Satan is the enemy of our souls. His whole intention is to destroy mankind. He is the tempter, the deceiver, the accuser of the brethren. First he tempts you, then he deceives you, then after you fall to the temptation, he accuses you and you get the punishment that he alone deserves. According to Scripture it says that he is here to kill, steal, and destroy. And let’s face it he is good at it. He has the whole world thinking he is some red guy with horns and a pointy tail. Well, as you will see he is nothing like that at all. The one thing that you will notice is that he is not an equal with God. He cannot be in two places at once like God can. And in the Book of Job Satan can do nothing without Gods’ permission. Well, I hope that you learn about your enemy and how he works, so that you will recognize the wiles of the Devil. I tell people when they first come to Christ to read the Book of John so that they know who they are following (Jesus), then study their enemy (Satan) so that they recognize his tactics. The two ways that we see Satan in Scripture attacking his victims is either subtly or a blatant attack, going after them with all he has. The subtle one is the one that most people either never see coming or by the time they see it, it is too late. They usually suffer the circumstances of the attack. As Scripture says, be gentle as a dove, but wise as a serpent. What this means, is that, you need to be gentle and godly, but be wise as the serpent your enemy. He is after your soul, and since he cannot get that, after you become a child of God. He tries everything he can to shut your mouth for Christ, this is where the subtle attacks come. The guy at church that makes you mad and then you quit going to church. Remember, Jesus said follow me, not any man. Just because you are at church, does not make it a safe place from the enemy. This is the best place for him to attack you when you new in the faith. He is going to do everything he can to separate you from God and make your life difficult here on earth, if he cannot steal your soul. But if you really want victory here and store your treasures in heaven then don’t give up the fight. May God Bless You and don’t lose heart, if God is with you, who can be against you!!!
The Fall of Satan from heaven and his fate
Isaiah 14:12-17
“How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, ‘ I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High.” But instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths. Everyone there will stare at you and ask, ‘Can this be the one who shook the earth and the kingdoms of the world? Is this the one who destroyed the world and made it into a wilderness? Is this the king who demolished the world’s greatest cities and had no mercy on his prisoners?”
Ezekiel 28:12-19
“ Son of man, weep for the king of Tyre. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord: You were the perfection of wisdom and beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone- red carnelian, chrysolite, white moonstone, beryl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emeral- all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created. I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire. “ You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you. Your great wealth filled you with violence, and you sinned. So I banished you from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire. Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings. You defiled your sanctuaries with your many sins and your dishonest trade. So I brought fire from within you, and it consumed you. I let it burn you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. All who knew you are appalled at your fate. You have come to a terrible end, and you are no more.”
Luke 10:17-20
When the seventy- two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “ Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!” “Yes,” he told them, “ I saw Satan falling from heaven as a flash of lighting! And I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don’t rejoice just because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered as citizens of heaven.
2 Peter 3:3-10
First, I want to remind you that in the last days there will be scoffers who will laugh at the truth and do every evil thing they desire. This will be their argument: “ Jesus promised to come back, did he? Then where is he? Why, as far back as anyone can remember, everything has remained exactly the same since the world was first created.”
They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of his command, and he brought the earth up from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the world with a mighty flood. And God has also commanded that the heavens and the earth will be consumed by fire on the day of judgment, when ungodly people will perish. But you must not forget, dear friends, that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectantly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and everything in them will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be exposed to judgment.
Revelation 20:10-15
Then the Devil, who betrayed them, was thrown into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. And I saw a great white throne, and I saw the one who was sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to the things written in the books, according to what they had done. The sea gave up the dead in it, and death and the grave gave up the dead in them. They were all judged according to their deeds. And death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death- the lake of fire. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Commentary: Now that we have seen the fate of Satan and his dominion, let’s analyze who he is and how he works here on this earth. We have seen his eternal fate from the beginning to the end. But let’s look at how the Bible describes this individual that has deceived the world into believing he is not real or is a little red guy with horns and a tail. As you can see from the verses above that this is a lie. He is described as being perfect in beauty and wisdom. So beautiful, that it filled his heart full of pride. He corrupted his wisdom for the sake of his splendor. He was perfect until evil was found in him. That tells me that he is nothing like what he has the world believing he is. That is the reason why in the next section of this study you will see how the Bible describes this individual. For if we know our enemy and how he works, then with the power of God we can have spiritual success in the defeat of this individual in our lives here on earth. For we know that he has already been defeated when Jesus was crucified on the Cross ( Colossians 2:14-15 ). These are the verses: (He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross. In this way, God disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross of Christ.)
One thing that I want to make perfectly clear to all that read this study, is that, Satan is real and he is absolutely no match for us. He has been given certain powers by God and could completely annihilate us with a wink of his eye. We are no match for him, but if you are a child of God, he is no match for our Father which is in Heaven. For the Bible says in 1 John 4:4 that greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. This is describing God and Satan. God being the greater of the two. For in 2 Corinthians 4:4 Satan is described as the god of this world. What this means, is that he is the god of this world system that is established through his wickedness, such as greed, lust, pride, sexual immorality, hate, and etc.
