16Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. [simple_tooltip content=’16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”19 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20 saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.”
21 Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.
23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”’](Matthew 2:16-23)[/simple_tooltip]
Satan was the real motivator behind Herod’s actions. Ever since God first prophesied that a “seed” of a woman would bruise his head, Satan had been seeking to find and destroy this “seed” [simple_tooltip content=’And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.’](Gen. 3:15)[/simple_tooltip]. That “seed,” of course, was Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
It appears Satan is able to perceive when God is making a major move in the earth. In the days when Moses was born, Satan moved Pharaoh to kill all the male children of the Israelite slaves. After Jesus was born, Satan motivated Herod to kill all the male children in Bethlehem. No doubt he was seeking to eliminate this “seed,” the One who was going to bruise his head and strip him of all power and authority.
Once again, today we see children being slaughtered. This time it is through abortion. The Seed has already come and is multiplying Himself in every born-again believer, so Satan is trying to kill people before they can be born and then born again. He is also attacking our youth in unprecedented ways through violence and suicide. Is it possible he thinks this is the generation that will bring Jesus back? Is he, in desperation, trying to put off his doom by destroying this generation?
Today we need to have enough spiritual perception to recognize that what is happening to our children and youth is an indication of a great struggle in the spirit realm. While we pray, “Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!” we must also stand for what is right.
