"Remember the former things from a long time ago; for I am the Mighty God, and there is no other; I am God, and no one else is like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from antiquity things which are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure; calling a bird of prey from the east, the man who executes my counsel from a distant land. Indeed, I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have formed it; I will also do it." (Is46:9-11)

"behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, says Jehovah, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, MY SERVANT, and will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations all around. And I will completely destroy them, and make them a waste, and a hissing, and perpetual ruins... And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, MY SERVANT. And I have also given him the beasts of the field to serve him." (Jer25:9, 27:6)

When God destroyed the earth with the flood, how did He do it? When the "fountains of the great deep" (Ge7:11) sprang up, how was that accomplished? With what tools? Those who understand astronomical dynamics suggest that the flood happened when celestial bodies came within close enough distances to earth for their gravitationsl forces to cause earthquakes, tectonic upheavals and great tidal waves. The flood was not -just- 'rain'. The water was also "going out and coming back" (Ge8:3) as tides are known to do. When did God 'arrange' for those celestial events?

As God "fought for Israel" at Joshua's 'long day' (Josh10:14,42), when Israel was whoopin' their enemies; when did He 'arrange' for the celestial events that day?

"Then God said, Let there be luminaries in the firmament of the heavens, to distinguish the day from the night; and LET THEM BE FOR SIGNS AND SEASONS, AND FOR DAYS AND YEARS...and also the stars." (Ge1:14-16)

When Elijah was running from Jezebel, God sent ravens (His servants) with food to feed him as he was hiding at the Brook Cherith. How did He do that? God says,

"I have commanded the ravens to feed you there" (1Ki17:4)

When Daniel was thrown to the lions, Daniel proclaimed,

"My God has sent His Angel, and He has shut the mouths of the lions." (Dan6:22)

"Be silent! Be muzzled!" (Mk4:39)

But these things, mentioned thus far, are either inanimate objects, or of the animal kingdom, to whom neither right nor wrong are present. Objects have no consciousness to -do- anything on their own, because they are not possessed of free will nor self-animation. And animals do not 'choose' various behavior for any sort of 'moral' reasons. Animals are neither "good" nor "bad". They behave according to nature. So, does God use anything 'evil' as His tools?

There was the case where Ahab, due to his rebellion against God, needed to be killed in battle. But 'how' to get him to go into battle, and thus be killed? Many angels/spirits were gathered around God's throne, and He poses the question to them, and they, various ones, give this opinion or that idea. And finally an "evil spirit" comes forward. How do we know it was 'evil'? Because he offers to go and "be a spirit of falsehood in the mouth of all the" false prophets. (1Ki22:22) A righteous angel would not be engaged in falsehood or lies. Jesus said that satan was the "father of" lies. (Jn8:44) So, the lying spirit (God's servant) gets the job done.

There is that other one, likely the most 'famous' case in all of Scripture, found in the book of Job. God and the devil have this conversation. God challenges Satan regarding how "good" Job is, and satan whines back at God about 'how easy' Job has things in life. So God gives satan permission to "test"Job with adversity.

But what about evil people? If the righteous serve God, and the wicked rebel, surely God will not use the wicked for His own purposes as tools? God will not enlist the services of the wicked to accomplish His will?

Notice in the opening Scripture -who- God is calling His "servant". Nebuchadnezzar. Was Nebuchadnezzar a good church-going Christian? No. It was he who threw Ananaiah, Mishael and Azariah into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow to his great image. (Dan3) And God's title of "My servant" was also before he converted and acknowledged the Most High. (Dan4) Israel was in deep apostasy and needed discipline. And since Babylon was one of the world's great powers of that day, God having "preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings" (Ac17:26), and Paul tells us that "there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are ordained by God" (Rom13:1); God used one of those world powers, that He had ordained to exist during that time, even though steeped in idolatry of its own, to discipline His own erring people, Israel.

