Out of the Darkness
Into the Light
Chapter
1 - The Darkness
Before
we can truly (sincerely, faithfully and
genuinely) begin to approach unto the light, we must understand the darkness
that separates us from God. The “issue” is: who will be Lord (authority)
of your life, and of the creation of man, and of the entire creation as a whole?
Will the Creator or the creation govern, and whose will (rule)
shall prevail? Whose nature shall be followed (practiced,
lived by, adhered to) both now and forevermore? The answers to these
questions will either leave you in darkness or draw you to the light. Don’t
answer to quickly because your life (as
being lived out) may tell a different story. Many may determine that
although they assume (think, presuppose)
themselves to be in the light, in reality (in
actuality) they have a love of darkness and are dwelling comfortably
therein. The great hope of this book is to compel you to genuinely and sincerely
come to the light in truth and the practice thereof. To send you running into
the loving arms of the Lord.
Isaiah
1:2, “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have
nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.”
The
Nature of the Rebellion
The
Lord God reigns from heaven and has a host of angelic beings that minister to
and serve Him (Ps 68:17, 91:11, 104:4,
148:2, Mt 4:6, 11, 13:41, 49, 16:27, 18:10, 24:31, 36, 25:31, 26:53, Mk 8:38, Lk
9:26, 12:8-9, 15:10, Jn 1:51, 2 Thess 1:7, Heb 1:7, 12:22, 1 Pt 3:22, Rev 5:11).
Psalms 103:20, “Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do
his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.” Lucifer (meaning,
light-bearer) was a much anointed (set
apart for the Lord’s service) Cherub and was given great authority by God
(Ez 28:14). Lucifer was full of
wisdom, and perfect in beauty (Ex 28:11,
13, 17) and was perfect (absolute,
faultless) in his ways until iniquity was found in him (Ez 28:15). His wisdom became corrupted (evil, depraved, wicked) by reason of his brightness (beauty
and superior qualities, Ez 28:17). Lucifer (created
being) was originally fully submitted to the will of God (The Creator, Ps 146:6). True wisdom is the fear (submission
to the will) of God. Psalm 111:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning
of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his
praise endureth for ever (also Ps 19:9, Pv
1:7, 9:10).” The fear of God is to willingly surrender to His will in
absolute obedience – walk in the Lord’s truth (Rev
14:6-7, Deut 8:6). To be perfect is to fear God, and eschew evil (Job 2:3, Pv 3:7, 4:27, 8:13). Job 28:28, “…Behold, the fear of
the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” What this
is saying is that there must be a sincere love for God and His eternal truth (nature,
character) such that one would hate or shun any evil that would dishonor God
or detract from the truth – that which would keep one from cleaving (adhering,
uniting) to the Lord in perfect obedience. Some might say there was no evil
in heaven, but there was the potential for evil of which Lucifer partook - did
not eschew or abstain from. The creation must walk in the nature of the Creator,
for God is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look upon iniquity (Habk
1:13). Lucifer was originally perfect in executing the commands of the Lord
and fully submitting to God’s will – he was declared so by the Lord (Ez
28:15). However, Lucifer’s wisdom became corrupted. His heart was lifted
up, and he said: “I am a God, I sit in the seat of God” (Ex 28:2) – he set his heart as the heart of God and lifted himself
up in height (Ez 28:6, 31:10). Lucifer
now sought his own will (way, path)
– independent of God (Pv 1:29). This
was a disregard of God’s will and authority. One cannot seek their will and
yet be totally submitted to God’s will at the same time (Mt
6:24, Lk 16:13). This was disobedience to the commands of God which is
transgression to the will of the Lord – Rebellion is the renunciation of
God’s authority! God had wonderfully provided for Lucifer – he had beauty,
wisdom and position (authority, place). There was no reason he should have transgressed
God’s will – he gave in to selfish desire. God’s nature is love which
focuses on the needs of others. Lucifer chose to be the opposite, which focuses
on the needs or desires of self (prideful,
egoistic). Lucifer became the opposite of God and an “adversary.” An
adversary is opposed or opposite to, and hence the name - Satan – an enemy or
foe that has enmity at heart (1 Pt 5:8).
Lucifer who was the light bearer (truth-bearer)
now became filled with darkness and opposite of God – corrupter with the lie.
He now vitiates or injures the qualities of the Lord so as to impair its value,
to render defective, and to attempt to destroy the
truth. There is no communion (unity,
empathy, relationship) between light and darkness (2 Cor 6:14). Consider Lucifer’s boasts: Isaiah
14:13-15, “For thou hast said in thine
heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne 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. Yet
thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” These statements
reveal Lucifer’s fallen (corrupted)
nature – the nature of SELF (“I”).
This is an evil heart that directly challenges God by saying: “I am, and there
is none beside me” (“Me” comes
foremost, Zeph 2:15, Is 47:8, 10). The Lord declares the same of Himself
regarding His divine authority (Is 45:5-6,
21). Lucifer, who is a created being, denies God, by saying,
“there is none beside me,” and is thus in disregard for God’s
authority (the Creator of all). True
love, which is the characteristic of God, denies self. The rebellion seeks self
and says to God, “depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy
ways;” and propounds: “what is the Almighty, that we should serve Him” (Job
21:14-15, 22:17)? Lucifer, now known as Satan, the devil, the dragon, the
serpent, prince/god of this world (Rev
12:9, Jn 12:31, 14:30, 16:11, Eph 2:2, 2 Cor 4:4) abode not in the truth and
left his first estate (Jn 8:44, Jude 1:6).
An “estate” is a fixed condition or status; rank, condition of circumstances
– an order in creation. Lucifer exalted (pride) himself above his created position in seeking his own will.
In doing so, he left his habitation (state
of dwelling, Jude 1:6). To no longer abide in the truth is to abide in
“The Lie” which is opposite. What is the Lie? The Lie is the alternate
reality that Lucifer hoped to establish that proposed the creation could live (ye
shall not surely die, Gen 3:4) independent of the Creator – to seek its
own will (as gods, Gen 3:5). The lie is outwardly manifested as pride, which
is self exaltation. This is seeking your own way in your own authority. The lie
disobeys the commands of the Creator and disregards His authority. God hates
pride! Proverb 8:13, “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and
arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” Is there any
question as to why God would hate pride? Pride is an affront to the very
“being” of God. The Lord’s kingdom operates in self denial – placing God
foremost and others above self. The Lord’s nature is meekness. Lucifer
attempted to change (destroy) the very
nature and order of creation by exalting self (pride) – placing self foremost and above others. This is opposite
the nature of God.
God
is the Creator of all things (Deut 10:14,
32:4, 39-40, Col 1:16) and gives life to His creation – thus the Lord is
the Giver of Life (Ps 33:6, Pv 8:35, Is
42:5, 45:12, 18, Jer 10:12) – for all live unto Him (Lk
20:38). There is no life apart from the Creator (Job 33:4, Ps 36:9, Eccl 12:7). The creation derives (obtains,
receives) its very being (existence,
spirit, soul, self, nature, breath) from the Creator and must submit in
obedience to the Giver of life from which it is sustained (upheld,
kept, Job 34:14-15) – this is wisdom (Ps
111:10). This is important to understand. John 5:26, “For as the Father
hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son
to have life in himself.” The Lord God Almighty has life within Himself
and needs nothing external – He says, “I AM that I AM” (Ex
3:14). Jesus also has life within Himself and this places Him as God (Jn 1:1-3) – in Him was life; and the life was the light (example
to follow) of men (Jn 1:4).
Lucifer is a created being and does not have life within himself. God shall one
day gather unto Himself His spirit and His breath and all flesh shall perish and
man will return to the dust (Job 34:14-15,
Gen 2:7). As Author of all creation, God has established truth and is the
keeper of it (eternal, Ps 117:2, 119:151,
146:6). God’s Word is truth (Jn
17:17, Ps 119:151, 1 Pt 1:23, 25). Psalms 119:89, “For ever, O LORD, thy
word is settled in heaven (also Is 40:8, 1
Pt 1:25).” AND Psalms 119:160, “Thy word is true from the beginning: and
every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever (also
Ps 100:5, Mt 24:35, Mk 13:31, Lk 21:33).” God’s way is perfect and His
Word is tried, pure and right (Ps 18:30,
also Ps 12:6, 19:8, 33:4). The Lie proposes that there is life independent
of the Creator and that one may disobey the authority of the Creator to seek
their own will and authority – that they have life in “self.” The Lie
proposes that the creation or “creature” can be as gods (Gen
3:5). Lucifer attempted to change the truth of God into a lie (Rm
1:25). A God determines and executes his own will. The Lord God Almighty is
sovereign over His creation and has stated His will (Word)
and has the power and ability to carry out that will/Word - into effect. Isaiah
55:11, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not
return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” None can stay his hand, or say unto
him, What doest thou (Dan 4:35)?
Lucifer left the truth and now abides in “the lie,” which is opposite of the
truth. As author (seeking reality apart
from God) or father of “the lie” (Jn
8:44), Satan (meaning, adversary)
has sought his independence from God to seek self, but has no ability to carry
it into effect (Ps 21:11). He was cast
down (Is 14:12, 15-16, Ez 28:13, 31:16, Jn
12:31)! For a time, awaiting his judgment and ultimate condemnation -
penalty, the devil is only allowed to do what God allows – he operates within
limitations set by the Lord (Job 1:6-12,
2:1-6, 1 Cor 10:13). The devil dwells within the shadow of death, which is
just a step away from eternal damnation, second death
(Job 10:21-22). God’s truth
states that to disobey Him: “thou shalt surely die” (Gen
2:17). The Lie proposes that you can disobey (transgress
the will of) God and: “ye shall not surely
die” (Gen 3:4). We shall shortly
understand which of these two statements proved true (reality).
Lies always compete with the truth for reality (realism, actuality, certainty, veracity, 1 Jn 2:21). Only one
proposition can hold true because a lie is the exact opposite of the truth. Is
the truth to be found in the will of the Creator or the creation? God’s Word
states that the Lord cannot lie (Ti 1:2,
Heb 6:18) – its impossible. This makes sense when you consider that lies
are opposite of the truth and compete with it – no lie is of the truth (1 Jn 2:21). If God lied then He would contradict the truth which He
established and this would be total confusion. Satan has no such restrictions
and will gladly contradict the truth or manipulate it to establish his
alternative (i.e. the devil’s wiles).
The devil operates (maneuvers, functions)
outside the truth (opposite). The one
who holds to “the lie” becomes a deceiver to those who seek the truth. A
liar is one who leads astry, misleads, is false, and makes believe what is not
true (Pv 12:22). Thus, Satan is the great
deceiver (Rev 12:9). To espouse (advocate,
champion) “the lie” as the truth is to deceive one concerning reality.
The devil practices his “wiles” which are tricks or stratagem (subterfuge, devices) practiced for ensnaring or deception; a sly,
insidious (sinister, subtle) artifice
- to deceive; to beguile (Eph 6:11).
To live opposite of the truth is to live opposite of the nature of God.
