If I was Satan I would convince salvation seekers that God allowed Pope Sylvester I to change His Holy Sabbath Day from Saturday to Sunday, that God’s eternal Law was nailed to the cross and no longer applied, and that they had been programmed to sin at conception.

If I was Satan I would also convince those who believe in Jesus that they have been saved and born again.  As was the case in the first three deceptions, I would keep them ignorant of God’s “fine print” so that they would never catch on to my born again deception.  I would focus their attention away from the perfect example of rebirth exhibited by Jesus of Nazareth–the first born again Man.

In John 1:1-4 we are told that Jesus was born of flesh, exactly as had all other human beings.  From the beginning the God Who was called “the Word” was exactly like His companion God, both of Whom were composed totally of spirit.  In order to fulfill His Messianic commission the Word had been had been transformed from spirit to flesh and identified as Jesus of Nazareth.  Some three decades later Jesus was once again transformed, this time from flesh to spirit.  The following narrative explains why His change in bodily composition was necessary, and why human beings must undergo the same process in order to join Him in God’s Kingdom.  If I was Satan I would hide this vital information from those in my Catholic/Protestant Church System.  I would also keep from them the following Scriptural Truths.

Before His transformation from spirit to flesh the Word was in God’s kingdom which was, and still is, located in heaven (Mat. 6:9,10).  Following his transformation from spirit to flesh Jesus no longer had bodily access to God’s heavenly kingdom.  If I was Satan I would not allow my people to know why.

In 1 Corinthians 15:45-54 we are told that, while in the flesh, man cannot enter the Kingdom of God which is in heaven, that man must be transformed from flesh to spirit in order to enter it. When Jesus came to earth as a human being He took on the form of flesh and blood in order to be like all other human beings.  His goal was to show man that he could meet God’s requirements for salvation, Jesus Himself being the perfect example.  Once His earthly purpose had been fulfilled, He would return to God’s heavenly kingdom from whence He would serve as the intercessor between God and man.  And He would do so as a born again MAN (1 Tim. 2:5).  In His flesh state He could not enter the Kingdom of God.  To enter therein He would have to change from flesh to spirit, for “… flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God.”  Jesus, like all other humans, was created a flesh being, making Him mortal, capable of sin, death, etc.  Man being flesh as was Jesus, he must be changed into spirit composition (be born again) in order to enter God’s heavenly kingdom, AS DID THE MAN JESUS.

Jesus divested Himself totally of His divinity and came to earth as a man (Phil. 2:5-8) in order to show other men how to receive salvation (enter God’s kingdom upon His return).  While with God in that kingdom, the Word (Jn. 1:1-4) was a spirit being just as God is, was and will always be a spirit being (Jn. 4:24).  By becoming flesh, Jesus could serve as man’s model.  His human life serving as man’s instruction book for entering the Kingdom of God which He will establish on earth following His return (Mat. 6:9,10).  It is God’s will that all men join Him in His kingdom.  In John 3:3-7 Jesus tells us that in order to enter God’s Kingdom man must be born again (changed from flesh to spirit).  Jesus, man’s perfect example, would later undergo the same change by being born again following His death.

In John 3:5-8 Jesus told Nicodemus that when a man was born again he would become like the wind, causing things to happen without being seen.  Jesus demonstrated such power and ability following his death and resurrection (Lk. 24:36-40).  As He told Nicodemus, such will be the case of ALL who have been born again.  If I was Satan I would not allow my unwitting victims to understand this.  I would convince them that upon accepting Jesus as their Savior they would automatically be saved and born again.

To fully understand what Jesus meant by the expression “born again,” the salvation seeker  must study those Scriptures which speak to the issue–God’s “fine print.”  “You must be born again” is the “headline.” What the “headline” means is equally important, which is why I would hide it from my parishioners if I was Satan.

The Scriptures are clear:  TO BE BORN AGAIN MEANS TO CHANGE FROM FLESH TO SPIRIT BODY CONSISTENCY, an act of God which renders the saint totally spirit.  Until rebirth and salvation, man remains a flesh and blood being.  At present, only Jesus Christ has been born again.  But in that He was “… the firstborn of many brethren …,” other human beings will also be “born of God”–converted (Rom. 8:29).  Some of them will also be “born again” upon the return of Christ to earth.  Sadly, Jesus said that only a few would do so (Mat. 7:13,14/Mat. 20:16).  Through the Apostle Paul He noted that the salvation-seeking masses would be “ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the Truth” (2 Tim. 3:7).  The Truth, Jesus said, was God’s Word (Jn. 17:17).  If I was Satan I would fill my victim’s minds with church doctrine and would keep them as far as possible away from God’s Truth and those who proclaim His Truth.

First Corinthians 15:51-53 states that those IN CHRIST (converted) will be changed (born again) from mortal (flesh-capable of death) to immortal (spirit-incapable of death) AT HIS SECOND COMING.

Scripture reveals that not all of God’s saints will be dead upon Christ’s return.  First Thessalonians 4:16 tells us that upon his visible return, those who have died in Him will rise to meet Him in the air, followed by those who are still alive at that time who will join them in the air where Jesus awaits with His mighty angels (2 Thes. 1:7).  Colossians 3:4 tells us that when Christ appears in the sky His saints will appear with Him.   These will be those (dead and living) who will have risen (been “raptured”) from either under the earth (the dead) or from earth’s surface (the living)–1 Thessalonians 4:16).  Note that no saints will have come from heaven.  If I was Satan I would be sure to hide this information from my people.

Following the gathering of His saints to Himself, Christ will descend with His now born again saints to the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4).  From there they will enter Jerusalem where He will establish God’s kingdom on earth.  From there He and His saints will rule and reign over the earth for ever and ever (Rev. 5:10; 20:6; 22:5).  If I was Satan I would not let my church members know that, after 1000 years of ruling the earth, God’s saints will be given rulership of the entire universe.

That there will be a change in the bodily composition of those who are born again was voiced by Job in chapter 14, verses 14,15.

God describes such a transformation in Philippians 3:21,22.  Here He tells us that Christ will change our vile (flesh) body so that it will be like His glorious (spirit) body.  The born again body, as 1 John 3:2 tells us, will be like His body for, as it is written, “… we do not at this time know how we will appear (at that time), but when He appears we will be (appear/look) like Him, for we will see Him as He is.”  And we will know that we look exactly as He looks.  How does Christ look?  If I was Satan I would not allow my church people to know.

Revelation 1:13-16 describes Christ’s born again body:  He has hair like wool, eyes like flames of fire and feet like burnished brass.  Covered to the feet and wearing a golden girdle, His countenance is like the sun in its full strength.  According to Christ Himself, the bodies of His born again saints will be exactly like His glorified body following their rebirth and salvation.

IF YOUR BODY IS NOT LIKE HIS BODY, IF YOU ARE CAPABLE OF SINNING, IF YOU CAN BE SEEN, IF YOU CAN DIE, IF YOU ARE NOT IN THE HEAVENLY KINGDOM OF GOD, YOU ARE NEITHER SAVED NOR BORN AGAIN.  THUS SAYS THE LORD IN HIS HOLY BIBLE.  If I was Satan I would not allow my Catholic and Protestant servants know the above stated and Scripturally-proven Bible Truths.  If they happen to know them, I would not allow them to believe them.  I would also have them reject the words of anyone who spoke or wrote them.  I would convince my church parishioners that they are already saved and born again.  I would also send them back to my church every Sun God Worshiping Day (Sunday) where my ministers would assure them that they are right.  I would diligently do all of the above and much more if I was Satan.  L.J.