Posted By: happytoberestored

Be Ye Not Deceived, EVIL IS NOT AN ILLUSION

Brothers and sisters, there is a dangerous school of thought attempting to infiltrate the Body of Christ as we stand today.

You may have heard about it on the "Oprah" show if you watch it, or on any one of the news channels, since Oprah selected this topic and we all know somehow THAT is newsworthy. Or you may have heard about it from one of our fundamental, evangelical Christian brothers on the airwaves explaining to us that we need to BE SOBER AND ALERT FOR THE DEVIL IS AMONGST US.

The danger is that our enemy is trying to convince people that evil does not exist - that it's merely an illusion.

Let me posit you this - the enemy attacks ONLY WHAT IS REAL.

I can most assuredly and emphatically state that evil is REAL.

Evil is not an absence of love. Evil is evil all on its own.

Genesis 2:9, "And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground-trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."

The enemy acknowledges that EVIL is REAL in Genesis 3:5, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

God tells us that we then became aware of this EVIL through original sin in Genesis 3:22, "And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."

Be ye not deceived. Remember what we are told in Matthew 7:15-17, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit."

Evil exists. It is real. God said it. Enough said.

YSIC,

Virginia

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permalink   Posted: 03/07/08 1:03pm - Total Views: 2,894 - Category: Prophetic   View: Backlinks

Similar Blog Entries:   Why do we subject ourselves to evil?,  Fear no evil,  The Greate Evil in this World,  Divine Comedy - (2) The deceiver, deceived,  1 Th. 5:15 Evil for Evil, 
Blog Tags:   enemy,  evil,  genesis,  real,  tree,  trees, 

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youaregolden

Posted by:  youaregolden  (Posted: 03/07/08 1:12pm) permalink

Amen, Amen...
YSIC,
-Golden

blessings2you

Posted by:  blessings2you  (Posted: 03/07/08 1:26pm) permalink

Evil is very much alive and those of us who know the truth of God's Word concerning this and aother subjects under attack had better circle the wagons and dig in for a fight. Not many believers believe in the literal truths of God's Word anymore, but a few of us still do and it is up to us to take out the sword of the spirit and let the Word of God be as quick and powerful as it is.
Thanks and amen.
B2Y

tchable

Posted by:  tchable  (Posted: 03/07/08 1:28pm) permalink

Good post sister. I find it amazing these type do not believe in God nor do they believe in evil but witchcraft they are totally into.

Blessings from NC

mumbly

Posted by:  mumbly  (Posted: 03/07/08 1:46pm) permalink

Wonderful blog Happy V...and praise God that we still have those among us who believe the bible from cover to cover. Yes evil is evil, and will always be so. No matter how it is dressed it will always be evil. May God keep us all in His ways, and in His truths.

literalword

Posted by:  literalword  (Posted: 03/07/08 2:05pm) permalink

Evil is very present on earth. The devil is real and he is presently the prince of the power of the air. The angels who fell with the devil are also real and evil. Scripture speak clearly of the resident evil and spiritual warfare which continues. Jesus cast demons out of people during His earthly ministry and many demons have been cast out by men and women of God since the time of Jesus' ministry on earth. These demons are evil and they are very real.

Anyone who believes evil is only an illusion is badly deceived by the god of this present age.

As for my body it will be glorified in the fashion of my Lords and I'll be with Him forever and ever.

Praise God who alone is good.

In Jesus,
PastorH

lmforrest

Posted by:  lmforrest  (Posted: 03/07/08 2:07pm) permalink

Remeber this, these evil doers your are proposing battle against are also The Sons of God. There is nothing to fight about or for, Christ accomplished victory, the only war that needs to be waged is in our own minds and our own salvation. How can you save someone else if your divided and at war with yourself and anyone else who doesn't fit your closed and narrow thinking.

lmforrest

Posted by:  lmforrest  (Posted: 03/07/08 2:10pm) permalink

We'll all laugh about this at the end of days, my only point is that FEAR is not of God and this post is nothing but a bunch of fear spiraling out of control.

harvest

Posted by:  harvest  (Posted: 03/07/08 2:27pm) permalink

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

2 Corinthians 11:14 (NKJV) 14And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

3 John 1:11 (NKJV) 11Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.

Hummm ... how would you imitate what does not exist? EVIL MUST EXIST.

