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TITLE: IF I WERE SATAN......

Subtitle: Remaining Undiscovered Defines The Truly Successful Counterfeit

Have you ever been completely fooled by something or someone? Sure you have! At one time or another all of us have swallowed a lie "hook, line, and sinker"--then like many children who have been told the truth about Santa Claus, we continued to believe until belief was no longer possible. To admit we had been duped was strenuously avoided because the lie was something we wanted to believe. But inevitably the truth won out and we had to face the facts.

Deceit is Satan's middle name, so to speak, and we need to understand he is exceedingly good at it. And if I were him, I would attempt to subvert mankind with a lie so subtle and attractive to human thought that by comparison the truth would appear distasteful! I would tap into the innate desire of men for immortality and convince the teeming masses that eternal life lay within their grasp. Then I would deliver the coup de grace by deceiving them into believing they can earn it!

Is it remotely possible you may be a victim of such deception? Even to entertain that notion is repugnant to most of us because we want to think we have "cornered the market" on truth. But the Word of God repeatedly cautions us about the wiles of the devil and the possibility of being misled. So I ask you to carefully consider what I am about to say and resist the urge to dismiss it just because it may violate your comfort zone.

Satan introduced the lie at the very dawn of mankind and all attempts to eradicate it have proven to be ineffective because of man's sinful nature. Its staying power rests firmly in the fact that unregenerate man insists he retains the ability to save himself through good works. In Genesis 4:1-5, Cain introduced the concept by offering his fruits and vegetables ("fruit of the ground") rather than the blood sacrifice required by God. That initial attempt at personal works was rejected and Cain became the world's first murderer, when in a fit of jealousy and anger he slew his brother Abel (whose blood sacrifice was accepted by God). But rather than recognize God will not accept works as a means to salvation, men continue to believe He will because it seems to make sense to the natural mind. They are convinced acceptance will be assured if their lives are characterized by "good" rather than evil. And the devilishly subtle aspect of the lie is the almost innate belief that man can do good in the sight of God--a direct contradiction of Romans 8:8!:

"So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God" Romans 8:8 (KJV).

Satan has "repackaged" the lie many times and the pernicious belief that the spirit of unregenerate man is not totally dead  continues to plague Christendom.  When God told Adam and Eve they would die if they ate of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:17), was it just an idle threat? Did He not also say in the same verse, "....in the day ye eat thereof, ye shall surely die"? My friends, Adam and Eve suffered spiritual death the very instant they disobeyed God and their naked bodies bore mute testimony to the fact. God created, but Satan corrupted! And every human from that day until this has been born "deader than a mackerel" spiritually:

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" Romans 5:12 (KJV).

Yes, I know "death" can refer to physical death, but it refers to spiritual death as well because the two are a "package deal." Physical death followed spiritual death in the experience of Adam and Eve because immediately after their fall from grace spiritually, they began the process of dying physically. And as their descendants, all of us are born sharing their legacy of spiritual death and the journey to physcial death! It is a depressing thought, but when we enter this world as a naked baby--rather than beginning to "live," we actually start dying!

Are the unregenerate dead to God--are they separated from Him spiritually? Beyond any shadow of a doubt!!!! In response to someone who wanted to delay following Him until after their father was dead and buried, the Lord Jesus Christ had this to say:

"But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead" Matthew 8:22 (KJV, emphasis mine).

In other words, the most important thing was to follow Christ and leave the burial of the physically dead to those who were spiritually dead! Only the relative few whom the Lord called and gave spiritual life were able to believe and follow Him faithfully. The multitudes saw the miracles and gave temporary intellectual assent, but eventually were offended by His message and "walked no more with Him" (John 6:66--which is an interesting number, is it not?)--thereby vividly demonstrating the spiritual deadness of their hearts.

