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Satan's Temptations in the Last Days

Same as in the Garden of Eden and Jesus in the Desert

Corrupting mankind with lusts of the flesh and unholy worldly appetites.


" Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. " -- 1 John 2:15-17 NASB

"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate."
--- Genesis 3:6

You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God?
I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.

--- James 4:4 NLT

Satan's tactics to draw people away from God never change.
Satan Uses Three Temptations in the Bible to Lure People to Sin:
Satan used them with Adam and Eve, with Jesus, and will use them again in the end times. All wrapped in deception.
  "Lusts or desire of the flesh"
  "Lusts or desire of the eyes"
  "Pride of life"

The Apostle John explained: "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world."
--- 1 John 2:16 NASB

And the NLT Bible version lends insight: "For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world."
--- 1 John 2:16 NLT




Original sin is based on lusts of the flesh and unholy worldly appetites.

(Genesis 3:6, 1 John 2:15-16, James 4:4, Romans 12:2, Galatians 5:16)

"Loving the world" takes many forms. And not all worldly things are bad. We do need food, for example. This is one of the reasons God gave us fasting. It allows us to break away from worldly things.
Fasting allows us to disconnect from the world and connect to God—to disconnect from the physical and connect to the spiritual, if only for a short time.
Because of original sin, we live in imperfect physical bodies. And those who are saved and born-again have conflicting natures, physical and spiritual. (Romans 7:14-24)

We are in the world but we are not of the world. (John 17:16)

In the last days, the "things of the world" can blur together. Anything "obsessive" in our lives is usually a problem.

From food to physical comfort, from money to cars, from social media to watching TV, from a church building to the environment, from work to sports, the "things of the world" can take many forms.

Not all of these things are bad in themselves. Many "things in the world" are good and are a gift from God. But we should worship the Giver, not the gift. We should worship the Creator, not the creation.
"They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts...." --- Romans 1:25-26

Anything in your life more important than the Lord Jesus Christ is simply idolatry.

We should evaluate our lives and make sure that nothing has become more important to us than God.
Test yourself:
What do you think about all the time?
What do you talk about all the time?
What is most important to you?
Where do you spend your money?
What gives you great joy?
What fills your daily life?
What do you live for? Is it the Lord Jesus Christ?

"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves!"
-- 2 Corinthians 13:5
Do you have saving faith and are born-again?
To test yourself, Click here



As the end times unfold, we need to diligently disconnect from the things of the world through prayer and fasting so that we might not fall into temptations. (Matthew 26:41)
And not as a hermit in isolation from people (our heart should be evangelism), but rather "the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things." (Mark 4:19)



Matthew 26:41


Adam and Eve were tempted into sin in the Garden of Eden: Genesis 3:6

Desire of the flesh -- FOOD
(other desires of the flesh include: sex, drunkenness, and more)
"tree was good for food" -- Genesis 3:6

Desire of the eyes -- WORLDLY FOCUSED: Living worldly, holding to our possessions, our "things", our money, our cars, our houses, our lives. This temptation can also test God through our complaining, our unbelief, and our rash behavior. Jealousy and covetousness are examples.
This involves materialism and greed and spills over into worshiping the world and worldly things rather than God. ("served created things rather than the Creator" -- Romans 1:25 NIV)

It involves coveting of money, possessions, or other physical things that are in the world rather than God Himself. It can be entertainment, sports, cars, houses or really "anything". It is a temptation to have our own way rather than God's way, which tests God.

Eve wanted to possess the apple! Eve should have believed God rather than testing Him.
Succumbing to this temptation also speaks of disobedience, unbelief, and acting rashly. This also happened when the Israelites grumbled and tested God at Meribah. (Exodus 17:2)
For Eve, the apple "was a delight to the eyes" -- Genesis 3:6

Pride of life - IDOLATRY (Desiring to be wiser than God) --(worshiping someone else or self, not God) (putting ourselves over the authority of God)
Arrogance, self-promotion, and greed all stem from the pride of life.

