The Enemy of the Christian

"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."
Ephesians 6:12

Calling ourselves Christians comes with many caveats. I've covered before the things of Christ doctrinally that must be accepted. By that same note, I will cover here a topic within the faith that requires a delicate balance. Admittedly, this is not a topic to which many Christians feel a need to speak, so in doing so, the alienation factor among some here may be present. Still, it is an essential topic of which to be aware as a Christian.

The key to a discussion of Satan, or Spiritual Warfare in general is balance. There are two lies, or call them extremes, into which Christians may easily fall when it comes to "Angelology (study of Angels and Demons)." Within this post, I hope to touch only briefly on this overlooked aspect of the faith. Being a follower of Christ is not promised to be an easy life. Christ brought this up a few times (Luke 9:23, Jn 16:33, Mt 10:22).

Two Lies about Satan
1) He does not exist
2) He exists and is all powerful (on par with God)

An important note to start on is that Satan is a created being. He is not omniscient, omnipresent, or any other all encompassing attribute on par with God. However, we do learn in the Bible that he is the current ruler of this world (Jn 12:31, 2 Cor 4:4).

Though Satan was fully defeated at the cross, Christ has not yet taken his position on Earth as King of Kings, though he reigns actively in Heaven. Therefore, Satan has some power here. If we look around, it isn't hard to observe. The culture of the day, and the many problems in this world, are products of this control.

Our world is fallen because of the curse of sin (Genesis 3:16-19). Christ's death on the cross not only redeemed those who would believe in Him, but also will ultimately be the redemption of this cursed world. Much of this was covered in my previous post, "Save the Earth: God and the Environment."

Because Satan has some measure of authority on Earth, Christians should be fully aware that we are engaged in a spiritual battle (Eph 6:12). While it is not proper theology to blame everything on Satan, certainly there are occasions of direct demonic influence possible in the Christian life.

Satan's temptation for us is tailored towards our weakest points. Overcoming this temptation is something only God's Spirit can empower us to do. If someone has a propensity for alcohol, you can bet, the temptation for drink is fully utilized by our enemy. Many other examples could be used (drugs, pornography, anger, etc...).

So, what is our part in this spiritual battle? We certainly are players, by collateral damage if nothing else. Satan's anger is towards God, and as Christians, adopted to sonship of God our Father, Satan has a n easy target for his anger. Our propensity for sin certainly makes things easier for him.

A few points to clear up:
-Satan is not everywhere at once
-Satan, like angels and demons, functions in limited space, and therefore can really only be physically in one place at a time.
-Satan is an angelic being, and therefore spirit-not physical
-The cultural picture of red individual with horns and a pitchfork is not accurate. Often Satan appears in a way in which we may not recognize. As Paul says,

"...Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light."  2 Corinthians 11:14

Because of the nature of this created, angelic being, it would be wise to assume that Satan himself is not physically involved in our lives. Rather, it's those angels who fell with Satan (demons) who typically confront the believer. He is the ruler of this world, and as such, has commanding power over an army of demonic beings (those 1/3 of the angelic beings brought down in his own fall- See Isa 14, Eze 28).

It is also important to clarify that the view of "Demon possession," and "exorcism" as they are portrayed by the culture is inaccurate. For one, if we are in Christ, then a demon cannot "possess" us. Demonized is a more accurate term. We can be afflicted by, but not possessed. The language studies with these words, would also seem to favor a term not related to being possessed by the demon.

A study done by Mike Fabarez of Focal Point Ministries, examined the various names by which Satan is called throughout the Bible. Each of these names spoke to a specific attribute or role of him, and an examination of that will perhaps shed more light on what we are up against.

Included below is a chart from Focal Point's website that I filled out along with the message. Find the message here: http://www.focalpointministries.org/sermon/angels-demons-part-7-11-61/  for more reference.

