Sermon video here
Introduction
So last week
we looked at the end of our series on evil, and who was defeated on the cross
and resurrection Sunday. The week before that we looked at how evil likes to
subvert, pervert and twist, and how the main way the devil does this is by
twisting and subverting the word of God.
We looked at
some really important examples of this from history. We looked at Darwinism,
commonly called evolution., which seeks to replace God as creator. Also Marxism,
which is the worst form of socialism, which replaces God and the Church, with
the worship of and dependence on the state. And feminism, which was masterfully
designed to pull apart the family. The argument of the feminists was,
essentially, they should not need their husband’s permission to engage in
politics. I know that is the basic norm for society today, but it was a radical
and anti-biblical change in that day and age.
What does
the Bible say, “5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to
adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed
Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not
fear anything that is frightening” (1 Peter 3:5-6). It also says that
husbands should not treat their wives poorly, “7 Likewise, husbands, live
with your wives in an understanding way, showing honour to the woman as the
weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your
prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7). If you treat your wife
poorly God is against you Peter says. The bible would put bad husbands in the
category of Nabal, the fool, who refused to pay David.
It is very
clear when you compare the Bible’s position to the feminist position that the
feminist position was designed to rip apart the most powerful part of Western
Culture, the Christian family, and set wives against their husbands. The most
powerful force in society is the Christian home led by gentle, but strong
husbands, followed by their submissive, but noble wives, who dedicate their
resources to raising their children. In essence, feminists convinced the
government to tell their husbands that they did not have to obey the Bible’s
teaching about wives and husbands. Equality was the edge issue which was used
to undermine the scriptures, and we live in the downflow effects of this.
Once you see
this, you cannot unsee it, and that was the purpose of our sermon two weeks ago
to look at some of the ways the devil has fooled people and ask ourselves if we
have been conned by some of his tricks. We are all in danger of being fooled by
the devil, and more so if we are not dedicated to shaping our worldview by the
scriptures. If you believe the world was created in the chaotic, blood soaked,
and violent process of evolution, you have been fooled by the devil. If you
believe that the state, the government, has the right to replace God, and many
of the roles of the Church, you have been conned by the devil. If you believe
wives do not have to obey their husbands in righteous acts, you have been
conned by the devil. And he has conned most of our society. You have to give
him credit, the devil has conned people into saying that what the Bible says is
good is actually bad.
None of us
here would deny that the devil is a master con artist. But most of us here
would find it hard to admit that we have been conned by the devil in some of
these ways, and others. But we all have to be humble enough to admit that we
can be conned by his schemes, if we want to learn how to avoid his schemes. This
is why the word of God is a lamp unto our feet. It highlights where we have
gone wrong, so that we can walk right again.
But the Bible is not the only light we are offered in this world. People don’t always fall for evil, because they want to do bad. They sometimes fall for evil because they convince themselves, or are convinced, that it is good. So, it follows from a couple of weeks ago looking at how the devil casts doubt about God’s word, that we need to talk about how the devil presents himself as liberator, saviour, enlightener, or as Paul puts it, an angel of light.
1. The False Liberator (Genesis 3) – Let’s again, as we have done nearly every week of this series so far, look at Genesis 3, because we see this angel of light routine there in its first act – “3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.” Now we have looked at this from many directions already. But I want us to notice something else here. Look at how he addresses the woman:
1.1 As an ally - Genesis 3:4-5 - “4
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows
that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil.” What he is doing here is pretty clear, he is
not just saying “did God really say”, he is not just framing God as the bad
guy, he is framing himself as the good guy. This is the devil, quite literally
saying, “I’ve got the real deal here, listen to me, and you’ll go well.”
1.1.1
He is offering the woman “divine secrets” that he is trying to convince
her were kept from her. Effectively he is telling the woman that God is holding
her back, and he knows how she can be liberated to be equal with God.
1.1.2
We often hear criticism that maybe Adam had not taught his wife properly,
because she slightly misquotes what God says in Genesis 2. But think about
this: this is the garden of God. This is probably not the first time this woman
has seen a remarkable being like this serpent. Why is she not shocked by a
talking Dragon like this? Because she may have, and probably has already, seen
other incredible things like this.
1.1.3
And the Devil is presenting himself as friendly to her. He’s just trying
to show her where her and Adam had been ripped off. In other words, he is
presenting himself as her liberator.
