No doubt the human mind is the most intriguing and incredible part of the creation. It takes many years for the mind to develop and mature. During that time there are many experiences that imprint themselves on us. Sometimes the imprints are not driven by fact, but by some strong emotion. For example, we can develop phobias of things, places and animals for no good reason. One of the most fascinating things about the human mind is its ability to find and cling to something in a time of great need. That clinging can also become so deeply rooted that it affects all we do. An illusion is defined as something that is in our minds but has little support in reality. Illusion is defined as a deceptive appearance or impression, an apparition, false conception, delusion, misperception, false appearance, pretence, sham. Illusions may be optical, spaciel, perceptual and words like appearance, impressions, imitation, semblance, pretence or sham can be applied. The point is that an illusion is not true and real and yet, we react to an illusion as though it were. That can be dangerous because it removes the ability to seek truth and reality which can limit our ability to react correctly and make good and wise decisions. We can have an illusion of family togetherness for example and at the same time stop doing the things that build a strong family.
An illusion can become strong and real to us when it appears at a time of great need. One example is that of a person who is struggling to survive on a hot and dry desert. When his strength seems weak and hopelessness is near, his mind will conjure up an oasis where none actually exists. Illusions are delusions driven by need, fear, hope and other drives within us. That oasis can seem so real that the person feels encouraged and full of hope, but it is false. We can call it a "mirage" and it is that, but to some it is real. Although it does not exist in reality, the thought can be so strong and real to us that no amount of persuasion or even real evidence can make us change our mind easily. There are many different illusions that people have formed or that appear in their thinking. The fear and uncertainty of death is one area of thought that has brought about many illusions of an "oasis" for that event. Humans imagine life continuing in a different body, the persons themselves are immortal and just go on living in another life. Some see themselves in a Paradise they have never seen, some think they drift into some sort of never-never land. It seems that peoples all over the world have developed a host of illusions about death and dying. That shows the strong need we have from within. God has placed eternity in the hearts of men and we have concerns about death (Eccl. 3:15).
One of the greatest recorded events in history was the life and death of Jesus Christ. The Holy Scriptures relate the extraordinary miracles and events that Jesus did in order that people will believe that He was who He said He was (John 20:27-31). Some of His closest followers had an illusion of the Messiah, Saviour or Christ that shook them to the core of their being when their illusion was smashed by His horrible suffering and death. The Bible records the occasion after the resurrection of Jesus when two of His close followers were walking away from Jerusalem - no doubt in sorrow and confusion discussing the events that had just happened a few days before. The two men were close acquaintances of the disciples and women who followed Jesus, because as Jesus spoke with them, they explained their illusion that the Redeemer they were looking for was one they had conjured up in their minds and hearts (Luke 24:14-24). They were not looking for a Redeemer who had been crucified - and even though certain of the women and disciples who had actually looked into the empty tomb clearly confirmed this totally unexpected event, these two men could not shake the illusion that had developed in their thinking. No doubt their hope was great and driven by the difficult circumstances that Jews had living under the heavy hand of Rome and corrupt Jewish leaders. It is not easy to move away from an illusion that seems to fill our deepest needs, and that is exactly the problem of illusions - they prevent us from seeing reality. Even when Jesus stood in the midst of His dearest followers, they were terrified and frightened, supposing they had seen a spirit (Luke 24:36). All of Jesus' followers had an illusion about what Jesus could or would do and who He really was. It was painful for them to become disillusioned about their beliefs. Illusions do not melt away quickly because they tend to temporarily fill some sort of void or need in our lives. We need only look at the immense pyramids of Egypt to see how powerful an illusion can be. Their illusions drove the system.
Satan is good at planting illusions in the minds of mankind. His first one was in the Garden of Eden when he said what Adam and Eve wanted to hear - that God would not be angry if they sin, and furthermore, the penalty for sin is not death (Gen. 3:4-7). Truth and reality struck quickly as they met God and found that He was indeed angry, the penalty was death and their sin estranged themselves from His presence and blessings. What a terrible price mankind has paid ever since. It is astonishing and hard to believe that after about 6,000 years of believing various sorts of illusions, mankind still finds it hard to erase, change or act toward disillusionment. Disillusionment is the process of removing illusions from our minds and hearts and replacing them with reality and truth.
Just as Jesus was completing His work among His disciples, He promised them a great gift. He said that the Spirit of truth which the world does not have, cannot see or know, would dwell with them and be in them. God worked through His Spirit in man since the beginning although perhaps not in the same way that He does now. Jesus promised that the Father and Son would dwell within a converted person through that Spirit (John 14:23-26). The word of God is truth, the Scriptures tell us (John 17:17-21). Furthermore, Jesus stated that converted people would be sanctified by the truth just as He sanctified Himself. This is real hard truth and not an illusion. It can be verified and proven by following the word as God opens one's mind to grasp and understand His purpose, plan and final goal for His creation. Illusions vanish when truth is sought and followed.
Jesus Christ delighted in opening the understanding of the two disciples on the road and later gave understanding to all of His followers so that they might comprehend the Scriptures (Luke 24:31,32,45). We have all grown up in a world of darkness and shadows that Satan controls. It is remarkable that even in this age of enlightenment, high education, intense search for true knowledge in science and a time such has never been in this world, mankind still leans towards the illusions. Some want to believe that the commandments of God are erased by Jesus Christ. Some hold on to illusions that comforted them as children. Desperate people will grasp at straws in the hope of survival.
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Paul encouraged people to recall the former truths that took them from darkness into light (Heb. 10:31-35). Satan wants to provide illusions that will blind people to truth and God offers enlightenment with the provision that a person learns to love His laws and thereby Him. (I John 2:3-6). God gives all the help and direction that we need, if we learn to recognize illusions and love truth. John stated that the presence of God in us is greater by far than Satan (I John 4:4-6). Amazingly enough, children of God know who is of the spirit of truth, because they hear and know one another. God offers truth, but we must seek and want that.