“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3. God told Adam when He placed him in the Garden of Eden that he was not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If we look at Genesis chapter 3, which is what Paul refers to above, we find that Satan blatantly lied to Eve. “You will not surely die…” Genesis 3:4. So lies are now Satan’s forte. And after 6,000 years he’s become quite adept at disseminating his cloaked evil among the Christian Ekklesia.

 

That lie was the cause of an immeasurable rift between God and man. Jesus, of course, bridged that rift at the cross, but Satan would like nothing more than to undo what Jesus did 2,000 years ago. We know that Jesus’ sacrifice will never be voided, but that won’t stop His nemesis from creating as much havoc in this world while he still can.

 

Paul was fearful that the serpent’s beguiling of Eve would have the same detrimental effect on the Ekklesia of Christ and rightfully so. But unlike when he deceived Eve, today Satan’s evil lies are not so transparent – especially for those who are biblically illiterate. When Satan, through his lies, can instill an “I don’t care” attitude in the mind of a professing Christian he has just moved to first base. However, when the serpent can create doubt in the mind of a follower of Jesus Christ as to the accuracy of God’s word, then he has hit a homerun. Ultimately, as doubt manifests and festers, Satan moves in for the kill with “another gospel”, and with the acceptance of that false gospel he’s hit the grand slam of deceptions.

 

Let’s first understand who it is we are dealing with. The enemy of God has a name. In the Hebrew his name is “heylel”. In English his name means “light bearer”, or in the Latin “Lucifer”. The term “light bearer” can be very misleading, especially when we consider that he is the epitome of evil. Jesus Christ, the Creator of the world and the Creator of the “light bearer-Lucifer”, is the true Light of the world and of men. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4. Darkness, when spoken of in our Bibles, is usually demonic “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:5 Most people today, including many Christians, deny the demonic realm exists. Others seem to have a bit of understanding when it comes to the demonic, but ignore it as though it was insignificant. Most people, even though they believe in the supernatural, misunderstand thus significantly underestimate the leader of that realm – and his power. What they don’t seem to grasp is that even though Lucifer/Satan is pure evil he avoids all appearance of evil like the plague.

 

To unmask his evil plans and parade them about in public would be detrimental to Satan’s agenda. What we must understand about this very powerful being is that he is able to pull off a huge deception concerning his malevolence. Satan and his followers make themselves appear as benevolent while disseminating their deceptions. Satan’s agenda is to steal, kill, and destroy humans; understandably, the transparency of his agenda wouldn’t go over well with his human prey. Therefore he must cloak his evil plans. 

 

“…for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:14. As he is able to transform himself into an “angel of light” he can put forth a demeanor of purity which cloaks his true intentions. This is why God tells us again and again to be ever diligent especially when it comes to God’s Word. There are many false teachers these days taking Satan’s lies to new levels.

 

Satan is evil, period. Yet his lies are always peppered with some truth. He is beguiling, crafty and extremely intelligent, far more so than any human being presently on earth. Therefore we must not only believe but we must also rely on God’s word for guidance. We rely on God Himself for our protection against this extremely evil foe, but believing God is paramount when it comes to understanding the enemy’s agenda. Remember, Satan knows the word of God also and he will use it as it suits his plan. Notwithstanding, his lies will always be hidden betwixt the truth – just enough to beguile. Satan once tried to beguile Jesus in the wilderness. How did Jesus answer him each time Satan confronted Him? By quoting Scripture. We must be just as biblically literate and diligent.

 

“Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness…” 2 Corinthians 11:15. The ministers Paul speaks of above are those who follow their father the devil by doing his bidding. Some are very public figures; some are Bible teachers, some lead Christian congregations, and some lead cults. If you think Satan’s ministers are only fallen angels and demons, then you too have been deceived. Satan has an army of ministers who are human and who are fully entrenched in his camp. They are those who stand in the shadow of the “light bearer” as they do their best to cloak Satan’s personification of evil.

 

Lies are meant to deceive, pure and simple; deception is always the path of the enemy. Satan continually uses his deceptive techniques to attract the unsuspecting (biblically illiterate) and lull them into a false sense of well being. To the biblically illiterate his evil is always cloaked, which makes these folks ripe candidates to follow anything that sounds true, good, or that makes life more comfortable. Remember, cloaked evil never resembles evil, but always takes on a pleasing, and fulfilling charismatic characteristic.

