“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! [how] art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 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. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, [and] consider thee, [saying, is] this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms” [Isa. 14:12-16]
“...and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God... And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let,] until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: [Even him,] whose 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. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” [2Thess. 2:3-4, 6-12]
The Devil is to appear in human form. He comes pretending to be the “saviour” of Mankind. [Ezek. 28:11-19; Isa. 14:15-17ff; 2Cor. 11:14-15] This “mystery of iniquity” has been in the making for centuries even millenniums. Forging within the human psyche and history a conception of things designed to prepare the world to receive him when he is made manifest. It should come as no surprise that he is already here. Cast out of heaven to earth he has long been working his purposes among men. [Rev. 2:12-13; 12:5, 7-10, 12; Luke 10:18] By taking human form he also becomes subject to death. Without God, unlike Christ he does not have the power of the resurrection. Though his plan is destined to fail, there are those among men who have given their souls over to him thinking to rule with him. [Ps. 2:1-6ff; Rev. 13:1-10, 11-18] This is something true believers (like Christ) refuse to do. [Matt. 4:8-10]
This is a fight to take back control of the earth from the Devil. Whether we know it or not we are all in this cosmic warfare. The question is on which side you are fighting. Those on the side of the Devil will find themselves unable to resist being drawn to him when he appears. They will even think this is virtuous. This is the separation Christ spoke of in His parable of the “wheat and the tares”. [Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43] This is also where the Apostle Paul stated, “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” [2Thess. 2:11-12] They did not prize the Salvation of God enough that they might be accounted worthy of it and so escape the deception. They loved this world above God. As this world passes away they pass away with it. [Dan. 2:34-35, 44-45; 7:9-14] This delusion is indeed strong; above the human ability to resist it. A casual approach to matters of faith and truth will prove insufficient against it. You will recall in the Garden of Eden Man did not resist the devil then, how much worse now in our post-fall degenerate condition, as in the days before the flood. This state of things is permitted of God as part of the greater plan to reveal the Devil (and those among men joined with him) pending his imprisonment and destruction in the lake of fire. [Rev. 20; Matt. 25:41; Isa 23:9; 24:21-22]
There are reasons why the Revelation was given to the Apostle John. It contains further truths of Christ “Seven Seals” given of the Father. There was more to Christ than revealed in the Gospels alone. [Luke. 24:25, 44-45] You will recall where Christ stated, “All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and [he] to whomsoever the Son will reveal [him].” [Matt. 11:27] This is the true revelation of Christ given of the Father. Note where it states, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified [it] by his angel unto his servant John”. [Rev.1:1ff; compare 5:1-7ff] It charts events and the work of Christ in carrying out the purposes of God. This equips true believers to see pass the Devil’s devices. They followed on to know the WHOLE truth and work of God through Christ according to the WORD. This contrasts with man-made conceptions and “images” of Christ’s person and being born of apostate religion and popular culture. All who go by these appearances (without truly knowing the Word of God itself) end up caught in the Devil’s trap. Consider again where Paul wrote, “[Even him,] whose 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.” As noted, this onslaught is much greater than the human ability alone to resist, even believers. Like the church of the Laodiceans they won’t even know they are caught. [Rev. 3:14-22] Christ warned, “Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.” [Luke 11:35] As if fighting against the truth wasn’t enough, the Devil even wages war on the ability of Man to love, “...because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” [Matt. 24:12] Without love and truth what is left? The “...love of the truth...” is indispensable against this. Christ stated concerning the commandments, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. [Matt. 22:37-40] Leading up to His crucifixion, Christ said of himself, “But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise let us go hence.” [John. 14:31] In this fight to take back control of the earth, while in human form Christ defeated death and the Devil. It is stated of those among men who would also do likewise, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” [Rev. 12:11; compare Rev. 6:9-11; Isa. 27:19-21; 57:1-2]