The Great Deception :: By Nathele Graham

[Andy C]

Graham
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:25-28).

Deception is a trick used by magicians. They distract you into looking one way while they manipulate a card deck or other item to seem as if something has happened magically. Deception isn’t a godly attribute when used to deceive people into believing a lie, but most people have used it at one time or another in life. You might tell your child to clean her room. When you go and check on her work, the room is nice and clean. Just don’t look in the closet or under the bed.

When Jesus spoke of the last days, He warned us not to be deceived. Jesus said it, so Christians should be watchful and only trust Scripture. Today there are many people who fill pulpits or write books who are far from Scriptural in what they say. Many people are deceived by New Age teaching or by the “name-it-and-claim-it” preachers, or by those who make it seem as if accepting sinful lifestyles is the Christian thing to do. We can’t change the world, but we can’t allow the world to change the church. Jesus warned us against deception.

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15).

In today’s world, instead of counting sheep in order to fall asleep, you can count the wolves who seem like sheep.

Deception has been around as long as humanity has been on Earth. Satan deceived Eve with his lies. “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Timothy 2:14).

Satan convinced Eve that God was wrong and the Forbidden Fruit was really good. Deceit is Satan’s favorite tool, and it didn’t stop with Adam and Eve.

God’s plan was to establish a nation to bless the entire world. God called Abraham to be the father of that nation. The nation of Israel came through Abraham’s son Isaac. Isaac and his wife Rebekah had twin sons; Esau was the firstborn, and Jacob was the younger. Rebekah and Jacob conspired to deceive Isaac into giving his blessing to Jacob instead of the older son Esau. Rebekah told Jacob to pretend to be Esau and take Isaac some food. Jacob was willing, but Esau was a man with a lot of hair, while Jacob wasn’t so hairy. Jacob knew that Isaac, who had failing eyesight, would touch him and know he wasn’t Esau.

“My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing” (Genesis 27:12).

Rebekah had a plan for that, too. She dressed Jacob in Esau’s clothing and used the hair from goats to deceive Isaac. Jacob did receive the blessing, but deception always causes turmoil, and there was much bitterness between Jacob and Esau. Jacob was the son whom God chose to establish the nation of Israel, and He would have made the way for that to happen had Jacob not deceived Isaac. Jacob had many struggles because he and his mother didn’t wait for God to act, but relied on deception.

The Great Deception :: By Nathele Graham

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves

www.raptureready.com

 

[mattfivefour]

Another solid article by Nathale!

But I noticed that in it she wrote something that gives us an opportunity to understand why the fall is ascribed to Adam and not Eve. And it's found in the following:

Satan deceived Eve with his lies. “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Timothy 2:14).

Yes, Eve was deceived. But Adam wasn't. Let that sink in. Adam was not deceived. That means he deliberately disobeyed God. For whatever reason (and we can surmise at least a couple related to his love for Eve) but for whatever reason, Adam deliberately chose to do what seemed good to him rather than obey God. This is why Adam became the first sinner: not because he was deceived like Eve, but because he chose to disobey God. He didn't fall into sin, he deliberately chose it.

This is an interesting revelation. But it is more than merely a theological concept: it has direct implications for us.

The sin we commit inadvertently is a result of the "old man" (as Paul described our old nature) still present in us. But our sin nature was dealt with at the Cross, so inadvertent sin is not a real problem: it is an artifact. And the closer we draw to God, the less it will trouble us. (I personally do not think it will ever completely cease while we are still in these cities fleshly bodies. But it will more and more lose its power.) Its presence, therefore, should never cause us to doubt our salvation.

However, it is not the acute attacks of the old man that should trouble us. It is chronic disobedience that should. It's not falling through the weakness of the flesh but deliberate feeding on sinful thoughts and intentionally disobeying what we know is God's command that should trouble us. It is this alone that should drive us to our knees in fear and trembling. It is this that should cause us to purposefully and unceasingly cry out to God for His grace and His power to remove this thing. Until we do, we will always find ourselves in the position of claiming Christ while pleasing ourselves. And this is a dangerous place to be, for God is not mocked. When we come to Christ for salvation, we have to be serious that we truly want Christ ... not simply want to avoid eternity in the Lake of Fire.

No, I am not speaking of Lordship Salvation. I am not saying that unless Christ is Lord of every aspect of your life that you are not saved. We are saved when we change our mind about God and life (repent) and decide to go God's way by accepting Christ. That's it. The reality is that at that very moment something supernatural occurs. There is the instant start of an irreversible inner spiritual change that occurs (2 Corinthians 5:17). And from that point we are no longer the same.

Sadly, some self-willed individuals can experience an emotional moment but have no true desire for God and thus have no inner change. They are like the ground where the seed falls but is taken away by the birds and never takes root. (Matthew 13:4; Mark 4:4) Thus they continue to walk in their old life with no interest in a new life. But that is not those who truly want to please God, despite failing often.

We all do sin inadvertently and also through weakness; however we live in the assurance that the blood of Christ continually cleanses us (1 John 1:7). But purposeful disobedience has consequences.

Yes, God is ever faithful and just to forgive us our sin, as we confess it (1 John 1:8) ... which means simply to acknowledge our action as sin. But continued disobedience results in a stunting of our spiritual growth, a failure to grow into what God designed for us. Continuing in disobedience confirms us in the nature of Adam, rather than conforms us to the nature of Christ. Hence, we do not gain increasing proximity to God, we do not gain a greater sense of our purpose, and we lose out on the power to pursue both our purpose and do the good works that God has prepared for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10). As a result, we will ultimately fail to fulfill the purpose for which God created us. What a sad, sad thing that would be: an eternity in Heaven but without all of the riches God intended for us to have there.

