Know Your Enemy - Fall Of A Rebel Series

Spiritual warfare – Know your enemy

Fall of a Rebel

You and I, as Christians, are in a war. We enlisted from the moment we accepted Christ as our Saviour.

Bur it's not a war involving bombs or guns or terror - although these tactics have been used on a human level by opponents of the gospel. No - it's primarily a spiritual war and our adversary is that age-long enemy of mankind, Satan, and the forces of evil in this world.

The weapons we use to fight this war are therefore spiritual and our armour is spiritual!

As Ephesians 6:11 says:

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Notice in this verse that's it's the Devil’s schemes that we need to oppose. The Greek word for scheme here is

µe??de?a (methodeia) and it means: cunning arts, deceit, craft, trickery.

In certain parts of the world, Satan is openly and brutally active but Christians - especially in the western world - must be on special guard against his deceit and trickery. These appear to be his favourite weapons of choice! But to do so, we need to be aware - not only of what he's up to - but why.

The early Christians certainly knew!

In 2 Corinthians 2:11, Paul talks about the importance of forgiveness and how necessary it is in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

In this particular verse, the Greek word for scheme is ???µa (noema) - and it means: thoughts or purposes. In other words - how he thinks!

And that's what we need to talk about right now. If we get even a glimpse into how our arch-enemy thinks, we'll be better prepared to deal with his tactics. This is because he varies his tactics depending on the circumstances.

Sometimes he attacks with the savagery of a lion.

1 Peter 5:8 says this: Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Paul experienced this particular tactic. Read 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 for a brief account of what he went through for the sake of the gospel. But through it all, he says, in 2 Timothy 4:17, that he was delivered from the lion’s mouth.

On the other hand, Satan can be, -and often is - far more subtle! In 2 Corinthians 11:15 Paul makes the point that Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. And what should really concern us is what Paul says next: It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness.

So what do we really know of our enemy?

Where does he come from?

What's he trying to do?

Well, the first thing we find is that he was originally an angel in heaven - a cherub by the name of Lucifer.

Exactly what form the fallen Lucifer takes today is quite unknown. Whether or not he can materialise at will is not something known to most of us in the west but from our reading of the Scriptures, we find that - in their unfallen state at least - the cherubim were remarkable beings. The main references we have to their appearance are found in Exodus chapt. 25 and 37 and Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10.

From what is said of them in the Bible, it appears that the cherubim had a role in ensuring that the presence of God was not violated by anything unworthy. For example, cherubim with flashing swords were placed at the entrance of the Garden in Eden to keep out fallen man. In the Tabernacle, figures of cherubim were woven into the veil that separated man from the holiness of the shekinah - the presence of God Himself. Only the High Priest could enter that sacred place once a year. And that was only possible when the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on the mercy seat.

There, in the Holy of Holies, we see two golden cherubim on the ark, with their wings stretched over the mercy seat, symbolically guarding the presence of God, who, as Psalm 99:1 says: sits enthroned between the cherubim. Their position on the ark also suggests that they were looking down at the blood of the sacrifice made on the Day of Atonement, which signified that atonement had been effected (Leviticus 16). The High priest could then enter the Most Holy Place.

The throne of God itself was borne by cherubim as Ezekiel 10 describes in some detail. And in 2 Samuel 22:11 we read that God: mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.

Among the cherubim, one stood out from the rest. Lucifer; whose name means ‘the light bearer’, had apparently been the most glorious. Ezekiel 28:14 seems to suggest that his particular role was to guard God's glory. There it says that he was anointed as a guardian cherub.