"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8
Have you ever been in danger of being devoured by a lion? Have you ever, in real life, heard a lion roar? I've seen caged lions at the zoo, and I've seen lions on TV, but I've never been physically endangered by a real lion. However, I understand that the fear created by a lion's roar can actually immobilize its victim.
Fear is the purpose of the lion's roar. The roar is meant to inspire a mind-numbing terror in the lion's intended victim which leads to a helpless, hopeless confusion and minimal resistance. This response makes the lion's prey easy to devour.
In the Holy Bible, Peter warns us about a roaring lion who goes about seeking victims to devour. He speaks not of a big cat, but of a far more diabolical enemy who wants to devour the soul, as well as the body of his victims. This is a dangerous lion indeed! In fact, Peter speaks of our oldest enemy, Satan!
Peter doesn't tell us what methods Satan will use against us and he doesn't describe the sound of the roar. But, he does tell us how to avoid being devoured. He tells us to "be sober and vigilant."
Peter was aware of the temptation to become drunk with the pleasures of the age and distracted by the cares of life. He knew it was easy to rest on the premise that someone else is on guard. So, Peter sounded a clear and personal warning. "You be sober. You be vigilant!"
In the Holy Bible, Peter warns us about a roaring lion who goes about seeking victims to devour. He speaks not of a big cat, but of a far more diabolical enemy who wants to devour the soul, as well as the body of his victims. This is a dangerous lion indeed! In fact, Peter speaks of our oldest enemy, Satan!
Peter doesn't tell us what methods Satan will use against us and he doesn't describe the sound of the roar. But, he does tell us how to avoid being devoured. He tells us to "be sober and vigilant."
Peter was aware of the temptation to become drunk with the pleasures of the age and distracted by the cares of life. He knew it was easy to rest on the premise that someone else is on guard. So, Peter sounded a clear and personal warning. "You be sober. You be vigilant!"
The early Christians faced many lions. But, the sober, vigilant, early church was not devoured and continued to share the good news and grow stronger in spite of Satan's frequent roars. In fact, they "turned the world upside down" for Jesus.
By 800 A.D., churches dotted northern Africa, the Middle East, Europe and parts of Asia. And Satan was not pleased. (Many of the early churches are long gone, having been converted to mosques or destroyed by the followers of Islam.)
In Satan's view, there were too many crosses marring the skylines of the population centers. So, he came up with a truly diabolical plan. He would create a new religious totalitarian regime which would despise the Jews and would deny the truths of the faith taught by Christians.
Islam would deny that Jesus is the Son of God and present Him as a second rate prophet. It would deny that Jesus died on the cross and rose again to provide salvation by grace for all who would repent and believe in Him. It would deny that God even had a Son. And, this new religion would deceive many!
Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son. 1 John 2:22
Satan's ingenious scheme was based on a bate and switch strategy. His new religion would base the legitimacy of its new prophet, Mohammad, and its new revelation, the Qu'ran, on its association with the Holy Bible-- since it was already believed by many to be the revealed Word of the True God. Then, Islam would use the Qu'ran to instruct its followers to reject the accuracy of the Bible, saying it has been corrupted. It would also teach Muslims to look down on, mistrust, and avoid friendship with Jews and Christians, from whom they might learn the truth.
To institutionalize religious bigotry, Islam would instill within its followers an arrogant sense of superiority based on nothing more than the word of their god, Allah. To instill pride and build group solidarity, it would require participation in rote prayers five times a day (spoken in Arabic) facing Mecca. It would also mandate good works to be performed to demonstrate submission to Allah.
And, finally, to replace the Christian's commission to share the goods news of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus, it would require its followers to fight to dominate the world by force.
Domination by force was actually Satan's primary goal in creating this totalitarian regime called Islam. Since Satan hates people and delights in making them submit to him, he used two methods to accomplish this goal.
First, he loaded the Qu'ran with detailed threats of eternal punishments for the unbelievers, the hypocrtites and the infidels. And then he linked the fighting for Islam with booty in this life and the promise of salvation in the life to come. Those who died fighting for Allah (jihadi martyrs) would be guaranteed salvation and rewards. In fact, no Muslim other than a martyr could be assured of salvation since salvation would be based on works not grace.
Domination by force was actually Satan's primary goal in creating this totalitarian regime called Islam. Since Satan hates people and delights in making them submit to him, he used two methods to accomplish this goal.
First, he loaded the Qu'ran with detailed threats of eternal punishments for the unbelievers, the hypocrtites and the infidels. And then he linked the fighting for Islam with booty in this life and the promise of salvation in the life to come. Those who died fighting for Allah (jihadi martyrs) would be guaranteed salvation and rewards. In fact, no Muslim other than a martyr could be assured of salvation since salvation would be based on works not grace.
That the Bible has been corrupted is a lie, of course. Thousands of copies of the Old and New Testament show remarkable preservation of the original texts for thousands of years-- far longer than Islam has existed! The Dead Sea scrolls testify to the accuracy of Jewish and Christian scriptures.
If you are Muslim, please stop relying on second hand information. Read the Bible for yourself and experience the living Word of God. Jesus died for your sins! You can know you are saved by grace if you put your trust and faith in Him!
By Satan's design, Islam is out to destroy Israel and the Western Nations. Muslims think they are meant to rule the world.
The very name, Islam, means submission. It denies freedom. Sharia law does not allow for a willing submission. Sharia law demands obedience which results in subjugation. Ask some of those Arab women imprisoned in black sheets how much freedom they have.
Islam claims to be for peace but peace for them means that everyone must honor them and submit to Islam. Don't be fooled. World domination is the agenda of Islam. Satan wants to be "like" God. He wants to be in control! He wants to rule the entire world! He wants everyone to submit to him! He is the Allah of Islam.
Jesus said, "Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy." And, that is a perfect description of Islam from its inception. The religion was born of Muhammad's sword. He consolidated a band of followers by raiding caravans: stealing, killing and destroying traveling merchants. Then he turned to the destruction of towns and villages throughout Arabia. And, when he died, his followers continued in his footsteps conquering (stealing, killing and raping) and destroying many countries and entire cultures. Look to history!
And, look around you today. The destruction and pillage continues throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa, as well as in Sudan, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and around the world!
For more details about the millions slaughtered follow the link below to an excellent article at Atlas Shrugs.
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2011/11/how-many-slaughtered-millions-under-jihad.html
Can you hear that roaring when Muslim jihadists explode bombs to terrorize societies they intend to dominate? The world could have heard the roar in Nigeria on Christmas of 2012-- if they were listening.
Can you hear the roaring when fundamentalist Muslims riot over contrived offenses? They seek death and destruction. Who has taught them to behave this way? Satan, in the Qur'an.
We must be sober and be vigilant in order to preserve the non-Muslim nations who are currently in danger of being devoured by Islam. We must speak the truth and refuse to be silenced by political correctness! Every voice for truth matters! Please don't remain silent. And, vote for those who stand for Truth.
But, the most important resistance is receiving Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior and sharing the good news of salvation by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ Who died in our place so we might live eternally with Him!
Don't let Satan devour you. Be sober! Be vigilant! Please put your trust in Jesus and invite others to do the same.
Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of
believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
1Peter 5:9 NIV
