The amazement of magic

Amazement can sometimes leave us gob-smacked, we see something unfold before our very eyes and many varying emotions kick in. Many of you may have heard or seen the new kid on the block, “Dynamo Magician Impossible”. He performs acts that are humanly impossible to grasp. He gets a kick out of leaving his audience in astonishment, he performs his magic and when his spectators are trying to figure it out he disappears off into the distance. Our mind has been designed to settle any given situation we witness, but with these types of unexplained events it leaves the brain scrambling for answers. I am no longer amazed at what I witness but rather excited from a different perspective. I use the Word of God to help me figure out what is going on!

Did you know that there is an allotted time given to Satan to make war against the saints on earth, it is part of God’s sovereign plan. Think of life as if it is a play and God is the director, in chapter six and scene sixty-six Satan has the lead role but only for a short time. This scene is not far off! Why do you think magicians like Dynamo are involved in changing the perceptions of people’s reality? It was no different in the days of Moses! Except that today these types of marvels are seen throughout the world, television has made sure of that.

Many of his tricks mimic that which the Lord Jesus achieved whilst on earth.

Jesus walked on water; - “But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."” (Matthew 14:26-27) – Dynamo walked on the Thames – Jesus fed the hungry with fish- Dynamo fed the hungry in Khyalisha with fish from an empty bucket. Now many sceptics today question these events and interpret it with altered explanations; the water Thames event is explained away with structures under the water. Their minds can only ever accept a natural explanation because it settles their understanding. I am convinced that most of these types of people can only reason in the natural realm, it is what makes sense to them. Far too many unknowns are needed to arrive at their conclusions.

But what if another dimension was involved in accomplishing that event?

As Christians we are aware of the natural and the spiritual realms and they have not been subjected to the same rules. An angel is a spiritual being and unseen to the natural eye. God has ordained this order. I can obviously prove this from scripture; “There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another.” (1Corinthians 15:40) – Everything that has been naturally created is within our grasp, that which has been spiritually created is outside the grasp of our natural faculties. Just because we cannot see something it does not mean that it doesn’t exist, we know it does! Christianity depends on the unseen; “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) – If this is our reality why do we struggle to believe that the enemy, Satan hasn’t been afforded the use of lying signs and wonders to deceive the nations? Did you not know that the world will ultimately believe a lie? “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false.” (2Thessolonians 2:9-11) – I need for us to understand that if something is false that does not mean it isn’t a reality, in other words a lying sign and wonder does not mean that what one witnesses hasn’t actually happened. What is does mean, is that it may be used to deceive someone into believing a lie.      

   

Life is all about conditioning and there are many players that play their part in that conditioning. The Christian has our great God, the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth; He is for us, thank you Father God for Jesus our great Redeemer. But as for the unbeliever they will be taken by Satan’s power and his lying signs and wonders will lead them into that which is false! Many organizations have been and will continue play their part in the the world conditioning, Hollywood a key player and now we see magicians coming to the fore, playing their share no differently to the time of Pharaoh and Moses; “So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD commanded. Aaron cast down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers, and they, the magicians of Egypt, also did the same by their secret arts. For each man cast down his staff, and they became serpents. But Aaron's staff swallowed up their staffs.” (Exodus 7:10-12) – For us to try and explain away this text that the magician’s staffs did not change into snakes would be erroneous error. The text is clear! God is Sovereign and He allowed it. This happened prior to His judgment and I believe He is allowing it to happen again prior to His eminent judgement; a sentence that is coming upon the world that will be far worse than that in the days of Moses. The further mankind moves from God’s ordinances the more He allows them to be swallowed up by their own folly.

Here then is what is just over the horizon; “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:21-22)

I agree with Ray Comfort, we must earnestly pray for a revival, God is perfect in grace and we depend on his perfection to be gracious prior to His judgments. Father God be merciful I pray; stir up your saints both great and small, throughout the world to be instruments in your loving hands. Whatever you may need us to do in laying down our lives, give us the grace and resolve to accomplish whatever you have purposed; I humbly beseech you to glorify your name, for you alone are worthy of all glory.

Let us therefore make every second count as we lay down our lives for those still lost to these truths, let us preach the gospel with conviction in the hope that God may still save some and rescue those who have wondered off into the wilderness.

Signing off

Tyrone