Last week, we studied the permanent banning of Satan and his demons from heaven in verses seven and eight. This week, we are going to study just one verse from chapter 12, verse 9, but also look at how we are to defend against the "wiles of the devil.
Let's look again at the names of Satan here.
Great Dragon. Satan is great in his power, his intelligence and in his hatred toward mankind, especially God's people. He has great violence in mind for God's people. While throughout history this bloodthirst has reared it's ugly head, it is during the Tribulation period that the world will endure the greatest of bloody slaughter it has ever known.
Serpent of Old. This is a reference to Satan's appearance in the Garden of Eden, and the deception of Adam and Eve into sin that permanently damaged the entire world...and universe.
Devil. The term diabolos in Koine Greek translates to "devil", and means "slanderer, defamer, false accuser".
Satan. Satan (satanos, Koine Greek) means "adversary". Satan is adverse to each and everything that God does, and each and everything that God's people do.
(the one who) Deceives the whole world. Satan's world system, as he is "the god of this world".
This week, we will discuss each of these titles more in depth, but also take a look at some of the lies of Satan that people--including Christians--believe.
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 (NKJV)
I think that we have all met someone in life that is, as an old timer told me once, "slicker than deer guts on a doorknob". That statement was meant as a term of endearment, as he loved my preaching, but I think we all have met folks that this idiom applies as someone that is devious, who is deceptive, who seeks to pull the wool over your eyes. Most likely, as much as you may think you cannot or will not be deceived, you most likely have been or I guarantee you will be.
Nearly all people know that Satan was the serpent in the Garden of Eden, but many people do know exactly what it was that Satan wanted to achieve. Adam and Eve were in the Garden as perfect, sinless people in a perfect place. They had it made. They lived in paradise, were told to reproduce and multiply, to tend to the garden and basically do whatever they wanted with one caveat: don't eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were told that on if they did, they would die.
Satan appears, and is described as cunning (NKJV), crafty, (NASB) subtle (KJV, Young's), shrewdest (NLT). In short, "slicker than deer guts on a doorknob". What he does is so basic to begin with, that we often miss it: "Did God really say you must not eat fruit from any of the trees in the garden" (Gen 1b, NLT emphasis mine). What does Satan do? He casts doubt on God's Word (spoken here), and thus casts doubt on God himself.
Satan intentionally misquotes God's Word, and draws out a misquote from Eve: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " (Genesis 3:3, NKJV) Why she misquoted this is uncertain; some say that Adam must have told her this but I find this highly unlikely as Adam would have sinned in misquoting God, then sin would have entered into the world. At any rate, she misquoted God; how often do we do the same thing? There are numerous times when we quote scripture incorrectly, and it ends up getting us into great trouble.
What Satan seeks to do next is to not only cast doubt on God's Word, but on God himself and that, basically, God is holding out on Adam and Eve. Satan was saying "you can be like God, you can be God too!" I heard a quote from a popular science fiction show where the character said "Most men would kill for the opportunity to be a god for a day"; this was the great temptation that Satan held out to Eve. Eve, stepping out from under the protection of her husband (whom was with her, verse 6b). However, God put Adam in the position of being Eve's protector, which he did not do; this is why it is "Adam's sin" and not "Eve's sin". Sin entered the universe and death and destruction followed.
Important lesson? Satan seeks to cast doubt on God's Word, and by making people think that they too can be God. Every time we sin as Christians, we doubt God's Word--and put ourselves in the place of God, often to our destruction.
The Devil
Slanderer. Defamer. False accuser. Deceiver. These terms define the Greek term diabolos, another term for Satan. This term, in plural devils, can mean demons; it can also be a descriptive term for someone being used by Satan for his evil purposes (Judas, John 6:70). However, when you see "the devil" in God's Word it is a direct reference to Satan himself.
As we will see next week, Satan accuses us day and night before God right now, but will be cast down out of heaven and no longer will do so in front of God (Revelation 12:7-8). However, until then, Satan accuses us day and night and seeks to do that to you directly on a daily basis.
It is important to remember that when someone says evil about us or does evil to us, they are often a tool in the hands of Satan. The battle is not between you and that person in most instances, but instead is a battle between you and demonic forces. I have found that Satan often uses those people with little or no self esteem to attack those that are perhaps viewed as a threat to the pride and position of the person. We may often have no idea why a person launches personal attacks about us, but it's important to remember that as far as the Christian is concerned, we become a tool in the hand of Satan when we do the same to others.
Satan's forces have a field day when we adopt his tactics and abandon God's principles. Slander, as we have discussed before, is best defined as "saying something that maligns another's character regardless as to whether it is true or false". Let that sink in. If you say something bad about someone, you had better be aware that it could well be sin. Often people will attack the character of some stating "well, it's true". When truth is used as a weapon to damage the character of another, it is truth spoken in evil.
