CHAPTER II
ADVERSARY
"The way of the wicked seduceth them." — Proverbs 12: 26.
ADVERSARY is one who opposes another without just cause or excuse, and is there-fore an enemy. The existence of creatures implies that there is a Creator. The Creator is the immortal One, from everlasting to everlasting, and his name is God. (Psalm 90: 2; 1 Timothy 6:15,16) "God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) God means the Almighty. He reveals himself as, to wit: "Almighty God," which means the One whose power is unlimited; "Lord," meaning supreme Ruler; "Jehovah," meaning his purpose toward his creatures; "Father," meaning the Giver of life; and "Most High", He who is over and above all.
For his pleasure God created all things. (Revelation 4:11) The beginning of his creation was "the Logos", his Beloved One, and thereafter God used the Logos as his active agent in the creation of all things that are created. (John 1:1-3; Proverbs 8: 22-24; Revelation 3:14; Colossians 1:15-17) God the Almighty is that great Spirit which no man has seen and no human eyes can ever see. (1 Timothy 6:16) He is the only Being, that is to say, the self-existing One, and is therefore properly spoken of as "The Spirit Being".
God brought into existence many spirit creatures. A spirit creature is one that is invisible to human eyes. A spirit creature has a spirit body or organism: "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." (1 Corinthians 15:44) All of the host of heaven are spirit creatures and are invisible to human eyes. Such spirit creatures are designated under the names of "cherubim", "seraphim," and "angels". Among the spirit or angelic creation was one whom God named Lucifer. The universal organization of Jehovah God from the beginning of creation consisted of his spirit creatures, and over which Jehovah God was and is Supreme Lord and Ruler.
In due time it pleased God to create the earth, and he created it for his creature man, who was thereafter created. "I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited; I am the Lord, and there is none else." — Isaiah 45:12,18.
God created man in his own due time and called his name Adam, and placed him in Eden. "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it." (Genesis 2:7,15) God created the woman
and gave her to Adam for his wife. (Genesis 2:22-24) Adam and his wife Eve were made a part of God's organization, and the man was given dominion over the creation of earth which was of the lower order than himself. Lucifer, the spirit creature, was the overseer of man and a certain portion of the spirit creation, and was made so by God's appointment. He was an officer in the organization of Jehovah, which organization of Jehovah God is designated under the symbol of "mountain". Concerning Lucifer it is written in the Bible: "Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; . . . 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." — Ezekiel 28:13,14.
Lucifer, when made the overlord of man, was anointed or commissioned, receiving authority from God over man, and it was his duty to see that man performed his obligation unto God according to His law. The universal organization of Jehovah God then consisted of the Logos, and all the angelic or spirit creatures, and man on the earth; and all of that organization was in harmony with and obedient to God the Creator. Everything in the universe was in complete harmony.
The Almighty God Jehovah is the Unselfish One, and therefore, as it is written, "God is love." (1 John 4:16) That means that God does nothing selfishly, but always for the good of his creatures. God is righteous and holy. "For righteous is Jehovah, righteousness he loveth, the
upright shall behold his face." (Psalm 11:7, Rotherham) "O Jehovah! in the heavens is thy lovingkindness, thy faithfulness as far as the fleecy clouds: thy righteousness is like mighty mountains, and thy just decrees are a great resounding deep, — man and beast thou savest, 0 Jehovah! How precious thy lovingkindness, 0 God! therefore the sons of men under the shadow of thy wings seek refuge." (Psalm 36: 5-7, Roth.) "Righteous art thou, 0 LORD, and upright are thy judgments." (Psalm 119:137) "The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." (Psalm 145:17) "Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep; O LORD, thou preservest man and beast." (Psalm 36:6) "Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth." (Psalm 119:142) "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5) God can not and will not look with approval upon anything that is unrighteous. Necessarily all parts of Jehovah's organization were in harmony with him, and anything or any creature that got out of harmony with God would be expelled from his organization.
ORIGIN OF ENEMIES
Every unrighteous or wicked creature is God's adversary or enemy. Lucifer saw that every creature in the universe gave honor and praise to the Almighty God. Lucifer coveted that honor and praise for himself. To covet means to desire and to seek that which one has no right to have. Lucifer is called the covetous
one. (Jeremiah 51:13) Lucifer presumptuously regarded himself as equal to the Almighty God, and concerning that it is written: "O Lucifer, son of the morning [that is, of the early beginning of earth's creation, of which he had been appointed overlord]! how art thou cut down to the ground . . .! 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: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the Most High." (Isaiah 14:12-14) Another translation of this text reads: "How hast thou fallen from heaven, O Shining One, Son of the Dawn! Hewn down to the earth, 0 crusher of nations! Yet thou didst say in thy heart, The heavens will I ascend, above the stars of God will I lift up my throne, that I may sit in the Mount of Assembly, in the Recesses of the North: I will mount on the hills of the clouds, I will match the Most High!" — Rotherham.
