Satan's Strategy

"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