The silence was deafening. Diabolis
sat alone in the recesses of his private
library. This cavernous office was his favorite
hideaway. Three entire walls were covered with
books from floor to ceiling. There were books
about religion, spiritualism, history, magic
arts and science. Numerous versions of the Bible
were clustered together. The fourth wall
featured several glittering plaques, a white
board and a large but unobtrusive door. A solid
oak desk was imposing and almost bare. To one
side of the desk sat a beautifully crafted oak
table that could accommodate 40 demons. An
eclectic assortment of comfortable yet
commanding chairs surrounded the table. Diabolis
sat hunched over the elegant desk with his chin
resting in his hands. He was huge – almost 14
feet tall – and well proportioned. His massive
frame commanded respect and his icy cold
demeanor repelled superficial conversation. His
glassy stare indicated he was deep in thought. He was devising a crafty plan and pondering a
masterful scheme.
Diabolis’ reverie was punctured by a quiet knock
on the door. “Enter,” he muttered, not bothering
to look towards the door. Scribbles slunk
through the door and gingerly closed it behind
him. He eased across the floor and sank into an
empty chair in front of his giant leader. Diabolis was appalled by the timidity of the
little demon. But he reminded himself that
Scribbles was an excellent note taker and
carefully followed orders.
“Scribbles, we will be planning the most
important battle we have ever fought. The demon
council will be here soon. I want you to take
notes from our meeting. You are the best note
taker ever.” Diabolis knew that a little
flattery would induce cooperation. Scribbles
straightened in his chair and raised his chin
with an air of importance.
Diabolis let his gaze drift past the little
demon before him. His vision blurred as glorious
images flooded his imagination. He spoke quietly
and deliberately. “Scribbles, I am going to tell
you a story to help you understand the
significance of what we will be doing.”
Story “I used to live in heaven. I was the highest
ranking angel in the universe. My beauty was dazzling and I was
surrounded by light and glory. I owned an
endless array of shimmering jewels. Each morning
I would select the ones I wanted to wear that
day. Usually I chose diamonds and lots of gold
and pearls. My jewelry glistened and danced as
it caught the rays of colored light that swirled
around me.” Diabolis paused to give Scribbles a
moment to envision the magnificent picture.
“I was the Chief Covering Angel and I was
honored by working in the throne room of God. I
was above every other angel in heaven. God,
Jesus and I had intimate, enrapturing
conversations. We were in perfect harmony and
loved each other intensely. I came away from
those encounters radiant and overflowing with
joy and praise. Then I gathered together the
millions of holy angels and shared my experience
with them. We poured forth joyous praise to
God.” Diabolis was captivated by the memories he
was describing. Then his eyebrows lowered as he
continued.
“One wretched day about 6,000 years ago, I
realized that everything was not as I had
believed. God and Jesus had a private meeting. I
was excluded and felt rejected.” Diabolis’
forehead furrowed as he talked. “I was jealous
and angry. I hated God for barring me from their
meeting. Wasn’t I was the ruler over millions of
angels? From that moment I began a campaign to
prove that I was above Jesus. Over time one
third of the angels in heaven sided with me and
chose to worship me instead of Jesus. Scribbles,
do you remember making that choice?” Scribbles
stared straight ahead. His only response was to
shift uncomfortably in his chair.
Diabolis continued, “God made tireless efforts
to persuade us to repent and return to Him. He
pleaded with us over and over to come back. I
almost relented but I couldn’t bring myself to
admit that I was wrong and He was right.
Eventually His pleadings stopped influencing me
and I became entrenched in the belief that I was
right and He was wrong. Now I have no doubt that
I am a better ruler than God.” Diabolis’ face
reflected his calm determination.
“After a long time God threw us out of heaven. I
was relieved to be away from His presence. But I
was depressed over losing my position as Chief
Covering Angel and losing the adoration of two
thirds of the angels. It was agonizing to
relinquish my jewelry collection and the
brilliant, swirling light that I wore.
