(I request my esteemed readers to read the messages prayerfully with an open mind. Though it is a fictional story, as a writer, I have attempted to drive home the truth through this fiction. This is like the fiction of “Pilgrim’s Progress” authored by John Banyan. Let us assume that Satan is the most intelligent creature who knows the Bible and the Church history thoroughly in a manner better than we do. Let us also assume that Satan, though a liar, always speaks the truth to his own soldiers engaged in a war against God and His angels. Please note that I do not judge the ministry of any minister of God but only blow the trumpet and give a prophetic warning to the Body of Christ. In fact I love all the ministers who are of the Body of Christ and pray for them).
Scene No.1 (About Christian web-sites, Harry Potter books Vs. Christian books, mission fields, Western and European countries, Asian and African countries, prayer ministries)*Scene No.2 (About an evangelist)* Scene No.3 (About “an apostle”)* Scene No.4 (About a “pastor”) *Scene No.5 (About a “prophetess”)*Scene No.6 (About an old widow)
Scene No.1
Satan who never slumbers is very active in attempting to destroy the vineyard of God. He deputes his soldiers i.e. his subordinate demons, on various assignments to the vineyard of God. After finishing the assignments given to them, they come back and report to Satan in his Durbar. These demons inspected various kinds of ministries, visited many Asian, African, Western and European nations and submitted their reports to Satan.
The conversations that took place between Satan and his subordinate demons are given below.
About Christian web sites
Demon No.1: “Today many people of God have opened web-sites designed in an aesthetical manner so as to attract many visitors and thus proclaim the gospel of Christ.” Satan retorts, “Do not bother about them. Majority of them do not proclaim the true gospel but only their own gospels. Some proclaim the power of God but their secret sins are in our records. Many project their own personalities.”
Demon No.2: “O Master, there are a few people of God who proclaim the message of the Cross through their web-sites; these web-sites contain a large number of anointed messages. I am very happy that these web-sites are not designed and built in an aesthetical manner”. Satan immediately replies, “Have you noticed that we have succeeded in sending only a few visitors to these sites? These few people are only "visitors" and not readers. They read the messages in just 5 minutes. We have thus succeeded in making the people of God “browse” (reading desultorily) through the messages. They do not meditate on these messages with the result that they do not know the truth. We do not make them understand the truth because they “browse” through these messages. (Please note that when they “understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side” -- Matt.13:19).
About the plethora of web-sites, e-mails, etc., throughout the world, Satan gives a general lecture to his people, “We have succeeded in creating millions of web-sites using tools like web-chatting, etc. to spread messages on pornography, homosexuality, occultism, witchcraft, etc. by which many people including some people of God have become our slaves. We have also succeeded in making some people of God believe that by spending more time on line, without spending enough time in prayer, they are doing wonderful work in the vineyard of God.
About publication of Harry Potter books and of Christian books
Demon No.3: “Today 20,000 copies of Harry Potter’s books authored by J.K.Rowling were sold. All those who bought these copies are reading the same line by line. I have caused dissentions and confusions amongst some Christian organizations engaged in printing and publication of Bibles and Christian books, etc. so that they find it difficult to market the Christian books, and the Bibles. I have also caused the flow of funds to cease in these organizations”. Satan, patting on the shoulders of this evil spirit, tells, “Well, you have done a good work. I should say that there are a few authors in the Christian world who have published certain books as inspired by the Holy Spirit. We have succeeded in convincing many Christian publishers about not marketing the books of these “unknown” authors. Due to financial constraints, these authors could publish only one or two thousand copies of their books. I have convinced the people of God about not buying these books by telling them that these authors are making money with the result that only a few hundred copies were bought by these people. Above all, I have convinced those few people who have bought these books of not opening these books for reading. These books are now gathering dust in their shelves. A few of them were interested in reading these books. I have made them just “glance” through these books with the result that they read the whole book between the lines and that some finished reading in just 15 minutes of a book which the author claims to have written over a period of 15 years.
About the mission fields
Demon No.4: “I visited some Asian and African countries. In these countries, many souls are being saved despite severe persecutions and want of funds. We have to do something with these new believers”. Satan tells them, “Do not bother about them. There are a good number of churches in these nations where these souls will not get spiritual nourishment, and will become weak spiritually in due course so that they may suffer the natural death.” The evil spirit retorts, “There are some staunch believers who are on fire preaching the gospel. What can we do to them? Satan replies, “We will bring some preachers from the affluent western and European nations who can change the live styles of these "poor" people through Dollars. They will take these people to their materially prosperous nations and will make these people undergo their theological studies and get doctorate degrees”.
