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War Plan

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's 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 2006, 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 so far He has always told 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. As much as it frustrates me to admit it I have to say that God correctly identified our best strategy. We must swallow our pride and follow it anyway. His major error was in underestimating how effective that strategy will be. He thinks we will fail but we will have the last laugh when we demonstrate how much more powerful an army is when it can use truth AND deception, persuasion AND force.” 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 even though He correctly predicted it
  3. We must deceive every person
  4. So far God has always told the truth but we will change that
  5. God prophesied in the book of Revelation what our plan would be
  6. We should follow the plan because it is the best one even though we are frustrated that God predicted it a long time ago"

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:

“Archimel and Mordality will be the:

“Our ten demon leaders will be the:

“Iniquity, Depravity, Vicious and Malicious will be the:

“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.

Read the Three Demons next.

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