Satan uses truth--that we sin--in front of God as a weapon against us. Let that sink in, and sink in deeply. Satan uses the truth that we sin against us, and I am sure that you do not like it one whit. And when we spread evil against others, we do the same thing, and Satan uses you as his mouthpiece to defame others. Often times, people will be completely oblivious to the sin they commit as they are too busy paying attention to the sin that others do! For instance, I know a lady that makes a big deal about particular sins of another toward her where I work, acting much the victim but she forgets that she said the same thing about me years ago. Sin often uses selective memory, and truth is often only in the mind of the utterer.
Satan seeks to use you as a tool to injure others, to defame them, to hurt them with a lie, and even a "truth". However, you and I all have certain "truths" that we would not want known, and when we do disclose those "truths" to others, we become a virtual devil in our actions.
Satan/The Deceiver of the Whole World
The term satanos in Koine Greek means "adversary". How sad it is, that Lucifer went from being the "morning star" or "light bringer" to Satan, the "adversary". He went from being the closest created being to God, to being the most hostile and vicious opponent to Him.
As mentioned in weeks past, Satan hates you. Satan wants to kill you. He wants to watch you writhe in the pain of stupid sinful decisions, hostile or evil words or ill informed actions. He takes great delight in causing both saved and unsaved alike great grief and suffering; however his forte is the deception of God's elect.
Satan's game plan against saved people is often the subtle, sneaky, inch by inch method of deception. The man who cheats on his wife does not open a bedroom door to a naked woman on a bed and "just can't help himself"; he follows a path of looking at women the wrong way, talking to them in a suggestive tone, perhaps making physical contact with a touch or an "unintentional brush or bump" against the woman. In short, it is a process that starts with temptation of the mind by what is seen in the eyes or heard in the ears.
Another weapon in the arsenal of Satan is the world system; he bears the title "god of this world". He is the "deceiver of the whole world", and uses this system, this culture, to further his goals. For instance, a common thought among our society is sexual freedom. The world calls to be "true to yourself", a whopper of a lie to saved people if there ever was one! If we were really true to ourselves, we would be doomed; if we follow our hearts as the world wants us to do then we are deceived: The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9, NKJV). When your heart and your mind and the Bible do not perfectly intersect, then Satan wins, laughs at your sin and defeat, and takes that right to the throne of God "day and night".
The world system, under the aegis of Satan, wants you to believe that your happiness is the greatest achievement that one can have. Holiness, godliness, and self-sacrifice are things to which the world scoffs. The world system is set up with the ideas of "grabbing all the gusto you can"; "get them before they get you"; "do what you need to do to get ahead"; "eat, drink and be merry" and more.
What is a person to do against the onslaught of Satan and system?
Your Weaponry Against Satanic Attacks
I have had numerous conversations with people that feel totally defeated in their lives. Perhaps it is money problems, marital problems, employment issues including job loss, health problems, money problems--you name it. But it all comes down to it, we all have problems and it is all in how we deal with it. Big or small, how will you deal with a problem?
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; Ephesians 6:13-17 (NKJV)
Quite honestly, the above Scripture demands more than just a single devotional. We will do just that when we get past Revelation 12, but let's just take a quick glance at this passage and study it more in depth in a few weeks.
It's important to remember that this weaponry is defensive in nature. As we saw last week, we are not to take the battle to Satan--the battle belongs to the Lord and not us (1 Samuel 17:47; 2 Chronicles 20:15). But we are called to defend ourselves, we are to take up this spiritual armor and "withstand" or "stand firm" (NASB)--not advance--on the enemy. This is worded in the Greek as a once for all act of taking up the armor, we are always to be ready for a sneak attack, for the day to day schemes or "wiles" of the "Satanic Mafia". We can only resist if we are "strong in the Lord" (verse 10); in other words God gives us the strength and works through us, fighting the battle for us. Now, let's look at our armor and weaponry.
having girded your waist with truth: The word picture here is of a leather belt, used to secure the loose clothing in preparation for battle. Just as the serious runner takes off every unnecessary piece of clothing before the race (Heb. 12:1), the serious soldier tucks in every loose piece of clothing before the battle...being girded with truth is being renewed in the mind (MacArthur)
having put on the breastplate of righteousness: This piece of armor, made of metal plates or chains, covered the body from the neck to the waist, both front and back. It symbolizes the believer's righteousness in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21) as well as his righteous life in Christ (Eph. 4:24). (Warren W. Wiersbe)
shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace: The shoes of the soldier protect the feet from injury, which would render the soldier harmless. Also, the Roman soldier's footwear had spikes on the sole to hold ground in battle."The most victorious Christian is a witnessing Christian." Wiersbe
the shield of faith: Faith is built by study of God's Word; by it we can defend against Satanic attack. If you know and trust in God's Word, you can win.
helmet of salvation: Satan attacks the mind. Renew your mind in the Word!
the sword of the Spirit...the Word of God: A material sword pierces the body, but the Word of God pierces the heart (Wiersbe).