Lucifer had meditated in his heart, that is to say, his motive was, to gain for himself the honor and praise of creatures to which he was not entitled. To accomplish his covetous design Lucifer did this: He approached the woman Eve and spoke to her deceitfully, and is likened unto the serpent, a beast that was in Eden. Any transgression of God's law is sin, and God had fixed death as the penalty for the commission of willful sin. Adam and Eve had been so instructed by the Lord, that sin would result in
their death. (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23) Lucifer must have known this law of God and the penalty for its violation. It was his duty to know, but apparently he did not believe it, and that belief was due to his own improper heart condition. He should have been governed by the Word of God, but, regarding himself as equal to the Most High and considering that he could with impunity induce man to violate God's law, he proceeded to do so. To Eve he said, in substance: 'Why do you not eat this fruit in the midst of the garden of Eden?' and Eve replied that God permitted them to eat of the fruit of any of the trees except the one fruit mentioned, and that God had said to them: "Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."
Eve yielded to the seductive influence of the wily Devil and did eat and gave to Adam, and he did eat; therefore both were lawbreakers. (Genesis 3:1-6) The eating of the forbidden fruit may appear to some to have been a small thing to call forth the death penalty, but it should be remembered that the offense consisted in the violation of God's law and in doing so after having been informed that the penalty for such violation is death. Adam was not deceived. (1 Timothy 2:14) For this violation of God's law man was sentenced to death and expelled from Eden. (Genesis 3:19-24) Thus is stated in brief the beginning of the activity of God's adversary or enemy.
Lucifer was sentenced to death, but for good reason Jehovah God gave him a suspended sentence, or, rather, delayed the execution of the death penalty, as will hereinafter be seen. Lucifer had now become the avowed enemy of God. Every creature from that day to the present time that has willingly taken the side of Lucifer and willfully engaged in the violation of God's law is the enemy of God. At the time of entering his judgment against the enemy Jehovah changed the name of Lucifer and assigned to him four separate and distinct names, each of which signifies a particular element of his wickedness. Since that time Lucifer has been named by the names of Satan, which means adversary or opposer of God; Devil, which means slanderer of God, willfully bringing reproach upon God's name; Serpent, which means deceiver; and Dragon, which means devourer; and there-
fore he is designated in the Scriptures as "the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan". (Revelation 20:2) He is the adversary or willful opposer of God, and therefore God's chief enemy and the enemy of man. While Satan is the arch enemy, there are many other enemies, as will be seen in the progress of this study.
Everything with God, and that proceeds from him, is light and truth. God is the giver of life everlasting. Everything with Satan, and that proceeds from him, is darkness, and the end thereof is death. In the final analysis it will be seen that each and every creature that gets life everlasting in happiness is and must be and remain on the side of the Almighty God, and that every creature that remains on the side of Satan shall be completely destroyed.
In the consideration of all matters hereinafter discussed keep in mind this great truth, to wit: That the purpose of Satan the Devil is to reproach and mock Jehovah God, and to turn all creation against God, and to ultimately plunge all the creation into destruction. Should he be able to do this, he would regard himself as the victor; and that is his ambition. Satan the Devil is the great wicked one, and all who are with him and who continue with him are wicked; and the decree of the Almighty Creator is that all the wicked shall be destroyed: "The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy." (Psalm 145: 20) This truth coming to the attention of each and every creature, a choice must be made between
the Almighty God and Satan, and thus each creature has to do with his own destiny.
From the very beginning of his wicked course it appears that Satan's purpose was and is to kill all who are on the side of God, the Almighty.
Adam and his wife, by authority from Jehovah, began to have children, and their first son was named Cain; and then they had a son whom they named Abel. Cain yielded to the influence of the Devil and murdered his brother Abel. (Genesis 4:1-8) Satan the enemy of God told the first lie, which brought about the death of Adam and Eve; and from the very beginning he was a liar and a murderer, and it is so recorded of him in the Bible. (John 8: 44) Every murder that has ever been committed has been and is due to the wicked influence and power exercised by Satan over other creatures, and every murderer is the agent or instrument of Satan the Devil; and it is written that no murderer shall ever gain eternal life. -1 John 3:15.
Lucifer, now known as Satan, is otherwise properly called the great rebel. God appointed him to the high office in His organization and gave him authority over certain angels as he has authority over man. It was the bounden duty of Satan to be entirely loyal and faithful to God and to exercise the authority of his office toward angels and men in harmony with God's law. Addressing the Devil, Jehovah said: "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain [universal organization] of God." (Ezekiel 28:14) Anointed means that he was appointed and duly commissioned by the Almighty God to fill that very important position in God's organization. Cherub means one who is assigned to a position of trust to guard the interests committed to his care. (Genesis 3:24) Therefore that Lucifer was called the "cherub that covereth" means that he was over other creatures whose interests he must safeguard in harmony with God's law. He willfully put himself in opposition to God's law and thereafter became a rebel and the permanent adversary of God. One of his methods of deception is to induce certain creatures to conclude that the Devil does not exist. By this means he deceives them and blinds them to the truth, while others of his creatures work with him knowingly and willingly.
