And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceived the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Note: that is a lot of deception. [ which deceived the WHOLE world ]
Note: and where was he cast? Into the earth and his angels[demons] with him.
Think for just a few seconds. Satan, or Lucifer — had such charisma, that about one third of the angels LEAVE the LORD OF HOSTS, seemingly believing that Satan was the equal of Deity, or greater. What does this tell us about 1) Satan having a degree of power, and 2) the Almighty hiding or cloaking a LOT of His GODNESS. A Lot of angels threw in the lot with Satan. Fortunately, Lucifer’s hands are to a degree tied, or we would all be dead.
Note: The LORD did not run after these angels to entreat them to come back.
Note: Very few if any folks on this earth understand that. I certainly do not claim to.
Conclusion: Mankind, both men and women, are ill-equipped to deal with Satan and his angels on their own – [even though] – most men and women think they are smarter than they really are. How about you and me, do we think we are smarter than we really are? Be real!
Deception: Many kinds of deceptions exist. The kind that interests the coffee house at the moment, is the layered deception. Deception which pretends to use a modicum of truth to sugar coat the deception. But then go back 5 generations, or 5 layers for the seeds of the deception.
Anchors to hold to:
Let GOD be True and every man a liar. [If I or you disagree with scripture – we are liars in that area of our life, and in fact, our whole life will be infected with that leaven — but we would still think, we are smarter than we are.]
We should Make a decision to LOVE TRUTH lest we fall prey to deception.
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Tentative Conclusion: ONLY tentative: Lucifer is part of that delusion which is used to SHAKE out those who do not RECEIVE a Love of the Truth regardless of the cost.
Prayer Closet Note: Enter into the prayer closet in secret, without trumpets or fanfare – and ask the Holy Spirit to show you areas in your life you have not received a Love of the Truth. It IS your prayer closet.
Note: you are not praying about where others have not received a love of the truth, you are examining [yourself] to find repentance for areas of life you have not received a love of the truth. I.e., Do not judge others, judge yourself 😊.
Scripture Note:
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.