Yes, you are being deceived — We all are!

Do you believe in devils and demons? Do you believe in invisible spirits who roam the earth entrapping people to do Satan’s will? Do you believe these entities are very real intelligent living beings, or do you believe they are they just metaphors used for people with evil personalities?

Once someone asked me how, in this modern world of scientific knowledge, could I believe that such things were real and not just ancient uneducated notions handed down through the ages. If that comment had been made on some college campus, I might have answered differently, but as it was, it was after a church service. I said, “Well, if that is how you believe, why are you here? You can’t be here to worship God, for you must also think our creator and his angels are just ancient uneducated peoples’ beliefs handed down through the ages, too.”

Some people seem to believe in God, but not in what God says. The Bible is filled with hundreds of scriptural references to Satan, fallen angels, demons, and their influences upon God’s earthly human population. The Bible says these evil beings will almost bring this world to an end, if not stopped from their activities. And, keeping in tune with humankind’s increase in knowledge, the Bible progressively teaches all about this evil, not just on the earth, but in the heavenly realms, also. It teaches not just that they are real, but about how they operate and the deception they use to turn humankind away from God.

Yahweh, Jesus, and their angelic servants teach us how to be good (through love and truth), whereas Satan and his fallen angels and demons teach us how to be evil (through hate and deceit). The reason for our life on earth at this time is to learn the difference and be judged upon the choices we make. Our ancestors (Adam and Eve) failed their test, because of ignorance, but another test will come and we will have to make the proper decision. The next time our choice won’t be made through ignorance, but through experience. Will we get a passing grade?

My observations indicate that many will not. People are sinful and still making choices willy-nilly,¹ not seeing the world around them, or being afraid to contemplate the possible consequences of their actions. It is as if they have their heads in the sand. Not seeing, realizing, caring, or being frightened of the reality around us, is what this article is all about.

We never seem to learn from experience.

In voicing their hope for the restoration of their homeland, Judah (some 600 years before Christ) reflects upon their sin in the book of Jeremiah, which expresses an explanation of the nation’s demise.² God tells them about their punishment and he said: “The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse — who can understand it? I the LORD test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings,” (Jeremiah 17:9-10, NRSV).³

God lets his people experience the results of their sinful ways to learn, but they keep repeating their errors over and over again and again. Of course, a few good people set an example, but for the most part, the historical record proves that history will always repeat itself. It is still happening today.

Biblical history was written through inspiration by God and is different from human written history. For instance, the written history of the United States tends to tell mostly the good things that we want to showcase, and de-emphasize the unpleasant. In difficult times, like war, we tend to show we were right and the other side was wrong. And that is no different than in other countries, either. But Biblical history is different, it is brutally accurate; it tells the good and great, but also the bad and ugly — especially in the history of God’s chosen people.

But its accuracy doesn’t seem to impress a lot of people. Readers tend to skip over what they don’t want to learn; they ignore the truth and only learn what they want to believe. As an example, and one given in the beginning of this article, the Bible says that Satan and evil spirits are genuine, but not many people believe it.

The reason is really simple and the answer comes from God’s accurate word. The reason is stated in the very first book of the Bible. God gave instructions to our first humans and accurately told them what would happen if they didn’t listen. Adam and Eve were created to live forever, if they obeyed the law, but would die if they didn’t. Along comes Satan, who says, “You will not die.” And he gives a reasonable explanation of why what he said was true (Genesis 3:4-5). Result: Eve believed the lie, which led to the death sentence cast upon all humans. Satan is our enemy and he maintains his position through the deception of lying. You would think we would all remember that and correct our ways, but we don’t.

New Testament advice, from the apostle Paul, is: “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority, (Colossians 2:8-10).

In the above scripture, false teachings seek to rob men of what is worthwhile, but offer nothing substantial in its place. Philosophy means literally ‘the love of wisdom’, but it is not evil in itself — it becomes evil when men seek wisdom apart from the Lord Jesus Christ.⁴

Things sometimes just don’t add up.

So, let’s talk about lying and deception in the world today, for this will demonstrate how much our global societies have fallen away from God and toward his enemy, Satan. Every country has its fill of evil. In my country, the United States of America, one recent great deception was the last presidential election.

