DECEPTION Series - Part 3

DECEPTION – 3

FROM HEAVEN TO EARTH TO THE PIT

Written by: Pravin Moudgill

All references are from NKJV except where specified otherwise

God’s kingdom is a kingdom of love-truth. Satan’s kingdom is kingdom of lies.

• John 8:44 “(The devil) is a liar and the father of it.”

As long as Satan is on earth He will continue to deceive through lies. He must be removed for truth to be established permanently. 

• Mt 12:29 “first binds…strong man…then…plunder his house.”

Removing Satan is finished work, therefore easy.

• John 19:30 “It is finished!” 
• Mt 11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Jesus did it through us on the cross; He will now do it through us on earth.

He paid the penalty for us.

Believers

Satan’s hold, his lies and deception, have to first be removed from the believers.

A believer who is only a hearer is still in deception. A doer, he only is free.

Note:  Consider Lazarus as an illustration: He was alive, yet bound. He had to be freed before he could become functional.

John 11:43-44 “He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth…"Loose him, and let him go."”

• James 1:22-25 “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves…25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty (freedom) and continues in it (he is free)” 

As a believer is discipled, as the truth is written in his mind-heart through obedience, he is freed.

• John 17:17 “Your word is truth.”
• John 8:31-32 “Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in (do) My word, you are My disciples indeed.  32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."” 

Earth

God’s army of heaven threw Satan out from heaven to earth.

• Rev 12:7-12 “7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail… 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him…12…the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” 

Satan’s ‘short time on earth’ is over. He is now to be cast from earth to the bottomless pit. 

God’s armies on earth comprise of both disciples and angels.

Note:  We who are seated with God on His throne Rev 3:21 have greater authority than angels. 

• Rev 20:1-3 “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.” 

Note:  The casting down is ‘signified’ (i.e. represented by a sign or symbol Rev 1:1) as an event brought about by a single angel. In actuality however it is a process, brought about by the armies of God. 

Overcomers

A disciple is an overcomer—he has through obedience unto death Phil 2:8 ‘laid down his life and thereby overcome the self’.

One who has overcome the self has overcome the world and Satan 1 Jn 5:4-5, Rev 12:11.

He has the word in his mind and heart; he has the keys and prevails.

• Mt 16:18-19 “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

God converts us from believers to disciples, He ‘polishes’ us through trials and tribulations. 

• Isa 49:2 “He has made My mouth like a sharp sword…made Me a polished shaft (arrow).” 

Through death God polishes us into becoming an ‘arrow of death’, and shoots us against Satan.

Note:  “we are the smell of death leading only to more death” 2 Cor 2:16 CJB

   

Process

As we persevere in warfare Satan’s kingdom becomes weaker, and God’s kingdom stronger.

• 2 Sam 3:1 “there was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David. But David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker.”

Note:  Satan is our food Num 14:9; fighting him is part of our daily bread. The more we fight the stronger we grow. 

The war must continue a long time—till Satan is thrown out. 

• 2 Kings 13:17-19 “"The arrow of the Lord's deliverance…you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them." 18…"Take the arrows…Strike the ground"; so he struck three times, and stopped. 19…"You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times."” 

The king stopped half-way. He failed to destroy Syria. He failed his assignment. 

Faithful

Many are called but few chosen Mt 20:16. When I war against Satan then I am faithful.

• Rev 17:14 “(The beast and his kings) will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them…those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

See below for what is bothering Jesus: 

• Luke 18:8 “when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

Will I really be found faithful? Or would I have failed my calling, like the king above?

Note:  Most of us stop warring when Satan stops bothering us. That is being selfish, not faithful.

In order for Jesus to come, Satan must go. And the time has come.

Move from defensive to offensive warfare—an unceasing offensive against Satan.

Also pray that God’s army grows: people become believers and then disciples.

Note:  To obey every command includes total destruction of Satan and his works. We have the authority Mt 10:1.

DECEPTION Series: Part 2

DECEPTION – 2

THE GREATEST BLESSING: THE WORD

Written by: Pravin Moudgill

All references are from NKJV except where specified otherwise

Deceivers: Satan, heart

Satan and my heart, these are both deceptive beyond imagination. In partnership they deceive the whole world.

• Rev 12:9 “the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” 
• Jer 17:9 “The heart (the self) is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked”

Note:  ‘Desperately wicked’ is translated as: ‘desperately sick’ NASU, ‘incurable’ YLT, ‘mortally sick’ i.e. a sickness that ends in death CJB

They are both incurable. There is only one end for them—Satan: lake of fire; self: crucifixion.

