15 Satan to make Spiritual and Physical War against the Saints

1 Nephi 13/22

1 Nephi 14

Revelation 17/18

1 Nephi 13:Verse 9

9 And also for the praise of the world do they destroy the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity.

1 Nephi 22:Verse 15

15 For behold, saith the prophet, the time cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power over the hearts of the children of men; for the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly shall be as stubble; and the day cometh that they must be burned.

1 Nephi 22:Verse 16

16 For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.

1 Nephi 14:Verse 13

13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.

1 Nephi 14:Verse 12

12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.

Revelation 17:Verse 6

6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

Revelation 18:Verse 24

24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

Satan seeks to destroy the righteous and righteousness in every age of the world. Confronted by the god of this world, Eve was persuaded to partake of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and then give the same to her husband Adam. The scriptures record that Satan sought to "begile Eve, for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world" (Moses 4:6). Satan was cast out of heaven for rebellion against God, and lost the authority that he once had, as one of the mighty angels in the presence of God (D&C 76:25). As the Son of the Morning becomes "Satan or the devil" he vows to stop the eternal progression of Adam and his posterity. Losing his former glory, Satan desires that all the spiritual offspring of the Father, and the physical posterity of Adam, be miserable like unto himself (2 Nephi 2:27). The prophet Joseph, in his vision of Satan's fall beheld, "that old serpent, even the devil, who rebelled against God, and sought to take the kingdom of our God and his Christ--Wherefore, he maketh war with the saints of God, and encompasseth them round about" (D&C 76:28-29). This statement teaches that, because Satan seeks to "take the kingdom of our God and his Christ" he makes "war with the saints of God." In other words Satan thinks that by making "war with the saints of God," he will be successful in taking control of "the kingdom of God and his Christ." This then, is the goal of Satan, by his control of the saints he takes control of the kingdom of God. This is the mind of one who "knows not the mind of God."

The power of exaltation inherent in all of mankind is the same eternal truth that can send our spirits into perdition for eternity. This is the power of free agency and choice that has within it a freedom to "act and not be acted upon," the freedom to chose life, or captivity and death. The law of agency that exalts is the same law that damns. Every individual is equally pulled in opposite directions by the 'doctrine of the two ways,' that of good and evil, the tie can only be broken by our choice, of him who we list to obey. Satan knows that the choices we make are the determining factor in our reception of the glory that awaits us in the hereafter. The scriptures teach that our "words, works and our thoughts" will condemn us at the last day (Alma 12:15). The saving grace of this life is that we have total control over our words, works and thoughts, for they all come from the heart and mind. Therefore, this life becomes a true probationary state where every choice we make with an outcome of good or evil condemns or exalts. Knowing this, and also the desires and lusts of the flesh that require satisfaction, gives Satan a physical edge in his battle against righteousness (see 2 Nephi 2:29). The "natural man is an enemy to God" and always has been, and because we are born into a wicked world, sin conceives in our hearts even from our youths, beginning as a selfish pride as we satisfy our flesh (Moses 6:55). Satan uses the lusts of the flesh to fight against the spiritual nature, seeking to control the spirit and soul of mankind by the power of pride that lies dormant in the righteous offspring of God. This pride must be put aside, giving way to humility, and a willingness to submit to God in all things and putting off the natural man (flesh) to become a "saint" through the atonement of Christ (Mosiah 3:19).

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