Signs and Lying Wonders

It is a fact that the antichrist is coming (1 John 2:18); furthermore, we are told that his coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved (2 Thess 2:9-10).

Now I looked up this word "after" in Greek and found that it is not 'after' in the temporal sense but in the sense of 'according to', or 'following the pattern of'/'in keeping with'. This is very helpful because it means that if we know Satan's devices, as the Apostle Paul reminds us that we do (2 Cor 2:11), then we will recognize the manner of the coming of the antichrist as being of Satan. This can help us greatly to not be deceived. The word translated "after" can also mean 'throughout' or 'during' so we also have a secondary sense of time. In other words, I think it is true that at the height or perhaps shortly after the height of Satan's working, the antichrist will appear as the culmination. However, this post is focused on the lesser known but primary meaning of the word translated “after”, i.e. ‘according to’.

The subsequent portion of the verse serves to explain what the working of Satan is. Let’s consider the curious phrase, “all deceivableness of unrighteousness.” When people commit sin, we know that this results in unrighteousness within the person. We know this from 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Unrighteousness must be a kind of filth that builds up within as the residue of past sin. But the unbeliever does not confess sins in faith so this unrighteousness can build up until the person is very filthy. What is the effect of this? The person becomes susceptible to deception: they become easily deceived. This is what the rather unusual English construction, "the deceivableness of unrighteousness", means when you break it down and look at it closely. Unrighteousness is deceivable or able-to-be-deceived, and this is what builds up in a sinner. The person will not believe the truth so rather than coming to know the truth they go in the opposite direction, that is, to easily believe every lie. The result will be their damnation (2 Thess 2:11-12).

Therefore, the power, signs, and lying wonders of the devil must be his activities that operate on people through their deceivableness that has been inculcated by prior sin. And of course believing these works of Satan will lead to further sin in order to deepen the person’s state of vulnerability to deception. These things guide people through the wide gate and effectively keep them on the broad way that leads to destruction.

Now there are two places where this working can happen: within the professing Church and without, in the world. In the Church, the working of Satan will affect Christians on a spectrum. On one extreme are those who keep short accounts with God, who confess their sins faithfully. These are not very susceptible to the working of Satan because they are cleansed of unrighteousness and thus of its deceivableness. They are not easily deceived. On the other end of the spectrum are false Christians who never faithfully confess sin but have pleasure in unrighteousness. They are prone to deception and thus subject to the working of Satan, but because they attend church and call themselves Christians, they believe and teach that these works of Satan are actually directing them to God.

One important category that I don’t want to overlook are the true Christians who struggle with sin. God leaves us no wiggle room in 2 Thessalonians 2:12. He tells us that those who do not receive the love of the truth are those who have pleasure in unrighteousness. It’s binary. If you are loving sin then you are rejecting the love of the truth. If you are having pleasure in unrighteousness then you are not confessing sin faithfully. The danger here is that unrighteousness builds up in those who take pleasure in it. And thus deceivableness builds up in those who love sin. The more you wilfully engage in sin, the more subject you become to Satan’s working. The need here is for godly sorrow that works repentance to salvation not to be repented of. A Christian can never be happy not seeing the truth in all things.

However, we should expect to see the working of Satan not only in the professing Church where the devil works on false Christians and attempts to deceive even the elect, but also in the world at large. We should be alert to identify his works there too because we are commanded to reprove the unfruitful works of darkness and doing so can help our evangelism (Eph 5:11-14) and also constitutes the sort of vigilance that we are admonished to possess in order to stay safe from the devil and unspotted from the world.

I want to give an example here of the deceivableness of unrighteousness. This is a video of a popular right-wing political journalist and author interviewing people in San Diego, California, and asking them what they think about the Trump children trophy hunting several extinct animals including well-known species of dinosaurs. I am not sure of his editing practices, so the one hundred percent of people fooled probably does not represent the true proportion of people who would believe such foolishness. But it is disturbing nonetheless to see those who are deceived.

And you can also see the deceiving elements of the story. One, this comes on the heels of popular outrage, still in recent cultural memory, over the sport-hunting of Cecil the lion by an American dentist, and the putting down of Harambe at the Cincinnati zoo after a child became trapped with the gorilla in its enclosure. And these interviews follow not only these true events, but also a spate of similar but counterfeit events, photoshopped pictures of which were disseminated across facebook. As a second layer of deception, the widespread hatred of the Trumps promoted by the left-wing media and doubtless accepted by a majority in the blue state of California, conditions people to be willing to accept a story that puts the Trump children in a position that has already been culturally vilified. Lastly, big game hunting involves guns and gun rights are a right-wing issue associated with hillbillies, so it fits the narrative of despite that has also been promoted by the mainstream media.

