Too much "rain" makes the saints soggy. They become careless regarding the fine points of holiness and are not always careful to obey the Lord strictly. They are having a good time and good times are not conducive to the creation of iron godliness.

It is during the periods of struggle, of being "killed," that the saints are pressed into God. During the "daylight" there is much speech. But it is at "night" that the knowledge of the holy is gained.

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. (Psalms 19:2—NIV)

The Bible says Antichrist will ascend to the heavens and tear down some of the host.

Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. It set itself up to be as great as the Prince of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of his sanctuary was brought low. Because of rebellion, the host of the saints and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground. Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, "How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled—the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host that will be trampled underfoot?" (Daniel 8:9-13—NIV)

There can be no doubt the above passage does not correspond to our ordinary view of Heaven. Yet it is obvious that such a statement must be of vast significance concerning the authority and power that God will give Antichrist toward the end of the Church Age.

We ought to see immediately that our concept of Heaven as a place of safety is invalid. There is no safety in the heavens, the only safety is in Jesus Christ. Nowhere in the entire Bible does it say there is safety in Heaven or in the heavens. In many passages, however, we are told that God is our fortress and high towers. So we have some midcourse corrections to make in our theology.

The little horn (Antichrist) grew until it reached the host of the heavens. This is exactly what it means, as far as we know. There are two hosts, the host of the saints and the host of angels. The Lord is the Lord of Hosts (plural). The host spoken of in the above passage is the host of the saints, as far as we can ascertain.

Several times in the Old Testament and the New we read that God will give the saints into the hands of Antichrist.

He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. (Revelation 13:7—NIV)

To be continued