Letting Satan have his way

There seems to be a zillion-plus YouTube videos these days on the “falling away of the church.” A short clip from one:

The “chaste virgin to Christ” of II Corinthians is in stark contrast to the image of this woman represented as a harlot. Karl Marx once declared that “religion is the opium of the people,” and, in a sense, he was right. Empty religion, devoid of real meaning, can be as addictive and deceptive as a drug. This false religion, symbolized by the harlot, leads its followers down a path of spiritual infidelity, idolatry and apostasy. While the true church seeks holiness and purity, this false religion seeks power and control, deceiving the masses and distancing them from the truth.

A guy I just came across who is a leader at a Las Vegas Bible church (at least that's part of their name) has a whole series of messages on YouTube about how America’s evangelical and Protestant churches are supposedly loaded with members and leaders who've dabbled into Freemasonry and some have even earned their so-called “degrees.” He argues:

“You got no conscience; there should be such a quandary there. You’re part of a secret organization with secret handshakes, secret symbols, secret messages, secret oaths, even bloody oaths, under the penalty of death if you reveal anything, and you have an allegiance to that organization?! I don’t think so.

“You put all this together, this is an occult secret society that’s not just in the world; it’s in the church! You wonder why things are so messed up?! You’ve got witchcraft in the church, you’ve got satanism in the church, you’ve got voodoo, shamanism, Druidism, all in the church!

“But, hey, let’s just ignore that and act like nothing’s happening and ‘learn to be a better you.’ Yeah, that’s why this stuff keeps happening and it’s allowed to continue—it’s because people don’t deal with these issues."

*****

Paul writes in II Thessalonians 2:

[10] And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
[11] And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
[12] That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

This isn’t just Satan doing it; this is God allowing Satan to do it, explains Richard Jordan. God’s withholding him now; He won’t let him do it, won’t let him take it to its “full” right now, but after He’s finished forming the Body of Christ, that program’s going and the Lord just lets him go. The reason for it is in verse 10.

When you don’t receive the love of the truth that’s the cause. Now, God isn’t tricking them; He’s not tricking them into it. He’s just letting Satan have his way, but when He does that He’s really just giving them what they want.

Romans 1:28 is a verse you have to remember in these things: [28] And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

It isn’t that God tricks them into doing something they wouldn’t have done. It’s because they didn’t like to retain God in their knowledge. They wanted to serve the creature more than the Creator. It’s the delusion of the lie that “I can be my own God.” Because of that the Lord literally just says, “Okay, I’ll give you what you want; see how that works out for you.”

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a mind that says, “I don’t want God; I want it my way,” and they get the things that are not convenient, meaning they get the things that the flesh produces. But they also get some things that Satan produces.

Romans 1: [32] Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

I mean you’re so far gone that you don’t just do it . . .  you’re not just a sadist, you’re a masochist. You take pleasure in other people being tormented. That’s the depths of sin; that’s when you get down to where sin gets its complete hold on you, that’s where you are.