INSTRUMENTS EMPLOYED
Every creature and organization that Satan has employed and continues to employ to carry on his rebellious and wicked work is the enemy
of God and the enemy of all creatures who obey and serve God. The proof following set forth herein shows beyond all doubt that Satan the Devil is the chief enemy of man and that all creatures, instruments or organizations employed by him are man's enemies. The purpose of this publication is to enable honest and sincere persons to see and appreciate who are their enemies, that such enemies may be avoided and that honest and sincere persons may find the only place of real security.
To carry forward his wicked work Satan employs and uses wicked angels, and wicked men, formed into organizations, that work unrighteousness. Satan is a spirit creature, therefore invisible to human eyes; and also angels are spirit creatures and invisible to human eyes. Wicked angels and wicked men, organized and unorganized, carry on wickedness under Satan's command. The earthly or visible primary elements that are employed by Satan to carry forward his fraudulent, deceptive and wicked work, are these, to wit: religion and politics and commerce. Religious, political and commercial organizations for centuries have been employed by Satan the Devil to defame and reproach the name of Almighty God and his beloved Son, Christ Jesus, and to deceive the people and to rob them and to turn them into the way of unrighteousness and destruction. Keep in mind, as the evidence here considered unfolds, the elements named as enemies of God and man, and you being thus able to identify them, there will appear the way of safety and security.
ANGELS
"The world" is the organization of creatures tinder the control of an overlord. As that term world relates to man, "the world" is the organization of men into tribes or governments operating under the influence and controlling power of an invisible overlord. Satan the Devil is the "god", mighty one or controlling power of the present-day wicked world, and his angels operate with him. (2 Corinthians 4:4) He having been appointed as overlord of man before his rebellion, God did not take away that overlord-ship when he sentenced Satan to death; and the reason therefore will appear as we progress.
At the time God pronounced judgment against Adam he used these words concerning the Devil: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:15) These words have both a literal and a symbolic application. The word "woman", as used in this text, symbolically refers to God's organization; and the words "her seed" symbolically refer to those creatures who devote themselves wholly to God and become a part of his holy, righteous organization. "The serpent," meaning deceiver, and one of the names of Satan the Devil, is here used symbolically, and his "seed" means, in symbolic phrase, all the creatures that become a part of Satan's organization. Every creature in the universe must become either a part of the organization of God or a part of the organization under the control of Satan. Satan and his seed
are the enemies of God and the enemies of the seed of God's organization. Between the two there is bitter enmity, and in due time one must triumph. Every sincere creature should desire to know in advance how this triumph will be brought about.
Lucifer, now called Satan, originally was a beautiful creature. He concluded that he was worthy of adoration of other creatures, and by reason thereof he departed from the course of wisdom, and by taking that unwise course he corrupted himself; and to him the Almighty God says: "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." — Ezekiel 28:17.
From that time until now a great number of wicked angels have operated with Satan, and they are all included in God's judgment which is written against them. (Matthew 25:41) Satan's chief deputy in his wicked organization is called "Gog", and the place of habitation of the crowd of wicked angels is "the land of Magog". (Ezekiel 38:2-6) All of such wicked angelic host are enemies of Almighty God, and the enemies of every creature that serves God. When on earth, Jesus testified before; men and said that Satan is the prince of devils, the invisible ruler of this wicked world. (John 14: 30) Satan is also called "Beelzebub", which means chief of devils or wicked spirit creatures, and it therefore follows that there are many other devils or wicked ones who slander the Almighty
God, deceive mankind and attempt to destroy all who serve God. (Matthew 10:25; 12:24; Luke 11:15,18,19) All of those wicked ones are creatures of darkness, that is to say, wickedness, and they are the most effective enemies against those who serve the Almighty God, and that fight against God's servants; as it is written, to wit: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12) The entire organization of Satan is arrayed against all righteousness, but in the end all are doomed to certain destruction. The reason why God has permitted their existence for so long a time will clearly appear to your satisfaction as this study progresses.
It is certain that in times past angels had the power to materialize, that is to say, to appear in human form or organism. That was true of the good angels, some of whom appeared to Abraham and others. (Genesis 18:1-15; 19: 1,15) Angels of the Lord appeared to other men who served Almighty God. (Judges 2:1; 6:12-16; 13:1-20) Those good and faithful angels were sent by the Almighty God to communicate his message to men on the earth. The wicked angels that operated from the time of the rebellion of Satan also had power to materialize, and they did so. Those wicked angels operated contrary to God's will, because they were against God and on the side of the Devil. They appeared in the earth as giants, and in the Scriptures
they are called "nephilim". Those angels are also called "fallen ones" or "fallen angels" because they had fallen entirely away from righteousness and operated entirely in wickedness or iniquity. (Psalm 36:12) For the same reason it is written concerning Satan: "How hast thou fallen!" (Isaiah 14:12, Roth.) For many long centuries that host of wicked angels have indulged in assaults upon others, and for that reason are called "fellers", that is to say, ones who fall upon and ill-treat others. The word nephilim means "fellers", that is, "those who fall upon others and cause them to fall." (Strong's Concordance) To be sure, Gog is one of those fallen ones. That wicked host, under Satan's supervision, are totally depraved and completely devoid of righteousness.
