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Daily Devotional, Year 3 – April 1

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The Devil Made Me Do It!

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Part 6:

“A Demon-Possessed World!?”

to read part, click here…October 13th “Devil Made Me Do It”

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“Wherein in time past ye walked

according to the course of this world,

according to the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”

Ephesians 2:2

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“MY NAME IS LEGION!”

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Do you remember the story of the demon-possessed man who lived in the caves in the region of the Gadarenes, on the far side of the Sea of Galilee?

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Listen to this account from Mark 5:2, 7-9…

“And when He (Jesus) was come out of the ship,

immediately there met Him out of the tombs

a man with an unclean spirit…

And He asked him, What is thy name?

And he answered, My name is Legion: for we are many…”

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Here is the account of a man who was possessed by, not just one, but by thousands of evil spirits!

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My name is Legion – James Tissot – Brooklyn Museum – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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A DEMON-POSSESSED WORLD

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Well, would you believe that this is the spiritual condition of the unsaved?

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Oh no, most people do not live in caves, nor walk around naked, wearing chains.

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Or do they?

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You see, the Bible is a spiritual book. 

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And so, each detail of this story must be compared with similar details found elsewhere in the Bible before this story begins to truly makes sense.

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March – Protest – Thank God For Satan – CROPPED IMAGE – Wikimedia – GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or later version

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TWO SPIRITS IN THE WORLD

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But even without deciphering each little detail, it is manifest that every unsaved member of the human family has a spirit within.

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And there are only two types of spirits in the world: the “Spirit of Christ” and the “spirit of Antichrist”.

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Oh yes, there are a myriad of angels in the world, both good and evil.

But these countless spirits are either from one camp or from the other camp: some are of Heaven, and the rest are of the Hellish darkness of this lost world.

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1st John speaks of these two spirits as, “spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.” 1st John 4:6

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Anti-Christian rally in Chicago – cropped image – Wikimedia

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MANKIND: PRISONERS OF SATAN

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But the Apostle, Paul commented regarding those who are prisoners of Satan…

“And that they (the unsaved) may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil,

who are taken captive by him at his will.”

2nd Timothy 2:26

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Here we see that the unsaved of the world are prisoners and captives of Satan, “the god of this world” (see 2nd Corinthians 4:4)

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We are the captives of one master or the other.

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Gustave Dore – Paradise Lost illustration – Lucifer becomes Satan – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

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CHAINS OF DARKNESS

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But once we able to decipher the spiritual, it becomes evident that these accounts are speaking of the people of the world.

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For instance, this man with a legion was bound with chains.

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Well, likewise, the Bible speaks of angels in chains…“He (God) hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” Jude 1:6

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So there are “chains of darkness” spoken of in Scripture.

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Anger during a protest – by David Shankbone – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-alike-License

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PROUD PHARISEES POSSESSED BY 7 EVIL SPIRITS

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And listen to this next quote by Jesus to Pharisees…

“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man,

he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none…

Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself;

and they enter in, and dwell there:

and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

Luke 11:24-26 

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You see, these proud Pharisees had “religious” devils working within!

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Brooklyn Museum – The Pharisees Question Jesus – James Tissot – US Public Domain – Wikimedia

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“God…brings out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land!”

Psalm 68:6

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So, what is the conclusion to all this?

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Simple! There are many proud people in the world who think we are very moral, even religious!

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But we are in just as much spiritual darkness and bondage to Satan as those who are held in slavish bondage to drugs, alcohol, and in any other form of debauchery!

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And those of us who still sin are likewise held fast in our bonds of selfishness to a certain degree! 

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Tissot – the pharisees and the Herodians conspire against Jesus – www.joyfulheart.com – Pub Domain

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STILL TIME TO TURN!

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Well, the very Good News is that today is still the day of Salvation!

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And those who still have “an ear to hear”, can begin to cry out to God, and not cease to cry out until the day that God releases us from the hard bondage to, “the god of this world”

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And as already mentioned, there is a wonderful prize just waiting for those who choose to begin the Heavenward journey!

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Eternal life!

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Eternal love!

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And an everlasting joy in a world without the sickness and sorrow and wretchedness which pervades this current hopeless world of sin and selfishness!

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And in that soon-coming Promised Land, we will be forever happy!

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And forever young!

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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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TO READ PART 8 (no part 7), GO HERE…

April 24 (The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 8: “Loving The Devil’s World”)

Fantasy Kingdom Theme Park – Bangladesh – Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to be wise as a serpent regarding this very deceptive world. Let me not be ignorant of Satan’s devices, nor of his power over this world… 

Starry Night at La Silla – Wikimedia – Share-Alike license

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… November 23 (The Two Spirits In The World)…

…or you can also read this shorter article…“March 13th (Planet Earth: Devil’s Island!)”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

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7 HEADS, 10 HORNS, & 7 CROWNS OF THE DRAGON

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“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” Revelation 12:3 

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In Revelation, the Dragon of Revelation 12 is described as having seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns.

However, the Dragon Constellation up in the night sky does not.

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But God has faithfully created the wave of water, in such a way, as to illustrate this same concept of the seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns.

Because this wave of water is basically composed of ten stars.

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The main body of the wave has seven stars (#‘s, 1 thru 7). 

And the tip of the crest of the wave has the other three stars (#’s, 8, 9 & 10).

So we have this 7 and 10 numbering.

And this gives us a great clue, as to where in the Bible we should look, to find out the riddle as to just what or who do these 7 heads, 10 crowns, and 7 horns represent.

Because, the Bible speaks very much about floods and waters as being associated with Satan (the Dragon).

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… Flood Waters of Satan-Introduction

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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TOMORROW… 

April 2 (Habakkuk Says “Run!”, Part 10: “Television, Swifter Than Leopards!”)

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Berlin neukoelln – TV satellite dishes – Wikimedia – C.C. Share-alike License

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90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM

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ALL‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO LISTEN TO THIS 90-MINUTE OPEN FORUM

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The Open Forum Harold Camping April 2, 2002 (youtube.com)

above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain

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