The Father of All Psyops

What are Psyops?

Psychological Operations (PSYOP) is the term used in warfare to describe a strategy that seeks to influence the outlook, readiness, and effectiveness of a people by using words and images to subvert their thoughts and convictions. In warfare, soldiers are made to think they are going to loose and so they might as well give up.

The tools of this warfare are most often words, discouraging words, tempting words, deceiving words, lying words.

The goal of this warfare is to get soldiers to become demoralized and intimidated. The enemy wants them to stop fighting and give up.

In the Scriptures we will examine many examples of psyops. but first, let us look at the father of all psyops, Satan.

John 8:44 tells us, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” When we think of our enemies we can list three; Satan, the world, and the flesh. Satan is the originator of all the lies aimed at the Christian. John 10:10 reminds us, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Satan comes to battle over the mind with lies, falsehoods, and deceptions to destroy the will of the Christian to follow Christ. Jesus came to bring life and that abundantly.

The battle is over the mind. The answer is transforming the mind through Christ.

Romans 12:1–2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Please know that Satan’s strategy is the psyop. To deceive you into buying his lie and living in his deception of the truth.

The first step after realizing this is having your mind renewed daily by the Word of God.

Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

The Father of All PSYOPS

Psychological Operations or psyops is a form of warfare that aims to destroy a persons ability to think correctly. It all started with Satan.

Ezekiel 28:16 ““By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.” This passage describes the covering cherub, Satan, being filled with pride and losing his place in heaven because of a thing called, “the abundance of your trading”. I’d like to look at that because it is the beginning of “devilish psyops”.

“Trading” in Ezekiel 28:16 is רְכֻלָּה reḵǔl·lā(h), it means to be a vendor or trader, to merchandise. When I think of it I picture an old time peddler with a cart going from place to place to sell his goods. Along the way he picks up gossip and information and disseminates that as well. One man’s peddler is another man’s snake-oil salesman. That I think is the best way to read this in context. Satan went about heaven and spread lies and disinformation. One-third of the angels fell for his lies and were kicked out of heaven.

Now you can start to see the influence Satan can have as “the father of lies” (psyops) in John 8:44.

First he convinces us that we need what he is selling. His advertising campaigns are difficult to ignore. He bombards us day in and day out with words to persuade us to “buy what he is selling”. The goal for these lies is to change minds and hearts.

Guard your hearts Christians. Don’t fall for the false advertising of Satan. We are in a war and need to ignore the snake-oil and reach for the Bible.

Pride Comes Before the Fall

This week we are looking at Devilish Psyops. The Devil strategy to influence others unto harm. Let’s examine how Satan ended up as the antagonist. As the saying goes, pride comes before the fall. Proverbs 16:18 puts it this way, “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Ezekiel 28:17 ““Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you.”

God had placed Satan as the “covering cherub”, the highest created being in heaven, covering the throne of God. Did you know Satan was beautiful, brilliant, full of splendor? 2 Corinthians 11:14–15 calls him an “angel of light”. It was because he looked at himself and was so impressed with his own “magnificence” that he tried to take over the throne of God. (Isaiah 14:13-14)

By this we see that it is not always things obviously evil that Satan uses as part of his “psyops”, but he can use beauty and God-given position to corrupt individuals. Satan abused his office as the covering cherub. He used his authority to recruit others. He used his beauty to influence others.

There is a warning in 1 Timothy 3:6 about choosing leaders in church, “not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.” Too often leaders stop being servants and become filled with themselves to the detriment of their ministry. They forget the important principles of “Who made you?”, “Who called and anointed you?”, and “What do you have that was not given to you?”

Satan often uses the “psyop” of pride to recruit and take out of commission Christian leaders. Be on your guard.

Psyops in the Beginning

So far this week we have seen a disgruntled covering cherub peddling lies in heaven resulting in a big falling out.

