rjones
Member
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2007
- Messages
- 314
The Shape of the Enemy
"Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never know defeat" (Sun Tzu).
When an army goes into battle, the commanding general will seek to know everything he can about the nature, capacity and intentions of his enemy. This is called "intelligence", and is just as imperative if we are to be effective in spiritual warfare. It is important for us to know our Enemy - his strengths and weaknesses - and also to know ourselves - our strengths and weaknesses.
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 6:12).
Our Enemy's Origin
The Bible doesn't go into great detail about the origin of Satan, the "Evil One", but it provides many hints. In (Isa.14:12-14; Eze.28:12-19) we see a little of Satan's nature before his fall. The Bible says he was created in blameless perfection, with outstanding beauty and wisdom, but pride corrupted him and he rebelled against the will of God.
Although Satan is now a fallen creature, warped by sin, he still possesses the same essential characteristics that God created him with:
He is a created being (James 2:19).
He is a beautiful creature (2 Cor.11:4).
He is a wise creature(2 Cor.2:11).
Satan's Character
The character of Satan is summed up in the name given to him in Revelation 9:11: " Apollyon", which means "the Destroyer". Jesus said: "He was a murderer from the beginning..." (Jn. 8:44).
Satan's character of destruction is outworked towards mankind in three ways. He is a:
Liar (Jn. 8:44)
Deceiver(1 Tim.2:14; Rev.12:9)
Accuser(Rev.12:10)
Satan's character is the diametric opposite of Christ's:
Satan is a MURDERER - Jesus is THE LIFE.
Satan is a LIAR - Jesus is THE TRUTH.
Satan is the ACCUSER of the brethren - Jesus is our ADVOCATE.
Satan's Authority
When Satan tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God, he acquired "authority rights" over mankind and everything that had been given to mankind - the earth (Ps. 115:6; Lk. 4:6).
Ephesians 2:2 describes our Enemy as "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in those who are disobedient." This reveals three things about the Enemy's present authority:
Title: Satan is called a "prince" (Mt.9:34; Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).
Influence:The word here translated "power" is in fact the Greek word exousia, meaning "authority" or "dominion". Every action the Enemy makes against people's lives is from the authority base he has in that community (Col. 1:13 ).
Altitude: Satan operates from the "heavenlies", in this case meaning the earth's atmosphere (Lk. 10:18; Dan. 10:12-13; Rev.12:7-12).
Disinformation
Disinformation is false information, fed by one army to another, in order to mask its true intentions and, if possible, its identity. Satan has five classic ploys of disinformation that disguise his identity and power:
The-Devil-Is-A-Myth Ploy
The-Poor-Misunderstood-Devil Ploy
The-Devil-And-God-Are-Brothers Ploy
The-Devil-Made-Me-Do-It Ploy
Who's-Afraid-Of-The-Big-Bad-Devil Ploy
Agenda of the Enemy
Satan is after four specific things:
Dominion
Worship
The Destruction of Mankind
The Thwarting of God's Plan
In order to accomplish this, Satan has a strategic (high-level) and tactical (low-level) agenda.
Satan's Strategic Agenda
"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Cor. 4:4).
The human mind holds a high priority on the Enemy's program, and this is his main battleground (2 Cor.10:3-5). In order to blind people's minds to the reality of the Gospel, Satan seeks to control strategic points in the community:
Political/legislative institutions
Religious institutions
Financial Institutions
The Media
The Education System
Science and Philosophy - "intellectualism"
Satan's desire is to mould community values in order to create more rebels like himself - "alienated from God and...enemies in (their) minds because of (their) evil behavior" (Col.1:21). This strategic control is referred to as "Babylon" - the political, economic and religious system of the world(Rev. 18:2; 1 Jn. 2:15-16).
His Tactical Agenda
Our Enemy's tactical agenda doesn't target communities and nations as a whole, but individuals. Satan gains a foothold in individual lives (Eph.4:26-28) primarily through:
Temptation (1 Thess.3:5)
Deception (2 Cor.11:3)
Ultimately, demonic forces seek to control individual lives by demonising them - exercising direct control over parts or all of their lives.
"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings" (1 Peter 5:8-9).
Satan's Weapons
"(God's) intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 6:10).
The Church is the vehicle of God's redemptive plan and is the one thing standing between Satan and his four-point agenda (2 Thess.2:6-8). Therefore the Church is at the top of Satan's hit list.
Satan has nine main methods of dealing with the Church, either by destroying it or rendering it ineffective.
Direct (Physical) Persecution
Indirect (Psychological) Persecution
Deception
ignorance
Division
Apathy
Introversion
Leadership attack
Mixture
Satan's primary weapon against the Church is not persecution (this simply serves to strengthen and purify the Church), but mixture! If he can mix up the two kingdoms in our lives we become ineffective in the purposes of God (2 Cor.6:14-7:1; 1 Peter 2:9-12; Phil.2:14-15).
Impact of the Cross
"And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" (Col.2:15).
The Cross of Christ was a death blow to the Enemy's authority base (Rev.1:18; Gen.3:15). The Church's action against the Enemy's activity in our community is from the legal foundation of the Cross.
"Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never know defeat" (Sun Tzu).
When an army goes into battle, the commanding general will seek to know everything he can about the nature, capacity and intentions of his enemy. This is called "intelligence", and is just as imperative if we are to be effective in spiritual warfare. It is important for us to know our Enemy - his strengths and weaknesses - and also to know ourselves - our strengths and weaknesses.
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 6:12).
Our Enemy's Origin
The Bible doesn't go into great detail about the origin of Satan, the "Evil One", but it provides many hints. In (Isa.14:12-14; Eze.28:12-19) we see a little of Satan's nature before his fall. The Bible says he was created in blameless perfection, with outstanding beauty and wisdom, but pride corrupted him and he rebelled against the will of God.
Although Satan is now a fallen creature, warped by sin, he still possesses the same essential characteristics that God created him with:
He is a created being (James 2:19).
He is a beautiful creature (2 Cor.11:4).
He is a wise creature(2 Cor.2:11).
Satan's Character
The character of Satan is summed up in the name given to him in Revelation 9:11: " Apollyon", which means "the Destroyer". Jesus said: "He was a murderer from the beginning..." (Jn. 8:44).
Satan's character of destruction is outworked towards mankind in three ways. He is a:
Liar (Jn. 8:44)
Deceiver(1 Tim.2:14; Rev.12:9)
Accuser(Rev.12:10)
Satan's character is the diametric opposite of Christ's:
Satan is a MURDERER - Jesus is THE LIFE.
Satan is a LIAR - Jesus is THE TRUTH.
Satan is the ACCUSER of the brethren - Jesus is our ADVOCATE.
Satan's Authority
When Satan tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God, he acquired "authority rights" over mankind and everything that had been given to mankind - the earth (Ps. 115:6; Lk. 4:6).
Ephesians 2:2 describes our Enemy as "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in those who are disobedient." This reveals three things about the Enemy's present authority:
Title: Satan is called a "prince" (Mt.9:34; Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).
Influence:The word here translated "power" is in fact the Greek word exousia, meaning "authority" or "dominion". Every action the Enemy makes against people's lives is from the authority base he has in that community (Col. 1:13 ).
Altitude: Satan operates from the "heavenlies", in this case meaning the earth's atmosphere (Lk. 10:18; Dan. 10:12-13; Rev.12:7-12).
Disinformation
Disinformation is false information, fed by one army to another, in order to mask its true intentions and, if possible, its identity. Satan has five classic ploys of disinformation that disguise his identity and power:
The-Devil-Is-A-Myth Ploy
The-Poor-Misunderstood-Devil Ploy
The-Devil-And-God-Are-Brothers Ploy
The-Devil-Made-Me-Do-It Ploy
Who's-Afraid-Of-The-Big-Bad-Devil Ploy
Agenda of the Enemy
Satan is after four specific things:
Dominion
Worship
The Destruction of Mankind
The Thwarting of God's Plan
In order to accomplish this, Satan has a strategic (high-level) and tactical (low-level) agenda.
Satan's Strategic Agenda
"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Cor. 4:4).
The human mind holds a high priority on the Enemy's program, and this is his main battleground (2 Cor.10:3-5). In order to blind people's minds to the reality of the Gospel, Satan seeks to control strategic points in the community:
Political/legislative institutions
Religious institutions
Financial Institutions
The Media
The Education System
Science and Philosophy - "intellectualism"
Satan's desire is to mould community values in order to create more rebels like himself - "alienated from God and...enemies in (their) minds because of (their) evil behavior" (Col.1:21). This strategic control is referred to as "Babylon" - the political, economic and religious system of the world(Rev. 18:2; 1 Jn. 2:15-16).
His Tactical Agenda
Our Enemy's tactical agenda doesn't target communities and nations as a whole, but individuals. Satan gains a foothold in individual lives (Eph.4:26-28) primarily through:
Temptation (1 Thess.3:5)
Deception (2 Cor.11:3)
Ultimately, demonic forces seek to control individual lives by demonising them - exercising direct control over parts or all of their lives.
"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings" (1 Peter 5:8-9).
Satan's Weapons
"(God's) intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 6:10).
The Church is the vehicle of God's redemptive plan and is the one thing standing between Satan and his four-point agenda (2 Thess.2:6-8). Therefore the Church is at the top of Satan's hit list.
Satan has nine main methods of dealing with the Church, either by destroying it or rendering it ineffective.
Direct (Physical) Persecution
Indirect (Psychological) Persecution
Deception
ignorance
Division
Apathy
Introversion
Leadership attack
Mixture
Satan's primary weapon against the Church is not persecution (this simply serves to strengthen and purify the Church), but mixture! If he can mix up the two kingdoms in our lives we become ineffective in the purposes of God (2 Cor.6:14-7:1; 1 Peter 2:9-12; Phil.2:14-15).
Impact of the Cross
"And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" (Col.2:15).
The Cross of Christ was a death blow to the Enemy's authority base (Rev.1:18; Gen.3:15). The Church's action against the Enemy's activity in our community is from the legal foundation of the Cross.
