OTWOMD | Bluepanjeet.Net

THE FINAL BATTLE: TACTICS OF THE ENEMY

This is the last part of the four part special. In this post, we expose the enemy’s limitations and common tactics in preying a victim. Like the last three parts, may this post enable you to be aware of the strategies of the Devil and his minions so that you may not fear him, but instead resist his enticement in every way you can. May the intercession of St. Michael and all of the angelic hosts protect us in our every spiritual battle.

LIMITATIONS OF SATAN

Satan is not self-existent

He was created by God . It can even been said that God created and uses Satan to his own ends (2 Corinthians 12:7).

Satan is not omniscient

Satan is an angel and angels don’t know everything (1 Peter 1:11-12). There is no indication in Scripture that Satan can really read our thoughts despite it is a common belief. Because he’s an expert on human nature, he’s pretty good at predicting our behavior and can easily tempt and corrupt weak humans.

Satan is not omnipotent

Because of this limitation, many references to Satan or the devil include his whole kingdom. The person of Satan does not personally tempt each of us for he simply cannot do that. Satan must rely on the following agents to carry out his temptation: (1) his network of demons, (2) the world system which lies under his control (1 John 5:19), (3) carnal or ignorant Christians he is able to use as he did Peter (Matt. 16:22-23), (4) unbelievers under his influence or domination (Luke 22:1-6; Eph. 2:2; Rev. 13). Therefore, he can be resisted and made to flee (Jam. 4:7), but only by the strength of God made available to believers in Christ (Eph. 6:10-18).

Satan is not omnipresent

Demons cannot be everywhere at once and this is true of Satan. However, as the chief of his demons forces or as the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2), he is chief of a vast host of demons who are so numerous as to make Satan’s power and presence seem to be practically ubiquitous or everywhere at once (cf. Mark 5:9).

Satan is not sovereign

Satan never has cast off the government of God, since the rebellion totally failed. He has been exiled to the earth and the domain around it (Ephesians 2:2). Satan’s chain stretches just so far and God allows him to go that far and no farther. He operates completely within the sphere of God’s allowance (e.g. Job 1:12; 2:6).

It is written in the first chapter of Job that when the Satan presented himself before God, He asked him, “Whence comest thou?” Lucifer answers “From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”

God begins to boast to Lucifer about his servant Job, saying that there is no man like him, that he is a perfect and upright man. Lucifer cuts God off and asserts that Job is only a holy man because he enjoys God’s blessings. He says he can make Job curse God to his face if God removes his protection. God takes the Devil up on this gentleman’s wager, saying to Lucifer “Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thy hand.” The events in the Book of Job are the result.

We may gather from this fable that Lucifer is not bound to hell exclusively, but is only bound not to injure those humans who are afforded the protection of God. A human being is protected by God for so long as he or she remains obedient. When a person defies the will and commandments of God, then he or she becomes prey for Lucifer.

The Bible makes clear that the tactics of the devil fall into two major divisions. He attacks the human race both directly and indirectly. He is capable of a direct confrontation with human beings, and an indirect approach.

And through these two avenues he maintains his worldwide control over the race of men. The Bible indicates that there are fallen hosts of angels called demons, whom Paul calls here “the principalities and powers, the world rulers of this present darkness, the spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.”

A direct attack of the devil upon a human life is an obvious thing, but this is something devious, something circuitous, difficult to detect. This indirect approach comes largely through two media, or channels. One is what the Bible calls “the world,” and the other, “the flesh.”

THE THREE ATTACKS

The apostles very seldom mention the direct attack of Satan against human beings. There are a few instances of it, but after our Lord physically left the world there seems to be a diminution, a dying down of the evidences of demonic activity. By far, the majority of the attacks of the devil against Christians are not direct but indirect. That is why they are called the wiles of the devil. Wiliness means deviousness, circuitry, something not obvious.

The apostle John tells us in 1 John 2:16 about these three gates which Satan seeks to enter by his attacks and temptations to individuals.

Lust is sexual activity outside the bonds and bounds of legal marriage. This includes fornication (sexual intercourse between two persons who are not married), adultery (sexual intercourse when one or both parties are married to someone else), homosexuality, incest, bestiality (sex activities between humans and animals), and child molestation.

Lust of the Flesh.

Man is possessed by a nature that is characterized by its fleshliness: its appetite, desires, cravings and passions. Satan appeals to those desires of the flesh. With Eve, she saw the forbidden fruit was good for food. When Satan tempted the Lord Jesus, his first proposal was that he turn stones into bread to satisfy his hunger.

Lust of the Eye.