We currently have a two-party political system. Right now, 75 percent of Republicans (conservative) and 30 percent of Democrats (liberal) feel that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent. No matter all the errors, lawbreaking, trickery, and fraud that have surfaced, nothing has swayed our corrupt highest court to examine the evidence, of which there is plenty. It will take many serious changes to restore people’s faith in our election system.⁵

It really doesn’t matter whether someone is conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat — what matters is election integrity. A person of either side should have an equal opportunity to win, as long as the election is fair and legal. And if there are any claims of fraud, they should be examined by the courts and corrected, not just ignored. (For more information on this subject, see “Did Evil Win in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election? — Did God Hear Our Prayers?” listed in References & Notes.⁶)

I’m sure that those of you living in other countries can readily cite similar instances in your part of the world. The important point of such examples is that there is an abundance of participation in such activities that are controlled by Satan and his evil entourage. According to the Bible, Satan’s helpers number one-third of those angels created by God; they rebelled against their former estate (Jude 6) and formed an alliance (Revelation 12:3-4) for evil.

These evil beings are actively gathering human helpers through deceit. They lie and tell us what we want to hear, or try to scare us in a certain direction through their fraudulence. They deceive us in believing we will get a better deal, or be protected by some action. And they make sure those deceived are rewarded in some way — either economically or mentally. They lie to us and manipulate us, for their own control and wealth.

If you think most worldly governments are here to help us, than you haven’t learned the truth, yet. Some may have been designed to help, but over time, they no longer do so. But it isn’t just government, but also big financial and corporate organizations worldwide. It has always been the leaders that benefit most. And don’t think religious organizations are immune to Satan’s influences. Megachurches are big businesses, too, with many designed to bring in as much money as possible.

Don’t let the idea of a large institution being a nonprofit corporation fool you — they are still big businesses that accumulate a lot of money, they just cannot distribute a profit to their owners. That doesn’t stop some nonprofit corporations from paying enormous salaries, and providing huge perks to their leaders and top employees, such as fancy buildings and offices around the world, expensive automobiles, boats, airplanes, servants, meals, travel, vacations, hotels, guest houses — you get the idea. They live pretty well, sometimes extravagantly, at your expense. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith” (1 Timothy 6:10a). Also, see Hebrews 13:5.

Oddities about the COVID-19 problem.

On the worldwide stage of deception, let’s take this current virus pandemic as an example. I am not going to use this platform to detail and debate all that is wrong with this worldwide situation, but I will point out some falsehoods and deceit. There is much more than enough evidence proving the truth, but one must search to find it. The truth is out there, but you have to work to get it; you must go to sources outside of the mainstream or popular news sites.

My doctorate is not in medicine or science, so I do not offer any advice as to what you should or should not do about this virus, but I do suggest you research to learn for yourself. What I write in this article is what I have gleaned from the sources I reference. My intent within this article is to demonstrate how Satan’s deception can affect entire populations. If you are deceived by this overrated pandemic, you will surely fail the test when Satan again causes deception, which possibly overwhelms even the chosen. “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect,” (Matthew 24:24).

How do they keep the truth secret? The people controlling our world do it with false knowledge, fear, and intimidation. They lie or make you fear something, or both, and then provide a solution, supposedly to help you. If you don’t go along with their plan, they use intimidation to shut you up, shut you down, control you, or if necessary, punish you in some way. The deceit will continue until the majority awake to the truth and stop believing the dishonesty. The problem is, by that time it may be too late to make a difference.

Fear and deceit are not attributes of the Holy Spirit, so when someone uses fear to manipulate and control you, the tactic may very well originate from within the spirit realm, but it is definitely not God’s spirit. Unless you see real evidence, you can ignore such threats, for they are usually empty threats.

