Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man.
In the case of Christ’s temptations, we would read in the scriptures that “the devil came to him”. But in our situation, the devil does not necessarily have to come to us; he can leave us all by ourselves, and if we are not rooted in Christ, the sinful outcome will become inevitable in every instance, without exception.
The passage above point to internal temptation as the main driver, and producer of most external evils and, James states unequivocally that there is also a gestation period of sorts where evil thoughts, temptations, and decisions do converge, before the entire process ruptures into open sin. It almost never occurs in a vacuum as many persons claim as a cop-out that “the devil made me do it”.
Thus, before we proceed, we must understand the meaning of the word “Phantom”: Something that is not real and exists only in a person's mind. This definition, as given by the dictionary, does not capture the full scope or the severity of the problem because, although temptations in the mind may not produce tangible effects, they are indeed palpable, and they are as real as if they literally existed in the physical world.
Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!