Spiritual Warfare - Knowing the enemy
D.P. Weary
August 2009
1. Satan, king of the armies of hell
Satan is nothing more than a fallen angel. His name was Lucifer - the worshipper, a very high ranking and powerful angel probably on the order of Michael. His name was changed to Satan after he rebelled (Is. 14:12-14). Satan wanted to be and still seeks to be God and receive the worship due only to God. He is pride and presumption personified. Satan is the commander of the enemies of God.
Satan is called the destroyer or Abaddon in Rev. 9:11; accuser of our brethren, Rev. 12:10; adversary, 1 Pet. 5:8; angel of the bottomless pit, Rev. 9:11; Apollyon, Rev. 9:11; Beelzebub, Matt. 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15; Belial, 2 Cor. 6:15; the devil, Matt. 4:1; Luke 4:2,6; Rev. 20:2; enemy, Matt. 13:39; evil spirit, 1 Sam. 16:14; father of lies, John 8:44; gates of hell, Matt. 16:18; great red dragon, Rev. 12:3; liar, John 8:44; lying spirit, 1 Kin. 22:22; murderer, John 8:44; old serpent, Rev. 12:9; 20:2; power of darkness, Col. 1:13; prince of this world, John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; of devils, Matt. 12:24; of the power of the air, Eph. 2:2; ruler of the darkness of this world, Eph. 6:12; Satan, 1 Chr. 21:1; Job 1:6; John 13:27; Acts 5:3; 26:18; Rom. 16:20; serpent, Gen. 3:4,14; 2 Cor. 11:3; spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience, Eph. 2:2; tempter, Matt. 4:3; 1 Thes. 3:5; the god of this world, 2 Cor. 4:4; unclean spirit, Matt. 12:43; wicked one, Matt. 13:19,38.
Satan is not omnipresent and is not omniscient. He cannot hover around us nor does he know everything about us. Satan can only be at one place at one time and he does not know everything. He does have a very large army of other fallen angels, demons and fallen humans. He rules and reigns over his kingdom with fear, lies, deceptions and terror. He is intelligent, persuasive, subtle and crafty and he rules over others by there own consent (i.e. in one way or another they give him permission to rule).
He rules with absolute authority in his kingdom and his chief interest is in might and power. He is the ultimate example of pride and presumption and seeks to be worshipped as God. Throughout the Bible he is ever seeking to destroy the plans of God, to cause the prophecies to not come to pass and to destroy God’s Kingdom.
2. Fallen angels and demons
When Satan rebelled one third of the angels of heaven followed him (Rev. 12:4). They operated in a hierarchy and some have territorial assignments (Dan 10:13-20). Gen. 6:1-4, Jude 1:6 and 2 Pet. 2:4 along with the book of Enoch (which Jude and Peter refer to and which is included in the Ethiopian Bible) give us some understanding of the devil’s forces. Fallen angels (angels have bodies and can be “entertained without knowing it” even to this day – Heb 13:2) impregnated human females producing the Nephilim or giants, beings that were half human and half fallen angels. These existed before and after the flood, and there were ancestors (humans with some degree of dna contamination from the fallen angels) of these giants recorded even to David’s day. The spirits of these hybrid humans and the females that bore them are the disembodied spirits we call demons today. Satan’s hierarchy includes fallen angels, demons, humans contaminated with the dna or “seed” of fallen angels, and humans who are controlled and manipulated by fallen angels and demons.
Eph 6:12 gives us some insight into this hierarchy.
Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, [fn] against spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places].
There are rulers or principalities (archai).
