We Are Not Ignorant of Satan’s Schemes: Part 2 :: By Ron Ferguson
We will continue the examination of the means Satan uses to bring destruction on people and nations. God says we are not ignorant of how Satan works – 2 Corinthians 2:11 “in order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan, FOR WE ARE NOT IGNORANT OF HIS SCHEMES.” Let us continue looking at other satanic avenues to destroy this planet.
[4.] SATAN’S OPERATIVES HAVE TAKEN CONTROL OF EDUCATION
Where is the impressionable and trusting mind to be found? Among young people, of course. Infants and young children are the prey for Satan as he spews his wicked agenda through wicked men and women into the classrooms. Impressionable minds are what appeals to Satan, and his people on earth use this means to infiltrate and indoctrinate young lives to make them active little socialists and anti-Christian advocates. There is a huge battle going on, and most are not aware of it.
The great Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “Give me a child until he is 7, and I will show you the man.” Aristotle knew the great importance of the first years of life, and so did God – Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” What was a Christian edict has been subverted by the evil forces in this world by the prince of darkness. Satan raised up Lenin, and look what Lenin said:
Lenin, the founder of communism, said, “Give me a child for the first 5 years of his life, and he will be mine forever.” Of course, Lenin was demonically possessed, a hateful man, his communist philosophy leading to the murder of hundreds of millions of people. The breed of socialists/Marxists today are implementing what Lenin expounded, and their harvest will come from school kids, kindergarten kids, young people, and, of course, from Universities.
The infiltration into the education system by Satan’s select people has destroyed decency, goodness, and traditional values in the classrooms of the Western world. Educational Psychologists (all are humanists), advisors, curriculum advisors and planners, and a host of others have played their part by removing the traditional values from education to be replaced by socialism and humanism. Our universities spew out role models in Marxism and refined humanism.
Education may have lined up to some extent with inconsistent and nominal Christian values in the past, but it was based on a lot of biblical standards. Now, it has all been cast away for the new socialism and in preparation for globalism. All that is satanic, for all human beings will be controlled by the globalist elite, anti-God, anti-Christian and anti-Jew.
In the United States and many other Western societies, educational standards have been falling. Just today (November 2023), Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana pointed out that in the past 10 years, the standards in reading, literacy, and mathematics have fallen very noticeably in his state. Australia has standards that have fallen very dramatically, way down in comparison with other nations.
Why has that happened? There must be a cause, and there is. Standards in everything have fallen because the standard of excellence that was built into education and into all other facets of society has fallen victim to “near enough is good enough,” “it’s not that important,” and “I don’t care.” People who are to maintain standards (such as teachers) are themselves victims of falling levels from their own education, and they have lower and lower expectations. In other words, the intrusion of socialism and lack of responsibility in society see educational standards decline.
Laziness is an operative factor as well. In one Australian State under socialism, the Government announced it is trialing a 4-day school week. The State is already very low in standards, and much time is given to social issues like climate change, renewable energy, saving the Great Barrier Reef, and aboriginal “matters.” That is NOT what schools are about. Once God is thrown out, anything and everything not of God rises to prominence.
The educational standards in China and India, and often for Asian students, are usually a lot higher. The parents care, and the State and nations are sincere to cause the children to reach the highest possible standards.
Satan loves lack of educational standards because the more society is dumbed down, the more robotic and lethargic people become with no consideration for their eternal souls. To counter that, there is an increasing move to homeschooling and Christian-based schools, but it was announced just yesterday that my State is going to crack down on homeschooling. It looks like we are under the assault of the enemy, and we are! Train up your children in the way of the Lord, and when they are older, they won’t depart from that.
[5.] SATAN JUST LOVES RELIGION
I have never liked the word “religion,” as it pertains more to a system of men, in my mind. I always say, “It is not religion that counts; it is relationship.” People ask, “What religion are you?” and by that, some mean, “What main religion are you, e.g. Christian or Hindu or others?” OR they may mean, “What denomination are you?” In any case, organized religion is of men, not of God. The word “religion” is used 5 times in the NASB, this being one of the usages – Colossians 2:23 “These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom IN SELF-MADE RELIGION and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.”
