This illustration demonstrates that our thoughts are a battlefield and that we can indeed be manipulated mentally. Only at or after conversion do we recognise the wickedness of our thoughts. These can be, for example: rebellion, complaining, plans against someone, sexual desires, etc. Satan’s goal is to lead you away from Elohim’s protection so that you die earlier and, above all, so that you die in sin. Through fiery darts, he tries to kill you spiritually so that you will not go to heaven, since he cannot be there either. 

In John 8:44, Yehoshua (Jesus) says to the Jews surrounding him: „You are out of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in truth, because the truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of lie“ 

From the moment of birth, Satan has a plan for every child. Certain demons are assigned to watch over this person until his death.

To counteract this plan, we must understand how negative thoughts lead to death.

 

The process of spiritual warfare in the mind

We read James 1:14-15: „14 But each is tempted, when he is lured by his own lust, and caught with bait. 15 After lust has conceived, it brings forth sin, and sin, being accomplished, gives birth to death“ 

Let’s summarise:

Desire

Normally, desire always has to do with our five senses. You hear, smell, taste, touch and, above all, see something that tempts you to desire it. Let’s say you hear criticism from someone. You desire to take revenge.

Conception

You have received this arrow of thought, and now thoughts of anger and resentment are growing inside you. The pride within you blinds you to other solutions. All this happens so unnoticed that even people very close to you, such as your life partner, do not notice it.

 

Birth of sin

This fire of bitterness causes you to eventually carry out your plan against your neighbour. Sin is born.

 

Death

You are spiritually dead, separated from Elohim and no longer under his protection.

This process applies to every kind of sin. Fear among Christians, for example, is also part of it. An army of fearful and dependent people can no longer fight. Church leaders are then constantly busy satisfying the prayer requests of their church members.

In 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, we read about strongholds and reasoning, also referred to as mental structures in other versions:

„3 For, walking in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but powerful before Elohim, to the destruction of strongholds, 5 casting down reasonings and every high thing lifted up against the knowledge of Elohim, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Mashiah. 6 And having in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience should be fulfilled“.

Imagine you are reading your Bible. Soon a thought will come to disturb you: your ex, food, anger… That is why Paul says in our opening verse that we are not unfamiliar with the thoughts of Satan. For this reason, he advises us to put on the helmet of salvation to protect our thoughts:

„13 Therefore take up the complete armor of Elohim, that you may be able to resist in the evil day and, having accomplished all, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. 16 Above all, having taken the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of Elohim“ (Ephesians 6:13-17).

3) The human servants of Satan

If a child of Elohim is strong in faith, Satan’s fiery darts may not affect their thoughts. The Christian is well armed, does not allow himself to be led astray by desires, and is therefore spiritually untouchable. The devil then uses other people to tempt this person. The servants of Satan, whom we may even consider fellow Christians, approach us for this purpose.

Two types of transformation

„13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Mashiah. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself transforms into an angel of light.  15 No great thing therefore if also his servants are transformed as the servants of righteousness. Whose end will be according to their works“ (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

This kind of outward transformation is not the transformation that takes place in a person’s heart when they are converted by the Holy Spirit:

     „metamorphoo“          <->             „metaschematizo„

                      = to take on a form

= to change one’s mind          = to transform (according to a different model)

= inner transformation                  = take on a different form/pattern

In this Bible passage, we read about false Christians who pretend to be what they are not. They play a role that does not correspond to their true selves. They transform/disguise themselves so much that one does not recognise them and thinks they are from Elohim. And yet they are tares and not wheat.

Satan is so dark that one can almost grasp the darkness. Yet he succeeds in transforming himself into an angel of light, for he is a true master of disguise. In our Bible passage, Paul tells us that it is therefore no wonder that people who serve Satan also disguise themselves. Witches disguise themselves very well. They see in the spirit who is of Elohim and who is not. The latter have a light.

It is also biblical that there are always two kinds of revival: the wheat and the chaff.