Concerning this current coronavirus pandemic, our immune system is a miracle of God’s design that withstands toxic, microbial inundation on a grand scale. Sometimes, people die of disease, yes, but what is being echoed by the government officials isn’t science, it is social engineering — terrorism.⁷ Fear fostered by governments and organizations are designed to make you slaves of some evil agenda, but “be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

Now, I’m not saying the COVID-19 virus⁸ is false, no, it is real. But verifiable evidence demonstrates it is not any worse than other flu viruses. Have you noticed the special terminology used in the news concerning this malady? It is never said that thousands and thousands of people have caught the COVID-19 virus, only that a person ‘tests positive’. And all these people who are announced as succumbing to the virus are always stated as dying from ‘virus-related’ issues. The real counts of COVID deaths are much less than reported. One report says real COVID fatalities are inflated by 1600 percent.⁹ Why?

One reason is because there is no test that indicates COVID-19. Nobel Laureate Kary Mullis, decades ago, invented the method now used in COVID-19 testing: Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). This process allows researchers to multiply a tiny DNA sample thousands, or even several millions of times, so there is a larger sample to test. This method makes it easier to detect minute particles, but doesn’t indicate what causes a particular disease. In other words, if you or I have had a cold or flu sometime in the past (even many years ago), any residual particles from that long-gone sickness may show-up in a PCR test, after it has been duplicated millions of times in the lab.

And since all cold and all flu viruses are a type of coronavirus, they will all test ‘positive’. In fact, you may not have even had the symptoms of the cold or flu (now or then), but still test ‘positive’ if a remnant particle is in you body, even if dormant. So, the test you are given can ‘test positive’, but that is NO indication of having caught the COVID-19 disease.¹¹ PCR testing was not even designed for diagnostic purposes, but that doesn’t stop the government and news media from reporting all positive tests as “cases of COVID-19.”

The game is all about making money and taking control at your expense, and officials are using the situation to make social changes the public would not, ordinarily, have allowed to happen. They imply the truth of a lie and speak about how they are helping you, just as Satan did in the Garden of Eden. Basically, “they utter lies to each other; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak” (Psalm 12:2). They are not helping the public; they are helping themselves.

The reason why so many fatalities are listed as ‘death by COVID-19′ is because the medical facilities get money for every such reported death. During a government Oversight and Reform subcommittee hearing, “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] director, Robert Redfield, acknowledged during a House hearing . . . that COVID-19 data could be inflated because hospitals receive a monetary gain by reporting COVID-19 cases.” A U.S. Congressional Representative remarked that as long as coronovirus particles can be found in the body by tests, it can be claimed as a COVID death. This means that the attending physician, hospital, or facility will get extra money from the government.¹²

It’s all about the money, folks. That is why some suicides and deaths from automobile accidents are listed as COVID-19 related deaths in the news media. I guess the attitude is, if they are dead, take a COVID test and if any remnant coronavirus particle is found, then it can be called ‘death by COVID-19′. Some people are now wondering if some insurance companies are getting away with not paying for some claims, because the death can now be considered as a preexisting condition. That is an interesting thought and, although policies most likely will payout for COVID deaths, some news operations are addressing the issue.¹³

This article would be much too long to analyze all falsities about COVID-19, but let me bring up another one that is in plain sight, but that no one sees. Most symptoms associated with COVID-19 are the same as for regular flu and common colds. It is even difficult (or impossible) for a doctor to tell the difference between a cold, the flu, or the pandemic virus, because the symptoms are the same.

Generally, in the past, if it was a mild case then the doctor would label it a cold, if a bad case he would call it the flu.¹⁴ And COVID-19 is just another variety of flu, so to be perfectly honest, no test will determine whether you have a cold, flu, or COVID-19. Don’t be fooled into thinking it will. If the fake COVID-19 test is positive, you will have to live with the label of having the pandemic virus.

This is a similar labeling deception like that which takes place in third-world countries. They try to blame a lot of areas as having Ebola outbreaks when that is not the true situation, but it does make money for the companies selling Ebola vaccines. Common symptoms for Ebola include abdominal pain, weakness, gastrointestinal issues of diarrhea and vomiting, and dehydration. But these issues are the same for a number of other maladies,¹⁵ such as influenza, malaria, typhoid fever, and arsenic poisoning.¹⁶ Even one of the most common of all problems, food poisoning, has the same symptoms.¹⁷

Concerning arsenic poisoning, it is a common problem in these same economically depressed countries, because it “is the most significant chemical contaminant in drinking-water globally.” It is present in the groundwater of many countries.¹⁸ So, much of the Ebola news is really some other problem. If you want to know the truth, follow the money. It is usually not about how to solve a problem, but how much money some group can make from it, and lying and deceit are their choices (over helping people) to increase profits.

