Is the Whole World Deceived, Except You?
Revelation 12:9 says Satan the Devil “deceives the whole world.” When you read that, are you thinking “Man, how can they be so foolish!”? Which is more, our overestimation of self or our underestimation of Satan?
Satan is such a master deceiver that so many people do not even believe he exists. Even many Christians! A Barna survey in 2009 found that only 35 percent of Christians thought Satan exists as a living being rather than personifying evil. You’d have to think that figure would be less in 2015.
In the cloak and dagger movies, the perfect strategy is to induce the opponents or victims to think you’re dead and no longer a force to reckon with so you can then carry out your schemes with ease.
Ephesians 2:2 identifies Satan as “the prince of the power of the air,” who broadcasts his attitudes and moods invisibly like radio and TV signals so that people are not aware of how he is influencing them any more than they are thinking about breathing.
In His Olivet Prophecy, Jesus warned that the end times would be so deceptive with false Christs and prophets that if it were possible, the very elect would be deceived (Matthew 24:24). We who have committed all to wanting to be the very elect should take that as a warning to “let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
A man of sin is coming who will deceive so many by out-of-this-world miracles that appear to be good. We today are being set up to want the assuring miracles and smooth talk he will dispense.
Jeremiah 10:23 says our own hearts are deceitful above all things. We are easy pickings for the master deceiver.
What’s the antidote for a spirit of antichrist? “A love of the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:10). We must study God’s Word, live it and have a developing relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ.
The Bible says Satan deceives the whole world. No exceptions.
Each of us needs to ask ourself: How am I being deceived?
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Robert Curry
Robert Curry and his wife Mary live in Canon City, Colorado and have three daughters and one son. Robert serves in the Colorado Springs congregation. He enjoys writing for UCG publications and writing a personal blog.
