You must have had this question cross your mind – ”Our LORD is a Sovereign GOD, so why has HE allowed our enemy, the devil to live?” The truth is that ADONAI-Elohim [GOD] can choose anytime to ‘take him out’ or throw him into the lake of fire; GOD says HE is going to do that and will include all those whose names are not found in the book of life. When Yeshua [Jesus Christ of Nazareth] was telling the story about ‘the Righteous Judge coming back’ in Matthew 25:41, He said ”Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Go away from Me, you cursed ones, into the everlasting fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels”. In the logical world, the simple solution to any problem is to deal with it at the source, so if that’s the case, then why not take our enemy out yesterday so we are free today and no longer tempted to sin? Only GOD knows the answer, for His way of managing good and evil is wiser than our understanding. Our Lord ADONAI has ordained a long leash for satan. The Judgment after 1000 years is here as the book of Revelation 20:7-15 says… ‘satan shall be released from his prison, and he shall come out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth”… GOD knows as we walk in and out of temptations, struggles and troubles -visible or invisible attacks by the enemy, brings about more of HIS Glory in spiritual warfare than if HE ‘took him out’. Our enemy is already defeated– Yeshua said in Luke 10:19 that, ”Behold, I have given you authority to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you”. Satan is not our only enemy, but ignorance, the sovereign power of our own will, and the power of sin. Hosea 4:6, reminds us that, my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge… In the Holy Scriptures of Genesis 4:6-7, Then Adonai said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, it will lift. But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the doorway. Its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Before engaging in any warfare it is sensible to know your enemy- their capability and commander then you be able to prepare properly for battle. It is foolish for any army to march onto any battlefield without gathering military intelligence. There is always information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5:8 that, “Stay alert! Watch out! Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, searching for someone to devour.” Here the enemy is compared to a lion. A lion is proud and fears nothing, it goes where it pleases and looks for the weak to prey upon. The devil does the same thing; he is constantly looking for people who are weak in spirit to tear them down. How is your tzedakah [charity, justice or righteousness], Love for God and or prayer life? We become weaker living in sin, a ‘prey’ for the enemy to attack. During these attacks we then see afflictions and setbacks in our life’s which may be related to our relationship with GOD, family, health, finances, relationships and marriage, career, business etc. Where the enemy is not able to attack you directly – he attacks the weak people around you so to distract you from your God given purpose. Brothers and sisters, have no fear, endure and class this as ‘foolish things’ by the enemy even if is bereavement. There is always injuries and fatalities in any warfare. Yeshua said in Matthew 10:28 that, ”And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the ONE who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna [Hell].
ADONAI Tzevaot, The Lord of Armies [Jesus Christ] has given us intelligence about the enemy when He was talking about being the ‘The Light of the World’ to the Pharisees in John 8:44, He said that, ”You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks lies he is just being himself—for he is a liar and the father of lies. Our enemy is also called the ‘ruler of the domain of the air’ in Ephesians 2:2. So if we think of this logically, a ruler is one with authority that others will obey and has control over. A ruler can influence nations- bring about atrocities and genocides to kill and destroy many- Nazi Germany, Yemeni Civil War, Sudanese Civil War, Syrian war just to name a few. The enemy is currently using big nations to turn against God’s commandments on the pretence of equality and human rights – changing and making new laws on marriages, sexuality and how we worship GOD. Yeshua himself acknowledges the enemy’s authority ordained for this world by GOD the Father. However, when we are saved we are no longer “of this world” and as such are loosed from the enemy’s authority; Yeshua reminded us in 1 John 4:4 that, ‘‘You are from God, children, and you have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world”. Brothers and sisters if you continue to lie, deceive and manipulate people for your own gain, then you are an instrument of the enemy to use anytime for his agenda.
We all remember the good old story of Job when God allowed the adversary to test him. In the book of Job 1:6-7′, ”One day the sons of God (Angels) came to present themselves before Adonai, and the satan also came with them. Adonai said to the satan, “Where have you come from? The satan responded to Adonai and said, “From roaming the earth and from walking on it.” This power is however limited, contained and restrained. Technology – internet is a weapon the satan has hijacked for spiritual warfare in the air domain. Why will children and adults go on the internet and afterwards commit suicide? Why are people addicted to internet like a drug and indulge in sexual immorality such as masturbation and fornication- which destroys individuals and families at the end? Ephesians 5:11 tells us that, ”Take no part in the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them’‘. The devil is not as many picture him with a pitchfork, horns and tail. He is nothing of this nature. He was the most beautiful of angels but allowed spiritual pride to enter into him. You may be thinking why should this happen? God allows each ‘creation’ to exercise their sovereign will. While “sin a powerful force crouching around us”, God allows each person to exercise his or her “sovereign will power”. Genesis 4:1-16 suggests that the first murder in the Bible, the killing of Abel, came at the free will of Cain and not the will of God. In other words, when a person dies at the hands of a killer, it is the will of the murderer not of God. GOD did not make the devil an ugly disgusting creature because everything GOD creates – HE does it perfect. Revelation 12:7-12 tells us how our enemy rebelled against GOD; he got defeated in a war and thrown out of Heaven with his angels to earth. The devil and his angels are currently at war with the children of God and his army is very organised. Just like a president gets blamed for everything bad and praised for everything good though not directly involved – that’s the same attributes to our enemy the devil – his army are out there causing destruction and following commands. John 10:10 reminds us that, ”The thief comes only to steal, slaughter, and destroy. Every demon has the same mission. How they go about it – their strategies and tactics are different. Demons use to be angels and they have ‘tremendous power’.
