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As I concluded in part two, if we consider the evidence that we find in the New Testament, it appears that Judas Iscariot was literally possessed by the Devil. We are told that Satan entered into him. We have also seen that Jesus referred to Judas as the "son of perdition", just as the Apostle Paul likewise attributed this very same phrase to the Jewish false messiah -- or Antichrist -- in his second Epistle to the brethren at Thessalonika. As I explain in the series entitled "Who Hindered the Antichrist?", for many Christians, this is a rather mysterious phrase. They have no idea what it means. So let's do some digging and research, and see what we can discover.

In the original Greek text, the word that is translated into English as "perdition" is the word "apoleia", which itself is derived from the word "apollumi". Thus, both of these words have similar meanings. Thayer's Greek English Lexicon reveals the following as some of the definitions and usages of these two words:

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apoleia {ap-o'-li-a}

1) destroying, utter destruction
  1a) of vessels
2) a perishing, ruin, destruction
  2a) of money
  2b) the destruction which consists of eternal misery in hell

apollumi {ap-ol'-loo-mee}

1) to destroy
  1a) to put out of the way entirely, abolish, put an end to ruin
  1b) render useless
  1c) to kill
  1d) to declare that one must be put to death
  1e) metaph. to devote or give over to eternal misery in hell
  1f) to perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed
2) to destroy
  2a) to lose

----- End Quote -----

For reasons which I will now explain, I believe "son of destruction" may have been a better translation, although "perdition" also fits nicely in some ways as well. For example, in the Book of Revelation, we find the following verse which describes the angel that ascends out of the Bottomless Pit:

"And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon."


Our interest here is in the words "Abaddon" and "Apollyon". The latter is the active participle of the same Greek word "apollumi". It means "destroyer". The first word, "Abaddon", is transliterated from the Hebrew word "abaddown". It also means destruction or ruin. If you read this ninth chapter of Revelation in its entirety, you will quickly realize that they are indeed appropriate names for this entity that rises out of the Bottomless Pit. To further demonstrate that the word "destruction" may have been a better translation, let us consider the following verses as well, which likewise use the Greek word "apoleia":

"But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition."


"But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul."


"But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."


"The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is."


"And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition."


In every single one of the previous verses, "perdition" can easily be understood to mean "lost and destroyed". This is accomplished when they are cast into the Lake of Fire that burns with brimstone. As the Scriptures inform us, every man will be rewarded according to his own works, and we will reap what we have sown, as we see by the following verses:

"If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?"


"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works."


"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:"


"And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works."


"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."


"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."


Thus, it is easy to see that the reason why these people and beasts are destroyed, is because they are in fact destroyers themselves who yielded themselves to THE Destroyer; that is, to Satan himself. There should be no doubt that Satan is the Angel of Destruction and Death. I am reminded of these two verses:

"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he [Jesus] also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;"


"And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."


As we see by the previous verse in Hebrews, by sacrificing His own life on the Cross, Jesus in fact took the power of death away from the Devil, and Jesus now owns the keys of hell and death Himself. That is why the Second Death has no power over those people who are in Christ, as we see by the following two verses:

"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."


"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."


As we saw in part two, in his second Epistle to the brethren at Thessalonika, Paul describes the "son of perdition" as one "whose coming is after the working of Satan". As I said, my personal belief is that the "son of perdition" was the very son of the Devil in the flesh. As such, he was the "son of destruction" and the "son of the destroyer". In an equal but opposite manner, Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was also manifested in the flesh. Of course, the big difference is that Jesus has brought life and hope to this desperate, lost and dying world, while Satan has only continually brought us destruction and death.

Now, it should not surprise us that because the Devil is the Destroyer, once he had possessed and used Judas Iscariot in order to perform his most vile deed -- that is, betray Jesus into the hands of sinners -- he made sure that wicked Judas met his own destruction in the end as well. In other words, Judas went to perdition. He was lost and destroyed. Thus we find the following verses in the New Testament:

"Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; And gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me."


"Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood. For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take."


To reiterate, once Satan entered into Judas, Judas' primary obsession became to betray and destroy Jesus, because that is the Devil's primary game plan and purpose; that is, to hinder, frustrate and destroy the Work of God, as I explain in other articles, such as "Satan: King of Tyrus, King of Empires". Once that traitor had "destroyed" Jesus -- or at least so he thought -- then the Devil condemned Judas, and made him feel remorse and regret, so that Judas went out and destroyed himself as well by committing suicide. Such is the bad fruit of that foul fiend.

While we have been discussing what occurred on the physical side of things, now we are going to switch gears and take a peek into the spiritual side again. There are two important things that we learned in part two. Let's review them again, because we are getting very close to answering the primary question which this series is all about.

First of all, just as occurs in our physical world, there is a certain hierarchy and power structure in the Spirit World as well; both in the Heavenly Realm, and also in the Demonic Realm. First, on God's side, there are powerful Archangels, messenger Angels, warrior Angels, kings, princes, and other spiritual beings which we are probably not even aware of. Likewise on the demonic side, there are kings, princes, lesser demons, etc. Let me share some of those verses with you again to refresh your memory:

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."


"Then said he [the Angelic Messenger] unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia."


"But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils."


"But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils."


"And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils."


"And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon."


Furthermore, we all know that in the Scriptures, in addition to being called the Son of God, Jesus is also referred to as the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, King of Righteousness and Prince of Peace. Consider the following verses:

"Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;"


"To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;"


"These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful."


"And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."


