Continued from yesterday…….
4. The masquerade. Writing to the Corinthians, Paul must embrace the “foolishness” of defending his apostleship in light of the “super apostles” who have infiltrated the church (2 Cor. 11:1, 5). These “false apostles” and “deceitful workers,” who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ, proclaim “another Jesus,” “a different spirit,” and “a different gospel” (11:4, 13).
Paul writes that such attacks on the body of Christ should not shock us: “And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their works” (11:14-15). Just as the evil one masquerades as the good guy, false teachers ride the Trojan Horse of eloquent persuasion to gain entrance into the church, and then proceed to destroy it. Satan employs not only evil spirits to do his bidding, but willing unbelievers. Professing themselves to be Christians, they weasel their way into unsuspecting churches and, from the inside, teach what Paul describes as “teachings of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). Jesus also warns about these false prophets, likening them to ravaging wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15).
5. Lying signs and wonders. Paul describes the last days with these words: “The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with every kind of miracle, both signs and wonders serving the lie, and with every wicked deception among those who are perishing …” (2 Thess. 2:9-10). Jesus also addresses this subject in the Olivet Discourse: “For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:24). At final judgment, some unbelievers protest Christ’s sentence of hell, arguing, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?” Unmoved, Jesus responds, “I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!” (Matt. 7:22-23).
6. Enticement. He strikes hard and low at Jesus in the wilderness, although he fails to entice the Son of God to abandon the path of suffering and death (Matt. 4:1-11). He proves more successful in his pursuit of Judas Iscariot in the hours leading up to the apostle’s betrayal of Jesus (Luke 22:3-6). Paul worries aloud for the Corinthians, admitting, “But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). Sure enough, the local church Paul had planted in Corinth a few years earlier is now embracing false teachings about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the gospel (2 Cor. 11:4). James warns how subtly and pervasively sin overtakes us. God cannot be tempted to sin, and he never tempts us. But the evil one sows seeds in our thought processes and – unless we immediately take these thoughts captive – we start down a slippery slope that ends in sin: “But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death” (Jas. 1:14-15).
7. Accusation. In the first recorded encounter with humans, the evil one accuses God of denying Adam and Eve what’s rightfully theirs: to become like God (Gen. 3:5). We see Satan again in the Book of Job, alleging that Job’s loyalty to Yahweh hinges on the hedge of safety God has built around his servant (Job 1:9-11). When the Lord allows Satan to kill Job’s children and destroy his property, Job maintains his integrity. So, Satan returns to Yahweh to seek permission to strike Job’s flesh and bones, certain that Job will curse God to his face (Job 2:5). Job endures painful sores from head to toe, along with self-righteous moralizing from his friends, before experiencing a humbling encounter with God, who restores Job’s wealth two-fold and grants him seven sons and three daughters – a number equal to those who had perished. Satan appears again in Zechariah 3 to accuse the high priest, Joshua. This time, the angel of the LORD comes to the rescue, rebuking Satan, forgiving Joshua’s sin, and clothing the high priest in fresh garments. The evil one’s accusations continue today. His ultimate defeat is certain, however, and his days of finger-pointing are numbered. In Revelation 12:10, the apostle John writes: “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say, The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been thrown down.” Until that day, the evil one continues prosecuting the people of God. But, just as the high priest, Joshua, had an advocate – the angel of the LORD, or the preincarnate Christ – so we have an advocate, the Lord Jesus, who “is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them” (Heb. 7:25).
8. Institutional leverage. Satan leads the world astray through false religions, as well as cultural, political, and economic institutions (cf. Rev. 13). For example, major world religions like Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism express a high regard for Jesus. Yet their Jesus is strictly human, or mysteriously divine, and totally unable to address mankind’s greatest need of redemption. Even more damaging are today’s counterfeit forms of Christianity, most notably the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism) and the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah’s Witnesses).
