Alright, let's look in Ephesians chapter 2 and I want to read verses 2 and 3. Then I'll read a verse out of Revelation 13 again, two verses, 13 and 14. Alright, Ephesians chapter 2 verse 2. Wherein in time past you 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." Well, now that's the spirit that works in all of the pagan, paganism. Remember, there's only two religions, really. Really, basically, there's only two. You either worship God or you just worship who knows what. That paganism includes everything else besides God. So that spirit, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, that's everybody that's rejected God for something else, for nothing or for other gods. Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." All right. Prince of the power of the air, that's pretty significant. The spirit that now worketh. All right, Revelation 13 verse 13, and he doeth great wonders so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast. All right. Now let me say first of all here, I'm finding it difficult to get people to realize that what we're seeing in the world is really a revival of ancient paganism. I've talked to people, you know, I was talking to somebody the other day, preacher, and I, you know, you talk to him, you say these things, and it's like it doesn't register. their mind somewhere else. They're not seeing this clearly. I don't know how many people see it. Somehow they don't make the connection. You know, even when talking to other preachers and people who believe the Bible and see the ungodliness on the rise, I find they really don't get it. They don't get this. It seems to me that they perceive the word pagan to be some kind of Christian slander or expression of contempt against those who live wickedly and refuse to worship God. It's like I'm using the word pagan like it's a cuss word or something or some real slam insult, you know. I mean, it's just a real ugly word that you can say about somebody that don't believe in God and won't serve God or that's different than you. I feel like that's what they're thinking. Instead of recognizing that this is a real word that describes a real thing and it's a big thing that it describes. In other words, they think that we're just venting frustration and disdain for ungodliness in general when we refer to people or events like concerts and political rallies and stuff like that as pagan. They think we're just, you know, spitting, you know, spitting fire. But this is not the case at all. You know, I think a lot of people are just, they're in a time capsule, sort of, the way they view things. It's their life, what they remember, especially older people and preachers. They're pining over days gone by when things were better and the churches were doing all this and, you know, Christianity had an easier ride than what it's got now. You know, they didn't have things like the Olympic deal back in the 50s and 60s. They didn't do stuff like that. And now they do. They openly mock and blaspheme and, you know, I mean, the devils took his mask off. He ain't wearing no makeup or mask or nothing now. He's just right out and open. He can do that now. We're that far along. And it's very disturbing to older people because it makes them angry, which it does me too. I mean, it ought to make anybody angry to see somebody blaspheme your God. It ought to bother you. The word pagan is the only word other than heathen, and that's the Bible word, heathen. The word the Bible uses to describe paganism is heathen. And that's the only two words that describe all those who don't worship God and the God who made heaven and earth. It's a word that encompasses all forms of religion, all other forms of religion and philosophies and worldviews that are not biblical. That's what paganism encompasses. I gotta say this stuff, he can wear the coat of Christianity. or Judaism, or Islam, or it can be out and out openly demonic and satanic, like you've seen on the, like we've been hearing about on the Olympic deal, you know, and other things. But, and it's, there's a thousand shades of it in between. It can be from both poles. It can appear Christian or wear all the Christian garments and still be pagan. Or it can go to the other end and be pure satanic and it's pagan. And then there's all kinds in between of a mixture of both. It's a way of thinking that leads people to the same ends. It's a pathway that takes people to the same perceptions of spiritual things. But it doesn't necessarily, but they don't necessarily call them spiritual. I say too much and you miss what I say. It's a way of thinking. It's what paganism is. The way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death, that's what I'm talking about. It is the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. The spirit. The spirit. It's a spiritual thing and it works in the minds and hearts of people who will not turn from their sin and trust God. and yield their life to God. They won't believe in God. They turn away from God, they reject God, and they think different because they're led in their minds by a spirit that is different. I keep trying to stress the similarities between ancient pagan religions and their thoughts and their theories and the modern anti-God culture in this world now. Whether they admit it or not, the power behind the modern paganism is spiritual. And it is the same spiritual power that was behind the ancient pagans and their practices. All the child sacrifice and the blood and