Deception

Deception begins when I choose to not believe the word—I then end up believing what is false.

Note:  ‘I am deceived’ means that I believe something that is contrary to the word. 

Some types of truths that we choose to not believe are: 

Note:  There are many other types of unbeliefs, e.g. ‘predestination and free will are opposing truths, therefore they cannot both be true.’

“I cannot believe because…”

“…it is too good to be true”: e.g. ‘to gain God here and now’ 1 Chron 16:11, Phil 3:7-10.

“…it is impossible to achieve”: e.g. ‘to come to the stature of the fullness of Christ’ Eph 4:13, ‘to be filled with all the fullness of God’ Eph 3:19.

“…God will never do harm”: e.g. ‘eating the fruit will lead to death’ Gen 2:17, ‘if I do not forgive I will not be forgiven’ Mt 6:14-15—or other warnings and negative truths.

Consequences

The disciples did not believe that Jesus would die (a negative truth). See below for consequences

• Mt 16:22 “(Jesus said that He must be killed.) Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"” 

Heart: Unbelief hardens the heart. Because they were not willing to believe His death they could not therefore believe that He would rise again. 

• Mark 16:14 “Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart”

Mind: Unbelief also ‘hardens’ the mind. The mind can no longer understand the scriptures. Jesus had to open the minds of the disciples.

• Luke 24:45 “He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures” 

Unbelief spreads: Unbelief hardens the mind and the heart and leads to further unbelief—it spreads into other areas of life. The disciples were e.g. not willing to believe Jesus’ death; they were therefore deceived about their love for Him.

• Mt 26:35 “Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And so said all the disciples.” 

But they all forsook Him; and Peter even denied Him.

Freedom

A person not walking in the truth is in bondage, he is in a spiritual prison. But truth sets free.

• John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Freedom begins when I say ‘yes’ to the word—when I choose to believe. The Author of Faith then begins to put the word in my mind and heart Heb 12:2, 8:10-11—He gifts me faith.

Cure

The word of God is a mirror that exposes deception.

• James 1:22-23 “(when a man looks into) the word…(it) is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror.” 

The word is the ‘law of liberty’; it shows me my bondage, and as I obey, I am set free.

• James 1:25 “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” 

The degree to which I am a doer of the word to that degree I am set free from spiritual prison.

• James 1:22-25 “But be doers of the word…25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it…this one will be blessed in what he does.” 

Understanding-believing-doing is the greatest blessing. It frees me to set others free Rom 8:21.

• Gal 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” NIV 

Important: To study and understand but not do takes me deeper into deception.

• James 1:22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

I cannot blame Satan; then it is I who is deceiving me. 

Day of Judgment

I will be judged by the very words that I did not accept.

• John 12:48 “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him — the word that I have spoken (which he did not receive) will judge him in the last day.” 

This is because to reject any part of the written word is to reject Jesus, the Living Word.

Always

I have to be losing my life always, I have to deny the self always Lk 9:23-24. As I deny through understanding-believing-doing the kingdom will come in me and through me into the world.

To understand the word increasingly I have to meditate on it always Josh 1:8—the word will renew my mind increasingly Rom 12:2.

To believe the word increasingly I have to be praying always 1 Thess 5:17—praying that the word be written in my heart increasingly Heb 8:10-11, and doing it according to my ability.

To do the word increasingly I have to be praying for (1) willingness to obey increasingly, and for (2) increase in ability to obey Phil 3:13—I will then be living the word increasingly.

As I do the above Jesus overcomes my ‘self’; He takes control of my life increasingly. And overcomes the world and Satan through me increasingly 1 Jn 5:4-5, Rev 12:11.

Blessing

‘Kingdom of God on the earth’ means: ‘everything conforms to the written word’.

The Word living in me in my stead, and His kingdom on earth—these are the greatest blessings.

The written word is the source of these greatest blessings.

DECEPTION Series - Part 1

DECEPTION - 1

WHICH BLESSING?

Written by: Pravin Moudgill

All references are from NKJV except where specified otherwise

God, or hell

God wants to me to possess Him. He wants me bless me with Himself. There is a precondition however: If I want Him then I must not have anything else.

• Ezek 44:28 “It shall be, in regard to their inheritance, that I am their inheritance. You shall give them no possession in Israel, for I am their possession.” 

