4. Satan God's Purpose for Man
Chapter 4
Satan
We have learned that under the direction of God, Michael and his angels cast Lucifer and his hosts of angels (Luke 10:18) out of heaven. Lucifer's host of demonic angels consisted of one-third of all the angelic beings in heaven that were under the authority of Lucifer. Upon being cast out of heaven, God stripped Lucifer of his name and he became known as Satan or the devil. His nature had changed, becoming a creature of evil. His followers also became evil in the sight of God. Here are some of the names given to Satan in the scriptures:
- Thief
- Killer
- Adversary
- Beelzebub
- Serpent
- Prince of the power of the air
- The evil one
- Dragon, just to name a few.
All of these evil names became characteristic of Satan's nature. Satan and his host of evil angelic followers now roam in the first and second heaven, meaning the earth and its atmosphere under the visible arch in the sky. The mission is to battle against mankind and God's holy angels to stop God's plan upon the earth.
Who Are the Demons?
When Lucifer and his angels tried to overtake God's throne in heaven, they were cast out of heaven. Like lightning is the speed Jesus called his destruction (Luke 10:18). Many biblical scholars claim that when Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven, Satan’s fallen angels became demons, of which I support. Satan and his demonic angels then fight in the heavenlies against God’s angels (Dan 10:13-11:1) in an attempt to destroy God's plan upon the earth.
Eph 6:10-12 Finally, be strong in the LORD and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Here we see several evil forces here at work: 1. Rulers 2. Authorities 3. Powers of this dark world 4. Spirit forces of evil.
It becomes clear that Satan and his angels war in the heavenlies with God's angelic angels attempting to defeat God and His purpose on the earth. Others harrass people with sickness, disease, infirmities, calamity, poverty, and even death.
Matt 12:43-45 43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
Matthew 12:28 But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.
Luke 10:17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "LORD, even the demons submit to us in your name."
Evil Spirits
Whether we are talking about Satan or his fallen angels, they can all be catagorized as evil spirits who oppose everything that has to do with God (Eph 6:10-12). They represent the opposite of goodness and are hostile towards God's character, nature, and will. They oppose the works of God, and believers are commanded to resist them (1 Peter 5:8-9; Eph 6:13; James 4:7). We are always to be on the alert toward them and confront them as needed. They are evil in nature and purpose to cause harm, ill, or destruction upon mankind. As believers in Jesus Christ, however, we need never be afraid because we have been given authority over every single one of these evil spirits - to cast them out and away from our life.
At the end of time, all these evil spirits will join Satan in the Eternal Lake of Fire. There they will spend eternity locked in torment forever.
Satan’s Personality
Now that Lucifer has fallen and taken on an evil nature, as well as a new name, it is important to look at Satan’s personality since he was fallen from heaven.
- While Satan is a spirit, he can take on other forms, such as a body (Job 2:1-7, Psm 109:6, Zech 3:1-2, Matt 4:1-11, Rev 10:1-3).
- He is a proud, cruel and fierce angel (1 Tim 3:6, 1 Pet 5:8-9).
- He is cunning and deceitful, a liar - the father of lies (2 Cor 2:11, 2 Cor 11:14, John 8:44).
- He is a thief, robber and a killer (John 10:10).
- He has a huge force of wicked angels working for him for the destruction of whoever would oppose him (Matt 25:41, Rev 12:9, Rev 16:14).
- He has blinded the minds of unbelievers (2 Cor 4:4).
- He is the prince of the power of the air and the god of this world (2 Cor 4:4, Eph 2:2).
Transpose or Entrance
Since Satan is an angel, he is a spirit. Yes, he can enter into a body of a man because we have scriptural record of Satan entering into Judas when he betrayed Jesus (Like 22:3). Satan, however, is only one angel and can only be in one place at a time. The same holds true of Satan's demonic hosts, for they too are angels and can only be in one place at a time. Many believers claim that Satan has his demonic hosts assigned to people in the same way that God has guardian angels over people. It is true that demonic hosts attach themselves to humans, and they run in packs of evil actions. So then we see that demonic spirits can oppress as well as possess people.
The good news is that once the Holy Spirit enters a believer, Satan, nor any of his demonic hosts can possess that believer. While Satan or his demons can harrass a believer by oppressing them, evil spirits cannot possess a believer in Christ. Good and evil spirits cannot co-habit a body.
Satan can also transpose himself as another entity. How do I know that? The Old Testament is filled with examples of angels (God's and Satan's) coming in the form of a man. God sent His angels repeatedly in the form of a man to deliver a message or free man from impending danger. As I brought out in a previous chapter, my husband and I had an encounter with one of God's angel in the form of an employee of a company that directed us to our son to save him from inevitable harm. Then we have a prime example of Satan's angels from Genesis 6. This is when Satan's angels entered into the women of that day and they bore giants. All this to say is that angels can transpose themselves into other beings to accomplish whatever purpose desired.
Satan’s Defeat
People battle the forces of evil every day. God’s Word says that it is not a physical battle, but a spiritual one. Because it is spiritual, we need take our authority in the name of Jesus to fight Satan, his evil angelic hosts, along with these demonic hosts in prayer, putting on the weapons of our warfare, asking the Lord to dispatch His angels, which could also include our guardian angels, to work on our behalf daily (Eph 6:11-12). As such, we never need to fear.
Aliens?
There is an increasing amount of speculation about aliens from outer space floating around. Christians, don't be fooled! Hollywood, all by design, is putting out massive amounts of movies regarding alien invasions and alien capture. TV is full of alien movie series on Netflix or other movie platforms to make us think this kind of thing is real or at least on our horizon. They are the narrative of our government to train us to think there are such things as aliens. And of course, we can't omit those who claim to have seen or experienced their presence. While these people may have seen something, we now know that what they saw falls within the category of Satan or his fallen angels who have been around before the creation of Adam and Eve. The world, in fear, will continue to fall for the belief in aliens and alien invasions, which will only increase Satan and his evil spirits manifestation as we draw closer to the time when the Tribulation Period will come upon the earth.
I have spent an extensive amount of study in this area of spiritual warfare because I continuously see Christians walk in defeat, totally ignorant of knowing their authority and power they possess. And then the world around us is being pulled in by Satanic forces, which as time draws closer to the end of time, we will see massive increases in this area. As Christians, we need to know how to have victory over Satan, his fallen angels, and all demonic powers around us.
Our Victory
As believers in Christ, we do not capitalize on the presence of Satan or his angelic beings; however, we certainly do not ignore their presence. We must never forget that Satan, his angels - demonic forces - are unable to attack when we are built up strong in the Lord. Our Bibles tell us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (Eph 6:10). As such, we need never to fear. These forces only attack us when we are weak (James 4:7).
Remember Satan is a defeated foe. His end has already been foretold (Matt 25:41).
As believers, we have a far more powerful God living on the inside of us through the power of the Holy Spirit (I John 4:4) than any amount of Satanic forces that tries to come against us. We have the victory in Jesus over Satan and his hosts because they are under our power and authority - they are under our feet - defeated.
- Believers have the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit
- Believers can command Satan and is evil forces to flee by using the name of Jesus
- Believers have the blood of Jesus for protection
- Believers have the Word of God as a weapon against Satan and his enemy forces
- Believers have God's angels at their disposal for protection (Psm 91:11-12). When we ask God for their help, we have the greatest protection available to man (Heb 1:14, Psa 91:11-12).
Eph 6:10-12 Finally, be strong in the LORD and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.