the gore, it's the same spirit that was behind all that, that's behind the modern paganism. The religion without righteousness, that's paganism. Remember, paganism is nothing is certain, nothing is forbidden, and everything's okay. The energy they talk about in their concerts, you hear that a lot now, don't you? And in their political rallies, man, the energy was so great. And their worship services, they say the same thing. It's the same energy because it's from the same spirit. And it's the same energy that the ancient pagans felt in their worship and things that they did. Do you understand that? When they sacrificed their children, there was a lot of energy there. They were excited. There was a lot of emotion involved both ways. energy. The things they focus on and the weird ideas they come up with are the same as the ancient pagans. There's so much, so many things to talk about that we are dealing with now in our days and that we're seeing all this Transgender stuff, it's the same thing. Came from the same source, same spirit. All the sodomy, all of this transhumanism stuff, it's the same thing. Come from the same source, same spirit. But I can't get people to, I feel like people don't see it. They think it's something different back then. That's what they want you to think. And that's what the devil wants you to think. The devil wants you to think that that back there was just a bunch of ignorant cavemen that didn't have nothing to do but sit around and imagine wild stuff. But it's the same. Alright, for example, have you noticed how focused humanity is on the heavens? Outer space, the heavens. Have you noticed that it's always been a fascination with the heavens? How could it not be when you look up at the sky? At night, especially. It's fascinated man throughout. You know, the Bible says the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork. When I consider the moon and the stars, The works of thy hands. Yes. But there's another way of thinking that you look at the heavens and you don't think that. You think about other things, weird things. In this generation, we've set our eyes, I'm talking about humanity, set their eyes out further than ever before so that we can see farther into the heavens than anyone has ever seen before. That is, unless the civilization that lived before the flood did it too. And I really believe they did. What are they looking for? You know, they put the James Webb, is that the James Webb telescope they put out there and made a big deal about it and it is fantastic. Man, alive. Have you seen some of the stuff they're taking pictures of? But the more they look, the more they see that they don't understand. But what are they looking for? What are they looking for? They're looking for life out there. Yes sir. They're looking for the same things that the pagans looked for when they looked up at the heavens. You look up at the heavens and you say, glory to God. He made the stars also. Or you look up at the heavens and say, there's got to be somebody else out there. We can't be the only ones. Why have they spent billions if not trillions of dollars on space exploration? Why? There's only one reason. They'll tell you right straight up too. They don't try to hide it. They're not being deceitful about it. They're looking for life in outer space. That is the main objective. Really, that's the only objective. They talk about mining asteroids and stuff like that. That's so far-fetched and out of their reach that they can't do it. They can't do nothing. They can't even get anybody to the next planet yet. So, why are they reaching so far out there? And the farther it goes, the longer that they do it, the more they just keep imagining and telling it for the truth. Like all these exoplanets they're discovering, do you know that they have never seen one? They have not seen one. With any of their telescopes, they can't. They're too little. They're just looking at a star bobbling and figuring mathematically and saying, there's got to be a planet there. And then they imagine how big it is, what it's made out of, how earth-like it is, and they put it on the news and an artist draws a picture of it and everybody says, look at that, look what they found. Everybody's doing that. Everybody's believing all of that fake imagery that's nothing but imagination. It's not true. But the answer is very, very simple and obvious, and they say it plainly every time they get a chance. They're looking for extraterrestrial life. They're looking for their gods. They're looking for their gods, the same gods that the ancient ancestors looked for. I don't know how, if I can get this across to you or not, but when the ancient pagans looked at the sky, they imagined their gods lived there. Jupiter and Mars and Venus and Mercury, all the planets are named after them. And then you go to the stars and they name them Greek names and stuff. They're looking for any kind of life outside this planet. A baby with a heartbeat is not a life here. But if they could find a virus, a germ, any kind of bacteria, fossil, or any kind of, they think if they can find carbon or organic things or methane gas, they think, man, they're hot on its trail. They found something that's alive. They can't imagine any kind of life besides what's here on Earth. That's amazing to me. They don't consider life. that it could take any other form besides what it is here. It's gotta be just exactly like it is here. I mean, we gotta find a place where the