From the time of the expulsion of Adam from Eden and over a period of approximately 1500 years the human race multiplied and increased in the earth. All being the immediate descendants of Adam, who in the beginning was perfect, the females thereof would necessarily be very fair; and so it is written, that they were fair, that is, they were pleasing to look upon. "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose." — Genesis 6:1, 2.
Who were those creatures mentioned in this text as "the sons of God"? Manifestly they were creatures of God, whom he created angels,
and who had power to materialize and did materialize and appear in human form. All the faithful angels are called "sons of God", because all such receive life through the Almighty God. (Job 38:7) Those sons of God who thus materialized were not a part of Satan's crowd at that time, because they were not the ones who joined Satan in his rebellion.
Bear in mind that, Satan being the adversary of God, his objective at all times is to turn all creatures, both men and angels, against God and cause them to curse God and bring reproach upon his name. (Job 2:1-5) The wicked angels work with Satan and are also deceivers. Fraud and deceit, used to entrap Eve, have ever been used to entrap others; and so his crowd of wicked angels resorted to fraud and deceit to mislead the angels above designated "the sons of God". The opportunity now appeared for Satan to entrap those sons of God who materialized and appeared as men. It is entirely probable that Satan began to work his fraud before those sons of God appeared in human form. As above stated, "the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair," that is, pleasing to the vision, yet they were imperfect. As Satan had used Eve to entrap Adam, so Satan pursued a similar course to use other women to deceive and defraud the "sons of God" above mentioned. Those materialized "sons of God", having themselves followed a righteous course up to that time, manifestly appeared as very handsome and attractive men and they would appear well in the eyes of these beautiful
women. Satan, Gog and others of his wicked crowd, assuming a righteous attitude although extremely hypocritical, now represented and made the argument to the handsome men that they could do a great and good deed by marrying those beautiful human creatures and producing a race of handsome men and women that might grow to perfection. The nephilim or giants, working with Satan, would use a similar argument upon those "daughters" or beautiful women, and induce them to be willing to the union.
Another purpose of Satan and his allies in practicing that fraud would be to cause to be born and brought up a race of creatures that would appear superior to the natural descendants of Adam, and that of itself would be a further mockery and reproach upon Almighty God. That the nephilim or giants were present in the earth at the time is certain, when the marriages took place between the sons of God and those women: "There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men, which were of old, men of renown." — Genesis 6:4.
Here the scripture discloses the clear picture, to wit: Beautiful women were on the earth, who were the direct descendants of Adam; Satan saw his opportunity to practice a further fraud and deceit, and to further reproach the name of Almighty God; he seduced the "sons of God", that is, turned them away from the path of
righteousness, and by fraud and deceit induced them to believe that they could do great good to the human race by marrying those beautiful women. Satan and his coconspirators, the nephilim or giants, probably found it an easy matter to induce those handsome men to marry the beautiful women, and the result of those marriages was, children were born, which became "mighty men", "men of renown" for physical strength and appearance.
Up to that time, to wit, approximately 1500 years after the expulsion from Eden, there appear to have been only three men who had remained true and faithful to the Almighty God, and those men were, to wit, Abel, Enoch and Noah. (Hebrews 11:4-7) Adam, Cain, and others who were their descendants, were wicked men, and the result of the marriage of materialized spirit creatures with the women above mentioned was that all the offspring became wicked and reproached the name of God. It appeared, therefore, that Satan and his crowd were succeeding in turning men away from God. Only three men on the side of God and all others on the side of the Devil, it was a wicked and grossly rebellious generation and their every imagination was wickedness. Why should the Almighty God permit that wicked crowd to continue on earth? "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." — Genesis 6:5.
Jehovah God is that great Spirit, and the creatures on the earth are flesh and, as it is
written, "all flesh is grass." (Isaiah 31: 3; 40: 6) Creatures are wholly dependent upon God for life, and only those who remain in harmony with God will ever have life everlasting. "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever." — Isaiah 40: 7, 8.
The generation then upon the earth, aside from the three men above named, were fit only for destruction. Therefore God said of that wicked generation: "And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years." — Genesis 6: 3.
Why should God, the great Spirit, the holy, righteous One, continue to strive with man and permit him to reproach His holy name? He could instantly blot man out completely and start another race, but God declared his purpose to delay the execution of the wicked crowd that then inhabited the earth, for a period of 120 years. That wickedness on the earth grieved Jehovah God in his heart, and it is written: "And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." (Genesis 6:6) The word "repented" there used does not mean that God had made a great mistake. The word repent means a change in the course of his dealing with his creatures. God therefore determined that he would 'ease himself of his adversaries' by destroying them. (Isaiah 1:24) His announced purpose was, how-
ever, to delay the execution of that judgment for 120 years. "And the Lord said, I will destroy man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." (Genesis 6: 7,8) The word "created" employed in this text and the word "destroyed" are in complete contrast with each other and disclose the meaning of the words "it repenteth me". God the Creator had extended his loving-kindness to his creatures and had been long-suffering with them, and now he would destroy them because of their wickedness.