“I made other changes. I disdained the name
Lucifer so I selected Diabolis instead. It means
‘ruler of the universe’ and it has a magical,
diabolical ring. It constantly reminds me that
very soon I will be the king of the universe. I
use other names as well – Satan, The Devil,
Dragon, Serpent, Beelzebub, Abaddon and Apollyon.
“I crave power and glory. I love receiving the
adoration of demons and people. I want to gain
complete control of the world and then regain my
former position in heaven. Then I will destroy
God and Jesus and I will rule the entire
universe. I must ensure my success. What should
I do next? What is the most effective way to
gain the loyalty and worship of each person?” Diabolis’ voice trailed off as he pondered his
own questions.
Scribbles gathered his courage and hesitantly
offered encouragement, “You have millions of
demons who already serve you and billions of
people. We will collaborate with you to convince
the rest of the 6 billion people on earth to
join us and to worship you. Then we will have
such a huge army that we can overpower God and
His angels.”
“Right,” Diabolis responded smugly. “For 6,000
years we have been recruiting people. Billions
of them have rebelled against God and are
worshipping me. We are continually refining our
strategies. Our plans have improved and
crystallized over the centuries.” Diabolis
turned his chair around and half-faced the back
wall. He pointed to a large glittering plaque
which read:
Diabolis’ Goals
I will rule the world
I will convince every person to worship me
I will enforce my laws
I will rule heaven
I will rule the universe
“Scribbles, I am the ruler of this world. I will
expand my kingdom. My principle of selfishness
will overrule God’s law of love. Selfishness is
more powerful than love and it thrives on force. We will enforce my laws on the people of earth
instead of God’s ten commandments. We will
persuade everyone on earth to worship me. The
people of earth will join us to fight against
God. Together we will take over the universe.
“Our millions of demons have been working to
accomplish these goals on earth for nearly 6,000
years. We work more cleverly each day, and every
day more people join our forces. Now, in 2005, I
am certain that we don’t have much time left. God will soon attempt to take away our control
of the world. There will be a great, final war
between us and God. This war will last less than
4 years but the outcome will be eternal. This
will be the greatest of all wars. It is called
the Great Tribulation. During those few years we
will have one last opportunity to gain the
support and worship of every human being. We
must define our strategy in detail for this
critical war. We dare not wait any longer. This
is why I have ordered my 16 leading demons to
come to a meeting today. You will take notes.”
Demon Council
Diabolis half grinned at Scribbles, “Be prepared
for loud arguments and angry exchanges. The
demons on my council are intelligent, talented,
strong-willed leaders and they aggressively
defend their opinions.”
The noise from the commotion outside began
spilling into the library. There were sounds of
scuffling and hostile words. Jabs of noise
punctuated Diabolis’ thoughts. He stood up,
assumed a stance of power and glided over to the
door. Sixteen demons filed haughtily into the
room and vied for their favorite chairs.
Diabolis didn't waste time with superficial
preliminaries. After piercingly scrutinizing each demon
he began to speak. Each word was
deliberate and distinct. “For 6,000 years we
have been laying our battle plan for the Great
Tribulation. It will be our final contest with
God over the earth and its people. We’ve
developed many excellent strategies. The time
has come to finalize our plan. I am convinced
that there is one battle plan that is infinitely
better than all the rest. I’m tempted to mandate
this plan but it is imperative that I have the
full support of each one of you. So I will
present conclusive arguments and allow you to
agree ‘voluntarily’.
“All of us hate God. We despise what He does and
what He says. But He always tells the absolute
truth. We control most people through force. Some people do not respond well to force but we
will gain their support through deception. The
easiest way to deceive people is to take God’s
words and twist them. We’ll add in some errors
that turn His word into falsehood . But I am
digressing. Back to my main point.