Anyway, those are all the thoughts that flowed through my mind as I thought on 1 Timothy 2:14. I leave you with the exhortation of Philippians 3:12-14.

"12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus."​

Let us place those words before our eyes daily, so that with Paul we may one day say:

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)​

Anyway, great article by Nathale Graham! I hope it blessed you. But I also hope my words help someone as well.

 

[Andy C]

Another solid article by Nathale!

But I noticed that in it she wrote something that gives us an opportunity to understand why the fall is ascrubed to Adam and not Eve. And it's found in the following:

Yes, Eve was deceived. But Adam wasn't. Let that sink in. Adam was not deceived. That means he deliberately disobeyed God. For whatever reason (and we can surmise at least a couple related to his love for Eve) but for whatever reason, Adam deliberately chose to do what seemed good to him rather than obey God. This is why Adam became the first sinner: not because he was deceived like Eve, but because he chose to disobey God. He didn't fall into sin, he deliberately chose it.

This is an interesting revelation. But it is more than merely a theological concept: it has direct implications for us.

The sin we commit inadvertently is a result of the "old man" (as Paul described our old nature) still present in us. But our sin nature was dealt with at the Cross, so inadvertent sin is not a real problem: it is an artifact. And the closer we draw to God, the less it will trouble us. (I personally do not think it will ever completely cease while we are still in these cities fleshly bodies. But it will more and more lose its power.) Its presence, therefore, should never cause us to doubt our salvation.

However, it is not the acute attacks of the old man that should trouble us. It is chronic disobedience that should. It's not falling through the weakness of the flesh but deliberate feeding on sinful thoughts and intentionally disobeying what we know is God's command that should trouble us. It is this alone that should drive us to our knees in fear and trembling. It is this that should cause us to purposefully and unceasingly cry out to God for His grace and His power to remove this thing. Until we do, we will always find ourselves in the position of claiming Christ while pleasing ourselves. And this is a dangerous place to be, for God is not mocked. When we come to Christ for salvation, we have to be serious that we truly want Christ ... not simply want to avoid eternity in the Lake of Fire.

No, I am not speaking of Lordship Salvation. I am not saying that unless Christ is Lord of every aspect of your life that you are not saved. We are saved when we change our mind about God and life (repent) and decide to go God's way by accepting Christ. That's it. The reality is that at that very moment something supernatural occurs. There is the instant start of an irreversible inner spiritual change that occurs (2 Corinthians 5:17). And from that point we are no longer the same.

Sadly, some self-willed individuals can experience an emotional moment but have no true desire for God and thus have no inner change. They are like the ground where the seed falls but is taken away by the birds and never takes root. (Matthew 13:4; Mark 4:4) Thus they continue to walk in their old life with no interest in a new life. But that is not those who truly want to please God, despite failing often.

We all do sin inadvertently and also through weakness; however we live in the assurance that the blood of Christ continually cleanses us (1 John 1:7). But purposeful disobedience has consequences.

Yes, God is ever faithful and just to forgive us our sin, as we confess it (1 John 1:8) ... which means simply to acknowledge our action as sin. But continued disobedience results in a stunting of our spiritual growth, a failure to grow into what God designed for us. Continuing in disobedience confirms us in the nature of Adam, rather than conforms us to the nature of Christ. Hence, we do not gain increasing proximity to God, we do not gain a greater sense of our purpose, and we lose out on the power to pursue both our purpose and do the good works that God has prepared for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10). As a result, we will ultimately fail to fulfill the purpose for which God created us. What a sad, sad thing that would be: an eternity in Heaven but without all of the riches God intended for us to have there.

Anyway, those are all the thoughts that flowed through my mind as I thought on 1 Timothy 2:14. I leave you with the exhortation of Philippians 3:12-14.

"12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus."​

Let us place those words before our eyes daily, so that with Paul we may one day say:

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)​

Anyway, great article by Nathale Graham! I hope it blessed you. But I also hope my words help someonev as well.

Excellent post brother!

 

[Andy C]

From the OP:

“Many who are deceived by the idea of friendly aliens call them our “space brothers” and say that we evolved from them. The pope even said he would baptize them. Yep, that’s deception, and a total lack of understanding about who Jesus is and why He entered His creation. Don’t be deceived by people who sound as if they are authorities about our “space brothers.” There’s a spiritual realm around us. God’s angels can come through on occasion, but so can Satan’s evil minions. The way to keep from being deceived is to study Scripture and understand what God says. You’ll never be deceived if you believe God’s word”.

 

[Spartan Sprinter]

From the OP:

“Many who are deceived by the idea of friendly aliens call them our “space brothers” and say that we evolved from them. The pope even said he would baptize them. Yep, that’s deception, and a total lack of understanding about who Jesus is and why He entered His creation. Don’t be deceived by people who sound as if they are authorities about our “space brothers.” There’s a spiritual realm around us. God’s angels can come through on occasion, but so can Satan’s evil minions. The way to keep from being deceived is to study Scripture and understand what God says. You’ll never be deceived if you believe God’s word”.

Yeah even Obama just casually dropped that Aliens were real even though he never actually seen them LOL