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                           The Devil's Deadline!

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By David Wilkerson
May 10, 1999
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          Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For
          the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath,
          because he knoweth that he hath but a short time
          (Revelation 12:12).

          As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to be constantly
          aware that the devil is out to destroy us. Therefore,
          Paul says, we need to know as much as we can about the
          enemy's tactics and plans: Lest Satan should get an
          advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices
          (2 Corinthians 2:11).

          The above passage from Revelation tells us Satan has
          declared all-out war on God's saints. It also mentions
          that the devil has a deadline to complete his work:
          because he knoweth that he hath but a short time
          (Revelation 12:12).

          While many Christians slumber at this midnight hour,
          just as Jesus predicted, the devil is working
          ferociously, making preparation for war. He is keenly
          aware of the short time he has to accomplish his evil
          purposes so he gives his eyes no rest. He is ever
          scheming, ever devising ways to harass and destroy the
          church of Jesus Christ!

          So, when did the devil first realize his time was
          short? Did this knowledge come to him over the past
          century, as he read the signs of the times? Did he
          realize it as the nation of Israel was reborn, and
          nation began rising against nation? Did he recognize it
          when he saw a great falling away from the Christian
          faith? Did he suddenly deduct from biblical references
          regarding these events that Jesus was about to return
          for his bride?

          And when the devil came to this realization that his
          time was short, did he fly into a panic? Did he
          scramble to set up a war room on earth, planning a
          last-ditch, frantic battle against the church? Did he
          say to himself, Time is slipping away. I've got to work
          fast, because I have only a short time before Christ
          returns!

          No! Satan's deadline was given to him centuries ago. It
          can be traced to a great wonder that took place in the
          heavens. This wonder was an incredible warfare, when
          Satan determined to destroy the Christ child:

          And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman
          clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and
          upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and she being
          with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be
          delivered (verses 1-2).

          The sun in this passage represents God. And the woman
          clothed with the sun represents Christ's bride, or
          God's chosen people. (She's crowned with twelve stars,
          which stand for the twelve tribes of Israel, as well as
          the twelve disciples.) Finally, the child to be born
          here is Jesus, the deliverer. The passage continues:

          There appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a
          great red dragon [the devil] having seven heads and ten
          horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail
          drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did
          cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the
          woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour
          her child as soon as it was born (verses 3-4).

          Satan is pictured here as waiting on the earth to
          destroy the Christ child as it was born. And oh, how
          often the devil tried to devour Jesus! Satan first used
          Herod to try to destroy Christ, ordering the evil king
          to murder all the male babies in Bethlehem. Herod's
          exceeding anger was a demonic rage an incarnation of
          the devil himself!

          You might wonder, If Herod was Satan-possessed, why
          didn't the devil point out to him which child was
          Christ? Why did all male babies have to be killed? The
          Lord blinded Satan's eyes! As this passage tells us,
          God hid Christ from the enemy for a season: She brought
          forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a
          rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and
          to his throne (verse 5).

          Next, scripture says, There was war in heaven: Michael
          and his angels fought against the dragon; and the
          dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not (verses
          7-8). This war was waged by Satan against the son of
          God and the devil lost. He was overcome by the blood of
          the cross, defeated once and for all!

          Moreover, Satan lost his access to heaven: neither was
          their place found any more in heaven (verse 8). that
          old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
          deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
          earth, and his angels were cast out with him (verse 9).

          At one time the devil's movements weren't limited to
          the earth. Job tells us, There was a day when the sons
          of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and
          Satan came also among them (Job 1:6). The devil must
          have come before God's throne frequently as the accuser
          of the brethren.

          But today Satan no longer has God's ear. He can't
          accuse God's children of anything anymore because
          Christ's blood has prevailed over all his lies! Jesus
          intercession for us now has nothing to do with refuting
          Satan's accusations. As far as God is concerned, the
          victory of the cross negated them all!