Therefore, Satan took on the opposite nature of God. Consider some of the
attributes (qualities, characteristics)
of the nature of God (Ps 86:15): love,
contentment, righteousness, truth, meekness, longsuffering, self control,
goodness, sacrificing, giving, judgment, mercy, patience and forgiveness (Ps 25:10, Num 14:18, Gal 5:22, Eph 5:9). Conversely (on
the contrary), the attributes of the nature of Satan (which
is the nature of the lie) will always manifest as the opposite of God’s
nature, namely – hate, lust, wickedness, lies, pride, impatience,
incontinent/intemperance, evil, selfishness, greed, confusion, incompassion,
mercilessness, impulsiveness, unforgiveness, and intolerance (Gal
5:19-21, Rm 1:24-32, 2 Tim 3:3). God dwells within the light (truth,
Dan 2:22). Psalms 104:2, “Who coverest thyself with light as with a
garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain.” Those that follow the
lie dwell within darkness. To follow the lie is to live within the lie or
darkness – to practice, adhere to, demonstrate through actions. This is to
seek your way and disregard God’s way.
The
established truth (settled, tried and pure)
is that all of creation will fear (love,
submit to, obey, honor, be loyal to, and trust) the Lord God (Creator). This is a free-will (not
coerced) surrender to the will (purposes,
commands) of God. A heart that is forced (pressured, compelled, driven) to obey is nothing more than
suppressed (concealed, censored)
rebellion. A heart that serves for anticipated gain is nothing more than one set
on “self” rather than the Lord or others - the nature of the lie, which is
darkness. Lucifer rejected the truth in order to seek the will of self. To seek
self will is to disregard God’s will – there can only be one authority.
Lucifer rejected God’s rule over him and set himself up as a god. To have the
heart of a god (Ez 28:2) is to become
your own authority and seek your own way - will, path, commands, desires, etc.
By virtue of his wisdom and beauty, Lucifer was discontent to be ruled by God (Ez 28:11-17). He did not want to submit to the will of another,
which is “humbleness.” Lucifer’s desire to seek his way nullified his fear
of God and corrupted his wisdom (Ps 36:1).
Lucifer partook of wickedness, or that which is forbidden. He left the light (truth
and life) and entered into the darkness - the lie and death. The
light-bearer became the adversary and accuser. Lucifer set himself up as the god
of rebellion which was manifested as pride (self
exaltaion) and self seeking. In other words, to “have it your way.”
Satan not only wanted to seek his way, but also to rule as God – to exalt his
throne above the angels (stars) of God – to be like the Most High (Is 14:13-14). The devil’s rule would be through the nature of the
lie, which is opposite of the truth – with perfect hatred or taking for self
at the expense/loss of others (Ez
35:5). The only way to live within the light (truth)
would be to uphold the truth, which is to obey, surrender to and trust God –
to fear God; anything else would be outside the truth which is a lie. Satan
would force the servitude of others through deceit and bring his subjects into
bondage. He would entice them to transgress God’s will through selfish
benefit. Once separated from God, through disobedience, and thus made an enemy,
there would be no choice but to serve him. The devil would rule through hate
which is the sacrifice of another for the benefit of self – this is witchcraft.
Since the subjects of this kingdom of darkness would be proud (self
exalting) and rebellious by nature, authority must be maintained through
bondage (superior strength, forced
allegiance) and intimidation (Eph
6:12, Col 1:13, 1 Thess 5:5). This is a harsh world of confusion. The Lord
God will not give His glory to another and thus Lucifer and all those who have
freely followed him will be greatly cast down and separated from God for eternal
torment (Is 42:8).
Isaiah
14:12, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how
art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” Woe to
Lucifer and all who join him!
The Rebellion Spreads
In
keeping with his desire (lust) to rule
as a god and exalt his throne above the angels, Satan quickly spread his
rebellion throughout God’s creation. This began in heaven with the angels of
God. We can ascertain from the devil’s dealings with man (to
be discussed later), that the mechanism employed was deceit through
enticement or beguiling – through his wiles. Satan appeals to selfish want (lust,
desire) of that which is forbidden (prohibited,
not allowed) to bring about and propagate discontentment such as to draw one
into a wrongful course of action – to seek a selfish benefit. These enter into
“the lie” or darkness, which is to seek self in disregard to the
commandments of God, and are trapped (snared)
in bondage – burdens and servitude. Once one yields to a temptation and
crosses the line into disobedience to God, they become corrupted and an enemy of
God. These are then transgressors and rebellious (at
enmity with God). That which the devil corrupts becomes in servitude to him.
Satan knows that it only takes one instance
of disobedience to bring one into his bondage (Heb
2:2). Once one falls from grace with God, he has no choice but to submit to
that which opposes God (the rebellion).
Why was Lucifer the head and not some other? Lucifer was created with perfect
beauty and great wisdom. All of the other angels envied him for his beauty (Ez
31:7-9) and his height was exalted above all others (Ez
31:5). Satan lifted himself up in height and his heart was also lifted up in
height (Ez 31:10). This all suggests
prior position, authority and power (which
he hands out, Rev 13:2, 4) which he must to some degree still maintain.
Given the corrupted nature of the kingdom of darkness, only force and power,
that is superior strength, could sustain Satan as head over darkness - over his
captives. Also, Satan is the father of the lie that which opposes the truth and
God. The Lord God allowed this rebellion to run its course. This was a shaking
of that which could be shaken – a sifting and separation of opposites (Heb 12:27, Rev 6:13).
The devil, through his deception convinced a third of God’s angels to join in
his revolt. Revelation 12:3-4, “And there appeared another wonder in heaven;
and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven
crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars (angels)
of heaven, and did cast them to the earth…” It is important to note that not
all of the angels joined Lucifer’s rebellion. Fully two thirds of the angels
remained loyal to the Lord and thus the angelic community was fractured –
divided or split. Satan lost place in heaven. Revelation 12:7-9, “And there
was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the
dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found
any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called
the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Jesus said: “I beheld Satan
as lightning fall from heaven (Lk 10:18).
These angels were cast to the earth because there was no other place for them to
go and this most certainly occurred after the fall of man – to be discussed.
Some of these angels are now reserved in chains awaiting the great judgment (2
Pt 2:4, Jude 1:6, Job 21:22). These fallen angels form the hierarchy or
chain of command, of Satan’s kingdom of darkness. Ephesians 6:12, “For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places (also Dan 10:12-13, 20-21).”
We
can now conclude that there was a great rebellion in heaven orchestrated by
Lucifer (Satan, the devil) which
attempted to turn the truth of God into “the lie.” Satan and a multitude of
angels believed (false faith, unbelief)
they could disregard the will and authority of God and exalt (pride) themselves to independently seek their own way (Pv
13:13). The devil would be their god. There was war (Rev
12:7-9)! – but Satan did not prevail. Satan disrupted the harmony of the
established and adhered to order that existed in heaven - God’s dwelling
place. Satan attempted to establish a new paradigm (model,
reality) in heaven, placing himself as a god. The devil challenged the
authority of the Creator and the truth of God’s Word. Through his heart and
actions, Satan proposed a great lie that he did not have the power or ability to
inclusively enact in an all encompassing way. The corrupted fruit of the lie
resulted in the opposite characteristics or nature of the truth, which is known
as sin or iniquity – specific violations of the truth. Please take note as you
continue to read: If you think that Jesus came to justify (look the other way, give license, tolerate, ignore, overlook, make place)
you to do these things (walk in “The
Lie”) in whatever form of “religion” (denomination, sect, etc.) you practice, then you “exceedingly” err
and do not know the nature of Christ’s kingdom (i.e. the scriptures, Mk 12:24) nor walk therein - to be discussed
within this book. Many profess Christ yet walk in the nature of self, which is
the darkness or the lie.
The Fall of Man
Prior
to the fall (rebellion) of Lucifer,
God created the earth and established a new creation which He called “man” (Gen
1:26-27, Is 45:12, Ps 33:6). We can know that the fall of Satan occurred
after the creation of man because Lucifer was an anointed Cherub that walked in
Eden, the garden of God and provided a spiritual covering over the earth (Ez
28:13-16). The garden of Eden was planted by the Lord upon the earth and
that is where God placed man (Gen 2:8).
The most likely mechanism that initiated events in heaven was probably (perhaps
speculation, but the Spirit speaks this to my heart) the creation of man –
jealousy, which is the fear or certainty of giving place. God had placed His
attention (interest, notice, good pleasure) upon man and had made
man in His image (Gen 1:26-27). God also gave man authority over the earth! Genesis
1:28, “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every
living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Therefore, man was made in the
image of God and was given god-like authority over man’s realm (the
earth). Please note: man was not intended to be a god, but was rather under
the authority of God. Most likely (perhaps
speculation, but the Spirit speaks this to my heart), Lucifer became jealous
and then exalted his heart to seek his own authority – he was self-conceited
having a high or overweening opinion of one’s own person or merits/attributes.
He probably considered his wisdom and perfect beauty and felt he also should
have such authority - or greater. We know that the fall of Lucifer occurred
sometime between the creation of Eden, which he walked in (Ez
28:13-16), and when he entered the garden in the form of a serpent to tempt
and deceive man. This was almost certainly a short period of time because Adam
and Eve had yet to be fruitful and multiply in obedience to God’s command (Gen
1:28) – there were no children born in Eden. This understanding provides
additional reason for Satan’s hatred of man. It was mentioned earlier that
Satan and his angels were cast to the earth (Lk
10:18, Rev 12:4, 9, 13). This must have occurred after the fall of man
because the Lord would not have cast Satan and his corrupted horde (multitude,
host) to compete with man (created in
God’s image) otherwise (Ps 125:3).
This is not to say that God would not have allowed the devil to test or prove
man for the Lord’s purposes - allowing him to enter Eden as a serpent. Had
Lucifer fallen long before the fall of man, then God would have had no reason
not to have immediately send him to the lake of fire. In other words, there
would have been no reason to allow Satan to continue in his rebellion –
prolong carrying out sentencing of the just condemnation. God allowed the devil
to try the hearts of both angels and man. The Lord now allows Satan to try the
hearts of man for God’s own purposes. God’s Word only defines life as
existing in the realm of heaven and on the earth. The stars and planets were
formed to complement (supplement) the
earth – to provide light, times, and seasons (Gen
1:14-18). So when Satan fell he did not go to Mars or Jupiter – they are
desolate and there is nothing there. The devil corrupted life on earth (man), for there was none other. There were no other worlds (civilizations,
peoples, etc.) to conquer. Satan’s kingdom was established on the earth in
the midst of a corrupted and rebellious creation (Lk
4:5-6, Rev 2:13).
Even
though man was given great authority, he was clearly under God’s authority (Gen
1:28). Genesis 2:8-9, 16-17, “And the LORD God planted a garden eastward
in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made
the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for
food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of
knowledge of good and evil. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every
tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof
thou
shalt surely die.” God gave man one commandment and that was not to eat
fruit from the forbidden tree. The penalty for disobedience would be death. God
is life and anything contrary to God is death (opposites).
To disobey and remove yourself from God would be to cut yourself off from the
source of all life. Life cannot exist apart from the Giver of life (Pv 8:35). The creation is not self-sustaining nor can it usurp the
place, position and authority of the Creator. If there is one thing we must
understand it is this: disobedience to the will of God always results in death
– the second death. God has deemed it so and this is found in God’s
eternally established truth. The commandment God gave man resounds (resonates) throughout the ages (eternity):
if you transgress the will of God, “thou shalt surely die.” The wicked are
under the condemnation of death (Ez 33:14).
In this particular case the command was not to eat the forbidden fruit. The same
understanding applies to any command of God. Take note that God’s decree
applied for just one violation – one single act of disobedience. Also notice
that God had abundantly provided for all of man’s needs and there was no
reason to disobey the Lord. God always provides for the needs of His creation.
Discontent for the “provision” is what leads to selfish want (pride,
self seeking, Is 2:11-12). Discontent is the desire or lust for that which
is not yours (consider the discontent of
the children of Israel in the wilderness, Ex, Lev, Num, Deut, Ps, Neh).
