Came upon something really interesting:

Listening to a great video from Clear Truth Media on X – podcast EP 007 talking about the enemy’s playbook for suppressing the truth that is found in the Bible in Acts 4,5, and 6. (this is his take on what has happened and his reflection about the Trump assassination)

I am going to show you what that playbook is and I, aIso, added from Acts chapter 7 — digging a little deeper.

THE DEVILS PLAYBOOK FOR SUPPRESSING THE TRUTH

1. BE ANNOYED – This is tactic #1 – it starts with being annoyed -They let you know they want you to just STOP IT. Stop speaking the truth.

 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, ² being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. ³ And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. ⁴ However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

Acts 4:1-4

Notice that they were greatly disturbed (annoyed) by these guys because they were preaching in Jesus’ name the resurrection from the dead. They even put them in custody. In custody is a kind of detention. It is not yet arrested for a crime, but usually is just being held against your will for interrogation. They just want to use enough pressure to get you to STOP IT!

They will use slandered in this tactic.

The enemy gave them perception (watch those ways of seeing)

¹³ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. ¹⁵ But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶ saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name.” ¹⁸ So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

Acts 4:13-18

The perception was that they were uneducated and untrained. They also could see that they had a healed man with them and could say nothing against that. They conferred among themselves (they went away together to discuss opinions on what to do) and they decided to severely threaten them and tell them not to teach or to speak this name, Jesus.

Can you guess what the disciple’s response was to this?

19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”²¹ So when they had further threatened them, they let them go..

Acts 4:19-21a

They straight up said we will listen to God! We will speak of what we have seen and heard!

And these annoyed ones threatened them some more and let them go.

2. ARREST THEM – tactic #2

¹⁷ Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation, ¹⁸ and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.

Acts 5:17-18

Now, this is very interesting. It says they were filled with indignation and put them in prison. Indignant is a very specific word, it means to be displeased at, be offended, resent, deem unworthy.

The way the enemy gets us to the point where we suppress truth through arrest is to get us to become so offended at each other that we find these people unworthy of dignity and respect. So why not throw them in prison, for speaking, for breathing, for being.

But look at the outcome. What happened when they were thrown in prison for speaking the truth?

¹⁹ But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ²⁰ “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.”

Acts 5:19-20

God sent an angel to let them out! And told them to go and keep speaking to truth to the people.

So, they go and keep teaching in the temple, and someone tells on them that they are doing this, and they are brought before a council.

²⁷ And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them, ²⁸ saying, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”²⁹ But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. ³⁰ The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. ³¹ Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ³² And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Acts 5:27-32

They say the same thing in response to the first tactic: We will obey God rather than men.

They stand firm speaking the truth. It says in verse ³³ When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them. But one of these “people in power” a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law stood up and tried to reason with them in verses 34-39 basically saying, “if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”

⁴⁰ And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

Acts 5:40

Of course, they did not stop speaking and they even commissioned more people to join them and go about speaking the truth. So many people were coming to the truth and joining the mission.

And the enemy hates that! One of the men named Stephen was full of wisdom, that the teachers and powers that be, had a very hard time disputing him. In chapter 6 we see them pull out all the same tactics. They had people lie about him. They stirred up the people, seized him and brought him before a council, and for 50 verses recorded for us to read, he boldly stood and spoke the truth.

3. ASSASSINATION – tactic #3

⁵⁴ When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. ⁵⁵ But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, ⁵⁶ and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” ⁵⁷ Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; ⁵⁸ and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Acts 7:54-60

They were cut to the heart. They were proved to be wrong!

Next, they gnashed at him with their teeth. Have you ever been so angry that you clamp your teeth in rage just before you lose your mind and do something you regret? They started to rip him to shreds with their words, stopping their ears. They ran at him, grabbed him and drug him out of the city and stoned him.

They assassinated him. WOW!

I want to point out one more thing, this “cut to the heart” is an interesting phrase -cut means to wound – and the heart is where we deeply feel. So, to cut to the heart – is to wound the feelings of another.

Be conscious of what you are doing and feeling this week?

It’s real easy to get distracted. EYES ON JESUS!

Thanks for Listening,

Starla