Deception, Apostasy — How These Affect Your Spiritual Life

What is deception? How would you know when you have been deceived? And what is apostasy? How do these two evils work together?

Both of these forces have been at work ever since mankind arose from the swamp. Well, some believe we climbed up from “pond scum.” (That belief could be the result of deception, could it not?) Some don’t think so. Other’s have made a career of it. Both want you to agree with them.

But is that deception?

Or is it simply a lack of knowledge? After all there are no surviving witnesses, and even the proto-man or woman could not give testimony as to how they came to be, could they? Unless they were told.

Therefore, it is no surprise to realize that this entire world, people, nations, language, whatever, have been thoroughly deceived.

And, according to the written prophecies, it will get worse before deception of the masses is purged from humanity.

Here is where it gets difficult. …

The people on earth do not think they are deceived at all!

We go about our day to day routines. Clean our houses, huts, tents, boats, and igloos. and prepare and consume our food, run our errands, and work. We do all these things thinking that everything is normal and as it should be, or at most, “this is the best we got.”

Some people live miserable and unhappy lives, and that is sad. Others appear happy and carefree. Some even brag about “how good it is.”

But is the whole world deceived?

What forces, from the very beginning, have “pulled the wool over our eyes?”  And was that done intentionally, and by forces nobody has seen?

And after that, what did we think?

That we experienced “good” in the process.

Although, the story of Adam and Eve in the garden has become a cliche, the fact that they were victims of deception has been overlooked by most.  Eve took the “apple” and ate it, and then gave another to Adam. Why? Not because it “tasted” good. She had no idea about its taste until she took a bite out of it. But at the time these thoughts were in her mind:

(1) she “saw” that it was “good for food;”
(2) It was “pleasant to the eyes;”
(3) that it was “desirable to make one wise.”

How could she get all that information from the tree? How could she tell that it was good for food? And how could it “make her wise.”

It was in the “packaging” and the “sales pitch,” was is not?

These are all conclusions based upon information that she received from another source that morphed her thoughts into these conclusions. This was how the “apple” was “sold” to her, and she then used the same “reasoning” to “sell” it to Adam.

The next time you go shopping for food in your grocery store examine the packages and the “sell.” Look for statement that refer to “color” and “texture” of the product, particularly of vegetables. What do the words mean? Fresh, natural, organic, healthy? Is the package “pleasant to the eyes?” Do you find promises that the product will make you healthier? What does “vitamin enriched” mean? Why do foods need to be “enriched?” What does “low fat” mean? And is that good?

Why do pet food pieces come in different colors and shapes? Who is that for? Certainly not the pets. They prefer taste and smell as a way to measure value. But then, is it not possible that “taste” and “smell” can be engineered to appeal to your pets, even though the food may not be good for them? And pets don’t base their choice on either color or shape, do they?

Perform this same analysis on TV commercials. What are they selling? Really?

Now imagine that you have a vegetable and fruit garden. Do you need anyone to sell you on color, texture, taste, smell, feel or condition (fresh or not)?

Why then do the manufacturers and package designers go to such effort to convince us to buy their product? Because we believe their words and convince ourselves that we are making a “wise” decision when we buy a product on that basis alone, are we not?

A package in a plain white box with blue letters that says “crackers” or “beans” may be telling the truth, but we don’t often make buying decisions on the basis of truth, do we?

Before we move on, think about this: It is entirely possible to make kibbled human food that is rich in nutrients, fiber, essential fats, protein, carbohydrates, and has balanced PH and tastes delicious that we could buy in refillable and simply marked 50-pound containers, and on which we could live for our entire life. Don’t believe me? Talk to your dog or cat.

We must move on to some less obvious yet more powerful forms of deception.

The reason we eat what we eat, and buy what we buy, is because it makes is “happy.” We are willing to subject our emotions to some deception in the hope that we will feel good.

And this is when we really get overwhelmed by deception.

Would you want to have to live with something that makes you feel bad or unhappy? Don’t you want to feel good all the time?

That is why the most powerful forms of deception are effective on us.

Most people in the world do not know or are unaware of powerful spiritual forces at work whose main purpose is to blind us from the truth. Therefore we are convinced that truth is bad, but feeling good all the time is good.

