekiel 29:13-17.

“13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. 16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.”

We can see from this that at one time God was very happy with satan and he had it all, so to speak, but satan wanted more. He wanted to be like God. Turn to Ezekiel 28:1-12, satan is playing God.

“1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart lifted up, and thou hast said, I a God, I sit the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: 3 Behold, thou wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: 4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures: 5 By thy great wisdom by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches: 6 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God; 7 Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness. 8 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of slain in the midst of the seas. 9 Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I God? but thou a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. 10 Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken , saith the Lord GOD. 11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.”

Satan wrote his own death sentence with his pride and God has condemned him to death. Isaiah 14:12-14, refers to satans fall – how he said in his heart that he would exalt himself above all else and be like God.

“ 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

This scripture shows that satan wanted to be like God and be above all else, and for what purpose? He wants to be worshipped as God, for starters.

As we have seen so far, at one time satan made God very happy, and he was made the highest of all angels, but his pride and his desire to be above God caused him to be sentenced to death. With this sentence, satan has become the enemy of God and has now determined to play the part of god and try to convince all the people on Earth that he is God when he is cast out of heaven onto the Earth.

Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

Now that satan has been cast out of Heaven and onto the earth, he begins his deception to convince the world that he is God. Let’s turn to the book of Revelation where it tells how he accomplishes this, how satan comes and gives power to the one world system and brings it back to life. He is able to deceive the people of the world with his miracles, such as making lightning come from the sky. He convinces them that he is God, not by doing mean, terrible things, but by miraculous things that impress men and with flatteries and with his wisdom and by fixing the broken one world system. But there will be some that will not bow a knee to him as they know who he is. They are God's elect.

Revelation 13:11-15, “11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.”

Daniel 8:25 makes it very clear how satan comes in with so called peace and prosperity for all that worship him.

“And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.”

Daniel 11:21-24 – satan does not want to destroy the world or the people, he wants to convince them to believe that he is God and to do that he has to act like he is loving and caring. He obtains complete control of the government with his flatteries and wisdom and deceit and the people willingly give it to him.

“21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. 22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. 24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: , and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.”

While satan is convincing the world that he is God, there will always be some that will not believe him, and will make a stand against him. These are the elect, as mentioned before. They, along with God's help, will eventually bring satan down.

Daniel 11:32 “And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do .”

Daniel 11:36-45 – Satan will magnify himself above every god and will say things that will convince the vast majority that he is, in fact, God. He will obtain complete control of all the people and governments of the world and will use all possible means to keep them under his spell, even with force when necessary. However, God's elect, the few that don’t worship him, will continue to make a stand against him and this will bother him a great deal.

“36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. 39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. 40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. 41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians at his steps. 44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. 45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.”

So there you have it, satan has convinced the world that he is God with his flatteries and lies and wisdom and miracles and has been given full authority to do as he wishes. But one might ask, what about the Christians? Why would they believe satan and go along with this, and even worship him? There is an answer for this. Satan is convincing many people, specifically Christians, even today, and has been for many years, to believe that he is Christ when he comes to the Earth in his physical form where all can see him. How is he accomplishing this, primarily with the teaching of the rapture doctrine.

The rapture doctrine (I Thessalonians 4:13-17) is being used to get the majority of believers to be ready to accept him as the messiah when he comes first claiming to be Christ. Most rapture believers are totally expecting Christ to come and take them all away before satan comes, so that they will not have to endure satan’s tribulation. They are completely convinced that Christ comes first, secretly, in the rapture, and because of that, when satan shows up, they will totally follow him and believe all that he tells them and will be wooed by satan with his flatteries and ability to perform some miracles, that will be very convincing. If satan were coming to kill Christians, he would have a hard time convincing them, or anyone else for that matter, to follow him and to believe that he is Christ. Since he is coming in peacefully and prosperously, then anyone who believes satan is coming to cause wars and kill millions of people will be easily fooled when he shows up and does just the opposite. He does not want to kill people. He wants to convince everyone that he is God and to worship him.