In the foregoing text (Genesis 6: 3) "an hundred and twenty years" are mentioned. But that period of time has no reference to the age limit of man thereafter. It appears from the record of God that the declaration concerning the 120 years was before the three sons of Noah, to wit, Shem, Ham and Japheth, were born, and that Noah lived on the earth for more than 400 years after that declaration was made. "And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years: and he died." (Genesis 9:28,29) What was the purpose in extending the time of destruction for 120 years longer instead of destroying the peoples of earth at that time? Within that 120 years Jehovah God caused to be delivered a witness to the peoples of earth, giving them full warning of his purpose to destroy the wicked. God never takes snap judg-
ment of anyone, but gives full and fair notice of his purpose. His righteous servant Noah, by the course of action which he took and by his verbal preaching within the hearing of the people, gave warning to all of God's purpose to destroy the living creatures of earth, all of which had turned to wickedness. (1 Peter 3: 20; 2 Peter 2:5) What Jehovah God here did foreshadowed another great event, which is now in course of fulfillment.
God informed Noah of his purpose to destroy the earth, and directed Noah to build an ark wherein Noah and his family and certain beasts should be taken, saved and carried over the flood. "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them: and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood: rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch." — Genesis 6:11-14.
Within that period of 120 years Noah built the ark and, while so doing, continued to give warning to the people of the coming execution of the judgment of Jehovah God, but the people gave no heed to that warning. Under the supervision of the wicked one they continued to reproach God's name. The act of Noah in building the ark was a testimony to the men on the earth and a complete testimony of Noah's
faith in God, and hence his course of action was a condemnation of all wickedness. "By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet [such things as rain, waterspouts, great storms, floods; and which things came with the deluge], moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith." —Hebrews 11: 7, American Revised Version.
Of course, the action taken by Noah, as well as his words, would be a witness to men and to angels, and thus he preached to both, even as the true followers of Christ have since done. (1 Corinthians 4:9) In addition to giving full and fair warning to those flesh creatures then on earth the Almighty God was making a prophetic picture showing the destruction of the entire organization of Satan, that is, all His enemies, at the end of the world, and this is shown by the words of Jesus Christ, who said: "But as the days of No'e were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that No'e entered into the ark, and knew not, until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." — Matthew 24: 37-39.
As Noah gave warning at the command of God, so also the Lord God commands his faithful ones on the earth, at the second coming of Christ, to give full warning by preaching 'this
gospel of his kingdom' as a witness to the world, and to do this just preceding the time of the complete destruction of the world at Armageddon. — Matthew 24:14, 21.
WHO PERISHED?
The judgments of Jehovah God are always executed as written. Note that his judgment written concerning the wickedness in the days of Noah says this: "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, . . . And the Lord said, I will destroy man . . . The end of all flesh is come." "Both man, and beast, . . . and, behold, I will destroy them." (Genesis 6:5,7,13) All flesh creatures upon the earth, except Abel, Enoch and Noah, at the time this judgment was written, had brought reproach upon God's name. The offspring of the daughters of men and the materialized sons of God were flesh, all of which were an abomination to God and grossly wicked. The men of that union between the daughters above mentioned and "the sons of God" were called "mighty men" (Hebrew: Gibbor, that is, "powerful"), "men of renown." They were mighty or powerful before other human creatures, but not before Almighty God. Before him they were an abomination. The judgment of God was against them, and they were destroyed in the flood. There would be no reason why they should be kept alive; because it is written: "The wicked shall perish." (Psalm 37:20) The mighty flood of waters came, and
concerning the result thereof it is written: "And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark." — Genesis 7: 21,23.
What became of the "sons of God" that materialized as men and then married women? Those angels called "sons of God" were originally a part of God's organization, and it was their duty to be faithful to God and serve him continuously. They yielded to the wiles or influence of the Devil and his associates in wickedness. They permitted themselves to be led into
a course entirely out of harmony with the Almighty God. They were therefore no longer shielded nor had God's protection, but became subject to what the Devil might do to them. This rule is clearly shown by the record appearing in God's Word. —Hosea 11: 8; Jeremiah 12: 7; Isaiah 47: 6.
What, then, did the Devil do with those sons of God, if anything? The Scriptures show that those spirit creatures were imprisoned. Where were they imprisoned, and who imprisoned them? Manifestly Satan and his bullies, the nephilim, imprisoned them, and their place of imprisonment is somewhere in Magog. Later Jesus preached to those imprisoned spirits concerning God's purpose; as it is written: "By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime [aforetime (Revised Version)] were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water." — 1 Peter 3:19, 20.
