For a PDF file of this poem, see the end.

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Amidst shrieks and howls and evil laughs

The meeting came to order,

The demons had arrived from

The land of fifty borders.

Then Satan stood and said to[i]

This vile and evil crowd,

“Do you all still serve me?”[ii]

“Yes!” is what they vowed.

“Then tell me of your service, someone

Stand and tell me now,

Speak of your deception, tell me

When and where and how.”

Then several demons stood to speak,

Each giving their report

Of their assault upon humanity

By schemes of every sort.[iii]

Then one of them, a strategist,

The highest in his class,

Began addressing all of them

With arrogance and brass.

He said, “You know our methods,

Our cunning and our skill,

You know how successfully,

Assignments we fulfill.

Here, as in other places for

The last two-thousand years,

We launch attacks within the church,[iv]

So truth they will not hear.

We first attack the Scriptures to

Cause doubt and disbelief.

This is first and most important,

Yes, this strategy is chief.

We tell them there are errors,[v]

That God has lost control,

That He can’t keep them accurate,

In a book or on a scroll.[vi]

Then doubts begin to rise and

Their Bibles start to close,

Their minds begin to darken[vii] as

Their ignorance, it grows.[viii]

We work through our deceivers in[ix]

God’s pulpits and His schools,[x]

Who think that we can win this war,[xi]

Yes, they’re our biggest fools.

They do our speaking for us, to

Deceive those in the pews,

So they will never know they’re dead,[xii]

Or hear of God’s ‘good news.’[xiii]

They say it’s just religion,

Not unlike all the rest,

So good works and good behavior,

These are the things they stress.

They tell them just be good enough,[xiv]

That God, He is not ‘just,’[xv]

That He will overlook their sin,[xvi]

Their greed, their theft, their lust,

The idols that they have in life,

When they misuse His name,

When they dishonor parents,

Or lie to a neighbor’s shame,

Or entertain adultery,[xvii]

Or murder in their hearts,[xviii]

No, He will never judge all this,

Nor tell them to depart.[xix]

So, they decide what God should be;[xx]

A generous old man,

Whose here to make them happy or

To help them with their plan,[xxi]

Or someone not so personal;

A genie in a lamp,

Who waits and listens for their prayers

With his approval stamp.

Or someone rather uninvolved,[xxii]

A being way out there,

Who may have given life to them,

But only slightly cares.

Then as they lose their fear of Him,[xxiii]

And think they’re doing good,

They’re assured that He will bless them,

‘Because He really should.’

They only need to walk an isle

And recite some chosen words –

And regarding true repentance,[xxiv]

Well, that they’ve never heard.

And if there really was a cross,

If this was somehow true,

To think that Jesus died for them[xxv]

Is too hard to construe.[xxvi]

Because we say, There is no Hell![xxvii]

—A subject they despise—

And in the end for every sin,

God will close His eyes.”[xxviii]

So even though He gave them life[xxix]

And died for all their wrong,[xxx]

Sent His Word[xxxi] and formed the church,

So they could all belong

To Him and live in Heaven

For all eternity,[xxxii]

Their pride will bring destruction;[xxxiii]

They’ll burn with you and me.”[xxxiv]

[i] Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.1 Peter 5:8

[ii] Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Matthew 25:41

[iii] Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  Ephesians 6:11

[iv] Then Jesus said to them,  “. . . Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.” Mark 4:13-15

[v] It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. Luke 16:17

[vi] The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8

[vii] The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4

[viii] My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. Hosea 4:6

[ix] The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 1 Timothy 4:1-2

[x] And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15   ///   Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. Matthew 7:15

[xi] And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:15

[xii] As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. Ephesians 2:1

[xiii] For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

[xiv] There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12   ///   I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Galatians 2:21

[xv] He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. Deuteronomy 32:4

[xvi] In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22

[xvii]  But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:28

[xviii] You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Matthew 5:21-22

[xix]  Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Matthew 25:41

[xx]  “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Who shut up the sea behind doors? Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place? Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep? Have the gates of death been shown to you? What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside? Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their dwellings? Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle? What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed, or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth? Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain, and a path for the thunderstorm? Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons or lead out the Bear with its cubs? Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you set up God’s dominion over the earth? Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Who endowed the heart with wisdom or gave understanding to the mind?”  Job 38 various verses.

[xxi]  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ///  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

[xxii] And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever–the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17

[xxiii] The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10

[xxiv] Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out. . . Acts 3:19

[xxv] For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. 1 Peter 3:18

[xxvi] For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. Acts 28:27

[xxvii] If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:14

[xxviii] In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Hebrews 9:22

[xxix] When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Genesis 5:1

[xxx] For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. 1 Peter 3:18

[xxxi] All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness . . . 2 Timothy 3:16

[xxxii] But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. Luke 20:35-36

[xxxiii] Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18

[xxxiv]  Then he will say to those on his left, `Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Matthew 25:41

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