There was a very interesting documentary on the History Channel on cable TV that told the story about how the Catholic Church became convinced that they, more than any other church, had the power to perform exorcisms.

Now when most people saw this show, I am sure that they were convinced that the Catholics came out on top, and the Protestants in second. At least that was the way it was presented. However, the assumption was that demon possession, which was the spine of the script, was only a terrible problem that sometimes happens to people like getting poison ivy.

Overlooked and probably completely missed in this historical event, was that the demons (also called “evil spirits”) were as much a player in this drama as the church officials!

Now I know that few people believe that demons exists. And nothing I can say would convince them otherwise. But like prophecy, people do not need to know about or believe a prophecy for it to be fulfilled. Prophecy does not depend upon us either believing it or not. Spiritual forces bring it about.

So it is with negative spiritual forces. They can do what they do whether we know about it or not, and our belief or disbelief at the time has no effect. However, as we shall see, our beliefs are very often the target of negative spiritual forces.

We are ignorant of events taking place in our foreground and background that are controlled by hidden spiritual forces.

Two things happen.

• First, we see the event.
• Second, we are given thoughts about it.

We never think that both the event and the thoughts about it could be part of a well-planned deception.

The story told about six nuns who suddenly “came down with” a bad case of demon possession. This presented an opportunity for the Catholic Church to once and for all prove to the people that they had the “power” to cast out demons. So they brought in the experts, who proceeded to perform their incantations, candle and incense burning, prayers, crucifix waving, and scripture reading. Then after enough world attention had been drawn to this unusual case, the demons “magically” left the six nuns.

And the advantage goes to whom?

In the eyes of both the church and the people, the commonly accepted thought was that the church won and that it “had the power.”

Was that the truth? Or was something far more evil at work?

To understand what really happened we must be aware of the “dark side.”

Who really had control over this event?

What caused the nuns to be “demon possessed?” At the time “demon possession” was a question raised by both Protestants and Catholics. After all did not the scriptures say that the “followers of Jesus” should be able to “cast out demons?” Well, the scriptures don’t put it that way exactly, but people do.

Now, whether or not someone believes in demons or evil spirits doesn’t matter in this situation, does it? The people saw or only heard about the nuns and their actions, and in their minds they were convinced that this was a major case of “demon possession.” They also came to believe that whoever “cast out” these evil spirits must be, according to “logic,” the “one true church,” right?

From the point of view of the demons, here is what really happened.

Masses became concerned as a consequence of church teachings that there was something about cases of  unexplained mental illnesses that must be “dealt with.” The evil spirits saw this as an opportunity to gain even greater control over the religion, so they hatched a plan.

If the evil spirits could convince the people that the main religious body had superior power, they could gain influence over the church leaders, in the eyes of the people, by appealing to their ego and lust for this power. This would cause the masses to flock to the church and be even more subjugated to its influence.

The conditions were in place to stage a massive demonstration (note that word contains the word “demon” ). Therefore, the evil spirits decided to use the nuns by controlling their minds and bodies as a tool to sway the masses. This drew widespread attention and competition between Protestants and Catholics. The Protestants had their own real or imagined cases of demon possession, but the Catholics had demon possessed nuns!

Then, as noted above, the “experts” came, and, in time, the evil spirits left the nuns. And as a result, the demons, who had the power to possess and “not possess,” convinced the Catholic Church leaders about a supposed “power” and thereby millions of people were deceived and drawn into the apostasy!

{Apostasy, by the way, means a way of life that is based on something other than the true foundation — the kind of life prevailing in the world.)

The demons or evil spirits succeeded in the deception. The Protestants and the Catholic Church and millions of people lost. Their entire belief system changed and exorcism has become a major part of the Church’s system.

If demons exist, is there any clue as to their origin?

Yes, there is!

The Scriptures, as we know them, raises questions and does not provide the answers. Therefore, it remains for us to search out the meanings. For more information about this process click here. 

Here is one of those mysterious statements for which the Scriptures provides little information.

And it came to be, when men began to increase on the earth, and daughters were born to them that the sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men that they were good. And they took wives for  themselves of all who they chose.