Thus we see these three cords of deception working together to hide the singularly ridiculous falsehood (Eccl 4:12). But even with this covering and enticement to believe what the interviewer is claiming, it takes deceivableness on the part of the interviewee to actually accept the whopper as if it were true. And the vulnerability to deception, the openness to being deceived, is exactly what I want us to take note of in the following video because this is exactly the condition the Bible says men must be in at the time of the coming of the antichrist.

Deceit is forceful like peer pressure. In fact, I suppose that peer pressure is a form of deceit. And thus it pushes you into believing something. But in the end you believe it and act as if it were true. We see this use of force by the adulteress in Prov 7:21,

“With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.”

The Bible warns us that in the latter times, some will “give heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Tim 4:1). These spirits therefore force in the manner of the adulteress, i.e. flattery and fair speech, with the effect that the deceivable give heed to their doctrines. Thus spiritual deception works as an iron fist in a velvet glove that forces one to believe a lie that in turn results in changed behaviour. Those who are persuaded that a doctrine is true will experience it as if it were true—even if it is false, and in the Church, this might explain why false teachers have real power over their congregations. This can explain spiritual drunkenness, being slain in the spirit, and aberrant prophetic practices.

The forcing of flattery in turn speaks of how the antichrist shall come to power:

"And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries."  Dan 11:21

The people must be prepared, that is, made deceivable through unrighteousness not cleansed by faithful confession. The people must be unbelieving. Then the ten kings can be forced by flatteries to agree and give their kingdom to the beast. As Rev 17:17 says, God has put in their hearts to agree. But to agree with what? Primarily, to agree with a lie from the antichrist, a lie that puts him in power and also leads directly to the destruction of Mystery Babylon, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. Note that it is God who has put it in their hearts fulfil his will, and to agree. Thus this is God’s punishment of Mystery Babylon, effected through the wicked!

“Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:” Psalm 17:13

This is also consistent with the passage we are studying in 2 Thess 2, specifically verse 11. It is God who shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. I believe the strong delusion is a state of readiness to believe the antichrist and give him the kingdom, which is also God’s will because it leads to the Second Coming of Christ and the destruction of the wicked.

We have characterized the manner of the working of Satan as that of an iron fist in a velvet glove. It is also like the thin end of the wedge and the slippery slope. These principles, which used to be regarded as self-evident, are now mocked in society as if they were not true. But in the following examples of signs and lying wonders, we shall see that the working of Satan indeed proceeds according to these principles.

Following is a select assortment of Satanic signs and lying wonders with a discussion after each one.

Satanic Sign

One of the most effective forms of Gospel preaching is to take on the role of The Preacher. Makes sense, eh? I refer to The Preacher from the Book of Ecclesiastes, and thus the awakening of people to the vanity of worldliness. It is an excellently effective way to prepare people for the hope of the Gospel. Lost people do not understand that they are lost and seldom consider the fact that death renders them and all their works meaningless. Only the resurrection and ascension of Christ which we participate in through His atoning death for us, give us hope beyond this world, so it is excellent to show people at the outset that they need a hope beyond this world.

"For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." 1 Tim 6:7

Anything that suggests worldliness is not vain but is in continuity with eternity, is a lie. The claim that we can take material goods out of the world with us is a very foolish thought, and for those who believe it, it dulls their sense of the vanity of all things under the sun and thus blinds them to their need for hope, meaning, and spiritual life. Heathens from ancient times have believed that material things can be brought with them into death and it is for this reason that we have found lavishly appointed tombs with entourages in ancient Egypt and China among many other places.

There is another, more subtle, deception in this ad too. It is the strange picture of the boy pulling up on his own hair, as if to lift himself into heaven. Long before I saw this picture I have used exactly this illustration for the false doctrine of salvation by works. Biblical Christianity teaches us that salvation is by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. I cannot save myself by living what I deem to be a good life because I have broken God’s law and am already guilty before God. If I say, I am not a Jew and my ancestors did not covenant to keep God’s law, still I am guilty for having violated my God-given conscience. And more fundamentally even than these reasons, God gave His Son to die for my sins, and Jesus prayed to His Father that if it were possible, might the cup pass from Him. But the cup did not pass and Jesus did suffer and die and rise again according to the commandment of His Father. So it was God’s judgment that my salvation required the death of the sinless Son of God. If I said that I could inherit eternal life some other way than by the sacrifice of Christ then I would be condemning God.

God Himself speaks to Job on this very matter and lays out exactly what a man must do in order to save himself! Read carefully the following awesome passage and understand that the alternative is being saved by God because you have believed in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? Wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Hast thou an arm like God? Or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty.

Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him.

Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.

Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret.

Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.”  Job 40:8-14

The man who would attempt to save himself is following the pattern of the antichrist and he is trying to lift himself to heaven by his own works. Though of the earth, and earthy, he is trying to ascend to heaven, but not having come from heaven he has nothing up there that he can use to justify his ascent. He is relying on his own righteousness to take him to heaven. Length of hair is used in the Bible and in other religions to signify righteousness. Consider Samson, who became weak once his hair was cut but when it began to grow again he recovered strength. Consider the Nazarenes who cut their hair at the beginning of their vow signifying rejection of their own righteousness, and then sacrifice at the end of their vow the hair that grew throughout the time of their sanctification, signifying the righteousness which is by faith. Rastafarians and Sikhs alike grow their hair long as a matter of religious observance. But Isaiah reminds us that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags and Paul declares that though he had a better claim on righteousness through religious observance than anybody else, he gave it up and counted it as dung in order that he might find the righteousness which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith (Phil 3:8-9).

The antichrist is thus trying to grip his own hair and thereby to pull up on it and ascend to heaven. But the Lord Jesus has said for all time and eternity,

 “And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." John 3:13

How Satanic therefore this ‘harmless’ advertisement is. The wicked ignore warnings until it is too late because they say, “It is harmless, it is nothing, it is just a little thing. You are making too much of it.” But this apparent harmlessness is a hallmark of the antichrist, at least until his wickedness is made manifest. The appearance of harmlessness is the velvet glove, the thin end of the wedge, the first step onto the slippery slope. It is only that the corrupt fruit has not yet appeared.

We know that the antichrist is a counterfeit of Christ, he would attempt to mock Him. The Scripture tells us that Christ our High Priest is “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;” (Heb 7:26). Since it is the ambition of the antichrist to ascend above the heights of the clouds and to be like the Most High (Isaiah 14:14), he must also make himself appear to be harmless.  But Jesus says again to us,

“Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” John 7:24

On to another example: as I listened to the radio I heard an advertisement claiming benefits of gold over fiat currency. This is a very relevant matter for Christians since I have witnessed many who think the end times are very near and will be some sort of survivalist adventure. In addition to storing up food and water, they prepare for a coming economic collapse by purchasing gold as a hedge against (hyper-)inflation. As we shall see in a moment, the Bible warns us of some disaster in the last days that will make gold and silver useless as a defence. To trust in treasure in the last days instead of in God directly and exclusively, is foolish. Faith is explicitly presented as the superior alternative to gold stores.

However, I want to be more specific. The radio advertiser said that the virtue of gold over fiat currency is that gold never changes. Based on its history, in a thousand years gold will still have great value. But is this claim true? If gold never changes then it is imperishable. But what saith the scripture?

“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” 1 Peter 1:7

According to the scripture, gold perishes, even the most pure gold, that is, gold that has been tried with fire. The Scripture admonishes us, however, that every word must be established in the mouth of two or three witnesses (2 Cor 13:1). Therefore let us look for the confirming word. We find it in James 5:1-3. The Apostle tells the rich men that their riches are corrupted, their gold and silver is cankered, and their rust shall be a witness against them, and eat their flesh as it were fire.

This confirms the perishability of gold and silver and it seems to speak of a strange event that shall happen in the last days. I am reminded of the James Bond movie, Goldfinger, in which the titular villain tries to use a nuclear device to irradiate all the gold in Fort Knox and thus multiply the value of his own massive (non-irradiated) gold holdings. I am not saying that something like this is what the Scripture foretells but I find it interesting that irradiating gold would make it “cankered” in a sense and also cause it to “eat flesh as it were fire”.

What is wrong with these advertisements (signs)? I call them signs because some of them are literal signs that you drive past on the road or on the information superhighway, but in all cases they are voices in our world and they express a message that points us in a direction. The message that says you can take your possessions out of the world is instructing you to trust in the flesh. Likewise, the message that gold is imperishable is instructing you to trust in the flesh. God says you must trust in Christ. He has said that, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”  (John 6:63). We have been talking about the coming of the antichrist and this verse is only three before Jn 6:66, from which time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. That these voices in the world are signs is taught by 1 Cor 14:10.

“There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification.”

Another Satanic sign I heard on the radio featured a nurse, or more likely a voice-actress playing a nurse, advertising support for euthanasia. She said, “Some people may feel like I am playing God, but also they may not understand. I am trying to help people who are experiencing great suffering to transition into a place of peace.”

First, the scripture says that those who believe on the Son have everlasting life: and those who believe not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on them (John 3:36). This means that many of those whom this nurse would kill, would be transitioned from earthly suffering to torment in hell. There is a lie from the father of lies in that sign, and the lie is that all who die enter into peace.