Please note that the references for the last several explanations, come directly from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The CDC is a private organization, not owned by the government. It may be considered a quasi-government agency, because it accepts some money from the United States government, but it is actually a charity and receives most of its charitable contributions and philanthropic grants from individuals, foundations (examples: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations, Clinton Foundation), corporations, and others.¹⁹ Generally, the CDC and WHO decisions are financially beneficial to the donors.

If you wish to learn truth about the current COVID-19 virus and COVID-19 vaccines, you will not learn all the truth about them from mainstream print media or network television news. Neither will you be allowed to access such information from YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Google, etc., for it has been banned/removed from such sites. They want to control what you say, what you see, and what you think.

I’m not trying to convince anyone about how to handle the current pandemic, but only demonstrate the need to learn truth and make decisions based upon verified facts. The words that Jesus said, to the Jews who believed him, can also be applied to all truths, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free,” (John 8:31-32).

Although many people are waking up to the truth about governments and big corporations, most will not see or understand. Satan and his associates have had thousands of years to practice deceiving humankind; they are very skillful in their deception. Those who lie, and cheat, and murder, are not children of God.

When Jesus was on earth, the Pharisees did not believe he was the son of God and challenged him. They wanted to know where were the witnesses who would agree with him. “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid,” they said (John 8:13b). The debate goes on until the Pharisees state that they have but one father, God himself.

Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot accept my word. You are from your father the devil, and you choose to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is from God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear them is that you are not from God,” (John 8:42-47).

How do we keep away from Satan’s influence?

Remember that evil people, governments, corporations, and others are being influenced by spiritual beings. Earthly entities are responsible, of course, but the real enemies are the evil spirits behind these evil people and establishments — people tend to congregate with those of like minds. How do we separate ourselves from Satan’s influences? First we must understand who and what these evil forces are. The apostle Paul explained this well.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:10–12).

Satan and his cohorts, as well as the places from which they came and those places they currently inhabit, are invisible to us, but just because they are unseen does not mean that they are not real. X-rays, radio waves, and wi-fi signals are all unseen, but real. Many colors, which other animals can see (e.g., infrared, ultraviolet) are unseen by humans, but they are all real. Gravity and magnetic attraction are unseen, but they are real. Electricity and energy radiation are unseen, but real. You get the idea.

Likewise, the following things are real, too: Satan and his angels, demons, unclean spirits, evil authorities, and cosmic powers. And these locations are real as well: other principalities, other habitations, other dominions, and other realms or dimensions. These are the things Paul speaks about in Ephesians 6:12.

Paul also gives details of how to fend-off or repel these evil influences. A study on that very subject can be found in the article titled “Ephesians 6: Evil Cosmic Powers & the Armor of God” listed at the end of this treatise.²⁰

Conclusion

I thought an appropriate song related to the theme of this article is one by American Christian singer-songwriter, Ron Kenoly. The song, “We’re Going Up to the High Places” (sung with another song), was recorded live at a public performance. Kenoly (born in 1944), is not just a music artist, but also holds a Doctorate of Ministry degree.²¹ Selected lyrics are below and a link to the music video (with closed captions) is in References & Notes.²²

We’ve been deceived by the devil too long,
We’re gonna tear the devil’s kingdom down

What he said was his, has been ours all along
We’re gonna tear the devil’s kingdom down