The very heart of religion is where Satan will sit. He owns the Roman Catholic church and has destroyed most of the mainline denominations through liberalism and unconverted men and women in authority. The decay and collapse of the church is Satan’s delight. The second half of the 1900s saw the beginning of a rapid decline in Christian faithfulness and an acceptance of mediocrity.
Any student of the history of the Christian church will know how the church plunged into gross morality, bloodshed, torture, political ruthlessness, totally unbiblical doctrines like indulgences, papal dictatorship, etc. From about 800 AD, those things started to gain a foothold and slowly take over. The Middle Ages and Dark Ages saw the darkness of the church. Read it for yourselves. You will see it in any reputable book on Church History. People were denied biblical truth. You can hardly comprehend how the church would burn at the stake people who had a copy of the Bible or confessed faith in Jesus Christ.
Yes, Satan controlled the church. I AM NOT saying there are no Christians in the Roman Catholic church. Do not misunderstand me; I speak of the system of religion.
Not only the Roman church comes under condemnation, but the Protestant churches that may have started well are in decline. More of them are allowing homosexuality into the churches and marrying the church to socialism with adherence to social issues, such as supporting militant marches against coal and gas and support of “gay” marriage.
The church is the most critical area for attack. Satan hates Christians enormously. He works tirelessly to weaken, corrupt, and neutralize any Christian witness. A church that does not uphold every doctrine in the Bible and acts according to the inspiration of the word is defective. It has come under the influence of Satan’s maliciousness because it made a chink in its armor. Many have become lukewarm and are in danger of being spewed from the Lord’s mouth.
There is a world of difference between religion and faith. A man may be religious but does not have faith in God. He may go through the rituals but is not converted to possess the salvation of God through faith. In fact, Satan loves religion because he can manipulate it, and he does. How many religions are there in the world? You would never calculate it, but tens of thousands. Generally, religion is man’s way of trying to answer the meaning of life. Much of it is filled with idolatry and corruption.
There is nothing I can do about the world’s religions, but when it comes to the umbrella of Christianity, I think it is correct to expose false teachers and those who make great personal profit in the name of Christ, such as the super-rich “prosperity preacher” extortionists. It is right to expose the errors in churches where the doctrines of the word have been trashed, as you have in “Christian groups” allowing and agreeing with homosexual marriage and the liberals who cut pieces of the Bible away.
Satan has his plants all throughout the Christian faith, and we will never eradicate them. We are not ignorant of that fact. We are not ignorant of Satan’s schemes, the enemy of the night. The Lord knows those who are His, and He keeps His own. What I would leave with you is to pray you remain faithful to the Lord and increase in righteousness, for the times get darker. There is so much error and non-commitment that it is like walking in a minefield to be in some denominations. BE FAITHFUL TO THE LORD. Hold to the full authority of the Bible.
[6.] SATAN’S EXPERTISE IS DRIVING THE WEDGES OF DIVISION
We spoke about division, one of Satan’s chief schemes, but none is so evil as the disintegration of the sexes through the rise of the feminist movement. That is because God clearly defined man and woman in creation as distinct and complementary. Feminists for decades have been pushing for authority over men and now have it. In my State, men in education are rare.
Recently, I was called for jury selection (but was not needed), and I noticed all the advisors, nearly all the court workers, the judge, and so many other positions in the courts, except two defense lawyers, were held by women. I am sorry – and this is not sour grapes – but men are being replaced all over. The positions are Government-appointed. Of course, the current Queensland Government is extremely pro-female, gender-affirmative, and anti-male. It makes a lot of these appointments, and many of them are on the basis of gender, not on ability.
What does division do? Another way of asking that is, “What springs from division?” These are just some of the flow-on effects – lack of respect, hate, vengeance, discord, broken communion, violence and hot tempers, disappointment, and manipulation. Satan stirs up, and loves stirring men and women into sinful expression. Our fallen natures are prey to the enemy who will light the fuse of division all too readily.
One of the saddest divisions in the Bible is this one – Acts 15:37-39 “Barnabas was desirous of taking John, called Mark, along with them also. But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose such a sharp disagreement that THEY SEPARATED FROM ONE ANOTHER, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.”
