Victims of Self-Deception

The enemy of the soul wants to instill in me his view of life. His task includes distorting my worldview and removing Christ from my consciousness. This is what Satan constantly does, using all his wisdom and cunning. The arsenal of the crafty one has enough means, and he does not shy away from anything that would help him in carrying out his plans.

Lies have acquired such a convincing color and have become so popular that they no longer cause concern even among God's children.

Belief in lies leads me to self-deception. If someone tries to deceive me, I can compare their information with my understanding and recognize the trick, but if I start convincing myself of a lie, all my protective barriers rapidly collapse, and evil enters my life unhindered and becomes part of me. And I am sure that everything is under control, that God will definitely protect me if I make a mistake, that my sincerity will be my justification if I believe a lie and start living in it.

"All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death." 1 John 5:17.

If someone rewrote the history of my country and taught me this in school, it's not so terrible, although it forms my thinking according to the information received.

But if someone paraphrased the Bible and interprets the truth to me in their own way, it becomes very dangerous, because the perversion of God's words distorts my understanding of God and His plan of Salvation.

The enemy of the soul has a tactic by which he successfully directs my attention to secondary things, exaggerating them, but at the same time pushing the main thing aside or making it something insignificant.

Let's consider such a situation using the example of the message to Laodicea. The Lord knows what awaits us during the time before the Second Coming. For me to be ready for the upcoming events and be fully armed, Jesus sends me His message, hoping that I will study and observe it. In other places in the Bible, I am given indirect evidence that without oil reserves, without God's seal, without faith in Jesus, without obedience to God's commandments, without a wedding garment, I have no chance of salvation, and I will be recognized as a wicked person whom Jesus does not know.

In peacetime, I served in the army, and sometimes I was given a rifle without bullets. During exercises, it had to be with me everywhere, day and night. It was such a burden that no one liked, especially during sleep, and everyone tried to get rid of this object when going to sleep. And the officers knew this and didn't check us very much. And I was afraid that my rifle might be stolen, so I didn't part with it. But this was in peacetime, and I never understood what I was protecting.

But if we take wartime, everything changes radically. All the knowledge gained comes to life, and the presence of weapons and ammunition makes me a capable warrior, dressed in the uniform of my country. A rifle without bullets, and a cannon without shells means certain death for me in case of an enemy attack. I have nothing to resist the opponent, and I become an easy target for him. And the absence of military clothing misleads my comrades in arms, and they may consider me an enemy and destroy me. And if I don't have knowledge about how to use the arsenal that I was entrusted with and ordered to act with, then I won't be able to benefit my army. It's also worth considering my attitude, which can inspire others, or it can weaken hands and instill panic and fear of the enemy's power.

Such things are taken into account in any army, and commanders quickly identify all shortcomings and all panic-mongers, taking decisive measures to correct the situation.

God repeatedly warns us about the time of trouble, about the last battle, about His Coming and the end of the history of our world. He makes it clear that we will become direct participants in these events, and a collision is inevitable. The fire of trials will be seven times stronger than expected, and our enemies will definitely throw us into it. Whether I want it or not, I will have to face all the difficulties that I will need to overcome in order to come out a winner. And the Lord has already determined me for victory and even announced my reward. Victory in the last battle differs from all other victories won in calmer conditions.

In peacetime, my rifle without bullets instilled fear in the civilian population, and they looked at me with respect as their protector. And I served in a country that was the victor in World War II and was a representative of a mighty army, although I had neither knowledge nor bullets.

Now I am in the army of Christ, Who has already conquered this world, and will gain the final victory over the forces of evil, casting all His opponents into the lake of fire. I am satisfied with belonging to such an organization, and even the absence of bullets in my spiritual rifle does not worry me much. I conduct the usual battles with myself and my habits. I know where the enemy is hiding, and I don't enter his territory. I have a Bible at home in several copies, it is also loaded on my phone in different languages in all possible translations, and I can even listen to it while working. Also, the works of the Spirit of Prophecy are always at hand, and I have the opportunity to quickly find any quote for every life situation, and listen to these works from morning to evening. And if something is unclear to me, then in the search I can find thousands of answers to all questions, and I am presented with hundreds of sermons on the topic I'm interested in. I pray quite long and diligently and know how to ask God for everything necessary for life. I am armed to the teeth, and the enemy of the soul has no chance to overcome me. And this makes me quite spiritually rich and self-confident in my strength, although I understand that Christ is always near and will never leave me.

But then someone comes and starts showing me the familiar message to Laodicea, saying that it offers weapons of victory for the last battle. I studied this message earlier, and I can decipher all the symbols, knowing their definition. I have read a lot about this and have the right answers. I even know people who have memorized this message. But I am told that the message contains a mysterious depth of revelations and the secret of a special relationship with Christ. I listen and understand that maybe there is something to it, but I already have so much light and so much spiritual work that there is simply no time to be distracted by another revelation. And why do I need this oil when it's already light? Who will I surprise with my lamp in the sunlight?

Does the enemy of the soul know what the message to Laodicea represents? Yes, he knows and trembles. He realizes that everyone who enters into trade relations with Christ, understanding what they are buying, falls under the special status of a warrior of Christ and is trained by Jesus Himself in personal relationships. To just distract my attention from this message, the enemy is ready not to interfere with me in other knowledge. In peacetime, Satan constantly bothered me for any reason, interfering in everything, but now he is ready to allow me everything, just to distract my attention from the most important message of preparation.

The enemy's most insidious plan is to convince me that there is no store with oil for the lamp, that no one is selling me anything, and these are just symbols. And for some reason I believe him.

Questions for reflection on this chapter

1. Please read: Rev. 3:17; Luke 9:25; 1 John 1:6-10; Gal. 6:3,7-10; 2 Cor. 10:12,18; 13:5; Jer. 9:4-9; 23:16; 37:9; 42:20-22; Ezek. 20:43; 34:2; Rom. 3:10-17; 1 Cor. 3:18; 6:9-12; 15:33-34; John 8:54; James 1:12-17,22-27; Ps. 64:5-9; Prov. 20:2; Eph. 5:15-20 in light of this chapter.

2. What did you understand from this chapter?

3. What other Bible verses came to your mind?

4. What is self-deception? Is it possible in our time?

5. What is the danger of self-deception?

6. Can self-deception be blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? Mark 3:23-29.

7. What is the danger if I invent my own path for salvation and victory?

8. Should I pay attention to God's advice regarding the last time?

9. Will Jesus mislead me by advising me to do something for my revival?

10. What can happen to me if I reject the advice of the Faithful Witness?

11. Will the enemy of the soul help me choose my own ways for my salvation?

12. What should I do if I understand that I am in self-deception?

13. Will knowledge of God's will for the last time help me avoid the trap of self-deception?

14. Can my sincerity play a cruel joke on me? Should I check every teaching before agreeing with it?

15. Do you understand the importance of the message to Laodicea?