 

The false brothers and sisters

If we look, for example, at the twins Yaakov (Jacob) and Esav (Esau), one of whom was from Elohim and the other from the devil, we can imagine that there are also such people among brothers and sisters in faith.

At the time of Paul, for example, Alexander the blacksmith was active, as were Philetus and Hymenaeus. The latter proclaimed the false doctrine that the resurrection had already taken place.

This „breed“ of people can be found wherever people pray. People who truly seek Elohim are often too naive and friendly towards these pseudo-Christians. This is how we allow ourselves to be influenced. But since we serve an Elohim who is light, we too must be light and have nothing in common with darkness.

The pale horses mentioned in Zechariah 6 and Revelation 6 signify war. It is the war between darkness and light. Since Satan knows that he does not have much time left, he intensifies the battle. Unbelief and apostasy from Elohim are produced in the mind, and if you are immune to this, he sends people to influence you with words like, ‘Elohim said this or that…’ Therefore, we must also beware of false collaborators. We must not immediately reveal our plans and secrets, but must ask Elohim for revelation about every person who approaches us: What is the state of this person’s soul?

The servants of Satan mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11 should not be underestimated in their approach. They quote Bible verses like Christians, preach and sing like Christians, make videos like Christians, write books like Christians… In doing so, they gradually mix truth with lies and distort the Bible, for example.

The goal of these false people is also to spy on you. (Their master, the devil, is a master of espionage.) They will therefore study you for some time to find out your habits and preferences: when you pray, what you eat and drink, what your daily routine is like. This way, they can set the right trap for you. There was even a spy among the 12 apostles of Yehoshua. Judas‘ mission was to pass on what was said in the small circle to the Pharisees and Herodians. This system is still in use today. In the secular world, there are also agents of the CIA and FBI. So one can imagine that this is how it worked in the past, as well as in the spiritual realm.

People with evil intentions often want to become friends with the children of Elohim. They may come between two spouses and try to destroy the marriage. For example, they may speak ill of one spouse in front of the other and possibly seduce the partner. Once they have accomplished their mission, they remove themselves again.

We can therefore conclude that many human lives are destroyed because they have fallen into the hands of Satan’s agents, not least through marriages that were not inspired by Elohim.

 

Satan’s army

The Satanists

These are people who are in direct contact with Satan or the dark forces. They are witches (lowest level), seers, astral travellers, Rosicrucians, Freemasons, Illuminati (highest level) and so on.

If you sometimes feel followed and have the impression that you are being watched, this is probably not a figment of your imagination, but the work of this category of people. Some people also visit others through astral travel and commit sexual acts with them!

Satanists found Bible schools and make falsified Bible revisions!

Satanists such as Madonna and other stars sing. They are voodoo witches and introduce people to Satanism through their music!

Other Satanists practise a Lucifer cult, burn Bibles and wear inverted crosses. This is the most harmless type.

Still others are dictators like Hitler.

In the Bible, Paul dealt with the sorcerer Elymas (Acts 13) and Philip with Shim’on (Simon), the magician (Acts 8).

 

The hypocrites

These are people who, as mentioned above, play a role but can never be saved, no matter how much Bible teaching they receive. A child of Elohim actually receives his teaching directly from the Father, who tells him what is good and what is bad. For example, there are people who always have others pray for them in the congregations, and there are always other and further prayer requests. They themselves make no spiritual progress whatsoever.

Yohanan says of all these human servants of Satan: „18 Children, this is the last hour. And as you have heard that the Anti-Mashiah is coming, even now many anti-mashiah have appeared. From this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out of us, but they were not out of us, for if they had been out of us, they would have remained with us. But, it is so that it might be manifest that they were not all out of us“ (1 John 2:18-19).

4) Traditions, customs, idols

In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says that the old has passed away when you are a new creation. However, traditions and customs have deep roots in our ancestors and in our earliest childhood. If we continue to pass on old, man-made cults to the younger generation, we do not allow our children to leave the old behind. With Elohim, you cannot pick and choose which teachings you like. You must accept the entire Word of Elohim or leave it alone.

