See also John 18:10-11. How do we know when Satan is doing the speaking? He can appear as an angel of light. There are many false religions in the world and there can be much error and some truth mixed in. There are also many “Christian” heresies that are just a s false. The Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons are often sincere but don’t know what they are doing is false as they follow a different “Bible” and a different “Gospel”. Satan is good at camouflage and apostasy can even live in mainstream Christian churches. It only takes a tiny drop of arsenic in the food to kill a person.
It is not surprising that goats are among the sheep. (Matt 25:31-33,). We are told in the Bible to test all things. (1 Thessalonians 5:21). The Holy Spirit and God’s Word are to be our guide and teacher. We are encouraged to be like the Beareans (Acts 17:11) and check what is said against God’s Word. We are to follow Jesus and not some religious leader or great preacher or teacher – especially if they don’t line up with God’s Word.
In Matthew 16:16-23 and John 18:10; 25-27 we can see that Peter still held on to his presuppositions about the Messiah. The reaction of Peter and those others who oppose Jesus give us some signatures of Satan.
1. Chop off the ear with the sword
This is the first signature and is a misuse of the weapon. Peter reacted with a sword and chopped off the ear of a soldier. People can be incapable of hearing the Word of God because you have cut off their ear! You need to look for Satan in your life before you look for him in others! You may be right but you have said it at the wrong time and in the wrong way. The truth needs to be told in love. This is not an easy thing to do with people who resist God. You can do more harm than good. Everyone has done it but in doing so you are inadvertently doing the work of Satan. Peter didn’t recognise it. He had a skewed view of the mission of Jesus and had to be put right.
2. Personal attack
See John 18:28-30. If they are unable to attack the issues they will attack the person. They dodge the issue and refuse to deal with the facts. They did this with Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus. It was the religious leaders, rulers and politically elite who did it. If you can’t refute them then attack them for saying it. They could not refute the works and miracles of Jesus so they attacked the person. When Jesus was attacked, He dealt with the issue and then the person.
3. Undermining the basis of absolute truth
See Matthew 18:38. Pilate asks, “What is truth?”. Jesus said that He was the truth – an eternal truth that does not change. How can some prominent Christians endorse same-sex marriage? Instead of truth being objective, it is made subjective. Instead of doctrinal, it becomes relational. Instead of permanent, it becomes relative (to time. Truth that is Biblical is absolutely absolute. When it is not, it is a signature of Satan. Those who teach anything else are either apostate or backsliders. Those who point it out are attacked for saying it!
4. A text out of context is a pretext
if you can’t find what you want to believe then you look to find a verse or version of the Bible to make it fit. Satan did exactly this when he tried to use Scripture to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. We are told in the Bible to eat God’s Word! See John 6:26ff, Ezekiel 2:8, Jeremiah 15:16 and Revelation 10:9-10. Those who twist God’s Word to fit their own wishes are evidence of another signature of Satan.
5. They call good evil and evil good
If they do 1-4 of the signatures above then this one is sure to follow! See John 18:40. Women’s rights have led to abortion being rife throughout the world. The unborn are being killed and people are making money from it. Homosexuality in gay men reduces human life by more years than smoking. It is correct but because it is not politically correct, few people are willing to say it. Africa is being decimated by HIV but criticised for anti-sodomy laws by the likes of Hilary Clinton and President Obama. Homosexual practice only makes the spread of HIV worse. Those who call good evil and evil good will go to hell. It is a cover up that God hates. See Romans 1. We need love and truth together. See Philippians 1:9.
These are the unmistakable signs of Satan. It has always been this way. You may not be able to help others but you don’t have to let Satan do it to you!
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