Those creatures were not destroyed in the flood; for the reason that they were not included in the judgment concerning all flesh, and long after the flood Jesus preached to them. During the 120 years aforementioned Noah, the "preacher of righteousness", had preached to them and they had not heeded his preaching, and for that reason they remained under the power and influence of the Devil and, when the flood broke upon the earth, they found no protection given to them by the Lord God, and the
Devil imprisoned them in the expectation of keeping them always away from God. They had heard the preaching of Noah; and the fact that he preached to them and that Jesus later preached to them shows that there is a possibility of their receiving forgiveness and returning to God's favor, and Satan would imprison them in order to prevent them from returning to God; and it appears that their imprisonment is in the land of Magog. (Ezekiel 38: 2; 39: 6) Satan and his bullies would hold those creatures in restraint so they could not again present themselves unto God. The record shows that thereafter Satan presented himself before the Lord God, but his angels did not appear. "Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord." — Job 2:1.
Since one of the purposes of preaching the truth is to afford creatures an opportunity to repent and come into harmony with God, the fact that Jesus preached to those spirits in prison supports the conclusion that there may be an opportunity for them to be recovered and come back into harmony with God. Being held in prison by Satan would not necessarily mean that they are 'the seed of Satan', but that those who repent and reform according to God's law might be thus saved. That would mean that in due time they would have to take a positive and determined stand against Satan and Gog and all the wicked crowd and declare themselves wholly on God's side. (For a fuller statement
of this matter, and as to how Jesus preached to them, see the small book entitled Angels.)
WILLFULLY WICKED ANGELS
What became of the nephilim or giants, the willfully wicked angels that appeared on earth prior to the flood, and where are they now? The Scriptures, when carefully examined, give answer to this question. Those wicked angels joined Satan in his rebellion and materialized prior to the flood as giants in the earth. They were not included in the judgment of God concerning those who should be destroyed in the flood; for the reason, they had, together with Satan, been previously sentenced to death, and their execution deferred to a later date, as will be seen as progress is made in this study. The judgment of complete destruction was long ago entered against Satan and those other willfully wicked ones, and states that, when it is executed against Satan, "never shalt thou be any more." (Ezekiel 28:19) Those angels are spirit creatures that willingly joined Satan in the rebellion, are likewise maliciously wicked, and are held there for everlasting destruction, together with Satan. (Matthew 25:41) At that time all the wicked shall perish. (Psalm 37: 20) Concerning those wicked angels it is written: "Whose judgment of old [now from of old (A.R.V.)] does not linger, and their destruction does not slumber." (2 Peter 2:3, Emphatic Diaglott) The apostle who wrote those words directs his speech to the time of the end of the world; and now that time has come, and for that reason
the judgment of those willfully wicked angels does not linger, but will be executed at Armageddon, which is in the near future.
Furthermore, it is written concerning those willfully wicked angels: "For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment." (2 Peter 2:4) According to another translator of this text it reads: "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but having confined them in Tartarus with chains of thick darkness, delivered them over into custody for judgment." (2 Peter 2:4, Diaglott) The record shows that those angels were sentenced to death long before the flood. The word "hell", in this text, is from the Greek tartarus, and that word means or signifies great debasement of degradation. It is the same debasement to which Lucifer was reduced when he became the Devil. Those wicked angels were a part of Satan's original organization when he was Lucifer, and they joined him in his rebellion. "Chains of darkness" does not mean literally iron chains, but means that which restrains them in darkness concerning the understanding of Jehovah and his purpose and for ever excludes them from his favor, which favor is light, and the contrary of which is thick darkness. It is written that in the light of God there is life; and therefore the "chains of darkness" is the very opposite and would mean complete death or destruction. Those angels before the rebellion were a part of God's universal organization, and when they joined the rebel-
lion they cut themselves off for ever from his favor. Such clearly appears to be God's righteous rule concerning all who give themselves over to the Devil in wickedness. The Lord declares that he will gather out the workers of lawlessness and cast them "into outer darkness". — Matthew 25:30.
Satan is the chief of devils, and that means that there are many other devils; and they all are designated in the Scriptures under these terms, to wit: "principalities," "powers," "rulers of the darkness," 'a host of wicked ones in unseen places.' (Ephesians 6:12, margin) All of such are enemies of God and are all the enemies of those who serve the Almighty God.
Those wicked angels are alive and continue to carry on their devilish work within their restrained realm, and particularly among those who know not and who do not serve the Almighty God. The original estate or place of habitation of such was God's organization with Lucifer, and when they, together with Lucifer, rebelled against God, they were degraded, which degradation is called "chains of darkness". "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day," (Jude 6) This is in harmony with the following scripture: "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished." — 2 Peter 2: 9.
The great day of judgment is the period of time within which Christ Jesus, the Executive
Officer of Jehovah, executes judgment, and which will be considered in another chapter of this book. The "chains" have no reference to literal chains, but do mean that those who are thus restrained are removed from God's light and favor and are in the darkness concerning his purpose, except that they know that they are judged for destruction; but doubtless the Devil tries to convince them otherwise. When Jesus was on the earth, and when he found those wicked spirit creatures afflicting men, he rebuked them, and they cried out: "What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before [our] time?" — Matthew 8:29; Luke 4:34.
