“Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness…” 2 Corinthians 11:14
How does the enemy come as an angel of light?
- One way that the enemy gains an advantage in the lives of believers is by tempting us in ways that look good, not evil. One way this is accomplished is by using the believer’s good intentions against us. An example of this is through virtues without boundaries. Loyalty is a good thing, but if we don’t set boundaries, it can lead us into sin. Not every human need is ours to meet. God has promised to be our guide, and He will lead us when we ask. An example of this is found in the life of David. He deeply loved his son Absolom, but his loyalty went too far. He was more loyal to his betrayer than he was to those who were loyal to him, including God. God course corrected David when He said in 2 Samuel 19:6, “You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. You have made it clear today that the commanders and their men mean nothing to you. I see that you would be pleased if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead.” David received the correction and we can as well if we’ve veered into unwarranted loyalty.
- Another way that the enemy comes as an angel of light to deceive is through over-emphasis on one virtue. Virtues are a good thing, but they need to be tempered with other virtues. This brings balance into our lives. Compassion without wisdom has the potential to lead God’s people astray. An example of this would be a married woman, out of compassion, going into a men’s prison to minister. Wisdom would say that it would be unwise for her to disciple another man.
- Another way that the enemy comes as an angel of light is by tempting God’s people to do something good, but motivated by the wrong thing. An example of this would be someone who desires to rescue and protect others. Our motive should be Spirit-led and motivated by love. The enemy twists a good thing like the desire to protect. The enemy comes as an angel of light by motivating believers to do a good thing, but motivated by the wrong thing. (i.e., fear) The end result is destructive. Being motivated to protect (a good thing) can turn into unholy protection when we forget that God is THE PROTECTOR. He does the heavy lifting. We are only conduits of His protection. Being motivated by love and recognizing that we aren’t the Savior will keep our desire to protect others pure.
- Another way that the enemy comes as an angel of light is through a religious spirit. When this happens, he tempts believers to hyper-focus on certain laws of God and ignore others. An example of this often looks like someone pointing out others’ faults with a critical and condemning attitude while ignoring their own un-Christlike attitudes. Hypocrisy and self-righteous attitudes are often involved. The person operating out of a religious spirit can appear to be right because they appear concerned about obeying God’s laws, but they are actually only concerned about others obeying God’s laws. Jesus warned his disciples about this in Matthew 23 when He said, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” It’s a red flag when people spend more time pointing out what others are doing wrong than working out their own salvation with fear and trembling.
Walk Whole 