Text	Name	Occurs	Meaning	Aspect	Description
Zech. 3:1-2	Satan	54	Adversary	Role	Opponent -Military context -Refers to his role -Became Satan’s enemies because we are children of his enemy (God)
Luke 4:2	Devil	34	Slanderer	Role	Defamer -Seeks to defame us and criticize us -
Rev 12:7	Dragon	12	Monster (Beast)	Power	Imposing -Don’t want to trifle with Satan - Archangel Michael defers to God’s authority when Disputing with Satan
John 17:14-15	The Evil One	10	Wicked Person (intellect, emotion and will)	Character	Sinful -His end not for our ultimate good
Rev 20:1-2	Ancient Serpent	10 (OT-5, NT-5)	Treacherous	Role	Tempter -If sin didn’t have temptation, none of us would do it
Rev 9:1-11	Abbadon (Apollyon-Greek)	7 (OT-6, NT-1)	Destroyer	Role	Killer -Angel of Death -Associated with Sheol (place of the dead in OT)
Mt 12:22	Beelzebul (Beelzebub)	7	Lord of the House/ Lord of the Flies	Rank	High (leader of enemy)
John 12:31	Ruler of this World	3	Governs people	Authority	Great -Christ has authority, but has yet to take over his authority and reign -Kingdom has not fully arrived (Saul still on the throne) -Christ has power and authority, but has not yet taken his position on rightful throne
Isa 14:12	Day Star, Son of the Dawn (Lucifer transliterate from Latin to English)	1	Prominent Angel	Glory	Distinctive -Outshines the other angels -considered himself in light of himself and fell because glorious compared to others
Ezek 28:14	Anointed Guardian Cherub	1	Angelic Bodyguard	Privilege	Extreme -What Satan had before fall
2 Cor 4:4	the god of this World	1	Oversees this age	Control	Massive -Satan has massive control in this world -
Eph 2:1-2	The Prince of the Power of the Air	1	Guides the Culture	Influence	Vast
Rev 12:10	The Accuser	1	Assigns Blame	Role	Critic (Destructive Criticism)
John 8:44	The Father of Lies	1	Misleads & Misinforms	Role	Deceiver
2 Cor 11:12-14	Angel of Light	1	Disguises Lies in Truth	Strategy (Scheme)	Insidious -Subtle -Bait & Switch

We can see from this that based on role alone, Satan is our Adversary, slanderer, tempter, destroyer, critic and deceiver. He is not all powerful, but does have great power and authority over this world. His influence is vast and one of the most recognizable strategy he employs in our day is disguising lies with some truth in order for us to believe false doctrine or preachers. An examination of the verses associated with these names would be a helpful exercise.

The point of this quick assessment is to simply remind the Christian that one of the many struggles we will face in our walk with Christ is temptation by the enemy. Not believing in Satan is to fall into one of his lies. And being obsessed with the demonic and Satan's power is another extreme into which we should not fall.

We need a fair and balanced view of this real created being whose goal is to steal, kill and destroy us. But, in Christ, we know we have the victory. His death and resurrection means that Satan's ultimate end is defeat. It is not some cosmic good vs. evil battle where Satan wins some and Christ wins some. Satan loses everything. Christ is already victorious. But, like a sore loser, Satan will not accept defeat without a fight.

As Halloween approaches, I recommend Christians really asses their participation in this Holiday. Regardless of what we think it means, there are real people out there during this time that target Christians. Demons can empower those who worship them to work real supernatural trouble for people. Do not let any "doors" be open into your life. Watch your practices and see that they do not offer an opening for oppression in your life by the demonic. Some common practices we accept that are common means by which demons work in us would be horoscopes, dreamcatchers, fortune tellers, palm readings, tarot cards, occult objects, prayers to saints, Ouija Boards, and yes, Halloween.

Does this mean everyone who participates in Halloween will be oppressed by a demon? Certainly not. But, why bring something into our lives that has a potential to harm us? The Bible is clear that our fight is against principalities and powers of the air, not flesh and blood. The manifestation of this oppression may not even seem obvious at first.

An assertion as to why so many of our teens are suicidal and depressed could be made to their childhood participation in these various occult holidays and practices. It's a long reach, but not out of the question.

The Bible talks of a boy oppressed by a demon who "threw himself into the fire and water." This is easy to interpret as a demon pushing a boy to suicidal tendencies. The demon oppressed man in the tombs was seen to be cutting himself and harming himself as well (See Mt. 17:15 and Mark 5:3). If Satan's ultimate goal is to harm us, it is not hard to believe that his demons' goal is to cause us harm in whatever way possible.

We must ask ourselves if taking kids to get some candy and dressing up is important enough to risk opening them up to demonic oppression. The dark side of the supernatural is real, and we must guard our hearts and minds in Christ, seeking first His kingdom, to overcome our tempter.

For more discussion on Halloween and this time of year, see "It's the Most Uncomfortable Time of the Year."


For more reference on Satan see: 1 Peter 5:8, Jn 10:10, Luke 22:31, Ezekiel 28, Isaiah 14:12, Luke 10:18, 1 Tim 3:6, Job 1, Rev 12:10, 2 Corinthians 11:14