THE DEVIL’S DECEPTION And What To Do About It

THE DEVIL’S DECEPTION

And What To Do About It

Revelation 20:1-10 (KJV)

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceivethe nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

I. THAT THE DEVIL IS A DECEIVER IS NO SURPRISE  

This is a truth taught repeatedly in the Word of God.

We are taught that we are not ignorant of his devices.[1]

The devil deceived Eve into sin.

1 Timothy 2:14 (KJV)

And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

Jesus said there will be many antichrists to deceive in the last days

Matthew 24:4-5 (KJV)

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

Jesus said, in fact, that the devil is a liar and the father of lies

John 8:44 (KJV)

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

The devil is well practiced in the art of deception.

So skilled, in fact, that the Bible says,

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 (KJV)

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

The Apostle John warned us

1 John 4:1 (KJV)

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

I say again, it is no surprise that Revelation 20 would focus so heavily on this fact that the Devil is a deceiver.

But there are 

II. SOME LESSONS THAT COME FROM THE DEVIL’S DECEPTION IN REVELATION 20    

When I read this chapter three things concerning this deceiver come to mind:

A. Imagine a world where the Devil cannot deceive

Revelation 20:1-3 (KJV)

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

What a wonderful time this is going to be.

·   Jesus will be there to rule from Jerusalem.

·   Christian will serve alongside Him to teach people the right way

·   The Jews will have received the promise God made to Abraham

And what’s more, Satan won’t be around to trick people into sin.

Can you imagine?

·   For one thousand years no one will see a sin done

·   For one thousand years no one will be tempted to sin[2]

·   For one thousand years every person on earth will hear the perfect truth from the perfect Saviour

You would think that, having experienced this; no one would ever wish to be deceived again. 

But that’s thing, those who are deceived don’t know they are deceived. 

I think this explains so many things in our world today:

·   I think it explains sincere people in cults and false churches

·   I think it explains politicians who, though sincere, lobby for evil causes.

·   I think it explains communism

·   I think it explains Democrats

·   I think it explains why two people can read the same passage and argue for two completely different interpretations.

2 Corinthians 4:4 (KJV)

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

The thing about deception is that, once deceived, you do not know you are deceived.

Especially when your deceiver is so very accomplished at deception.

Your only answer then, is to avoid being deceived in the first place.

B. Deceived or not, there are consequences for following Satan

Revelation 20:7-9 (KJV)

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Wait a minute!

·   They were deceived!

·   They were tricked!

It wasn’t their fault. 

It was the Devil that deceived them.

But still, they were judged and condemned.

When my boys were little one of them got into trouble and I sent them to their room where, they knew, I would soon meet them to spank them.

When I got to the room he was crying more out of anger than fear of the spanking. I felt like I needed to discuss this a bit and he said, “I hate the Devil for making me do that!”

I told him not to blame the devil for his own doing.

The deceived may not be aware they are being deceived but they are still liable for the consequences of their actions.

·   You might not like it

·   You might not understand it

·   You might not agree with it

But this is the message of the Bible and 

·   You will not overturn it

C. Satan will, in God’s own time, be locked away forever 

Revelation 20:10 (KJV)

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

I am not privy to God’s purposes in giving him place today. 

·   I cannot tell you all of the reasons[3]why God would have allowed the serpent to tempt Eve.

·   I cannot tell you all of the reasons why God would have allowed Satan all the authority he has claimed in the world today

·   I cannot tell you all the reasons why God would have bound the Devil for 1000 years only to let him loose again

What I do know for a fact is that, when everything is said and done, the Devil and his followers are bound forever and God is on His throne surrounded by His followers.

I choose not to question God. I simply want to draw near to God and trust in His powerful plan. 

but the Bible gives us plenty of resources with which to avoid the deceiver. 

The way to prevent being deceived is to stay clear of the deceiver. 

I shared everything I just gave you, only with a little less detail, with some other people a few days ago.

When I said that the deceived can’t really know they are deceived so the thing to do is to avoid being deceived in the first place they immediately asked me, 

III. HOW DO WE DO THAT?

The answer to that takes us back, to the very first deception.

Genesis 3:1-6 (KJV)

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

I think the answer is generally summed up in James 4:7 (KJV)

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Having said that, there are some specific tools we have with which to resist the devil:

A. Stick near your support systems 

Genesis 3:1-6 (KJV)

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

I realize that there is more than one way to visualize the events of the deception in the Garden.

I see Eve all by herself when the Serpent asked her the question.

I realize that, before the account is over the Bible says she, “gave also unto her husband with her”

But I think that the construction of the passage indicates that he was not with her at the beginning of the deception.

·   Whether he joined her some time after she had already been deceived or

·   If she had gone to get him after she had eaten of the fruit

I am not sure.

But I do not think they were together when the serpent first asked her “Yea, hath God said?”

Before God created Eve He looked down at Adam and said, “It is not good that the man should be alone.”[4]

We were created to be part of a community.

