# 309: Exposing Most of Satan’s Deceptions

It is extremely important for all genuine Christians, including this author, to know exactly how Satan the devil operates so that his enticing schemes don’t ensnare us, without our knowledge, into a life that is pleasing to him.

Since the evil one has been around since the beginning of time, he knows all the tricks in the book when it comes to ways he can entice many people into doing what pleases him and offends God.

The desire, though most often silent, of many humans is to be successful in life (king of the hill). Everyone who desires to be in that category, which fits the majority of people in the world, may be treading on thin ice. Of course, this desire is never manifested in the vast majority of the human population. Some may be thinking, “Why is it so sinful to want to succeed at whatever one is good at?” The answer: Proverbs 16:18. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Pride comes with being number one at whatever one is good at, or even close to being number one. Also, the desire to be number one displays discontent and/or disbelief with the Salvation Jesus Christ offers. The devil knows that having pride (even silent pride) most often is the doorway to his kingdom, and the downfall of anyone who desires to please Jesus Christ.

One of the devil’s most secretive maneuvers is to entice a large population of the best and most upright people, along with those who are looked up to by the masses—who no one would ever suspect of being on the devil’s team—to unknowingly do a great deal of his work. Some may be thinking, “How can this be?” Well, the great deceiver easily gets this type of unbelievers to believe they are good and holy people; therefore, they feel certain that God’s love for them will bring them to heaven.

Just remember this: Satan is the father of lies. John 8:44. “When he lies [to inspire us through our thinking process], he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” He lies to us by satisfying our worldly desires. This is the ultimate goal of Satan: Revelation 12:9. “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the WHOLE WORLD ASTRAY. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” [emphasis added]. This verse is of great importance, since it tells us what his intentions are. How does he lead the whole world astray? For the tempter, this is easy. Whenever anyone from the complete human population does anything sinful, greedy, self-centered, dishonest, or lies or even exaggerates—any kind or wrongdoing, in fact anything that is contrary to New Testament (NT) teaching—he/she is promoting what pleases the devil. That is hard to believe and yet true. Repeating: That is how he has led—and continues to lead—the whole world astray.

Even more shocking is that the father of lies has led religious leaders worldwide astray by whispering this in their ears with human logic: “You must desire success in your preaching; then Jesus Christ will regard you as worthy men/women of God.” This sounds like a holy cause, to be successful in God’s work. But what has happened is they have put success—also for monetary reasons—before being totally honesty as to what God requires of the laity. This practice has had a devastating outcome, because some sections of Scripture are offensive as to what is required by all Christians, and for that reason they are swept under the rug, as it were.

Let me repeat: In order for this plan to work, the clergy were/are silently seduced by the liar to disregard or sugarcoat many important NT verses that are not in accord with the desires of our human nature, which we are all born with. Most, if not all, religious leaders are not aware that by secretly preaching a rather pleasing/acceptable gospel, they will be sending millions (along with themselves) into the conniving hands of the father of lies. The only thing is, come hell or high or water, no one will ever be able to convince the majority of religious leaders of this well-disguised, enjoyably satanic maneuver. The devil has them in a fine and lovely-sounding choke-hold.

2nd Corinthians 11:13-15. “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.” This implies that anyone who does not comply with ALL that the NT commands/teaches (doing the will of God) is unknowingly a servant of the evil one. These are hard words that are not mentioned often enough (or ever) in many churches that have been around for many hundreds of years.

I believe this next challenge is the most difficult and the least practiced in our modern world: that is desiring to devote more time to spiritual matters by promoting the cause of Christ than worldly matters. Even though there is no verse that says exactly that, anyone who is actually attempting to obey our loving God with all his/her heart, soul, mind and strength and love their neighbor as themselves should realize that this holy and important command is next to impossible to fully accomplish. However, we must never give up and always make EVERY EFFORT in attempting to love as He commands. Then there is Matthew 5:48. “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” This is a difficult verse: We all know that no one on earth is perfect, and yet perfection must be the desire and goal of every genuine Christian. Then there is John 12:25. “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” I believe the hating of one’s life could mean that we are not afraid of and are even looking forward to dying for the cause of Christ. The reason I say this is because these above commands seem difficult to comply with, but in reality it is a joy to know that we do them all for the glory of God.

