We're one week closer! If nothing else, we at least have that! But seriously, I hope you had a wonderful week and didn't go through too much tribulation. It seems like every week there's something major happening in the world. It makes you wonder what it all means in the grand plan. I haven't figured that out yet, and maybe I won't until we can ask Jesus about it, but I do know there's a lot of chaos and confusion that's involved from the side of Satan.
That's actually what we're looking at this week. We've looked at this here and there before, but there's been a lot of things being shown to me lately that have emphasized the importance of being able to identify when the truth is being obscured. Sometimes the fact that something's being obscured is obvious. Sometimes, the obscuring is so sly it's hard to identify.
At the core of it, obscuring is really lying, and we've looked at that topic before. This time, we're going to take it up a couple levels. But first, we have to make sure we understand the difference between what Satan and his minions do and what Yehovah does when He gives us prophecy or conceals a matter for us to seek out (Proverbs 25:2).
There is prophecy all throughout scripture, as well as things like parables that conceal a matter for us to figure out. When you look at Daniel 7, you find that Daniel was given a prophetic vision involving beasts with horns, and when you look at the book of Revelation you find even more imagery given to John about things to come. When you look at the teachings of Jesus, you find parables like the ten virgins and the wedding feast in which Jesus is using stories to teach a lesson.
Would you consider these methods obscuring in the same way that evil does? Well, the obvious answer is no, but why? Is it just because it's God or Jesus giving the dream or parable? That's a good enough reason for me! But really what it comes down to is the purpose for using the imagery or story. Now, I don't mean that if we don't want to hurt someone's feelings or for some other seemingly noble purpose we can go around making stuff up. Absolutely not. What I'm saying is the purpose of the use of imagery for prophecy or stories for lessons was to show truth, while the purpose of Satan is to hide the truth.
When we use the word obscure in terms of Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44), we can also use the synonym: occult. The most interesting definition I found for occult, and possibly the most appropriate for this usage, is, "not manifest or detectable by clinical methods alone." The clinical method is how a physician determines what's wrong with someone and how to fix it. The interesting part is it's conducted by asking the person questions about how they feel, their medical history, what they've been doing day to day, etc., giving them a physical examination, using x-rays, a stethoscope, a thermometer, etc., and then using the physician's knowledge, or maybe some diagnosis books, to determine the remedy required.
Do you see why that definition is so appropriate? Depending on the level of the occult, you may not be able to figure out it is obscuring the truth by asking questions, looking at it in the physical, or using your knowledge. That's because, just like why the clinical method doesn't always work for medicine, this method ignores a key component of how and why things actually happen the way they do: the spiritual!
On a side note, when I read the book of Revelation and see the imagery there, I personally believe it was given to John in that way because he was actually seeing the spiritual things behind what happens in the physical world that we see every day. The reason I believe that, is because John is very specific when he describes how he saw this vision: "I was in the spirit..." (Revelation 1:10), and "...the first voice...saying, 'Come up here...' ...Immediately I was in the spirit..." (Revelation 4:1-2). This wording is different from that of Daniel, for example, where it says he had dreams and visions while on his bed (Daniel 7:1). I believe there's a reason this distinction is made, but I could be wrong!
But let's get back on track! When Satan obscures, his intention is to lead people down the path of his control and away from God. The only way to do this is to hide the truth, and especially hide who his minions are and what they do. For instance, perhaps you've been following the individuals that have been outspoken and fighting for revealing and correcting the election fraud of 2020. One of these people was one of the first to bring it up, using only statistics and probabilities to prove the results of the election were fraudulent.
As a result, he gained notoriety and has since branched out to things like standing up against tyrannical government mandates and seeking the truth behind what's really in the COVID vaccine. As I watched his videos though, it was more and more of a commercial for things he's invented disguised in trying to reveal the truth. Am I saying this guy is an agent of Satan? No. I'm not judging him at all. But in one of the products he is selling he references the belief of chakras, and that is clearly a part of Satan's occult of the truth. This belief obscures the fact that we are made of a body, a soul and a spirit, and invites demons into our lives if we try to use this chakra idea to heal or meditate rather than turning to God.
It's likely this man doesn't even know the truth and is blind like most others. But it's not just what we would consider those obvious things like chakras or yoga that Satan uses to occult the truth and lead people away from God. If you look at the progression of the world, or even just our country, over the past two years you can clearly see his work. One day you're told masks do nothing for COVID, the next they're mandatory everywhere. One day it takes decades to get a vaccine approved to ensure it is safe for use, the next there's a vaccine approved in months....and then it's made mandatory...and then mandates are removed in some places in the world, but left in place in others.
People were told there's no way the vaccines can be made mandatory by the same people who went on to impose such mandates. Did they know they were going to mandate the vaccine originally? I don't know, but I have my suspicions because the way it has played out since then has all been about giving a false sense of security and then wearing away people's will to fight. For instance, people were given the assurance that exemptions would be authorized. Those not wanting to lose their jobs saw hope, only to find that most of the time exemptions weren't being approved or trying to get it approved was something akin to the Spanish Inquisition. Many relented and got the vaccine out of fear of losing their job. Some held out, hoping a legal avenue was an option, only to find out that all the way up to the Supreme Court, the politics of the shot overcame the science and constitutionality of keeping the vaccines a personal choice.
Why do I take this opportunity to point this out? Am I saying everyone who got the vaccine is doomed? Or even that the vaccines are from Satan? No. I have my own beliefs, but that's not why I brought this topic up. My point is, there was an obscuring of the truth going on throughout that whole process, whether intentional by those doing it or not. And that was not for a situation that is commonly known as occult like health crystals or psychics. I believe the Holy Spirit led some down the path of avoiding the vaccine no matter what because they would have been severely hurt by it. Others I think He let get it because it wouldn't injure them and they could see everything that happened around it, having their eyes opened to the obscuring of truth.
If we don't look for the truth and where it's being obscured by letting the Holy Spirit lead and looking at the whole situation, including the spiritual, we will be deceived. If we let the world decide what we do, and don't stand up for what we know in our heart is wrong, we will walk down the path of darkness. There is a harvest at the end of this age of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30). A separating of the goats and sheep (Matthew 25:31-46). A reaping of the earth and a crushing of the grapes (Revelation 14:14-20). We want to be the wheat, the sheep and reaped from the earth, and the only way to do that is to let Him lead and stand firm when He says to.
Shabbat Shalom and God bless you!
-Rob and Sara Gene
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