Giving a Really Huge Piece of My Mind About the Devil's Math

There's a huge difference between Christianity or pure religion against manmade religion or false religion. Religion means to tie back the ties to God. The problem of most manmade religion is that no matter how hard it tries to establish its ties back to God that it's pretty much cut short. We need to take this warning from James 1:26-27: 

If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Many people today are religious but lost. It's time to check out how the Devil actually causes people to be lost and how he establishes false religion.

This chart shows what's really wrong with the Devil's religion. Let's take time to analyze how Satan perverts everything. If we try to analyze the Devil's Math we see perversion from the Bible. I'd like to give my own experiences and observations to how Satan has deceived people with most world religions.

First, he adds extra biblical sources of authority

Mark 7:8-9, 13 warns that the Pharisees reject God's Word so they can keep their own tradition which were against the Word of God. While the Bible does give us tradition but we must be careful not to add anything that's contrary to God's Word. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 says this warning:

Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

The sources were by word or our epistle. Anything that wasn't from the apostles had to be questioned. Many cults use that verse to justify adding their own traditions while misquoting Mark 7:8-9, 13 against born again Christians for not accepting their tradition. In short, will they please make up their mind? This was also used to justify the papacy and that the Pope must be accepted as Peter's successor with such horrible misquoting.

The problem behind extra biblical sources is how erroneous they interpret the Scriptures. A good example of of how they ignore the obvious is like how Roman Catholics misinterpret Matthew 16:16-18. Even if the grammatical tense does not point to Peter as the Rock but he's pointed to the Rock is obvious as day. But they still insist that this points to Peter. That's the problem with extra biblical sources of authority instead of Sola Scriptura. It's funny to say that born again Christian denominations reject God's Word to keep Sola Scriptura. That statement is really self-refuting because of all the logical fallacies committed.

Rejecting Sola Scriptura creates an antichrist leading a religion. Many Christian leaders in the past even before the Reformation called the Pope an antichrist. While I don't believe that the Papal dynasty is the Antichrist (this is an extremely erroneous interpretation by early Reformers and some people who adhere to this view have sowed division unknowingly among Christians) but I do agree that the Pope is an antichrist. The papal dynasty has already produced several fake successors of Peter claiming to be the Vicar of Christ on Earth. The problem behind the whole "Vicar of Christ" on Earth is one huge problem. The other is when false religions claim that only their "higher ups" may interpret the Scripture and that only they may study it. 

It's even claimed by many of these pseudo-Christian cults that if you read the Bible that you'll go crazy. The idea that the Bible should not be read by just anyone is not even Scriptural. From Genesis to Revelation, the Scriptures were available for everyone to read. Joshua 1:8 says:

This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. (King James Version)

Be sure that the Book of the Law is always read in your worship. Study it day and night, and make sure that you obey everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. (Good News Translation, Roman Catholic approved)

I emphasized meditate upon it day and night and observe to do all according that is written therein. If people were not allowed to read the Scriptures for themselves then how can they fulfill that order that God gave to Joshua and the Israelites? There's the tendency to say, "Oh that's Old Testament." while hypocritically taking Old Testament Scriptures out of context to justify heresies like the Roman Catholic priesthood and the papacy never mind God required priests to be married. Leviticus 21:13-14 (which is about the Old Testament priesthood) says:

And he shall take a wife in her virginity. A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people to wife. (King James Version) 

He shall marry a virgin, not a widow or a divorced woman or a woman who has been a prostitute. He shall marry only a virgin from his own clan. (Good News Translation, Roman Catholic approved)

To say we're not to obey it because it's supposedly given "only to the Jews" is stupid reasoni8ng. While we're certainly not obliged to carry out the ceremonial law but the moral law stays the same. The moral law doesn't change one bit. If anything given the Jews have become "obsolete" then the Ten Commandments should be obsolete. If that's the case then I'm free to sin all I please because the Ten Commandments were given to the Jews. The truth is I'm not free to sin because the moral law stays the same. I don't even want to dare think I have God's permission to sin because I'm a saved person (Ephesians 2:10, Titus 2:11-14). 

The other part of this adding extrabiblical requirements with quacks who claim to be God's last messenger, that they supposedly came to "save the church from its apostasy" and that it apostasized in a certain period of time and that they have the "right religion". I remembered reading the history of the Iglesia Ni Cristo and the Mormons to name a few. I don't really care if these cults were Jesuit founded or not because what's important is that these cults are cults that need to be refuted with the Holy Scriptures. What happens next is that after this "last messenger" dies, the followers and their successors must follow the central council as a requirement for salvation.

What's stupid about this "last messenger" craze is that when this executive minister comes in, the "last message" isn't really the last. The successors of the "last messenger" may still claim that they still get "extrabiblical revelations". Revelation 22:19 warns:

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.

The warning of the Scriptures are clear as day yet many still want to reject it. I'm amazed at how they say that the apostles never carried the Bible or that their institution compiled the Bible. No, the Roman Catholic institution the Mother of Harlots in Revelation 17-18 or any harlot church (daughters of her or not) has no right to claim they compiled the Bible. If they did, why would they want to make sure only their central government has the right to read it but discourage the rest from ever studying the Bible for themselves? It's pretty self-contradictory in multiple levels. 

Second, he subtracts from the Person and Work of Christ

The Deity of Christ and the Work of Christ are frequent targets of Satan's malice. Some cults believe in the Deity of Christ but downplay His work. Others downplay both His Deity and His work. I could talk about the Roman Catholic institution (which affirms the Deity of Christ) and those that downplay the Deity of Christ. How are Christ's deity and Christ's work downplayed? I could give some examples as of this time.

As a former Roman Catholic, I don't deny that the Roman Catholic institution affirms the Deity of Christ. They don't believe that Mary is God or that when they use the term "Mother of God" they may simply affirm her role as Jesus' earthly mother. Yet the problem is that Roman Catholics actually subtract from the work of Christ. They say that Mary is a co-Mediator and that all must pass through her before they can go to Jesus. They seriously misquote John 2:1-11 ignoring that John 2:5 says:

His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. (King James Version)

Jesus' mother then told the servants, Do whatever He tells you.  (Good News Translation, Roman Catholic approved)

Roman Catholics do admit that they do believe that they're following Mary's only command it but do they do it? It's hearing and not doing. It's self-deceiving. All Mary said was, "Do whatever He tells you." not "What I tell you." We don't see anywhere in Scripture Jesus tells us we must pass through Mary. But they simply misrepresent John 19:26;27 where Jesus told John to take care of Mary. But do they notice Jesus never called Mary as mother anymore in His public ministry neither did He invite people to her but to Himself? No wonder the Roman Catholic institution was arguing about it for centuries because the religion itself rejects Sola Scriptura.

The other problem is downplaying the Deity of Christ. One of the worst lies that ever come into today's religion is to teach Jesus was just a man and not God. They ignore the fact that Jesus' Deity has been affirmed in Scripture yet they deny the obvious. Many cults today try to teach obscure teachings about Jesus like that He was just a created being, He was a sinless man, some affirm that He was indeed born of a virgin but still downplay His Deity. There are many ways His Deity is attacked like when they teach that He was only a prophet but not the eternal Son of God or that the Trinity was supposed just a concept invented in some century later. 

The Deity of Christ is already mentioned in John 1:1-3 yet the deist "last messengers" will say that it means something else. Just who made them know it better? God? No! God didn't make them know better. They think they know better but they don't. John 1:1-3 says it clear as day:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. (King James Version)

John 20:27-28 also says:

Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. (King James Version)

Third, he multiplies the requirements for salvation

The Biblical doctrine is plain and simple. Salvation is never earned nor maintained by works. Ephesians 2:8-10 says:

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

All these verses are frequently misquoted by Antinomians and the conditional security crowd. Both tend to misunderstand, misinterpret and misrepresent the verses. Verses 8 to 9 don't reduce works from the Christian life neither does verse 10 add works to maintaining salvation. Instead, if you try and understand it correctly nobody is saved by works yet works manifest as a result of salvation. But as said, that doctrine doesn't appeal to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. Satan knows how men fall into temptation in all three areas.

How is requirements for salvation multiplied in world religions today? Salvation by works is the most common denominator. Whenever I look at a lot of man-made religions, I have observed that they are all rooted on the doctrine of works salvation. Works salvation is all about one's self-merit and boasting. That's why Ephesians 2:8-9 declares salvation is a gift of God so nobody can boast. From salvation to sanctification, it's all God's work.

They may go ahead and misquote Philippians 2:12 to say that salvation isn't accomplished and that you must work for it. But here's what the Bible says in Philippians 2:13:

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. (King James Version)

Because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose. (Good News Translation, Roman Catholic approved)

As much as I don't believe anyone who has no fear of the LORD  is truly once saved always saved but it doesn't mean it's also part of maintaining salvation. Anybody who's really a Christian fears the LORD in awe and reverence. Those who don't aren't even saved. Those who say salvation by grace through faith are teaching a license to sin need to read Titus 2:11-14 which says:

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. 

(King James Version)

For God has revealed his grace for the salvation of all people. That grace instructs us to give up ungodly living and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this world, as we wait for the blessed Day we hope for, when the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ will appear. He gave himself for us, to rescue us from all wickedness and to make us a pure people who belong to him alone and are eager to do good. (Good News Translation, Roman Catholic approved)

Again did you read those verses or are you going to read it and distort its real meaning spelled out in plain and simple English? The whole process of salvation to sanctification to glorification is by the grace of God and not of ourselves. But works salvation works itself because people by nature are sinners. Sinners are also self-righteous and arrogant. The arrogance really works itself because people want to brag that they made it their way into Heaven. No, you can't make it to Heaven your way because John 14:6 declares:

Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. 

May I need to emphasize what Jesus said in John 10:1-2? It says:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

The Door is Jesus Christ and the whole  truth is that you can't enter Heaven by your own ways. The Door is there and He's waiting for you to enter. All you need to do is enter but why's it so difficult to enter the Door to Heaven? Aside from a love for sinfulness that refuses to savingly believe, the man who loves one's self-righteousness also makes it difficult. I always wanted to ask that if salvation were not by works why is it so hard for people to get saved. The answer is bordered on pride and arrogance aside from a love for sin. At the same time, I need to warn that works salvationists actually do have their license to sin in in their brains. 

Since works salvation is always about doing more good than bad than its emphasis on man's inability to keep the Law completely (Romans 3:10-19 James 2:10-11). Adam and Eve couldn't say that they didn't commit murder so God won't kick them out of Eden. All Adam needed to do was to sin and the whole world fell into disaster. God's standard is so absolute that every time I read through the Bible, I'm thankful that there's a God who delivers me from my sin because I can't deliver myself from my sin. Who else can deliver me from my sinful habits but God Himself? He's given His grace so I don't want to live like the rest of the world. Before, not living like the rest of the world was because of the Law. After I got saved, not living like the rest of the world is not because of Law but because of God's grace as Romans 3:31 says:

Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the Law.

Fourth and last, he divides your loyalty from God and Christ through other religious figures

I did mention the Pope awhile ago and I feel like I want to mention him again. Not because I'm a fan of Pope Francis but because the Pope is a serious distraction in the Roman Catholic institution. One may go ahead and again quote from the Old Testament (for one's own convenience anyway) to justify the papacy or misquote Matthew 16:16-18. But as said, the Pope to be emphasized as the "Vicar of Christ" is utter blasphemy. The problem is not with the numerical equivalent that Vicarius Filii Dei equals 666 as Martin Luther's name also equals 666. The problem is that it's both a name of blasphemy and it equals to 666. That's why a lot of Reformers have called the Pope as the Antichrist. The same goes for those self-proclaimed executive ministers as they are no less antichrist than the Pope in Rome.

How do these religious figures divide the people's attention from the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost? As I mentioned earlier, Sola Scriptura is rejected to keep the unbiblical traditions of men. When they say that only the Pope and councils or only the councils of other cults may study and interpret the Bible, they establish themselves above the Bible. The problem with the Popes and executive ministers is that they get more attention than the Lord Jesus Christ. It's easier for cult members to see the religious figures of their cult come to town, the give that person worship and they say it's only respect. I wonder did those who bow down to Haman claim they were just giving him respect? If so, Mordecai declared he won't bow down to Ham because he's a Jew. Likewise, I refuse to bow down and reverence to the Pope or any so-called figurehead of Christianity because I'm a Christian. They are the Hamans of the world today.

The problem of religious figures is that Jesus already tore the veil in the Holy of Holies (Matthew 27:51) but they still try to stitch it back up. If you're looking for a New Testament priesthood, here's what 1 Peter 2:9 says:

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light;

But you are the chosen race, the King's priests, the holy nation, God's own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into His own marvelous light.

In the Old Testament, the High Priest was merely symbolic neither did he really claim to represent God on Earth. Although the priests were the ones who accepted the sin offering and only the High Priest had access to the Holy of Holies but these were all symbolic. It's quite different from the Roman Catholic priests who claim that God forgives sins through them. Sin offerings were given after a person has repented not before. The Bible now declares that all have equal access to God to those who have received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. But the Pope is getting more than just respect. He's already getting people prostrating head down and Roman Catholics say that born again Christians are just "jealous". Honestly, that's there to be jealous about people who are blinded by their own extrabiblical doctrines? I have no reason to be jealous of wealth that doesn't last. The Vatican may have the most wealth in the world but in the end it won't deliver precious souls from damnation. 

Other religious figures distract the people whenever the emphasize themselves as the only "authorized representatives". To emphasize that only the Pope or a certain executive minister and those he delegate authority to may read the Bible for themselves distracts people from the Trinity. When I read that the Roman Catholic institution actually massacred people for reading the Bible for themselves, I don't even feel a bit surprised about it. People who shared the Bible were all burned alive and today, the Inquisition is just silently hushed up. Other so-called Christian groups also have done more or less the same treatment. These so-called Christian groups have even hunted down people who have discovered the truth for themselves in the Scripture. These men get more glory than God and even if the followers claim them to be just "fellow servants" but actions will always speak louder than words. If they're just fellow servants do they bow down to their office bosses? Do they prostrate themselves to the ground to their elders, teachers and office bosses? No. But all that gets reserved for the Pope or any similar religious con-man who has deceived a lot of people into believing he's a man of God.

They ask me if Christ is enough but why are there pastors? Good question. I'd like to give this answer from Ephesians 4:11-12 which says:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

The pastors and evangelists are called to help in administrative duties otherwise Christians will be in disarray. God won't speak audibly all the time or all of us who are born sinners will be destroyed immediately. Instead, He gave pastors and evangelists to continue the work left behind by the apostles and prophets. They were not called to call themselves as official representatives or sole representatives. Instead, they are there to help people study the Bible and encourage self-study. It's all about like why we have authorities to run society. It's all about keeping order. The problem with these religious figures is not that they have authority but they abuse it. It's just like the problem is not about having government but when a government turns against it's God given duty to administer order in society.