Elder Ephraim on Spiritual Delusion (video)

How we can distinguish when the Devil wants to deceive us? (at 52:17)

Whenever the devil tries to trick you to things that maybe that was a good sign from Jesus and that really was and was the devil, how can you easily distinguish between the two?

The way to distinguish whether or not these spiritual experiences are from the Lord or from the devil is to see what results of them are, what the fruits of them are in our lives. If the experience that we had is from the Lord, accompanied it will be with humility, peace in our soul, and certain spiritual blessings and fruits that come from that: we feel that it is from the Lord. If on the other hand, if there is something from the devil, the results will be different: there will be an uneasiness about it, there will be a discomfort, there will be a spiritual unrest that will be created by the activity of the devil in our lives and of course that sometimes leads to pride. So when we are not sure about a spiritual experience is to whether or not it is from the devil or not or whether it is from the Lord, we are to go for insurance to our spiritual guide, our spiritual father. We do this in order to check ourselves out. We need to go to somebody who help us make this discernment, to find out whether is something of the Lord. If we only depend on ourselves, if we make our own judgment on this, if we in a sense draw our own conclusions about the validity of the experience, we can easily fool ourselves, thinking that this is from the God while in reality it is not from the God, it could be from the devil. That requires a tremendous amount of spiritual discernment in order to be able to make distinction which one is from the devil and which from the Lord. 

Source

Death Agony of a Monk Who Concealed the Sins He Committed as a Layman

Archimandrite Ephraim of Arizona (1928-2019). From the "Homily on Remembrance of Death".

Elder Ephraim of Arizona (1928-2019)

When we for the first time founded our fraternity in the New Skete, something happened to an elder of the Skete, both frightening and beneficial for all of us. Of course, the older fathers can remember that.

This elder had heart disease, therefore he should have a special sort of remembrance of the death. But, alas, the temptation overcame him and did not allow him to confess some sins related to his secular life when he was still a layman. When he felt very ill and realized that he is close to death, he send his brother, also a monk, to see me. His brother told me that the sick man was dying of impatience and was looking forward to see me. He is in need of consolation as he is being tortured by thoughts of his soul going to perish.

I was surprised, of course, that he told me that he had lost his patience, because I know that the monks are somewhat patient in temptation, in sickness and other labours. We went to his cell.

When I saw this elder I realize that it was not the problem of him being impatient. His bed was surrounded by demons. After we were left alone with the sick man, I asked him if he could see the evil spirits. He nodded. His face was distorted with anger, he was looking on the left and right and trying to protect himself with his arms. He behaved as if he was attacked by a pack of rabid dogs struggling with all his might.

I raised my voice to distract him from the demons and asked him what the demons were telling him. ‘Alas! What they are telling me… I dare not to say that.’

The Devil is Very Afraid of Confession to the Elder

Archimandrite Ephraim of the Holy Mountain. "Fatherly advices".

Elder Ephraim of Holy Mountain

The voice that you heard and that said to you: "Christ has cleansed you from the sins and killed your passions" – comes from the devil. This is the first step that leads a man to delusion and death. If one listens to the devil, turns his attention to the devil, if his heart enjoyed the words and agreed that the devil’s words are truthful, then Satan comes immediately more appreciably and step-by-step takes dominion over the man. Then one should do a great work to get rid of him.

Therefore, my child, you have done well that you did not pay attention to it and then chided yourself. Another time, if you hear something like this, say:

- I'll pass it to the elder, and will do as he advises me.

The devil is very afraid of confession to the elder, because he knows that this will destroy all his nets!

You should be aware, my child, that a thought of conceit has sprouted in you, i.e. of pride, that is why it happened to you. Be careful, have a lot of humility, pray every day that God gives you the spirit of humility. As nothing can grow on the trodden path, no delusion can grow on the "path" of humility.
http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/what-is-spiritual-delusion/619-the-devil-is-very-afraid-of-confession-to-the-elder

The Ones Who Conceal Sins Fall in Delusion

Elder Ephraim of Philotheou. "My life with elder Joseph".

(translated from Russian)

Elder Ephraim of Philotheou

The Elder [Joseph the Hesychast] told us: "Have you seen the monk, who fell into sin, who became a deserter? It happened to him because he concealed his thoughts. He did not disclose them - and they killed him, like the snakes kill. Newly hatched little snakes are small, but if you do not drive them away, they will grow and become poisonous. One of them will bite you, and you will die. Have you seen a man in delusion? It happened to him because of the thoughts."

The Elder told us about some people who concealed their thoughts and suffered from that, fell into delusion. Such people quite often committed suicide because they believed that an Angel appeared to them, whereas it was a demon. The delusion was in the thought: "Do not tell that to the Elder".

http://oprelesti.ru/index.php/concealment-of-sins-in-confession/512-the-ones-who-conceal-sins-fall-in-delusion