1.2 This is exactly how many ancients saw
it as well. Indeed, this is why in medieval times witchcraft was viewed more as
a feminine act, than a masculine one. Not because it was exclusive to women,
because it wasn’t, but because the medieval Christians saw this ancient
connection between the woman and the serpent, and magic, and more. But it is
also clear that Adam here also viewed it in the same way, as he also took and
ate.
1.3 Effectively, the Devil conned the man
and the woman, because he convinced them that he was right, and God was wrong –
“6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was
a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,
she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was
with her, and he ate.”
1.3.1
Notice that she saw that it “was good for food”. There is a
sense in which Eve here thought she was doing the right thing, because she had
been conned, as Paul tells us, 1 Timothy 2:13-14 - “13 For Adam was
formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was
deceived and became a transgressor.” She had become convinced, in her
own eyes, that it was right to do this.
1.3.2
I mean what could be so bad about eating this amazing looking fruit? What
type of fruit it was I have no idea, but apparently it looked great. And what
could be so bad about getting wisdom, after all “the tree was to be
desired to make one wise”? And here was this helpful dragon guy telling
her all about this wonderful knowledge she could have. What could be so wrong
about this all? And why are people so harsh on this woman and man just wanting
a little bit more knowledge. See how the devil spins things?
1.4 This is how the devil works as the
angel of light, he represents himself as liberator, rather than oppressor. Think
about Communism. Marx targeted his message at the poor because he said he
wanted to “liberate them”. “Workers of the world, unite!” What more positive
message could you offer to people slumming in an 1860’s coal mine? You will all
be equal, you will all own nothing, but you will all be equal. Many people
don’t want to get out of the pit, they want to drag others into the pit. The
Marxist message is attractive to people like this.
1.4.1
The Devil cons people, because he takes a small element of truth, and he
gets us fallen people to go along with it. His trick is to get us to do what
Eve did: determining for ourselves what is good.
1.4.2
The Devil’s trick doesn’t work because people think doing evil is good.
The Devil’s trick works, because many people are convinced evil IS
good, and good IS evil: Isaiah 5:20-21 - “20 Woe to those
who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for
darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! 21 Woe to those who
are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!” Woe to
those who copy Eve, like Adam, the first to copy Eve.
1.4.3
This little trick of the evil has reaped, and is reaping, untold damage
on the world, and a lot of it comes from sources, you would not expect.
2. The Angel of Light (2 Corinthians 11) – We all know
this phrase that the devil presents himself as an angel of light. But what is
the original context of that verse? Let’s have a look, 2 Corinthians 11: 1-3,
12-15 – “11 I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do
bear with me! 2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to
one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that
as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray
from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ… 12 And what I do I will continue to
do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in
their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. 13 For such men are
false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So
it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of
righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
2.1 Paul is having some trouble with
these so called “super apostles” (vs 5). They are preaching a false gospel,
leading people away from Christ, causing all sorts of issues. And where does he
hark back to? Back to Genesis 3 and Eve’s encounter with the devil:
2.1.1
“3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his
cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to
Christ…13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising
themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises
himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also,
disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to
their deeds.”
2.2 Paul saw, exactly what we talked
about: the devil pretending to be a good guy, a liberator. Isaiah 14 tells us
this, “12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! 13 For
thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the
congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of
the clouds; I will be like the most High.” Now this is the King James
translation.
2.2.1
You will hear people object to calling the Devil Lucifer, because they
point out two things: 1) This passage in verse 4 is addressed to the King of
Babylon, 2) The Hebrew words translated “Lucifer” here just means “Day Star” or
“Morning Star”, from the bright star that is still visible in the morning.
2.2.2
But Isaiah here is using an ancient understanding of the Devil’s fall
from heaven to talk about the king of Babylon here. Think about this, we are to
interpret the Old Testament through the new, and who is the real king of
Babylon in Revelation? The Dragon. The Devil. He is behind it all.
2.2.2.1 In fact Isaiah says this to the
Philistines about Babylon: Isaiah 14:29 - “Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you,
that the rod that struck you is broken, for from the serpent's root will come
forth an adder, and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.” In some
sense, Isaiah is saying, the spirit of Babylon is not finished, and the dragon
shall rise again from her. I don’t know how you can’t see a connection to the
devil here.