Praying for the Harvest

crosseyes

Posted by:  crosseyes  (Posted: 03/07/08 2:56pm) permalink

To get kicked off a Christian site for bad behavior is nothing to be proud of. There are none here that can say their walk is closer to God than anyone else. Who can take pride in their spiritual incites as if God didn't lend you that gift to share with others. And if this is truth then who are we to look down upon someone who can use that incite. They should be able to attain your blessing without being ridiculed about their fears. Let's try building each other up, not out witting each other with our sarcastic comments.

youaregolden

Posted by:  youaregolden  (Posted: 03/07/08 3:13pm) permalink

Amen crosseyes... You took the words right out of my mouth.
YSIC,
-Golden

kraftykatz

Posted by:  kraftykatz  (Posted: 03/07/08 3:29pm) permalink

Corsseyes is right on. Good blog happy. Evil is all around us pretending not to be evil. Who would run after evil KNOWING it was evil! But it does exist.
KraftyKatz
rinking earl grey tea

mumbly

Posted by:  mumbly  (Posted: 03/07/08 3:41pm) permalink

Comment to a comment. Re Imforrest comments.

You have obviously been reading something which is leading you and others away from the wonderful truths which are to be found in God's word, "The Bible."

It is naive to say that evil has nothing to do with eternity. God dealt with sin and evil, at enormous cost at Calvary. That cost being the separation of the God Head, for a few hours, during the darkness, and God's only Son being sacrificed for sin, so we who were evil in God's eyes could be redeemed.

There will of course be no evil in Heaven, but we the redeemed will be for ever and ever praising God, for redeeming us, and that satan, who is the father of evil, will be dealt with finally on "that day."

These comments of Imforrest, are very much "new age" philosophy, and are being used by the devil himself to entrap people in to false beliefs. New age thinking is one of the ways which satan is using to try to trip people up with today, and to stop them from being able to see that precious truth in John 3 v 16..

A very good verse to read also is, 1 John 1 v 9.

I will be praying for you Imforrest, and pray that you will be released to come back to the true basics of belief in the true God, and able to once again be able to walk in His light, and freedom.

lmforrest

Posted by:  lmforrest  (Posted: 03/07/08 4:15pm) permalink

I thank and bless you all for your responces. Let us remember that forgiveness has no condemnation. In the future I will try to refrain my comments that are not necessarily the beliefs of others. Let's us all share equally in forgiveness and walk in Truth. Truth is true and it is the same for all. Again, I meant no offense and do respect all of your imput and feelings concerning the Gospel.

Peace Always!!!!!!!!!

paprika89

Posted by:  paprika89  (Posted: 03/07/08 4:42pm) permalink

AMEN! It's true the devil attacks what is real.

kreynolds

Posted by:  kreynolds  (Posted: 03/07/08 4:54pm) permalink

Excellent blog!

papillionkiller

Posted by:  papillionkiller  (Posted: 03/07/08 6:44pm) permalink

They are the fallen sons of God and they became very evil and there offspring became the demons that annoy us to this day.

Do not give them more credit than they deserve.
They are real and Evil. And yes defeated but still active in this world.
And can quickly overcome one not strong in Faith.

If any doubt how real it is I will be glad, if it possible, to introduce you to some that indulge in it and worship it.
I have not written on it and withhold from writing on the subject. But I have fought it for my very soul.
And I can attest Jesus and the Spirit within us is much stronger than it, in myself I would be lost.

I speak not from fear I fear nothing or no one but God.
Yes, in Jesus we have Victory and in the end these you and I spoke of will be thrown into the deepest pit of fire.
The fallen are there, the offspring are not.

Pray, that you and all of us are strong and know were are strength lies, in the Lord of all lords, in the one whose heal will crush the Evil ones head.

Pray and study, do not take this lightly, do not fear. I know the victory. It is Jesus.

blackrose65

Posted by:  blackrose65  (Posted: 03/07/08 7:48pm) permalink

HTBR! You go girl! Your post was an EXCELLENT reminder of the way The Enemy of Our Souls works! The Enemy tries to seduce us into a level of comfort so we can let down our spiritual guard and WHAMMO! We're letting our flesh lead us into stuff that our spirits- aligned with the Holy Spirit, are screaming, DON'T GO THERE! DON'T DO THAT!
All it takes is ONE thought that causes us to doubt!
Keep on preachin"!

doulos

Posted by:  doulos  (Posted: 03/07/08 11:17pm) permalink

You are right Sis! - "the enemy only attacks what is real"! I sometimes use this one, "If money weren't real, would there be any point in counterfeiting it?"... God bless

doulos

Posted by:  doulos  (Posted: 03/08/08 12:11am) permalink

I just looked up the book "A Course In Miracles".

It is written by a person who claims that the book was dictated to her by an "inner voice" she says is Jesus...

