Deception can mean that we do not recognise the person for who they are. It can also mean that we blame someone else for something the agent of deception does. These are ways that the enemy uses to try to affect Christians. He does not need to come with 'horns blazing,' he can come as an angel of light - 2 Corinthians 11:14.

No wonder we are exhorted in 2 Corinthians 2:11 and Ephesians 6:11 not to be unaware of the enemy and his schemes. Some say that we should not talk about the enemy. I would agree that we should not exalt him above the revelation Scripture gives of him. I would agree that we should not concentrate more on the enemy that on Jesus Christ. However, God has taken the trouble to reveal certain aspects of Satan's character within Scripture and it is for our instruction and wellbeing that we understand these.

Satan's Character

Revelation 12:9 tells us that he is a deceiver. John 8:44 tells us that he is a liar but we are also shown from various incidents in Scripture that Satan does not always tell blatant lies but manipulates the truth. See for instance Acts 16:16 and 17. Here the demonic spirit in the girl actually told the people of Philippi to listen to the gospel Paul was preaching. What Satan was saying was using the truth because he was looking for credibility and control over the people.

Think for a minute what would have happened if Paul had not dealt with the demonic spirit before he left. The next day the girl would have been in the market place taking all the credit but adding that there were a few things that Paul wanted her to add! Whatever Satan says needs to be checked carefully because it will either be an outright lie or a twisting of the truth to enable him to gain control.

Matthew 4:1-11 also shows that Satan is the tempter, always seeking to find a way into our lives. 1 Peter 5:8 shows that he is seeking someone to devour. However, in all of this we must remember that Satan is not eternal as God is and he is not as great as God. Ephesians 6:12 shows that he works via a large army of followers, he is not able to be in every place as God can be. We should note here that the context of 1 Peter 5:8 and James 4:7 clearly shows we can resist Satan if we are submitted to Christ in our daily walk.

Garden of Eden

Paul though shows that there was one act of deception that summed up all the rest - the very first deception when Satan deceived Eve. Paul realised that Satan would use the same principles on the Christians in Corinth and was concerned that he would be able to deceive them just as he had Eve. Satan has not changed and potentially we can be deceived as Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1- 6).

Studying these verses carefully is an eye-opener into the way Satan tries to deceive God's people today. The very first thing Satan ever did was to try to take Eve off the firm foundation of God's Word. Did God really say that? How significant that these are the first words ever recorded that Satan said to a human being. We must learn the lesson and ensure that God's Word is our foundation.

If we accept that any of God's Word is not relevant today, the half-truths can start. Of course you will not die! Adam and Eve did not die physically but they did die spiritually. Satan is the master at manipulating the truth and spinning tales that seem right but are twisting the facts.

If you digest the last two paragraphs, you see just how vital it is to know the living Word of God in our lives today. One of Satan's great deceptions is to move us on to experience. Many aspects of Christianity today are based on feelings and experience to the extent that it is easier for Satan to deceive. Many Christians do not know the meaning of justification or sanctification and therefore are unable to answer Satan's half-truths with THE TRUTH! We need to be like Luke (1:3,4). First, examine. Then examine everything. Finally, examine everything carefully. The result was that he could communicate the facts he had examined in such a way that others could come to now the exact truth. Let that be our goal.

Finally, in the Garden we see that Satan uses the very words that caused his downfall - 'you will be like God.' (See Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28). If Satan can deceive us to believe that we can control our own destiny, that we need to act like 'God' on earth and that we are the master telling God what to do, then he has won. Our place is as the bondservant to the master - not declaring things that we want but speaking the words of the master. We need to be as the slave in Exodus 6 that willingly, out of love for his master said, I WILL serve you completely. Wherever he went after that he had the mark of his master on him, people saw that he did not just represent himself but was always willingly doing his master's will. Do we have the mark of the master or that of our own ambition?

No problems !
Many feel that they will always recognise the enemy and so they have nothing to fear - that is a position Satan loves for us to be in because he comes as the 'angel of light'. Most would accept a vision of an angel, especially one full of light, as being from God. Nevertheless, we are told here that Satan can put on this outward manifestation and counterfeit what God would say and do. If we are not on our guard, we can be deceived.

Remember Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh? God gave a sign, throw the rod on the ground and it would become a snake. But wait a minute, here comes all of Pharaoh's magicians working via black magic arts (Exodus 7:8-13) and they also throw their rods down and they become snakes. Which is of God and which not? Just looking at them you could never tell. We need to be aware of the power behind the act.

Here is when we begin to learn our security from deception. Not that we go around absolutely petrified and bound up by fear because of what Satan can do but we become more aware than ever of the weapons that God has given to set us free and keep us free. The Lord has instructed us not just to accept what we see but also to test the spirit that is behind it (1 John 4:1). It is not wrong to take a step back and test whether something is of God or not. No damage is done if after a little while you decide it is of God. However, if after investigation it is clearly the spirit of man or a demonic spirit you have saved yourself much hardship.

John also explains in 1 John 2:26 that we have an in-built warning system for our safety. The word 'anointing' is used in many ways today but here we see that the anointing of the Holy Spirit was primarily given so that we are aware of that which is deceptive from the evil one. As we are walking in the Spirit of God the alarm bell will go off and we can then check out the warning in a rational and calm manner. God is gracious in the defences that He has given us against deception.

Testing
2 Corinthians 11:4 underlines for us the sort of testing we can undertake. Here Paul talks of these deceivers coming with a different Jesus, spirit and gospel. We are clearly warned that we should test out these areas and if they are different to that which is revealed in Scripture we must reject them no matter how logical and appealing they are.

This warning is so clear but tragically even Christians get deceived today and they present a gospel which is not the true one, and have the doctrine of Jesus that is not from Scripture. However we should not be surprised when we read what Paul warned the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:24-31. There would be those who would rise up from the body of Christ to seek to lead true followers of Christ astray. The answer again is in the fact that they were to build their lives on the whole counsel that Paul had taught them. They were not to add to it or over-emphasise one aspect of it.

Such situations are not new. You only have to look at Revelation 2:6,15 to find the cult group called the "Nicolaitans" that were obviously having an effect on the early church. One group, interestingly those at Ephesus, were commended for hating the deeds of these people and the other group, at Pergamum, shown how wrong they were to accept the perverted teaching. We must take heed to this today and be ready to deal with wrong teaching on Jesus and the gospel and those who move with a wrong spirit.

This is the work of deception, leading people away from the purity of the Word of God and may be in time starting a group that does not even preach the true gospel or believe in the real Jesus. What are the safeguards then? How can we see that our lives are kept free from deception and how can we reach out to help others who may have been affected?

Protection
Ephesians 6:10-17 explains that we have armour that is given to us for protection and the basic element of the armour is the belt of TRUTH. Ephesians 4:15 encourages us to speak TRUTH to each other and John 1:14 tells us that Jesus came full of grace and TRUTH. The fundamental answer is something we have mentioned several times already, knowing the truth of the Lord in reality in our lives. We need to be continually exposing ourselves to the exposition of His Word. Not just to be hearers but also to be doers. We need to take to heart the parable of the sower and realise that Satan has three plans to take away the Word of the Lord from our hearts. However, if we resist him in all three and the seed enters in to the good ground - there will be fruit.

Ephesians 6:12 underlines that at times it will be a struggle but not against flesh and blood but rather against the enemy in all his works. We need to know our position in Christ.
As long as he is at large, Satan will deceive. As Christians therefore we need to be aware of his schemes and the answers to deception that are found in the completed work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

More details on this issue and all other matters concerning cults, occult and new age spirituality are available at the Reachout Trust website http://www.reachoutturst.org