Archai:
1) beginning, origin
2) the person or thing that commences, the first person or thing in a series, the leader
3) that by which anything begins to be, the origin, the active cause
4) the extremity of a thing
a) of the corners of a sail
5) the first place, principality, rule, magistracy
a) of angels and demons
"beginning, government, rule," is used of supramundane beings who exercise rule, called "principalities;"
(a) of holy angels, Eph 3:10, the Church in its formation being to them the great expression of "the manifold (or "much-varied") wisdom of God;" Col 1:16;
(b) of evil angels, Rom 8:38; Col 2:15, some would put this under (a), but see SPOIL, B. No. 4; (a) and (b) are indicated in Col 2:10. In Eph 1:21, the RV renders it "rule" (AV, "principality") and in Tts 3:1, "rulers" (AV, "principalities"). In Jud 1:6, RV, it signifies, not the first estate of fallen angels (as AV), but their authoritative power, "their own" indicating that which had been assigned to them by God, which they left, aspiring to prohibited conditions.
These are the first ones or preeminent ones, Satan and his highest-level satanic princes.
There are authorities (exousia) or powers.
Exousia: the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)
4) the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)
a) universally
1) authority over mankind
b) specifically
1) the power of judicial decisions
2) of authority to manage domestic affairs
c) metonymically
1) a thing subject to authority or rule
a) jurisdiction
2) one who possesses authority
a) a ruler, a human magistrate
b) the leading and more powerful among created beings superior to man, spiritual potentates.
Exousia denotes "authority" (from the impersonal verb exesti, "it is lawful"). From the meaning of "leave or permission," or liberty of doing as one pleases, it passed to that of "the ability or strength with which one is endued," then to that of the "power of authority," the right to exercise power, e.g., Mat 9:6; 21:23; 2Cr 10:8; or "the power of rule or government," the power of one whose will and commands must be obeyed by others, e.g., Mat 28:18; Jhn 17:2; Jud 1:25; Rev 12:10; 17:13; more specifically of apostolic "authority," 2Cr 10:8; 13:10; the "power" of judicial decision, Jhn 19:10; of "managing domestic affairs," Mar 13:34. By metonymy, or name-change (the substitution of a suggestive word for the name of the thing meant), it stands for "that which is subject to authority or rule," Luk 4:6 (RV, "authority," for the AV "power"); or, as with the English "authority," "one who possesses authority, a ruler, magistrate," Rom 13:1-3; Luk 12:11; Tts 3:1; or "a spiritual potentate," e.g., Eph 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:16; 2:10, 15; 1Pe 3:22. The RV usually translates it "authority."
Angelic beings are called exousia or "powers" in Eph 3:10 (cp. 1:21); 6:12; Col 1:6; 2:15 (cp. 2:10).
These seem to be the fallen angels that are assigned to work within the power of rule or government. They are set over nations and geographical regions. Areas defined by boundaries and borders.
These are the supernatural forces behind human governmental structures. Unrighteous laws invite them in. Righteous laws provide protection for the people of a nation.
There are rulers (kosmokratōr) of this darkness of this age.
Kosmokrator denotes "a ruler of this world" (contrast pantokrator, "almighty"). In Greek literature, in Orphic hymns, etc., and in Rabbinic writings, it signifies a "ruler" of the whole world, a world-lord. In the NT it is used in Eph 6:12, "the world-rulers (of this darkness)," RV, AV, "the rulers (of the darkness) of this world." The context ("not against flesh and blood") shows that not earthly potentates are indicated, but spirit powers, who, under the permissive will of God, and in consequence of human sin, exercise Satanic and therefore antagonistic authority over the world in its present condition of spiritual darkness and alienation from God. The suggested rendering "the rulers of this dark world" is ambiguous and not phraseologically requisite. Cp. Jhn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2Cr 4:4.
These seem to be the master spirits who are world-rulers of darkness of this age. These have no geographical boundaries. They are fallen angels and demons that have been given a charge or assigned a pervading evil influence. They work under a principality. Jezebel is a ruler or power as is the spirit of antichrist and the spirit of death.
Spiritual forces of wickedness or evil (ponēria) in the heavenly places. These are the many types of evil spirits that afflict people through lust, rebellion, fear, infirmity, deception, divination, etc. These are the ones we deal with during deliverance sessions. Even here there is a hierarchy and some are easier to cast out than others.
