And I saw, out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are the spirits of demons, doing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole inhabited world to gather them for the battle of the great day of God Almighty. Rev. 16:13, 14.
This passage parallels Revelation 13:13, 14, in which the land beast calls fire down from heaven to deceive those who live on earth. Here the deceptive trinity (dragon, beast, and false prophet) sends out unclean spirits to perform miraculous signs in order the deceive the leaders of the world so that they can enlist them on their side in the final battle of earth's history.
For many, deception seems to imply that those deceived are somehow not responsible for what they didn't see or understand. But the reality is that people open themselves to deception because of greed or envy or some other selfish motivation. Being deceived then, is not an excuse--it is a consequence, a fact illustrated by an entertaining Jewish joke.
The story relates that in the early 1900s an old Jew was traveling alone in his compartment on the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The train stops, and an officer in the czar's army gets on. He and the Jew travel for a while in silence. Suddenly the officer grabs the Jew by the lapels and demands, "Tell me, why are you Jews so much brighter than everyone else?"
Silent a moment, the Jew then responds, "It's because of the herring we eat."
The officer quiets down, and the trip resumes. Soon the Jew takes out a piece of herring and starts to snack on it. The officer asks, "How many pieces of herring do you have?"
"A dozen."
"How much do you want for them?"
"Twenty rubles." It was a large sum of money.
The officer takes out the money and gives it to the Jew. The old man hands him the herring, and the officer takes a bite. Suddenly he stops. "This is ridiculous," he exclaims. "In Moscow I could have bought all this herring for a few kopecks."
"You see," the Jew replies, "it's working already."
Now, obviously we laugh at this joke because of where it stops. Had the situation continued, the Russian officer would probably have attacked the Jew or thrown him off the train. But in the story we see how the old man exploited the other's envy and greed to relieve him of his money. In the last days Satan will employ our weaknesses to deceive us away from our faithfulness to God.
Lord, I don't want to give Satan even the slightest point of entry into my life. Guard me with the infinite power of Jesus' blood.
This passage parallels Revelation 13:13, 14, in which the land beast calls fire down from heaven to deceive those who live on earth. Here the deceptive trinity (dragon, beast, and false prophet) sends out unclean spirits to perform miraculous signs in order the deceive the leaders of the world so that they can enlist them on their side in the final battle of earth's history.
For many, deception seems to imply that those deceived are somehow not responsible for what they didn't see or understand. But the reality is that people open themselves to deception because of greed or envy or some other selfish motivation. Being deceived then, is not an excuse--it is a consequence, a fact illustrated by an entertaining Jewish joke.
The story relates that in the early 1900s an old Jew was traveling alone in his compartment on the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The train stops, and an officer in the czar's army gets on. He and the Jew travel for a while in silence. Suddenly the officer grabs the Jew by the lapels and demands, "Tell me, why are you Jews so much brighter than everyone else?"
Silent a moment, the Jew then responds, "It's because of the herring we eat."
The officer quiets down, and the trip resumes. Soon the Jew takes out a piece of herring and starts to snack on it. The officer asks, "How many pieces of herring do you have?"
"A dozen."
"How much do you want for them?"
"Twenty rubles." It was a large sum of money.
The officer takes out the money and gives it to the Jew. The old man hands him the herring, and the officer takes a bite. Suddenly he stops. "This is ridiculous," he exclaims. "In Moscow I could have bought all this herring for a few kopecks."
"You see," the Jew replies, "it's working already."
Now, obviously we laugh at this joke because of where it stops. Had the situation continued, the Russian officer would probably have attacked the Jew or thrown him off the train. But in the story we see how the old man exploited the other's envy and greed to relieve him of his money. In the last days Satan will employ our weaknesses to deceive us away from our faithfulness to God.
Lord, I don't want to give Satan even the slightest point of entry into my life. Guard me with the infinite power of Jesus' blood.
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