Thought for the Month - November 2018

"Do not be deceived!" by Barry Adair
(The Eternal Jew)

I was thinking about deception this month. I'm not totally sure why it popped into my head but it may have been due to a news story. The UK Labour Party was accused recently, and with some reason, of being anti-Semitic. That recent news story then reminded me of one of the greatest deceptions in history. This also involved the Jews.

In Nazi Germany in the 1930s, a government propagated lie was sweeping the country. All aspects of the German media were used in this propaganda. Anti-Semitism was manifested in a sweeping national policy known as "the Final Solution", which sought to eliminate Jews from the face of the Earth. Of course, it wasn't the first time the Jews had suffered persecution but this episode was actively backed by the government of a European country! And the deception involved fostering a country-wide hatred of the Jewish people.

There were many Nazi propaganda films at the time, all designed to reinforce Nazi lies about the so-called dangers of the Jewish people. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels, his minister of propaganda, had launched a massive campaign to convince the German people that the Jews were their enemies. They spread lies every day in the newspapers and other media blaming Jews for all of Germany's problems, including the loss of World War I. We now know that ordinary German people eventually thought nothing of seeing former Jewish neighbours being removed from their homes, moved into ghettos and sent away to concentration camps!

What if I told you that an even bigger deception is going on today? And that it affects the minds of everyone alive right now? And that it is all pervasive, occurring in the films, TV, internet, social media and old fashioned gossip that we watch, read and listen to? Don't believe me? Please read on…

Few people now believe in the supernatural world. But if you believe in the Bible and in the God of the Bible, then you should have no problem with my next few points. There is an on-going deception being played out between the God of this world (Satan) and those living in it. The deception is so clever that most don't even believe in the existence of the main protagonist! I'm speaking, of course, of Satan…

…that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; (Rev 12:9, portion only, emphasis mine)

In the worldwide press, television, films and social media Satan (the devil) has been turned into a harmless and fictional red impish character. The world now doesn't believe in an actual devil. Satan doesn't exist anymore - "sure, it is only those 'mental' fundamentalist Christians who believe in him anymore!"

"The devil's cleverest ruse is to make men believe that he does not exist" (Baudelaire)

However, the Bible paints an altogether different picture of the devil. We learn that Satan is very real, powerful, wicked and dangerous. Some of the names used of him in the Bible are as follows:

Beelzebub, accuser, serpent, tempter, wicked-one, dragon, liar, murderer, thief

So, what is this big deception then?

It is simply this - Satan wants the eternal souls of everyone alive today to end up in hell!

He is doing everything in his power to stop any personal contact with the living God and personal knowledge of God's free gift of salvation to the whole human race.

The god of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor. 4:4, addition mine, emphasis mine)

This deception is played out on a global scale. And it has been going on from almost the beginning of time. No one, and I mean no one, is immune to the subtle wiles of the devil. Personally, I think that he has been at work through others all through history. He has worked through kings and through paupers, he has worked through masters and servants, he has worked through professors and students, he has worked through law makers and law breakers, he has worked through Fleet Street and Civvy Street, he has worked through holy men and wholesome women, he has worked through you and he has worked through me.

The Bible refers to this supernatural battle in a number of passages but rather than dwell on the battle, I want to encourage you with the battle's outcome. God wins in the end! The devil is defeated and the Lord Jesus Christ is given His rightful place. Let me emphasis to you that Satan was defeated over 2,000 years ago on a blood-stained hill just outside Jerusalem. Jesus shed His blood at Calvary to pay for the sins of this world. If you have repented of your sin and believed in Jesus to save you, let me remind you that you are saved for all eternity. Can I also ask that you tell others of your remarkable conversion? This is one news item that Satan can't stand to hear.

And they overcame him (Satan) because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. (Rev. 12:11, addition mine)

Jesus died to save sinners and to keep them from a Christ-less eternity in hell…

It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners… (1 Tim. 1:15)

Those who refuse Christ's free offer of salvation and escape from the hell to come will ultimately go the way of Satan…

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Rev 20:10)

And if you are not sure of your eternal destination, then ask Jesus to humbly forgive you, based solely on His sacrificial death on Calvary's cross. This is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Submit therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7). Satan has been scheming to keep you from hearing the gospel. Please don't let him bring you down to the pit with him! Trust in Jesus and trust Jesus to bring you to heaven and home.

And heaven will be a melting pot of blood-bought people from all over the world - full of eternal Gentiles and eternal Jews!

Until next month (DV)…

Are you SURE that you have your place booked in Heaven? Read this if you're not!