Contentment (satisfaction, happiness)
and thankfulness are characteristics of the nature of God (1 Tim 6:8, Php 4:5, 11)
Man
was originally created perfect in that he feared God and eschewed evil (i.e. did not disobey God). God considered that His creation of man (and
woman out of man) was very good (Gen
1:31, 2:20-23). Genesis 3:1-5, “Now the serpent was more subtil than any
beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea,
hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said
unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall
not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto
the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God
doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and
ye
shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Man was now faced with a
dilemma. God told man that if he transgressed His will that man would surely
die. The serpent (Satan) told man that
he could disobey God, to receive fleshly benefit, and not die. Whose word (will,
authority) would man obey; submit to through action? The answer was that man
sought self and submitted to the lie of Satan. Man disregarded God’s Word (Gen 3:17, Pv 13:13), but regarded Satan’s word, the one who is in
rebellion and opposed to God. Can you see how incredibly dishonoring this was to
God, the Creator? Perhaps you can now understand how grievous this violation of
the will of God actually was? Let’s put this in terms that Americans can
easily understand. Man sought his “independence” from God to seek his
“freedom” for self, which are Satan’s declared inalienable rights. Man
wanted the freedom or unhampered ability to seek self, to fulfill his dreams –
to walk in his own will. Now perhaps man did not have full understanding of the
magnitude of what was transpiring, However, man did have explicit (clear, plain, precise, frank, exact, candid) understanding of
God’s commandment regarding the forbidden fruit. The woman repeated God’s
commandment to the serpent prior to hearing his proposal (Gen 3:1-3). Man was clearly and knowingly transgressing God’s law.
So what did all this mean? Man fell from the image or nature of God and aligned
with that which opposes God - the darkness, which is the lie. Man took on the
fallen nature of the devil. Man submitted himself to Satan’s rebellion and
relinquished authority to him (Mt 4:8).
Consider what the devil later told Christ: Luke 4:5-7, “And the devil, taking
him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a
moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee,
and the glory of them: for that is delivered
unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship
me, all shall be thine.” This is the dominion man had – the devil usurped (seized,
took over, assumed, commandeered) it by bringing man into his bondage. Man
willingly submitted to the devil! The devil rules over the darkness and the
subjects contained therein. Jesus referred to him as the prince of this world (Jn 14:30). In accepting Satan’s lie, man made a covenant with
death and with hell an agreement (Is
28:15). A covenant is a solemn agreement (serious)
to follow in a certain prescribed way, In this case the agreement is to live in
the nature of Satan’s proposal. The Lord God Almighty says that this covenant
shall not stand (Is 28:18) – for the
Lord cometh out of His place to judge the wicked for their iniquity (Is 26:21). Notice also that the devil blasphemed, which is to speak
evil or reproachfully of, to revile God’s righteous character in suggesting
that the Lord was denying them the ability to become as gods and thus deceiving
or misleading for evil intent. Satan slandered the Lord, which is to injure by
maliciously uttering a false report respecting one; to tarnish or impair the
reputation of one by false tales, maliciously told. The devil’s nature is
blasphemy – he is malignant, having evil
intentions, extreme ill will and personal hatred or
enmity, unpropitious, and is always hostile to God and His people. Therefore,
the lie basically tells you to disregard the will of God (disobey,
transgress) and seek your own will or way – your hopes, dreams, wants,
desires and lusts. Since the lie is always opposite of the truth, you
must actually die to your will or way (sacrifice,
give up) and absolutely surrender to that of God – to fear the Lord God.
This is really not that complicated if you do not embrace the lie. Psalms
33:8, “Let all the earth fear the LORD:
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in
awe of him (also Ps 33:18, 34:9).”
Let
us consider the truth regarding Satan’s lie to man (Gen
3:4-5). The serpent told man that he could transgress God’s will (His
command) and he would not die. Well, death did enter into the world and man
does die. This is easily observable to us all – there is much death and misery
in the world. The “fact” of death exposed the lie - error, fallacy of the
statement. Despite the consequence, man still holds to the lie and seeks his
selfish way. Man still mostly considers the perceived benefits of seeking self,
irregardless of the misery, to outweigh the surrender (loss
of self) required to abide in God’s will. The serpent told man that his
eyes would be opened. Actually, man became blind to the truth - very obscure,
difficult to understand, ambiguous, murky, unclear, little known. If you do not
believe the truth of this statement, then consider the fact that we have God’s
Word (the Bible). Now ask yourself how many different religious
denominations (sects, groups) there
are and consider all the conflicting opinions, doctrines, creeds, teachings,
etc. Why is the truth so unclear to man? Man entered into the darkness where he
could no longer see clearly. Why did man enter into the darkness? Because man
sought self in disobedience to God. Now we can understand why there is so much
religious confusion and blindness – Man interprets God’s Word through self -
the flesh and lusts thereof. Christ said of the very religious men around Him:
John 9:39, “And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they
which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind (also
Jn 12:40).” To understand God’s Word we must die to self and surrender
to God – to His Spirit. Man certainly understands evil (the
Holy Spirit convicts), but has no discernment (apart
from God) between good and evil (Heb
5:14). Jeremiah 4:22, “For my people is foolish, they have not known me;
they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they
are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.” Man loves his
evil nature (the darkness) and will not entirely seek the good (the
light). This will be discussed more thoroughly in Chapter Four. Lastly, the
serpent told man ye shall be as gods. He was telling man that he could decide
for himself if he wanted to live in good or evil. Man could be his own authority
and seek his own way. If we are honest with ourselves, we have found that all
our efforts (ways) lead to misery and to death. Man is no god, but thinks he will
become one as he seeks to solve all his problems that inhibit him from further
seeking self – such as comfort, ease, long life, pleasure – overcoming
God’s curse (Gen 3:17-19). We will discuss in Chapter Two that Jesus gives (from
the Father, Jn 15:26), His Holy Ghost (the
Spirit of Truth, Jn 14:17, 15:26, Eph 5:9) to teach those who will obey the
gospel (Jn 14:15-17, Acts 5:32, Ps 25:5).
We know God’s truth through the Spirit: John 16:13, “Howbeit when he, the
Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not
speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will
shew you things to come (also 1 Jn 5:6, 1
Pt 1:22, 2 Thess 2:13).” For those who seek their own way: God will
recompense you according to your way (Ez
11:21) – thou shalt surely die (Gen
2:17, Ez 3:18, 33:8, 14-15).
The Devil is a Thief and a Robber
Satan
came down to earth and stole God’s creation of man by corrupting it with his
lie. The devil could never defeat God (the
Lord is Almighty) in a direct challenge, so he turned God against the object
of his desire - man. He brought a separation between man and God through
iniquity, which is disobedience to the will of God. The devil taught rebellion
against the Lord by enticing the people to trust in a lie (i.e.
Jer 28:15-16, 29:31-32). Once man became an enemy of God (Gen
3:17, Rm 5:10, Col 1:21), Satan easily overcame man and brought them into
his house of bondage – into the rebellion and darkness. The bondage is under
the elements of the world (Gal 4:3).
An enemy is one that is in the other camp (the
darkness) – opposed to God’s truth (the
light). The devil stole the heart of man through the enticement of his lie.
The Lord God intends to reconcile a portion of man back to Himself, but this
must be done in keeping with the Lord’s righteous character. The Lord cannot
simply open His arms to those who are corrupted, because then the truth becomes
a lie (overcome by) and the creation
usurps the place of the Creator. The Lord God provides a way whereby man must
return through truth and righteousness. This is a much harder path than if man
had continued in obedience. Man must now go against (do the opposite) the fallen nature of the flesh, the fallen world
and the wicked influence of Satan and his horde – this is a rugged and narrow
path. This is like going against gravity – it takes effort and ability beyond
“self.” This requires faith, which reaches beyond self (its control, way or ability) to God. Corruption must put on
incorruption (Rm 8:21, 1 Cor 15:42, 50)!
Jesus comes and says to the prisoners, Go forth (come out); to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves - come into
the light (Is 49:9). Satan is the thief that comes to steal, kill and destroy
God’s creation of man; Jesus came that you may have life (Jn 10:10). This will be discussed in Chapter Two, “The Light.”
Jesus once told a group of men, who believed on Him, (Jn 8:31) that if they
continued in His Word, they would know the truth and the truth would set them
free (Jn 8:31-32) -
Christ came to set the captives free (Ps
107:13-14, 146:7, Is 42:7, 49:9, 61:1, Lk 4:18). Set them free from what?
Satan’s (the adversary and accuser’s)
lie which keeps them in bondage and iniquity! The truth will expose the lie and
lead you to the light if you will receive it (Jn 5:40). The men responded to the Lord that they were never in any
bondage. John 8:34, “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” What Jesus was telling them
was that their sin was a reflection of their nature - darkness, bondage to
Satan’s lie. This nature is opposite God’s truth and keeps them in
transgression to God’s will. Christ said: John 8:36, “If the Son therefore
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” Jesus was trying to bring them
out of the darkness (the bondage,
transgression, disobedience and sin) and into His light (truth).
Due to their actions, Christ said His Word had no place in them (Jn
8:37, Jer 8:9) – they wouldn’t receive it! This applies to the majority
of man today! Man defends his love of darkness (Jn 3:19). Jesus told them: John 8:44, “Ye are of your father the
devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the
beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there
is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he
is a liar, and the father of it.” This may seem harsh, but lets consider what
Christ was telling them. Man chose (free-will)
to “obey” or “follow” Satan (the
serpent) in Eden. In doing so, man chose (free-will)
to “disobey” or “disregard” God’s will in Eden (Pv 13:13). Thus, the devil became man’s father in a sense. Man
obeys or follows the lusts of Satan in seeking his own way with presumed
authority. So, man seeks what is right in his own eyes or the imaginations of
his own heart. Man lives within Satan’s nature which is the lie, for there is
no truth in him. The devil is a murderer because he brought death (the
second death, discussed below) to a multitude of angels. Satan is a murderer
because he brought death to man (physical
and possibly eternal, also discussed below). The reason the devil brought
such death is because he did not remain in God’s truth, but became the father
(author and champion) of the lie in seeking his own will - rebellion.
The devil became a great adversary to the truth. Because of this, multitudes
have suffered - even so, they freely chose to join Satan and are without excuse.
The devil is also a murderer because of his hate for others (1
Jn 3:15). This is perfect hatred (witchcraft)
– to sacrifice others and cause untold suffering, all for the benefit of self
– to seek your own selfish way. When the serpent lied to man (in
Eden…and continuing) he was speaking of his own, meaning of what he had
done. Specifically to transgress the will of God to seek his own way and become
as a God (Gen 3:4-5). The devil misled
man through the great “lie” for he is the father of it! He holds to the
tenets (principles, ideology, desires,
pillars) of his rebellion. Now can you see the truthfulness of what Jesus
was telling these men? John 8:45, “And because I tell you the truth, ye
believe me not.” These men then lashed out at Jesus with name calling (Jn
8:48) and looked for stones to cast at Him (Jn
8:59), which only revealed the truth of their nature (darkness)
that Jesus had pointed out. Examine your own heart dear reader! We must also
strongly consider that if there is no truth in Satan, then it can be equally
said that there is no truth in those who walk in his nature following him -
through their selfish lusts. Thus, the whole world lieth in wickedness mostly
void of any truth (1 Jn 5:19).
Understanding Death
God
made all of His creation with eternal spirits. These spirits do not die with
respect to nonexistance. There is only one type of death for Satan and the
fallen angels and this is eternal separation from God into never-ending torment.
