It’s incredible how Satan has deceived so many people in the world. The reality is, that
many people find their comfort in worldly things — living outside of God – never giving a
thought to their spiritual existence. They never consider the impact that Satan is making
in their lives. I thought I would share a few thoughts on this matter.
Recently, I was intrigued by a TV segment about the Trojan War, and the famed “Trojan
Horse”. As the story goes… After a failed 10-year siege against the City of Troy, the
Greeks had yet to breach the walls of the city – so went the Trojan War. The Greeks then
hatched a deceptive plan and built a giant wooden horse. They left it outside as a gift to
Athena, and proceeded to sail off – deceiving the Trojans. The Trojans proclaimed
victory and pulled the horse inside the city. What the Trojans didn’t know was that the
horse was hollow, and that the Greeks had hidden armed men inside. Later that night, the
soldiers inside the horse came out, killed the guards and opened the city gates. The
Greeks then came back, entered the city and slaughtered all the males. They then
proceeded to plunder and burn the city. Can you imagine what it was like living in those
times?
No doubt that life was fairly brutal back in those days. These days however, the Trojan
War is just a tale between the pages of the Iliad and the Odyssey (No, I haven’t read
them). The term “Trojan Horse” remains, and is commonly associated with “strategy,
deception, and trickery”.
What’s the big deal — and what does this have to do with Satan? That question alone
reveals part of the deception that is taking place in an apathetic world today. This is
interesting because we as Christians are confronted daily with deception on a massive
scale – and it’s being poured out into the world by the evil one – Satan. If you don’t
believe me, then go out and try sharing the message of Jesus, and hear firsthand what
people believe. What’s amazing is that much of the world today (Yes, even Christians)
are “pulling this deception into the city” (that is their lives, their hearts) at an increasing
rate. What is this grand deception? The answer is surprisingly twisted – “The growing
belief that what is right is wrong, and what is wrong is right.” What’s Satan involvement,
and just who is Satan?
The Bible gives us a hint about Satan in Ezekiel 28:15, “You were perfect in your ways
from the day you were created, till inequity was found in you.”; Ezekiel 28:17, “Your
heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of
your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at
you.” Ezekiel 28:16, “By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence
within, and you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of
God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones.”
Clearly Satan once had a special place in God’s Kingdom, and was given some measure
of power and authority by God. But Satan rebelled, so God cast him out. In addition,
when Satan was cast out of Heaven, the Bible says that one third of the angels were cast
out with him. Revelation 12:9, “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old,
called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and
his angels were cast out with him.”
This fallen angel – Satan, has as his main products, lies and deception – all of which can
lead to a fallen world and man’s sinful behavior. However, much like the Trojan Horse,
the evil one (Satan) can perfectly mask this deception. 2 Corinthians 11:14, “And no
wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”
Jesus has some stern words about Satan – speaking about the “children of the devil”.
John 8:44-45, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your
father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there
is no truth in him, When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the
father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!”
As Christians, how can we know of the evil that we are up against? What is this struggle
about? Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” NIV Let’s look at the New KJV as well
– “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of
wickedness in the heavenly places.” The fight is for our souls, and the stakes are high!
Note the terms God enlightens us with: Principalities; Powers; Rulers of Darkness; Hosts
of Wickedness in heavenly places. To be clear, there is an ongoing “spiritual battle”.
Make no mistake – we are involved in “Spiritual Warfare”.
What power do we as Believers have over Satan? How are we most susceptible to
Satan’s strategy? This is difficult to articulate, but it has a lot to do with closing off
“entry points of temptation”. Bottom line is that Satan has no power over a true Believer,
except that of temptation and the Believer’s willingness to give acceptance (yield) to
sinful behavior. Note that Jesus, perfect in all respects, could only be tempted by Satan.
You and me however, being sinful by nature, are far more vulnerable to Satan’s attacks.
This sinful nature of man is key to Satan’s strategy, and he works at if full time!