I can have everything else except God, but then I will end up in hell.

• Luke 9:25 “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?” 

Cost of gaining Jesus

In order to gain Jesus I have to give up everything else.

• Phil 3:7-8 “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” 

If I decide that the only blessing I want is Christ Himself, then I have to first sit down and make a list of all the other blessings that I will have to give up.

• Luke 14:26-33 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate…his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.  27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  28…sit down first and count the cost…33 So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.” 

I can begin to follow Him, I can begin my journey as a disciple only if I first understand the cost of following Him, and decide to pay the price. The decision has to be mine. He will then provide the willingness and the ability to follow.

Power of Satan

Satan is the ruler of the world Jn 12:31, 14:30, 16:11. He has authority to grant every blessing of the world.  

Note:  (All power, including the power that Satan exercises comes from God). 

Rev 13:15 “He (Satan) was granted power (by God) to give breath to the image of the beast.”

God grants power to bless to others also, to those who do not know Him, e.g. Mt 7:21-23.)

The blessings he grants will however cease when the world ceases.

The whole world

He can grant the whole world.

• Mt 4:8-9 “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

False signs

Satan can do miracles, cast out demons, provide healing, promotion, and other blessings.

• Mt 24:24 “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” 
• 2 Thess 2:9,  “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders”

Note:  A ‘lying wonder’ is a wonder that comes from Satan, and not from God.

See also Rev 19:20, Rev 16:14, Acts 8:9-11. Pharaoh’s magicians too duplicated many of the miracles that God did through Moses Ex 7:11-12, 21-22, 8:5-7.

Casting out demons

Jews, who rejected Jesus, even they cast out demons.

• Luke 11:19 “And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.” 

Tantriks and others cast out demons; but they do so by the power the higher demon.

Raise from dead

God raises the dead.

Satan too has the power to raise the dead. 

Note:  He exercises power only with the permission of and within the limits set by God as e.g. in the case of Job. God grants him this power in order to test our hearts. 

The beast (one who ruled on behalf of Satan Rev 13:2) had seven heads Rev 13:1. One of his heads was killed, but Satan raised it back to life.

• Rev 13:3 “One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound (also CJB, NASB) had been healed.” NIV
• Rev 13:3 “And I saw one of its heads as slain to death, and its deadly stroke was healed” YLT

Note:  ‘Fatal’ means that which causes death.

Make an image come alive

God made dust come alive Gen 2:7. 

Satan too has the power to make an image come alive.

• Rev 13:15 “He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.”

Choice

I have to decide what is it that I want?

1. The world and all that is in it, or
2. Christ only, and Him crucified.


I cannot seek both.


Freedom from deception begins when I choose the crucified Christ.
I grow in freedom as I cooperate with the Spirit to remove all else from my heart.

DECEPTION Series - Introduction

DECEPTION

INTRODUCTION

Study written by: Pravin Moudgill, 

All references are from NKJV except where specified otherwise

Adam and Eve were appointed to rule on behalf of God Gen 1:26-28.

Satan took over from them, with their cooperation—they helped through unbelief.

Their unbelief led to deception which led to bondage.

Satan continues to rule the nations with our help—through our unbelief; unbelief leading to deception, deception leading to disobedience, disobedience resulting in spiritual death.

• Isa 25:7 “There is a veil covering all nations and people. This veil is called "death."” E-t-R

For the kingdom to come the following have all to be removed:

Ignorance of the word, unbelief, deception, and disobedience; and the Deceiver Rev 20:1-3.

The root of disobedience is deception; the root of deception is not knowing that the word is true.

• Mt 22:29 “You are deceived, because you don't know the scriptures…” NET 

The root of deception is unbelief as e.g. in the case of Adam and Eve.

There is unbelief within the church also.

Jesus’ concern as He sought to bring in the kingdom was: ‘Will I really find faith’ Lk 18:8?

• He was concerned about lack of faith. This is because all the forms of ungodliness that we see in the church and in the world are the fruit of our unbelief.

That is also why the first thing that the Spirit does—as He seeks to bring in the kingdom of God—the first thing He does is to show us our unbelief Jn 16:8-9.

The kingdom of God is the kingdom of truth.

It was God’s people who brought in deception and gave the kingdom to Satan.

It is God’s people who have to bring in truth and take the kingdom from him.

In order to bring in the truth it is important that we become aware of our deceptions.