The Kingdom of Satan — Part 1
The Kingdom of Satan
Part 1
- And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
- And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
- And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
- And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
- And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
- And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
- And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
- And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
- Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
- And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
It is surprising that so many people know so little about Satan. When he brought evil into the world, it changed the course of human history. Therefore, next to God and as our enemy, Satan is the most important creature to know about and understand. Believers need accurate, balanced, biblical information on Satan, not exaggeration that strips people of responsibility for their actions.
The cause of such dearth of knowledge of Satan is the deafening silence on this subject from many churches and evangelicals. Indeed most liberal and emergent village churches reject the reality of a personal Satan as do the majority of people who say they believe in God. Apparently Satan is so wise and deceptive that he has convinced the whole Christian world he doesn’t exist which allows him to work in their churches without detection.
While most Bible-believing Christians do believe in Satan, the lack of biblical facts creates confusion.
- For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
A spiritual war is raging that you can’t escape. You either fight or become a civilian casualty. If you are in the ministry, you need to know about Satan for the sake of your people in the ministry. You need to be able to anticipate his moves in their lives.
While Jesus won the decisive battle at the cross, there’s still a vicious enemy rampaging all over the world. Satan is just as dangerous as he ever was, even though he knows that his doom is prophesized.
- Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
- And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
While many Christians prefer to see the church as the loving family of God, they must remember that we are also at war—a war with tragic consequences for those not willing to fight. Satan’s ultimate defeat will be of small comfort in the context of shattered lives and churches.
An all-out war, such as World War II, required every citizen’s sacrifice and effort to bring the war to a successful conclusion. Likewise the church is locked in the grip of all-out spiritual warfare. Unfortunately the church is functioning in a mentality suitable for peacetime, but utterly inappropriate for war.
During times of peace, people enjoyed themselves by accumulating goods and possessions. But in times of war, people need to mobilize everything they can for the struggle because if they lose the war, survival is paramount over goods and possessions.
It’s normal to avoid suffering and hardship in peacetime whereas war always involves extreme suffering and hardship. A war can’t be won without painful sacrifice and suffering.
In peacetime we have the freedom to show up or put out, or not. But in war, failure to show up and do your part may be the difference between victory and defeat, and could cost lives. Soldiers aren’t free to show up only when they want to. War requires discipline. An autonomous wartime attitude is doomed for defeat.
During peacetime we decide our goals and pursue them. But the successful administration of war requires a unified strategy which all must comply with. No rabble has the capability to successfully conclude a war.
People enjoying peace are free of mortal danger facing them, but war threatens people with mortal danger every day and many die violently. War is supremely dangerous and many perish before their time.
In peacetime, people may play sports; they tire, and then call for a timeout. But in war, the enemy gives no timeouts. In war, exertion may often be to the point of utter exhaustion.
In the church’s warfare, the stakes are even higher. People aren’t just dying physically, some lose their souls forever. Make no mistake: Satan destroys lives and spiritual warfare can be every bit as vicious and harsh as physical war. But in the midst of tribulation, there is peace in knowing that the fight is righteous.
- These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
The vast majority of churches and Christians are living in defeat due to a peacetime rather than a wartime mentality where Christians see their spirituality as mainly something to bring them comfort and there’s no commitment to victory over the devil. When the church ignores the reality of spiritual warfare, we suffer from slack, individualistic attitudes that weaken us and guarantee defeat.
All wars have certain things in common, and spiritual warfare is no different. Consider some of the elements that go into winning a war.
One of the first rules of war is to know your enemy well enough to anticipate his moves so they can be countered. Combat intelligence has won many battles in the history of human warfare. While God has provided good intelligence and instruction in His word — the King James Bible — most Christians have never read it and are extremely vulnerable.
- Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Everyone in war must be willing to fight. The fury of spiritual war must not be underestimated. Our enemy has destroyed human lives for thousands of years and many Christians become so bewildered and dismayed by the battering in this war that they will no longer fight by the sowing of defeatism in their minds. Coupled with a fixation with entertainment, materialism, sex, or obscure theology, Christians’ lose their fighting spirit and Satan regains the initiative to continue his attacks.
Christians need to be equipped to fight just like any army in war, and while God has provided offices in the church to do just that, most of those offices are today filled by hirelings.
- And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
- For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
- Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
- That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
- But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
- The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
God has provided Christians with an arsenal of powerful weapons but church leadership has mostly failed to teach Christians how to wield them and their plight is pitiful. Churches are sending their people into battle virtually unarmed—as ignorant and inexperienced babes.
- For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
- (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
- Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Warring armies also need reliable direction and reasonable plans. The plans need to be suitable for the situation and for the enemy in question. When a group unites around a good plan, it is in good position to win victories.
Successful offensives win wars, but defense is also important where building a base of operations for people to rest and be refitted, supplies gathered and stockpiled, and plans considered and established would be the focus. We also have to train people and nurture the young and having a place where people can enjoy the safety of support and nurture is part of a winning strategy in all wars.
- Who is Satan?
- Where did he come from?
- Why is he still on the loose?
- How do we even know he’s real?
- What happened in the cosmic collision between God, God’s people, and Satan in the previous generations?
- Where do we stand? (Understanding God’s plan of the ages is crucial.)
- What’s the plan today?
- What are we supposed to be doing?
- What is Satan’s plan?
- What practical steps can we take?
- How does this play out in daily living?