The Truth About “The Great Deception”
Part 6
The Satanic Reality
A Serious Caveat
I would like to preface this most important writing with a very serious warning. The concepts contained herein are not meant, in any way, to diminish the danger of the horrendous creature about which it is written. Satan is the most dangerous entity ever to threaten mankind, and if not stopped, he will annihilate the race and destroy the planet we inhabit. No greater peril has, does, or ever will confront the human race.
This writing is intended to enlighten, by putting the threat into proper perspective, and empower those who perceive the true threat with the only defense possible against the power this terrible beast possesses.
♦ I Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
The Power of Satan
Satan is touted by the church to be the most powerful entity in the human reality. The constant warnings about Satan’s ability to control the minds of humans, and the power he supposedly wields over them to do his bidding, constantly flow like a torrent of terror from the pulpit. The “hell fire and brimstone” reflects, perhaps, no more than the overblown attitude of Satan himself. An objective search of scripture of just how powerful he is will reveal a surprising conclusion. The presence of Satan in scripture is rare, and he is portrayed as a classic example of failure. He has power, but not in the way the church has long claimed.
The church warns of his power to enter your mind, and even your body, without you even knowing it. He is represented as having the ability to actually control your thoughts and actions. To the contrary, the church teaches Jesus can only do this if ‘you’ decide ‘you’ want him to. The accepted doctrine is that Satan has complete control of the planet, and his presence is pointed out in everything the church disagrees with, any time in history, and anywhere in the world.
The Power of Jesus
Little, if anything, is ever said about Jesus having anything to do with the worldly affairs of men, except his presence within the church, which, of course, gives them authority over their followers, and justifies demanding money to pay the expenses of that particular church. They admit Jesus “will” rule, though they are vague about where, even though the Bible makes it clear that Jesus will rule on this planet, not in some ethereal place called “heaven”.
What this has all led to is the creation of an evil Wizard of Oz-like caricature being used to scare the flock into submission and servitude to, and financial support of, the church. This is a church that changes the teachings of Jesus to suit its own doctrine. It creates a religion filled with ritual, which origins are in the very practices of ancient worship to the false gods Jesus, as the God of Israel, condemned.
Is this fear of Satan justified, or is it smoke and mirrors which actually hides the true deception of this master of deception? While the church is raging about the Devil trying to steal hearts, minds, and money from them, he is hiding behind the perfect image they have so generously provided for him. He is grateful for the image that conceals his true deception so clearly described in the Bible.
Who is Lucifer?
To give a simple example of the ignorance biblical “authorities” have about scripture, the word “Lucifer” is a perfect example. Most, who have had even limited exposure to any Bible-based religions, mistakenly believe that this is one of the names of Satan. Very few, even among theologians, know the word “Lucifer” was never in the original text of the Book of Isaiah. It does appear in the King James Bible, although incorrectly, but, this is the only time the word appears in the Bible.
♦ 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!
The word “Lucifer” was added by the translators of the King James Bible and is of a Latin origin, not the original Hebrew. The term Lucifer comes not from the Hebrew or the Greek Septuagint translation, but from the 4th Century AD Latin translation of this verse: “quomodo cecidisti de caelo lucifer qui mane oriebaris corruisti in terram qui vulnerabas gentes.”
The term lucifer in Latin was the name for Venus, the morning star. The same word is used in other places in the Latin Vulgate to translate Hebrew terms that mean “bright,” especially associated with the sky:
From the Hebrew, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance renders the definition of the original word ‘heylel’, pronounced hay-lale’, as: the morning star: (in the sense of brightness); (Title referring to the king of Babylon). A reading of this verse in context will also show that it is doubtful this verse is even referring to Satan, but rather, to a man.
Many point to the “morning star” in Isaiah as a direct reference to Satan and proof of his connection to this verse. The following verse shows that this term is not exclusive to Satan, but even used by Jesus as a personal description:
♦ Revelation 22:16 I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify these things to you over the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright and Morning Star.”
