[Note: The following is an excerpt from my chapter in the book, Deceivers: Exposing Evil Seducers & Their Last Days Deception, edited by Terry James. Order your copy on Amazon (Paperback and Kindle)].
The Long War
Greed. It killed the young woman long before the volcano ever did. And, not just her. Greed’s victims over human history number in the billions.
Greed has been the bane of humanity since the dawn of time, ever since Adam and Eve lusted after the Serpent’s false promise that if they ate the Forbidden Fruit they would surely not die, but become like God, knowing good and evil (Genesis 3). And even well before mankind’s fall, up in the angelic realm, greed consumed Lucifer, the magnificent Angel of Light, who boldly proclaimed in his heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God… I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14).
Greed, or avarice as it is sometimes called, is what exactly? Dictionary.com defines greed as “an excessive, extreme desire for something, often more than one’s proper share; an avid desire for gain or wealth.”1 The Roman lyric poet, Horace, explained that greed encompasses the element of unending dissatisfaction when he philosophized, “He who is greedy is always in want.”2 Author T.F. Hodge explained that greed and ego go hand-in-hand when he penned, “The ego lusts for satisfaction. It has a prideful, ferocious appetite for its version of ‘truth.’ It is the most challenging aspect to conquer; the cause for most spiritual turmoil.”3
If greed belongs to the list of the seven deadly sins, then its cousins—envy, gluttony, lust, pride, sloth, and wrath—are merely different shades of the same all-consuming self-interest. They combine into the ultimate expression of ego.
Ego unchecked transforms a being from a freeman into a slave. As Jesus Christ taught, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). Greed and God cannot coexist in a person’s heart. The dichotomy will rip a person in two, forcing one to choose a loving master of selflessness or an all-consuming master of self. That spiritual battle raging within the human heart formed the foundation for the long spiritual war the world is now embroiled in–the ultimate Giver versus the ultimate Taker. And in the end, only one shall stand triumphant.
Ego wields as its primary weapon the two-edged sword of deception and self-deceptive. Often those who greedily lust after God’s might, position, and power wrap themselves in the cloak of self-deceived religiosity. They deceive not only others for their own selfish gain, but themselves as well. The Pharisees and Scribes of Jesus’ day were such men, vainly believing themselves holy and altruistic. Alas, Christ threw their treachery in their faces when He accused:
“If God were your Father, you would love Me… You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do… He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me… you are not of God” (John 8:42-47).
Jesus turned up the heat on all the false teachers and false prophets who claim they speak in God’s name, as well as the false christs who blasphemously dare to claim equality with God. In truth, these counterfeits exist as “whitewashed tombs, full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27). In the service to the master of greed and ego, some people sink into becoming the most loathsome and detestable of all who self-deceive and deceive others—the Foreteller-Fabricators.
In this chapter, we will take a hard look at those deceivers of the false prophet and false christ variety. Looking at the First Century to the Twenty-First Century, these deceivers have served their evil master in their futile pursuit of the great Garden delusion–their egos lust to become gods. We will peek behind the shrouds of some of the cult leaders, who like weeds, have sprung up over the last 2,000 years. We will scratch our heads over the oddity that is the eschatologically confused. And then, finally, we will marvel at the naivety of the eschatologically ignorant. Vital lessons will be learned about how to spot a counterfeit Christ, and how we can apply these truths to our daily lives.
But, first, we must start where Jesus started. We must take a look at yet another tragic story of greed. Let’s journey through one of the most dynamic narratives and the greatest series of prophetic revelations found in all of the Bible. The story is called…
Resource
Indoctrination disguised as education. The religion of climate change enshrined. Witchcraft and the occult made mainstream. Fake news. We live in a world where deception is rampant and true agendas are rarely revealed. Jesus foretold of this time as He answered His disciples’ question: What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Bible prophecy experts present analysis of today’s issues and events in Deceivers, revealing that Christ’s prophecy is literally unfolding before us today.
Order the book, Deceivers: Exposing Evil Seducers & Their Last Days Deception, edited by Terry James, on Amazon (Paperback and Kindle)]!
References
1. Greed. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/greed (accessed: August 31, 2017).
2. “Quotes About Greed,” Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/greed.
3. Ibid.