We’re going up to the high places
To tear the devil’s kingdom down

Copyright © 2021, Dr. Ray Hermann
OutlawBibleStudent.org

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References & Notes

1. willy-nilly >adverb: 1 whether one likes it or not. 2 without direction or planning; haphazardly.
   Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., (USA: Oxford University Press, 2008 [revised]).
2. Mays, James Luther (Ed.), Harper’s Bible Commentary, (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988), p. 623.
3. All references from New Revised Standard Version Bible, Division of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, 1989. Used by permission; all rights reserved.
4. MacDonald, William, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, (Ed.) Arthur Farstad, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), p. 2002.
5. Margolis, Matt, “Whoa: Nearly a Third of Democrats Believe the Election Was Stolen From Trump”, (PJ Media, Salem Media, 19 November 2020), https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/matt-margolis/2020/11/19/whoa-nearly-a-third-of-democrats-believe-the-election-was-stolen-from-trump-n1160882
6. Hermann, Ray, “Did Evil Win in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election? — Did God Hear Our Prayers?” (The Outlaw Bible Student, OBS, 28 January 2021), https://outlawbiblestudent.org/did-evil-win-in-the-2020-u-s-presidential-election-did-god-hear-our-prayers/
7. Farber, Celia, “Inventor of the PCR Technique Would Be the First to Say It’s Not Fit for Diagnostic Purposes”, (Anti-Empire, 3 July 2020), https://anti-empire.com/the-inventor-of-the-pcr-technique-would-be-the-first-to-say-its-not-fit-for-diagnostic-purposes/
8. COVID-19: a mild to severe respiratory illness that is caused by a coronavirus (Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 of the genus Betacoronavirus). The coronavirus that causes COVID-19: SARS-COV-2.
   “Merriam-Webster Online,” (Merriam-Wester, Inc., 2019), http://www.Merriam-Webster.com
9. Tomey, Ramon, “Study: CDC violated federal law by inflating coronavirus death counts”, (Natural News, 9 February 2021), https://www.naturalnews.com/2021-02-09-cdc-violated-federal-law-inflating-death-counts.html
10. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR): is a method widely used to rapidly make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample, allowing scientists to take a very small sample of DNA and amplify it to a large enough amount to study in detail.
    “Polymerase chain reaction”, (Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 March 2021), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymerase_chain_reaction
11. Faber, Celia, “Inventor of the PCR Technique Would Be the First to Say It’s Not Fit for Diagnostic Purposes”, see above.
12. Fussell, Blake, “CDC director agrees hospitals have monetary incentive to inflate COVID-19 data”, (The Christian Post, 4 August 2020), https://www.christianpost.com/news/cdc-director-agrees-that-hospitals-have-monetary-incentive-to-inflate-COVID-19-data.html
13. Wheeler, Lydia, “Covid Unknowns Leave Survivors Fearing Life Insurance Rejection”, (Bloomberg Wealth, Bloomberg Media, 2 December 2020), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-02/covid-unknowns-leave-survivors-fearing-life-insurance-rejection
14. “Cold Versus Flu”, (CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, retrieved 7 March 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/coldflu.htm
15. “Ebola(Ebola Virus Disease)”, (CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, retrieved 7 March 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/symptoms/index.html
16. “Case Definition: Arsenic (Inorganic)”, (CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, retrieved 7 March 2021), https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/arsenic/casedef.asp
17. “Food Poisoning Symptoms”, (CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, retrieved 7 March 2021), https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/symptoms.html
18. “Arsenic”, (WHO, World Health Organization, 15 February 2018), https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/arsenic
19. Armstrong, Martin, “CDC is a Private Organization–Not Government”, (Armstrong Economics, 26 March 2020), https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/disease/cdc-is-a-private-organization-not-government/
20. Hermann, Ray, “Ephesians 6: Evil Cosmic Powers & the Armor of God”, (The Outlaw Bible Student, OBS, 17 February 2019), https://outlawbiblestudent.org/ephesians-6-evil-cosmic-powers-the-armor-of-god/
21. “Ron Kenoly”, (Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 December 2020), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Kenoly
22. “We’re Going Up to the High Places/Whose Report Shall You Believe”, Artist: Ron Kenoly; Album: Ron Kenoly Collection; (Integrity Music, 1992; Licensed to YouTube by Absolute Label Service, Capitol CMG Publishing, ASCAP, Sony ATV, others) – MUSIC VIDEO: https://youtu.be/B-h1s5jHjZo