The second sphere which characterizes the nature of man is indicated by the phrase “the lust of the eye.” Satan appeals to the sense of seeing and awakens desires through the eye. What we see we desire and covet, and then we attempt to obtain it for ourselves. Man is basically covetous or selfish by nature and Satan seeks to lead one way in temptations through the lust of the eye. Satan took Jesus up into the high mountain and offered the power and glory of them to him if he would worship him.In the case of Eve, she saw the forbidden tree and fruit was pleasant to the eyes.

Lust of the Pride of Life.

The third gate through which Satan seeks to enter into the life of an individual is the realm designated as “the pride of life.” Pride is characteristic of human nature. Man is basically proud and there are sins that appeal to pride. The fallen nature loves and strives for that which promotes, elevates and pleases the individual. Eve in the garden saw that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of which they were forbidden to eat, was “a tree to be desired to make one wise.” The appeal of Satan was to all three lusts and then she took and ate of the forbidden fruit in transgression against the commandment of God (Gen. 3:6).

TEMPTATION

Temptation of Adam and Eve

The story of Adam and Eve tells us how Satan used the serpent as a vessel to tempt Adam and Eve. The serpent tells him that he fears the Lord’s wraith, but Satan convinces him that he only has to be a vessel, it will be Satan speaking through him.

“And the devil spake to the serpent saying, Rise up, come to me and I will tell thee a word whereby thou mayst have profit.” And he arose and came to him. And the devil saith to him: “I hear that thou art wiser than all the beasts, and I have come to counsel thee. Why dost thou eat of Adam’s tares and not of paradise? Rise up and we will cause him to be cast out of paradise, even as we were cast out through him.” The serpent saith to him, “I fear lest the Lord be wroth with me.” The devil saith to him: “Fear not, only be my vessel and I will speak through thy mouth words to deceive him.”

This book then mentions that it was the devil that spoke through Eve that led Adam astray.

“For, when he came, I opened my mouth and the devil was speaking, and I began to exhort him and said, “Come hither, my Lord Adam, hearken to me and eat of the fruit of the tree of which God told us not to eat of it, and thou shalt be as a God.”

Temptation of the Christ

During the forty days of the Temptation, Satan used three attacks. These three were the epitome of the areas in which a person can be tested: the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life - Matt. 4:1-11: 1 John 2:16. It should be noticed that Satan used the same three-fold appeal when he approached Eve in the garden of Eden and tempted her to transgress against God’s one commandment,.

The third temptation: Satan invited Christ to throw Himself down from a pinnacle, or high peak, of the temple to prove that He was the Messiah, saying that the angels would bear him up again (Ps 91:11-12). Satan believed that if Christ did throw himself down to prove the point that he was indeed the messiah, He would have failed the test by tempting God. It he refused, then he could have cajoled him for lacking faith in God. Christ easily dismissed the suggestion by telling him that no-one should tempt God.

Jesus met all the appeals of Satan by quoting the Word of God and acting in obedience to the will of God. Jesus defeated Satan and all his temptations by submission to the holy Scriptures in dependence upon the power of the Holy Spirit.

The whole goal of Satan’s temptation of Christ was to eliminate the suffering and death of the Cross. He offered the Lord glory without the Cross. This, then, would have made his death unnecessary.

Temptation of Job

Job was a perfect and an upright man that feared God and abstained from evil. Satan using his accusing character and maliciousness, pretended that Job would cursed God if he were deprived from all his belongings and family.

The Lord allowed Satan to severely try Job and cause him intense suffering and anguish for his ultimate good, but told him not to put his hand upon Job himself, Satan went forth from the presence of God and terrible things began to happen to his children and his possessions. It was Satan who stirred up the Sabeans and the Chaldeans to plunder Job’s animal possessions and to slay his servants.

He was the one who made fire come down from heaven and burn up the sheep, and the great wind to arise and blow down the house where Job’s seven sons and three daughters were, killing them all. This shows something of the great power Satan and his wicked enmity against God’s servants. But it also reveals that Satan can only go as far as God allows.

The patriarch never cursed God, and Satan was defeated. The end of Job was that he had a greater realization of God and of his own sinfulness, and his possessions were doubled from what he had before. He was also given seven more sons and three daughters who were the fairest women in all the land.

Temptation of St Anthony

Anthony is a great figure of Christianism. He devoted most of his life to struggle against Satan and his demons. He also helped the Church to expand in Middle and East Africa.

But what is particularly interesting about St Anthony character is the richness and breadth of the vision he inspired.

It was one of the central theme of religious iconography during the XVth century and the paintings belong to the best masterpieces in terms of demons’ representations.

POSSESSION

Definition of possession

This direct assault covers what the Bible refers to as “demon possession,” the outright control of human personality by the power of a wicked spirit. It also extends to such activities as soothsaying, occultism, spiritism (or spiritualism), and related black magic arts such as astrology, fortune telling…

Demon possession is defined by the a human who has become inhabited or “taken over” by a demon and who cannot, consequently, exercise his own will - Mark, Chapter 5, ver. 12.