ACTIVITY
The Devil and his angels have been active from the time of the rebellion at Eden until now, and will continue active until their destruction at Armageddon. As Satan "that old Serpent" is the arch deceiver, also all his wicked angels are deceivers, and the undisputed evidence shows that they continue to deceive men. They operate by gaining control of the mind of man and thereby compel or lead man to commit wrongful acts. When one undertakes to serve Almighty God and thereafter becomes unfaithful, he is easily a victim for those wicked spirit creatures. A striking example is that recorded concerning Saul, who was selected as the first king of Israel. The Israelites asked to have a king, and God yielded to their demands and permitted them to have Saul. The Almighty
God gave a specific command to Saul that he must perform a certain duty, and Saul, although attempting it, deliberately failed, and because thereof he fell into the snare of the Devil and his wicked angels. It is written in God's Word: "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." — Proverbs 29:25.
When Saul the king was confronted by God's faithful prophet Samuel, Saul said: "I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord,... because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice." (1 Samuel 15: 24) Such is the unbreakable rule with men who fear other men; and for that reason they disobey God and fall into Satan's snare. The Lord God withdrew his favor and protection from Saul; then the Devil and his angels got complete control of Saul's mind and caused him to make numerous attempts thereafter to commit murder. Saul then sought out the witch of Endor, a medium through whom the wicked spirits communicated with human creatures, and Saul consulted that wicked one. "Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor." (1 Samuel 28:7) This is proof that witches and familiar spirits were and are enemies of God and man and that they gain control of the mind of man and turn men away from God. On that occasion the wicked spirit further deceived Saul by inducing him to believe that Samuel, who had lived
previous to that time and died, was still alive. Samuel, being dead, could not communicate with anyone alive, but the wicked spirits induced Saul so to believe. (Ecclesiastes 9: 5,10) In due time Saul died the enemy of God because he had feared man and had become unfaithful to God and fallen away entirely to the Devil. (1 Samuel 28: 7-20; 31: 4, 5) Witchcraft has been practiced from the time of Saul even to the present day.
WITCHCRAFT
Witches are those creatures who yield themselves as instruments for use by the Devil and his angels and permit themselves to be employed as mediums for communication between wicked spirits and men on the earth. Witchcraft is of the Devil and is the fruit of rebellion. Satan the rebel invented witchcraft, and he and his wicked spiritual allies employ and practice witchcraft to deceive human creatures. When Saul had disobeyed God, the prophet of the Lord said to Saul: "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king." — 1 Samuel 15: 23.
Saul had followed Satan's course and had rebelled against God's commandment and committed the sin of witchcraft. Furthermore, God's law expressly prohibited the practice of witchcraft because it is of the Devil: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." (Exodus 22:18) "There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the
fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch." — Deuteronomy 18:10.
The Devil and his associate wicked angels fraudulently induce men to believe that the dead are not dead at all, but alive. Such was Satan's first lie when he said to Eve, 'There is no such thing as death.' For this reason Jesus said of Satan the Devil: 'He is a liar and the father of lies'; that is, the one who originates lies. (John 8:44) Practically all religious organizations in the earth teach that the dead are alive; and that shows that such organizations have fallen under the Devil's deception. God has specifically declared in his Word: "For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." (Ecclesiastes 9:5,10) "The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." — Psalm 115:17.
In the face of this and many corroborating scriptures (Psalms 6:5; 140:4; Isaiah 53:12; Ezekiel 18:4, 20) many a religious organization insists that the dead are alive in "purgatory" or in hell or somewhere else, and they base their "proof" upon Satan's lie and upon the fact that they claim to be able to communicate with the dead by signs, by rappings and by hearing of voices. Such persons go to a spirit medium and have what is called a "seance", and have the
medium to get into communication, as they suppose, with their dead friends, who the medium claims are alive. Such deceived persons hear voices which purport to come from those who have died, but in fact the voices that are heard are the voices of wicked spirits who joined Satan originally in his rebellion and who are the degraded ones in darkness, and who continue to practice fraud upon unsuspecting persons that do not trust in Jehovah God; and they continue to reproach God's name by keeping alive Satan's lie, to wit, 'There is no death.'
It is an absolute fact, not subject to disputation, that none of the wicked angels can communicate with any man who is wholly devoted to God and who continues faithful unto the Lord God. That of itself is proof that all supposed communication with the dead is the operation of the enemies of God and man for the purpose of deceiving man and reproaching God's name. The purpose of those enemies is to turn men away from God by inducing them to believe the Devil's lie and the associated lies of "purgatory" and eternal torment, which are built solely upon Satan's lie. It is apparent, therefore, that the religious organizations that teach the doctrines of purgatory and eternal torture, and that the dead are alive, are operating under the powerful and deceptive influence of the Devil and his wicked angels.
