Seeing Through the Eyes of Satan

 (A Christian’s Plea for Israel-Romans 11)

Satan hates everything of God. Therefore, he hates the two-fold people of God:

Revelation 12:13–17 (All verses from NLT) When the dragon [Satan] realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman [Israel] who had given birth to the male child [Jesus]. But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle so she could fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness. There she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, time, and half a time. Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from his mouth. But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon. And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.

     Consequently, to hate Jews and Christians is to side with Satan against the peoples of God, as Romans  11:1–31 also indicates:

Romans 11:1-10 I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.  No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, “LORD, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!” It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved. So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened. As the Scriptures say, “God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear.” Likewise, David said, “Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, and let them get what they deserve. Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs be bent forever.”
God has not rejected His chosen nation of Israel, even though, for now, most have turned aside. The evidence is that He has also chosen many of them to believe.

11-14   Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it. I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this, for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them.

    Consequently, Gentile believers have a duty to demonstrate the goodness that they have received from Israel’s God so that Israel will see what they have abandoned through their hardness of heart. How? By loving the Jews, the sign people of God:

Romans 2:9–10 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 

     Consequently, the Jews are a sign-people of both the faithfulness of God and of His displeasure. God’s plan is to also vindicate Himself by demonstrating His undying faithfulness to Israel: Ezekiel 36:19–28 “I scattered them to many lands to punish them for the evil way they had lived. But when they were scattered among the nations, they brought shame on my holy name. For the nations said, ‘These are the people of the LORD, but he couldn’t keep them safe in his own land!’ Then I was concerned for my holy name [reputation], on which my people brought shame among the nations. Therefore, give the people of Israel this message from the Sovereign LORD: I am bringing you back, but not because you deserve it. I am doing it to protect my holy name, on which you brought shame while you were scattered among the nations. I will show how holy my great name is—the name on which you brought shame among the nations. And when I reveal my holiness through you before their very eyes, says the Sovereign LORD, then the nations will know that I am the LORD. For I will gather you up from all the nations and bring you home again to your land. “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God.

      We all should be grateful for this. If God shows His faithfulness to errant Israel, He will surely show His faithfulness to us believers in Jesus.

15-16 For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.

      If all Israel is holy in God’s sight, how can the Church not regard Israel (the Jewish People) as holy! If God still loves Israel, how can the Church not love Israel! To hate Israel is to align with Satan and perhaps even with his fate.

17-24 But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root. “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either. Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong. 

     In Christ, both Jew and Gentile are equally loved despite the fact that Israel is the natural branch: Galatians 3:28–29 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

Israel is no more deserving than others, but they are beloved: Deuteronomy 9:4–5 “Do not say in your heart, after the LORD your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you. Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the LORD your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”

     Nevertheless, Israel is beloved of their God. If the Church loves God, they must also love Israel and the Jews.

25-27 I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, “The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.” Israel’s God is fully capable of forgiving rebellious Israel and cleansing them of their sins as He has done with all of us. 

Consequently, the Church has no reason to look  on Israel with contempt. If those who call themselves “Christian” maintain their contempt, they are opposing the God of Israel who intends to save all Israel.

28-29 Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.  

      To refuse to rejoice in God’s faithfulness to Israel is to reject the Gospel. Therefore, you must repent, lest you remain enemies of God, and pray for Israel:

Psalm 122:6–9 Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper. O Jerusalem, may there be peace within your walls and prosperity in your palaces. For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “May you have peace.” For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek what is best for you, O Jerusalem.

Love Israel now better than later when faced with outer darkness: Zechariah 8:22–23 Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD of Heaven’s Armies and to ask for his blessing. “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: In those days ten men from different nations and languages of the world will clutch at the sleeve of one Jew. And they will say, ‘Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”
 
30-31  Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy.
 

The Church must acknowledge its great debt to love Israel.

Unless We Confess our Sins We Become Prey

 

 

We are afflicted by many sins which can take control of our minds and hearts. Even a single unrepented sin can transform us into God’s enemy. After their one sin, the first couple hid from their Benefactor and Creator and decided to handle their sin problem on their own by covering themselves with fig leaves. As God questioned them, they resorted to half-truths and blame-shifting. Even after God declared His frightful verdict, they seemed relieved to be cast out of His presence without a word of confession! They had entered the domain of darkness and denial. Instead of naming his wife “death,” Adam named his beloved “Eve, the mother of all living.”

Sin had taken them captive, like the maggots of predatory wasps which parasitize its grasshopper victim. The maggots begin to consume their host and advance to its brain where they take over their prey and direct it jump to its death into the water where these parasites can complete their horrid lifecycle.

