As I was plotting out what I might say at, say, a seminar on this topic, I realized that we have been blitzed by media. I believe, truly, that we are in a spiritual battle and that the Enemy is a master of propaganda. Part of this propaganda involves desensitization and misinformation.
The Lord God told me once that my job is to “tell everyone what has happened.” This, then, is part of that. We have been the recipients of a propaganda blitz that has affected even strong, Bible-believing men and women.
To begin with, many forms of propaganda are terms that are familiar, but misused. Some of the terms the Enemy uses in this manner are below, together with their real meanings.
propaganda: information disseminated in a misleading manner
Messiah: anointed one, deliverer.
rapture: taken from Latin, not from Scripture, the word is generally meant to mean “a catching up” which is why when someone is deliriously happy, they are considered to be “rapturous.” It is not, I repeat, a term used in Scripture to define a mass exodus of God’s people from the earth.
antichrist: The apostle John defines this term as “one who denies that Jesus is the Messiah” (1 John 2:22) and those who “do not confess the coming of Christ in the flesh” have the spirit of the antichrist. (2 John 1:7) These are the ONLY meanings for this word, according to Scripture. Nowhere else in the entire Bible is this word even used. Here, then, we learn that an antichrist is and has always been in the world, since the Resurrection was first proclaimed and people (such as the Gnostics) started denying that Jesus Christ came in flesh to the world. Since the first denial of his role as our Messiah, the anointed and chosen one of God.
Armageddon: First, understand that “Armageddon” is not a term in Scripture, unless it is referring to a place. Also called Megiddo. It is mentioned once in Revelation 16, as a place of gathering the kings of the world together just before the very last of God’s wrath is unleashed. Armageddon is not an umbrella term as written by the Biblical authors to signify anything other than the place of this final gathering.
apocalypse: This word means “to reveal” or “to remove the cover from” in its original language structure. It is an act of revelation, not an act of destruction. We speak of a collection of apocalyptic literature, but the Bible does not use this term at all. “It’s a sign of the apocalypse,” we hear often. But that only points to someone’s ignorance, really. Yes, the term has been mainstreamed…but falsely.
Should we not avoid falsehoods when we can?
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Thing is, the Enemy has allowed many of these terms to get used and abused, so that not only people of faith, but ALL people think they know what they really mean and they are then free to bandy them about with impunity. This weakens the significance of the actual events that have happened and will happen.
Do you really think that’s an accident? Remember, the Enemy’s name means “Deceiver.” It’s particularly apt.