This is a physical place of eternal confinement known as the lake of fire. This
place was not in existence prior to Lucifer’s rebellion, for there was no need
for such a place. Jesus gave us insight when He said: Matthew 25:41, “Then
shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and
his angels (also 2 Pt 2:4, Jude 1:6).”
In God’s timing, Satan will be thrown into this torment. Revelation 20:10,
“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day
and night for ever and ever.” The devil shall be a great terror and then he
shall be no more (Ez 28:19). Satan is
aware of this, but is driven to destroy and cause havoc in God’s creation.
Revelation 12:12, “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.
Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down
unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth
that he hath but a short time (also Jn
16:11).” The devil may consider that he might somehow turn things around
to his favor (delusion), but he must
assuredly understands the power of God and his separated and fallen condition.
At the end, no one will exalt themselves for height anymore, but shall be
delivered unto death – to the nether parts of the earth – in the pit (Ez
31:14, 16).
There
are two types of death that concern man. Man is also a spirit that resides in a
vessel of clay – a container or body. Man’s body was made from the dust of
the earth and God breathed man’s spirit (breath
of life) into him and he became a living soul, which is body & spirit
– the essence of who you are (Gen 2:7, Ps 104:30). Man’s body was to be perpetual, but needed
the tree of life - fruit, leaves; found in the midst of Eden (Gen 2:9, Ez 47:12, Rev 22:2).
When man transgressed God’s will, he lost access to the tree of life (Gen
3:22-24). So, the first death is the loss (destruction,
malfunction) of the physical body, which is that which was made from clay (Eccl 9:2-3). Once dead, this body returns to the clay from which it
was taken - for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return
(Gen 3:19). Ecclesiastes 12:7,
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall
return unto God who gave it.” This is an appointment that all will keep (Heb
9:27). Ecclesiastes 8:8, “There is no man that hath power over the spirit
to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no
discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to
it.” This first death sets the stage for the potential for the second death.
The second death is eternal separation from God into never-ending torment and is
this same place where the devil and his angels will be (Mt
25:41). The first death seals the fate for what follows - eternal life or
the second death. We will all be judged according to our works or ways upon the
earth (Job 34:11, Eccl 3:17, 11:9, 12:14, 2 Kg 8:39, Ps 62:12, Pv 24:12, 29, Is 59:18, Jer
17:10, 25:14, 32:19, Ez 7:3-4, 8-9, 27, Oba 1:15, Zech 1:6, Mt 12:36-37, 16:27,
Jn 5:29, Rm 2:6, 16, 14:12, 1 Cor 3:13, 4:5, 2 Cor 5:10, Col 3:24-25, 2 Tim 4:1,
1 Pt 1:17, 4:5, Jude 1:15, Rev 2:23, 20:12-13, 22:12). This judgment
will render either eternal life or the second death. The judgment will be based
upon “truth” (Rm 2:2). Those who
choose God’s path and come out of the darkness and into the light will be
granted the “promise” of eternal life (1
Jn 2:25), having their names in the
lamb’s book of life, and will dwell with God forever - opposite of the second
death. Those who remain in the darkness and die in transgression and rebellion
will receive the second death - what else is God to do with those corrupted
spirits that return to him, they freely “chose” their way (Is
1:28). Consider the following carefully and thoughtfully: Revelation
20:11-15, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose
face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead
were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to
their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man
according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire.” Many may ask, where does one reside
after death while awaiting the judgment? Those found in Christ will be in
paradise (Lk 23:43, Rev 2:7). Those
iniquitous and rebellious ones will go to a horrific holding place known as
death and hell (Rev 20:14). This is
past the shadow of death and through the gates of death (Job
3:5, 10:21, 12:22, 16:16, 24:17, 28:3, 34:22, Ps 9:13, 23:4, 107:14, 18, Is 9:2,
Jer 13:16). Job 10:22, 38:17, “A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and
of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.
Have the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou seen the doors of
the shadow of death?” These are: Psalms 107:10-12, “Such as sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; Because they
rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was
none to help.” Isaiah 5:14, “Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and
opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and
their pomp, and he that rejoiceth (in his
own way/path), shall descend into it.” What awaits those disobedient
rebellious ones is much worse than nonexistence - by far. These will be
eternally separated from their Creator, which is a condition we cannot fully
grasp at present, into a horrific indescribable place of torment to realize the
worst effects of the darkness they loved (2
Thess 1:9). Those who follow Christ in faith (love,
surrender, obedience, trust, loyalty) will be restored to the tree of life (Pv
13:12, Rev 2:7, 22:14). Man lost access or rights to the tree of life
through “disobedience” to the commandment of God. Man regains access to the
tree of life through “obedience” to the commandments of Christ (Lk
6:46, Jn 14:15, 21, 24, 1 Jn 2:3-5, 3:23-24, 5:2-3, 2 Jn 1:6, Rev 2:26, 12:17,
14:12, 22:14) – which are all contained in the canon of “love”
(Mt 22:36-40, Mk 12:28-31, 33, Lk 10:27,
also Deut 6:4-5 and Lev 19:18).
The
devil hates man! Man was the apple of God’s eye (Ps
17:8, Zech 2:8) and the devil wants to
corrupt and destroy those things that bring God pleasure. Oh Lord, for thy
pleasure they (man) are and were
created (Rev 4:11). God has also
placed enmity (hostility, hate)
between Satan and man (Gen 3:15). Man
is in bondage to Satan’s rebellion and it is definitely a hate relationship.
The devil does not open the house of his prisoners - those rebellious ones (Is 14:17). Satan
sacrifices man for the benefit of self. He does this through death. Satan has
the power of death, let us consider why. The devil is not affected by the first
death as man is and is allowed to maneuver, within limitations set by God, until
his fate - the second death. The devil destroys man through death by keeping him
in transgression and rebellion (the
darkness) against God until the first death. He keeps you in slavery to
iniquity unto death, and the wages or pay-off of sin is death (Rm 6:23). Once dead, the rebellious man’s fate is sealed for the
second death. Thus, the devil eternally separates and destroys man from God. All
he has to do is keep you in the darkness and away from the light (truth).
Hebrews 2:14-15, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and
blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he (Jesus)
might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver
them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
Jesus delivers us out of the darkness and back to God (the light, through reconciliation) and thus destroys the devil’s
power which is death. This will be discussed in more depth throughout this book.
Sin
All
sin is resultant from Satan’s lie, that you can disobey God, which was rooted
in pride, known as self exaltation. Sins are the outward manifestations of
living in the nature of the lie – the corrupt fruit. These are specific
violations of God’s Word or will (1 Jn
3:4). For example: God’s Word says that you are not to commit adultery (Ex 20:14, Gal 5:19). If you have participated in the act of
adultery, then you have sinned. However, the Lord also considers one’s heart
or nature. If you have looked upon another with lusts and thoughts of adultery,
then you have just as much done the act in your heart (Mt 5:27-28). So you are responsible for what you put into your heart
and mind, such as magazines, television, movies, etc. – what you think upon. 2
Corinthians 10:5, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ.” This is why we must abstain, abhor,
eschew, refrain, depart, hate, cease, reprove and cleanse ourselves from all
evil and wickedness (Eph 5:11, 1 Pt 3:11,
1 Thess 5:22, Rm 12:9, Ps 34:19, 37:27, 97:10, 119:101, Pv 3:7, 8:13, 14:16,
16:17, Is 1:16, Amos 5:15, 2 Cor 7:1). Sin results from “your” specific
preferences as you go about seeking “your” own way (path,
will) – as you seek the imaginations of your own heart. Sin is the natural
result from the fallen nature, or darkness and is the fruit of your doings (Pv
1:31, Is 3:10-11, Jer 17:10, 21:14, 32:10, Mi 7:13). Your path will always
be a very “broad way” based upon your imaginations, opinions, feelings, and
sentiments and is forged through the principles of the lie (Mt
7:13, Col 2:20, Pv 15:26). God’s path is a very “narrow way” entered
in only through Christ and followed in truth (Mt
7:14, Jn 14:6). Walking by your own way via Satan’s lie (our
fallen nature) is walking in darkness. Obediently walking in God’s truth
is walking in the light. God calls us into His light (truth). The problem is that most live by the precepts (nature
of conduct) of the lie in their daily lies under a covering of religiosity.
Many feel the Lord’s conviction, but rather than come to the light and
surrender of self-will, they attempt to reform their own darkness. Maybe
“religiously” with a form of godliness, and continue in their own darkness
– to serve God through the flesh. They will try and overcome a specific
outwardly manifested sin or bondage - e.g. alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, language, impure actions, etc.
The problem is that they are addressing the symptom and not the cause. If you
are continuing in your own way, seeking self, then overcoming one sin will just
produce another (maybe a different type)
and you will most likely return to that which you overcame - as a sow to the mud
(2 Pt 2:22). The reason the sow
returns to the mud is because it is the nature of the sow. Conversely, a cat
will continually clean itself because that is its nature. The sins proceed from
the fallen nature – the darkness of seeking your own way in disregard which is
disobedience to God’s truth. Jesus said we must change natures or be “born
again” (Jn 3:3, 2 Cor 5:17, Eph 4:24, 1
Pt 1:23, 1 Jn 2:29, 5:4). What is in the heart and mind must change. We must
die to the fallen nature of seeking self (Satan’s
lie, the darkness) and be born again with the nature of God which is dying
to self and surrendering to God (the
truth, the light). This will be discussed in Chapter Two, “The Light.”
The sinful fruit is the outward manifestations of the “root” which is pride
- self over God. You can pull off all the
corrupted fruit, but eventually more will appear in its place. You must go to
the “root” of the matter, which is seeking your own way, and destroy it such
that you are totally submitting to God’s way. When you yield to God’s
working in your life then righteous fruit springs forth (see
Chapter Three, “The Fruit”).
Self
Since
one of the main pillars (principles, main beliefs, ideologies, focus) of the darkness is
“self,” it would behoove us, with respect to necessity, us to consider just
what this means (Col 2:20-21). Pride
is the root of all evil or sin and is the exaltation of self – it goeth before
destruction (Pv 16:18). This is the opposite of God’s truth which focuses on
the principle of self-sacrifice for others. Those who live in the darkness will
live (exhibit, love the darkness) in
the nature of self (subtly or overtly)
rather than dying to it and coming out of the darkness. Job 34:9, “For he hath
said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.”
Those who seek self are looking for personal benefit or what profits “me.”
Those living in the darkness will basically seek self as a lifestyle, with
higher regard than anything else - God or others; they will never view
themselves this way though. This may be evident in relationships with others,
such as marriage – consider all the divorce. This will be the underlying
motivation in most things they do - what's in it for me. Please consider the
following manifestations, realizing that some are very similar: 1) Self – The
total essential, or particular being of a person; all the essential qualities
making up one’s person. 2) Self-willed – gratifying one’s own
desires/lusts. Governed by one’s own will; not yielding to the will of God;
not accommodating or compliant - froward. 3) Self-asserting – Defending
one’s own qualities, rights or opinions - usually to justify the sacrifice of
another's; arrogance. 4) Self-assured – Having or exhibiting confidence in
oneself. 5) Self-centered – Concerned with oneself and one’s own interest.