          Satan may lie to you, giving you no rest from his
          accusations. But he can't accuse you to the heavenly
          father. He's been banned from heaven and all his
          accusations are meaningless!

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                         The War Rages on and It's
                           Being Waged on Earth!

                      -------------------------------

          The great cosmic war is no longer between Christ and
          the devil. Jesus now sits safely with the heavenly
          father, well beyond Satan's reach. But the devil is
          still waging a war against Christ by directing it
          against his seed!

          The dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make
          war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the
          commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus
          Christ (Revelation 12:17). The same fury and temptation
          that Satan aimed at Jesus in the wilderness now comes
          against all who would follow Christ!

          Peter gives us this warning: Be sober, be diligent,
          because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion
          walketh about seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).
          This doesn't mean the devil is hovering in the cosmos
          somewhere, giving orders to his demonic hosts. We just
          read that Satan was cast down to earth, when Christ
          defeated him at the cross. Thus, the devil's kingdom is
          limited to the here-and-now.

          (The spiritual wickedness in high places Paul speaks of
          has to do with spiritual depravity in high government
          offices and backslidden church leadership. Paul is
          saying Satan's spirit is at work in many who occupy
          these influential positions.)

          Contrary to the thinking of some Christians, Satan
          doesn't possess omnipotent power. He has been defeated
          by Jesus and stripped of all authority. Nor is Satan
          omniscient, meaning he can't read minds. And he's not
          omnipresent, he can't be everywhere at one time. He is
          physically limited to being in one place at any one
          time.

          But Satan does have principalities and powers stationed
          throughout the earth. And his host of demons feed him
          intelligence at his beck and call. They hear you when
          you pray, and they see your obedience to God. And
          that's what stirs up Satan's wrath against you!

          When scripture says, (the devil) knoweth that he hath
          but a short time (verse 12), it's not referring to the
          time Satan has left before the return of Christ.
          Rather, it's about continual deadlines, a series of
          short times the devil has to accomplish his work. It's
          all about the brief times he has to make war against
          God's saints!

          As we examine what it means for the devil to have this
          short time, we need to ask: What do we do that so
          angers him toward us? What causes him to flood us with
          hell's entire arsenal? How do we awaken the powers of
          darkness that try to devour us?

          I believe we do three things that draw the devil's
          wrath:

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                        1. We Anger Satan With Every
                         Deep Stirring Toward God!

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          Perhaps you've recently renewed your commitment to pray
          with all diligence. Or, maybe you've expressed a hunger
          to walk before the Lord in holiness. Or, perhaps you've
          consecrated your mind and body to God as a living
          sacrifice. You've cried out, I'm not going halfway
          anymore. I'm giving everything I have to Jesus!

          These kinds of commitments stir up the devil's wrath as
          nothing else does. He knows that anyone whose life is
          wholly given to God is a great threat to his kingdom.
          He remembers the lives of Peter, Paul, Philip,
          individuals who stepped out of the crowd and cried, I'm
          doing it God's way! They surrendered all to Christ and
          they wrought havoc on Satan's kingdom!

          The devil knows all too well that everyone who seeks
          God with all his heart will find him, that praying
          saints will eventually prevail, that God will accept
          every living sacrifice given with a whole heart that
          the hungry spirit will be satisfied.

          But Satan also knows there's a period between the time
          the prayer is spoken and when it's answered. Beloved,
          that is the devil's short time to work! He knows the
          importunate widow cried for a season before she was
          heard. And, likewise, our answer will come in due
          season. In the meantime, the devil tries to devour us,
          as we wait on the Lord!

          The fact is, God doesn't jump every time we cry, Lord,
          I give it all to you! God knows that consecration,
          surrender and hunger for Christ don't always accompany
          a one-time, emotional cry. Therefore, his Spirit
          doesn't respond until he sees in us a sustained
          determination, some kind of evidence that we won't turn
          back from our hunger.