temperature's just right, everything that's the ingredients to life that's evolved, you know, like they think. That's the only way they could be life there. So they're looking for those places. That's why all the money's being spent. That's why all the research, that's why all of the effort, all of the effort is trying to find life, even if it's a germ, even if it's a bacteria, even if it's something as minuscule as it can be, as long as it's alive. Why? Why? Why? For many years now, they've had these powerful receivers all over the world, big satellite dishes, continually listening for radio signals from space, hoping to hear something from some intelligent source out there. And they've been sitting listening for years and years with the best they got pointed up into heavens, listening for their gods to say something to them. They haven't heard anything yet. Every once in a while they'll say, they got this unusual radio transmission from a certain place in space, but they never figured out anything that said anything. They've never figured out anything that really shows any sign of intelligence. When you look in archaeology and stuff, like if you go out here in the rocks digging around, how do you know if you've found something that a human has messed with? There's order in it. If he wrote on it, you can tell there's writing on it, right? That writing didn't happen from rolling down the creek for the millions of years. It's orderly. Organized and orderly. That's what intelligence does. And they have never found nothing yet. And all of the money that's been spent and all of the hours that them goofballs have been sitting on top of the mountain waiting and listening. You know, they've never heard nothing yet. But they ain't giving up. They'll never give up. Their God has to answer them. To them, any contact or evidence of life anywhere outside the earth would end their fear that the Bible's true. If they could just find anything, anything they could come up with. Well, they can't find it after 60 years, almost 70 years of the space program. They still haven't found it. 70 years and they haven't found it. What do you think they're going to do? Make it up. We've wanted it so long. We've desired it so long. We've believed it so long. It's got to be true. So they'll make it up. It's about justifying the rejection of God and stopping that fear that their conscience keeps tormenting them with. It is all 100% pagan thinking and reasoning. I'm talking about the space program. Have you ever wondered why they named their programs and their rockets names like Gemini, Apollo, Saturn, Mercury, Atlantis, Orion, Centaur, Atlas, Thor, Jupiter, Titan, Pegasus, Athenia. I mean, and they could go on and on. Why do they do that? Because it's pagan thought. It's pagan beliefs. It's the pagan view of things. They look at the heavens just like the ancient pagans looked at the heavens. The gods and goddesses of the ancient pagans were superior beings. That's what they called gods. Now, they were superior beings, not the creator of all things. None of their gods created the heavens and the earth. Their gods were just superior human beings who lived in the heavens. Think about that. In their minds, as in all modern minds, any kind of being that came down from the sky had to be far superior to those living on earth. They must be far more technologically advanced than earthlings. They would surely have the power to destroy all of us very easily if they chose to. Is that the way modern pagans believe? What do they believe? If they do find aliens, they are sure that they're going to be so far advanced above us and we're in great danger. I mean, we're in great danger because they'll deal with us. They're gods. They look at them as gods. All aliens are superior humans. They're weird-looking humans. They're little green men. Weird-shaped heads and eyes. They're all weird-looking, but they're all the same form. Two legs, two eyes, two arms, two ears, a head, a body. It's funny how man's just locked in. He can't get out of this cage. And his reasoning won't let him out, no matter how hard he tries. He can't imagine anything. except what he is. Nothing can be different in him. Everything has to be like him. He's the God. He's the pattern for the whole universe. Surely he is. That's why everything has to look like him. Sounds like the influence of somebody I've read about in this book. If we can only make contact with them and show them we're peaceful and make peace with them, they would pass to us their wisdom and knowledge and that would cure man's problems and enable him to make Earth a better place to live. Is that the dream of modern pagans? I'm talking about, they don't call themselves pagans. The modern scientists and, you know, space men, the scientists, they figure all this out. Is that their goal? Is that what they think? Of course it is! They think if we can just make contact with them, they'll pass on that, well, that's what the ancient pagans did too. And that's what they claimed. That's all these things you find, they're finding in archeology and stuff through all the years and centuries here that they can't explain. That's what they say, that they got that knowledge, that secret knowledge, that superior knowledge from the gods who came here from up there. They're looking for the same thing right now. They're not looking for Jesus to come back to this earth as judge and king, which is what's going to happen. They're not looking for