Satan’s Scam

 

Bernard Madoff, a past president of the NASDAQ stock exchange, will be sentenced at the end of this month. Through his securities investment and consultancy firm, this Wall Street financial tycoon was able to engineer a massive Ponzi Scheme that lasted almost 20 years, using as bait attractive profit projections and the cachet of being included in an exclusive group, and employing fabricated numbers. Many of Madoff’s victims were global banking institutions, mutual fund companies and the super-rich. The loss amounted to over 50 billion US. If the financial tsunami had not induced some investors to ask for large cash withdrawals, his scam might not even have been exposed.

 

Just like Madoff, Satan is also artfully planning a monumental scam to lure people of the world into his snare. He is not after money, but the souls of people. The devil often impersonates an angel of light and uses the following methods to delude and deceive those lying under his thumb:

 

1.      Satan makes people focus on material things and neglect the spiritual. Many people only know the pursuit of materialistic and physical satisfaction throughout their lives, and do not believe that man has a precious soul. They believe that death is like the extinguishing of a candle when everything  simply vanishes. Satan stimulates the desires of the eye and flesh so that people immerse into the enjoyment of their senses and allow their passions free rein. They fall into the snare of sin and neglect the real value of their inborn souls and the true significance of life. They become disinterested in knowing the Lord that created the heaven and earth and bestows all things to humankind, and despise the God that controls man’s breath of life.

 

2.      Satan uses the temporary things of this life to deceive people, so that they overlook the eternal things of the future. We know that a human life is short and changeable. All wealth, reputation, authority and knowledge are but transitory. The health and time that we now possess have been entrusted to our management by the Lord who bestows life. Mankind only has a temporary right to borrow and no permanent right to own. One day, when death comes, we will not be able to bring along anything. At that time, the Lord of heaven and earth will judge us. It is regrettable that man still does not know he must seize the opportunity to understand the valuable and everlasting truth, because he is blinded by Satan, the king of the world so that he does not see the true light  of God.

 

3.      Satan replaces the real with the false. Logically, there must first be real things on earth before the false can be generated. The sinfulness of man causes this world to be suffused with falsified things – brand name knock-offs, counterfeit currency, fake identification, phony eggs etc. They are too numerous to count. Before false things appeared, there was no need to call real things real, because they uniquely existed. Satan likes to confuse the real with the false. He exploits the ignorance and self-trust of people and uses false gods and idols to deceive them. He misguides them with religions that promote philanthropy, kindness and righteousness so that they are misled into thinking that “all roads lead to Rome” and refuse to accept the narrow way that reaches to eternal life. Jesus Christ had warned us that wide is the gate that leads to destruction and broad is the road, and many enter through it. Christ called Himself the Way, the Truth and the life; only through Him can we go to the Father, know God, and receive life.

 

Dear friends, do not be deceived by Satan. Seek understanding, and accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour and the Lord of your life. “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true. And we are in Him who is true—even in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20)

 

By: Daniel To