why does the enemy try to redefine everything important in the bible?

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 Greetings, friend. It is a profound question you ask, one that gets to the very heart of the great controversy between Christ and Satan. The provided texts offer clear insights into why the enemy works so diligently to redefine and pervert the truths of the Bible. Let us look together at what the Scriptures and the writings of Ellen G. White have to say on this matter.

From the Holy Scriptures (KJV)

  1. The fundamental nature of the enemy is to oppose and twist the ways of God. His work is to actively pervert righteousness and the Gospel itself.

    • "And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?" <Acts 13:10>
    • "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." <Romans 1:25>
    • "Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ." <Galatians 1:7>

  2. A primary method of redefinition is to take the words of Scripture and "wrest" or twist their meaning, especially those things that are hard to understand, which leads people to their own destruction.

    • "As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." <2 Peter 3:16>
    • "Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil." <Psalms 56:5>

  3. The ultimate goal of this redefinition is to blind the minds of people to the truth of the gospel and to deceive them, if possible, even the very elect of God.

    • "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." <2 Corinthians 4:4>
    • "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." <Matthew 24:24>

From the Writings of E.G. White

  1. Satan's constant effort is to pervert what God has spoken in order to blind the mind, darken the understanding, and ultimately lead humanity into sin.

    • "Satan is ever at work endeavoring to pervert what God has spoken, to blind the mind and darken the understanding, and thus lead men into sin." <PP 503.3>

  2. He seeks to replace God's truth with his own deceptions because he knows that truth, when received in love, has the power to sanctify the soul.

    • "The position that it is of no consequence what men believe is one of Satan's most successful deceptions. He knows that the truth, received in the love of it, sanctifies the soul of the receiver; therefore he is constantly seeking to substitute false theories, fables, another gospel." <GC 520.2>

  3. One of the enemy's most effective strategies is to introduce distractions and side-issues to draw attention away from the essential truths for this time.

    • "The enemy is seeking to divert the minds of our brethren and sisters from the work of preparing a people to stand in these last days. His sophistries are designed to lead minds away from the perils and duties of the hour." <8T 296.2 | RH, March 3, 1904 par. 11>

  4. He will create controversy over obscure or minor points to confuse minds and prevent the unity that comes from a focus on essential salvation truths.

    • "I have been shown that it is the device of the enemy to lead minds to dwell upon some obscure or unimportant point, something that is not fully revealed or is not essential to our salvation. This is made the absorbing theme, the 'present truth,' when all their investigations and suppositions only serve to make matters more obscure than before, and to confuse the minds of some who ought to be seeking for oneness through sanctification of the truth." <1SM 159.3 | CW 49.2 | 2NL 156.4>

  5. To accomplish his goal of redefinition, he endeavors to replace the Word of God with something he can control, thereby putting the Bible "in the shade" and diminishing the Saviour.

    • "And to take the place of the word of God he holds out spiritual manifestations. Here is a channel wholly under his control; by this means he can make the world believe what he will. The Book that is to judge him and his followers he puts into the shade, just where he wants it; the Saviour of the world he makes to be no more than a common man." <GC 557.1 | DD 21.2 | SR 396.4 | GC88 557.2>

  6. A subtle tactic is to use the Scriptures themselves, but misapply them to build a case for erroneous theories that have no foundation in truth.

    • "It is the enemy that leads minds off on sidetracks. He is pleased when those who know the truth become engrossed in collecting scriptures to pile up around erroneous theories, which have no foundation in truth. The scriptures thus used are misapplied; they were not given to substantiate error, but to strengthen truth." <MR760 23.2 | 8MR 320.3 | GW 303.1 | CW 54.1>

  7. Satan's plan is a progressive one: by causing people to doubt God's clear communication, he then introduces skepticism about core beliefs and the Bible itself, leading them down a path to destruction.

    • "It is Satan's plan to weaken the faith of God's people in the Testimonies. Next follows skepticism in regard to the vital points of our faith, the pillars of our position, then doubt as to the Holy Scriptures, and then the downward march to perdition." <LDE 178.2>

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