About the western and European countries
Demon No.5: “I visited some western and European nations. In these western and European countries, we have succeeded in flooding the churches with the prosperity gospel with the result that the people of God in these nations cannot endure sufferings and curse God or murmur against Him even at the slightest provocation when they face unemployment or economic want. We have succeeded in ruining many marriages by justifying divorces and re-marriages of divorced people by quoting the Word of God. We have made those who seek divorces forget their oaths taken at the time of their marriages”. Satan asks the demon to read out the oaths taken by these people in the very presence of God:
Oath taken by the man:
“Wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour, and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?
Oath taken by the woman:
“Wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou obey, him, and serve him, love, honour, and keep him in sickness, and in health; and forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?
Satan tells in a boastful manner, “According to the marriage vows, the husband and the wife have to live together till the death separates them. We have now replaced the word “death” with the word “divorce”.
The demon concerned now reports, "There are some ministers of God who have driven away and divorced their "disobedient" wives and who are still preaching good sermons on Sundays in their churches. Some of them even re-married other women also."
Satan reminds the demon, "Do not call them as "God's ministers"! They are my ministers. If they still claim to be "God's ministers", I will accuse them before God on the charge that they had violated the marriage vows taken by them in His presence. Those who have remarried the other women live in the sin of adultery so long as their divorced spouses live. I will claim them for my kingdom".
The demon now points his fingers at certain women ministers, and tells, "They have succeeded in divorcing their "unconverted" or "cruel" or "drunkard" husbands but are preaching wonderful sermons about salvation, baptism of the Holy Spirit, etc." Satan retorts, "I will accuse these people before God on the charge that they had violated the marriage oaths taken by them in His very presence. I will thus claim them for my kingdom". (Please note that a believing wife should bring her unbelieving husband to Christ through her conduct. "And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: but now are they holy"(I Cor.6:13-14).
About the prayer ministries
Demon No.6: “O Master, today, I inspected some prayer ministries. Some people in San Francisco prayed for the healing ministry of ‘X’ and many people were healed in the healing crusade”.
Satan retorts, “Do not bother about the healing of these people. I will make the same people who have now been healed, fall into the snare of sin after some time because they are not built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Satan further tells, “So long as these prayer groups pray for the miracles and the healings, let us not bother at all because my own ministers are performing miracles and healings. But, I give you a word of caution. If any servant of God begins to establish prayer ministries with a vision of praying for revivals through outpouring of the Spirit of God, and for destroying our own work through the Blood of Jesus Christ, and the two edged Sword of the Spirit, we should be very careful. Let us now do a brain storming session to find out how we should stop this great work of God.
One demon comes forward and says, “O Master, I will go to these prayer cell leaders and will make use of the most powerful weapon in our hands i.e. lethargy so that they may not be able to form their revival prayer ministries. Even if they are able to form these prayer cells, I will use the same weapon against the prayer warriors so that they may not be able to gather together for prayer.
(Satan now closes his Durbar after giving them further assignments).
(Dearly beloved, Jesus told a parable of the two sons in Matt.21:28-31. The father asked the first son to go to his vineyard. The first son immediately replied, “I will not”. But afterwards he repented and went to the vineyard. But the second son said, I go, sir” but went not. Jesus then posed a question to those who heard this parable, “Whether of them twain did the will of his father?” They replied “The first”. The second son did not go to the vineyard because of his lethargy or abundance of idleness.
The very iniquities, which led to the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah as prophesied by Ezekiel are pride, fullness of bread, abundance of idleness and failure to strengthen the hands of the poor and needy (Eze.16: 49). Let me confine myself to the iniquity of abundance of idleness in this message.
The spirit of idleness is very active nowadays amongst God’s people with the result that they go on postponing the things pertaining to God and His Kingdom, in preference to their own affairs. So sluggish are they that enough time is not spent in intercessory prayers. Neither do they take pains to preach the gospel nor do they engage themselves in the King’s business in any manner.
We should not be slothful in our King’s business but be fervent in spirit serving Him (Rom.12: 11). Our King’s business is to be done today itself with utmost urgency as we do not know what would be in store for us tomorrow. Let us not give sleep to our eyes or slumber to our eyelids. Please read Proverbs 6:4 – 11 in this regard.)
Scene No.2
About the ministry of an evangelist
Satan now resumes his Durbar with his subordinate evil spirits. One of the evil spirits now reports on a very big evangelistic crusade attended by thousands of people. The conversations between Satan and this evil spirit are given below.
Demon: “O, master, many people have experienced salvation and committed their lives to Christ during this crusade. We have to do something urgently to prevent these people from witnessing or from serving God”.
Satan: “ We will make these saved people continue to attend the crusade of the same evangelist, and will ensure that they are not taught by the apostles, prophets and teachers so that they may remain as babes in Christ for ever”.
Demon: “This is very fine, O master! But what about the stunning statistical report showing participation of thousands of people?”
Satan: “Don’t you know that the statistical report was exaggerated? We should know the cardinal fact that so long as these thousands continue to remain as “believers” and to glorify the individual ministry of the evangelist, they would not become instruments in the Hands of God. So long as the evangelist wants himself/herself to be ministered to by these thousands through their offerings, let us not bother about these thousands because those multitudes who continue to minister to the evangelist would not themselves become “ministers of God”. We will simply ensure that there is a wide gap between the minister and “his sheep” so that the minister may remain always as a minister and his flock as babes without spiritual growth.
Demon: “O master, do you know that two lakhs of people attended the crusade? All the hotels in the city were booked in advance”.
Satan: “You speak like a fool. How many of them have ultimately become the disciples of Jesus? How many of them have grown spiritually “unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ?” (Eph.4: 13). How many of them have been raised up as Pauls, Peters, Wesleys, etc.? Can you name these people?
Demon: “No, sir! But some people have become evangelists and pastors. I have a correct statistical report in this regard”.
Satan: “Cast away your statistical report. I do not care about it. You should know that I have already ensured that these evangelists do not go to those places in other nations where the gospel of Christ has not yet reached. They will preach the gospel only to those who have heard it umpteen times. About the pastors, I will ensure that they do not take part in evangelism or in mission work”.
Demon: “O lord, many miracles of healing take place in that Name”.
Satan: “In what Name?”
Demon: “In the Name of J-E-S-U-S…”
(Upon this, the throne of Satan shook and he falls down his throne and scolds the evil spirit for uttering that Name).
Satan: (Trembling in fear) “Don’t repeat that Name again. I cannot sit on my throne. You should know that the evangelist performs many wonders and casts out demons in that Name; he also prophesies in that Name. Let wonders be performed in that Name. But we should not allow the evangelist to do the perfect will of God (Matt.7: 22)”.
Demon: “O master, many people have given powerful testimonies as to how God saved them, healed their diseases and performed miracles. We should do something so that these people do not glorify God through their testimonies”.
Satan: “You should read the testimonies of these people very carefully. They always say that God heard the prayers of the evangelist and saved or healed them. These people do not know the truth that God is impartial and hears also the prayers of these people. When they ascribe a little amount of glory to the evangelist, the latter rejoices silently. Do you know a great secret? As the evangelist allows himself to be elated, little by little, say 0.01% in the beginning, then 0.02% later, and so on, the glory due to the Name of God will be progressively appropriated by the evangelist. A “halo” around his personality is created. This “halo” then grows in stature by degrees and he ultimately becomes an idol in the heart of these people. This will puff up him largely which will ultimately lead to his downfall. We need not do anything against the evangelist. These very people will make him fall. However, we should ensure that the evangelist is surrounded by his own sycophants and volunteers and is not subjected to the ministry of apostles and prophets. We should freely allow the name of the evangelist to be publicized and adored everywhere. If any prophet ventures to raise his finger against the evangelist, we will ensure that the prophet is dubbed as one who blasphemes the Holy Spirit. We will thus insulate the evangelist from the ministry of apostles and prophets.
Demon: “O lord, there are indeed some people who were saved during the evangelistic crusade. Here are their names.”
(Satan now commands some evil spirits to go after these people and to watch over them).
Satan: “We should ensure that these people are put in those churches where the messages always revolve on the power of God, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, tithes, Holy Spirit baptism with the evidence of speaking in tongues, material prosperity etc. and where no messages on cross-bearing, crucifixion of self, holiness, evangelism, revival, intercessory prayer, sacrifice, ministry to the poor saints, five-fold ministry, the universal Body of Christ, fellowship with other people of God, etc. are taught.
Scene No.3
About the ministry of “an apostle”
Satan sitting on his throne in the Durbar reviews the report of one of his subordinate demons on the ministry of a particular minister who pastures a local church and who calls himself “an apostle”.
Demon: “O master, I have visited a big church pastured by an apostle today. I was rather frightened to be present near that apostle…”
Satan: “Why are you frightened of that person? He is shepherding a congregation under the fake seal of apostleship. God has not appointed him as an apostle. Let us peruse our records. He has not established churches……….”
Demon: “Sir, he has established a number of churches in his town and other places of his nation”.
Satan: “Yes. Nevertheless, he has established only churches of a particular denomination, which believe in certain doctrines, which are at variance with the whole counsel of God, or the complete doctrines of the Bible. He has established churches in those areas where a number of churches are already in existence and where the foundation of the gospel had already been laid. As an apostle, he should have established churches in those areas where the Son of God (Satan deliberately omits the word “Jesus Christ”) was not named or where the gospel of the Son of God has not reached. For instance, people like John Hyde, Evan Roberts, David Brainerd, Jonathan Edwards, etc. left the comfort and luxury of their own nations and went to the other nations where the Son of God was not preached earlier”.
Demon: “Sir, how can I identify someone as an apostle?”
Satan: “He/she should have borne the marks of apostleship on his/her body by way of suffering and persecution in that Name. You can read about the experiences and life of an apostle from Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church. Sitting in a church with all the modern comforts, he cannot be an apostle. You need not be frightened of him as an apostle. If you identify any person as an apostle, you should inform me immediately so that we can keep an eye on him/her”.
Scene No.4
About the ministry of a pastor
Satan sitting on his throne now reviews the work of a particular pastor of a very big congregation based on a report submitted by one of his subordinate demons.
Demon: “O master, I have visited a very big church where hundreds of people attend the church service. I have seen them praise and worship God at the top of their voices. Most of them speak in tongues. I was frightened to be in their midst because the power of God was so manifest in their midst like a fire that I could not penetrate into their church. We should do something immediately to prevent these people from praising and worshipping God.”
Satan: “Do you know that the pastor who is being used of God mightily will fall down because he is not listening to the elders of the church? He believes that the elders of the church are subordinate to him, and that he alone receives all the revelations and the words of prophecy. He does not want the elders to give messages on Sundays. We need not do anything against him. Since he does not believe in the body ministry under the New Testament, and still ministers under the Old Testament, he will fall short of the grace of God in due course. If you read the Acts of apostles and the epistles written by the early apostles, you will find that the earlier New Testament churches were administered by a body of disciples i.e. deacons or elders”.
Demon: “In this church, it is taught that the power of God would be revealed only if they speak in tongues…”
Satan: “Sorry, I am unable to quote any scripture from the New Testament books. True, the power of God is manifested as these people praise and worship God in that Name. The power of God is very much linked to that Name”.
Demon: “We should do something so that the power of God does not flow there….”
Satan: “Since the pastor gives messages on his own and does not allow the elders or the prophets who are either in his church or from other churches, to give messages, we can add a little leaven of false doctrines to his messages in due course. His messages will, in due course, lose the power of God. A small drop of poison is enough to kill a person. Likewise, a little dose of wrong interpretation of the Word is enough to stop the power of God from flowing in that church. Ultimately, the love of the Son of God may not be there, and these people would continue to shout praises at the top of their voices. Praising God and speaking in tongues without love of the Son of God shed in their heart! Did you notice that this church has ceased to do evangelism? A church which does not do evangelism cannot grow. After some time, we can easily make inroads into that congregation.”
Scene No.5
About the ministry of “a prophetess”
Satan sitting on his throne in the Durbar reviews the report of one of his subordinate demons on the ministry of a particular minister who calls herself “a prophetess”.
Demon: “O master, today I saw a woman of God prophesy in a church. The whole congregation heard her with rapt attention. She ended her prophecy saying….”
“Thus saith the Lord…..” I was afraid that God was speaking through her.
Satan: “You should have seen our records to know more about that woman. At her home, she is not obedient to her husband, and she never spends time in prayers. Her life is not holy. In the church, she wants to prophesy so that the congregation may recognize her. In fact, God has not appointed her to the office of a prophet”.
Demon: “Sir, the whole congregation has recognized her as a prophetess……”
Satan: “Yes, because she always praises the congregation members while prophesying, and flatters the pastor in particular as a sycophant. She uses all kinds of phrases and certain Biblical terms while heaping praises on her pastor. The whole congregation feels elated on hearing the words of her prophecies. She steals God’s words and speaks the same on her own. If she is a true prophetess, she will give God’s messages which may bring deep conviction of sin in the hearts of the people there; which may bring words of comfort to the weary. We need not do anything against that woman. Leave her and the congregation alone. They will fall under their own weights.
Demon: “Sir, how can I recognize someone as a prophet?”