Example of customs: the African daughtery (bride price)

In many African cultures, it is customary for the groom or his family to pay money and goods to the bride’s parents in order to acquire the bride. There are even professional sellers who negotiate the bride price. This creates demonic bonds for the girl even before she is married. Spiritually speaking, the parents are selling their daughter to demons.

 

Example of idol worship: worship of corpses

In the Epistle of Yehudah (Jude), we read that the archangel Michael and Satan fought over the body of Moses. We ask ourselves why Satan wanted Moses‘ body so badly: knowing that humans love idols, he wanted to establish a Mosaic cult. Moses‘ body was to be worshipped, as is the case today with the bodies of the popes, which are stored in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Every year, an incredible number of people make a pilgrimage there.

5) How can we escape Satan’s intentions?

Acquire knowledge

The Bible says: „My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge“ (Hosea 4:6).

Instead of remaining naive, it is up to us to become wiser and learn from experience (our own and that of others).

Tips for all Christians:

1. Do not accept all gifts: Satanists give gifts and then have a right to your home; e.g. masks from Africa…
2. Do not eat everything that is offered to you: witches love to cook for their ‘brothers and sisters’ in the Christian community.
3. Remove everything from your life that Elohim points out to you (Akan did not destroy the treasures from Jericho, which is why the Israelites could not conquer Ai: Book of Joshua, Chapter 7).
4. Ask yourself and Elohim questions:

• Where do I have an open door?
• What do I have with me that belongs to the enemy?
• What bothers the Lord about me?
• Why do I always commit the same sin?
• What do my dreams mean?
• Why am I not making any progress?

Tips for leaders/people with supervisory duties or a special calling:

• Do not lay hands on everyone: there are people who deliberately have demons cast out so that they can then refill themselves and become even more powerful.   
• Do not necessarily want to start a church, because Satan attacks and can destroy the family.
• Listen to Elohim when he leads you into a new area or says: Now the Christian assembly is over; sometimes God also changes the calling.
• Do not be led astray by fine words into pride.

Be guided by the Holy Spirit

Yehoshua tells Nicodemus that everyone who is born from above, that is, who has become a child of Elohim, is like the wind:

„The wind blows where it wills and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from, and where it goes. So is everyone having been born out of the Spirit“ (John 3:8).

The wind here is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. A child of Elohim must not be judged. There must be no automatism: if you press the button, this happens; or self-appointed rules: I always do it this way. Otherwise, the enemy can assess us too well and his plans will succeed.

Examples of predictable behaviour:

• You decide to fast every Monday: no problem for the devil, he’ll come on Tuesday. 
• You always plan your programmes well in advance: convenient for the devil, he too can then plan your defeat in the long term.

An example of unpredictable behaviour:

• Yehoshua, for example, sent Yehuda (Judas) on a mission with Petros (Peter), even though he knew that Yehuda was playing a double game. According to rational thinking, this traitor should have been eliminated from the group of disciples as quickly as possible. However, the Lord had other plans.

In our struggle, it is therefore best to follow the General himself. He sits on the white horse.

When he goes to the left, we go to the left, even if it seems strange to us, etc. (Revelation 19:11-16).

Another beautiful image for the Holy Spirit is the river described in Ezekiel, in whichwearetoswim (Ezekiel 47:1-12).

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[1] Unless otherwise stated, all Bible quotations are taken from the Bible of Yehoshua Mashiah (BYM). Available online at: https://bym.zurueckzumwort.org/bible

[2] Researched by the translator in: Elberfelder Studienbibel mit Sprachschlüssel, Brockhaus Verlag, Wuppertal 1994/2001, p. 2200

[3] Researched by the translator in: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/

[4] Researched by the translator in: Elberfelder Studienbibel mit Sprachschlüssel, Brockhaus Verlag, Wuppertal 1994/2001, p. 2241

(Summary of a teaching by Br. Shora Kuetu)