In similar fashion, we know that after Satan -- or Lucifer if you prefer -- rebelled against God and lost his place as "the anointed cherub" -- Ezekiel 28:14 -- he then became the false god of this world, and the prince of the power of the air, as we see by the following verses:

"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."


"Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:"


So what we see then is that both Jesus Christ and Satan are of royal blood. Don't forget that Satan was counted amongst the sons of God in the Book of Job. Of course, Jesus and the Devil are on opposite sides of the fence, just like Anakin and Luke Skywalker. Yes, that is a pretty lame comparison, but it gets the point across.

The second important thing we learned in part two is that Jesus very clearly told us that since the days of John the Baptist, a great war had been raging in the Spirit Realm. Here is that verse again for your consideration:

"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."


My friends, I am absolutely convinced that the war which Jesus briefly mentions in the above verse is the very same war that the Apostle John describes in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation. It is not a war which is yet going to occur at some point in the future as some Futurists believe, and as I also considered a possibility for quite a few years. It is a war which already occurred long ago during the First Century. Please notice that the verses below state "And there was war". They do not say "And there is going to be a war", or "And there shall be a war", or "And there will be a war". Furthermore, we already know the outcome of the war of which both Jesus and John spoke, because the following verses tell us plainly. The Devil and his angels were permanently cast out of Heaven after a futile war against Michael and his Angels:

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, 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. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 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. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. 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."


For those of you who may doubt that this is so, and who may still want to insist that these verses describe a future war -- even though they say "And there was war" -- please take careful note of the fact that the very first verse in the Book of Revelation informs us that the things which will be revealed to John are "things which must shortly come to pass":

"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:"


As I explain in the series entitled "Jesus Christ's Return: Have We Been Deceived?", in every single place in the New Testament where the word "shortly" is used, it is clearly referring to a very short time period; that is, in the near future. It does not by any means signify a period thousands of years in the future. Furthermore, as I likewise explain in that series, it makes absolutely no sense at all that the Lord would use the word "shortly" with His listeners, or the Apostles would use the word "shortly" with their readers, if they knew and understood that something was not prophesied to happen for another few thousand years.

Thus, in Revelation 1:1 above, when the Angelic Messenger tells John that the purpose of the revelation he is receiving is "to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass", I believe that we are being told two things here. First, this message, this revelation, is for Christians who were alive at that time during the First Century. Second, the Angelic Messenger is indicating to the Apostle John that he would live to see these prophesied events, as would some of the other Apostles and Disciples. In fact, Jesus told them the very same thing when He was still with them in the flesh as well. Consider these verses, which I likewise share in the aforementioned series:

"Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."


"And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power."


"But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God."


This very same message regarding the imminent fulfillment of all of the prophecies and visions which are contained within the Book of Revelation is also repeated in the final chapter of the Apocalypse. They were going to happen very soon; that is, not a few thousand years in the future, but during the First Century. Consider the following verse:

"And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done."


As you can see, even the wording is almost identical; thus stressing again how important it was for Jesus' First Century followers to remain faithful, and to be prepared for Jesus' soon Return. To reiterate, Revelation 1:1 says "to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass"; and verse six above says "to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done." In fact, as we have just seen with the war in Heaven, some of these events had already occurred, and the Apostle John was simply being given a sort of rundown or summary of what had already occurred, as well as what was yet to occur in their near future. This point becomes evident by the following verse, which is also found in the very first chapter of the Book of Revelation:

"Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;"


Do you see that? The Angelic Messenger informs John that he is going to show him things past, present and near future. My friends, there is simply no way to miss this important truth, unless we purposely choose to close our eyes, harden our hearts and deceive ourselves into believing the Futurist deception.

You may recall that early on in this series, I informed you that Jesus had said some rather heavy things regarding this subject. Well, now I am going to share them with you. If you have still been resistant to the things which I have been saying to you regarding the precise timing of this great war, and its outcome, perhaps what I tell you next will finally convince you, just as I am convinced that it is so.

The truth of the matter is that in a few rare moments, Jesus Himself not only told His followers about this ongoing war in the Spirit, but He also told them when it had concluded, as well as its outcome. My friends, it is right there in the Gospels; but you won't see it unless you are looking for it. Following are the pertinent verses for your consideration. I have placed the key phrases in uppercase letters for you to make sure that they get your attention:

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, BECAUSE THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD IS JUDGED."


"Now is the judgment of this world: NOW SHALL THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD BE CAST OUT."


"Hereafter I will not talk much with you: FOR THE PRINCE OF THIS WORLD COMETH, and hath nothing in me."


"And he said unto them, I BEHELD SATAN AS LIGHTNING FALL FROM HEAVEN."


As you can plainly see, Jesus warned His Disciples that the prince of the power of the air was coming very soon; that is, during His own life time on Earth. The Lord repeatedly called Satan a prince, just as we learned a few paragraphs earlier. He very clearly says that Satan is judged and shall now -- not two thousand years in the future -- be cast out. Then Jesus says that He beheld Satan as lightning fall from Heaven. Past tense. The war was over and won, and Satan was cast down to the Earth, during Jesus' day, and not far into the future in our present day. Both the war and Satan's fall from Heaven are spoken of in the past tense. Exactly at what point during Jesus' ministry Satan fell, I am not sure. All I can tell you is that Jesus mentioned witnessing Satan's fall, and being cast out, after He had sent out the seventy Disciples on missionary journeys to the cities and town in Israel which He would yet visit, in Luke chapter ten.

Please go to part four for the conclusion of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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