Satan: “A prophet always remains in the wilderness. He is not seen here and there. God sends him/her to a particular church or to a particular group of people or to a particular nation for conveying His messages. He/she will not hanker after pulpit. The prophets are not popular because the people of God generally do not accept them. They boldly and frankly point out the spiritual deficiencies in their lives without mincing words. The words of prophecy would flow out of the mouth of a true prophet at all times. In the case of this woman, she prophesies only during the church services, keeping some particular person or a situation in her mind. A prophet, once prophet, is always a prophet. A New Testament prophet need not say, “Thus saith the Lord” as the Old Testament prophets. If you identify any person as a prophet, you should inform me immediately so that we can keep an eye on him. We should prevent the members of the Church (the Body of Christ) from establishing contact with that prophet.
(The prophets are likened to the white corpuscles in the blood which attack a hostile germ when it tries to enter the body. The white corpuscles form part of the in-built immune system of the body. If the white corpuscles are depleted or overpowered, the body will become susceptible to dreaded diseases like AIDs etc. Likewise, God has tempered the prophets in the Body of Christ to protect it against the false prophets and teachers. They are the watch-dogs or the watchmen unto the House of God).
Scene No.6
About an old widow of 73 years
Satan now sitting on his throne reviews the report submitted to him by a demon on an old widow of 73 years.
Demon: “O master, I have seen an old widow aged 73 years alone in her house. She cooks food herself and lives a simple life. In her house, she always prays to God and reads Bible and other Christian magazines. She rises at 4.00 hours in the morning. She starts worshipping God by singing hymns and by reading the Bible loudly so that those in her neighborhood could hear her. She fasts regularly. She praises God under all circumstances and His praise is continually in her mouth. She never falls sick. She goes to the market almost daily for buying vegetables. In her neighborhood and in the market, she tells about Christ to whomsoever she comes across. Despite her old age, she has joined a prayer group called, “All Night Prayer Fellowship” which visits the different places in her nation to pray for revivals. The prayer warriors of this group pray throughout the night during their prayer meetings. Her only priority in her life is to attend such prayer meetings. She also takes some unsaved people to some evangelical meetings. She has a burden for lost souls and a vision for revivals. She knows her Lord personally and very intimately.
Satan: “You go on telling about her brighter side…. What about the darker side of her spiritual life?”
Demon: “Sir, she never speaks in tongues. Even after taking immersion water baptism, she still goes to an Anglican church in her town. Nevertheless, at times, she also goes to a Pentecostal group for prayers. She does not have scriptural knowledge. She seldom preaches nor gives her testimony in any church. In her prayers also, she quotes only a few scriptures she knows. She repeats the same scriptures in all her prayers…”
Satan: “Is there the sin of pride in her life because many children of God brag about their holiness? Has she ever said in her prayer to God, “I am holy”?
Demon: “No Sir. She is humble. In her prayers, she never said that she is holy. She always says that she is washed by the blood of the Lamb….”
Satan: “Please do not utter that Name again because I cannot sit on my throne”. “Anyhow, I have also some more points about her. Let us now go to God to accuse her before Him.”
(Both Satan and his demon reach the presence of God. The devil now reads out his charge sheet against this widow).
Satan: “O God, the woman who claims to have been saved by Thee does not possess the Holy Spirit because she never speaks in tongues. Nor does she have a thorough knowledge of the Bible. Though she reads Thy Word regularly, she hardly understands many of the scriptures. She could not quote the chapter and verse numbers of Thy precious Word, which she reads daily. This shows her scant regard for Thy Word. She is thus not grounded in Thy Word, which Thou hast given to the human race for their salvation.
She knows only a few hymns, which she repeatedly sings every morning loudly, thus causing nuisance to her neighbors who are asleep. She is not interested in learning more hymns to glorify and praise Thee. When she joins with the church or the prayer meeting in singing hymns, her voice, when compared to the other singers, is not sweet and pleasant to Thy ears. Other singers have tried to restrain her from singing because her peculiar tone does not synchronize with the rhythm of their music and tones. However, she is adamant in her singing with the group with the result that Thou mayest find no pleasure in hearing the melodious hymn which is sung in adoration of Thee.
She gives only a few rupees as her tithe. She has pestered her children who are in far off places to send her money for meeting her back and forth expenses for attending the “All Night Prayer” meetings held in different parts of her nation. She has become a nuisance to her own children and grand children because, at times, due to her old age, she wanted their help in taking her to these prayer meetings. For her, all her priority was the revival-prayer meetings and not the welfare of her children and grand children. She is thus very selfish. Her own children and grand children have accused her of selfishness in this regard. She is not worthy to be called Thy child”.
(God, after hearing Satan, now replies).
GOD: “SHE IS MY BELOVED CHILD IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED”
(Satan and his demon now flee from the presence of God).
**Dear reader, the above is the testimony of my beloved mother who left us to be with her beloved Lord on 24th December 1997. If you want to read her testimony, and see her photo, please click here to visit our web-site.