that at all. They're looking for another way out of this deal. The world's in a mess and humanity's a mess. And they don't want the only cure there is. They're looking for something else. They always have. That's why there's pagans. That's why there's paganism. It always has been. They won't have God. They're going to figure out another way. We've got to have somebody to help us. And surely there's somebody up there. Look at all those stars. And there's planets around every one of them. And there's got to be by the sheer numbers. How can you imagine that there's not somebody up there? But not God. Not God. No, it's somebody like us. Just better than us. Smarter than us. More powerful than us. And they can help us. If we can just show them that we're peace loving. How did the ancient pagans try to show the gods that they were peace loving? They burned their children in the fire. They shed blood. They made sacrifices to their gods. What for? Trying to make peace with their gods so their gods would make things well for them. Ancient pagans always visualized and made images of these gods in human forms. Unregenerate man has never been able to conceive of God or pagan gods in any other way than a perfect and superior version of himself. How many modern people reason that way? They never imagined creatures from outer space in any other form than some distorted version of a human, and I've already said that. Ancient pagans had other ideas about how the earth and the universe came to exist, just like modern pagans do. Some of those beliefs sounded almost as ridiculous as the Big Bang or evolution. They thought that the earth sat on a back of a turtle Some of them thought there were four elephants standing on the back of a giant turtle and the earth sat on the elephants. You know, they had ideas like, yeah, that's no more ridiculous and stupid than to think evolution is true. Or that there was just a big bang and that's where everything came from. A six-year-old child will question that. with no more reason and power than they have at six years old, they'll say, that don't make no sense. Their gods always come down from the sky. They really do. Did you ever read about the Easter Islands out there? They've waited and waited for their god to come back. They got all them statues pointed at the sky waiting. I've read stories about a guy landed with an airplane and they thought he was a god come down from the sky. You talk about the Mayans in Mexico and the Aztecs, they had a god and he was blonde haired and blue eyed and all of this and he came from the sky. All our gods came from the sky. Now modern pagans grab on to that and say, see there? It is true. They're looking for the same thing. Man, they really believe that it's going to happen and it ain't going to happen except for they're faking it. Man, I'm telling you what. What if the world before the flood was as advanced or more advanced than we are now? Why wouldn't it have been? They lived way longer lives. They had 1600 years of cumulative knowledge and understanding and they started out a lot higher than we did. What if they went to the moon? What if they went to Mars? What if they come up with something they find on Mars or on the moon and show you, here's an artificial and it was made by aliens? The world's going to believe it. If you ain't careful, you'll believe it. I ain't going to believe it. If it's there, man put it there. That's exactly right. I ain't buying all this stuff. And that's why I'm preaching this stuff. You ought to be able to see through this. If you can really understand that this way of thinking has always been the destruction of the human race. God, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And then he created man and put him on this earth in his own image and likeness. And that's where everything came from. I mean, that's a real abbreviated version, but that's how it is. They don't have any explanation for where everything came from. They don't care about all that. That ain't their deal anyway. Let me hurry up here. Modern pagans believe exactly the same thing about their gods coming down from the skies, but they call them aliens instead of gods. Modern pagans have no more evidence of their gods than the ancient pagans did, but they believe in them by faith with only the odds to assure them that there simply has to be life out there somewhere because the universe is so large and there are just so many galaxies and stars and planets. Almost daily there's some new discovery in the heavens. It's always something bigger, more powerful, and more complex than anything they've seen before. And it always throws their theories into question that they thought they had it all figured out how this works. Then they find something that denies everything they thought they knew. Humanity is scanning the heavens continually, looking for a sign from heaven that will vindicate their rejection of God. Y'all hear me? And that's what they're doing, I'm telling you. Their eyes are on the heavens. And they want everybody looking up. Have you seen these light shows, these drone shows they're doing now? We went in a couple of years from that QR code down in Austin, Texas. It was scannable. It was a drone show, but it was a QR code. You could scan it with your phone. It'd take you to a website of some company selling something. And it was real pixely looking and everything. And I said then, that's how computer games started. It ain't going to be long. It'll