Websters’ Dictionary defines the word “peace” relative to the individual’s mental condition as freedom from agitation or anxiety.” Anyone who has ever found him/herself in a tense situation knows the feeling of anxiety. Often one who is feeling anxious is also struck with “fear,” which Websters describes using words such as danger, apprehension and dread. In both mental and spiritual realms the effects of certain situations produce the same inner reactions listed above. IN BOTH CASES (MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL) THE VICTIM KNOWS THAT SOMETHING ISN’T RIGHT.

In the mental realm we say that we have a “sense” that something is not right socially. In the spiritual realm we claim to be “under conviction” that we have done something wrong spiritually, meaning against God. In each situation the feeling is often described as an “uneasy feeling.” The situation can be complicated by the fact that our “uneasy feeling” can come from one of two, totally different sources. What can complicate the situation even further is that an “uneasy feeling” can have causes that are the exact opposite of what we believe the problem might be. Allow me to illustrate this phenomenon using a personal experience.

When I was in my mid-teens the following episode took place which I later realized was designed by the Lord to be used in the ministry into which He would later call me. As He has so often done, He used a situation to teach me what to teach others. As it turns out, this would be one of the most important lessons I would ever learn and teach. I grew up on a farm doing all kinds of farm work. In this particular instance we (cotton farmers) were in a hurry to get our cotton picked before the rainy session hit Southeast Missouri. On this occasion it was a Sunday morning and rain was on the way. My father talked me into skipping church to help him get the cotton to the gin before it arrived. I immediately “knew” that I had made the wrong decision because of the “uneasy feeling” that hit me.

We were hard at work when I saw my mother head out to church. I will never forget the condemnation I felt as I watched our truck disappear down the road. I felt terrible the rest of the day and throughout the following week until I could get to church and beg for God’s forgiveness for working on “the Sabbath day.” I remained “under conviction” until I was able to “pray through” to “God” and convince “Him” to forgive me for that “terrible sin.”

Years later, when I finally did get through to Him, or He got through to me, I realized that I had carried that “guilt” for nothing, that I had been deceived by my religious leaders, that it was not the Biblical God that had laid the guilt on me, but rather the “god of this world”–Satan (2 Cor. 4:4) who has “deceived the whole world” (Rev. 12:9). He was angry that I had missed his false prophet’s message that sun god day. The condemnation I felt was his disapproval for missing a message involving his false gospel. Unfortunately, millions had heard their respective messages from their respective messengers that day. He had rewarded them with a deep sense of PEACE, which told them that all was well between them and their master. They were right. The problem was that they had heard the “truths” of the wrong master.

Only later did I learn that what I had heard Sunday after Sunday about heathen beliefs and customs such as Christmas, Easter, the trinity, the Law nailed to the cross, going to heaven, all grace and no works, Christ’s one day and two nights in the tomb, etc., had been lies straight from the mind of the devil. I was indeed guilty of sin that Sunday, but my sin was not that I had missed a Sunday service, my sin was that I had attended so many of them. This sin was compounded by the fact that the true God had for years been telling me and showing me in His Word that what I was hearing were lies, and that I was living in sin for having gone with the crowd, which included my family and many of my friends. We were all very religious, meaning very churchy.

Years after the “Sunday in the cotton field” episode and my call to His ministry had been made clear, the Lord drew my attention to a specific Biblical passage where He spoke to me very powerfully the following Words: “UNTO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN, MUCH IS REQUIRED” (Lk. 12:48). At that point He began to open my eyes to the Truths that form the basis of this ministry. These are Biblical Truths that the vast majority of church people not only have never heard or read. And because of Satan’s power over their lives, when I tell and show them God’s Biblical Truth concerning those lies, His Words are summarily dismissed.

Periodically He still reminds me of His Luke 12:48 rule as I find my (God’s) message rejected by an ever-increasing number of people. Jesus warns those who serve Him in ministry that the world will hate them for proclaiming His message (Lk. 6:22). Early on I found that “the world” Jesus warned about included the Catholic/Protestant Religious System, also known as “the church.” I Praise God that He gave me a thick skin. That, combined with a hard head, has enabled me to conduct this ministry which is directed toward “the church” which is Satan’s primary weapon against true Christianity in that it is passed off as true Christianity. In military terms this is referred to as a “false flag” enemy–one who claims to be a friend.

