The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart! pt 2A The Church Of Satan

The MAC has been a tremendous source of stress for me as it seems to be so thoroughly corrupt. There is no end to the heresies that spring up on a daily bases. People care more about what Billy Graham thinks, than about what Jesus Christ Has said in His Word. Men would sooner turn to soothsayers and dead philosophers than to the true and living God.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t help but think that this is not the first time this has happened through out history. As a matter of fact, Martin Luther experienced similar difficulties in the days of the reformation. In fact many of his works, including the Ninety Five Thesis, expressed his frustration with the Catholic Church and their heretical ideology.
Yes, certainly Luther was not unfamiliar with the struggles that come in dealing with heresy. However his were only an echo of previous battles of the past. Paul constantly had to contend for the faith, and Jude exhorts us to do the same, Jude 1:3. And yet even Paul was not alone in the grand spectrum of Scriptural History.
The war has been waging since the day that Lucifer fell from heaven. Satan has always pushed to have his throne established above God’s throne. He has sought to subvert the authority of All Mighty God. The bible says that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. Rest assured folks, the enemy today is the same enemy that has been subverting the masses since the beginning of creation. It is none other than that old serpent The Devil. He crawls around on his belly, bellow the radar of many, ready to bite the heels of all those who pass by him. He strikes at the boot and then waits in the shadows for his enemy to fall. He is ever wanting for the children of God to cross his path, coiled up and camouflaged waiting for the right moment.
The bible says that he prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, 1 Peter 5:8. (Notice that lions always attack the weakest of the heard. He knows that a healthy animal may over power him and so he will not risk it. So it is with our enemy. This is something that I will address further in 2B) Remember that his one focus in life is to kill, steal and destroy. Do not neglect to prepare yourself for battle; else you may succumb to the snares of the Devil.
Yes, for certain, Satan is both crafty and deceptive. However, I think that our view of how he operates is somewhat inaccurate. While it is very true that our enemy is shady and perverse in his dealings, it is not true that he is uncalculated in his attacks. Is a snake uncalculated in how he strikes his prey, or a lion in where he bites his victims? No, he is strategic. Our view of the Devil, more often then not, is based on science fiction and imagination rather than fact. We tend to look at him as being random and chaotic and animal like in character. When we think of the satanic influence we tend to think of Marilyn Manson, rock concerts and séances. We think of upside down crosses, Wicca, and disturbing images of goats heads inside demonic symbols. But is this view and image of baal-zebub entirely accurate, or is there more to our enemy then meets the eye?
The Bible says that Satan often appears as an Angel of light and his ministers as ministers of righteousness. I believe that in the last two hundred years he has so infiltrated the American church that he has been able to form an entirely new religion and gather literally millions of converts. I believe he has succeeded in high jacking the Christian label and redefining it in America. This new religion of the Devil revolves completely around fulfilling your fleshly needs, whatever they may be. The gospel preached is one of life enhancement and personal achievement. It is a do-gooders religion of self improvement, a moralistic, theistic and humanistic religion of works. This is not the first time that the Devil has succeeded in doing this throughout history. In fact he did the same thing with the Catholic Church.
Why has the enemy been able to do so much damage to the church throughout history? What is his strategy?
Well, to answer these questions I will use not only the scriptures, but also some helpful parallels that will help us to pin point his battle strategies and properly define Truth from error. Until next time, God Bless