Satan’s Impact on Humanity
There are only a few instances in the Bible where Satan is described as specifically having a significant impact on the affairs of humans:
♦ Genesis 3:1 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?
The temptation of Eve by the serpent, although not specifically stated, is believed to be Satan.
♦ 1 Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
This reference is only a passing reference concerning the census of Israel and seems to have no great impact on mankind.
♦ Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.
This is the beginning of Satan’s challenge to God to test the faith of Job. It should be noted that Satan’s attempt to prove Job was weak failed.
♦ Zechariah 3:1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. 2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
♦ Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Here Satan is trying to turn Jesus from the Father while he is in a very weak state. Again he failed.
♦ Luke 13:2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;
Satan uses Judas to betray Jesus, which eventually leads to his death and resurrection. This sets the stage for the victory over death, which brings salvation, and guarantees inheritance into the royal Family of God to all mankind. By helping mankind, a race Satan has been deceiving and intends to destroy, he again fails.
· In the Revelation to John the Apostle the deception of humanity in the last days is detailed over many chapters. It is accepted that this deception and its consequences are from Satan. In the end, Satan fails.
♦ Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9. 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.
Here a war in the sky is described and Satan is defeated; another failure. Many think this is the final battle after the last days, but this is contradicted by further disclosures in the Revelation, as well as in a statement by Jesus:
♦ 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.
Since Jesus is on the throne, on the planet, it is obvious Satan will not be allowed to torment mankind. If this is speaking of a “final” battle in the end days, it is completely out of context since the description of tribulation continues for several chapters. The following verses show what the true end of Satan’s control over the planet will be:
♦ Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
This verse clearly shows that the battle in the sky described in Revelation 12:7 above, is a past event, as Satan certainly would not be able to continue his deception of mankind while he is bound in the bottomless pit. The eyewitness testimony of Jesus shows positively that the battle described in Revelation 12:7 is a past, not a future event.
♦ Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
If Jesus saw him fall from the sky, this happened over 2000 years ago and certainly not in the future.
Of the few times Satan is mentioned as having any significant impact on, or influence over, the affairs of mankind he fails miserably in all but one, the temptation of Eve. Considering his actions after this success, which helped to save mankind, even this becomes a failure. He tries, he fails, and he tries again. Considering the condition of the world in this precarious age, one might conclude that he is successful now.
What most do not realize is that by the sacrifice Christ performed for all humanity, he has lost and is now only secretly preparing the human race to fight for him against its own creator. In truth, he has generously written the case for prosecution against himself. In the testimony before the highest court in the universe, which convicts him, will be the ultimate object lesson for mankind that will guide it and keep it safe, free, and progressive forever.
The Real Danger from Satan
The consistent failure of Satan should in no way diminish the threat he poses to mankind. The following two verses contain the identification of the deceiver, and the way he will deceive the world:
Here it is clearly stated Satan will deceive the nations:
♦ Revelation 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
And, this verse clearly connects global corporate power to that deception:
♦ Revelation 18 23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
This is the connection between big business and the deception of the nations that positively ascribes that deception directly to Satan.
Knowledge Gives Advantage
The most serious omission from the pulpit is how he manages to deceive the world. A more thorough examination is found in the next section of this work on the true deception, but the Bible is clear that knowledge is the key. Logic tells the wise that there are more ways to influence the affairs of men than direct manipulation. If Satan can control all aspects of human life, from birth to death, he can control the attitudes of society.
♦ 2 Corinthians 2:10 To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; 11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
· devices – noema, pronounced no’-ay-mah; a perception, i.e. purpose, or (by implication) the intellect, disposition, itself:
Was Satan a High Angel?
The following verse provides considerable doubt about whether Satan actually was the high angel he is considered to have been:
♦ 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.
Is There Protection?
Despite the great power ascribed to Satan, scripture makes it clear that just standing up to him is sufficient to make him flee.
♦ James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Resist comes from the Greek word ‘anthistemi’. pronounced anth-is’-tay-mee; to stand against, i.e. oppose: