"Satan's Strategy"
2 Corinthians 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Introduction: Like many of you I am very concerned with what is going on in the world today. We see all of our institutions crumbling before our eyes. The things that we have counted on are no longer reliable. The world is being turned upside-down. Even many professing Christians are expressing anxiety and anxiousness about the future. Everyone is looking for answers as to why things seem to be headed like a snowball rolling downhill! I want to suggest something to you that I believe is the under lying reason for all the unrest, the anarchy and trouble that we are seeing, something that you may not have considered, that the answer is not something but someone! His identity is familiar to all Bible believing Christians although in recent times we have heard less and less about him. Attitudes about his existence range from outright denial to seeing behind every bush! Satan is called a destroyer, devourer, deceiver, a denier and more. There are times when we are told to fight him and there are times when we are told to flee from him. In either case it takes the wisdom and power of God to know when to do one or the other. The only way that Satan can harm us is if we "give place" to him. Don't give him an opening or a foothold in your life. He is a defeated foe but like a rattlesnake with its head cut off he is still dangerous. The question that I'm asking and hoping to answer this morning is what is the correct perspective for all of us to have concerning Satan and what are his plots, plans, goals, intentions etcetera which is what the word device is translated as. Where do we start? Let's look at:
I. Our Adversary's Person
a. His nativity
Ezekiel 28:11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. 13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
b. His names
The Bible calls Satan by many different names. Each name has a slightly different meaning. The many other names for Satan give a fuller picture of who Satan is and what he does. There are more names for Satan in the Bible than for anyone else except Jesus Christ.
Abaddon
Hebrew name for Satan meaning "Destruction". "And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon." Revelation 9:11
Accuser
"Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 'Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.'" Revelation 12:10
Adversary
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8
Angel of light
"And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light." 2 Corinthians 11:14
Angel of the bottomless pit
"And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon." Revelation 9:11
Antichrist
"And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world." 1 John 4:3
Apollyon
Greek name for Satan meaning "Destroyer". "And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon." Revelation 9:11
Beast
"9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.'" Revelation 14:9,10
Beelzebub
"Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, 'This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.'" Matthew 12:24
Belial
"And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?" 2 Corinthians 6:15
Deceiver
"So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Revelation 12:9
Devil
"He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." 1 John 3:8
Dragon
"So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Revelation 12:9
Enemy
"The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels." Matthew 13:39
Evil one
"I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one." John 17:15
Father of lies
"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." John 8:44
God of this age
"Whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them." 2 Corinthians 4:4
King of the bottomless pit
"And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon." Revelation 9:11
Lawless one
"8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved." 2 Thessalonians 2:8-10
Leviathan
"In that day the LORD with His severe sword, great and strong, Will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan that twisted serpent; And He will slay the reptile that is in the sea." Isaiah 27:1
Lucifer
"12 How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.'" Isaiah 14:12-14
Man of sin
"3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4
Murderer
"44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." John 8:44
Power of darkness
"13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13, 14
Prince of the power of the air
"1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience." Ephesians 2:1,2
Roaring lion
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8
Ruler of demons
"But some of them said, 'He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.'" Luke 11:15
Ruler of this world
"31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." John 12:31,32
Satan
"And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him." Mark 1:13
Son of perdition
"3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4
Star
"Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit." Revelation 9:1
Thief
"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10
c. His nature
Wicked one
"Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." Ephesians 6:16
Liar
"You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." John 8:44
II. Our Adversary's Power
a. His power is strong
Answers.Org: Even though the Scriptures tell us little about Satan's origin, they do inform us that he is a fallen angel of considerable power. The New Testament describes him as a "great enemy" who "prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." Jesus Himself said that Satan is such a force to be reckoned with that He is the only one strong enough to conquer him. Jesus would go on to refer to Satan as the "ruler of this world." Paul called him the "god of this age." He also portrayed him as the head of a great, highly organized "army" of evil spirit beings. The book of Revelation says that his powers of deception are so potent that he is able to lead the whole world astray. While Satan is portrayed in the Bible as powerful, dangerous, and an adversary to be taken seriously, he shouldn't be considered in any way equal to God. He is a creature with creaturely limitations. His power is nothing in comparison with that of the Creator of heaven and earth. And according to James 4:7, because of the power God gives to His children, if we submit to Him and resist the devil, Satan will flee from us. Although subtle and cunning, the devil is an already defeated foe who will continue to resist God furiously until the time that he will be sealed in hell forever.
b. His power is suggestive
Satan's power is the power of suggestion, the power of influence. We see this illustrated in the Garden of Eden when he was speaking to Eve. Satan's suggests that God is not good for if He were good He would not withhold the forbidden fruit (the knowledge of good and evil) from them. Note that Satan knows the Word of God for he reminds them of God's words to them (with a slight modification.) He even quotes Scripture to Jesus during the Temptation of Christ in the wilderness!
Tempter
"Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, 'If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.'" Matthew 4:3
Serpent of old
"So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Revelation 12:9
c. His power is seductive
Satan's goal is seduction. He is a cunning liar, capable of seducing Adam and Eve by disguising himself as an "angel of light."
III. Our Adversary's Plots
Dr. John McAurther made the following statement:
In closing this morning I want to suggest four things that Satan wants to do and is doing right now. First, he wants:
a. To Make Sin Less Offensive
If sin is no longer sinful, if it has no moral implications then there is nothing to repent of or from. Sin has be sanitized, all the terminology has been changed. May I give you one example? 100 years ago in most sociology textbooks homosexuality was described as perversion; later it was characterized as a mental disorder; as time passed it eventually became an alternative lifestyle choice and now most textbooks define it as normal sexual behavior.
b. To Make Heaven Less Appealing
If life on earth is "heavenly" then there is no attraction for heaven.
c. To Make Hell Less Horrific
d. To Make the Gospel Less Urgent
