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Know Your Enemy

by | Apr 2, 2024 | Bible Brief

1 Peter 5:8

 This is the way the headlines might have appeared on that dark day, thousands of years ago, when God’s cosmos was thrown into chaos by Lucifer’s sin. To this day the world suffers from the resulting conflict. This warfare (Eph. 6:12) will continue until the judgment, achieved by Christ’s victory over the Devil at the cross (Jn. 12:31; 16:11) will ultimately be carried out.

      The purpose of this study is to make people aware of who Satan is, and what his evil intentions are towards the human race. The Apostle Paul, knowing that Satan will take advantage of us, suggests that we cannot afford to be ignorant of his devices” (1 Cor. 2:11). The person who is uninformed is ill prepared to do spiritual battle with the “principalities and powers” (Eph. 6:12) of Satan. Many have fallen victim of his “snares” (1 Tim. 3:7; 6:9; 2 Tim. 2:26).

 SATAN’S STAMP

     The indelible stamps, by which Satan is identified, are the names and titles by which he is called in Scripture:

  1. Satan (Rev. 20:2) Adversary
  2. Serpent (Rev. 20:2) The shining one
  3. Prince of the power of air (Eph. 2:2)
  4. Devil (Luke 4:2)
  5. The spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience (Eph. 2:2)
  1. The god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4)
  2. The dragon (Rev. 20:2)
  3. The roaring lion (1 Pet. 5:8)
  4. Prince of darkness (Eph. 6:12)
  5. Beelzebub (Matt. 12:24) Accuser
  6. Angel of the bottomless pit (Rev. 9:11)
  7. Abaddon (Rev. 9:11)
  8. Apollyon (Rev. 9:11) Destroyer

      These descriptive nomenclatures clearly show Satan, both in character and in action, to be an extremely evil person. He is anti-God and anti-man in every sense of the word.

 SATAN’S STEM

     Originally Satan was known by the name of Lucifer (“The Anointed Cherub that Covereth.” Ezek. 28:14). He was the most exalted being that God ever created. His roots were planted deeply in Eden, the “Garden of God” (Ezek. 28:13). His stem/origin grew out of the rich soil of God’s creative grace in the “mountain of God” (Ezek. 28:16). This angel was “full of wisdom” and “perfect in beauty” (Ezek. 28:1-10). His covering of precious stones was so exquisite that not a few have mistakenly supposed him to be as eternal as God. But no! He is a created being whose “covering” and “tabrets and pipes” (Ezek. 28:13-15) were designed to be the quintessence of worship and praise to God Almighty. He rose from the stem of holiness, designed by God to walk, serve, govern, and worship God in an unbroken relationship, a relationship from which he fell.

 SATAN’S  SIN

     The natural question is, “How art thou fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning” (Isa. 14:12)? How did Lucifer, the anointed cherub, become Satan, the adversary? Scripture tells us it was because his “heart was lifted up” in prideful rebellion against God. He (Ezek. 28:17) declared:

  1. I will take over God’s place;
  2. I will rule angels;
  3. I will rule over man;
  4. I will be supreme; and
  5. I will be God (Isa. 14:12-15, cf. 1 Tim. 3:16). Satan is, therefore, “cast as profane out of the mountain of God” (Ezek. 28:16).

 His fall was:

  1. A moral fall—in the ancient past before the creation of man (Ezek. 28:15; Isa. 14);
  1. A vocational fall to the earth, fighting God and man instead of serving God (Lk. 18:10; Rev. 12:9); and 
  1. An eternal fall into the red, hot, burning mouth of Hell where he will be “tormented day and night forever and ever (Rev. 20:10) – all because Satan abode not in the truth. Christ said, “He was a murderer and a liar from the beginning” (Jn. 8:44).

 SATAN’S SPHERE

     Satan is the undisputed god of this world, the prince of the power of the air. Satan, having gained control of this world’s system through man’s fall and disobedience, made Christ a legitimate offer of the “kingdoms of the world” if only Christ would worship him (Mt. 4:8-9).

 

     Since that time, unregenerate man has been Satan’s willing servant (Jn. 8:44).  The majority of unsaved men are simply pawns in this invisible war. However, there are those who have moved up in the ranks of Satan’s service, who function as counterfeit preachers, apostles, missionaries, etc. (2 Cor. 11:13-15). These satanic ministers preach a foreign gospel in their false system of a works-righteousness. This is a smoke screen which effectively hides the truth of the Gospel of the Grace of God (2 Cor. 4:3-4).