In II Thessalonians 2:1-11, Paul is telling the readers to not be deceived by anyone as to when Christ will return, because it will not happen until there is an apostasy first. This apostasy is when people, Christians specifically, are deceived by satan into thinking that he is Christ. The one who is an adversary to God and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he will act as God sitting where only God should sit and showing himself as God. This is to convince the world that he is God/Christ and that everyone should worship him. This is why, not only all the non Christians will believe satan when he comes, but also most of the Christians as well.

Let’s see what Paul’s words of warning are to the Christians in II Thessalonians 2:1-4.  

“1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

Paul goes on to say that he had warned them about this before, in his previous letter to them, I Thessalonians, and to watch and be vigilant. What was Paul talking about in I Thessalonians 4:13-17? He was talking about where the dead are and the return of Christ on the LAST trump. There is no mention of a secret coming of Christ in this scripture. The coming that Paul refers to is the coming of Christ on the trump of God, which can only be the seventh trump, which is also the final trump. This is the one and only return of Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:5 “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”

So, because of this and other false teaching, when some people follow satan they will have no choice but to believe him fully because God has sent them strong delusion that they cannot see him for who he is and that is because they wanted to believe he is God/Christ. This will likely be the case for many of the rapture believers and the teachers of it. They will believe satan is Christ come to rapture them away. This is not to say that they will go to the lake of fire, because God is always fair and would not sentence someone to death when He caused them to be blinded to the truth. Most of these people will have a chance to repent and be saved from the lake of fire during the millennium, but that is another topic for another time. (See FAQ 'What is the millenium for'.)

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12. “10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

At this point, satan has almost all of the world believing that he is God and is here to save them, or rapture them. However, they are sadly mistaken, because the real Christ is about to make His appearance! Let’s turn to 1 Thessalonians 5:3.

“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”

Can you now see the danger of the rapture teaching!

All the people will be crying ‘peace’, because they will believe that they have obtained peace with whom they believed was God, because satan fixed the broken one world government and is providing sustenance and a false sense of peace to all, as long as they worship him. They will be convinced that he is God, but then, there will be sudden destruction. This sudden destruction is when satan has most of the world convinced that he is God and the world appears to be at peace, and then the true Christ shows up, exposing satans for who he is and his flood of lies, which causes this sudden destruction. Imagine the shock to all of the people who are convinced that this one is God/Christ and are worshipping him at this time!

Let’s summarize. What does satan want? He wants to take the place of God and be God and be thought of as the savior of the people. How will he do this? Not by killing people and making war and famine and destroying the world, but with flatteries and lies and miracles that no man can do. To accomplish this he must act like he is here to help and to save everyone from all the mess that man has created for himself. He has to act like a loving god and he will even feed all the people of the world with prosperity as stated in the scripture in Daniel 8:25 and 11:21.

8:25 – “And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand. “

11:21 - “And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.”

He has to act very loving and look beautiful to people. He will not look like some grotesque beast or scary creature. He will look beautiful and full of light, hence his name, Lucifer (Strong's #1966 which is from 1984 – in the sense of brightness, to be clear, to shine, to make a show, to boast.) He will show up in a way that will be very impressive, perhaps in a large, amazing, vehicle that is far beyond our current technology. He will make the most of the fact that he is supernatural and is a spiritual being, and not flesh. (2 Thessalonians 2:4). He will impress with his knowledge and wisdom. He will deceive the non-Christians by the fact that he is supernatural and can perform minor miracles (lightning, etc.) and he will deceive Christians with his flatteries and his kindness and the belief that he is here to rapture all Christians away before the “real” satan comes. (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). Finally, why will satan do this? What we know from the Bible is that satan wants to be God. He knows he has but a short time, so he will pull out all the stops to deceive everyone he can.

Revelation 12:12, “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”.

What does he think he will accomplish by doing this? We can only speculate, but perhaps he thinks he is so good that he will defeat God, or maybe he hopes that God will be so grieved that He will either give up or even offer him a deal. Perhaps satan doesn’t really believe that God will carry out His sentence on him because he knows how loving God is. Bottom line, satan wants you to love him above all else, including God! He wants to be worshipped as God!