First, the Bible itself is very careful to distinguish between mental illness and demon possession. The writers of the Scriptures were certainly aware of this distinction. One of them, Luke, was a physician himself and was certainly acquainted with the distinctions between diseases and mental illnesses, as well as demon possession. In Matthew 4:24 a careful distinction is made between those who were afflicted by diseases, those who were demon possessed, and those who were lunatic or mentally ill. Luke refers to the same thing in Luke 4:40-41.

It should be noticed that ancients also had a sort of faith in the prophetic words spoken by those whom they believed to be possessed by demons, and this was sometimes a component of ancient oracles. Later, exorcists of the Church have tried to improve its knowledge of demons and theology by asking precise questions to the (demons that occupied) possessed.

Symptoms of Demonic Possession

Demon possession may last for relatively brief periods of time for any one individual. The rest of the time, the victim of demon possession may appear normal by social standards. Only when a demon is in residence will its presence be detectable in terms of the behavior of the victim.

The behavior of these short-term victims of demon possession is characterized by four basic symptoms. These symptoms may appear alone or in groups, for just seconds of time, and in varying degrees of intensity. The four basic symptoms are: violence, lust, greed, and an unnatural power of persuasion.

Satan, the Prince of Demons, seems to use three different activities or approaches in his attacks by demons. It is only at the last step that the subject has lost all his free-will and is totally under control of the Devil.

Oppression

In Acts 10:38 we read that Jesus went about “healing all that were oppressed by the devil; for God with with him.” The original word means “to exercise dominion against one, to be overpowered.” The demons put pressure upon and exercise harsh control over one who is oppressed.

Obsession

Secondly, we read of people who were “vexed with unclean spirits” and were healed (Lk. 6:18, Acts 5:16). Webster’s dictionary defines obsession as “to haunt or be troubled in mind to an abnormal degree; the state of being obsessed with an idea, desire, emotion - one that cannot be got rid of by reasoning.”

Possession

Thirdly, Scripture speaks of some “possessed of demons” and indwelt by them (LK 8:36; Acts 8:7; 16:16). Possession means to be completely under the control of a demon. Those thus afflicted in the time of the Lord expressed the mind and consciousness of the demon or demons indwelling them.

Familiar Spirits

One of the activities of evil spirits mentioned in the Bible is that of “familiar” or “divining” spirits. These demons appear to have the ability to rouse the dead from their ordained sleep. They also seem to be able to foretell the future, to some extent. The first mention we see of these spirits in the Scriptures is a warning from God to avoid consorting with them or the mediums that contact them.

“Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.”Leviticus 19:31

“And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.”Leviticus 20: 6

“A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.”Leviticus 20:27
“There shall not be found in thee one who purges his son or his daughter with fire, one who uses divination, who deals with omens, and augury, a sorcerer employing incantation, one who has in him a divining spirit, an observer of signs, questioning the dead.”Deuteronomy 18:10

“Then Saul said to his servants, Seek for me a woman who has in her a divining spirit, and I will go to her, and enquire of her: and his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman who has in her a divining spirit at Aendor. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he goes, and two men with him, and they come to the woman by night; and he said to her, Divine to me, I pray thee, by the divining spirit within thee, and bring up to me him whom I shall name to thee. And the woman said to him, Behold now, thou knowest what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who had in them divining spirits, and the wizards from the land, and why dost thou spread a snare for my life to destroy it?”I Samuel 28:7

“It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.” Acts 16:16

Cases of possession in the New Testament

Cases of possession are numerous in the New Testament and Jesus appears a the great figure of the “Exorcist” among his people. This practice seems to be inherited from the Apolyptical sects.

Below are a few of the examples available from the Scriptures records where evil spirits possessed and took up residence within human beings.

“There was a man in the synagogue who had a spirit, an unclean demon. And he cried out: ‘Ah! What have we to do with you, Jesus, the Nazarene? Have you come to destroy us? I know you, you are the Holy One of God.’ And Jesus rebuked him and said: ‘Hold your peace and come out of him.’ And when the demon had thrown him down in front of them, he came out of him without hurting him…” Verse 41: “And demons went out from many, the demons crying out and saying ‘You are the Christ, the Son of God.’ And he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew him to be the Messiah.” Luke 4:33

“But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” And He said to her, “Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.”Mark 7:25

“Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. And when He stepped out on the land, there met him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss [abusson]. Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them. And He permitted them. Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.“ Luke 8:26

The notion that the name of Jesus in itself has power over demons was disproved by the Biblical incident of the Jewish exorcists who attempted to use the names of Jesus and the apostle Paul as magical words of power to cast out a possessing demon from a man. The demon said through the voice of its human host “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?”.

Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.Acts 19:11

The case of Judas

Judas Iscariot was chosen as the twelfth apostle by Jesus and later betrayed him. At first glance, the Lord could be considered faulty for having put his trust into a potential traitor.
Strangely we hear that Jesus knew Judas’ real character from the very beginning.

“Have not I chosen twelve, and one of you is the devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon, for he it was that should betray him” (Jn. 6:70-71).

Judas was covetous and a thief. He stole out of the treasury bag of the apostolic band as John 12:6 tells us. We find him later going to the chief of priests of the Jews and saying to them”

“What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought to betray him” (Matt. 26:14-16).

At the last supper, the Lord dipped a morsel of bread in sauce and gave it to Judas. This was a custom of the host to honor a guest and it is indicated as a pledge of love .The next thing we read of Judas is that when the Passover supper was ended, the devil “now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son to betray him” (Jn. 13:2).

Judas was already tempted and sinful before Satan possessed him. Despite the three and one-half years he spent in the company of Jesus, his heart was untouched by all, never yielded his heart and soul to Christ. He carried out his thievery and covetousness which opened his heart to carry out Satan’s evil design.

When Judas saw that Jesus was condemned, “He felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ But they said, ‘What is that to us? See to that yourself!’ And he threw the pieces of silver into the sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hung himself” (Matt. 27:3-5). Instead of repenting to God, he went out and committed suicide. So Peter later said: “Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place” (Acts 1:25). He did not go to paradise as the repentant, dying thief did. How sad is the history of Judas who sold his soul to Satan for money. It was truly as the Lord said, “It had been good for that man if he had never been born” (Matt. 26:24).

The case of modern possession

Some believe that the majority, and perhaps all, of the senseless crimes of violence, torture, perversion and hatred committed in the modern world can be attributed to the actions of possessing demons who have succeed in their efforts to tempt human beings to sins of evil, and having gained control over sinners by this means, are then free to use them as instruments to commit even greater works of evil

The late-afternoon TV talk shows and tabloids, as well as the legitimate press, provide multitudes of case studies which document the classic symptoms of demon possession singly and in various combinations and degrees of intensities.

This affirmation can be supported by the many interviews of serial-killers and other criminals that attribute their sins to some alien evil.
Ted Bundy was featured in a February 1996 A & E cable broadcast of the program Biography moderated by Jack Perkins. The program said this about an outside force which contributed to Bundy’s crimes:

Now again, he would never admit that he “heard voices,” because he knew that was insane. But, he would describe someone as “another Ted”. This other Ted would start talking to him in this growling voice and point out that this woman thinks you could never have her. ‘Look at her walking by. What is she thinking about you …’ And work him up into this hatred where then he would start this process of stalking …”

Satan can be beaten by Jesus and Christian faith

The truth is that “his infernal majesty” is bound and is powerless before the Son of God (Mark 3:27). Christ defeated Satan and all spiritual forces of evil at the cross (John 12:31; Colossians 2:14-15).

The apostle John tells us: “for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.”

Jesus says: “Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of Hades and of death” (Rev. 1:17,18).

According to the Catholic Church, Christ delivered men from the bondage of Satan by the victory of the Cross and at the same time paid the debt due to Divine justice by shedding his blood in atonement for our sins.

In their endeavors to explain this great mystery, some old theologians, misled by the metaphor of a ransom for captives made in war, came to the strange conclusion that the price of Redemption was paid to Satan. But this error was effectively refuted by St. Anselm, who showed that Satan had no rights over his captives and that the great price wherewith we were bought was paid to God alone.

Under ordinary circumstances Lucifer cannot directly hurt persons under God’s protection, which is why he needed a special dispensation from God to injure Job’s property and family.

However, we are able to gather from other hints in the Bible and in Christian and Jewish folklore that Satan is free to suggest to human beings that they voluntarily defy God. Once a person does so, he or she forfeits the protection of God. Then Lucifer is permitted to commit injuries upon the person. What is true of Lucifer himself applies to his agents, the demons.

Demons are tempters of men because they are forbidden to injure human beings who obey God. But if through the temptation of a demon a person can be induced to disobey God, that person is demon fodder. Effectively, they join Lucifer’s army of apostate fallen angels, although at a very subordinate rank.

From a Fundamentalist Christian point of view, all those who fail to worship Christ are disobedient to God, and therefore prey for the demons who walk and swim and fly upon the earth. Much the same belief concerning those of other religions is held by Fundamentalist Islamics and Jews. We have the promise that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond our capacity (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Those who are in Christ can overcome Satan (Revelation 12:11; Romans 16:20; 1 John 2:13-14). Christ keeps us safe and Satan cannot lay hold of the believer to harm him (1 John 5:18).

Demonic powers cannot separate us from God’s love in Christ (Romans 8:37-39). If we use the armor of God, we have God’s promise that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes (Ephesians 6:11,13).