The names and titles of Satan
- Devil (Mt. 4:1-11; Eph. 6:11)
- Adversary (1 Tim. 5:14)
- Satan (Rev. 12:9; Lk. 10:18; 11:18)
- Belial (2 Cor. 6:15; Dt. 13:13)
- Lucifer (Isa. 14:12-14)
- Dragon (Rev. 12:3-17; 13:2-11; 20:2)
- Serpent (Rev. 12:9; 2 Cor. 11:3; Gen. 3:1-14)
- Enemy (Mt. 13:39; Lk. 10:19)
- Tempter (Mt. 4:3; 1 Th. 3:5)
- Wicked one (Mt. 13:19; 1 Jn. 5:18)
- Beelzebub (Mt. 10:25; 12:24)
- The god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4)
- Prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:1-3; 5:12)
- Accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10)
- Prince of this world (Jn.12:31)
- The anointed cherub (Ez. 28:11-17)
- Angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14)
- Prince of devils (Mt. 12:24)
- King over all the children of pride (Job 41:34)
- The thief (Jn. 10:10)
- Leviathan (Job 41:1; Isa. 27:1)
As you can see He has many names and titles in Scripture and the Bible describes him perfectly. I am only going to use a few of these verses to show you how he works and his mission here on earth towards mankind. I am also going to use other verses where he is described to us by Jesus and his disciples.
Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led out of the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted there by the Devil. For forty nights he ate nothing and became very hungry. Then the Devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, change these stones into loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him. “No! The Scriptures say, People need more than bread for their life; they must feed on every word of God.” Then the Devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, He orders his angels to protect you. And they will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, Do not test the Lord your God.” Next the Devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him the nations of the world and all their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “If you will only kneel down and worship me.” Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, You must worship the Lord your God; serve only him.” Then the Devil went away, and angels came and cared for Jesus.
Commentary: In these verses you can clearly see that the Devil is the tempter, that he works on our fleshly senses, such as the hunger that Jesus felt. He also knew that Jesus was here to destroy him, so he tempted him with the opportunity to gain control of the world by bowing down and worshiping him, but we all know that Satan is the Father of lies, so that was obviously a set up, but he did bring a point up that we shouldn’t ignore. He said that he had control to give whatever he wanted to whoever he chose to. That is the things of this world which have no eternal value whatsoever. He always tries to get people to look at the short and easy ways to accomplish their goals, no matter what the consequences. For his whole purpose is to kill, steal and destroy. He is the Father of lies and the deceiver, the tempter and the accuser of the brethren. So don’t fall for his traps, continue to study your enemy and the way he works and then you will recognize his ways when they are in front of you. Remember he is a god of confusion, and that everything he does has evil intentions behind it. This next section that you are about to read is a little insight into who the evil one is and how he works.
Ephesians 6:11
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil.
1Timothy 5:14-15
Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some have already turned aside after Satan.
Revelation 12:9
This great dragon– the ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world– was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
Luke 10:17-19 Side note: This was Jesus speaking to his disciples.
When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!”
“Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan falling from heaven as a flash of lightning! And I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you.”
Luke 11:14-26
One day Jesus cast a demon out of a man who couldn’t speak, and the man’s voice returned to him. The crowd was amazed, but some said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons!” Trying to test Jesus, others asked for a miraculous sign from heaven to see if he was from God.
He knew their thoughts, so he said, “Any kingdom at war with itself is doomed. A divided home is also doomed. You say I am empowered by the prince of demons. But if Satan is fighting against himself by empowering me to cast out his demons, how can his kingdom survive? And if I am empowered by the prince of demons, what about your own followers? They cast out demons, too, so they will judge you for what you have said. But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. For when Satan, who is completely armed, guards his palace, it is safe- until someone who is stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his weapons, and carries off his belongings.
“Anyone who isn’t helping me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.
“When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, “I will return to the person I came from.” So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and clean. Then the spirit finds seven other more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.”
Deuteronomy 3:13
Sons of Belial have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods”- which you have not known
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said; “I will dwell in them, And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore, “Come out from among them, And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.”
Revelation 12:3-17
Suddenly, I witnessed in heaven another significant event. I saw a large red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, with seven crowns on his heads. His tail dragged down one-third of the stars, which he threw to the earth. He stood before the woman as she was about to give birth to a boy who was to rule all nations with an iron rod. And the child was snatched away from the dragon and was caught up to God and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to give her care for 1,260 days.
Then there was war in heaven. Michael and the angels under his command fought the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle and was forced out of heaven. This great dragon- the ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world- was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens,
“It has happened at last- the salvation and power and kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ! For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth- the one who accused our brothers and sisters before our God day and night. And they have defeated him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of their testimony. And they were not afraid to die. Rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea. For the Devil has come down to you in great anger, and he knows that he has little time.”
And when the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the child. But she was given two wings like those of a great eagle. This allowed her to fly to a place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be cared for and protected from the dragon for a time, times, and half a time.
Then the dragon tried to drown the woman with a flood of water that flowed from its mouth. But the earth helped her by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that gushed out from the mouth of the dragon. Then the dragon became angry at the woman, and he declared war against the rest of her children- all who keep God’s commandments and confess that they belong to Jesus.