be better than that. And then, you know, here, the 4th of July, I seen a lot of different drone shows that were, I mean, startling. And then I saw one over in China, a big dragon in the sky, moving around in the sky. Big dragon. I mean, it ain't going to be long until it's going to look realistic. The sky is the new billboard. It's the new screen where we're all going to be watching everything. We went from television screens to computer screens to phone screens. Everything's a screen now. Everything we see is on a screen. Now the sky is going to be the screen because they're preparing. The devil's preparing. He's the prince and power of the air. And he's got the stuff now to make, to bring to life what the pagans always just imagined. Man, I'm telling you. I watch those things and I listen to the music they're playing. Everything's the same around the world. I mean, a political rally, a rock concert, a country concert, a big celebration. They all sound the same. In China, Europe, America, wherever you go, it's the same. And now they've got their shows in the sky. The sky is their screen to look at their idols. And then we read here in Revelation, what I read to you all ago, He had power to bring down, to do wonders. And to bring down fire out of heaven in the sight of men. I thought when I saw that dragon, I thought what in the world would an ancient pagan have thought if they'd see something like that. Oh my goodness. Jesus made it clear that seeking a sign from heaven, the sky, is a thing that wicked people do. And God has commanded his people not to do so. Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse 2. Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen. That's pagans. Heathen and pagan are synonymous. And be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the heathen are dismayed at them. God said, don't you be dismayed. Don't you be, don't you be dismayed at the signs of heaven for the heathen are dismayed at the signs of heaven. They're looking up there in fear. We see God giving signs from heaven at times, the star. It, you know, led the wise men. If you ever, I was thinking about it today. Why is there such a different attitude about an eclipse or the northern lights? There's a big difference, isn't there? One's darkness and one's light. And by the way, you're supposed to be able to see them tonight, if you take a look, if the sky is clear. But an eclipse, look what happened this year. I mean, we've had both of them. This spring, we had an eclipse, a total eclipse, and we got to see the northern lights. There's a lot going on in the heavens. A lot more than that. I mean, there's just things going on all the time. And everybody wants to hang some superstitious significance to it. God said, don't be dismayed at the signs of the heavens. The heathen do that. The pagans do that. That's just another sign and evidence that we're living in a paganistic time. Look what they did over the eclipse. Look what they, you know, they do over everything that happens like that. So, we see God giving signs from heaven at times, but the signs in the heavens that God gives are encouragement and hope for His people. but woe to those who reject him." Now, if you just study that out, I ain't gonna take the time to go through all that, but you can just look through your Bible, you'll find that. We find the Jews seeking a sign from heaven from Jesus. And this is in the gospel several times. You read things like this in Matthew 16, verse 1. The Pharisees also, with the Sadducees, came and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven. Show us! in the sky. Show us something in the sky. Well, pretty soon they're going to be able to say, okay, you want to see something? Look up. Matthew 6, the next verse, here's the way Jesus answered. When they said, show us a sign from heaven, he answered and said to them, when it is evening you say it will be fair weather for the sky is red, and in the morning it will be foul weather today for the sky is red and lowering. You hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky but ye cannot discern the signs of the times. A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given it but the sign of the prophet Jonas, and he left them and departed." That was his answer when they wanted a sign. The hope of modern paganism is that they'll be vindicated in the eyes of the world with the introduction of aliens who will be their gods come down to earth in the sight of men. I believe that. Paganism is always ultimately self-serving. There's no real worship, only appeasement of the anger of the gods and the invoking of their names for assistance or protection or blessing or indulgence of some desire. That's all their gods are for. And that's what they've turned Christianity into. All these places of worship, They don't look nothing like a church. They don't even call themselves a church most of the time anymore. It's just a place where they do all the same things the pagans did with their gods. The contrast between paganism and worship of the true God is love. Pagans fear their gods and goddesses and their imagined relationship with them is like a bad and unhappy marriage. It is. It's always on the rocks. There's always something wrong. They're always having to do something to try to get the gods to calm down, appease their anger, or do something to please them because they're not pleased, or to get their help in accomplishing something they want to do, like a war. It's