I am at least trying to live a totally organic existence. For example: all my meals are organic and made from scratch. I never go to restaurants or eat anything processed. During the spring, summer and fall, I attempt to eat exclusively from my large organic garden—mostly vegetables and a few fruits—that takes up much time that I could be devoting to spiritual matters. I am an older person, and the older one is, the better care he/she must give to their body. For me to break out of this time-consuming life style seems almost impossible. That infers that caring for the health of my body is more important than my spiritual health. In other words, I am giving more attention to something physical (my body) than the spiritual part of me. I pray to God that He will give me insight into amending this potentially deadly situation. Even though I take great care of my physical body, better than most people, I do want to mention that at this time I desire and am ready to leave this Godless world. The main reason for caring for my health is mainly so I don’t lose my cognitive powers, because Alzheimer’s runs in my family history. Since I am attempting to rationalize my life situation, I must continue to ponder my way of life to be certain I am on the best course for promoting the work of Christ.

I do a few good deeds every day. I listen to the NT during the time I am obligated to do menial chores and attend to non-spiritual matters. I have been doing this for years, to the point that I may know the NT as well as most Biblical theologians. Another thing that will help in my situation is to continue to make more effort in my door-to-door solicitation in promoting the work that Christ and the apostles started. I also have been devoting much time to the work of publishing this blog for the last six years. All the above good deeds are worthless if I don’t continually devote PRIME TIME (making every effort) to promoting the works of Jesus Christ.

One of the verses I am attempting to obey is 1st John 2: 15-17, and many others that teach just about the same principle: “Do not love the world or ANYTHING in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

For sure, the tempter gets more joy from seeing many, many people who call themselves Christians, go to church on Sunday, listen to a “good” sermon, sing a few religious songs, pay their tithe, and then feel as if they have done their duty for the week as followers of Christ. Actually, the reason they believe this way is because the clergy never (or very seldom) mention that much more is commanded to fulfill our part that pleases Jesus Christ; instead, they give needed assurance to those who want to make certain their Salvation is for real and secure.

Another avenue to get Christians to sin is for the tricky one is to teach many “Christians” to wrongly quote 1st John 2:1. “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” This verse seems to teach that it is okay to sin whenever and we will be forgiven. That is a false assumption. Did you notice the little two-letter word “if” in the second sentence? Many Christians in their mind switch “if” into “when” and then believe that verse gives the go-ahead sign to sin; then just tell God that you repent and all will be okay. You see, “if”’ means it may be possible, but highly unlikely, and “when” means something is certain. The devil wins this one.

Another section of Scripture that is even a more seductive favorite of Satan is Romans chapter 7:14-20. “We know that the law is spiritual; but I [the apostle Paul] am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”

What some Christians believe and what a Christian friend once said to my face years ago concerning this section of Scripture was: “If the great and holy Apostle Paul can sin as he admitted, am I to be any better and holier than him?” If anyone wants to learn what the Apostle Paul really means in this section of Scripture, click on post #248,. “The Knack of Making Sin Acceptable.” It brings up some Old Testament verses; therefore, some familiarity with the Old Testament will be helpful to understand this serious misunderstanding. This is one verse that Satan desires every Christian to know, but wants no one to understand what the true meaning is. Of the complete NT, this section is the seducer’s favorite.

The Apostle Peter in 2nd Peter 3:16 says this about the Apostle Paul’s writing: “He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

If all church leaders were to encourage to the laity the importance of reading the NT daily (and not just a verse or two) so they could make sure they are fulfilling all the requirements commanded—and not be tricked by Satan to circumvent the ones that disagree with our human desires—Christianity would be quite different than it is today. Preachers won’t do just that; if they did, their lucrative couch-potato jobs would soon come to an end.