The practice of witchcraft has been carried on for ages and is practiced to this very day. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries a great wave of witchcraft swept over Europe
and America. Many persons were tormented by the witches, who represented and acted for the wicked spirits, and particularly in England and Scotland there were many hideous scenes of witch torture and extermination. (The Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 29, page 431) In the early days of the American colonies strenuous laws were enacted against the practice of witchcraft. Every American familiar with history knows of the Salem (Massachusetts) witchcraft. The witches, under the influence and control of the Devil and the wicked angels aforementioned, claimed that they were able to ride through thin air on broomsticks, on pokers or on animals, which, of course, is a physical impossibility. Deluded persons yielded themselves to the Devil and his angels and convinced themselves, no doubt, that they could do such things.
As another striking example, in this very year (1937) in Russia there have been a number of men tried, convicted and executed for the crime of treason after having confessed to the commission of crime and the performance of acts of which they could not possibly have been guilty. Those men came into court and pleaded guilty, knowing that their punishment would be death. They recited before the court acts performed by them in accomplishing the alleged crime that they could not under any circumstances have performed. They claimed to have traveled, for instance, from Moscow to Oslo, Norway, by airplanes, the number and description of which they gave, and which airplanes never were in existence. The confession and
testimony of those men, and their pleas of guilt and their execution upon their own statements, have greatly mystified people all over the world, and the public press and radio speakers have repeatedly been asked to state the reason therefor, and all have failed to state the reason because they have either deliberately ignored or are totally ignorant of the Word of God. Those men of Russia, who thus pleaded guilty and were executed, were, without a question of doubt, victims who had fallen under the control of the wicked angels, and had pursued a course similar to that followed by King Saul when he fell under the wicked one's influence. Those wicked angels injected into the minds of those poor men the delusion that they were guilty, and induced them to confess crimes of which they were entirely innocent.
Another instance of the operation of those wicked spirits is this, to wit: On the night of February 27, 1933, the building of the German Reichstag was burned, and that could open the way for Hitler and his crowd to gain complete control of Germany, which they gained immediately thereafter. That crime of arson brought about exactly what the Nazis desired. The Nazis themselves burned the building and then laid the crime at the door of political foes, many of whom were arrested. A Hollander named Van der Lubbe, described by the press as a half-wit, was arrested, together with several Communists, and charged with the crime of burning the Reichstag. John Gunther, an American journalist, was present at and reported the trial
of this man. In his book Inside Europe are published the facts, and from which the following is quoted, to wit:
"Van der Lubbe, a typical enough unfortunate by-product of modern civilization, was not only weak-minded; he had a deep grievance against society and authority, which his feeble brain sought to remedy by pyromania. He was a genuine arsonist. A homeless vagrant, wandering in the Berlin slums, he set several fires, and in his thick manner boasted about them. And Nazis heard him. The further facts revealed are that the Nazis had arranged for Van der Lubbe to be in the building with fire material so that they could make him appear as the guilty one. The fire that destroyed the building was the chemical fire set by the Nazis, who carried their material through the Goering tunnel, and timed it to go off at just that moment Van der Lubbe thought he set the fire. Lubbe retreated from the building in proud triumph and was arrested by the police, and that was what the Nazis had planned. Lubbe was an obvious victim of maniacal depressive psychosis." Furthermore the authority above cited says: "The court was terrified every time Lubbe opened his mouth." Lubbe was put on the witness stand and admitted that he fired the building. He confessed to physical facts impossible for him to have committed. "He was proud of his fire. He resented it deeply when anyone was put forward to share the credit of it." The public has been mystified about that fire since. What is the real explanation? With-
out any question of doubt Van der Lubbe was the victim of the wicked spirits described aforesaid, which wicked spirits had gained control of his mind and made him believe that he was the one who burned the building. Those wicked spirits produce insanity in anyone who yields to their influence.
There are numerous other instances of the operation of these wicked spirits in their attempt to seize control of the minds of men and plunge them into a desperate condition leading to destruction. Recently there has come an affliction upon the laboring element of the nations, and which is expressed in what is called "sit-down strikes". Such has been a mystery to many persons, and is yet. The fact is that the same devilish crowd that operated the Nazis in Germany and conspired to have a weak-minded man to confess to their crime likewise is operating upon the minds of men to produce a situation mystifying to the people and in an endeavor to bring about a destruction of the nations and the people.
From the time of the flood until now the Devil and his associated wicked spirits have been actively exercising power over men and nations. Just now, in the year 1937, that crowd of wicked spirits have gained a greater control over rulers and the people of the various nations than at any other time since the flood, and this will appear from the undisputed and unimpeachable evidence as the examination of the facts concerning the enemies progresses. Without any question of doubt the dictators in the various
nations of the world today are under the influence of those wicked spirits. The object or purpose of those wicked ones is to carry out the Devil's purpose from the beginning, which is to try to defame or reproach the name of Almighty God, and to turn the people away from Almighty God and to plunge them into destruction. To appreciate the great crisis in the affairs of the nations, which is now upon all the nations, it is necessary to consider the evidence of the activity of those wicked spirits from the time of the flood to the present time, and particularly as the same relates to the governing powers of the nations of the earth. As this evidence is examined the reason for the present-day perils will readily appear to all sincere, unprejudiced and honest persons.