I also praise the true God for the fact that there are many people throughout the world who have not been brain-washed by the agents of the counterfeit church. Proof of this came recently when my one and only spiritual friend in this area used a device that provides the number of downloads experienced by specific websites on the internet. The result of his research showed that my website has been visited over 3.3 billion times. Additional information revealed that when people visit my website, they normally read more than one posting. Praise His holy name. I was shocked at the number of downloads. I receive only negative responses from the people in the region in which I live. I needed some encouragement from on high.

The crux of this series is the fact that when I “came under conviction” for missing Sunday church, that very powerful, very convicting “voice” had not come from the biblical God, but rather from Satan. He uses such “conviction” to prevent his people from escaping his deadly clutches. Here is the main Truth relative to this story. Satan presents himself as the Biblical God and his voice as the voice the Lord. The “conviction” I endured and the “peace” I experienced upon repentance of my “sin” both came from the same source–SATAN. Yes, dear readers, Satan can convict us for displeasing him and provide peace–great, long-lasting peace–for doing that which pleases him. Another illustration is in order to show the devil’s power over those who do not know God’s Word or who do not believe what is in it.

I “just happened” to see an advertisement for a television documentary about a particular “Christian” denomination. The program featured an elderly man who gave his testimony about when “the Lord” assured him that he was a “true Christian” and was in the “right church” and was doing the “right work.” His testimony was that, as a teenager, he was on a mission trip designed to tell potential converts about his church. He said that for some time he had been questioning himself about his choice of churches, his work for “the Lord,” etc. One day as he was speaking to a group of people but was not feeling what he was saying, “the Lord” spoke to him, telling him that he was exactly what “the Lord” wanted him to be and was doing what He wanted him to do. He reported that he was suddenly on fire for his religion. Convinced that his was the ONLY true religion, and that he was correctly serving the ONLY true God, he completed his speech with gusto. And, he assured the t.v. audience, the fire had never gone out. This well-meaning soul “knew” that “the Lord” had spoken to him that day. As a result, he had spent the rest of his life basking in that assurance. The PEACE that came on him that day had never waned.

I knew immediately why God had arranged for me to hear the man’s testimony. Satan had spoken to that unwitting gentlemen, giving him PEACE about his spiritual condition, his church, the focus of his life, etc. His religion is about as far as one can get from the Biblical standard and still call oneself a Christian. SATAN GIVES PEACE TO THOSE IN HIS CHURCH SYSTEM FOR DOING THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF GOD’S PLAINLY STATED COMMANDS. THE PROBLEM IS THAT MOST OF GOD’S INSTRUCTONS ARE PRESENTED IN THE FORM OF “FINE PRINT” WHICH MUST BE SOUGHT OUT THROUGH IN-DEPTH BIBLE STUDY. FEW, JESUS SAID, WOULD GO TO THE TROUBLE OF FINDING THEM (Mat. 7:13,14; 22:14).

Ask any churchite coming out of a citadel of sin on Sun god day after hearing a Satan-directed sermon if they have peace. The universal answer will be “Yes.” The God of the Bible they would be carrying does not give peace for disobeying Him. Rather, He gives condemnation. However, Satan gives them peace, which overcomes God’s condemnation. God whispers, Satan yells. I know how effective Satan is in that wallowed in his counterfeit peace for many years. As the title to this series declares, there are two sources of inner peace offered by two sources of peace. One is Biblical and the other is churchical. One peace comes from God, the other from Satan. We must study, learn and believe the Holy Bible in order to discern which is which. COUNTERFEIT PEACE is one of Satan’s most effective weapons of mass destruction.

In First Thessalonians 5:3 we find Paul warning the church against embracing the peace that comes from the wrong source. He warns that when church people, while rejecting God’s Word, believe that all is well between themselves and God say, “Peace, Peace and safety are ours. We are right with God who gives us peace.” That “sudden destruction will come upon them.” In verses 4 through 22 Paul tells us how to conduct our lives so that, as verse 23 tells us, “The very God of peace will sanctify you wholly.” We must know the difference between God’s peace and Satan’s peace, God’s conviction and Satan’s conviction. Sadly, as the Lord tells us, few can distinguish between the two. As Jesus said, “Satan has deceived the whole world.” Let us not be a part of that deceived world. L.J.