Therefore, we need to be constantly on-guard and strive to be above reproach – that is,
we need to recognize temptation for what it is, and flee from sin – all sin!
For unbelievers however, Satan has already gained a strong foothold. Hence the term
“lost”. We as Christians need to do what we can to educate the unbeliever – to make
known the Good News of Jesus so they might be saved.
What are Satan’s tactics? Satan’s attacks are usually subtle at first, in order to find
weaknesses in our spiritual defenses. These temptations (tactics) typically target our
mind – disclosed to us through slight perceptions and senses, such as our thoughts, sight,
feelings, touch, etc. So subtle are these temptations, that they are hardly noticeable. But
once an entry point is discovered by Satan, the sinful nature of our flesh is weakened
(overpowered in some cases), and Satan ramps up the temptation to levels that become
difficult to resist – and we give in to sin. Be careful, this can happen in a heartbeat!
Keep in mind, there is always a consequence to sin. Consider James 1:14-15, “ But every
man is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own desires, and enticed. Then when lust
has conceived, it bears sin: and sin, when it is finished, bears death.”
It doesn’t matter what the sin “is”, or the magnitude of the sin – Satan delights in all sin,
for he knows it leads to destruction. In this regard, we must remain alert and not allow
ourselves to be deceived by giving in to “so-called little sins” – sin is sin!
Further, the flesh is Satan’s playground – he will try every temptation possible to gain a
foot-hold through our lustful desires. If your flesh is weak, you can count on the fact that
Satan will be there – using every subtle deception to gain entry. We cannot outwit,
rationalize, negotiate, argue or otherwise interact with Satan – he loves this game, and is
master of it. Our only major defense is to put on the “full Armor of God” – Ephesians
6:10-18
As Christians, we can gain strength and shore up defenses through our faith in Jesus and
being obedient to God. We know that God discourages all sin (hates sin). Consider 1
John 3:9, “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and
he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.”
What’s the best way for us to avoid being caught by Satan’s snare? Avoid Sin and take a
stand against Satan’s schemes! Here are some useful Scripture that you can apply to your
life:
1 Timothy 6:11, “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.”
Proverbs 21:29, “An upright man gives thought to his ways.”
Psalm 141:4, “Let no my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with
men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.”
1 Corinthians 10:14, “Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.”
1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the
body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.”
You get the idea… Flee from sin! Be alert to the subtle and suggestive ways of Satan.
Be immersed in God’s Word and be obedient to your faith in Christ Jesus. Call on God
in all situations, for we know that not all spirits are of God – test the spirits. 1 John 4:1,
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God;
because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” We must be careful what
worldly tolerance teaches.
And again, don’t forget to put on the “full Armor of God” in order to withstand the
deception of the evil one. Satan is the true “Trojan Horse” we face in the world today,
and millions of people are falling prey to his deception in these last days. Don’t be one
of them!
To change the tone a bit… Here is a Godly contrast to the theme of the Trojan Horse
discussed above. I have included an astro-photograph below that you may find familiar.
This object resides in or Milky Way Galaxy and lies next to the Great Orion Nebula.
This object is technically named ic434, and is commonly called “The HorseHead
Nebula”. The data for this image was acquired from my Sagrada Observatory here in Las
Cruces.
Here you can see some of the beautiful structure that God displays in His Creation. It’s
truly amazing how many of these heavenly objects look like something here on Earth. In
this case, the famous HorseHead. Perhaps it’s God’s way of making things familiar to us
in preparation for our eternal life in Heaven. Now that’s a nice thought !
One thing for certain, there is no deception in God’s Word. As you can see from the
image above, “The heavens declare the Glory of God;” Psalm 19:1
Let me close with what it says in John 1:1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All
things were made through Him, and with out Him nothing was made that was made. In
Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness did not.”
Be comforted by the fact that the counterfeit that is Satan, cannot stand against God’s
Truth. So be strong in your faith to the end. “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe
in God, believe in Me.” John 14:1
Have a great week folks.
Your Brother in Christ,
Mike Sherick
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