“There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” Isaiah 57:21

Secondly, there are those who are even in the last moments of life who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and are saved. ‘Euthanasia’ is a false word for this action because even if the putting-to-death avoids further earthly suffering, the scripture tells us the following about death in the context of the Resurrection of Christ:

“Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.” Acts 2:24

This means that those who die without Christ are held in death by pains. What a terrible thing to be ‘euthanised’ in hopes of escaping suffering only to find oneself in torments in hell, and the pains themselves hold you there. What a deception, when you could have escaped by calling on the Name of the Lord and then you would never have seen death.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.”  John 8:51

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” 2 Cor 4:17

There is more to be said about this too. I wrote a blog post in the past about the thief on the cross and how he became a great evangelist even though he was saved within hours of his death. His words to Jesus, after he confessed his sinfulness and the Lord’s righteousness, “Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom” were expressive of saving faith, and the Lord said to him, “Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43). How many people over the centuries have read, and heard, and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ through those words? I would think that the number is in the thousands. So even in the midst of great suffering, disability, or old age, one can be made fruitful by the Lord if one has faith in Him, and this fruitfulness will one day become eternal rewards that never fade.

I remember this picture of an elderly man who is smiling like a child, overjoyed, though he looks to be at least 80 years old, holding up a sign that reads, “I just got saved!” I don’t have reason to believe this man is suffering physically beyond what is normal for his age, but my thought is simply that if a person were saved through faith in Christ while suffering greatly due to disability or disease or injury, and they also declared their salvation in like manner, how powerful a testimony to the goodness of God this would be? And how much the knowledge that we are being fruitful can help to strengthen us in our suffering? Often times, a large part of the suffering of those who are sick or debilitated comes from a sense of uselessness, a feeling of not being needed. But this world greatly needs people to share the Gospel in whatever way the Lord leads and enables. There is no greater purpose or fulfilling work than to be a witness for Christ in this evil world.

“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Matt 9:36-38

Another sign is the comic strip below. I have a sense of humour and can see how it’s funny but a lot of evil things have entered culture through humour. God’s truth can make you laugh but it is always makes wise and edifies. It is important to remember this scripture verse when it comes to worldly humour. There’s certainly a link between the vanity of mirth and the affliction of depression. And yet people go to memes for the very purpose of relieving depression. This is an evil, since it provides temporary relief but ultimately exacerbates the problem.

“Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful: and the end of that mirth is heaviness.” Prov 14:13

It shows a man who is happy to be childless because he has more money. In the first place, this isn’t true because the scripture says, “When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?” (Eccl 5:11) Since someone is going to eat your increase, it might as well be your own children!

"And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir."  Gen 15:3

The above verse is what sounds sad. In Abram's case, of course, God gave him seed and this seed shall become as numerous as the stars of heaven. Now Abraham did have children of his body, including Isaac through whom Christ was born. But we are told in the New Testament that Christ is that seed, and Abraham is the father of all of us who have faith in Christ because he had the same faith before us.

But when I saw the comic I first thought of Psalm 127, which speaks of children as the LORD’s reward, which make a man happy and boldly represent him to his enemies.

“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with the enemies in the gate.” Psalm 127:3-5

This comic pits money against wisdom and declares money to be superior. But the Scripture tells us that wisdom is superior because it can give life.

“For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.” Eccl 7:12

Before moving on I do want to include the important caveat that children for Christians does not necessarily mean the children of our body but can also mean those who believe the Gospel and are saved through our preaching. Abraham is our father because he believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness. We who believe in God who raised Jesus Christ from the dead have the same righteousness imputed to us. Paul lived as an unmarried man and did not have children yet he spoke of Timothy and Onesimus as his sons (1 Tim 1:2, Philemon 1:10), and spoke of himself as the father of the members of the Corinthian church, having begotten them through the Gospel (1 Cor 4:15). To put it simply, these are sons of faith. So the command in Genesis made by God to Adam to be fruitful and multiply (Gen 1:28) is kept in this manner and it is not required for a Christian to marry and have children of his body. But the motivation to be single is certainly not that we might have more money! It is the proper response to receiving the gift from God to be single without fornication (Matt 19:12, 1 Cor 7:1-9, 32-38). For a more complete look at the place of having children in Christian life, I recommend this video:

This blog post is already a lot longer than I ever intended, so I will finish it shortly. However, the subject of ‘lying wonders’ as distinct from signs has yet to be explored. I intend to focus on ‘scientific marvels’, ‘medical miracles’, and the anticipated AI-robots. If the Lord wills, that will be dealt with in a future but soon-coming post.

To conclude for now on the subject of Satanic signs, there are countless all around us that contradict the Word of God. Signs and advertisements of all kinds attempt to excite lust, covetousness, and idolatry of every sort, approving those things and enticing people to put their trust in those desires of the human heart. The very things which Jesus tells us defile a man are those things that the world instructs us to hope in. When the judgment of God comes, it is written that it is especially upon those who walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness (2 Peter 2:10, Eph 4:19). This is the filthiness of the built-up residue of unconfessed sin, which is unrighteousness. Their desires come from this filthiness which is in them, and they desire to be filthier still.

“He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”  Rev 22:11-12