like a bad marriage. But Christians love their God, and their God loves them. And it's like a wonderful, peaceful home full of joy and peace. Drastic difference. The contrast between paganism and Christianity is drastic, obvious, and like a difference between North and South. Paganism always has this mark of the serpent on it. Spake like a devil, remember? Spake as a devil. You can always tell. How does the devil speak? Well, we got lots of, he said a lot of things. God recorded them for us in the Bible here. It always includes the lie to men. Your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods. Paganism, that's it. You always, they always talk about enlightenment. You better be careful about that. Hank Williams said, I saw the light, I saw it. What light did he see? You can't see the light without repenting of your sins. Can't ignore that matter. Can't just get right with God and forget about your sins. You know, not deal with your sins rather. You can't do that. They always talk about enlightenment and claims to have obtained an understanding that those who worship God in truth do not understand. I know some people who claim to be enlightened. They used to be Christians. Now they're enlightened. They understand things. But you're just too ignorant to understand. They know things that you just don't know. Don't want to know. Won't listen to you. you shall be as God's. Your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as God's." They always talk about this, that their enlightenment always ignores the matter of sin in an attempt to do away with the guilt, while the consequences of sin are explained by some other cause, like karma, like the gods are angry or simply not pleased, which requires a sacrifice. Paganism is fascinated with signs and wonders, especially in the heavens, in the sky. These modern pagans commonly believe that the aliens are watching us and that they're going to deal with us about our bad behavior. And that's what they fear. They don't fear God Almighty judging this wicked earth and this wicked generation. They don't fear that. They're afraid of aliens, the gods. The superior humans are going to come and get us and deal with us. It's what they fear. And most of these people I'm referring to don't claim to be pagans, or I'm calling them that, but they don't claim to be that. They would deny it most vehemently, but they are. Because they think the same way. They've got the same mind. They have the same reasoning and mental concepts about right and wrong, good and evil, and supernatural things that the ancient pagans had. I'm going to quit. I'm telling you. I just wish I could get everybody to connect the dots and see. Every way you turn, every way you look, I see the same thing. It all connects together. And we just, you know, there's a lot of people who are Christians and especially Bible believers who are not very knowledgeable in the Word of God or in the times that we're living in. And they don't understand what's going on at all. They're in the dark. They're wanting to revive what we had 40, 50 years ago. And the man, that's a pipe dream, ain't happening. Better wake up and realize the days ahead, we're gonna be dealing with a whole different kind of world. And God put us here for that. I mean, we're here for this time and this hour. God put us here. And so, You know, I'm glad he give us some understanding and available to us to kind of know what's going on instead of just being in the dark. What I hope about this is that you'll start watching. of that influence of that kind of thinking. It's in all the movies and all of the Hollywood and everything that's coming from the world is saturated with all of this kind of thinking to brainwash your children. and you and me. That's what they're trying to do. The devil is trying to do that. It's the spirit. He's a prince in power of the air. The spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. I don't think it's an insignificant thing that everything we're seeing comes through the air. We used to have books. We used to write letters, but not anymore. Every word you read, everything you, unless you read it out of a paper book, it's coming through the air to you. And so you better realize whose hands have been on it. Guard, don't be scared of everything, but just don't be ignorant of the devil's devices. and don't make space for him, don't give place to him, don't allow him in. We started preaching on this spiritual warfare about that, about guarding your mind and keeping him out, getting control of things, and taking control of your mind, your life, your family, your home, and keeping the devil out. Amen. Father, thank You for the Word of God. I pray You'd bless it to our hearts and all of this information. I pray You'd help us to receive it and assimilate it. and live by it. I pray that we would start being more careful. We're too influenced. We allow too much in our children, in our lives, in our own minds and hearts. I pray you'd help us. I heard a man talking today about how that he was so vexed by even watching that Olympic Opening ceremony and he recommended everybody else not look at it not even watch it because it is so oppressive and Yet we we allow this stuff in our life every day through all this media and stuff. I pray you'd help us to stop it and and to put a guard up and to preserve what's left and strengthen the things that remain. Please go with us now and get us home safely tonight in Jesus' name. Amen.