Poneria:
1) depravity, iniquity, wickedness
2) malice
3) evil purposes and desires
Demons are worshipped, Lev. 17:7; Deut. 32:17; 2 Chr. 11:15; Ps. 106:37; Matt. 4:9; Luke 4:7; 1 Cor. 10:20,21; 1 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 13:4. But worship of them is strictly forbidden, Lev. 17:7; Zech. 13:2; Rev. 9:20. Men have been possessed or demonized by them: Saul, 1 Sam. 16:14-23; 1 Sam. 18:10,11; 19:9,10. Two men of the Gergesenes, Matt. 8:28-34; Mark 5:2-20. The dumb man, Matt. 9:32,33. The blind and dumb man, Matt. 12:22; Luke 11:14. The daughter of the Syrophenician, Matt. 15:22-29; Mark 7:25-30. The lunatic child, Matt. 17:14-18; Mark 9:17-27; Luke 9:37-42. The man in the synagogue, Mark 1:23-26; Luke 4:33-35. Mary Magdalene, Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2,3. The herd of swine, Matt. 8:30-32. Jesus cast them out, Matt. 4:24; 8:16; Mark 3:22; Luke 4:41. The disciples were given power over them, Matt. 10:1; Mark 6:7; 16:17. They were cast out by the disciples, Mark 9:38; Luke 10:17; by Peter, Acts 5:16; by Paul, Acts 16:16-18; 19:12; by Philip, Acts 8:7. The disciples could not expel some, Mark 9:18,28,29. Sceva's sons exorcised them, Acts 19:13-16. After being driven out they can return, Matt. 12:43-45. Jesus was falsely accused of being possessed of, Mark 3:22-30; John 7:20; 8:48; 10:20. They testified to the divinity of Jesus, Matt. 8:29; Mark 1:23,24; 3:11; 5:7; Luke 8:28; Acts 19:15. They are adversaries of men, Matt. 12:45. They were sent to foment trouble between Abimelech and the Shechemites - Judges 9:23. They give messages to false prophets, 1 Kin. 22:21-23. They believe and tremble, Jas. 2:19. They are to be judged at the general judgment, Matt. 8:29, with 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6. And they will be punished, Matt. 8:29; 25:41; Luke 8:28; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Rev. 12:7-9. The shaft of the abyss and the lake of fire were created as places of confinement for them (Rev. 20:10, 14, 15; Lk. 8:31; Rev. 9:1, 2, 11; 20:1, 3).
Fallen mankind.
John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies”.
All of mankind not accepting the love of God in Jesus and being redeemed by the work of Jesus are servants of Satan (Lk. 11:23). He is their father. They serve him, some openly and actively, some without knowing it. But all unredeemed mankind are sinners and have gone astray (Rom. 3:12, 23). Natural man loves sin (Jn. 3:19, 20, 43). Natural man is double mined, spiritually blind and ignorant, full of pride, and self-righteousness. Unredeemed mankind is the servants of Satan and is used to carry out his plans. Some are used in active roles, others are just prisoners, held in pitiful bondage as subjects of Satan’s kingdom. They are all subject to his wrath. Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. His servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
Satan seeks to steal, kill and destroy (Jn. 10:10) and in the end this is the fate of unredeemed mankind: the fruits of serving Satan.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. We are warned that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21). All unredeemed mankind are idol worshippers in some way or another and are under the judgments and penalties there of.
The devil’s hierarchy includes humans who are manipulated and controlled by evil to do the devil’s bidding. There may even be humans that carry the dna of fallen angels.
Today we find ourselves in a great spiritual battle. The very souls of men are at stake. Many people are deceived, tormented, and in bondage because of the works of the devil and his evil forces. God has given us, the true Church, the job of enforcing His victory on the cross to destroy the works of the enemy, to preach the Kingdom of God, to make disciples of all men, and to complete the tasks of Isa 61:1-2.