Yes, divisions happen among Christians as it does elsewhere in society, but it is dishonoring to God. Even more than the division itself is the cause behind it. Usually, the reason is ambition, desire for power or control, pride, or a tare starting to produce seed. I suppose sometimes a division can be legitimate. There is a call from God right near the end of the Tribulation to faithful Tribulation believers to separate from being too close to Babylon the Great – Revelation 18:4-5 “I heard another voice from heaven, saying, ‘COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE, THAT YOU MAY NOT PARTICIPATE IN HER SINS and that you may not receive of her plagues, for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.'”
All believers of every age have an operating principle to separate from godlessness and evil. There must be that sharp division between good and evil, without compromise. This is the good sense of division and is not of Satan because he loves to keep Christians ensnared to some wrong practice and at war with one another. Paul had to speak to the Corinthians about some problems they had there and steps that needed taking:
2 Corinthians 6:16-18 “Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,’ says the Lord, ‘And do not touch what is unclean, and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
When the ointment is at its most pristine, along comes a blowfly and contaminates it. When a fellowship of God’s people is harmonious and godly, along comes one of Satan’s agents to cause trouble, just like a blowfly in the midst. And that is most fitting because Beelzeboul (name for Satan) is “Lord of the Flies” or “Lord of the dung heap.” There is a responsibility for the leadership to ensure division-free fellowship. That must be done through wisdom and discernment, prayer, and the word of God.
We deal with God’s people, so we are accountable as stewards of the Lord to do that. Some elders, deacons, and leaders are uncertain of their calling and responsibilities, so how can they prevent division?
Sin always divides. We cannot blame all division on Satan, for much of it comes from our own fallen natures, and just one verse mentions this problem of division – Galatians 5:19-20 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, DISPUTES, DISSENSIONS, FACTIONS.”
Strive to keep the unity of the Spirit, and work for harmony and love among the people of God.
[7]. THE ABOLITION OF PRAYER AND REDUCTION OF CHRISTIAN RIGHTS
The abolition of prayer in schools has been an ongoing battle between Christians and people of goodwill, AND atheists, those offspring of Satan who do His will. In every field, Satan has his promoters, radicals, and agitators opposed to conservatism (which is largely Christian). These are the ones given the ear these days and the ones with rights.
In my nation, homosexuals have all the legal support and rights of the law, but Christians have none. Each year, the filthy Mardi Gras in Sydney, the world’s biggest, I believe, sees hundreds of thousands at the event, with this long march with floats blaspheming Christ and Mary in the vilest way. Christians have no right of objection. However, if Christians speak out against homosexuals, the full rod of the law is brought down on them. Deviants have all the rights; Christians have none. Unlike the United States, Australia has a constitution that does not guarantee freedom of speech and the rights of the individual.
Fifty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court removed government-endorsed prayer from public schools, ruling the practice unconstitutional. The decision remains at the center of the debate over the separation of church and state and altered the way classrooms approached faith and religion.
In 1958, Steven Engel, a New Yorker, joined forces with other parents to sue the state over a prayer being recited in the schools.
The invocation they attacked, approved by the state Board of Regents, acknowledged reliance on God and asked for blessings on all. Even back then, Satan’s men and women were doing their demonic work.
[In the 1963 Murray v. Curlett case, the Supreme Court expanded on their 1962 decision to ban mandatory Bible readings in schools, thus finishing the government’s drive to remove the Christian faith from the nation’s education system. The fight for prayer in schools may seem like an uphill battle, but many continue to be a light for Christ’s message anyway. They pray for their country and their schools in the face of opposition, knowing that God isn’t limited by the legal system.] From Great American Pure Flix.
In June 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned decades of precedent governing the separation of church and state and achieved one of the most long-standing goals of the Christian right: the return of official Christian prayer to public schools. A number of nations, including mine, have lost that right.
You may ask, “What difference does it make?”
Well, it does make a lot of difference because once certain freedoms and Christian rights are banned, then it will never stop there. Satan never rests or eases up. His desire is saturated evil. He will try to destroy all Christian witness.
END OF PART 2
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