God is no fan of Satan and Satan is no fan of man. Maybe it is jealousy, maybe it is envy, but Satan has no love for mankind. Outwardly, he would convince you he is on your side, but in reality Satan wants to destroy mankind, period. It is an active and constant war.

Genesis chapter three speaks of the first and highly devastating “psyop” Satan deployed against man.

Genesis 2:16–17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”” This was the one restriction placed on Adam in the garden. Don’t eat of the fruit of this one tree and if you do you will die. A prohibition and a consequence for failure to obey.

Enter Satan and thus begins the “psyop”. He is planting seeds of deception and twisting God’s words.

Genesis 3:3–4 “but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.” Here Satan is casting doubt on God’s explicit words. Adding to the Words of God.

Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.””

Interestingly Satan attracts man with the pride of being like God, the very thing he himself desires.

So we see the fall of man begins with Satan implying uncertainty about the words and commands God has given and challenging the consequences of disobedience. After that lie has been accepted Satan goes on to appeal to the newly energized lust to promote full blown rebellion of their loyalty to God.

The consequence of their failure to obey has been sin and death.

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—”

The apostle Paul warns us of letting our guard down and falling for the lies of the devil. 2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

What started in the garden was remedied by the cross. As Messiah, Jesus deals with this rebellious act once and for all.

Just a Few Words

“Psyops” is the subject we are looking at this week. As we looked at Satan and his devilish psyop against Adam and Eve, it is interesting to note that it was just a word that he spoke to Eve. Just a few sentences and Eve was not threatened, not scared, not even alarmed that a serpent could speak. Just a few words from the serpent and Eve was misquoting God, adding to the word, and justifying disobedience.

This is the real danger of “psyops”, we don’t need much information to send us over the edge. Just a suggestion from Satan and we’ll do the rest. This vulnerability that we possess is the free-will. Our volition is the point of attack for Satan because it is the one thing about us that pleases God.

God does not ask for blind obedience, but for faith obedience. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

So the very faith that responds to God and pleases Him is the same free volition that Satan tries to pervert to his will. The battle is for the faith of man as we are persuaded by truth. With the gift of free-will comes an important responsibility and that responsibility leads us to be accountable to the Giver. Do we look to honor God with our gift of faith and give Him the glory? Or do we selfishly let our guard down and become influenced by the “psyop” just a few words? (see parable of 4 soils)

Just a few words from the serpent threw doubt and uncertainty in the minds of Adam and Eve. Because they were free to act on the few words of the serpent, the “psyop’ was successful and mankind was placed under the curse. In a similar way the faith in a few words can deliver man, save his soul, and assure him of eternal life.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

The First Gospel

Once Satan’s “psyop” was successful, it was time for God to reveal His plan of redemption.

Genesis 3:14–15 “So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.””

The theological description for this passage is Protevangelium or the “first gospel”

God informs the serpent of the consequences of the fall. There would be enmity, or hostility, between Satan and the Son of Man.

This is the epic struggle otherwise known as spiritual warfare. Satan and his doomed minions warring against God and mankind. He is fighting against those saved to weaken the ministry of grace, and against the lost to keep them from responding to the light.

Satan’s first and most hated foe is the Christ. He tried everything to destroy Jesus, His bloodline, His ancestry, His ministry, and finally His life.

1 John 3:8 “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

The second part of the first gospel was the promise, “He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel”. This is a direct reference to the cross. While Satan did indeed bruise Jesus on the cross it was a superficial victory, just His heel. The real victory is Jesus’. Jesus will crush the serpents head.

Right from the beginning of Genesis the gospel is clearly shown. While Satan will get small victories with his “psyops”, he may lead some astray, the real victory is Jesus’. The cross defeated Satan, it destroyed the work of the devil. Christ is victorious.

2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

This is a call to beware, to be alert to the deception that comes from the serpent. This is a call to believe in the gospel of Christ. To receive Him by faith, and to be assured that the promise of everlasting life will be yours.