A Spirit of Lying
by Fredrick A. Russell | 25 October 2024 |
In M. Scott Peck’s riveting book, People of the Lie, Peck places front and center a disturbing reality: there is evil in this world.
The target audience for his book was not particularly religious, although the notion of organic evil is biblical. And yet I suspect that even the most impious would concede, if only in the abstract, that evil is present among us, and perhaps even able to identify examples of evil littered across the annals of history.
Evil finds its origins in heaven. “Ground zero” was the heart of an angel who ironically stood closest to power and purity. Lucifer served at the very throne of God—the seat of power. And from that lofty perch, he would go on to be the arch deceiver of the world. It is incontrovertible that the closer one is to power, the more convincing their deceptions.
Out of what might be billions of angels, Lucifer was able to deceive one third of his colleagues (Revelation 12:3-4). He galvanized them around a lie about God. The deceptions they swallowed were easily disprovable.
Over time (who knows how long), Lucifer seems to have had free reign in heaven to spread untruths about God’s character. These untruths were not unlike his deceitfulness in the Garden of Eden, when he suggested to Adam and Eve that God was lying to them and blocking their ability for greatness. In contravention of God’s explicit command, he implored them to eat of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:4,5). No doubt, in heaven, Lucifer’s lies were repeated and passed among the heavenly host. As a result, significant numbers of angels bought into the fallacies. How could this happen in a perfect environment?
The illusory truth
A Farnam Street article titled “The Illusory Truth Effect: Why We Believe Fake News, Conspiracy Theories and Propaganda” explains:
“We all tend to believe something is true after being exposed to it multiple times. The more times we’ve heard something, the truer it seems. The effect is so powerful that repetition can persuade us to believe information we know is false in the first place.”
Could this effect be what happened in heaven?
The illusory truth effect is so chaotic that the very notion of truth is at odds with itself. Notably this is reflected in the current tone in the United States. Deception by repetition has been so skillfully woven into the fabric of the national consciousness that lying has become embraced as truth, and truth is scandalized as a lie.
God wasn’t unaware of Lucifer’s increasing arrogance, or of his delusional beliefs that he could lead heaven and the universe. Lucifer thought he could make heaven great—again. How did Lucifer put it? “I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. . . I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13).
Jehovah went public. In His perfect timing He exposed Lucifer and his fiendish plans by ousting him and his confederates from heaven and forestalled his big lie from contaminating everything (Revelation 12:9). We see here that the original insurrection took place in heaven. Michael and Lucifer were the main combatants.
America’s deception
America is grappling with this same contamination, driven by lying and deceit. During these times of rising division and tension, it has even manifested in insurrection. Of course, comparing the heavenly and January 6 insurrections, there is a clear-cut difference in scale. But both were grounded and driven by a lie.
The Scriptures do not hold back; with a clear, unmistakable declaration, God laid the blame at the feet of one creature: Satan (Revelation 12:10). And satanic powers are driving the lying, deception, and false accusations in the current culture. There is a consistency in how the enemy works.
The most disturbing outcome of inordinate lying and deception, is that it can cross over into demon possession. And it raises the real specter that what we are dealing with in our culture, especially the political arena, is not some psychosis from would-be leaders (as some have tried to suggest) but perhaps something more sinister.
The Bible speaks of a lying spirit (1 Kings 22:22). It refers to a demon or spiritual being that promotes deception, falsehood, and leads people astray from truth. This is different from the temptation to lie. This is lying that is inordinate. It’s no longer under personal control, but subject to the control of dark, supernatural forces. With a lying spirit upon a person, the ability to deceive not only maximizes but metastasizes.
How can any of us become that deceived? To be sure, the explanation transcends the illusory truth effect. The Bible explains it this way: “And because they didn’t love truth, they will be sent strong delusions that they will believe a lie” (2 Thessalonians 2: 9-11). And there it is: to be overcome by deception, it requires a deliberate choice to no longer love and value truth. By default, one is no longer able to resist lies and deception. This can happen even to those who are apparent Believers.
At some point after listening to, and even cheering on, lies without censure, our natural defenses break down. At that point, lies are not only willingly believed but advanced.
When leaders—those closest to the seat of power — lie, the deception deepens and darkens. The scriptures characterize it as “spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). The Bible further defines demonic possession: one under the control of the father of lies.
“You are the offspring of your father, the devil, and you serve your father very well, passionately carrying out his desires. He’s been a murderer right from the start! He never stood with the truth, for he’s full of nothing but lies—lying is his native tongue. He is master of deception and the father of lies” (John 8: 44—TPT).
It’s uncomfortable for any of us to consider that people we may know, and even admire, can have a spirit of lying upon them. And it is more difficult to recognize when we view things solely through a political lens and not a spiritual one. Assessing what we see and hear from a political perspective can skew, and even cause us to deny, what is happening right before our very eyes. Spiritual things are truly spiritually discerned.
So, what are we to do with all of this? The Apostle Paul provides sound counsel: “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf. . . . Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. . . . This is good and pleases God. . .who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.” (I Timothy 2: 1-4)
Our world is entering a time of deepening darkness. The only things that will keep us through earth’s difficult hour are relationship with Jesus and a steady diet of the Word. David declared: “Thy Word, Oh Lord, is a lamp unto my feet, and light unto my path” (Psalm 119: 105).
Fredrick Russell is principal of the True NorthLeadership Group based in Atlanta, Georgia. He served previously as conference president and pastor.