          Satan recognizes this also. He knows from having
          observed our lives when we're not serious about our
          commitment to the Lord. If we're not serious about
          following through, he doesn't waste his time on us. He
          leaves us alone in our weakness and sin.

          But the moment he sees true devotion in us, a desire to
          be set free from sin, a determination to put off all
          foolishness and put on Christ, then he knows his time
          is short. He knows there will be only a brief period
          before we're out of his clutches and walking in glory,
          operating by faith, living in victory. That's when he
          starts throwing everything in hell at us!

          This is the very reason why so many dedicated believers
          in the body of Christ are going through intense trials
          right now. Revelation 12 is telling us: Go ahead,
          Christian step out of your lethargy. Yield your body to
          Jesus as a living sacrifice. Trust the Holy Ghost to
          deliver you from every lust. Seek God with all that's
          in you. But be prepared to face the trial of your life
          because Satan will come at you with all his might!

          The serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood
          after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried
          away of the flood (Revelation 12:15). You're going to
          be inundated with awful temptations, harassing spirits,
          weariness, despondency, unbelief, discouragement. The
          enemy will try to afflict you in body, mind and spirit!

          Satan knows your weak spots, your struggles with flesh,
          lust or mind problems and he'll work hard on you in
          those areas. He'll try to carry you away in a flood of
          trials and temptations, doing everything he can to
          bring you down. He's frantic because he sees you on the
          brink of victory, and he knows his time is short!

          Tragically, the devil often succeeds in this short
          time. Many believers give up the fight, giving in to
          temptation and despair. They believe Satan's lies that
          they're no good, unclean, never going to be free. And
          they end up shipwrecked in their faith.

          Yet the truth is, such lies never reach God's ears. He
          won't allow anything of Satan in the heavens. So, we
          have to shut out the devil's lies as well, by faith in
          Christ's work on the cross!

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                      2. Another Deadline of the Devil
                   Immediately Follows Our Obedience to a
                  Fresh Call To Some Ministry or Service.

                      -------------------------------

          Ask anyone who has been called by God to step out into
          some new work of the kingdom and that person will tell
          you Satan has come at him in a rage, hurling one
          affliction after another.

          The devil listens to you. He hears all about that new
          step of faith God has called you to take. You've prayed
          over it, you've talked about it, you've sought counsel
          from others for it. And when Satan heard you say yes to
          God, he knew he had but a short time to utterly destroy
          that call!

          So it was in the life of Christ. No sooner was Jesus
          baptized with the dove appearing, and the voice from
          heaven declaring him the lamb of God, the savior of the
          world than Satan went to work. He knew he had only
          forty days and nights to try to devour Jesus and stop
          his ministry. And he worked feverishly, using every
          ploy of hell!

          No sooner did Jesus declare Peter a rock of faith than
          Satan moved in to sift the disciple, driving him to
          unbelief and betrayal. Satan knew he had to act quickly
          in Peter's life, before Jesus words about the disciple
          could come to pass. But the temptation ultimately
          failed because one day that rock of a man struck fear
          in Satan's kingdom!

          I know what this kind of hellish attack is all about. I
          am just now emerging from one of the most painful
          experiences of my life. And it all happened because God
          recently put a fresh call to ministry on my life!

          After spending much time in prayer, I have sensed God's
          call to expand my ministry by speaking to pastors
          around the world. (I am not leaving the ministry of
          Times Square Church, or the ministry of these written
          messages. I am only adding this occasional aspect of
          ministry, by the direction of the Holy Spirit.)

          I plan to speak this spring to gatherings of pastors in
          four nations France, Romania, Poland, and Macedonia and
          the Balkans. This last gathering would include pastors
          from all the ethnic groups there that hate one another
          - Serbian pastors, Albanian pastors, pastors from
          Kosovo and the Balkan countries. These men would be
          worshipping together, standing as one in Christ, in
          love with him and one another.

