The Enemy From Within

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world: he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. [Revelation 12:9]

As A Modern Day Christian Warrior, it would certainly help our cause if we knew exactly who we are fighting... and why. To understand his identity, origin, character, authority, and ultimate fate, we can examine what Scripture actually says about our enemy - and make no mistake, it's very clear that Satan IS our enemy.

People seem to get very squeamish or uncomfortable when the topic of the Devil is raised. Many good folks say it's a fairytale - complete with a picture of a red dude with horns, a pitchfork, and a forked tail who tends to show up at Halloween parties mostly. Many say they believe in God but that the devil can't possibly be real. Others secretly glorify Satan in weird, misguided rituals. Even among believers there seems to be a hesitance to talk about the elephant in the room, red with a forked tail or not. The Biblical truth is that Satan is very real, and anyone who has studied scripture knows full well that in order for Biblical prophesy to be realized, the existence of Satan must be a fact. A Modern Christian Warrior must acknowledge Satan's existence and accept a role in resisting his evil.

Concerning Satan, Peter gives a direct warning to Christians...

Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. [1 Peter 5:8]

Bottom line up front (BLUF), Satan is very real and is the spiritual adversary of God. He is the deceiver of humanity, the accuser of God's people, and the enemy of Jesus Christ. He was cast down from Heaven because of his corruption, and has claimed this world as his personal domain. Paul calls him "god of this world," describing his blinding influence over unbelievers. The Devil emerges as a personal, intelligent, spiritual adversary who opposes God and seeks to lead humanity away from Him.

This leads to an important question... if God has always been present on Earth, either via omnipresence or manifest presence, how can Satan be described in Scripture as "god of this world"? Common sense, as well as God's own law, tells us that there can't be two gods existing simultaneously on the Earth. How can this be reconciled?

The answer is that the Bible distinguishes between God's ultimate sovereignty over creation and the temporary influence Satan exercises within our fallen world. Lucifer, the "shining one", the "son of dawn", the "light-bearer", the "morning star"who was created by God as the perfect being, was banished to the Earth because he tried to become more powerful than the very One who created him. His own hubris was his downfall and it only makes sense that the very same sin defines his "rule" on Earth.

God's constant presence does not mean that every creature obeys Him or that evil is absent. Quite the contrary. It is God's presence, primarily in the form of the Holy Spirit, that is keeping Satan's power in check. If not for the gift of the Holy Spirit - God's spirit that dwells in the heart of every believer, Satan's will would go unchecked with devastating results. Until Jesus returns post-tribulation, this is the dynamic in play, and why the world will continue it's downward spiral. This distinction is central to understanding the biblical relationship between God, Satan, human free will, and the existence of evil.

Interesting Biblical Facts:

• In total, Satan is mentioned well over 100 times in the Bible when his various names/titles are included.

• The word "Satan" appears 55 times in the Bible - 19 references in the Old Testament and 36 in the New Testament.

• The word "Devil" has approximately 60 occurrences in the Bible - version dependent.

• The Bible never explicitly states that Lucifer and Satan are one and the same. In fact, the name "Lucifer" is only mentioned one time in the Bible [Isaiah 14:12] and only in the King James version.

One doesn't have to look very far to observe the evil influence Satan imparts on today's world. Behaviors clearly contrary to God's law, that would have seemed impossible to even comprehend twenty years ago, are trending toward mainstream and are accepted by many in modern society as "normal". Today we look the other way when men stalk women and children in their own restrooms, compete in women's sports, and dress in woman's clothing. Pornography has become easily accessible and available with the click of a mouse or a tap on a screen. With the aide of social media platforms, hate and violence are normalized, and even celebrated. People feel free to slander and attack those with whom they disagree with with complete anonymity and no fear of reprisal. Our society is thriving on clickbait, chaos, anger, and falsehoods. It has become more important to get views on social media then to extend love and kindness to our fellow humans.

We are most certainly living in the Laodicean Church period as prophesied in Revelation Chapter 3, where the apostate church takes center stage - the final church period in the age of the Gentiles. This period is characterized by spiritual lukewarmness, material prosperity, self-sufficiency, complacency, and a diminished dependence upon Jesus Christ. Sound familiar?

Politicians, educators, media, activists, and even the clergy seek to divide society on the basis of our differences rather than unite us under a common cause. Society has become fractured and the resulting violence is somehow justified in the name of progress or justice, or some other contrived nonsense. Rather than cooperatively operating under a set of established laws and societal norms, modern society has drifted to anarchy, all in the name of false virtue signaling. "Progressivism" has become a accepted political and moral alternative to God's word and is the banner under which Satan touts to influence and corrupt the free-thinking world. Anyone with the moral courage to stand up and resist is immediately met with a tidal wave of criticism and personal attacks. We can no longer civilly debate issues without one side immediately denigrating the character of the other.

Satan must be so proud.

The revival of anti-Christian movements in the West, along with the rising tide of antisemitism worldwide is also alarming, but is actually nothing new. As God's chosen people, Israel has always had a target on their back, and Jesus told his Church (Christians) to expect persecution his name.

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. [John 15:18–20]

It is Satan's hatred of Israel specifically that fuels his fire, so to speak. Satan understands full well that the Jews are the key to the second coming of Christ and his (Satan's) ultimate destruction. In order for Christ to return to Earth, Israel, as a nation and as individuals, must accept Christ as their Lord and Savior and repent for their ancestors. This event is prophesied in the book of Revelation during the battle of Armageddon as Jerusalem is under siege by the forces of the Antichrist. It is their final persecution that is the impetus for their submission and eventual salvation - bringing them out from judgement under the Abraham covenant and into the light of Christ's forgiveness. If Satan can somehow destroy them prior to this event, Jesus cannot return. It's really as simple as that.

All this begs an answer to a second question. If Satan is our enemy, and Jesus commands us to love our enemy, should we also love Satan?

But I say unto you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. [Matthew 5:44]

This is a profound theological question because it brings together two biblical teachings: Jesus commands us to love our enemies, yet Scripture identifies Satan as the enemy of God and His people. The answer, based on Scripture, is that Jesus commands us to love our human enemies, but the Bible never commands us to love Satan. In fact, Scripture consistently instructs believers to resist him.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [James 4:7]

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:Whom resist stedfast in the faith... [1 Peter 5:8–9]

These passages describe Satan as an adversary to be resisted, not someone believers are instructed to embrace or reconcile with. When Jesus encountered Satan during His temptation in the wilderness, He directly confronted Satan. Jesus did not respond to Satan with affection or an invitation to reconciliation. He rejected Satan's temptation and reaffirmed His absolute allegiance to God. However, it is important to recognize that Jesus did not express personal hatred or seek revenge against Satan. He simply refused to submit to evil. The biblical emphasis, therefore, is on faithfulness to God rather than cultivating hatred toward an adversary - in this case even a spiritual one.

The good news is that Satan will get his comeuppance in the end. He is not an opposing god of equal power. He is not sovereign over creation. He cannot overturn God's ultimate purposes. We know how this will play out. His own hubris and blinding hatred of God's children prevent him from seeing and avoiding his predestined fate. As Modern Christian Warriors, we can watch the show with Biblical understanding, and, as always, do our best to emulate our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and his actions, armed with the knowledge that Satan will receive his judgement, but not from us. We need to be faithful to our Lord, resist evil, and set the example for fellow believers.