2.2.2.2 “Lucifer” is a very fitting name for
the Devil, because it means “light bringer”, or “light source”, and that is
what he claims to be. The giver of “divine light”, or divine knowledge.
2.3 And this is exactly how his servants
work themselves into the church. “13 For such men are false apostles,
deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no
wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no
surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of
righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.”
2.3.1
Judas was the “son of perdition”, destined to betray Jesus, and possessed
by the Devil when he did so, Luke 22:3 – “Then Satan entered into Judas
called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.” But he presented
himself as someone caring about the poor: “4 But Judas Iscariot, one of
his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment
not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not
because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge
of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it” (John
12:4-6).
2.3.2
We can talk about communism, and feminism and Marxism and how much these
wicked things attacked and pulled apart the Church in the West. But the biggest
assault that comes on the Church, comes from the people who stand behind
pulpits and twist God’s word to say all sorts of heresies and lies, while
pretending to be God’s people.
2.3.3
These men, and women, don’t present themselves as the enemy. They present
themselves as liberators, promoters of equality, advocates for social justice,
and human rights, they pretend to care about the poor, the environment, all
sorts of things, “it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise
themselves as servants of righteousness”.
2.3.3.1 Some of them will seem like solid
advocates of the truth, noble men, who teach the truth about Jesus, but abuse
women in the background.
2.3.3.2 Some of them will seem like they are
really solid, but are really all about themselves, and are abusive to those
under them.
2.3.4
I read a book a year or so ago, called, “He Came To Set The Captives
Free” and the author, who was a doctor that uncovered a Satanic coven had
taken over parts of the hospital she worked in, said that every Satanist and
Witch, etc, etc, is encouraged to join a church, become a faithful member, and
work division from within.
2.3.5
Jezebel is a good example of this in the Bible: Revelation 2:18-21 – “18
“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of
God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished
bronze. 19 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient
endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this
against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a
prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual
immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent,
but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.”
2.3.5.1 Satan’s agents will go to church, if
they can find a way to cause harm.
2.3.6
Jesus told us, that in his Church would be sheep and goats, and servants
of Satan. Indeed, we read in John 8 that this had happened to his own people –
John 8:43-44 - “43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because
you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your
will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and
does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he
speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
2.3.6.1 Why do you think Jesus cast out so
many demons in Israel? By worshipping false gods many Israelites had given
themselves over to demons. Baal. Beelzebub. Satan. The Devil.
2.3.6.2 His people were led astray by many
such servants among Israel. And if the Church is not careful, the same thing
can happen today. It has happened to many churches. I remember once seeing a
Pastrix (female pastor) take a bunch of purity rings that young women had, melt
them down, and turn them into a statue of a female body part, all to mock the
purity ring culture. That isn’t a church, that isn’t a servant of God.
2.4 The Church has not been wise to this
danger for a long time. So many false teachers, apostles, anointed ones,
servants of the devil have been running circles around Christians in the Church
for a long time now. Unless we are very grounded in God’s word, we too can fall
for his tricks.
2.4.1
Paul tells us this: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 – “3 For though we walk in
the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of
our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of
God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…”
2.4.2
How do you take every thought captive to obey Christ? In the power of the
Spirit of God, you soak yourself in his word.
2.4.3
There is a reason why I bring my Bible to Church, and put the passages I
am preaching from, up on the screen: I want you to judge everything I say
according to God’s word. So, you know, there is no guile in me. I am not trying
to pull the wool over your eyes. But really, you need to soak in God’s word
every day. Maybe just this week, look up the word Satan, the Devil, and demons
and see everything God’s word says about them.
2.4.4
Their way of operating is to try and make themselves look like the ally
of men, when really they are the ally of destruction.
2.4.4.1 Baal, pretended to be the provider of
rain, and storms and life-giving water.
2.4.4.2 Asherah, said those who sacrificed to
her in her sacred groves, under the trees, would be blessed with fertility.
2.4.4.3 Molech, offered blessings, the
greater the sacrifice, the greater the blessing, nothing was a greater
sacrifice than offering their children to the fires.
2.4.4.4 The Devil says worship him, and you
can have the world. Which is a sucky trade as he knows it will be destroyed
with fire.
2.5 The devil and his servants will work
this way, right up until the end.
