The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

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The apostle Paul writes: “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no great surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their works” (2 Cor. 11:13-15, emphasis added). 

Paul continues to expose the “super apostles” in Corinth for what they are: deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. They present a triple threat to the church as they proclaim “another Jesus,” “a different spirit,” and “a different gospel” (2 Cor. 11:4). And yet, the church welcomes them with open arms. That’s because the “super apostles” successfully disguise themselves as true apostles. They don’t necessarily oppose the apostle Paul, but they claim to have eclipsed him in spiritual gifts and public ministry. 

For example, their speaking skills are far superior – or so they say – and their boldness in the church projects a contagious confidence that Paul seems to lack, as evidenced by his humility and self-inflicted poverty (2 Cor. 10:10; 11:5-10). If that isn’t enough, Paul’s physical presence is “weak” (2 Cor. 10:10), no doubt in part from the beatings, stoning, shipwrecks, and other hardships he faced as he carried on his apostolic ministry.

The “super apostles” likely are physically fit and attractive, while Paul, if alive on earth today,  would never make it on Christian television. In all of this, the false apostles are rotten to the core but come wrapped in the clever disguise of eloquent purveyors of the gospel.

This shouldn’t take us by surprise, writes Paul. The “super apostles” are simply following the lead of Satan, who masquerades as an angel of light. Three times in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, Paul uses a form of the word rendered “disguise” in English. The “super apostles” are disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. And the false apostles, whom Paul identifies as Satan’s servants, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. 

The Greek verb metaschematizo means “to change in fashion or appearance.” This is not a change of character but of clothing, an outward transformation for the purpose of hiding one’s true nature and intentions. Various English translations seek to capture this meaning, rendering the word as “masquerade” (NIV), “disguise” (NASB, ESV), and “transformed” (KJV). The Message uses “posing,” “dressing up,” and “masquerade.”

Paul’s reference to Satan disguising himself as “an angel of light” perhaps draws more from popular Jewish tradition than from Scripture, although the serpent who appears to Eve in Genesis 3 may be a dazzling heavenly being. In the Jewish apocryphal Life of Adam and Eve, Satan transforms himself into the brightness of angels and pretends to grieve with Eve, who sits weeping by the Tigris River (9:1). In the Apocalypse of Moses, Eve recalls her seduction: “Satan appeared in the form of an angel and sang hymns like the angels. And I bent over the wall and saw him, like an angel” (17:1-2). 

In any case, the evil one is a master of disguise. When he appears, people don’t fall at his feet as dead men, the way they respond in holy fear of Christ (cf. Rev. 1:17). Rather, he is alluring, attractive, seductive, and glamorous. He approaches with beauty and flattery. He offers special knowledge, or unique privilege, or exalted position. His minions feed on the same human frailties. 

Corinthian believers, who want to become rich and reign like kings (1 Cor. 4:8), “are particularly susceptible to a false gospel dispensed by jaunty, diamond-studded apostles that appeals to their innate human pride and desire to be special. Swollen with pride themselves, these rivals gull [take advantage of] the Corinthians by stoking their vanity.”

Satan’s attacks on the church are seldom frontal. They don’t need to be. The evil one is contented with false apostles, who gain a foothold in a community of believers and destroy them with flattery and false doctrine from the inside out. Paul’s description of these “deceitful workers” employs the adjective dolios, which means someone who deals dishonestly or treacherously with others. The false apostles’ misrepresentation of their missionary work does not result from self-deception or even prideful exaggeration. The masquerade is quite deliberate.

That’s why Paul concludes these verses with the assurance that the false teachers’ end “will be according to their works” (2 Cor. 11:15). Just as Corinthian believers stand one day before the judgment seat of Christ, resulting in varying degrees of rewards (Rom. 14:10; 1 Cor. 3:11-15; 2 Cor. 5:10), the “super apostles” are to be summoned before the great white throne and punished for their evil deeds. Not surprisingly, their role model also is banished to the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15; cf. Matt. 25:41). 

Next: The original usurper (1 Tim. 2:12-14)