Rev 12
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

Eph 6
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

In being given to understand that “Satan” by very definition is one who “plots against the people of God”. Just as today many so called Christians throw Mat 5:38-40 in the faces of those who seek lawful action, back in the days of Christ, the Pharisees let the people feel just as helpless by selling them the equally misplaced extreme of “eye for an eye”.

Mat 23
4 “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.

The design behind satanic humanism is that it duplicates Godly religiosity in various forms. The motive, to steal the hope of Christ’ sheep! Today, with the state governed by the desire of the masses called democracy, we find ourselves in a situation, where we are preached the love of God against righteous action that is Biblically requisite, which does not define love but undermines concern for the individual who seeks Godly counsel.

The thing is that, if we do not act according to righteousness, we can neither be given to think along those lines. You see, just as Adam & Eve we led to ponder on Satan’s offer before acting on it (Gen 3:1-6), so to if we act outside righteous, we are just as much given to believe as Satan would want us to believe, concerning the truth about God & that we have no hope outside the scope of ourselves.

Psalms 116
15 Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.

Luke 12 (the case of the ungodly)
16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive.
17 “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
19 ‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”‘
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’
21 “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Having said this, I must say that our lives are precious and we are given to discern our situations by the Holy Spirit (Mal 3:18/1Jn 4:1-4/1Cor 12:10) to make the most out of the scenarios, concerning our livelihood. This is speaking in the context of God whom we are accountable to, and our neighbour whom we are to consider as much as we do unto ourselves.

Phil 3
12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Ecc 3 (A Time for Everything)
1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven–
2 A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.
5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.
9 What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?
10 I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

Mat 5 (Beatitudes)
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

To help you understand what an individual is in for concerning a Godly life (Luke 14:27-30/Psalms 127:1/John 6:39-44). It is like specific times of being subject to the furnace of affliction, which keeps getting hotter and hotter i.e. like a sportsmen who feels he/she has not done enough as yet and chooses to press toward their calling, such is how the living spirit given you in Christ perceives Godliness in the Living Triune God. Like a child who loses sight of the parent for that brief moment, in a crowded public place, is overwhelmingly joyful to find and be united with that parent such are our times in the Christian life (Isa 54:8). Our anxieties shall cease at the point of the grave, where our spirit shall then go to be with God, and when He shall return, we shall be renewed in our bodies without the frailties of sin.

We ought to remember that, if a particular thought sickens us, we need not indulge in that thought so as to go from being tempted, to that act of sin. In understanding Satan’s motive to Kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10); we know that Satan often incites us in these lusts and so we certainly should not give in but turn the other cheek. Not in the sense of Jesus asking Judas to kiss the other cheek (Luke 2:47-48) but in the sense of “let sleeping dogs lie” i.e. do whatever in within your scope, to an extent you can cope, to not instigate trouble!

Rom 12
17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.

Mat 7
6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Rom 12:17-18 & Mat 7:6 are two sides of the same coin, just like this topic, which we are discussing. In being given to understand that the ungodly hate the godly with maliciousness, which they can do best to cover with a smile from their own righteousness. We need not entertain their challenges to prove ourselves because our Godliness is of God just & our righteousness is of Christ’ merit i.e. religiosity is our Godly nature unlike the anarchy of self-willed humanist religiosity.

Heb 4 (Remember Eph 6:10-17)
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

So if you are studying the Word of God, remember to use both edges of the sword only as God the Holy Spirit guides you, who teaches us the truth about the Lord Jesus Christ concerning the Living Triune God.

May God be with you and bless you dear brothers & sisters in our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ!

Here is an anecdote that just might help you see the broader picture!

Ever heard the statement “It’s a big bad world out there!” or “That’s life for you!”? People have even sung songs which were chartbusters like Cat Steven’s (aka Yusuf Islam) Number ‘Mr. Big’. This ‘big bad world out there’ is what the Bible refers to as the Apostate Beast, politely known as Humanism.

Deut 6 (Holy Law)
5 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.
7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.

Rev 13 (Counterfeit Law)
15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,
17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

Many people feel that wearing the mark of the beast is literally wearing some symbol, sign or number on the right hand and forehead. Today Judaism too considers these teaching as literal rather than a symbolic representation of one who is to ‘THINK’ (with the mind… as in written on the forehead) and ‘ACT’ (as in being written on his right hand) according to either the Law of the Spirit of Life, which is of Christ or according to the Law of Sin and Death thanks to Adam.

How many times have we heard people say “a little evil is necessary for survival’ (Rev 13:16-17)? Well this could be either in speaking for themselves or for their family, their work or their business. This precisely is mark of the beast on the forehead and hand of the people of this world. If you were to ask me, ‘how can I be saved from this?’ then the only thing I can do is point you to the Lord Jesus Christ, yet you will never be able to truly believe in Him by the power of your own will but only by Him choosing to reveal Himself to you and grant you repentance from sin (2 Tim 2:25) and perseverance (Rev 14:12) against the appetites of men and bring glory only to God. The Bible teaches that many who claim to be Christians, will call Jesus Lord Lord on that Day of Judgment but their lives would have only shown evidences of wearing the ‘mark of the beast’ rather than the ‘mark of God’ (the mark of Jesus’ Lordship over their lives) and a person shall wear either mark, never both (Rev 20:4).

Rev 20
4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Humanism was led by Satan right from the fall of Adam. Satan disguises himself often as an Angel of Light (2 Cor 11:14) by bringing teachings to people concerning what is right and wrong… he couldn’t have done a better job in deceiving the reprobate. He did this with Adam and Eve (Gen 3:1-6) and the world (humanism) today finds some truth in all these lies of Satan.

Gen 3
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.'”
4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!
5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

Today Humanism considers among other things that it is good ideology to believe that God hates sin but loves the Sinner (Ps 5:5, Ps 11:5), that all men whoever they maybe are equal before God (Rom 9:21-23), live and let live (Is 5:20-24) (voice out only when it is your head under the guillotine)… homosexuality is a matter of choice and so is abortion. The god of humanism whatever be their religion is the corrupt will and appetites of men. This is the condition of every natural man who is not an elect in Christ.

So we see that a man always lives by law, which could either be the Holy Law of God that is granted to by the strength of the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil 4:13) or that man lives by the Law of Sin and Death, which materializes from his fallen Adamic nature.

Rom 5
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

Though the natural man may feel that there will be few in Heaven and many more in hell, this is not so for the saved will be like the stars in the sky that none can count (Rev 7:9) because Salvation is not by the will of men (John 1:12-13) but by the power of God (1Cor 1:18). Through all this it may also seem that obedience to God is colossal and yes it is but scripture teaches that the yoke of Christ is lighter than the burdens laid on men under this ungodly beast in disguise called Humanism.

Mat 11
25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.
26 “Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.
27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

There is hope in Christ!