The Nephilim [giants] were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of Elohim came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. From Genesis 6

There is no point in speculating as to the meaning of this passage. Many translators and preachers have perverted what is summarized here. Some claim that beings from other planets invaded the earth. And others draw a distinction between races, and try to pass along the idea that the line of Seth intermarried with the line of Cain.

There is no need to speculate as long as we have a more detailed scriptural reference that must be considered first. The apostles quoted from this document. Therefore, in their mind, this document was considered as having the authority and reliability of Scripture. The document is the Book of Enoch or I Enoch.

The Book of Enoch, or I Enoch contains five books. The first book is known as “The Book of the Watchers.” The following section from that book provides more detail about the questions raised by Genesis 6 …

Chapter 15

“And the Lord answered and said to me, and I heard His voice:

“ ‘Do not be afraid, Enoch, you man of right doing and writer of what is right. Approach Me and hear my voice. Go, say to the Watchers of heaven, who have sent you to intercede for them:

‘ “You should intercede for Mankind, and not Mankind for you. Why have you left the high, set apart, and eternal heaven, and had intercourse with women, and defiled yourselves with the daughters of Mankind, and taken to yourselves wives, and done like the children of earth, and conceived giants as your sons?

‘ “And though you were set-apart, spiritual, and living the eternal life, you defiled yourselves with the blood of women, and conceived children with the blood of flesh, and, like the children of men, lusted after flesh and blood like those who die and perish, which is why I gave them wives that they might impregnate them and produce children by them, so that nothing might be lacking to them on earth.

‘ “But you were formerly spiritual, living the eternal life, and immortal for all generations of the world, which is why I have not appointed wives for you, because for the spiritual ones of heaven, heaven is their home.”

“ ‘And now, the giants, who are produced from the spirits and flesh, will be called evil spirits on the earth, and the earth will be their home. Evil spirits proceeded from their bodies because they are born from Mankind and from the set-apart Watchers. From this came their beginning and primary origin. They will be evil spirits on earth, and “evil spirits” they will be called.

“ ‘As for the spirits of heaven, in heaven shall be their home. But for the spirits of the earth, which were born upon the earth, on the earth will be their dwelling.

“ ‘And the spirits of the giants [will continue to] afflict, oppress, destroy, attack, do battle, and work destruction on the earth, and cause trouble. But they take no food, even though they hunger, thirst, and cause offences. And these spirits will rise up against the children of men, and against the women because they proceeded from them.

Chapter 16

“ ‘From the days of the slaughter, destruction, and death of the giants, from whose flesh the [evil] spirits have gone forth and these will corrupt [deceive] without incurring judgment - thus they will  corrupt [deceive] until the day of their ultimate end, the great judgment in which the age will come to an end; until everything is concluded upon the Watchers and the godless.’ “

From “Enoch: The Book Behind the Bible”

We are not alone!

What this passage tells us is that we share this world with evil spirits who deceive and lead us astray. Unless we have the Spirit of Elohim, we are vulnerable to powerful deception that can remain undetected.

If you have the “ears that hear and the eyes that see,” then you will understand what I am about to say. …

We are getting much closer to the end of this age. This has also the time when judgment will be meted out upon the Watchers, their offspring — the evil spirits, those messengers in heaven who have also followed after the adversaries, and those on earth who are also called the wicked and who have aligned with the adversaries. Their power is going to be taken away and given to the righteous, the doers of right.

As the line is “drawn in the sand,”   the “great judgment” will happen on earth at the end of this age — the Seventh Week of Enoch’s vision. The spiritual powers of heaven and those on the earth will be focused upon the earth where the final battles will take place.

One of the key weapons will be great deception and the people of the earth, whose names have not been written in the “Lamb’s Book of Life,” will be captured by the deception and join forces and give allegiance to the Great Deceiver. Armies of hundreds of millions will wage war against the righteous and the elect or chosen.

This will require patient endurance and trust on the part of the righteous and elect, and they will be saved out of this when the armies of the evil ones will be destroyed. Then the deceivers, both the Watchers (the angels that sinned) and the evil spirits will be removed from their positions of influence and no one will be a prisoner to them again forever.

Now is not the time to sleep or become hardened. This is the time when the righteous and the elect will become clean and pure. They will know who they are and what has been promised from the foundation of the world. Then, as the day draws ever closer, they will lift up their hearts and embrace the future, where their hope waits for them.