From its synopsis and further information on Wikipedia, I am persuaded that it is "New Age". It talks about "mind training", "spiritual awakening" (or awareness), and alludes to Freudian and Jungian psychological concepts as being part of spirituality.

The thrust of new age teachings is to promote the spiritual awakening of self either to find spiritual unity with a higher source or to find the higher source within oneself - what's called "enlightenment". And whatever they call this higher source, even if it is Jesus, the focus is actually on personal spiritual enlightenment while God is a more or less a bystander even if acknowledged. Mixed into all this is the concept that God's love transcends all boundaries and the plea is to search for god's love in people as opposed to actually seeking God.

Enough said...

papillionkiller

Posted by:  papillionkiller  (Posted: 03/08/08 6:13am) permalink

I need to correct major mistake -

The sons of God that are spoken of above in mine and the other were sentence by God to die like men in Ps.82
They were put in charge of the Nations. And pretty much blew it.

The fallen Angels are the ones that had children by women,
and it is their offspring who's spirits'(demon's) now torments people on Earth every chance they can.

No excuse, but I had been up, again, far to long. And I make mistakes in my tiredness.

Evil is in the world, but we know we have overcome it(evil),
for He(Jesus) defeated him(satan) on the cross and being raised from the dead, to Live forever,
by The One God, God of mercy and peace, His(Jesus) Father, The God of Love.
Breaking all bonds and chains that the Master of Lies uses to hold one to forever death.
(A paraphrase of a sermon from a unknown Preacher.)

Happy you expressed and declared it so well.

Thank you Sister for always being here.
P-Killer

savedbyegrace

Posted by:  savedbyegrace  (Posted: 03/10/08 4:14am) permalink

I have read from the website about this "Course in Miracles" and it is, as doulous said, supposedly "dictated by Jesus". Talk about a bunch of heresy being propogated by a person of influence.

It is not necessarily fear to recognize the enemy, identify the enemy's battle strategies, and prepare against it. That is in fact, why we have the full armor of God.

The devil's most effective ploy is to convince folks that he doesnt' exist, that evil doesn't exist. Then we won't fight against it.

Great post, V!!

Love ya bunches.
Gracie

tchable

Posted by:  tchable  (Posted: 03/10/08 5:51am) permalink

Being career Military my first thought when reading this is the first emphasis in formulating a battle plan is "know your enemy". I know this is a secular thought but I assure you it is just as important in the spiritual realm. Afterall, he does manifest himself as an angel of light. If you are not careful he will be in your midst pretending to be your best friend.

Blessings from NC

blackrose65

Posted by:  blackrose65  (Posted: 03/10/08 6:37pm) permalink

Amen, Tchable, Amen

greybear

Posted by:  greybear  (Posted: 03/11/08 11:07am) permalink

No REAL threat goes unnoticed.......

thereisnogray

Posted by:  thereisnogray  (Posted: 03/11/08 11:13am) permalink

Oh yes, "a course in miracles" Oprah and her "new age" friends lurking in our living rooms and on our computers to 'help' us re-think God, Jesus and our faith. Satan is crafty, isn't he?

Take a look at http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/11/oprah-and-friends-to-teach-course-on.html for some more info on the course in miracles.

The problem is that this doesn't stop at Oprah. For example, how many of you know that Rick Warren (you know, The Purpose Driven Life guy? The book that 90% of our churches and small groups latched on to a while back) and Ken Blanchard (new age guru) teamed up to train leaders at Warren's Saddleback Church.

Want another one? OK, let's look at Bill Hybels: He's on the board promoting Blanchard's 2005 book titled "Lead Like Jesus" Sound great, right? Sure it does. Jesus was a great leader! The problem is that Blanchard is quietly mixing all kinds of theology throughout this book. Basically he is fostering a belief system that uses ancient mystical practices to induce altered states of consciousness and is rooted in mysticism and the occult Its nicely packaged in Christian terminology. New age mumbo jumbo with a with a Christian wrapper. It doesn't stop with Blanchard. Do some digging on your own. Look at the emerging church, for example. Lot's of fluff, not much about faith In this day and age, we have to rely on the Bible. If it doesn't jive with the Bible, it doesn't jive. PERIOD!