6) Self-abandoned – Abandoned or unrestrained in oneself such as yielding to
one’s impulses. 7) Self-confidence (also
self-reliance, self-trust, self-dependent) – Confidence in one’s or own
abilities or judgments; reliance on one’s own opinion or powers. 8)
Self-conceit – High opinion of oneself or abilities; vanity. 9)
Self-sufficient (also self-contained)
- Having full confidence in one’s own strength, abilities, competence or
endowments; independent; haughty. 10) Self-deceit (also
self-deceiving) – Deception respecting oneself, or that originates from
one’s own mistake - illusion or error; self-deception. 11) Self-directed (also
self-driven) – Guided or led by oneself - what you want or desire. 12)
Self-gratification (also self-indulgence,
self-pleasing) – The act or process of giving oneself pleasure or
gratification. 13) Self-interest – Selfish regard for one’s own advantage or
interest; personal advantage. 14) Selfish – Primarily concerned for oneself
without regard for others. 15) Self-justifying – Making excuses for oneself.
16) Self-ordained (also self-proclaimed,
self-assumed) – Ordained by oneself rather than another; assumed by
one’s own act without authority. 17) Self-respect – Due respect for oneself
or one’s character and conduct. 18) Self-righteous – Smugly convinced of
one’s own righteousness; seeking self with presumed justification from God.
19) Self-satisfaction (also self-praise)
– Satisfied with oneself or with one’s actions or accomplishments. Perhaps
building idols to oneself such as the display of trophies, accomplishments, and
awards; use of titles (Job 32:21-22)
which is a form of self exaltation - doctor, reverend, honorable, etc. 20)
Self-seeking – Concerned with or pursuing only one’s own interest. The lusts
of the eyes, pride of life, cares of this world, etc. 21) Self-love – The love
of one’s own person or happiness. 22) Self-opinioned – Valuing one’s own
opinion highly. 23) Self-preference – Preferring one’s self above others.
24) Self-exalting – Placing one’s self and desires above others - always
wanting your way. Perhaps you dress a certain way such as designer clothes,
expensive jewelry, hairstyles, and perfumes
(1 Tim 2:9, 1 Pt 3:3) to draw
attention to self and portray an image of superiority? Perhaps you volunteer for
things or seek place to gain advantage over others - for self, children, etc.?
Perhaps you are always concerned with winning and find it hard to lose
gracefully? More specific examples are given in Chapter Four, “What is Walking
in Darkness?”
When
one seeks self above another, then all manner of sin manifests. Perhaps you can
see how one who is mainly concerned with self would rob another - theft? In
similar manner those who exalt self will murder, inflict violence, commit
adultery, bear false witness, lie, etc. This is a form of control – exerting
your will. This also applies to collective groups of people such as races,
nationalities, nations, etc. (Ps 9:17, 20). This disregards the lives of others – their
thoughts, feelings, needs, situations, etc. The higher regard one has for self,
the more control they will seek to exert over others. Those with high regard for
self will also have contempt or disregard for God through their actions – self
always takes priority. These will blaspheme God and seek their idols - money,
possessions, entertainments, people, hobbies, etc.
Those
who forsake the darkness must die to the things of self and surrender to the
will of God – to be poor in spirit, mournful, and meek. Ephesians 5:17,
“Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord
is.” We must place God foremost in our lives and walk in His ways in truth,
righteousness, and uprightness of heart – with a full heart! We must learn to
place others first – love which is the sacrifice of self for the benefit of
others. The more self dies, the more
trust, faith and reliance there is upon God. The more self lives, the less
trust, faith and reliance there is upon God. Self-sacrifice and self-exaltation
are mutually excluding or annihilating – one excludes the other (prohibits,
eliminates, prevents, rejects, reduces, abolishes). To seek self is to
lessen God – to reduce in authority and importance in your life. The creation
has rebelled against the Creator in seeking freedom, liberty, and independence
for self. Those who walk in darkness are wicked, stubborn, stiff-necked,
obstinate, pertinacious, headstrong, double-minded, hypocritical, impenitent,
impudent, rebellious toward God, and will not yield to the Lord’s working in
them to conform them to His nature and expectations (froward,
Pv 3:32, 11:20). The Lord God would have us be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (2 Pt 1:4) and behave in manners that fallen or corrupted self abhors
(hates, detests, loathes, despises,
dislikes), We are to be humble (meek), patient, loving, surrendered (yielding), forgiving, self-sacrificing (self-denial, unselfish, sacrifice of one’s own interests or well being
for the benefit or sake of others), self-controlled (temperance, restraint), giving, longsuffering (forbearing), contrite (repentant,
self-examining), virtuous (conformity
to divine commandments, high regard for God’s Word), likeminded (unified
in the Spirit), believing (faithful,
looking beyond the flesh), godly (loving
observance of God’s will, obedience), and must show brotherly kindness (good will, benevolence, contributing to the happiness of others).
This
is a dying to individual desire and lusts. God’s Spirit will work to
transform those who “come to the light” into the image of the Lord (truth,
His nature and expectations). You as an individual only become important
when things are put into right order - God, others, and then you. Once the
emphasis of your life is correct (seek ye first
the kingdom of God) and God’s nature is restored and reflected in you,
then “self” takes on new meaning.
Forgiveness
There
has been no forgiveness, restoration or reconciliation offered by God to
Satan or the fallen angels that joined him in his rebellion. This is most likely
because they have all seen God and dwelt in His presence and have known of his
truth and glory, yet willingly forsook the light (truth)
to seek their own selfish lusts (angels in
God’s presence - Mt 18:10, 25:31, Lk 1:19, 9:26, 12:8-9, Jn 1:51, 2 Thess 1:7,
Heb 1:6, 1 Pt 3:22, Rev 3:5, Job 4:18). How could such ones be restored
again to have a willing loving heart of obedience? They were perfect and chose
imperfection – forever corrupted - tainted with wickedness. The Lord has
revealed to man: Hebrews 6:4-6, “For it is impossible for those who were once
enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of
the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the
world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance;
seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open
shame.” Similar can be said of the devil and his angels; they were once
enlightened in the truth, have tasted of heaven having been directly in God’s
presence, were partakers of the Holy Ghost; and walked in the good Word of God
and His power. These angels chose to leave the light and enter into the
darkness. It is impossible to renew them again! Satan and the fallen angels most
certainly blasphemed the Holy Ghost by their actions (Mk 3:29, Lk 12:10). Satan’s nature is manifested through the beast
or antichrist spirit, and it is blasphemy (Rev
13:1, 6) – the devil has a mouth (and
heart) that speaks great things and blasphemies against God (Rev
13:5-6). These are condemned to eternal destruction. The Lord God in His
great mercy has offered man a way of forgiveness and reconciliation – the only
way, which is His way. This will be discussed in Chapter Two, “The Light.”
Man comes from a slightly different circumstance than the angels did. No man
hath seen God at any time and must approach the Lord through faith (Jn
1:18, 1 Jn 4:12, Heb 10:38, 11:6, Habk 2:4, Rm 1:17, Gal 3:11). Man is born
into transgression and rebellion, but must choose to leave the darkness and come
to the light. Man is born imperfect, but must choose perfection. Man must
forsake his darkness by forfeiting his self seeking ways, and abide in Christ (enter
the strait gate, Mt 7:13-14, Lk 13:24, Jn 10:9) to be cleansed from
unrighteousness and forgiven of sin (1 Jn
1:7, 9). Man must then walk in faith (surrender,
love, obedience, trust, humbleness) as led by the Spirit (follow
the narrow path, Mt 7:14) to be reconciled to God. The path back to God is
impossible for one living in the flesh, because this path will pull down and
destroy the things of the flesh. Only the sincere and genuine will be able to
walk this path. The narrow path back to God is ruggedly designed to yield (produce)
the Lord what He desires – one who is sincere; has a true heart of love for
God; is surrendered (meek) and
obedient; and trust in God for all things. One can only tread this path by
leaving the world behind and “following” the Lord (to
avert all the obstacles along the way) in His truth (light).
Can anyone deny that God’s will shall absolutely be performed throughout
eternity? Satan and his minions (subordinates,
followers) of fallen angels have been denied any reconciliation with God.
Man has been offered reconciliation under the conditions set by God. Satan (adversary)
hates God and man and is determined to keep man from understanding (finding)
or following God’s path. The devil, who has the power of death, (Heb
2:14) will mislead you down a multitude of wrong paths until death forever
separates you from God. He draws you into the darkness (lie)
and then accuses you before God for not being in the light (truth). The path for those who “follow” the father of the
“lie” ends in death.
How Satan Overcomes Man
God
has made a way, Jesus Christ – The Way, to restore and reconcile man to
Himself (defined in Chapter Two, “The Light”). However, Satan does not
want to release any of his prisoners from his house of bondage (the darkness). The devil wants to destroy man! He is a great
adversary to man and walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1
Pt 5:8). The Lord will not allow Satan to violate your free-will if you
choose to serve God. Therefore, the devil must keep you from seeing the way God
has provided (the light, truth) and certainly hinder you from walking it. Satan
does this through enticement and deceit. Satan is referred to in scripture as
“the tempter” (Mt 4:3). The devil
tempts you into a wrongful course of action; he then accuses you before God;
demands the full penalty (death, eternal
separation); and thereby makes you an enemy of God (Rev 12:10). The devil does this by appealing to
your
own lusts. He lures you to seek your own way and thus disregard God’s will
(commandments, Word, truth, authority).
James 1:13-15, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for
God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is
tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust,
and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin,
when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” The devil simply determines the
lusts of your own heart and then appeals to these lusts to foster (promote,
advance, cultivate, encourage) desire. This is the “working of Satan” to
deceive and entice into a wrongful (fatal)
course of action (2 Thess 1:9). The
great condemnation is that the choice to walk in the darkness is your own –
you are not forced, just tempted. So, men are enticed and drawn away by their
own lusts in seeking the things of the flesh (seeking
their own way). Satan keeps you in the darkness through the principles of
the lie (self seeking, the way of the
flesh). Notice the process: lust, appeal, capitulation (giving
in), sin and death. This is a wicked method of keeping your eyes on self (off
of God) which will result in your own destruction (demise, death) and it is all based upon your own free-will. This is
a set trap baited with selfish benefit. No one is forced to step inside the trap
and take the bait, but Oh how many do! 2 Timothy 2:26, “And that they may
recover themselves out of the snare (baited
trap) of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” Those who seek their selfish desires do the
will of the devil! – they “know” the depths of Satan (Rev 2:24, 3:9). In doing so, they violate (transgression, sin, iniquity, unrighteousness, unbelief) the will of
God. They are easily overcome (duped,
suckers). The devil brings you into bondage by continually appealing to your
fleshly weaknesses (preferred lusts)
such that you continue in them (repetitive
sins). Those who continue to seek self find it difficult or impossible to
break free of these things. The bondages are built upon strong desire and you
may find yourself justifying or defending the wickedness such as addictions,
habits, behaviors, compulsions, and obsessions. For of whom a man is overcome,
of the same is he brought in bondage – servants of corruption (2 Pt 2:19). Examples of such bondage might be: cigarettes, alcohol,
drugs, foul language (profanity, cursing),
lewd behavior, fornication, idolatry (television,
money, etc.), obsession (with someone,
sports team, hobby, etc.) and covetousness (not content - always wanting things). These types of bondages are
sometimes referred to as “living in sin” since they become such a part of
your lifestyle (your deeds/actions).
