The Net of Evil Men Prov. 12:12 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

Ps 9:15 shows you that the net of evil men is literal and it is associated with a pit and it is used to catch men Mic 7:2.  We suspended a net at the ranch to catch doe.  We’ve caught mullet in a gill net and in cast nets Ecc 9:12.  So, these nets can be set or thrown.  A net could also be concealed on the ground and pulled from above when it is tripped Ps 140:5.

You know, when I first read about the net of evil men, I immediately thought of the Internet.  Something set by men that would catch men unawares.  The net has been used by wicked men to catch unsuspecting teenage girls.  The net has been used by wicked men to disseminate viruses and destroy computers.  You get the picture.

Now the net of evil men that the wicked desire is best understood when you consider the antichrist – because the net is used to draw men into a trap where they are under the control of someone else – thus the net is going to involve these elements:

Lies – Communication (the mouth Rev 13:5-6, 15) – the Wicked 2 Thes 2:8 ensnares men with what he says (lies – Jn 8:44) – propaganda is the old saying – he’s going to promise them “peace” and the truth is they will be facing certain destruction 1 Thes 5 just like in the old days Eze 13:10 – Hitler lied to the German people – Stalin and Lenin lied to their people – lies get told, they spread and then they become more convincing than the truth – religions use this net to ensnare their followers, and the whole time they promise eternal life, they lie and cover themselves by not promising assurance – advertisers use this net to “draw” people to their products (most of the selling points are lies) – revisionists use lies to rewrite history so they can project their lies about how things ought to be now – solution: “you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” check everything by the Bible.

Fear – Worship (Rev 13:4, 8, 15) – Nebuchadnezzar used this net to control the leaders of his provinces in Dan 3 and threatened them with death if they didn’t do worship his image – of course, the way to get their allegiance is to subject them in fear, then you can make them do anything you want – that’s why it is so important to keep worshipping and fearing the Lord, because as long as you do you will not fear men – 2 Ki 17:35-36 Ahab and Jezebel overran Israel by the means of fear – solution: “Fear God” and no one else.

Image – Rev 13:14-15 – that’s why you hear so much about the difference between image and substance these days – a man can get further in this world with a good image than he can with substance – consider that we really don’t have statesmen anymore, men who would follow their convictions in government without concern for reelection or reputation – they just tried to do the right thing – anything put forth to the people that a leader wants the people to back is simply put forth with an image that the people will “buy” – the tax cut gave the image of stimulating the economy – however, the national debt increased by 3 trillion dollars at the same time and this increase in debt is what really fueled the economy and that came with a low interest rate – what’s going to happen when inflation kicks in and interest rates go up to slow the economy – eventually the image of prosperity is going to be wiped out and the crippling reality of a bankrupt nation is going to catch everybody by surprise who believed the image – if you can get the media to portray you with a good image, you can go as high as you want to go – solution: believe only one image Heb 1:3; Col 1:15 Jesus Christ.

Money (the mark) – he that has the gold makes the rules – more and more effort will be made to centralize banking so that the Wicked can control every economy from one location – Rev 13:17-18 – imagine where we are today with money – “money” is black ink on white paper or images and numbers on colored paper called currency – these are nothing more than debt instruments (a promise to pay the bearer) – what are they going to pay you with – more debt instruments – the easiest way to control somebody financially is to get them in debt – the borrower is servant to the lender – my old friend Langley asked me, “Who owns your house?” And he replied to his own question, “Don’t pay your taxes one year and see who owns it” – the evil man will be a raiser of taxes Dan 11:20-21 – solution: stay out of debt and don’t trust your riches 1 Tim 6:17.

Conclusion: These four things are the principle nets – when the antichrist comes he will control the media (lies) religion (worship) and the economy (money) and his picture will be displayed everywhere (image) – you need to be aware not to get caught in the trap [even though the church will be raptured out of here by that time, these things are beginning to close in around people right now] – most watch the news (be careful); you’re better off to read the Bible – most fear someone other than God; watch out it’s a trap, like fearing the government – don’t be fooled just because a man looks good (image) – don’t be so tied up with money – Langley said, “If you want to know what God thinks about money just look how much Jesus had.”