          Yet no sooner had I scheduled this trip than Satan
          moved in. Up to that point I had been at a peak of
          health. But suddenly I was struck down physically.
          Within a matter of hours I became so weak I could
          hardly walk. I felt sharp internal pains, as if I were
          trying to pass a kidney stone. Soon blotches appeared
          on my stomach.

          A doctor friend told me I had shingles, a disease that
          comes from the remains of childhood chickenpox. The
          older you are when you get shingles (and I'm over
          sixty), the worse you feel it. I spent weeks in pain,
          and no medication could stop it. I developed sores on
          top of my blotches, and I couldn't sleep.

          The devil seemed to be laughing, saying, So you're
          taking on this new ministry, are you? You won't if I
          can help it!

          Yet, right now, as I write this message within weeks of
          my trip, all the sores have disappeared. The Lord has
          raised me up and given me new strength. It all was
          warfare from hell!

          It has always been this way, throughout my years in
          ministry. Every new acceptance of a call from the Lord
          has been followed by demonic attacks particularly
          against my wife, Gwen, and my four children. The devil
          has often tried to scare me by threatening, Every yes
          to God will cost you your wife, your children, your
          health.

          In the late 1980s, when we moved to New York City to
          establish Times Square Church, Gwen had another
          occurrence of breast cancer. She had to have an
          emergency operation, and afterward we wondered if the
          surgeons had gotten all the cancer. Then, on the day
          Gwen came home from the hospital, we received a call
          from Texas: Our daughter, Bonnie, was diagnosed with
          cancer. She had a 30 percent chance of survival.

          I heard the devil laughing then, too, saying, So, you
          think you're going to establish a church in New York?
          Think again, preacher!

          Satan tries to frighten and discourage every servant of
          God with such lies. Today Gwen is healthy and strong,
          and Bonnie has been clear of cancer for ten years. And
          right now, as I write this message, I feel no physical
          pain whatsoever.

          The devil comes at us with these intense trials because
          he knows he has only a short time to try to destroy
          God's plans. But we are not to fear him!

          John Knox is a great example of how we can face down
          the devil's lies. Knox was one of Britain's most
          powerful preachers. His awesome preaching caused kings
          and queens to tremble. And he lived a righteous life to
          back up the gospel he preached, uncompromising to the
          end.

          In Knox's later years, when he became terminally ill,
          Satan faced another deadline. This man had angered hell
          probably as much as the apostle Paul had. So the devil
          set out, in the short time he had left, to send Knox
          into eternity in fear and unbelief.

          Knox wrote, All my life I have been tested and
          assaulted of Satan. But my present test has assailed me
          most fearfully. He has set to devour me, and make an
          end of me. Often, before, he would place all my sins
          before my eyes. He tried to ensnare me with the
          allurements of this world. But the Spirit broke those
          attacks.

          Now he has attacked me another way. This cunning devil
          has labored to persuade me that I have earned heaven by
          my faithfulness to my ministry! Knox knew that
          salvation came by faith alone. He had preached this all
          his life, stating clearly that no one can be saved by
          his own righteousness, no matter how many good works
          he'd done. But now Satan tried to damn the preacher by
          tripping him up over his own faithfulness!

          Just before he died, Knox testified, Blessed be God who
          has enabled me to beat down and quench this fiery dart
          by passages from the scripture. By the grace of God, I
          am what I am not I, but the grace of God in me. Through
          Jesus Christ I have gained the victory. The tempter
          shall not touch me again in this short time. I will
          soon exchange this mortal life for blessed immortality
          through Jesus Christ!

          Thank God for the testimony of John Knox! He used
          scripture to stand against Satan, and the Lord
          delivered him. He went home to glory singing God's
          praises in faith!

                      -------------------------------

                        3. The Devil Has a Deadline
                         With Those Who Would Come
                         To Christ To Be Saved And
                       Delivered From Satan's Power!

                      -------------------------------

          What I'm about to say may offend you. But the Bible
          states it very clearly: If you're a slave to lust,
          living in sin, without the Spirit of Christ in you,
          you're a child of the devil himself. Jesus says, Ye are
          of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father
          ye will do (John 8:44). He's saying, Satan is in
          control of your life. Therefore, your father isn't God,
          but the devil. You're part of the enemy's family, not
          the Lord's!

