Who is the Enemy? What does
he want?
As a created being, the enemy only has the power to do what God allows him to do in our lives. But as a supernatural being, a fallen angel, he is able to do things that are beyond our abilities as human beings (i.e., dwell within the body of human beings or animals, manipulate weather systems or natural circumstances, etc.) His primary tool is deception, causing human beings to believe a lie or non-truth, so that he will secure authority over their body, their situation or circumstances, their abundant life.
"And the LORD said unto Satan, From where have you come? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that [there is] none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God, and shuns evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nothing? Have not You made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse You to Your face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he has [is] in your power; only upon himself put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD." Job 1:7-12 (Job declares that Satan can only do to man, what God allows Satan to do.)
"Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house; and a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabeans raided them and took them away--indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!" While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!" While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!" While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!" Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong." Job 1:13-22 (Job declares that God gave Satan the authority to test him, wherein Satan was allowed to not only manipulate people, the “Sabeans” and the “Chaldeans” to attack his possessions, but also the natural elements, “the fire of God is fallen from Heaven” and “there came a great wind from the wilderness” to attack his possessions and family, and yet he did not blame God.) Personal Testimony
""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! 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; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be
like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest
depths of the Pit. Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying:
'Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the
world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities, who did not open the house of
his prisoners?'" Isaiah 14:12-17 (Isaiah reveals that Lucifer, or
Satan, has been conflict with God and man throughout the ages of time.)
"Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, 'Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?' And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' Then the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'" Genesis 3:1-4 (Moses reveals that the enemy lied to man at the very beginning, causing them to die.)
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.”
John 8:44 &
“So the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? And why has
your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you
do not do well, sin (Satan) lies at the door. And its desire is for you (to
control you), but you should rule over it.’ Now Cain talked with Abel his
brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up
against Abel his brother and killed him.”
Genesis 4:6-8 (Jesus reveals that Satan is nothing more than a liar,
one who kills with deception and through his deception manipulates man to
believe lies and murder others, just as he did between Cain and Abel.)
"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 (Jesus confirms that the Devil and Satan are one and the same, that his primary power is to deceive and that his angels "demons" suffer the same fate as he. He also confirms that he is Lucifer as listed in Isaiah 14:12-17 above, in that he is fallen from heaven and cut down to the ground, cast to the earth.)
“Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly.” John 10:7-10 & "For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. " 1 John 2:16 (Jesus & John states the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy in comparison to Him coming to restore abundant life to human beings. Through deception, Satan steals our intimacy through impurity, "the lust of the flesh"; kills our authority through arrogance, "the pride of life" and destroys our resources through greed, "the lust of the eyes".)
Throughout history, as recorded in the Bible and in other
books, man has been in conflict with God, Satan, another men or women, and the
earth. Man has chosen between good
and evil, righteousness and wickedness, love and hate, God’s ways and
Satan’s ways. Man has always
known what is good (because of the moral conscience that God gave him at
creation), but does not have the power nor the desire to always do it.
At times man has been confused or driven by an external or spiritual
being, to do evil. This evil being
is a creature named Satan or the Devil.
He
hates man because he is made in the image of God and is the highest of God’s
creation on earth. He is always
manipulating man to walk in his ways, and thus misuse the gifts that God has given
man in order to destroy him.
“As it is written:
‘There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God.
All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is
no-one who does good, not even one. Their
throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.
The poison of vipers is on their lips.
Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their
ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.’ ”
Romans 3:10-18 (Paul quotes the
Psalms in describing man's state of being in relation to God, Satan, man, woman,
and the earth.)
“For I have the
desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do
not want to do--this I keep on doing.”
Romans 7:18-19 (Paul describes
his moral conscience within himself and the powerlessness to walk as he should.)
“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.”
John 8:44 (Jesus rebukes the
Pharisees for being driven by Satan in their desire to kill him.)
“...you used to live
when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of
the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings
of our sinful nature
(understanding of evil) and following
its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of
wrath.” Ephesians 2:2-3
(Paul describes all men and women of the world as being controlled by
Satan in some aspect or another.)
"He that commits sin 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 (John declares that sin, or missing the mark of walking in perfect love, is of the devil and that the Messiah, the Son of God came to destroy his works, his ability to cause man to sin, not walk in perfect love.)
"Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the rebellion of Korah." Jude 1:11 (Jude declares that man readily follows after those that have listened to Satan's lies, just as Cain did in killing Abel "walking in pride rather than humility within the gift of Authority", just as Balaam did in cursing Israel for money "walking in greed rather than giving within the gift of Resources" and just as Korah did in coveting the Levites intimacy in their priestly service before the Lord "walking in perversion of heart rather than purity within the gift of Intimacy".)
The enemy can manifest his presence in various ways, but because he is a created being, he can only be in one place at a time. Therefore, he extends his authority to other fallen angels, called demons or devils, which can oppress and/or possess human beings & animals and even attach themselves to physical objects. In other words, he does not work alone and has billions of demons under his control to do his bidding. These demons can manifest a certain sinful characteristic (lust, pride, greed, worry, bitterness, laziness, gluttony, etc.), a specific emotion (hate, fear, doubt, unforgiveness, anger, etc.), a specific sickness, infirmity or disease (pain, cancer, arthritis, blindness, deafness, etc.) or even the total personality traits of specific Bible characters (Jezebel, Absolom, King Saul, Haman, Ahab, etc.). In addition, there are specific demons that are assigned to geographical territories (continents, nations, regions, states, cities, streets), over specific spheres of influence within societies (family, religion, education, government, media, business, entertainment, arts & sports) and to specific individuals of influence that have given themselves over to demonic forces (witches, wizards, cult leaders, dictators, elected officials, college professors, actors, musicians, billionaires, etc.).