{Isa 61:1 NASB} - The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;
{Isa 61:2 NASB} - To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
To do this we must know our enemy and his tactics, know who we are in the Lord, know our authority and the power He gives us through the Holy Spirit, and take our place in the battle line as our Lord brings this battle to a close with His coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We need to be people who know the times and know what to do!
{Eph 6:10 NASB} - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
{Eph 6:11 NASB} - Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
{Eph 6:12 NASB} - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual {forces} of wickedness in the heavenly {places.}
{Eph 6:13 NASB} - Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
{Eph 6:14 NASB} - Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
{Eph 6:15 NASB} - and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;
{Eph 6:16 NASB} - in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil {one.}
{Eph 6:17 NASB} - And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
{Eph 6:18 NASB} - With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
Satan is nothing more than a fallen angel. His name was Lucifer - the worshipper, a very high ranking and powerful angel probably on the order of Michael. His name was changed to Satan after he rebelled (Is. 14:12-14). Satan wanted to be and still seeks to be God and receive the worship due only to God. He is pride and presumption personified. Satan is the commander of the enemies of God.
Satan is called the destroyer or Abaddon in Rev. 9:11; accuser of our brethren, Rev. 12:10; adversary, 1 Pet. 5:8; angel of the bottomless pit, Rev. 9:11; Apollyon, Rev. 9:11; Beelzebub, Matt. 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15; Belial, 2 Cor. 6:15; the devil, Matt. 4:1; Luke 4:2,6; Rev. 20:2; enemy, Matt. 13:39; evil spirit, 1 Sam. 16:14; father of lies, John 8:44; gates of hell, Matt. 16:18; great red dragon, Rev. 12:3; liar, John 8:44; lying spirit, 1 Kin. 22:22; murderer, John 8:44; old serpent, Rev. 12:9; 20:2; power of darkness, Col. 1:13; prince of this world, John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; of devils, Matt. 12:24; of the power of the air, Eph. 2:2; ruler of the darkness of this world, Eph. 6:12; Satan, 1 Chr. 21:1; Job 1:6; John 13:27; Acts 5:3; 26:18; Rom. 16:20; serpent, Gen. 3:4,14; 2 Cor. 11:3; spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience, Eph. 2:2; tempter, Matt. 4:3; 1 Thes. 3:5; the god of this world, 2 Cor. 4:4; unclean spirit, Matt. 12:43; wicked one, Matt. 13:19,38.
Satan is not omnipresent and is not omniscient. He cannot hover around us nor does he know everything about us. Satan can only be at one place at one time and he does not know everything. He does have a very large army of other fallen angels, demons and fallen humans. He rules and reigns over his kingdom with fear, lies, deceptions and terror. He is intelligent, persuasive, subtle and crafty and he rules over others by there own consent (i.e. in one way or another they give him permission to rule).
He rules with absolute authority in his kingdom and his chief interest is in might and power. He is the ultimate example of pride and presumption and seeks to be worshipped as God. Throughout the Bible he is ever seeking to destroy the plans of God, to cause the prophecies to not come to pass and to destroy God’s Kingdom.
2. Fallen angels and demons
When Satan rebelled one third of the angels of heaven followed him (Rev. 12:4). They operated in a hierarchy and some have territorial assignments (Dan 10:13-20). Gen. 6:1-4, Jude 1:6 and 2 Pet. 2:4 along with the book of Enoch (which Jude and Peter refer to and which is included in the Ethiopian Bible) give us some understanding of the devil’s forces. Fallen angels (angels have bodies and can be “entertained without knowing it” even to this day – Heb 13:2) impregnated human females producing the Nephilim or giants, beings that were half human and half fallen angels. These existed before and after the flood, and there were ancestors (humans with some degree of dna contamination from the fallen angels) of these giants recorded even to David’s day. The spirits of these hybrid humans and the females that bore them are the disembodied spirits we call demons today. Satan’s hierarchy includes fallen angels, demons, humans contaminated with the dna or “seed” of fallen angels, and humans who are controlled and manipulated by fallen angels and demons.
