Neither By Fighting Satan
Nor By Mocking Him,
But By Self-Knowledge
By
The Man Who Saw God Face To Face
Raphael Okechukwu Nweze
Introduction
Often, you hear people who say that they are fighting against the Devil. Many churches now have prayers by which their members fight Satan, march on him or cajole him.
Recently, during the 2015 Hajji celebration at Mecca, over 700 persons died due to stampede, when they were ‘stoning the Devil’. In the same event of stoning the Devil in the previous time, over 1400 pilgrims died due to stampede.
Such are many man-made doctrines and routines, which have been formulated by religious leaders, and which the church members hold on to as if the doctrines and routines were commanded by God. Ministers of God, who have not studied spiritual science, should be encouraged to do so. Otherwise, many religious leaders are only busy deceiving themselves and misleading the ignorant masses.
The fact is that you not overcome the world by fighting Satan or by mocking him. You overcome the world by self-knowledge and as a passer-by.
Self-knowledge means understanding that you are spirit, and not flesh. Therefore, you are the sons of God. You overcome the world y following the ways of God, by following His footsteps. That is by living according to the laws, times and festivals of God.
Being a passer-by, means understanding that the world is neither your home nor your destination. Your home is heaven and your destination is God Almighty. That is why Jesus was frequently saying, “Your Father in heaven,” even so in the Lord’s prayer. Do not put your hope in this world. If you do business and make gain, rejoice and thank God. If on the other hand you do business and loose, do not spend your time regretting the loss, because you have lost nothing in this world, and also, you have lost nothing in heaven. The only duty of a passer-by is to pass through a place, and not to dwell therein. You can now understand the reason God is asking, “Why do children of men make this world a permanent place of residence?” people make this world a permanent place of residence by hoping in its wealth and riches, by accumulating unnecessary wealth, by allowing the cares and worries of everyday life to disturb them.