The Spirit of Deception

The Spirit of Deception

What’s his name and what’s his game?  His name is Satan and his game is lying, stealing, killing, and destroying.

de·cep·tion

 noun \di-ˈsep-shən\

: the act of making someone believe something that is not true : the act of deceiving someone

: an act or statement intended to make people believe something that is not true

artifice, cheating, cozenage, craft, craftiness,crookedness, crookery, cunning, cunningness,deceitfulness, deceit, deceptiveness, dishonesty,dissembling, dissimulation, double-dealing, dupery,duplicity, fakery, foxiness, fraud, guile, guilefulness,wiliness

5423 phrenapátēs (from 5424 /phrḗn, "outlook from insignt" and538 /apatáō, "deceive") – properly, deceivers, leading others into their delusions – especially exploiting those with a narrow mind (used only in Tit 1:10).

1388 /dólos ("deceit motivated by guile") uses decoys to snare (deceive) people which implies treachery to exploit the naive (undiscerning) – baiting them through (with) their own greed.

Cognate: 539 apátē – a false impression, made to deceive or cheat – i.e. deceit motivated by guile and treachery (trickery, fraud). See 538 (apataō).

If we examine the rise to power of nearly all of the despots, the evil world leaders of history, we find a common root or foundation, lies and deception. The Bible would say that they came into and were sustained “by a foreign god”. (Dan 11:39 NKJV) "Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, [and] advance [its] glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.

The “foreign god” is none other than Lucifer, Satan himself, the king of the satanic kingdom and prince of the power of the air (the world).

(Eph 2:2 NASB) in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

 (1Jo 5:19 NASB) We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

(Jhn 12:31 NASB) "Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

(Jhn 14:30 NASB) "I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me;

 (Rev 12:9 NASB) And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

We also see from the scriptures that Satan uses very high level fallen angels or princes like the Prince of Persia, the Prince of Greece, and Gog of the land of Magog to administrate his kingdoms.

(Dan 10:20 NKJV) Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come.

(Dan 10:13 NKJV) "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia.

(Eze 38:2 NKJV) "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him,

(Eze 38:3 NKJV) "and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I [am] against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.

In turn, these evil fallen angels or princes establish and use humans to directly interface with the humans of the earth. Once in power these human leaders become conduits of spirits of control, manipulation, fear, intimidation, and violence to maintain their power. But at the root of Satan’s kingdom on earth is deception. It started in the Garden of Eden and continues to this very day.

(Jhn 10:10 NKJV) "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have [it] more abundantly.

(Jhn 8:44 NKJV) "You are of [your] father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own [resources], for he is a liar and the father of it.

 (2Jo 1:7 NKJV) For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ [as] coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Definition: antichrist, either one who puts himself in the place of, or the enemy (opponent) of the Messiah.

500 antíxristos (from 473 /antí, "opposite to, in place of" and5547 /Xristós, "Christ") – properly, opposite to Christ; someone acting in place of (against) Christ; "Antichrist."

(Rev 12:9 NKJV) 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.

(Rev 13:14 NKJV) And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.

Now we can understand how the evil rulers of history and the evil rulers in the world today came to power, and how they maintain their power. So the question we ask ourselves now is what is the antidote? And the answer is TRUTH! But what is truth?

(Jhn 18:37 NASB) Therefore Pilate said to Him, "So You are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

(Jhn 18:38 NASB) Pilate said to Him, (veritas, veritas. quid est veritas?) "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, "I find no guilt in Him.

The irony of the scene is that in reality “truth” was standing right in front of Pilate. Truth is in Jesus.

(Jhn 14:6 NKJV) Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

(Jhn 1:14 NKJV) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

(Jhn 1:17 NKJV) For the law was given through Moses, [but] grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Now when Jesus was with the people in the flesh, His teachings were a revelation of the truth that was inside of Him. Jesus spoken words were a revelation of God’s truth. Jesus in the flesh was the Word of God - Truth.

(Mat 22:16 NKJV) And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.

(Jhn 17:17 NASB) "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

(Jhn 1:1 NASB) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

(Jhn 1:14 NASB) And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 But after His resurrection Jesus left the earth and returned to His Father. So how is “truth” revealed to us today?

Truth is revealed to us today by the Holy Spirit!  While we do have the writings of the prophets and the disciples (the Bible), it is the Holy Spirit who is the teacher, the revelator of God’s truth.

(1Co 2:14 NKJV) But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know [them], because they are spiritually discerned.

(Jhn 14:26 NKJV) "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

(Jhn 15:26 NKJV) "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

(Jhn 16:13 NKJV) "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own [authority], but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

(Jhn 6:45 NKJV) "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

Truth, the antidote for deception, is found in, by, and through the Holy Spirit of truth who Jesus sent to indwell all who believe in Him, who have made Him Lord of their lives, and who have asked the Lord to baptize them in the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that is the revelator of truth. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to live the holy life God has asked us to live. And it is the Holy Spirit who equips us with spiritual power to be His witnesses.

(Mat 3:11 NKJV) "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

(Mar 1:8 NKJV) "I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

(Luk 3:16 NKJV) John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

(Act 1:4 NKJV) And being assembled together with [them], He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," [He said], "you have heard from Me;

(Luk 11:13 NKJV) "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

(Act 1:5 NKJV) "for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

(Act 1:8 NKJV) "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

 (Act 2:1 NKJV) When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

(Act 2:2 NKJV) And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

(Act 2:3 NKJV) Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and [one] sat upon each of them.

(Act 2:4 NKJV) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

So, here is our dilemma. Many cannot know truth because they do not know Him who is truth. These are the deceived ones.

(2Co 4:4 NKJV) whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

Some are like the thief on the cross. He confessed that Jesus was king of a kingdom not of the earth, he asked Jesus to remember him, and he called Jesus Lord. Jesus then told the thief, “Today you will be with me in Paradise”.

(Luk 23:40 NKJV) But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?

(Luk 23:41 NKJV) "And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong."

(Luk 23:42 NKJV) Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."

(Luk 23:43 NKJV) And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."

So the thief was saved that very day. But, how much understanding of the “truths” of God and His ways did he have? He had enough to be saved, but not much more. This thief is like many Christians today. They have enough truth to be saved, but not much more. They have the Bible readily available to them, they have pastors, preachers, teachers readily available, they even have much information, but how much “truth”? They are those that: (2Ti 3:7 NKJV) always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

The problem is that some have not even heard of the Holy Spirit, some have heard but do not know Him, and some have never invited Him into their lives. Since He is the teacher, the revelator of truth, knowing truth (and especially the deeper truths and “mysteries” of the Bible) this becomes a big problem.

(Act 8:15 NKJV) who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.

(Act 8:16 NKJV) For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

(Act 8:17 NKJV) Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

(Act 19:1 NKJV) And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples

(Act 19:2 NKJV) he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."

At this point I presume that Paul did some teaching about the Holy Spirit and His place and role in the disciple’s lives.

(Act 19:6 NKJV) And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.

In the end, the antidote to deception is personally knowing the Holy Spirit and having an intimate relationship with Him. It is He who can and will breathe spiritual life into the words of the Bible. It is through Him that we will “come to the knowledge of the truth”. He is The Truth who will set us free from the spirit of deception! Perhaps we like Paul, need to be doing some teaching about the Holy Spirit and laying hands on some people.

(Jhn 8:32 NKJV) "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."