          Of course, Christ spoke these words to a religious
          crowd who thought they were good in God's eyes. They
          were outwardly clean and religious but inwardly they
          were full of lust, sensuality, fornication,
          covetousness.

          Yet there is also a sickness that strikes the children
          of the devil. It's called sin-sickness. The deeper in
          sin a person falls, the more critical this sickness
          becomes. It reaches its peak when sin suddenly loses
          its pleasure, becoming boring and unfulfilling.

          Sin-sickness drove a famous young TV star to suicide
          just weeks ago. The actor was starring in a hit series
          and making a fortune. He had just signed contracts to
          star in movies and was dating a beautiful actress. He
          had fame, fortune and good health.

          But then his lifeless body was found in a cheap porno
          hotel. Apparently, none of the world's pleasures had
          satisfied him. His life had become empty, meaningless
          and suicide finally ended it all. He died as a result
          of sin-sickness!

          If you've never given your life to Jesus, then up to
          now the devil has had complete control over you. He has
          ruled and reigned over your life. But perhaps now Satan
          sees a change coming over you and he knows he's losing
          his hold on you!

          Sin has suddenly lost its sweet taste to you. You don't
          go to the evil places you once frequented. And you're
          not as anxious to party anymore. Money no longer
          satisfies you, and neither do sex or possessions. You
          feel a growing emptiness inside you.

          And now here you are, reading this message. Perhaps
          you've become willing to read the Bible. Nobody's
          making you do it; something inside is urging you to
          pick it up.

          Dear one, right now Jesus is knocking at the door of
          your heart, and the devil knows it. And the one thing
          Satan fears most is that you ll open the door to
          Christ!

                      -------------------------------

                         From The Moment The Devil
                          Hears That Knock On The
                         Door Of Your Heart, Until
                           The Time You Open And
                           Receive Christ, All Of
                          Hell Goes Into A Panic!

                      -------------------------------

          The devil knows he has only a short time left to work
          on you. And now he's going to try everything he can to
          keep you from answering God's call! The gospel of Luke
          tells us of a father who brought his demon-possessed
          son to Jesus. Christ told the father, Bring thy son
          hither. And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him
          down, and tare him (Luke 9:41-42). The word tare here
          means violently convulse, terribly shake.

          This young man was coming to Christ about to be set
          free, translated out of the kingdom of darkness and
          into the kingdom of light. The devil saw he was about
          to lose another victim. So, in a rage, he threw the
          young man to the ground in one last, violent attack. He
          wanted to kill him and take his soul before Jesus could
          deliver him!

          Satan will try to do the same thing to you today. The
          moment you move toward Christ, he'll attempt one last
          devouring attack. He'll put before your eyes the most
          alluring temptations. He'll try to cast you down with
          lies, telling you you'll never be free from sin and
          lust. He'll try to convince you you'll always be his,
          not God's!

          But let me remind you: The instant you move toward
          Jesus, the devil is rendered helpless. He can't stop
          anyone who's headed to Christ! He couldn't keep the
          demon-possessed young man from reaching Jesus. All
          Christ had to do was say a word: And Jesus rebuked the
          unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him
          again to his father (verse 42).

          James tells us, Resist the devil, and he will flee from
          you (James 4:7). So, how do you resist the enemy? You
          do it by faith alone! Simply come to Jesus, trusting
          he'll rescue you from Satan's clutches. Whom resist
          steadfast in the faith (1 Peter 5:9).

          You can be free today. You can say to Satan, When I
          finish reading this message, I'm going to be a free
          person. Jesus is my savior and he's going to deliver me
          from every lust and ungodly passion. It's all going to
          go because he said so!

          The times ahead may get hard for you. But the father's
          glorious, blazing sun will shine ever brighter for you!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771, USA.

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