Every religion has its zealous "believers"--those who are convinced they are on the right path to achieving immortality. And with the sole exception of genuine Christianity, each of them stress a system of belief in which one achieves the goal through personal discipline and piety. They avoid "doing wrong" through discipline and they "do right" according to their particular code of  piety. And, if in the final analysis their good works outweigh their bad deeds--they get an all-expenses paid trip to heaven. Of course specific terminology varies greatly between them, but when all is said and done--each and every one of them wind up being  attempts to earn salvation by pleasing whatever deity they profess to serve. So is it not interesting that Christianity--as it is set forth in the Bible--stands in such stark contrast to all the rest? Is it not also highly interesting that many elements within the loose framework of Christendom today stress works as a means to salvation? Roman Catholicism and Mormonism are two which quickly come to mind--with many others whose beliefs are dangerously close. Then there is Freemasonry--by no means a Christian organization--that has many members who profess Christ while conveniently overlooking the salvation by works it teaches (not to mention the totally unscriptural philosophy of "the universal fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man.")

My friend, if you fall into this category--please be advised that Satan has sold you the Brooklyn Bridge, some beachfront property in Arizona, and some prime farm land in the Everglades! He knows something you obviously do not--that spiritually dead men cannot please God. And make no mistake about it, we were all born in that awful predicament.

Multitudes around the world claim to be "Christian," but by what definition? Does claiming the name, or title, make it so? Does membership in a denominational church or allegiance to a particular creed constitute being a Christian? Absolutely not! My friend, the profound and universally misunderstood criteria for being a Christian is found in the following passage of Scripture:

"Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" Col. 1:26-27 (KJV, emphasis mine).

A genuine Christian is an individual possessed by the Holy Spirit--literally indwelled by Him. And for that reason, they cannot be demon possessed. God bought and paid for them with the precious blood of His only Son--and in no way is He going to share ownership with the devil! However, believers can be oppressed by demons if we fail to avail ourselves of the spiritual armor God has provided (Eph.6). But the question of ownership has been forever settled. Therefore, the validity of whether one is a genuine Christian or not is determined solely by the presence and the fruit of the Holy Spirit in that life (Gal.5:22-23).

So if I were Satan, I would also make every effort to deceive Christians into mistaking my influence for that of the Holy Spirit! Why? Because getting genuine believers to walk contrary to the will of God is the only way Satan can fight back. He is a defeated opponent, having been vanquished by  Christ's death on the cross--but as long as God allows him to remain free, he will continue to resist the inevitable fate of an eternity in the lake of fire (Rev.20:10). Therefore, if I were him I would use every means necessary to entice God's people into the mistake of allowing emotion to rule their worship--prompting them to "feel very religious" in the process. I would use every weapon in my bag of tricks (and according to the Word of God, that includes the miraculous) to blur the distinction between the flesh and the spirit in their minds. Because our sinful flesh--our fallen humanity--is abhorrent to God and quenches the Holy Spirit (1 Thess.5:19). That is why we are exhorted to "walk in the Spirit":

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh" Galatians 5:16 (KJV).

When our flesh shows up, the Holy Spirit backs up! Just as a bed of hot coals is "quenched" by pouring water on it, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is diminished greatly when we allow our carnal nature to take control. And do not be deceived--the devil is an expert at "pushing all the right buttons" to sidetrack us spiritually and lull us into a sense of complacency. His strategy is to make the Church of Jesus Christ ineffective--hoping somehow to emerge victorious in his cosmic battle against God. And the sad reality we must face is that his plan is bearing fruit in our Churches.

So if I were the devil I would continue to steer believers into thinking all who make professions of faith are genuine! I would keep them so fixated upon adding numbers to church rolls that they would immediately accept into their fellowship any and all who say they believe. Then I would add insult to injury by prompting them to give heed to politicians desiring to make merchandise of them (2 Peter 2:3) through claims of spiritual kinship.

May God have mercy upon us dumb sheep.

If you have been born again and received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, but have been very lukewarm in your spiritual walk with Him, you need to immediately ask Him for forgiveness and for renewal. He will instantly forgive you, and fill your heart with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Then, you need to begin a daily walk of prayer and personal Bible Study.

If you have never placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, but have come to sense His reality and the approaching End of the Age, and want to receive His FREE Gift of Eternal Life, you can do so now, in the privacy of your home. Once you truly believe in Him as Lord and Savior, you are spiritually Born Again, and are as assured of Heaven as if you were already there. Then, you can rest assured that the Kingdom of Antichrist will not touch you spiritually. If you would like to become Born Again, turn to our Salvation Page now.

We hope you have been blessed by this ministry, which seeks to educate and warn people, so that they can see the coming New World Order—Kingdom of Antichrist—in their daily news.

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God bless you.