Here is another one of Satan’s deceptions: he wants all people to believe that there is no such thing as the devil, and that he is only make-believe; something like the bogeyman to scare children. Once someone believes the devil doesn’t exist, hell also becomes a fairytale. We all know that atheists don’t believe in God or Satan, but there are many people who don’t claim to be atheists and still believe there is no devil, since no one on earth has ever seen him to verify he really exists. However, there are many human facsimiles of this treacherous spirit.

This next deception is one that most secular people have no idea Satan is behind: He loves to promote all types of worldly charitable organizations, such as the United Way and hundreds of others like it. The only thing he insists on is that Jesus Christ never gets the credit; nor is He even mentioned. There are thousands of groups that have their own “do good” campaigns. Case in point, he is behind all the good that is done to help people and groups in times of need. You see, Satan desires his people to be generous and look good, without God or Christ getting the glory. This evil monster is so intelligent beyond our comprehension, and knows how stupidly naïve the vast majority of humans are when it comes to spiritual matters.

I am super surprised that God is allowing me to publish this very reviling post without Satan’s interference. I am certain this spiritual crook is as mad as hell—ha, ha—at me; I thank God at this critical time that I am under His superior protection.

One of Satan’s most damaging schemes is to tell people through their thought pattern, regardless of what type of lives they live, “You are good people, and for sure you all are going to heaven.” This is a self-test question: ask a few people who believe they are Christians, “When you die, are you going to heaven?” The vast majority will say yes.

The question remains, why is Satan evil, and what does he get out of his hatred? I have my own opinion, but first let me quote the book of Isaiah chapter 12:14 in “The Living Bible.” It becomes much clearer as to what he has been up to: “How art thou fallen from heaven O Lucifer [Satan], son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou have said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my thrown above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high.” This seems to dogmatically state that he wanted to be in God’s place, but that request was denied since his evil nature is totally contrary to God’s love nature.

Now, Lucifer knows how God made humans: through His own creation process—most know it as “Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.” The devil also knows that “survival of the fittest” is God’s way to end up with humans created in God’s image. Genesis 1:27. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

That creation of humanity in Genesis 1:27 does not necessarily mean one 24-hour earth day like most Christians believe. Each day could consist of a period when time didn’t/doesn’t exist. There are many verses that tell when the word “day” is mentioned, it does not mean a period of 24 hours. For example: Romans 10:21. “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.” Since there is no time in eternity, like judgment day, there are many more verses when the word “day” means a period of timelessness. We must remember that time does not exist in the realm God lives in; therefore, He had no reason to be in a hurry—since the word “hurry” is not in His vocabulary—to create mankind here is a good example. 2nd Peter 3:8: “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” The words “thousand years” could also be millions of years or even much, much more, since there is no time in God’s heaven.

Satan knew that our survival instinct—getting as much as we can of whatever—would be the perfect way to trick most humans into doing his will, and disregarding Almighty God’s commands. Why? What many don’t realize is that the more worldly things we have or desire, the more attached we are to this evil, selfish world.

In order for Satan to make a tight bond with as many humans as possible, he uses trickery, lies, and super- smooth deceit. He is the father of lies. Repeating: John 8:44. “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Very few people, if anyone, want to be friends with a liar, and by not obeying all that is taught in the NT, many unknowingly become friends with the chief of liars.

He gets away with his lies to all who don’t really believe or know ALL that Jesus Christ teaches; then, he speaks to them through their thought process, and tells them what they want to hear according to their worldly desires. He also easily and more readily speaks to the majority of humans who actually don’t believe that there is a God. This large group is his ever-growing special piece of cake, as it were.