This is the power of sin to take control of the mind. Therefore. sin requires a decisive response. Instead rationalization and the denial gives sin a free pass to prey upon us, while we self-righteously devote ourselves to prove our worthiness against all evidence to the contrary. In contrast, Jesus taught that we are self-condemned by our love of the darkness of sin:

·       John 3:17–20 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”

If we refuse to confess our sins to find forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:8-9), we will continue to flee from the light of truth, from the Lord’s exposing light. We will run from His light lest it expose the truth about ourselves, even to call for boulders to fall upon us to hide us from the truth:

·       Revelation 6:15–17 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

Consequently, God need not throw anyone into hell. Instead, we gladly do this to ourselves. Meanwhile, we live lives of self-deceit trying to prove ourselves worthy in many tangled ways:

·       Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

·       Proverbs 26:12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Why do we not see ourselves accurately? We do not want to! Instead, we choose to feel good about ourselves through self-delusion than to be exposed by the light of truth:

•                   Luke 16:15 And [Jesus] said to them, “You [Pharisees] are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

Why is trying to look good [justifying ourselves] an “abomination in the sight of God?” It is a rejection of the truth, God’s truth that we are sinners who are in desperate need of the Savior. This is not only a rejection of God but also the rejection of real relationships, a plunge into the self-centered world of narcissism.

Adam and Eve chose to cover themselves with fig leaves and to hide from God. Others choose to impress with power:

•        Acts 12:20–23 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and…they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

The love of the darkness of self-deceit is death. What then is the answer?

•            Psalm 46:1–3 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

Without the Savior, we too become prey, not to the wasp and its maggots, but to a more deceptive predator who allows us to believe that we are in control of our own lives: 

·       1 John 5:19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

 

 

The Delight of a Crappy Self-Image

 

 

As counter-intuitive as this might sound, it is liberating to let go of trying to maintain a non-crappy self-image, a burden that no one can bear for long.

To believe that we are morally worthy and more deserving than others is self-delusion:

·       Galatians 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

While this might sound like self-loathing, it is actually liberating. How? Our conscience already informs us that we even fail to meet our own standards. We already know that we are unworthy of anything good. However, when we refuse to accept this fact, we condemn ourselves to living a lie, trying to prove to the world that we are worthy when we know that we are not. It means that we are at war with ourselves. Instead, we only deserve one thing from God—death (Romans 6:23). Rather, it’s God’s love and mercy, not His justice, that enables us to live with ourselves.

Earning worthiness is a schizoid existence. While we are telling ourselves one thing, we know that the truth lies elsewhere. This results in confusion and interferes with psychological integration and living according to the truth about ourselves.

·       This fact should put the kibosh on all boasting: Romans 1:32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

·       However, it seems that Paul is also boasting that he is something while claiming to be nothing: 2 Corinthians 12:11–12 I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works.

Actually, Paul had been boasting in the Lord for the benefit of the churches he was serving, lest they be drawn away by deceivers.

·       1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

What a blessing it is to know that I belong to Christ (Galatians 2:20), that I am beloved (Ephesians 3:19), and that He is all that I need (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Knowing this, I can even joke about my failures, infirmities, and weaknesses. This enables me to be free and to cease trying to impress others. Interestingly, they are far more impressed when I can be real with them.

Knowing that we are nothing and unworthy is also associated with wisdom and great faith. An important Roman centurion asked Jesus to heal his beloved servant:

·       Matthew 8:8–10 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.”

While many would think that there was something the matter with the centurion’s self-image, Jesus marveled at his wisdom and faith. Instead, we are instructed to think accurately about ourselves, as the centurion had done:

·       Romans 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment...

 

Growth and Personal Change

 

 

Often what seems to be answers to our struggle to find peace, joy, love, and meaningful relationships is found to have hidden costs further down the road to self-betterment.

Jesus had warned about solutions that look good at first, even deliverance from the demonic:

 ·       Matthew 12:43–45 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”

What looks and feels good might prove costly. We might initially feel liberated from painful symptomology and face life with renewed confidence, as Jesus’ example illustrates. I had been excited that I had been able to plug into the spirit world through the Ouija Board. The spirits I had encountered seemed to be ready to relate to us in helpful ways, but when I began to see signs that not all was right, I was always ready to give them the benefit of the doubt. I wanted to believe that I now had new and powerful allies until it became abundantly clear that they weren’t friends but malicious deceivers who had almost led me into criminality.