“The Bible is the word of God. It tells the
absolute truth. The last book of the Bible, the
Revelation of Jesus Christ, is primarily a
prophecy about the Great Tribulation. It
describes in vivid detail the last war that will
take place between us and God. It even foretells
exactly what our strategy will be. The vision
that God gave to John explains what Jesus and
His angels will do, what we and our demons will
do and what people on earth will do. It
accurately foretells the future. We must decide
whether to follow the battle plan that is laid
out for us in Revelation or whether we can
devise a better plan.
“We have been struggling for almost 2,000 years
to develop a superior battle plan to the one
presented in the book of Revelation. Our success
has been zero. The time has come to recognize
and formally accept the fact that in this case
God’s plan is best.” Diabolis spoke emphatically
and decisively.
The demons exploded in an uproar. “Curse Him! Never! No way! I hate Him!
Absolutely not!” One after another, the demons forcefully voiced
their abhorrence and contempt. Evility pounded
his fists on the elegant table. Scribbles sat in
shocked silence.
Diabolis allowed the demons to vent their rage
for a long time. Then he sent a shock wave
through the air to
silence them and reiterated his main points.
1. “We all hate God passionately
2. We must use the most effective
battle plan against Him
3. We must deceive every person
4. God always tells the absolute
truth
5. God prophesied in the book of
Revelation what out plan would be
6. Our best plan is to follow exactly
what the book of Revelation says”
Depravity grudgingly agreed. “As much as I hate
God I have to admit that He does know the future
and He does tell the truth. I support using the
battle plan laid out in the book of Revelation.” One by one the other demons reluctantly agreed. The next hours passed quickly and relatively
calmly as the discussion moved on to describing
strategies and assigning key roles. At last it
was time to recap the meeting.
“Scribbles, read us a summary of our decisions.” Diabolis’ command was devoid of politeness.
Scribbles had regained his composure but he felt
totally drained. He spoke with enthusiasm he did
not feel.
Operation Takeover
“The demonic council has established a goal and
adopted a plan:
“Our goal is to take control of the
world and then the universe.
“Our war plan will be called
‘Operation Takeover’.
“During Operation Takeover we will follow these
steps to gain control of the world:
1. The book of Revelation in the
Bible contains prophecies foretelling what
we will do during the Great Tribulation. We will enact
every detail
of these prophecies.
2. We will persuade every person on
earth to worship Diabolis.
3. We will substitute our own laws
for God’s 10 commandments.
4. We will kill any people who insist
on worshiping God.
“The following demons will act these parts:
“Diabolis has chosen the most
important roles for himself.”
(Scribbles jabbed at the audacity and
pride of their self-chosen ruler.)
“Diabolis will be the:
dragon (Rev 12)
beast from the sea (Rev 13:1-10)
beast from the bottomless pit (Rev 17:3-11
“Archimel and Mordality will be the:
two horns on the beast from the earth (Rev 13)
They are also called the false prophets (Rev
16:13, 19:20, 20:10).
“Our ten demon leaders will be the:
10 horns on the dragon (Rev 12:3)
10 horns on the beast from the sea (Rev 13:1)
10 horns on the beast from the bottomless pit
(Rev 17:3,7,12-17)
10 kings (Rev 17:12-17)
“Iniquity, Depravity, Vicious and
Malicious will be the:
four demons of death.
They will prepare to kill two billion people.
(Rev 9:13-21)
“We will substitute our laws for God’s Ten
Commandments. All demons will devise ways to
persuade people to obey our laws and disobey
God’s Ten Commandments. Some of our best methods
will be deception, flattery and force.
Scribbles had surprised himself with his
competency and he felt his confidence
increasing.
The demons were satisfied with their plan for
Operation Takeover. After such a grueling
discussion they needed a rest. It was well into
the night as Diabolis finally dismissed the
council. The demons glided into the cool night
air and slipped easily into the dark shadows. Diabolis was alone again. He turned off the
light, slumped down in his chair and stared
coldly into the darkness. The silence was
deafening.
Next chapter