What does this invisible monster get out of getting all peoples to beckon to his mighty, insidious, evil call? Before we grapple with that answer, read Luke 4: 5-7. “The devil led him [Jesus Christ] up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; IT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” [emphasis added].

The possible answer is that he wanted (and still wants) revenge against Almighty God for not giving him what he wanted before the beginning of time. He wanted the power of God. Also, misery loves company; the more misery from his human accomplices, the better/merrier, and then he feels great that he has done his very best—or rather, his very worst.

Now, with the power of all his deceit and trickery, he doesn’t want even one person to go to heaven, so he can have us all with him in the lake of fire (hell). You see, he knows his destiny. And this is how he is going to attempt to accomplish his goal of having almost everyone on earth in hell with him.

That great deceiver has all atheists in the palm of his hand, as it were. The ones he has to somehow get to go his way—if he hasn’t already—are the religious people who claim to be Christians. And he had, and still has, an ace up his sleeve. Don’t forget this: he must have the complete Bible memorized. Check Luke chapter 4:4-11, to see how Satan quotes the Old Testament correctly. The verses he ridicules are the ones that say we “must be obedient to all that is taught in the NT verses.” He knows without that complete OBEDIENCE, he has millions of “christians” in the palm of his hands.

We don’t want to forget how much God hates and Satan loves the most openly disobeyed command in America: that is the acceptance of homosexuality as normal, and Satan is behind it all. And now with gay marriage accepted by law in some states, and eventually all states will follow, that sin is even more grievous, if it were possible. That evil monster has been behind the open display of homosexuality since the time the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God with fire that came down from the sky. Could that happen to America? What is happening at this time in America tells me we are not a Christian country. This next verse comes from the Old Testament: Leviticus 20:13. “If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” This next verse is in the NT: 1st Corinthians 6:9. “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” Romans 1:26-27. “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.”

The devil knows that faith in Christ, love for God, God’s love for us, grace, mercy, compassion, and all the other great and holy attributes genuine Christians possess are null and void, and all because most don’t know or care to know or obey many NT verses that are contrary to our human nature. The main commands that are disobeyed are the two greatest commands of all. Matthew 22:37-40. “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” The books of Luke and Mark have the same requirements. Yes, this is a requirement! The main, if not the only, way we display our love for God and our needy neighbor is by the above-mentioned obedience.

And because of the stringency of those two commands, the devil knows that he has all unknowingly disobedient “christians” in his pocket. The reason is because that all-important obedience is the main spiritual adhesive that PUTS US AND KEEPS US in God’s grace and mercy.

The words “obedience,” “obedient,” “obey,” “obeying,” “obeyed,” and “obeys” are in the NT dozens upon dozens of times. Even though obedience alone can save no one, we cannot casually negate obedience and believe we will be covered by God’s love, grace, mercy, and compassion. Also, for those who have a Bible concordance, look up the word “disobedience” and its associated words. Then one can see why the devil and his spiritual accomplices are laughing all the way to their upcoming hot house.

I believe Christian pastors and the related clergy are not aware of how INSIDIOUS this spiritually intelligent, evil entity really is. It could be understood if the innocent/naive laity were not aware of how the king of evil makes his conniving and deadly feel-good ways enjoyable, acceptable, and in some cases honorable for church-going people. But there is no excuse for the caretakers of the flocks to be so naive.

In conclusion: millions may go to a church building every Sunday morning and possibly listen to an ear-tickling message, which allows them to believe they have their mojo that gives them a free ticket to heaven. Please remember this: This evil people-pleaser does everything in his power to make certain that his disciples are not aware that they are following him. Without obedience, it is next to impossible to detect the workings of the evil king of this world. Who said it is easy to live the genuine Christian life? No, it is not easy to be obedient to the commands of Jesus Christ, because many important ones—not often mentioned—go against what our human nature desires, and seem impossible to obey. Still, let me end with this verse: Hebrews 5:9. “. . . he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him."

Bible verses except for one, are quoted from the New International Version 2011 edition.