"tree was to be desired to make one wise" -- Genesis 3:6



Jesus was tempted in the desert: Matthew 4:1-11

Desire of the flesh -- FOOD
If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. -- Matthew 4:3

Desire of the eyes -- WORLDLY FOCUSED: This temptation can also test God through our complaining, our unbelief, and our rash behavior.
"If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" -- Matthew 4:6

Pride of life -- IDOLATRY (worshiping someone else or self, not God)
"devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, 'All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.'" --- Matthew 4:8-9



Believers will be tempted in the end times to take the Mark of the Beast: Mark 14:38, Luke 21:8, 1 Corinthians 10:13

Desire of the flesh -- FOOD, PHYSICAL ADDICTIONS, PHYSICAL COMFORT
"so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name." --- Revelation 13:17

Desire of the eyes -- WORLDLY FOCUSED: Living worldly, holding to our possessions, our "things", our money, our cars, our houses, our lives. This temptation can also test God through our complaining, our unbelief, and our rash behavior. This involves materialism and greed.
Coveting an easy way instead of waiting for God.

And remember, greed is one of the primary ingredients of the end-time Apostasy.
Click Here to learn more about greed and the end-time Apostasy.

    In the last days we will have to make the decision to hold on to our money, possessions, and our very life or to cling to our faith in Jesus Christ.

--In the end times, we will be tempted to go along with the world system. This is a temptation to place our possessions and even our lives above obeying and trusting God, thereby testing God.
This is why Jesus says when He explained the end times:
"But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." -- Luke 21:36
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BIBLE VERSES OF THE END TIMES.

"The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed." --- Revelation13:15
"And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly." --- Revelation 17:6

Pride of life -- IDOLATRY (worshiping someone else or self, not God)
And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?" --- Revelation 13:4



Romans 12:2, Colossians 3:2

When Satan tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden, they disobeyed God, and sin came into the world.



It is important that Jesus had the SAME temptation as in the Garden of Eden, giving witness to the Bible verse: "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man...." --1 Corinthians 10:13

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. --- Hebrews 4:15

And in a type of "reversal" of the Garden of Eden, Satan failed to tempt Jesus. This failure began the curse reversal, ending with the death, burial, and resurrection of the LORD Jesus Christ and victory over Satan.



End Time Application
Jesus is our pattern for how to overcome the the Antichrist in the last days. Jesus shows us to believe the word of God and to use the word of God to respond to the one world system.

1. Food (when we can not buy or sell in the End Times)
When Jesus was hungry and Satan tempted Him to turn the stones into bread, Jesus answered: But he answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" --- Matthew 4:4

Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3.


Matthew 4:4
These are not idle words. The word of God is active and alive!
When we "live" by every word that comes from the mouth of God, HE WILL PROVIDE!
In Revelation, Jesus says that He will provide "hidden manna" to those who "overcome" (Revelation 2:17 NASB) or "conquers"(Revelation 2:17 ESV) in the end times.
Believe God for your provision.

2. Temptation to test God concerning our physical lives. Are we foolishly clinging to our worldly possessions, our money, and our lives?
Let go of the world and the things in the world and cling to the LORD Jesus Christ alone.
When Satan tempted Jesus to throw himself off pinnacle of the temple saying, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" --- Matthew 4:6
Jesus answered Satan: "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" -- Matthew 4:7

Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16.

Such testing of God shows disobedience and unbelief.

3. Temptation to commit idolatry by taking our own path to save our lives.
Lastly, Satan tempted Jesus: "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, Be gone, Satan! For it is written,You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve." --- Matthew 4:10

Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:13.


When we face the Antichrist system, we will have these same temptations to OVERCOME. The Bible places much importance on OVERCOMING in the last days. And if we fail to overcome, we will end up taking the mark of the beast and spending eternity in the lake of fire. (Revelation 19:20)




"Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."
--- Romans 8:5

Romans 8:5
"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world."
--- 1 John 2:15-16

".... keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
--- James 1:27

"Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?"
--- James 4:4

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you."
--- James 4:10

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal."
--- Matthew 6:19-20

"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"
--- Hebrews 13:5

"Do not be conformed to this world"
--- Romans 12:2

"Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."
--- John 12:25

John 12:25
"But understand this, that in the last days...
For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant,... lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power."
--- 2 Timothy 3:2-5

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
--- Galatians 5:16-21



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