Americans don’t like that too much – and it is the source of a whole lot of our troubles.

God made us to be a part of a:

·   Society

·   Tribe

·   Family

·   Home

God has also, within that community, developed a sort of structure.

Within the Godhead there is:

·   God the Father who is over

·   God the Son who is over (with the Father)

·   God the Holy Ghost

Within the family there is:

·   The father who is over

·   The wife who is over (with the father)

·   The children

Within the government there are:

·   Executives

·   Legislatures and

·   Judiciaries

Within the church there is:

·   Pastors

·   Deacons

·   Teachers

God has placed, among every one of us, 

·   Persons of authority and 

·   Associates for accountability and

·   Communities for superiority[5]

When we stick near those God given supports, we are less likely to be deceived.

B. Trust God’s Word

Genesis 3:1 (KJV)

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Satan’s first assault was against the Bible, “Yea hath God said?” 

Anyone or anything that causes doubt in the Word of God should be suspect and rejected. 

I refuse to entertain the question that there might be an error in the Bible.

A few weeks ago I sat with a group of preachers.

One of them said that he believed the Bible was infallible and without error in the Greek Textus Receptus and the Hebrew Masoretic Text.

I frankly have no problem with that statement. I too believe that they are the preserved Word of God.

But something about the way he expressed himself made me wonder so I pointed to his King James Bible and asked him, “Is the Bible you posses right now perfect and without error?”

He tried to avoid the question by saying that he had not checked his particular copy closely enough to affirm whether or not it had any printer’s errors.

I understand that a particular run of the King James Bible might have printer’s errors, places where a word is missing or a word is printed twice.

That is beside the point.

The correct terminology is that the King James Bible is “infallible in fact.”

I will illustrate it like this,

12 inches is 12 inches is 12 inches in fact.

·   It is a truth

·   It is irrefutable

·   It is none negotiable

·   It is unchangeable

Now, it is possible for a ruler to be manufactured with a mistake in it so that, the particular ruler, or run of rulers, measure 12 inches an 1/8^thof an inch short or a ¼ of an inch long.

But that does not mean 12 inches is not 12 inches.

The truth is the truth in fact.

And every ruler that measures 12 inches is infallible.

God said, Psalms 12:6-7 (KJV)

The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

There is only one possible source of that preserved Word of God today. It is in the pages of the King James Bible.

I understand that they exist in the Majority Text of the Greek and Hebrew as well, but a great lot of good that does us.

God has perfectly preserved His Word in the language of the world, the English language, within the pages of the King James Version.

Trust your Bible.

In order to avoid the Devil’s deception

C. Commit to a Bible preaching church 

Acts 8:26-31 (KJV)

And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.

And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,

Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.

Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

I’m taking us back to that first principle, the one where God said it is not good that the man should be alone.

·   Christ built the church

·   Christ loved the church and

·   Christ gave Himself for the church

Doesn’t it make some sense to you that the church is pretty important in God’s plan for you?

The devil has attacked the church in a number of ways over its history.

First, he tried to get the Christians to huddle together in just one church in Jerusalem

God allowed persecution to scatter the Christians around the world so there are churches wherever there are people.

Then he tried to exterminate the church through persecution

But the blood of the martyrs became the seed of evangelism. The more Christians he killed, the more people became Christians.

Then he tried to corrupt the church through error

But there were churches that saw through it and stayed true to the faith.

The most effective assault Satan has ever made on the church is when

He weakened churches with the invisible universal church doctrine

If the true church, the one Jesus loves, is something you already belong to by asking Christ to save you, then why would anyone feel the need to commit to one local church filled with imperfect and sometimes aggravating people?

I spoke with a preacher friend just yesterday.

He is broken hearted because he had a misunderstanding with one of the men of his church, one that he can’t fix.

There was some repair work they needed to have done on the church building.

This guy offered to fix it so the church didn't have to pay a contractor.

·   The pastor assumed that meant the guy was volunteering to do the work

·   The guy assumed the church would pay him something, though less than a contractor

The repair was completed a couple of years ago and just now this guy is upset.

But the church doesn’t have money now to pay him.

People are people – we make mistakes.

If the true church is the invisible one, why put up with all of that?

It’s because there is no such church except a local one filled with imperfect, exasperating, obnoxious, immature – people.

If you want to avoid the devil’s deceptions, commit to one of them.

·   One that believes the Word of God they preach is perfect. 

·   One that loves God and tries to help its members grow in grace

·   One that will warn you when you begin to listen to the devil’s questions

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[1]2 Corinthians 2:11 (KJV)

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

[2]Remember, Christians will by this time have incorruptible bodies. This passage refers to those alive on this earth after the Tribulation. They have not been made incorruptible in the flesh.

[3]I do have some ideas, but they are not relevant to the message I am preaching just now.

[4]Genesis 2:18 (KJV)

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

[5]Over the deception and temptation.