I mention this because there are so many abused and hurting young people who are now naively seeking comfort and guidance from spirit beings. Even though they are aware of the presence and danger of “negative entities,” they have convinced themselves that they are intuitive enough to avoid and to protect themselves against their wiles. In need of their “love and protection,” they naively trust that their gods or goddesses will protect them, even as their relationships are falling apart as they walk in the darkness of demonic deception.

Another answer to our neediness and vulnerability is to learn to believe in ourselves. However, in order to learn to trust in ourselves, we have to sacrifice the truth about ourselves—our weaknesses and limitations—as Psychologist Harold Sacheim had acknowledged:

·       Through distortion, I may enhance my self-image, not because at heart I am insecure about my worth but because no matter how much I am convinced of my value, believing that I am better is pleasurable. Such self-deceptions may prove to be efficient in constructing or consolidating a solid and perhaps even ‘healthy’ identity.”

Psychologist Shelley E. Taylor also acknowledged that self-knowledge becomes a casualty of an inflated self-esteem:

·       “Those with an exaggerated sense of their own mastery tend to have inflated views of their self-worth and likelihood of future success. It is unusual to find a person who is so overly optimistic about the future but lacking in self-esteem or mastery, beliefs that would seem to be essential to the implementation of a rewarding future.” (Positive Illusions, 234)

Although this correlation might often be found, it ignores many other factors about the narcissistic personality and its lust to prove itself worthy, even more-so than others. Relationships are one casualty. As the narcissist begins to regard himself as king, the king demands that his wife be a queen and his children princes. When they are found unable to live up to such an exalted standard, criticism inevitably results.  

Having magnified himself, he continually seeks others to affirm his superior status. The narcissist always has to be right while everyone else is wrong. Discord is inevitable.

Does truth have to be abandoned in our quest to feel good and accomplished. Certainly not! Instead, truth and wisdom are necessary for whatever we manage well. We need to understand whatever we manage, whether it’s a matter of taking care of our car, home, or business. Consequently, truth wins out in the end, and their “successes” are only temporary.

Besides, to be self-deluded also results in a failure to truly understand everything else.  We are the lens through which we see all else. If our lens is soiled, our understanding is seriously distorted. An inflated self-esteem, lacking in self-examination, equates with blindness and an inadequate appreciation of others and their POVs. Consequently, we must appraise ourselves accurately:

Romans 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment,

It is through this sober judgment about ourselves that we come to understand our utter moral inadequacy and our need for God and His wisdom:

2 Timothy 3:16–17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Consequently, God requires us to live in light of His truth:

Psalm 51:6 Behold, you [God] delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

It used to be broadly accepted that an inflated self-esteem was the cure for all that ails us. Instead, there is great value in learning to accept the dismal truths about ourselves—that we are sinners who desperately need the Savior. Once we humble ourselves to accept this, we will understand our need for the love and forgiveness of our Savior Jesus.

1 Peter 5:6–7 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Once we learn the freeing lesson of humility and self-acceptance, we need to no longer wear a deceptive mask. We become transparent, self-accepting and optimally equipped for meaningful friendships.

Jesus: Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed.”

Recovery of sight and freedom are compatriots. With sight we can avoid shipwreck. Our relationships must be accompanied by understanding which embraces love:

John 4:23-24  “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

Without this truth, which can only come from Christ, we doom ourselves to constantly trying to prove our value:

Luke 16:15 And he [Jesus] said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

Luke 17:10 “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.”

Psychologist Roy Baumeister: “For three decades, I and many other psychologists viewed [high] self-esteem as our profession’s Holy Grail: a psychological trait that would soothe most of individuals’ and society’s woes. We thought that high self-esteem would impart not only success, health, happiness, and prosperity to the people who possessed it, but also stronger marriages, higher employment, and greater educational attainment in the communities that supported it.”

Instead, the way up is the way down, facing the painful truths about ourselves. I don’t believe that we can do this on our own. We need Jesus to embrace us as we are taught to take baby steps into the light:

JAMES 4:8-10 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Self-acceptance requires a new identity as a child of Christ:

Galatians 2:20: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The lust for creating and  maintaining a high- rather than an accurate self-esteem is an addiction and a love of self-deception:

John 3:19–20 “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”

Our addiction to the darkness of self-deception is so great that I believe only Christ can cure it. Therefore: 

Matthew 6:33-34 …”seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

In Christ, we become his beloved children. We can now throw the weighty crown from our heads and toss this burden upon our Savior.