    The control, which Satan exercises over his kingdom, is implemented with the aid of the fallen/demon angels (1 Tim. 4:1; 1 Cor. 10:20-21) called “principalities, powers and rulers of the darkness (Eph. 6:12). These fallen angels perform numerous functions throughout the length and breadth of Cosmos Diabolicus. For example:

  1. They control certain nations of the world, as in the days of Daniel the prophet during which the heavenly messenger that had been sent by Daniel’s prayer was hindered “three weeks” from accomplishing his appointed task by the evil angel, the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” (Dan.10:10-14);
  1. They can induce illness (Ps.109:6-20; Mt.12:22; 15:22; Lk. 4:35; 8:26-36; 9:42); and
  1. They seduce unsuspecting people through the system of false teachers that we have mentioned previously (1 Tim. 4:1).

      Satan is moving his whole kingdom towards the goal of one day setting his man (a Satan-possessed man/Antichrist) upon the throne, with the declaration to all the world that Antichrist is God (2 Thess. 2:1-2).

 SATAN’S SCHEME

     There is a method to Satan’s madness. First, he is making every possible attempt to be like God (Isa. 14:4). This is the scheme that lies behind all of his activities. In order to accomplish his intended goal, he must first deceive the unregenerate masses of humanity (2 Thess. 2:9-10; Rev. 12:9; 13:14). The success of his program is seen by the Apostle Paul’s prophecy that “evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13), causing men to worship the creature rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:25).

      Secondly, he must oppose the plan and people of God whenever and wherever possible (Jas. 4:7-8; Gal. 5:7; 1 Thess. 2:18; Eph. 6:11-17; 1 Pet. 5:8): 

  1. He incriminates believers (Job 1:6-11; 1 Jn. 2:1). He spits out poison like a serpent against the believer – see Greek word for accuser (Rev. 12:10).
  1. He tempts believers to neglect the Word of God and accept false doctrine (1 Tim. 4:1-2; 1 Cor. 10:19-20; 2 Cor. 11:3).
  1. He promotes anxiety in the believer (1 Pet. 5:7-9).
  2. He instigates divisions among believers (Gal. 3:1).
  3. He hinders the work of evangelism  (2 Cor. 4:3-4).

      Thirdly, a counterfeit Christianity is Satan’s most effective means of promoting his purpose (2 Cor. 11:3-4,14). The deep things of God (1 Cor. 2:10) are counterfeited by what the Bible calls the “depth [deep things] of Satan” (Rev. 2:24). So complete are these schemes, that multiplied millions of people are enticed into Satan’s snare (1 Tim. 4:1-2).

 SATAN’S STIMULATION

     The stimulation that brought Satan to the point of rebellion, as described in Isaiah 14:12-14, is clearly his desire to build a vast, independent community of angels around himself. He wanted to be completely autonomous from the Creator to Whom his allegiance properly belonged. To do this, Satan threw himself, and a full one-third of all the angels (Rev. 12:4), into open rebellion against God. Apparently all the ensuing ages of time have not convinced Satan of his folly, because prophecy tells us he will yet introduce his Antichrist to sit on God’s Throne (2 Thess. 2:4). It remains until a future date for Satan to “know that he hath but a short time” (Rev. 12:12) – then comes his execution! “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18).

 

SATAN’S SENTENCE

     The time will come when the sentence of guilt, that was handed down against Satan through the work of Christ at the cross (Jn. 16:11), will be executed. Jesus Christ “spoiled principalities and powers, He made show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:14-15). Satan has a date with the executioner!

      During the Great Tribulation (Mt. 24:30), Satan will be incarcerated for one-thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3), after which he receives a short stay of execution (Rev. 20:7), only to be rounded up with the “Beast and the False ‘Prophet” to be cast into the “Lake of Fire and Brimstone,” where they will be “tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:10). End of the Devil! End of war! End of pain and suffering! End of the old Heaven and earth! Welcome eternity! Welcome reconciliation! Welcome new Heaven and earth! Welcome peace and rest! Welcome eternal day wherein we will enjoy the riches and the glory of His great grace!