Daily Devotional, Year 4 – April 9 (Satan’s Number 8, Part 3: “Caught in Satan’s Web”)
By admin On April 9th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 4 – April 9
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Satan’s Number 8,
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Part 3:
“Caught in Satan’s Web”
To read Part 1, click here…July 26th (Satan’s Number “8”).
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“if God peradventure
will give them repentance
to the acknowledging of the truth;
And that they may recover themselves
out of the snare of the devil,
who are taken captive by him
at his will.”
2nd Timothy 2:25, 26
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In the July 26th devotional (click here), the eight arms of the Octopus were discussed, and how this sinister-looking creature is a fitting symbol of Satan.
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And it was discussed how the number, “8”, is the number of the kings of the Antichrist Beast of Revelation 13 & 17.
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Octopus – Vulgaris – Wikimedia – Share-Alike License
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SPIDER’S 8 LEGS
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But the Octopus isn’t the only evil-like creature with eight limbs. No, spiders also have eight legs, while most other insects only have six.
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Yes, spiders are also a fitting symbol of Satan, as he weaves his deadly web of sin and deceit for the human race, but especially the Church!
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And some spiders even wrap their victims in their silken cords, and inject a deadly paralyzing poison into the fly, which turns that six-legged bug into a pulpy liquid. Spiders are indeed a worthy comparison to Satan!
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Jumping Spider Eyes – Wikimedia – Creative Commons License
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CAUGHT IN A WORLD-WIDE WEB OF SIN
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And truth-be-told, the spider and his web are fitting symbols of this world. Yes, we live in a world of sin. And 
whether we know it or not, the entire world has been taken captive, just like the little fly, helplessly and hopelessly caught in a spider’s web.
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Whether we are trapped in our lust, or in gluttony. Or whether we are a prisoner of our out-of-control emotions. Or perhaps we are addicted to some substance. Or we are consumed by our insatiable desires for more of this world’s treasures and pleasures, or some type of self-exaltation.
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The fact is, Mankind has been taken captive by sin and Satan. This nonsense about man having free-will is just that: sheer nonsense, as is written…
“…the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
2nd Corinthians 4:4
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OUR SAD CONDITION CLOUDED BY OUR FUNCTIONALITY
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Nevertheless, this condition is often clouded by the fact that, for the most part, we can still function on a daily basis.
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We work. We raise our family. We go on vacations. We have family get-togethers. We lay down at night and sleep. We laugh. We play our sports.
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And so, it just isn’t always clearly seen that we are Satan’s prisoners of sin.
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Barbecue – Dutch family – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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SELFISHNESS, THE BASIC QUALITY OF THE HEART
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Nevertheless, selfishness is the basic condition of the human heart.
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And nearly everything we do in life is permeated by that fundamental quality.
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Listen…“All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.” Ecclesiastes 6:7
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Yes, everything we do is for our own self.
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And yet, our selfish desires are never quenched.
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“THE WHOLE WORLD LIETH IN WICKEDNESS”
1st John 5:19
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Listen again, as Paul lays out our hopeless condition…
“There is none righteous, no, not one:
There is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way,
they are together become unprofitable;
there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Their throat is an open sepulchre;
with their tongues they have used deceit;
the poison of asps is under their lips:
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
Their feet are swift to shed blood:
Destruction and misery are in their ways:
And the way of peace have they not known:
There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Romans 3:10-18
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Here is the sad and tragic reality of the human condition. And though we may see ourselves as being moral and upright to a certain degree, it is just a facade, merely a thin outer veneer.
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“TO PREACH DELIVERANCE TO THE CAPTIVES”
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The fact is, we are hopeless slaves of desire. In one way or another, each of us are held captive in 
Satan’s web of selfishness, and are unable to break free!
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And yet, there is great hope!
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Listen…“And when He (Jesus) had opened the Book,
He found the place where it was written,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor;
He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives,
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty them that are bruised,
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Luke 4:17-19
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Yes, Jesus came to set us free! This is the Good News of the Gospel!
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Jesus Teaching His Disciples -www.lavistachurchofchrist.org – Luke 4:31-32
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JESUS CAME TO SET US FREE!
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Yes, Jesus came to set the captives free!
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No more must we live as prisoners of sin and selfishness! Jesus came to break our bands asunder! He came as a loving shepherd to lead us out of this dark world of death and woe, and into the Promised Land: a land flowing with milk and honey!
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No more will we be slaves to our selfish desires. But all of our paths will shine brighter and brighter as we ascend out of this dark sin-cursed earth, and onward and upward to that land that is fairer than day!
And in that Promised Land, we shall live…forever happy, and forever young!
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TO READ PART 4, CLICK HERE…
December 4 (Satan’s Number 8, Part 4: “The Cuttlefish’s 8 Deadly Arms!”)
Cuttlefish komodo – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Deliver me from Satan’s web that I may be free indeed…
Praying Hands – Otto Greiner – Wikimedia – .bassenge.com – Cropped image – Public Domain
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read…April 4 (Eternal Torment? Part 18: “Stuck In The Miry Pit!”), or you can also read… October 13th (The Devil Made Me Do It!), or you can also read…April 27 (Planet Earth, Devil’s Island, Part 5: “Name Your Prison!”)
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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THE FIVE FOOLISH VIRGINS STARS
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A new constellation has been revealed, as of about May 29th, 2014. This constellation appears as a snake. Its body is comprised of stars from the Bootes Constellation, and its jaws are made of the four stars which Babylonians saw as the head of Draco, the Dragon. It also has a small single star for an eye.
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Now in this constellation is a group of five stars, which will be called “The Five Foolish Virgins Stars”. These are located on the opposite side of the Glorious Crown of 12 Stars, from the Five Wise Virgins Stars. But one big difference between the two is, that The Five Wise are curved around the Glorious Crown, while the Five Foolish are curved away from it!
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Five Foolish Virgins Stars”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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TOMORROW
April 10 (And The Nations Were Angry! Part 11: “Ring Around The Rosies…We All Fall Down!”)
Ring around the rosies – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
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THE DESIRE OF AGES, BY ELLEN G. WHITE
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this chapter of the audio book about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in His life and ministry.
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Chapter 55 – Not With Outward Show
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Sign of the Son of Man Constellation – made of the various constellations on this website
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EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM 
QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this recording #149, a small 30 minute sampling of the late Harold Camping’s 90 minute nightly talk shows. This particular program aired in the last few years of his 50 year radio ministry, and includes caller’s questions regarding his teachings on “the end of the church age”…
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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons