“The traitor, Judas, had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.” So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss. Jesus said, “My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.” Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him.” (Matthew 26:48–50, NLT)
Have you ever noticed that Satanic or evil forces always take the opposite approach, view, or stance as does God? Look at these examples from the Bible:
In the gospels, we are introduced to Jesus, the Christ. In the end times, evil ones called antichrists (the opposites of Christ) will gather power only to harm faithful people and the gospel (1 John 2:18).
God protected faithful Job’s life, not letting Satan kill him (Job 1:12). What does Satan do to Job and Job’s children? Satan causes Job to suffer with terrible sores (Job 2:7). Satan also kills every single one of Job’s children, except one…just to make a point! So, while God is a protector and Savior, Satan is the opposite. Satan causes suffering and death whenever possible.
When Jesus was born, evil Herod tried to end Jesus’ life (Matthew 2). Jesus’ parents were warned by an angel of God to flee to Egypt to be safe. Evil ones tried to kill our Savior. God sent angels to protect Him.
When Jesus met the devil in the wilderness, we see more opposition. After trying to seduce Jesus with visions of grandeur, the devil suggested that Jesus throw himself off the highest point of the Temple, hoping Jesus would die in a terrible manner (Matthew 4:5). On the other hand, God did the opposite to Jesus in the wilderness. After the devil left, God sent angels to aid Jesus’ recovery (Matthew 4:11). Again, the devil was pushing Jesus to commit suicide while God was easing Jesus’ suffering.
Our scripture for today gives one further example of Satan in opposition to God. Luke 22:3 explains that just before Jesus was arrested, Satan entered into Judas. When this happened, Judas betrayed Jesus’ location to the Jewish authorities and set up a plan for Jesus’ arrest. Matthew 26:48 explains the plan of betrayal all arranged by Satanic-driven Judas. Judas gave the soldiers assigned to him “a prearranged signal”. The soldiers were to arrest the one Judas would “greet with a kiss”. Judas then greets Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane with a kiss, saying “Greetings Rabbi”. The soldiers immediately place Jesus under arrest and haul him away.
Do you see the evil opposites in this scripture? Usually, a kiss is a sign of affection and love. Here Judas uses it as a sign of betrayal. Further, Judas greets Jesus with warm words, saying “Greetings Rabbi!”. These are usually the words of a respectful and trusting disciple. Instead, they are the words of a traitor and ring hollow. This scripture displays clearly what happens when Satan enters the scene. Opposites will abound. There will be evil, betrayals, suffering, and doom instead of trust, faith, healing, and joy.
I recently studied the works of a Roman Catholic priest who has been specially trained to perform exorcisms. He has been taught how to recognize evil, demonic activity, and satanic perversions. He has also been taught how to cast out demons, bring healing to those suffering evil, and bless what is cursed. The priest pointed out a good number of opposites he has found in the fight against demonic activity. He reported that evil spirits are tormented when people pray. Evil can’t stand to be around good. He also explained that reading scripture often provokes evil spirits to lash out. Evil can’t stand to hear the goodness of the gospel. He further presented the knowledge that those who are trained to fight evil spirits must be completely devoted to God and the good. Only the godly can cast out what is evil.
God and Satan will always be opposites. They will always be in opposition. Good and evil will always be in conflict. Satan and all evil forces will consistently do the opposite of what is good, righteous, godly, and holy. It’s a part of their evil DNA. If you want to remain faithful to God, you will face those who will betray you, oppose you, and spread lies about you. The more you represent God and good, the more you will face Satan and all kinds of evils. This will even help you to figure out what is right from what is wrong.
The devil entered Judas. From then on, his life was the opposite of good. He betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. He acted righteous while planning evil. He said one thing while doing another. He even committed suicide rather than face his mistakes (Matthew 27:5). Trusting Jesus would have led to Judas’ forgiveness. Trusting in evil, Judas chose instead to hang himself.
Judas’ life is an example of how opposite of good your choices will become once evil has a hold upon you.
I pray in the coming days you may choose wisely to follow the will of God. Look for hypocrisies and opposites in your actions, thoughts, or behavior. Watch out for evil activity by others sent your way when you stand for what is good and holy. Recognize that evil will seek to subvert your mind and destroy your soul. Know that Jesus has been fighting to save you, protect you, and care for you. Remember that God sends angels to protect the righteous.
“The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
(Matthew 7:14, ESV)
In the gospels, we are introduced to Jesus, the Christ. In the end times, evil ones called antichrists (the opposites of Christ) will gather power only to harm faithful people and the gospel (1 John 2:18).
God protected faithful Job’s life, not letting Satan kill him (Job 1:12). What does Satan do to Job and Job’s children? Satan causes Job to suffer with terrible sores (Job 2:7). Satan also kills every single one of Job’s children, except one…just to make a point! So, while God is a protector and Savior, Satan is the opposite. Satan causes suffering and death whenever possible.
When Jesus was born, evil Herod tried to end Jesus’ life (Matthew 2). Jesus’ parents were warned by an angel of God to flee to Egypt to be safe. Evil ones tried to kill our Savior. God sent angels to protect Him.
When Jesus met the devil in the wilderness, we see more opposition. After trying to seduce Jesus with visions of grandeur, the devil suggested that Jesus throw himself off the highest point of the Temple, hoping Jesus would die in a terrible manner (Matthew 4:5). On the other hand, God did the opposite to Jesus in the wilderness. After the devil left, God sent angels to aid Jesus’ recovery (Matthew 4:11). Again, the devil was pushing Jesus to commit suicide while God was easing Jesus’ suffering.
Our scripture for today gives one further example of Satan in opposition to God. Luke 22:3 explains that just before Jesus was arrested, Satan entered into Judas. When this happened, Judas betrayed Jesus’ location to the Jewish authorities and set up a plan for Jesus’ arrest. Matthew 26:48 explains the plan of betrayal all arranged by Satanic-driven Judas. Judas gave the soldiers assigned to him “a prearranged signal”. The soldiers were to arrest the one Judas would “greet with a kiss”. Judas then greets Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane with a kiss, saying “Greetings Rabbi”. The soldiers immediately place Jesus under arrest and haul him away.
Do you see the evil opposites in this scripture? Usually, a kiss is a sign of affection and love. Here Judas uses it as a sign of betrayal. Further, Judas greets Jesus with warm words, saying “Greetings Rabbi!”. These are usually the words of a respectful and trusting disciple. Instead, they are the words of a traitor and ring hollow. This scripture displays clearly what happens when Satan enters the scene. Opposites will abound. There will be evil, betrayals, suffering, and doom instead of trust, faith, healing, and joy.
I recently studied the works of a Roman Catholic priest who has been specially trained to perform exorcisms. He has been taught how to recognize evil, demonic activity, and satanic perversions. He has also been taught how to cast out demons, bring healing to those suffering evil, and bless what is cursed. The priest pointed out a good number of opposites he has found in the fight against demonic activity. He reported that evil spirits are tormented when people pray. Evil can’t stand to be around good. He also explained that reading scripture often provokes evil spirits to lash out. Evil can’t stand to hear the goodness of the gospel. He further presented the knowledge that those who are trained to fight evil spirits must be completely devoted to God and the good. Only the godly can cast out what is evil.
God and Satan will always be opposites. They will always be in opposition. Good and evil will always be in conflict. Satan and all evil forces will consistently do the opposite of what is good, righteous, godly, and holy. It’s a part of their evil DNA. If you want to remain faithful to God, you will face those who will betray you, oppose you, and spread lies about you. The more you represent God and good, the more you will face Satan and all kinds of evils. This will even help you to figure out what is right from what is wrong.
The devil entered Judas. From then on, his life was the opposite of good. He betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. He acted righteous while planning evil. He said one thing while doing another. He even committed suicide rather than face his mistakes (Matthew 27:5). Trusting Jesus would have led to Judas’ forgiveness. Trusting in evil, Judas chose instead to hang himself.
Judas’ life is an example of how opposite of good your choices will become once evil has a hold upon you.
I pray in the coming days you may choose wisely to follow the will of God. Look for hypocrisies and opposites in your actions, thoughts, or behavior. Watch out for evil activity by others sent your way when you stand for what is good and holy. Recognize that evil will seek to subvert your mind and destroy your soul. Know that Jesus has been fighting to save you, protect you, and care for you. Remember that God sends angels to protect the righteous.
“The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
(Matthew 7:14, ESV)