What do we know about the enemy and his tactics?
Aliases (KJV):
Satan is known by many different names in the Bible. Here
is a list, although not completely comprehensive.
- Satan, the devil, the dragon, Beelzebub, serpent, old serpent, prince
of this world, the tempter, the adversary, Lucifer, Belial, prince of the
devils, wicked one, the son of perdition, accuser of our brethren, a murderer
from the beginning, prince of the power of the air, god of this world,
Abaddon, Apollyon, angel of the bottomless pit, the spirit that now worketh
in the children of disobedience
Appearance:
Today's society has reduced Satan to little more than a comical
caricature of his true nature. The ridiculous figure with horns, tail,
and a pitchfork merely draws our attention away from the reality of Satan
and the threat he poses. Of course, sometimes he is also described as monstrous,
demonic, and ugly. While this may be a more accurate description of his
true nature, his appearance can be strikingly different.
Too many people today base their judgements on outward appearance,
automatically assuming that something beautiful is good, and something
ugly is bad. By this verse we are warned to be on our guard, and that we
must always look beyond the initial appearance of something or someone,
in order to discern the truth of them; whether or not they are truly for
God or against Him.
Personality traits:
As a sentient being, Satan is going to have certain traits to his
personality. Some of the most prominent are:
- Pride: "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all
that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in
the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God."
2Thessalonians 2:4
- Subtlety: "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent
beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted
from the simplicity that is in Christ." 2Corinthians 11:3
- He is a murderer and the father of lies: "Ye are of
your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was
a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because
there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own:
for he is a liar, and the father of it." John
8:44
- He desires to test and "sift" us: "And the
Lord said, 'Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired
to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.'" Luke
22:31
- He desires worship: "And the devil said unto Him, 'All
this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered
unto me; and to whomsoever I will give it. If thou therefore wilt worship
me, all shall be thine.'" Luke 4:6-7
Tactics:
Satan is very intelligent and a master of deception. He is not confined
to simply one plan of attack. He will do whatever he feels is necessary
to destroy our faith, right up to the point where he is restrained by God
from going any further. Consider the story of Job. Job was a man who was
"perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed
evil." In other words, a prime target for Satan. Satan asked
God for permission to test Job and his faith. Before it was over, Satan
had killed all of Job's livestock, most of his servants, and all of his
children. He brought fire from heaven to destroy his sheep and servants,
and allowed the messenger to place the blame on God. (Job 1:16) When that
didn't work, he afflicted Job with boils from "the sole of
his foot unto his crown." God allowed Satan to do whatever
he liked as long as he didn't kill Job. (Job 2:6)
The point of the story is that Satan is not limited to just placing
thoughts, doubts, and desires in our minds and hearts, but in certain instances
can actually attack in much more direct and dangerous manners, and he is
always looking for targets and victims.
"And the LORD said unto Satan, 'Whence comest thou?' Then Satan
answered the LORD and said, 'From going to and fro in the earth, and
from walking up and down in it.'" Job 1:7
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as
a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
1Peter 5:8
Some of the methods Satan uses against us are:
- Provoking us to do things contrary to the Lord's will: "And
Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel."
1Chronicles 21:1
- Causing us to do things against the Lord: "And supper
being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot,
Simon's son, to betray Him." John 13:2
- Physical afflictions: "So went Satan forth from
the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils fom the
sole of his foot unto his crown." Job 2:7
- Binding us with lasting afflictions: "And
ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound,
lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?"
Luke 13:16
- Taking the word of God away from those who hear it: "And
these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have
heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown
in their hearts." Mark 4:15
- Causes us to try to lie to God: "But Peter said, 'Ananias,
why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and
to keep back part of the price of the land?'" Acts 5:3
- Hindering our efforts: "Wherefore we would have come
unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us."
1Thessalonians 2:18
- Tempting us: "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into
the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." Matthew
4:1
- Blinding people to the truth: "In whom the god of
this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the
light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them." 2Corinthians 4:4
So we can see that Satan has a virtual artillery of weapons he can
use against us. Because of this, we must always be on our guard, especially
if we are in one of two main groups: new believers; or effective believers.
I believe these are the two groups most at risk for spiritual attack. This
will be discussed on another page.
An important thing to remember:
One thing all Christians need to keep in mind if they suspect they
may be the target of spiritual attack is that Satan can
be defeated. In fact, the victory has already been won!
- He has been beaten before: "I have written unto you,
fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning. I have written
unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth
in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." 1John
2:14
- He can be beaten again: "Submit yourselves therefore
to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
James 4:7
- We have the victory through Christ: "But thanks be to
God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
1Corinthians 15:57
- God will limit Satan's attack on you: "There hath no
temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able
to bear it." 1Corinthians 10:13
With this in mind, the next thing we need to be aware of is that
in the spiritual realm there are different kinds of spiritual warfare going
on, both in our lives and in the world around us. The next section will
discuss these levels
of conflict.
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