 

Throughout the past few thousand years Satan has had a tremendous and highly successful run at presenting evil as good. Many souls have been deceived right into Hell. God didn’t just dump us on this planet and leave us alone; He gave us warning after warning in His word so that we could avoid being led astray by the evil one. Increasingly in these last days it seems that even many of God’s own children are now more spiritually in tune with the evil one, than with God. As humankind moves ever closer to Christ’s return, it becomes more and more apparent that many professing Christians are nothing more than secular humanists in sheep’s clothing. Many of these folks have not only divided their loyalties, but have fully defected.  

 

To be a true Christian means we stand with Jesus Christ, and not just during worship time or prayer time but in all times. We are never to stand opposed to our God, and as God’s children we are never to take on a secular worldview mindset. God never tells His children to wallow in the muck and mire of the secular world. We must sojourn in this world, but the world should never view us (or love us) as one of their own.

 

Clearly Jesus expects us to be the light of the world. “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16. Jesus is adamant about the fact that we are never to hide our light but to always let it shine. When we choose to stand against God, because in our minds we’ve decided in the end our choices will justify the means, God sees this as unfaithfulness, and unfaithfulness is the same as slapping Him in the face.

 

Satan, once again, has raised his ugly head as the angel of light and convinced many Christians that we are to keep our faith completely separated from our own personal secular worldview. Here’s an example, abortion is so completely acceptable by mankind these days that we now murder the innocent, while still in the womb, and by the millions every year. Yet abortion is an abomination to God. Where are God’s children? Our silence in this regard speaks volumes.

 

I’ve heard it from many professing Christians that they have no problem with homosexuality, live and let live they say, thus through our own apathy homosexuality has been allowed to become so commonplace that the majority of humankind now not only condone this satanic evil but many desire to join in with these deceived individuals and play along.

 

The world is upside down and many professing Christians are siding with Satan in this regard as well as in other decisions that are purely secular and opposed to God. What do we, who revere the Bible as God’s truth, see occurring? The ever progressiveness of cloaked evil.

 

Those who stand with God, even under the most fierce condemnation that comes from the lost of this world, not to mention from many of our own brethren, are the true family of God . “But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 4:3-4. Let mankind judge us. For their judgment is of no significance. God is our judge, and He judges righteously.

 

Instead of being a light on a hill, many Christians are actually as dark as the night. When we as the followers of Jesus Christ lose our saltiness we are good for nothing except to Satan. No salt? Satan has a job for you. He will conscript you into his service, and as you become his accomplice helping him in presenting his evil agenda, can you guess what your key responsibility will be? The cloaking and disseminating of his evil plans.

 

Only by believing God and what He has given us as His inerrant word can cloaked evil be unveiled. Studying God’s word for ourselves is vital. Here’s another example of a satanic lie cloaked. The phrase “judge not” is used, in many cases, by those who are into full on rebellion against God. People will use that phrase incessantly as they attempt to deflect any complaints of immorality from landing on their doorstep. The verse in question doesn’t mean we aren’t to use righteous judgment when confronted with deceptions and immorality, it simply means we are never to condemn others (that’s God’s domain). We are certainly never to accept Satan’s deceptions, the immoral actions of others, their lifestyles, or false religions and cults by siding with them, especially merely for convenience sake.

 

A major deception which Satan has performed in these last days is to convince the world that evil is good and pleasing, and good is now nothing more than an irritant which should be shunned. Many professing Christians seem to look at evil as something that is optional instead of obligatory to avoid. When “judge not” is implemented by Christians attempting to cover their sinfulness they become fully secular without any concern for their relationship with God. When we as Christians step away from our God for any reason we instantaneously enter the camp of Satan. When we step away from our faith and allow Satan to have his way in our lives, it means that we’ve just been deceived – Satan was successful at cloaking his evil again. Awareness of the cloaking and spiritual discernment is the key – evil cloaked is at the door, so is Jesus. Which will you let in?

 

God bless you all,

 

Ron Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

www.straitandnarrowministry.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

 

All original scripture is “theopneustos” God breathed

 

I’m greatly encouraged by all the response to my prayer request. Please continue your prayers for my health. The MG continues to destroy the skeletal muscles in my body, thus the fatigue and eye problems are becoming more of a daily hindrance.

 

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