The Great Illusionist           Approximately three years ago, I decided to full-full one of my childhood dreams. I would become a “magician”. I had always been extremely fascinated at wondering how “magic tricks” could be pulled off.  So I spent most of a year, studying, learning and practicing, until, “voila”, I became a magician. I even have a stage name, The Amazing Maximillian”. I have now done birthday parties, stage shows and simple amusements for friends and family.     I have learned much during this period of time, and 4 particular things I have learned are:   I determined that I really was not a “magician”, but instead, was an “illusionist”.  Magic is not a reality. That would assume the ability to do things that violate nature, which is not possible by normal humans. I actually just perform illusions that cause people to believe they have seen something, that is not real. People can be fooled. Young, old, educated, non-educated, rich, poor, it doesn’t matter. People can be made to believe things that aren’t true/real. Whereas I perform illusions in an attempt to entertain people, I gained a great insight into how Satan often manipulates and “tricks” people into joining that broad path, that leadeth to destruction, as described in Matthew 7:13. Satan is “The Great Illusionist”.   Every great illusion consists of three acts: The first act is called "The Pledge": The illusionist presents or uses something seemingly ordinary. The second act is called "The Turn": The illusionist makes this ordinary something do something exciting, odd or extraordinary….. Now if you're looking for the secret, you won't find it. That's why there's a third act called, "The Prestige": This is the part with the twists and turns, where lives or imaginations hang in the balance, and you see something shocking or exciting.   I would like to spend the rest of this lesson looking at how Satan, “The Great Illusionist”, uses these techniques on us, in an attempt to gain our soul for his everlasting use.   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   "The Pledge" – The illusionist presents or uses something seemingly ordinary.   I, in my act, might show you a card, pencil, coin or newspaper.   Satan uses an innumerable number of ordinary items to begin his work in converting us into a lost soul. Some of the most common items are such things as:   Money Control / power Alcohol/drugs Sexual desire   Ego Cars / Houses Fame The feeling of independence   Biblical examples:   Eve – Control / knowledge / power   Cain – Ego   David – Sexual desire   Judas - Money   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   "The Turn": The illusionist makes this ordinary something do something exciting, odd or extraordinary   Biblical examples:   Eve – Genesis 3: 5. (Satan told her) For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.   Cain – Genesis 4: 3. And in process  of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.   David – 2 Samuel 11: 2 And it came to pass in an eveningtide , that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. 3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said , Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? 4 And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.   Judas – Matthew 26: 14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, 15 And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him……………(Jesus, in Gethsemane). 47 And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. 48 Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. 49 And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him.   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Prestige": This is the part with the twists and turns, where lives or imaginations hang in the balance, and you see something shocking or exciting.   *** In routines done by those such as myself, in the pursuit of simple entertainment, this is the neat/fun part……With Satan’s routine, it is anything but the neat/fun part.   Biblical examples:   Eve – Genesis 3: 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself . 11 And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat . ………….. 16 Unto the woman He said , I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee……… 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden.   Cain – Genesis 4: 9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood  crieth unto me from the ground. 11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand; 12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. 13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.   David – 2 Samuel 11: 5 And the woman conceived , and sent and told David, and said , I am with child…….. 15 And he wrote in the letter (to Joab), saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye from him, that he may be smitten, and die….. 26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. 27 And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son.             2 Samuel 12: 7: … Thus saith the LORD God of  Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; 8 And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. 9 Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. 14 Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. 15 And Nathan departed unto his house. And the LORD struck the child that Uriah's wife bare unto David, and it was very sick. 16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. 17 And the elders of his house arose, and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. 18 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child died.   Judas – Matthew 27: 1 When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: 2 And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor. 3 Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned , repented himself , and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 Saying , I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 5 And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   In each of these cases, Satan, used his ability as an illusionist, to play on each of the individuals’ weaknesses, and help persuade them to pursue sinful acts. In each case, there were harsh consequences.   Nothing about this is any different than how he attempts to do the same to us.   He will take something that may or may not be sinful in its’ own right, but for which we have a weakness, which can in turn, lead us pursue it sinfully (THE PLEDGE). He then tries to present it in a way that wets our appetite to go ahead and pursue it, for whatever momentary or short-termed gain or pleasure can be achieved from it (THE TURN). Once this is accomplished, unless we see the error of our way, we are separated from God, and belong to Satan, and THAT is his PRESTIGE.   Let’s discuss some examples:   Alcohol – Alcohol, in and of itself, is not a sinful product. In fact it actually has some useful properties (i.e. Paul to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.)             However, drunkenness, is a sin: Galatians 5: 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.   The scriptures also give many other warnings about the dangers of alcohol, primarily because of it’s great effects on lowering our inhibitions.   So if you can be convinced, that you can “hold your alcohol” or “always stay within your limits”, then you can persuade yourself that drinking is no big deal, and be led away by the one that seeks to destroy your soul.   Sex – Our creator, created us as sexual beings. We have a natural sex drive, that when used according to God’s Will, is a wonderful and beautiful thing. However, Satan comes along (look at the society we live in today), and tries to tempt and pursuade us that we have the right to fulfill whatever sexual desires we may have, whether godly or not, and in case we have no ungodly desires, he will be more than happy to provide temptations for that as well (i.e. look at TV, movies, immodest dress, laws supporting homosexuality, etc) And if through his ruses, he can get you to act on temptation, then he has accomplished his PRESTIGE, because, once again, Galatians 5: 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.   Lying – There are many sins that we are able to commit, but Proverbs 6 teaches “16 These six things doth the LORD hate : yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”………………So, how serious do YOU take lying? Are you more concerned about things in life (i.e. monetary gain, friends, other’s feelings???). Satan hopes so, so that he can use that to his advantage,   Religion – When Satan cannot turn you away by using some of  his more infamous wiles (Lying, alcohol, sex, pride, etc), he is perfectly willing to use religion. HUH, you say!?! That’s right, religion. You see, even Satan knows that God only accepts those who practice religion as he has decreed, and that all others will be lost (or “won” if your Satan). Scriptures: Revelation 22: 18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book…Galatians 1: 6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. ………. If Satan can persuade you to practice religion that is not faithful to that which is given by God, then he can fool you into thinking you are righteous, when actually, on the “day of judgment”, he will surprise you with his “prestige”. Thus are those found in Matthew 7: 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25 And the rain descended, and the floods came , and the winds blew , and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. 26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: 27 And the rain descended , and the floods came , and the winds blew , and beat upon that house; and it fell : and great was the fall of it……………How does Satan accomplish this? One of his best ways is to get you to trust in someone else (i.e. Pastor, preacher, parents, friends, etc) instead of studying God’s word for yourself………How do you defeat this? Study God’s word for yourself.   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Conclusion   I am an illusionist, who seeks to entertain and people and amaze their sensibilities.   On the other hand, Satan is “The Great Illusionist”, who seeks to gain our souls for his everlasting use.   The phrase scientia potentia est is a Latin maxim "For also knowledge itself is power" stated originally by Francis Bacon in Meditationes Sacrae (1597), which in modern times is often paraphrased as "knowledge is power."   I have attempted, in this lesson, to share additional knowledge with you, on techniques used by Satan as he works against each of us. However, knowledge is power, only if you use it. The best use of the knowledge I have tried to share with you in this lesson, is to enable you to be more on guard against the techniques used by the Evil One, as he tries to gain advantage over your soul, and to readily recognize trickery and deception, when you are confronted with it.   May God bless us all, with the power, diligence and the willingness to perceive the wiles of the one who, per Paul, in 1 Peter 5, is “as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”.                                                                                                Gregg A. Parker