Eph 6:12 gives us some insight into this hierarchy.
Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, [fn] against spiritual [hosts] of wickedness in the heavenly [places].
There are rulers or principalities (archai).
Archai:
1) beginning, origin
2) the person or thing that commences, the first person or thing in a series, the leader
3) that by which anything begins to be, the origin, the active cause
4) the extremity of a thing
a) of the corners of a sail
5) the first place, principality, rule, magistracy
a) of angels and demons
"beginning, government, rule," is used of supramundane beings who exercise rule, called "principalities;"
(a) of holy angels, Eph 3:10, the Church in its formation being to them the great expression of "the manifold (or "much-varied") wisdom of God;" Col 1:16;
(b) of evil angels, Rom 8:38; Col 2:15, some would put this under (a), but see SPOIL, B. No. 4; (a) and (b) are indicated in Col 2:10. In Eph 1:21, the RV renders it "rule" (AV, "principality") and in Tts 3:1, "rulers" (AV, "principalities"). In Jud 1:6, RV, it signifies, not the first estate of fallen angels (as AV), but their authoritative power, "their own" indicating that which had been assigned to them by God, which they left, aspiring to prohibited conditions.
These are the first ones or preeminent ones, Satan and his highest-level satanic princes.
There are authorities (exousia) or powers.
Exousia: the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)
4) the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed)
a) universally
1) authority over mankind
b) specifically
1) the power of judicial decisions
2) of authority to manage domestic affairs
c) metonymically
1) a thing subject to authority or rule
a) jurisdiction
2) one who possesses authority
a) a ruler, a human magistrate
b) the leading and more powerful among created beings superior to man, spiritual potentates.
Exousia denotes "authority" (from the impersonal verb exesti, "it is lawful"). From the meaning of "leave or permission," or liberty of doing as one pleases, it passed to that of "the ability or strength with which one is endued," then to that of the "power of authority," the right to exercise power, e.g., Mat 9:6; 21:23; 2Cr 10:8; or "the power of rule or government," the power of one whose will and commands must be obeyed by others, e.g., Mat 28:18; Jhn 17:2; Jud 1:25; Rev 12:10; 17:13; more specifically of apostolic "authority," 2Cr 10:8; 13:10; the "power" of judicial decision, Jhn 19:10; of "managing domestic affairs," Mar 13:34. By metonymy, or name-change (the substitution of a suggestive word for the name of the thing meant), it stands for "that which is subject to authority or rule," Luk 4:6 (RV, "authority," for the AV "power"); or, as with the English "authority," "one who possesses authority, a ruler, magistrate," Rom 13:1-3; Luk 12:11; Tts 3:1; or "a spiritual potentate," e.g., Eph 3:10; 6:12; Col 1:16; 2:10, 15; 1Pe 3:22. The RV usually translates it "authority."
Angelic beings are called exousia or "powers" in Eph 3:10 (cp. 1:21); 6:12; Col 1:6; 2:15 (cp. 2:10).
These seem to be the fallen angels that are assigned to work within the power of rule or government. They are set over nations and geographical regions. Areas defined by boundaries and borders.
These are the supernatural forces behind human governmental structures. Unrighteous laws invite them in. Righteous laws provide protection for the people of a nation.
There are rulers (kosmokratōr) of this darkness of this age.
Kosmokrator denotes "a ruler of this world" (contrast pantokrator, "almighty"). In Greek literature, in Orphic hymns, etc., and in Rabbinic writings, it signifies a "ruler" of the whole world, a world-lord. In the NT it is used in Eph 6:12, "the world-rulers (of this darkness)," RV, AV, "the rulers (of the darkness) of this world." The context ("not against flesh and blood") shows that not earthly potentates are indicated, but spirit powers, who, under the permissive will of God, and in consequence of human sin, exercise Satanic and therefore antagonistic authority over the world in its present condition of spiritual darkness and alienation from God. The suggested rendering "the rulers of this dark world" is ambiguous and not phraseologically requisite. Cp. Jhn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2Cr 4:4.
