Facing the EnemySample

What are the powers of the Enemy?

Satan possesses not only pride and selfishness but also power, intelligence, and emotion. He orchestrated a rebellion against God and persuaded one-third of the angels to join him, as mentioned in Revelation 12:4. Satan displayed awareness of human weaknesses, tempting Simon to deny Jesus in Luke 22:31 and attempting to break Jesus physically and emotionally in the Garden of Gethsemane. His knowledge that his time is short fuels his fury, as indicated in Revelation 12:12. These characteristics collectively establish Satan as an actual being with a complex personality.

Satan’s goal is to be like God. He studies God and imitates Him so that he can trick the world into worshipping him. His greatest tool is deception. 2 Corinthians 11:14 explains that he “masquerades as an angel of light.” He will do whatever he can to deceive the world and blind the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4). Satan adds to the Scriptures, deletes from them, denies their inerrancy, and causes people to misinterpret them. He turns nations against each other and attempts to set them against God. He divides the church through various disagreements.

Luke spoke out against it in Acts 15 and Paul wrote about it in Galatians 2, but the power of God’s grace is still being distorted. Satan has attacked the meaning of love and distorted the world’s views on marriage. He has misled people into believing that God causes death and sickness when the Bible is clear that Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but God comes to give abundant life (John 10:10). He attempts to stop the work of the church and delay God’s answers to prayers. In Daniel 10:13, the angel Gabriel explains that he took twenty-one days to get to Daniel because Satan fought him for that long. Satan wants the world to focus on hate, anger, jealousy, pride, and offense instead of love, as Jesus commanded.

If you are struggling right now, remember these two promises from God: James 4:7, which tells us that if we submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, he will flee from us, and 1 John 4:4, which reminds us that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world!