In like manner, those who have been around this ministry for any length of time, know how we make the observation that Jesus Christ "does NOT BELONG" in the pagan winter fertility festivities, labelled by Babylon of Rome as "christ-mass". The "mass" is paganism in worship to the sun, which Rome some time back usurped around and added Christian labels, and deceived many into thinking to be the celebration of Jesus' birth. But it is not. And so, considering how most who consider themselves to be "christian" insist on "putting Christ -back- into" the season... how can the wrong be corrected? That which calls itself "church" certainly isn't doing it!

Well, of all the strangest turns of events, the -world- is doing it! As the world gravitates more and more to the 'political correctness' of not having ONE EXCLUSIVE religion, and many of New Age and various other pagan beliefs do away with Jesus Christ from public discourse, they are making it 'politically incorrect' to have greetings like Merry Christmas, but instead wish each other "season's greetings" or "happy holidays", and such things. You see? Voila! Where "Christ" has no place in pagan festivities, the world is removing Him. What the church refuses to do, the pagan world (God's 'servant') is doing.

Certainly, this does not mean that the world's paganism is, thus, suddenly "less pagan". No, indeed not! They are just as pagan as they ever were, and on their way to the Lake of Fire, except they repent and receive Jesus Christ in Saving Faith. But the blasphemy that has been perpetrated upon that Blessed Name of Jesus Christ (Ro2:24), in the world, because of the 'church', has become 'less'. Yes, they are still worshiping their strange gods. But they are also 'directly' -blaspheming- Jesus Christ, by name, less. And as such, if there are degrees of punishment (Lk12:47-48), the pagans will be deserving of less judgment than those calling themselves "christian'.

What about idolatry? Many in our western ("christian") societies look at eastern idolatry as "culture" and "art"; that is, those shrines and statues to the Buddha's and other various gods. How many are the explorers who go searching, and when they find statues, will collect them and enshrine them in museums for all to see and be in awe of.

New Years Day Public TV had an episode on its "In Search of Myths & Heroes" program. In this particular program the explorer/reporter was travelling to Tibet in search of the original "Shangri La". After much travelling, and interacting with many different tribes of people along the way, they finally reached what was presumed to be the ruins of the location from which the original lore of "Shangri La" originated. Even though ruined, one could tell that at one time, according to ancient oriental standards, it had been quite a place. But the place was in ruins. In one 'room' was found the bones of the ancient king and his royal family.

In another large room were other ruins...the smashed remains of all the Buddhas that at one time had adorned all the vast system of shelves. How were they destroyed? Mao's "cultural revolution" of the 1960s.

What is one of Communism's prime tenets? Atheism. There is NO GOD. Mao's cultural revolution was wide-sweeping, killing anybody who was in anyway religious, the free thinkers and philosophers; and idols and books to all these things were destroyed.

What did God say about idolatry?

"You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything in the heavens above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them; for I, Jehovah your God, am a jealous Mighty God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me" (Ex20:3-5)

"Take heed to yourself, that you not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, that it not be a snare in your midst. But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and chop down their groves" (Ex34:12-13)

Typically, our western culture looks at Mao's reign of terror as a 'bad' thing. But look!! He did at Shangri La (and a lot of other places) what God had told Israel to do where they lived. Mao's "cultural revolution", in that it destroyed much idolatry, was a "good" thing. In that case, Mao, God's 'servant'. But what about how China persecutes Biblical Christians? Christians are imprisoned and killed. Isn't that "bad"? What did Jesus say...

"And do not fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear Him who has power to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." (Mt10:28)

But eventually, they will come after the die-hards who cling to God's Word, and will refuse to bow to the one-world religion and its anti-christ leader. What then? Does the Believer need to worry?

Well, if God can use the world against satan to remove Christ's name from the pagan winter festivities, and used an avowed atheist to destroy much idolatry, can He not take care of His own Children? What is the meaning of...

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Rom8:28-31)

"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into Gehenna; yes, I say to you, Fear Him! Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God." (Lk12:4-9)

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear when the earth changes, when mountains are slipping into the midst of the seas... because the Lord knows those who are His... as a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings... He shall hide me in His den" (Ps46:1-2, 2Ti2:19, Mt23:37, Ps27:5)