These seem to be the master spirits who are world-rulers of darkness of this age. These have no geographical boundaries. They are fallen angels and demons that have been given a charge or assigned a pervading evil influence. They work under a principality. Jezebel is a ruler or power as is the spirit of antichrist and the spirit of death.
Spiritual forces of wickedness or evil (ponēria) in the heavenly places. These are the many types of evil spirits that afflict people through lust, rebellion, fear, infirmity, deception, divination, etc. These are the ones we deal with during deliverance sessions. Even here there is a hierarchy and some are easier to cast out than others.
Poneria:
1) depravity, iniquity, wickedness
2) malice
3) evil purposes and desires
Demons are worshipped, Lev. 17:7; Deut. 32:17; 2 Chr. 11:15; Ps. 106:37; Matt. 4:9; Luke 4:7; 1 Cor. 10:20,21; 1 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 13:4. But worship of them is strictly forbidden, Lev. 17:7; Zech. 13:2; Rev. 9:20. Men have been possessed or demonized by them: Saul, 1 Sam. 16:14-23; 1 Sam. 18:10,11; 19:9,10. Two men of the Gergesenes, Matt. 8:28-34; Mark 5:2-20. The dumb man, Matt. 9:32,33. The blind and dumb man, Matt. 12:22; Luke 11:14. The daughter of the Syrophenician, Matt. 15:22-29; Mark 7:25-30. The lunatic child, Matt. 17:14-18; Mark 9:17-27; Luke 9:37-42. The man in the synagogue, Mark 1:23-26; Luke 4:33-35. Mary Magdalene, Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2,3. The herd of swine, Matt. 8:30-32. Jesus cast them out, Matt. 4:24; 8:16; Mark 3:22; Luke 4:41. The disciples were given power over them, Matt. 10:1; Mark 6:7; 16:17. They were cast out by the disciples, Mark 9:38; Luke 10:17; by Peter, Acts 5:16; by Paul, Acts 16:16-18; 19:12; by Philip, Acts 8:7. The disciples could not expel some, Mark 9:18,28,29. Sceva's sons exorcised them, Acts 19:13-16. After being driven out they can return, Matt. 12:43-45. Jesus was falsely accused of being possessed of, Mark 3:22-30; John 7:20; 8:48; 10:20. They testified to the divinity of Jesus, Matt. 8:29; Mark 1:23,24; 3:11; 5:7; Luke 8:28; Acts 19:15. They are adversaries of men, Matt. 12:45. They were sent to foment trouble between Abimelech and the Shechemites - Judges 9:23. They give messages to false prophets, 1 Kin. 22:21-23. They believe and tremble, Jas. 2:19. They are to be judged at the general judgment, Matt. 8:29, with 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6. And they will be punished, Matt. 8:29; 25:41; Luke 8:28; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Rev. 12:7-9. The shaft of the abyss and the lake of fire were created as places of confinement for them (Rev. 20:10, 14, 15; Lk. 8:31; Rev. 9:1, 2, 11; 20:1, 3).
Fallen mankind.
John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies”.
All of mankind not accepting the love of God in Jesus and being redeemed by the work of Jesus are servants of Satan (Lk. 11:23). He is their father. They serve him, some openly and actively, some without knowing it. But all unredeemed mankind are sinners and have gone astray (Rom. 3:12, 23). Natural man loves sin (Jn. 3:19, 20, 43). Natural man is double mined, spiritually blind and ignorant, full of pride, and self-righteousness. Unredeemed mankind is the servants of Satan and is used to carry out his plans. Some are used in active roles, others are just prisoners, held in pitiful bondage as subjects of Satan’s kingdom. They are all subject to his wrath. Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. His servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
Satan seeks to steal, kill and destroy (Jn. 10:10) and in the end this is the fate of unredeemed mankind: the fruits of serving Satan.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. We are warned that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21). All unredeemed mankind are idol worshippers in some way or another and are under the judgments and penalties there of.
