In preparing for mutual this week I have been reading about Korihor. Korihor is one of only a handful of people in the scriptures that is actually called the "anti-christ." It has been enlightening to study his teachings. He is very skillful at taking the truth and just twisting it a tiny bit. The things he preaches all sound "good." As he says, they are "pleasing to the carnal mind." And he is very successful; the people love his message.
What amazed me as I read this passage, was that the arguments Korihor used to deny or attack the Gospel are the very SAME ones used today. (Korihor lived around 74 BC.) Satan is totally unoriginal!! My favorite is when he says that only those with a "frenzied" mind can believe in God. In other words he is saying that for someone to believe in God they must be insane. How many of us have heard that on our college campuses?
This passage was a great reminder to me of the importance of studying the scriptures. Satan knows the scriptures very well too. He knows exactly how to twist the truth to lead people away from Christ. If I want to remain faithful, I need to know the truth so well, that I cannot be fooled by his "pleasing" words. And that will require a lot of study!
Your post reminds me of our book club meeting last week on "The Screwtape Letters". The subtlety of Satan and his minions is powerful. They have been practicing their craft for the entire history of mankind. We, on the other hand, have only been living on this earth for a short mortal span. Our memories only contain this life.
ReplyDeleteThose tempters have thousands of years of experience! We can track the same lies back through history because they were fed to humanity by the same Father of Lies.
Great post!