Beware, the wolf is in your church. He's in your Christian bookstore. I don't care what the motive is: Money, mysticism, whatever. God is not in this!

kraftykatz

Posted by:  kraftykatz  (Posted: 03/11/08 1:27pm) permalink

Serving as church librarian for over 20 years, I know that not all the books one can purchase at a christian book store are truly Christ centered books. I have seen many and thrown away many.
KraftyKatz
drinking tea and reading blogs

lmforrest

Posted by:  lmforrest  (Posted: 03/11/08 1:36pm) permalink

It is absolutely true that here on earth mankind is capable of and engages in acts and thoughts of evil. As far as Satan, his influence occurs at the level where all actions begin, the mind. Evil produces fear in ones mind whether action is taken or is thought or is witnessed to in another. This fear of evil produces the inability to walk consistently in the Spirit of Love. Christ overcame evil for us and we can count on His accomplishment to be strong in temptation. The point that needs to be made clear is that to try and combat evil as if it is an outside source is an error. How we view the world and our brothers comes from within. Love does not attack evil nor oppose it, Jesus made this clear thoughout His life here. The best defence is no defence, evil is not overcome by force but rather by the acceptance of the Truth of the Love of God which came to us through His Son Jesus Christ. Weapons of warfare are found in our very minds which the Word of Truth has provided. To return evil for evil is a mistake. To punish a murderer with legalized murder is hypocrasy. The level of intent is where it all starts and Jesus made this clear when He said if you even look at a woman with lust in your heart you have sinned. Raising the bar from action to intent was not intended to scare us to death but to show us where the real problem lies. On the battlefield of the mind is where the war is fought, each of us must engage in this very personal battle and move from human judgment to Mercy. That is reconciliation and Peace. Our brothers are not the problem, our own individual fears of evil we perceive must be dealt with by the Holy Spirit. It is not God's will for us to be again subject to the bondage of the spirit of fear but rather to be released by the Spirit which comes from Him, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches only in one direction, that direction does not change when we look the other way, His gaze is still steadily looking towards the Truth which sets free. We are allowed to stay in division and fear but He would gladly offers us Peace which promotes the ability to see perceive evil and pray according to His Will and provide the Answer that would heal rather than hurt.

Peace!

abelajohnb

Posted by:  abelajohnb  (Posted: 03/11/08 2:52pm) permalink

Hello,

@lmforrest

As someone who has said (and I quote you), "I know my Bible inside and out, left to right".... I think you need to go know it a bit better, as this statement is 100% un-Biblical:


That is a falsified twisting of the Gospel of Truth and it simply will not be allowed to continue at this website

Relativism can only be hidden for so long, so please do not think for one moment that there are not those here with a clear understand of epistemology, and we will not continue to allow it to quietly infiltrate this website.

If you have problems with this, either move onto another website or send me a Private Message with any objections you might have.

@happytoberestored, sorry to take your Blog Off-topic with this comment.

Thank you,
John B. Abela
Founder/Owner, ChristianBlog.Com

lmforrest

Posted by:  lmforrest  (Posted: 03/13/08 2:10pm) permalink

Hmmm, un-Biblical? 1Corinthians 13:4
Love is patient and is kind, love does not envy, love does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, love never fails. But whether there are prophesies, they will fail, whether there are tongues, they will cease, whether there is knowledge it will vanish away, for we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, against such there is no law.

That is the new creation nature, the fallen nature is what we are to repent from. Jesus accomplished the overcoming of evil once and for all. We are not to pretend we do not see evil, we are to release our thoughts of evil to the Holy Spirit, Peace and Joy are the results of this humbling ourselves before the Lord. The battle is already won and casting evil upon a brother is unworthy of Christ.

Peace to all and I won't bother ya'll with my Love anymore, may all wisdom abound in the Spirit of Love which comes to us through Christ Jesus.

abelajohnb

Posted by:  abelajohnb  (Posted: 03/14/08 12:43am) permalink

Hello All,

A quick follow-up here...


Yes, I said "un-Biblical".

As light is to darkness, as heat is to cold, as kids in trouble are to a wooden spoon... to claim that "Love does not oppose evil" is 100% un-Biblical.

Let me say that again... 'un-Biblical'.

Feel free to throw at me all the "we should all love one another" verses that you desire, but I would remind you of the little passage of Scripture that says "how great it is when a man can correct his brother" (or sister in this case). Your insight into this concept is Biblically incorrect, thus I said, un-Biblical.


Thanks!! I will take all of the wisdom from upon high that Eashoa desires for me to have!!

For Christ's Ministry,
John B. Abela
Founder/Owner, ChristianBlog.Com

lmforrest

Posted by:  lmforrest  (Posted: 03/14/08 8:37am) permalink

You misunderstad what I am saying.

Matthew 5:38 "You have heard that is said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, But I tellyou not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, But I say to you love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who spitefully us you and persecute you that you may be sons of your F