The Coming Deception
When the disciples asked Jesus on the Mount of Olives about the signs of His coming, His first reply was, “Take heed that no one deceives you!” This answer is reported in all three synoptic Gospels. Jesus made clear to His disciples that a major battlefield of the last days will be the battle for truth. This battle will take place in society as well as within the church. The effect will be great, and Jesus says, “many will be led astray” (Matt. 24:5).
Also, the apostle Paul warns Timothy that deception of demonic origin will emerge within the church (1 Tim. 4:1). Paul alerts the church in Thessalonica that the antichrist will appear through lying signs and wonders and through wicked deception (1 Thess. 2:9–12). The people are going to willingly accept these lies because “they refused to love the truth” and because “they did not believe the truth” (vs. 10, 12).
Man’s Nature Gravitates Toward the Lie
These Scriptures indicate that man’s fallen nature gravitates toward deception and lies rather than truth. This also reveals that many deceptions do not just originate from misunderstanding, lack of education, or a false approach to the Scriptures, but come straight from hell and are of demonic origin. This makes these deceptions particularly dangerous as they carry with them a “demonic anointing” impacting men beyond their reasoning or education.
Their Power Is in Their Mouth
The book of Revelation portrays the eschatological battle between Satan’s system and the kingdom of God as a battle about who controls the airwaves. He who speaks the loudest and can influence and manipulate the best seems to have the upper hand. Here are a few examples:
- When the sixth trumpet sounds, John the apostle sees a gigantic army of horsemen; the horses have heads of lions. Their purpose is to kill. The most dangerous weapon is what comes out of the horses’ mouths—fire, smoke, and sulfur. John summarizes it this way: “The power of the horses is in their mouth” (Rev. 9:19). Interestingly, Jesus places the idea of Satan purposing to kill in direct relation to Satan also being the father of lies (John 8:44).
- In Revelation 12, the dragon (Satan) attacks the woman (Israel) who brought forth a male child (Jesus). The dragon hates the woman, and John sees the “serpent pouring out water like a river out of his mouth after the woman” (vs. 15). History gives ample evidence that since the coming of Messiah, there have been almost 2,000 years of demonic onslaught against the Jewish people. This flood of lies has had many shades from “Jews are Christ killers” to “they plot to control the world” to “they are a degenerate race that needs to be exterminated.” The list of wicked and demonic accusations is as long as the history of the Jewish people’s suffering.
- The beast that rises out of the sea is "given a mouth to speak great things and blasphemies” (Rev. 13:5), and the prophet of the beast looks like a lamb, but it speaks "like a dragon.” He gives breath to the image “to speak” (Rev. 13:11, 15). Again, a main capability of the anti-Christian system is described as powerful demonic deception that will not only target “those who dwell on earth,” but also it was given to the beast “to make war with the saints.”
- When the sixth bowl is poured out on the earth (Rev. 16:12), the consequence is that out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, three unclean spirits emerge that look like frogs that deceive “the kings of the whole earth.” This means the deceptive spirits will not only impact the man on the street but explicitly target government leaders and rulers.
- Even at the very last battle in Revelation (Rev. 20:8), Satan mobilizes the world by “deceiving the nations that are at the four corners of the world.” Their target again is the city of Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people.
The Arsenal of Satan
The art of communication (or miscommunication) seems to be the cornerstone of Satan's power. His mouth is his main weapon. The arsenal that he wields is prideful talk ... |
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