If, as we have been told for some 2000 years, God and Satan are in a contest for the souls of men, then God is the quintessential looser. He is the standard-setting fall guy among history’s never-do-wells. As was His Son during the days when He trod the earth supposedly in search of followers. Taking the Godhead as They have been portrayed, two bigger losers cannot be found. For starters, Jesus could count as His followers only 120 or so out of the multitudes who spoke to them, healed their sick, cast out their demons and fed them. By any calculus, Jesus was a total failure.

In today’s world Jesus and His Father would fare even worse. If the ratio of God-embracers to God- rejecters determines the winner in the “eternal war for the souls of men,” the Godhead comes in a distant second. Of the world’s 7,000,000,000 plus people, only a few thousand comprise the Body of Christ if, that is, we use the Holy Bible as the Standard by which one qualifies for membership.  Any other standard is illegitimate. The Godhead rejects any other theological principle used to determine who is and who is not a spiritual brother to Jesus Christ. He made this clear in Matthew 12:46-50 where He identified His “brethren” as (only) “… they who do the will of My Father in heaven.” His will is called the Holy Bible. Jesus said that only His “friends” will join Him on His throne in the Kingdom of God. He identified His friends as those who “… do whatsoever I command you (them) to do” (Jn. 15:13,14). He prefaced the statement by noting that He would die (only) for His friends. In John 12:48 He decreed that all of humanity would be judged by “… the Words that I have spoken.” Note that He did not include church doctrine.

So how have those who profess Him as their friend and brother come to the sorry state in which we find professing Christendom today? As is the case with all of the religious problems that exist, we must return to the Garden of Eden to answer how and why questions.

In Eden God told Adam and Eve that if they so much as touched the forbidden tree they would die. His formula was simple: obey Him and live; disobey Him and die. Eve had explained to the Serpent God’s rules for eternal life. The Serpent had called God a liar. The hot war between good and evil was on. In short order the members of God’s first church embraced evil and waved the spiritual white flag of surrender. The hot, open war was over; the cold, secret war had begun. Satan’s secret war against Adam and Eve’s religious descendants continues today. With only a few exceptions, the Serpent has won the battles. Satan’s unwitting prisoners of war automatically enter his church system (Catholicism/Protestantism) as soon as they can be “saved” and “born again.” Only rarely has an individual done what Adam failed to do–stand up to Satan and defeat him. Those who dare to speak truth to power face rejection and persecution to some degree. The forms of persecution range from spiritual separation to martyrdom.

Deception is the devil’s primary weapon of mass destruction. As Jesus said in Revelation 12:9, he has deceived the whole world. His first warning to His disciples concerned Satan’s use of false prophets to deceive them. His most prized victory has been his takeover of the Institutional Church. Beginning in Eden, his victories–billions of them–have come with little effort on his part. Victory has grown easier with each generation as people become more liberal and less in need of God. This is not a new phenomenon.

Adam and Eve were created and given physical and spiritual life by God Himself. He was their only companion. They spent much time with Him, talking and walking with Him in the garden. He was their all, their every and their only. Yet they rejected Him upon hearing one particular word from the Serpent that had mysteriously appeared one day speaking their language. This wise being had only to say one word–“not”–and they became low hanging fruit for his wiles. In an instant God’s Truth was rejected and Satan’s truth was embraced. Today, the devil’s words are all Adam and Eve’s religious descendants hear in religious settings. With his false prophets holding sway over the religious masses, he has an easy time keeping them under control. Because most of his victims were “born in the church” they are automatically “grandfathered in” upon completing the prescribed ritual at the prescribed age. These “coattail conversions” involve 99% of those who fill the pews on Satan’s Sabbath. Each of his victims “knows” that he/she is saved, born again and ready for the rapture. This in spite of God’s warnings against all such beliefs and practices. Keeping his minions ignorant of God’s Word goes hand-in-hand with deception. They make an unbeatable combination.

So how does the devil–the Serpent of Eden–do it? How does he control the theology of the world’s 7,000,000,000 plus people? In this series I will focus on one of his most insidious deceptions by which he has lured billion of people into his religious web where he has a smorgasbord of religious offerings (denominations, etc.) designed to meet the religious proclivities of any and all. From the worship of rock formations to the sun, Satan’s one-size-fits-all religious holding company is designed to meet the religious needs of one and all. One of his offerings is called “Christianity.” L.J.