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Evil Cloaked
By Ron Graham
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”2 Corinthians 11:3. God told Adam when He placed him in the Garden of Eden that he was not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If we look at Genesis chapter 3, which is what Paul refers to above, we find that Satan blatantly lied to Eve. “You will not surely die…” Genesis 3:4. So lies are now Satan’s forte. And after 6,000 years he’s become quite adept at disseminating his cloaked evil among the Christian Ekklesia.
That lie was the cause of an immeasurable rift between God and man.Jesus, of course, bridged that rift at the cross, but Satan would like nothing more than to undo what Jesus did 2,000 years ago. We know that Jesus’ sacrifice will never be voided, but that won’t stop His nemesis from creating as much havoc in this world while he still can.
Paul was fearful that the serpent’s beguiling of Eve would have the same detrimental effect on the Ekklesia of Christ and rightfully so. But unlike when he deceived Eve, today Satan’s evil lies are not so transparent – especially for those who are biblically illiterate. When Satan, through his lies, can instill an “I don’t care” attitude in the mind of a professing Christian he has just moved to first base. However, when the serpent can create doubt in the mind of a follower of Jesus Christ as to the accuracy of God’s word, then he has hit a homerun. Ultimately, as doubt manifests and festers, Satan moves in for the kill with “another gospel”, and with the acceptance of that false gospel he’s hit the grand slam of deceptions.
Let’s first understand who it is we are dealing with. The enemy of God has a name. In the Hebrew his name is “heylel”. In English his name means “light bearer”, or in the Latin “Lucifer”. The term “light bearer” can be very misleading, especially when we consider that he is the epitome of evil. Jesus Christ, the Creator of the world and the Creator of the “light bearer-Lucifer”, is the true Light of the world and of men. “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4. Darkness, when spoken of in our Bibles, is usually demonic “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” John 1:5 Most people today, including many Christians, deny the demonic realm exists. Others seem to have a bit of understanding when it comes to the demonic, but ignore it as though it was insignificant. Most people, even though they believe in the supernatural, misunderstand thus significantly underestimate the leader of that realm – and his power. What they don’t seem to grasp is that even though Lucifer/Satan is pure evil he avoids all appearance of evil like the plague.
To unmask his evil plans and parade them about in public would be detrimental to Satan’s agenda. What we must understand about this very powerful being is that he is able to pull off a huge deception concerning his malevolence. Satan and his followers make themselves appear as benevolent while disseminating their deceptions. Satan’s agenda is to steal, kill, and destroy humans; understandably, the transparency of his agenda wouldn’t go over well with his human prey. Therefore he must cloak his evil plans.
“…for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.”2 Corinthians 11:14. As he is able to transform himself into an “angel of light” he can put forth a demeanor of purity which cloaks his true intentions. This is why God tells us again and again to be ever diligent especially when it comes to God’s Word. There are many false teachers these days taking Satan’s lies to new levels.
Satan is evil, period. Yet his lies are always peppered with some truth. He is beguiling, crafty and extremely intelligent, far more so than any human being presently on earth. Therefore we must not only believe but we must also rely on God’s word for guidance. We rely on God Himself for our protection against this extremely evil foe, but believing God is paramount when it comes to understanding the enemy’s agenda. Remember, Satan knows the word of God also and he will use it as it suits his plan. Notwithstanding, his lies will always be hidden betwixt the truth – just enough to beguile. Satan once tried to beguile Jesus in the wilderness. How did Jesus answer him each time Satan confronted Him? By quoting Scripture. We must be just as biblically literate and diligent.
“Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness…”2 Corinthians 11:15. The ministers Paul speaks of above are those who follow their father the devil by doing his bidding. Some are very public figures; some are Bible teachers, some lead Christian congregations, and some lead cults. If you think Satan’s ministers are only fallen angels and demons, then you too have been deceived. Satan has an army of ministers who are human and who are fully entrenched in his camp. They are those who stand in the shadow of the “light bearer” as they do their best to cloak Satan’s personification of evil.
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