THE DECEPTION OF SATAN

“For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” Matthew 24:24

” But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5

The devil is considered to be the father of lies. His purpose is to deceive and hurt the people of the world. His tactics include:

1. Disguising himself as an angel of light. He may appear to be the most loving person in the world but as he seems good, he is hiding his true evil intentions.
2. He tempts the world with pleasures. He often portrays sin as pleasurable and good while enticing us into sin that can scar forever.
3. He will minimize the seriousness of sin. He will accuse people of being unworthy of God’s grace.
4. He will play on the weaknesses of individuals such as vanity, pride or desire for attention.
5. He will use past mistakes to make us feel guilty and separate us from God.

The devil is real and must be taken seriously. He doesn’t look like the guy that is red, with a long tail, holding a pitchfork. He has integrated into the world in many different capacities. We must be careful and not fall for his many tricks and evil ways. We can see in today’s world that there are those who are lovers of pleasure and worship riches. We are seeing things happen that we cannot explain. We are seeing things happen in these current days that have not happened before. We must be alert, and we must be careful. We must be prepared with the shield of faith, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness and the gospel of peace. We must keep our bibles beside us and read them often. We must remember that understanding and wisdom begin with knowing our God in heaven. PRAISE THE LORD IN ALL THINGS!