The Lord gives a way of escape to those who truly seek Him. 1 Corinthians 10:13,
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will
with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it.” God has set limits on Satan such that the
temptations cannot be overwhelming. This way of escape is absolutely not through
the flesh! The temptation is directed at the flesh (that
which seeks it’s will over God’s). We are not to put our trust and faith
in our flesh such as will-power, which is your resolve or forced ability to
overcome. The only way to avoid such temptation is through the denial of self (forfeiture
of your way) and surrender to God by yielding to His way. You must give up
what man rebelled against God to obtain which was “self independence.” You
must do the opposite of the lie! The way back to God (to the light, truth) is denying self daily, taking up your cross (death
to the things of the flesh) and “following” (walking
as) Christ (Mt 10:39, 16:25, Mk 8:35,
Lk 9:24, 17:33, Jn 12:24-25, Rm 8:13, 2 Cor 5:15, Gal 2:20, Eph 4:24, Col 2:6,
3:2-3, Ps 119:3, 128:1, Hos 14:9, 1 Thess 2:12, 1 Jn 2:6, 2 Jn 1:6). This is
to lose your life (your way) for
Christ’s name sake such as to find your life (walking
in the truth, eternal life) in Him (Mt
10:39, 16:25, Mk 8:35, Lk 9:24, 17:33, Jn 12:25). You must abide in Jesus (He
that is holy, and He that is true, Rev 3:7) or there is no hope. If you are
truly fearing God (cleaving to Him)
and eschewing all evil (abstaining from),
then you will not be overcome (Ps 119:101).
Satan compels man to exalt his way and the things he seeks after above the Lord
God. What we are talking about here is the lusts of the eyes/flesh, the
pleasures/pride of life, and the deceitfulness of riches – the fruits thy soul
lusteth after (Mk 4:19, Lk 8:14, 1 Jn
2:16, Rev 18:14). We are even talking about the necessary things (cares of this world, Mk 4:19)! Most do not consider that “their”
day to day life (way, path) could be a
great violation of God’s will. God must be foremost in our lives, but Satan
lures us by our own lusts to place our own way (and that which we fill our lives with) above God. Those who walk in
darkness will never clearly see the path to the light. You will never understand
the concept of “denying self” because you live by and are blinded by the
nature of the lie which says to “seek self.” The seeking of self is the very
thing that keeps you in bondage – this is the chords and chains of sin that
bind you. 2 Corinthians 4:4, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the
minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of
Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” To “believe not”
(see Chapter Four) is to walk in your
way and disregard God’s way (as lived
daily, applied). Satan blinds these through their fleshly lusts such that
the gospel message, or truth of Christ, will not shine unto them and they
won’t “know” it or understand it. This is why when one sincerely turns to
God in repentance and starts forsaking the darkness, the Lord will have to lead
them out. Your fleshly understanding is flawed and will continue to seeks it’s
own and thus remain in the darkness – you do not know the way out. We must
obediently “follow” Jesus. If you do not obediently follow, then the whole premise
(basis) for coming to the light has
been undermined (compromised) and you
will remain in the darkness. How do you obey? When the Lord reveals wrongful
things in your life, you must start correcting them. You must forsake wicked
behaviors. The Lord will recompense (reward,
return an equivalent) you according to your ways; according to your doings (Hos
12:2). Every forsaken wicked behavior is one more step toward the light. The
more evil you forsake, the less power it has over you. You give up self and
surrender in obedience to God and this is where the victory is.
The
author once read the account of a
woman who said she had a vision. In the vision, the devil, who was a sort of a
wretched imp, went about a broad way/path with a prideful arrogant look (as if wanting to do evil) and was covered with jewels that
represented the things of the world that men lust and desire after. Satan would
come up to the various people who traveled the path and would take off a jewel
and offer it to them or they would take it from off of him. They would gladly
receive these trinkets because this was where their heart was - their
motivation. Rarely, but occasionally someone who was offered a jewel would
refuse it and then would diverge off of the broad path onto a narrow one. This
vision certainly represents a very undeniable (valid) reality. Most people in this world are motivated by money,
possessions and desires (1 Tim 6:10).
Con artists have understood this very well and have taken advantage of people
for centuries by appealing to their lusts. Satan is supreme in this area and we
must not be unwise to his devices (2 Cor
2:11). These types of fleshly things are not of God (1 Jn 2:15-17, Js 4:4). Do not allow the flesh to control your
actions. The flesh will follow its inclination (nature, proclivity, preference) away from God. Will it not be
shocking (dreadful) and very revealing
to find out that the things that you love are coming from Satan and not God? The
Lord God does not cater to the flesh! The desires of the flesh is what drove man
from God and keeps him in the darkness.
We
must understand that the power of darkness lies in the desires of the flesh. The
darkness is founded upon self seeking and exaltation (pride).
You have been now been warned: 2 Corinthians 2:11, “Lest Satan should get an
advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” The devil’s wiles
(tricks or stratagem practiced for
ensnaring or deception) are directed at the flesh, but can be overcome
through the Spirit. Ephesians 6:11-13, “Put on the whole armour of God, that
ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the
rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Our ability to
stand is found in the provision given by God to those who love Him by obeying
and keeping His commandments. This is a spiritual war and your eternal
destination is at stake as well as your family’s – its past time to get
serious. Ephesians 6:14-18, “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about
with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod
with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of
faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and
watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” We
must come out of the darkness (lie)
and walk in truth - you are upheld by the truth. To be in the darkness is to be
living in defeat (corrupted, overcome,
lost). If you cannot embrace and walk in the truth then there is no hope in
you – you sit in darkness refusing to see the light (Is
9:2, Mt 4:6). Christ came: Isaiah 42:7, “To open the blind eyes, to bring
out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the
prison house (because of rebellion, Ps
107:9-10).” You must “follow” Jesus (the
truth) out of the darkness. Slightly restated: Luke 1:79, “To give light
to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into
the way of peace.” The way of peace is reconciliation to God, where there is
now enmity due to disobedience – thus your feet must be shod (shoed)
with the gospel of peace, which is God’s offer of reconciliation through
Jesus. Why shod? Because you must now walk the narrow way that leads to God (as
Christ did). We must walk in righteousness (obedience to God’s will) which results from our faith (Rm
1:17, 3:22, 4:13, 9:30, Gal 5:5, Php 3:9, 1 Tim 6:11, 2 Tim 2:22). You
cannot stand on the side or look from the broad way. Salvation (the
helmet) is the hope we have in Christ (endurance,
1 Thess 5:8, Mt 10:22). Application of (walking
in) the Spirit and the Word in our lives gives us the ability to strike back
– hence, the sword. Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is quick, and
powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart.” You must constantly examine your heart
whether you be in the faith and prove your own self (2 Cor 13:5). Ask the Lord to do the same: Psalms 139:23-24,
“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if
there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Our trust
must be in the Lord’s leading. We must examine ourselves to ensure that we are
“following.” Are you in the flesh or the Spirit? We must also be in constant
communication (prayer) with our Lord.
This armor forms our relationship with Christ, who is our strength. Preparation
is continual and must start before the battle. Dear Lord, lead us not into
temptation (that which self desires),
but deliver us from evil (the evil one,
Satan): For thine is the kingdom (of
light and truth), and the power, and the glory (to God and not self), for ever. Amen.
Man Always Seeks Selfish Benefit
Man’s
greatest weakness is in the flesh (selfish
want, lusts). The deception and blindness keeps man in the flesh and thus
“weak.” Man is motivated by the principles of the lie (darkness)
which always desires selfish benefit or “gain.” The kingdom of God operates
under the principle of self-sacrifice, which is the giving up of self for the
benefit of God (foremost) and others.
Self always comes last. For to be great in the kingdom of heaven you must become
a servant to all. He that is least of all, the same shall be great (Lk
9:48). To be first you must be last and a servant to all (Mk
9:35, Lk 22:26-27). To be greatest/chiefest, you must be servant of all (Mt
23:11, Mk 10:44). God’s kingdom operates the opposite from the kingdom of
darkness! In the Lord’s kingdom, you must be motivated by sacrifice (which
results in loss to self) which is manifested as love and humbleness (meekness).
Love is the voluntary sacrifice of self for the benefit of others. To be humble
is to understand your shortcomings, be modest and unpretentious, and to not be
self assertive (or proud). To be meek
is to be patient, gentle, kind, mild, submissive (to
the Lord’s will) and to have forebearance (command
of temper, restraint of passions) under injuries. Jesus (our
example to follow) absolutely exhibited these attributes in all that He did.
Christ always put the needs of others first – through teaching, healing,
deliverance, feeding, etc. Christ forbear all the challenges and indignities
that religious man threw at Him. Jesus came as a servant:
Philippians 2:7-8, “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon
him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross.” AND Mark
10:45, “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Jesus, Who is greatest (Php
2:9-11, Rev 5:12-13), became least for our benefit at great sacrifice to
Himself. Those in the darkness do not understand these concepts of submission,
sacrifice, and denial because these things go against their fallen nature. They
do not seek to bring glory to the Lord, but rather desire glory for themselves (their
flesh). Let us consider the meek: Meekness is submission to the divine will
of God and not self sufficient (Ps 22:26).
Psalms 25:9, “The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach
his way (also Is 61:1).” Judgment is the discerning of right from wrong and
choosing the right. You must become meek to understand God’s way. As stated
earlier, the proud and self seeking could never understand something that does
not provide them with selfish gain or fleshly benefit. Psalms 37:11, “But the
meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of
peace (which Jesus reiterated - Mt 5:5, Ps
149:4).” The peace comes about when God brings all things back into right
order and truth governs all.
We
must understand that you can be religious and still live by the precepts (of men, Is 29:13) and principles of the world (darkness). This is to be self seeking and desirous of selfish
benefit or gain with a form of godliness or religion. In other words, many live
very similar (alike, comparable, akin)
to the world with the justification (absolution
from guilt) that they “profess Christ” and attend church, which is
defined as being a member of some religious organization and regularly attend
services at some facility. This is the deception whereby one believes he is
serving God, when actually he is serving the darkness - self, the lie, Satan’s
nature. Many will maneuver through religious means to allow for the selfish
benefits that they seek. This is done by either the twisting of God’s Word (handling
the word of God deceitfully, 2 Cor 2:17, 4:2) or through the purposeful
selection of a religious organization that lines up with their desired lifestyle
– allows for what they want; there are so many flavors to choose from. 2
Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine; but after their own lusts shall
they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears. And they shall turn
away their ears from the truth, and
shall be turned unto fables - lies, falsehood, deceit, and fabrication.” These
only deceive themselves – for God has forever settled the way in which man
will approach Him, and the challenge of this book is to convey just that - how
one approaches God. These are froward, which is a refusal to do what is required
(unyielding,
disobedient). We must be led of the Holy Spirit. 1 John 2:27, “But the
anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any
man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is
truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.”
The “promise” of God is the Holy Spirit, Who teaches and leads in truth such
that we abide in Christ (Lk 24:49, Jn
7:39, 14:26, Acts 1:4-5, 8, 2:33, 38, Rm 5:5, Gal 3:14, Eph 1:13, 1 Thess 4:8,
Ti 3:5, 2 Tim 1:14). The Holy Spirit is discussed in Chapter Two, The
Light.”
Insights from Job
The
book of “Job” gives us insight into the dark workings of Satan and the
Lord’s sovereignty over all. Let us consider how the devil manuevers against
man. Job 1:1, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that
man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” The
perfect and upright (honest, just,
adhering to God’s will) man considers the Lord in all his doings and
avoids evil and wickedness at all cost. To fear God is to walk in His ways and
do what is pleasing in his sight. As a result of Job’s devotion, the Lord
blessed him in his ways (Job 1:2-3).
God does not serve man, but may in his good pleasure, reward those who are
faithful and obedient. Its like this:
sometimes the author asks one of his older sons to watch the younger. The son
does this in love (sacrifice of self for
another) both for his father and brother, and does not expect to receive
payment – for then it would not be love, but hire (a
hireling). However, sometimes the father rewards the son, in his good
pleasure, due to the son’s love and obedience to the father. The important
thing is the love of the son for the father and brother, and not any potential
reward that may be received – although one may be given. Job 1:6-7, “Now
there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD,
and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest
thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the
earth, and from walking up and down in it.” The devil walketh about as a
roaring lion seeking whom he may devour - an adversary to man and the Lord’s
purposes (1 Pt 5:8). Job 1:8, “And
the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is
none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God,
and escheweth evil?” In stating this, the Lord is pointing out Satan’s
horrendous and tremendous failing. Satan rejected the fear of God and embraced
evil in seeking his own selfish way. The devil is no longer perfect and upright
(as he once was, Ez 28:15) and has fallen to the lowest degree.
Job’s uprightness is a condemnation to Satan’s wickedness. Job walks in the
light (God’s truth, Deut 32:4) and
Satan walks in the darkness, which is a lie of his making. Job 1:9-11, “Then
Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou
made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on
every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is
increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath,
and he will curse thee to thy face.” This verse clearly shows that the Lord
God protects those who are faithful and obedient to Him. God has also seen fit
to reward job’s devotion toward Him. Notice: Satan’s obvious jealousy and
desire to harm or bring ill will upon Job. Satan accuses Job with no basis of
proof. The devil is the great accuser (Rev
12:10) – he seeks to destroy. The devil accuses Job of only loving God for
selfish reasons. Satan is trying to bolster (give
creedance, strengthen, reinforce, augment, sustain) the foundation of his
“lie.” The devil proclaims that Job’s only motivation is self – just
like Satan’s was. The devil wants to show that everyone is basically motivated
by self for benefit and destroy Job in the process. Job 1:12, “And the LORD
said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put
not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.” This
reveals that Satan is clearly limited in what he is allowed to do by God’s
will and authority. The devil would have destroyed Job already, but was
constrained by the power of God. The Lord allows Job to be tested and proved for
his glory - the same can be said for everyone of us – you will be proven (Ps 7:9, Jer 20:12)! Jeremiah 17:10, “I the LORD search the heart,
I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to
the fruit of his doings.” However, Satan is restricted or limited and only
allowed to remove Job’s possessions and cannot touch Job personally. Satan
immediately goes out and devastates all that Job has including the taking of the
lives of his children. So how did Job react? Job 1:20-22, “Then Job arose, and
rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and
worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I
return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name
of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” Job
worshipped and blessed the name of the Lord! He recognized that all things are
in God’s hands – the good and the bad. Job maintained his fear of God and
uprightness. This was a crushing defeat for Satan – the accuser. In Job’s
suffering, the Lord received glory! We must realize that when we deny (die to) the flesh (our will,
way, wants, lusts, etc.) and surrender to God in all things, the Lord
receives the glory – His truth is upheld! The foundation of Satan’s lie
began to crumble. There are those who sincerely love the Lord above all –
heart, mind, soul and strength. Now consider how incredibly dishonoring it would
have been to God if Job had lashed out at God in seeking his way and thus
sinning. Then Satan would have boasted of his lie and flaunted it in God’s
presence. Everyone of us in our lives are either honoring God or bringing
dishonor to him through our actions. When you seek your way, the devil flaunts
it before God and greatly accuses you. He does this to bolster his lie. When you
die to self and surrender to God’s will, even to the loss and sacrifice of the
flesh, then God receives glory. We must grasp this and take it to heart. Does
Satan just accept defeat? Job 2:1-3, “Again there was a day when the sons of
God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them
to present himself before the LORD. And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence
comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the
earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast
thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a
perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still
he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou
movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.” The Lord is
pointing out Job’s superior wisdom (recall,
Lucifer was very wise, but became corrupted, Ez 28:12, 17), because he
continues to fear God and eschew evil – this is great wisdom (wisdom
is the fear of the Lord, and the knowledge of the holy is understanding, Pv 9:10).
Satan’s assault (without cause) on
the Lord’s beloved and truth has failed – he is a liar and the truth is not
in him (Jn 8:44). The Lord said that
Job had maintained his integrity; what does this mean? Integrity is the entire
and unimpaired state of purity, uncorrupted – uprightness and honesty. Job
stood strong for the Lord; Satan did not and was greatly corrupted. Job 2:4-6,
“And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man
hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone
and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan,
Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.” The devil does not admit
defeat, just manipulates the rules (terms)
of the original accusation. Again, the Lord gives Satan permission (the
devil is restricted by God’s will) to inflict harm upon Job – this time
his person (self). Satan is not allowed to take Job’s life! Those who do
God’s will shall have life! Notice: that again, the basis of Satan’s charge
is that Job will seek “self” over God. Seeking self is disregard for God!
This is so important to understand! The devil insists that when things
get difficult enough for “self” that man will always choose the love of the
flesh (his way, will, comfort) over God. In other words, the devil is
saying that Job’s wisdom shall also become corrupted when enough pressure is
brought to bear to reveal that his true devotion (bottom line) is to self. Having obtained permission from God, the
devil goes off and inflicts Job with painful disease. Job 2:7, “So went Satan
forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole
of his foot unto his crown.” This time the devil also uses Job’s wife to
bring pressure to bear through bad advice and negative encouragement – Satan
does not play fair. Job 2:9, “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still
retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.” Our loved ones can be a source of
great encouragement or a source of great failure. Remember that it was Adam’s
wife who offered him the forbidden fruit in Eden (1 Tim 2:14). Consider what happened to Solomon – his wives turned
his heart away from God to false gods (1
Kgs 11:3-4, Neh 13:26). The devil often uses family members for his wicked
purposes. We have been instructed to place our relationship to God above
everything and everyone. Luke 14:26, “If any man come to me, and hate (place
as higher importance) not his father, and mother, and wife, and children,
and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life
also, he cannot be my disciple.” We must be willing to sacrifice everything
for the benefit of God – true love. So, how is Job to react to the
unbelievable (enormous) pressures and pain of body? Job 2:10, “But he said unto
her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive
good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job
sin with his lips.” Next, three of Job’s friends come to comfort him, but
are miserable comforters through their advice (Job
16:2-5, 20, 19:1-3, 21-22, 42:7-8). Job loves the Lord, but hates his life (Job,
Chapter Three). The Lord God received the glory over Satan – and so it
shall always be! We must be willing to receive the bad with the good and still
give God the glory. Self must die and the nature of the darkness (Satan’s
lie in us). In the end, the Lord rewarded Job’s selfless faith with twice
the possessions, more children and long life (Job 42:10-17). Job had been proven and the Lord rewarded him good
according to the fruit of his doings (Jer
17:10). Satan is an adversary and an accuser who destroys you before God by
compelling you to seek self and disregard the will of the Lord - through
whatever means he is allowed (Eph 5:17).
If you walk in “self,” then you are in bondage and awaiting final
condemnation before the throne of God – you are already guilty (Jn 3:18). You have no idea just how dangerous the path you are
walking really is. The Lord God will condemn the wicked, to bring his way upon
his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his
righteousness (1 Kgs 8:32).
God’s Perspective
The
Lord God is your Creator and as such has every right and ability to take your
life from this earth at any moment. You are already living under the
condemnation (sentence) of death. The
Lord can exercise His right to implement your sentencing at any moment – your
next breath or heart beat. Why does God continue to endure you? Because God is
longsuffering and loving and desires to bring you to repentance (godly
sorrow) in an effort to preserve you eternally (2
Pt 3:9, 2 Tim 3:10, Eph 4:2). God forbears your injuries (meekness)
to His Majesty and righteous character! The Lord forbears your injuries to His
due honor and glory! The Lord sacrifices for your benefit (love) – for this present moment. However you are not guaranteed
the next moment – woe! Some die young and some die old, but none has a
guarantee of either. Once taken, you will stand or fall based upon your deeds (or
works) and not your religious mental agreements. The devil has spread his
poison and lies throughout God’s creation. The Lord will prevail in
His truth as exercised through His righteous character or nature (Rm 9:22). In other words, God’s actions will always be in harmony
with His truth. Thy will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven (Lk
11:2). Restoration of all things will be done in God’s truth and never
through Satan’s lie. Consider God’s ultimate purpose: Ephesians 1:10-12,
“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he
might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and
which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an
inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all
things after the counsel of his own will:
That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.”
Multitudes will perish because God’s truth will prevail and they will not be
found in it – they are vessels of wrath fitted to destruction (Rm
9:22)! Irregardless, the Lord God Almighty will go forward (new
heavens and a new earth) with multitudes who are sincere and loyal in their
love and obedience to Him – those who actually walked in faith in
following Jesus, their Lord. These are those who have been tested and tried upon
the earth (such as Job) and have
prevailed to choose the truth. Those who perish will have done so in their own
stubborn will and choice to live in darkness. These are those who were overcome
by the world – the darkness, which is Satan’s lie.
Believe a Lie?
The
darkness that man walks in will keeping him from seeing the truth. 2
Thessalonians 2:10-12, “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them
that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness.” Let us fully examine the meaning of these
verses. Deceivableness is one (Satan)
who knowingly utters falsehood with the purpose to deceive; one (the
devil) who declares to another as a fact what he knows to be not true, and
with an intention to deceive him. Unrighteousness is the violation of God’s
commands (will, purposes, covenant)
– a habitual course of wickedness or it could be only one unjust act. So, the
“deceivableness of unrighteousness” is one (Satan)
who knowingly utters falsehood (maliciously
– deliberate intention to injure) with the intent to deceive one (man)
to habitually (regularly) violate God’s will. This is what the devil does –
“the workings of Satan” (2 Thess 2:9).
It only takes one violation of God’s will to damn you to hell, but Satan’s
intention is to keep you consistently (routinely
as a lifestyle) in violation (eyes on
self) such that you never understand God’s path of mercy and forgiveness,
which is the narrow way to reconciliation with God. With the “deceivableness
of unrighteousness,” Satan causes man to perish! Why is man so gullible (naïve,
susceptible)?
Because he receives not the love of the truth that he might be saved – for
Jesus calls you out of the darkness and into His light. The truth (light)
is specifically discussed in Chapter Two, “The Light.” To “love” the
truth is to sacrifice “self” for the benefit of the truth, the only way you
can walk in the truth is to die to self. What is the condemnation or blame? Men
love the darkness – the deceivableness of unrighteousness, and will not come
to the light (truth, Jn 3:19). Therefore, God sends rebellious man a strong delusion that
they believe a lie. What is the lie? The lie is what Satan told man in Eden (that
reflects his nature/image), which states that man can seek self (lusts,
desires, flesh) and not die – and shall be as a god in determining his own
way (path, will). A delusion is error
or mistakes leading from false views; misleading of the mind. The strong
delusion is that man thinks he is right and justified in seeking his own way to
satisfy self, his lusts, his will, etc. – religious man thinks he can seek
self and serve God; and is blessed in it, when self gets what it wants/craves.
The strong delusion is that while one walks in the darkness, they believe that
they are in the light – not comprehending the truth. Why would God do that?
Because “they believed (followed)
not the truth” and worse – they took “pleasure” in their
unrighteousness, which are violations of God’s will. Perhaps they felt
justified in violating God’s will because they once “professed Christ” and
considered themselves immune (protected, legally resistant) to such things as having to obey
Christ’s commands (Jn
14:15) – thus the strong delusion! Man doing what is right in his own
eyes; seeking the imaginations of his heart - his opinions and sentiments
(Pv 3:7, 6:18, 12:15, 16:2, 21:2,
30:12, Is 5:21, Deut 12:8, 29:19, Jdg 17:6, 21:25, Ps 36:2, Gen 6:5, Jer 3:17,
9:14, 11:8, 13:10, 16:12, 18:12, 23:17, Rm 1:21). Many a man follows “the
lie” today and believes that all is well.
Demonic Possession (unclean spirits,
devils)
The
spirit of man dwells within a vessel of clay which you know as your physical
body (Eccl 3:20, 12:7). This is a
temporal body composed of the dust of the earth (Gen
2:7, Job 10:9). Scripture is very clear that your body can be co-inhabited.
In other words, more than one spirit can inhabit your vessel of clay. When we
forsake the darkness and come to Christ’s light in obedience, the Lord gives
us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us (1
Cor 6:19, 2 Tim 1:14). 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Know ye not that ye are the
temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth
in you?” The Holy Spirit is very benign (kindly,
gentle, caring, compassionate) and respects your “person” – very
beneficial. This means that the Lord’s Spirit respects your free-will to
choose. The Holy Ghost only works through your free surrender and obedience in
order to comfort, lead, guide, teach, empower, convict, etc. One of the fruits
of the Spirit is “self control” and the Holy Spirit will never interfere
with your ability to control yourself. That which the Spirit gives, such as
boldness, wisdom and empowerment, will accentuate your abilities and not detract
from them. The Spirit is advantageous, positive and helpful. The Holy Spirit is
more fully discussed in Chapter Two. Jesus provides (from
the Father), the Holy Spirit to enable you to travel the narrow way that
leads to life and to complete this rugged course. The Holy Ghost is truly
expedient or appropriate to a given purpose (Jn
16:7). This is the positive and essential side of the co-habitation
of your physical body (Rm 8:9). The
other side of this, “the dark side,” is the possession of one’s physical
body by unclean spirits or devils. This is a very real circumstance and is
talked about extensively in the New Testament (Mt
4:24, 8:16, 28-30, 9:32-33, Mk 1:27, 32-34, 39, 3:11, 5:2-13, 7:25-29, 9:17-26,
38, 16:9, Lk 4:33-36, 41, 6:18, 8:2, 27-33, 11:14). Whereas the Holy Spirit
comes into you very gently through a yielded contrite heart; the unclean spirits
will force or barge their way into you through your own free-will exposure to
the darkness, perhaps through deception – you open yourself up to them. This
is a very present evil and you must beware. Those who walk in darkness will not
have the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God and unclean spirits will never occupy
your body simultaneously – you may have one or the other or neither. Jesus
spent a lot of time delivering people from such unclean spirits through His
heart of love and compassion (Mt 8:16, Mk 1:23-26, 32, 34, 39, 3:11-12, Lk 4:41, 13:32). Christ
was even accused of having a devil – a grievous blasphemy of the Holy Ghost (Mt
12:24, Mk 3:22, Lk 11:15, Jn 7:20,
8:48-49, 10:20). Does anyone suppose these unclean spirits have just gone
away and no longer exist? They are very active in this present world; you only
have to know what to look for to see their very destructive workings. Whereas
the Holy Spirit is beneficial, these devils are detrimental and destructive. The
Holy Ghost does not interfere with your self control, but unclean spirits do!
These are a bondage and horrible grievous vexation of spirit (Mt
15:22). These devils will interfere with your self control and force you to
cause harm to yourself or physical body. Unclean spirits live under the
principles of Satan’s lie and will gladly sacrifice others for the benefit of
self – this is opposite of love. Just as your spirit controls the functions of
your body, the devils can interfere and usurp control. Consider this example:
Mark 5:2-5, “And when he (Jesus) was
come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an
unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him,
no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and
chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken
in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in
the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and
cutting himself with stones.” Notice that this person dwelt among the
tombs – among the dead; very symbolic. The account in Luke says the man was
driven there by the devil (Lk 8:29).
This speaks of torment of mind and soul – forced will. This man had superhuman
(unnatural) strength and this is also
a sign of demonic activity. The man cried and cut himself with stones. Self
destruction always accompanies demonic possession and oppression (i.e.
suicide). The devils are out to wreck, destroy and kill. Jesus confronted
these spirits whose name was legion – for they were many (Mk
5:9). This man was possessed by a “multitude” of unclean spirits. Now
let us consider another account: Mark 9:17-27, “And one of the multitude
answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb
spirit; And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth
him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I
spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not. He
answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?
how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me. And they brought him unto him:
and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare
him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming. And he asked his
father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and
into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have
compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all
things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the
child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul
spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out
of him, and enter no more into him. And the
spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead;
insomuch that many said, He is dead. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted
him up; and he arose.” This was a case where the young man is totally given
over to the influence of this foul (unclean,
unpleasant, horrible, vile, defiled, offensive) spirit. Notice how the evil
spirit forces his will on the young man – he teareth him and tries to cause
him to jump in fires and water for the purpose of self-destruction. The young
man was losing health and vitality from such grief – pining away. This evil
devil just took control of him and put him in great bondage – loss of self
control. These unclean spirits will also take control of one’s speech (Mt
8:29, Mk 1:23-24, 3:11, Lk 4:33-35, 8:27, 29). So, it can be said that some
of the signs of demonic possession would be (in wicked ways): torment of mind; loss of self control; loss of
bodily function; self-destructive behavior; unnatural abilities; and distraught
negative thoughts and behavior – great worry (bad outlook). The author will state that although most are
demonically influenced, not all are
demonically possessed. Many things that have been termed medical conditions,
with ascribed names, are actually possession by unclean spirits. The author once
heard of a woman who was very distraught and convinced that her son suffered
from a disease termed, “Tourette Syndrome” because he had all the symptoms.
The symptoms are uncontrolled movement of body parts (head jerking, body twisting, etc.) and/or uncontrollably uttering
strange and unacceptable sounds and phrases such as profanity and grunts/barkings.
This condition seems to fit very well with possession by unclean spirits and
most likely is. Satan can also bind people in physical ways – perhaps
also through possession by devils. Consider: Luke 13:11-13, “And, behold,
there was a woman which had a spirit of
infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift
up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her,
Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. And he laid his hands on her: and
immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.” The religious men
questioned Jesus doing this on the Sabbath and He replied: Luke 13:16, “And
ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan
hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the
sabbath day?” The Lord specifically said that Satan had something to do with
her infirmity – a spirit of. Jesus was often accused by the religious men of
His day of having and unclean spirit and being allied with Satan (Mt
9:34, 12:24-28, Mk 3:22-30, Lk 11:15-20). Possession by unclean spirits or
devils was very prevalent at the time of Christ. If anything, it is worse today
– although mostly disregarded.
Having
stated the reality of demonic possession, many will ask, how does it occur?
Should this not greatly concern us all? Demonic possession occurs at your
invitation as determined through your own actions. You do not necessarily
consciously have to invite them in, but rather open yourself up to them through
your wicked actions – doing that which God has forbidden (such
as Ex 22:18, Lev 19:13, 26, 31, 20:6, 27, Deut 18:9-12, 2 Kg 21:6, 23:24, Is
8:19, 19:3). One receives the Holy Ghost through sincere surrender and
obedience to Christ. Similarly, one receives unclean spirits or devils through
surrender and obedience to the darkness, which is Satan’s kingdom, way, or
path. What does this mean? When you participate
in evil or wickedness there are consequences. Do you think you can play with
fire and not eventually get burned? Similarly, you cannot love the darkness and
not partake of all its evils. Participate in evil and something wicked your way
will come! No doubt these things can happen in a myriad of ways, but the author
will attempt to offer some things for consideration. Any involvement with the
occult will open yourself up to demonic possession. This could be seances, ouija
boards, automatic writing, spirit guides, movies and television shows, books,
haunted houses, crystals, horoscopes, fortune telling, good luck trinkets,
familiar spirits, divination, hypnosis, getting in touch with yourself,
contacting the dead, etc. Another form of occult that is widespread and perhaps
the quickest way to being possessed is through the use of “drugs” –
narcotics, getting high! Many of the violent and sensual video games are also
full of the occult (symbology, spells,
witchcraft, etc.). Books, television and movies are another source of great
evil – even commercials are manipulative and a type of witchcraft. Consider
the very popular children’s book series known as Harry Potter (and movies). These are full of actual witchcraft and spells – they
are wicked and evil. Children or adults can easily be possessed through such
media. Then there is the equally popular Lord of the Rings books and movies. All
of these things also have play toys (use
your imagination and open your heart) such as magic wands, riding brooms,
and action figures that include representations of demons from hell. There are
evil fantasy games such as Dungeons and Dragons and so many spin offs and
variants that it is impossible to keep track of them. These are perhaps some of
the more evil because they actually compel one to invite such spirits into
oneself and practice spells. In these games you are always sacrificing another
for the benefit of self (hatred, a pillar
of darkness) – to think it in your heart is to do it. There are also
children’s play cards such as Pokeman, magic and Dragon Ball Z. These cards
also lure, tempt and entice many children into the darkness where possession can
be a very real consequence. So, all of you parents that think these things are
just fun imagination, this is what you are exposing your precious children to.
Its like letting your children out to play when there are packs of vicious and
hungry wolves roaming all about. Other ways to be possessed might be found in
your day to day lifestyle, such as filling your mind and heart with the
wickedness that flows through televisions, radios, rented movies, romance novels
and popular magazines. What we are talking about here is a love of the darkness.
It doesn’t matter that it is so incredibly widespread these days and that
everybody’s doing it. Darkness is darkness! It is truly amazing how the occult
has worked its way into so many common things (cereal boxes, fast food restaurant toys, children’s books, business
practices, church growth methodologies, etc.). The world is being prepared
for the arrival of the devil’s son (the
beast, son of perdition). Other ways of demonic possession might include
blasphemy, alcoholism, pornography, gambling (even video games), Halloween activities (dress up), covetousness, cruelty toward others or animals (Pv
12:10), “self” help type psychology, etc. What all of this is saying is
that you must be very guarded as to what you put into your heart – and
you’re children’s. The author has had encounters with devils and will say
this is very real and ever present – eschew all evil! Can someone who has
“professed Christ” be possessed? Yes, if they are walking in darkness. It is
not about words, but rather actions. If you love the darkness then that is your
lifestyle. If you play in the mud, then you will get dirty. You must realize
that just having such evil in your home is like having portholes or gateways
into the darkness and wickedness. These are things you willingly open yourself
up to or bring into your home. There is no doubt that there is heavy deception
involved, but this is also a pillar (great principle) of the darkness. When you walk in the darkness you
are “bound” by its rules. So, just having magazines with horoscopes in them
lying about are potential portholes for evil to manifest. A television literally
spews (floods) evil and wickedness
into your home at your willing exposure. If one is not literally possessed, then
they may be highly influence or obsessed from demonic activity. The point is
that Satan wants to keep you bound in darkness and destroy your life and others
by way of you. The devil cannot make you partake of his evil, but he sure will
entice you to through your own lusts. Once in the devil’s sandbox, you will
play by his rules.
A couple of years ago,
my son requested to spend the night at a friend’s house. I knew the family
well, but was a bit uneasy. Due to some family pressures, I caved in and let him
go - not my brightest moment. After he left, I knew almost immediately that I
had done the wrong thing. I went and prayed and asked the Lord’s forgiveness
and petitioned that the Lord would bring my son back home. Not very long
afterwards, I received a telephone call from my son wanting to come home. Once
home we talke