The devil’s hierarchy includes humans who are manipulated and controlled by evil to do the devil’s bidding. There may even be humans that carry the dna of fallen angels.
Today we find ourselves in a great spiritual battle. The very souls of men are at stake. Many people are deceived, tormented, and in bondage because of the works of the devil and his evil forces. God has given us, the true Church, the job of enforcing His victory on the cross to destroy the works of the enemy, to preach the Kingdom of God, to make disciples of all men, and to complete the tasks of Isa 61:1-2.
{Isa 61:1 NASB} - The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;
{Isa 61:2 NASB} - To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
To do this we must know our enemy and his tactics, know who we are in the Lord, know our authority and the power He gives us through the Holy Spirit, and take our place in the battle line as our Lord brings this battle to a close with His coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We need to be people who know the times and know what to do!
{Eph 6:10 NASB} - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
{Eph 6:11 NASB} - Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
{Eph 6:12 NASB} - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual {forces} of wickedness in the heavenly {places.}
{Eph 6:13 NASB} - Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
{Eph 6:14 NASB} - Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
{Eph 6:15 NASB} - and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;
{Eph 6:16 NASB} - in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil {one.}
{Eph 6:17 NASB} - And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
{Eph 6:18 NASB} - With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
These are the first ones or preeminent ones, Satan and his highest-level satanic princes.
John 8:44 “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies”.
All of mankind not accepting the love of God in Jesus and being redeemed by the work of Jesus are servants of Satan (Lk. 11:23). He is their father. They serve him, some openly and actively, some without knowing it. But all unredeemed mankind are sinners and have gone astray (Rom. 3:12, 23). Natural man loves sin (Jn. 3:19, 20, 43). Natural man is double mined, spiritually blind and ignorant, full of pride, and self-righteousness. Unredeemed mankind is the servants of Satan and is used to carry out his plans. Some are used in active roles, others are just prisoners, held in pitiful bondage as subjects of Satan’s kingdom. They are all subject to his wrath. Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. His servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
Satan seeks to steal, kill and destroy (Jn. 10:10) and in the end this is the fate of unredeemed mankind: the fruits of serving Satan.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. We are warned that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21). All unredeemed mankind are idol worshippers in some way or another and are under the judgments and penalties there of.
The devil’s hierarchy includes humans who are manipulated and controlled by evil to do the devil’s bidding. There may even be humans that carry the dna of fallen angels.
Today we find ourselves in a great spiritual battle. The very souls of men are at stake. Many people are deceived, tormented, and in bondage because of the works of the devil and his evil forces. God has given us, the true Church, the job of enforcing His victory on the cross to destroy the works of the enemy, to preach the Kingdom of God, to make disciples of all men, and to complete the tasks of Isa 61:1-2.
{Isa 61:1 NASB} - The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;
{Isa 61:2 NASB} - To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,
To do this we must know our enemy and his tactics, know who we are in the Lord, know our authority and the power He gives us through the Holy Spirit, and take our place in the battle line as our Lord brings this battle to a close with His coming as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! We need to be people who know the times and know what to do!
{Eph 6:10 NASB} - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
{Eph 6:11 NASB} - Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
{Eph 6:12 NASB} - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual {forces} of wickedness in the heavenly {places.}
{Eph 6:13 NASB} - Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
{Eph 6:14 NASB} - Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
{Eph 6:15 NASB} - and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;
{Eph 6:16 NASB} - in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil {one.}
{Eph 6:17 NASB} - And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
{Eph 6:18 NASB} - With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
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