3. The Second Beast (Revelation 13:11-14) – There is
something really interesting said about the second beast in Revelation 13. Now
there are so many interpretations about the identity of these beasts, I do not
intend to even try to solve it all this morning. Some say the first beast is
the corrupt world system, and the second beast the anti-Christ. Some say, the
first beast is the anti-Christ, the second his right-hand man. There are many
interpretations. But there is only two things I want to hone in on: “11
Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb
and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first
beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the
first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs great signs, even
making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the
signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those
who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was
wounded by the sword and yet lived.”
3.1 He has “two horns like a lamb” – why
is this important? Because we know the actual lamb is Christ, and this beast
here is a poor, twisted, imitation of that. He can even do signs and wonders
like Jesus did.
3.1.1
In other words, he is a false-Christ, a Christ impersonator. Whether you
see this guy as the main bad guy, THE Anti-Christ, or just the anti-Christ’s
henchman, one of the key aspects of the anti-Christ system is that it will
present itself as the saviour of the people, a false saviour.
3.1.2
This could work out in many different ways, but why would people follow
the beast’s system, unless they thought that in it there was something for
them? The anti-Christ system will present itself as the saviour of the people,
probably saving the world from a great crisis. Sound familiar?
3.1.3
Marxism does that. Feminism does that. Most modern politicians frame
themselves this way today. So many industries do that same.
3.1.4
However, we interpret this passage – and I bet that many of you have
different interpretations here this morning – we can all agree, that we should
be wary of anyone who points to salvation outside of Christ. Even if he is an
amazing miracle worker.
3.2 Many people think the book of
Revelation is about the future, and I am one of them. I think much of it is.
But it is about more than that. It reveals to us Jesus Christ, in his amazing
glory, and it also shows us how the enemies of Jesus work.
3.2.1
Many generations have thought they were in the end times, because so much
of this book applied to their situation. Are we the final generation? Maybe. I
don’t know. But whether we are or not, it feels like the beast’s system is
rising all around us doesn’t it?
3.2.2
And how can we spot the devil’s work in any era, time, or place? He
presents himself as the good guy, a saviour, a healer, a liberator, but when
you look at his fruit, it points away from God, not towards God.
4. So how can we apply this? Well, what does Jesus say, “16
Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as
serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men…” (Matthew 10:16-17).
4.1 “Beware of men” – Do not make the mistake of
thinking because you have good intentions, everyone has good intentions. The
devil makes a playground of people who are naïve like that.
4.1.1
Be wary. Be innocent, but smart like a serpent. Serpents are careful
about who they go near.
4.1.2
Predators, like wolves, go where the prey is. To the wolves, we are prey.
Let’s be difficult prey.
4.2 Be wary of “public Christians” who say they are on your side – Many
politicians, preachers, media personalities, and others have said they are
Christian, or conservative, or this or the other to sucker in people into
supporting them. Be careful, be hard to win over.
4.3 Be Berean – We Baptists like to pride ourselves
on being Berean-like. This is what Berean is: Acts 17:11 - “Now these
Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with
all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.”
If that is not you, then you are not Berean. It is noble to search the
scriptures daily. But it is only truly noble if it brings you more and more to
Jesus.
4.4 Be suspicious of anyone, or anything,
that is too good to be true. “The angel of light” remember. Satan seems like
one of the good ones, until you follow him, and see the result of his advice.
Eve thought the tree was good for knowledge, but it destroyed her. This is what
the devil is like.
4.5 Be humble about your ability to be
deceived. We all need to do this. I was once influenced in my early ministry by
a preacher, that turned out to be a disaster. I praise God, that he alerted me
to the danger before I followed that guy’s model too much.
4.5.1
But I had a senior minister warn me about him earlier, and I did not
agree with him. He turned out to be right. I now model my ministry more on that
senior minister that I used to.
4.5.2
We can all be deceived, because like Eve, we all think we know better too
often.
5. Conclusion – I think we have about one or two
more sermons in our theology of the evil one mini-series, from Hebrews 2:14,
because the Bible tells us so much about the evil one. But today we have learnt
this vital truth: the devil presents himself as an angel of light, but all he
really has is dodgy little torch. Be wary of it, but don’t be afraid of him, he
has lost, as we spoke about last week, cling to Jesus and the devil will flee
from you. Let’s pray.
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