The enemy can not control or force you to sin because Jacob 4:7 (known as James ) tells us that, ”Therefore submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you”. 1 Peter 5:9 also reminds us to, ”Stand up against him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being laid upon your brothers and sisters throughout the world”. Yeshua also made it clear in Matthew 6:24 that, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick by one and look down on the other. You cannot serve God and money.” The enemy uses this same world we live in to recruit and attack children of God for both visible and invisible warfare. Is money controlling you or you have dominion over money? Everything God created has a name and a purpose. Our enemy was called Lucifer which means “brightstar,” refers to his former splendor as the greatest of the angels as is written in book of Isaiah 14:12. Other names are ‘father of lies’, devil, satan meaning “accuser” or “adversary” and many other names relating to his evil deeds. Though innocent or sometimes ignorant, the way we call ourselves may be the root cause why we face challenges today because names are powerful. In Genesis 17:1-5, ”When Abram was 99 years old , Adonai appeared to Abram, and He said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Continually walk before Me and you will be blameless. My heart’s desire is to make My covenant between Me and you, and then I will multiply you exceedingly much.”Abram fell on his face, and God spoke with him, saying, “For My part, because My covenant is with you, you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer will your name be Abram, but your name will be Abraham, because I make you the father of a multitude of nations”. Do you know the meaning of your name(s)? Or perhaps you have a nickname you have no idea of an evil connection?
The enemy can not tempt you to sin without God’s permission and has good knowledge of the scriptures. In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus Christ recognised this for what it was and rebuked satan, not once but three times. satan had even taken scripture out of context but was defeated with the word of God; Yeshua did not debate with the devil or argue, he quoted the Word of God and the satan fled and left him. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says , ”No temptation has taken hold of you except what is common to mankind. But God is faithful—He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can handle. But with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape, so you will be able to endure it”. Brothers and sisters we can overcome temptation with God’s Word. Jacob 1:13 (known as James) says, ”Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”—for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He himself tempts no one. Strive not to continuously give credit to the enemy when things don’t go well in your life. Rather Praise Yeshua the messiah in your troubles. Proverbs 18:21 tells us to ‘watch our mouths‘ for ”Death and life are in the control of the tongue.Those who indulge in it will eat its fruit”. 2 Corinthians 4:4 highlights one of the capabilities of the enemy and his army and says that, ”In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, so they might not see the light of the Good News of the glory of Messiah, who is the image of God”. Don’t curse GOD when things are bad, the devil is able to connect with our words to accuse us- he is the ‘accuser’.
The enemy can not read your mind but due to the vast years in existence and knowledge about mankind, he is capable of predicting our behaviour. John 2:25 tells us that Yeshua knows, ”He did not need anyone to testify about man, for He knew what was in man”. The book of Acts 5:3 shows us that, the enemy can send evil thoughts and ideas to our hearts as he did to Ananias. The enemy can control the unsaved and make them do his will. Our enemy doesn’t know the future either and have no control over it, except ADONAI Elohim. If he knew the future – he wouldn’t have gotten the Jews to crucify Yeshua. The enemy can not overcome you if you trust in God. Apostle Paul tells us in the book of Romans 8:37-39 that, ”But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord”.The enemy can not separate us from God if we accept Yeshua as our Messiah. John 3:16-17 promises us that, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him”.
The enemy can not inflict pain or suffering without God’s permission- if you remember the story in Job 1:12, Satan has to be given permission and limitation. God works out everything for good and in absolute control. Everything bad that happens to us is filtered by God. God allowed Joseph to be sold as a slave by his own brothers only to end up becoming the minister of Egypt in the book of Genesis 37, 41. If the people around you get used by satan to inflict pain and suffering in your life, remember what the brothers of Joseph did to him and his victory speech in Genesis 50:19-20,“But Joseph said to them, Don’t be afraid. For am I in the place of God? Yes, you yourselves planned evil against me. God planned it for good, in order to bring about what it is this day—to preserve the lives of many people’‘. The story about when David soothes Saul’s torment by playing musical instruments in 1 Samuel 16:14-16 shows that, the enemy is able to harass when allowed by God. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Apostle Paul acknowledges a thorn in the flesh was given to him by a messenger of satan to torment him. This could either be physical or spiritual harassment by the enemy no one knows.
The enemy can use all sorts of mediums such as people, animals, objects and places to attack the children of God. Our enemy attacks 24/7 like a powerful force of attackers that goes forth like locusts to torment mankind and destroy. Apostle Paul has warned about being deceived by Satan in the Community of Yeshua in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, he said, ”For such men are false emissaries, deceitful workers masquerading as Messiah’s emissaries. And no wonder, for even satan masquerades as an angel of light. It is no great thing therefore if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be according to their deeds”. ”Paul is warning of people who appear to be something they are not. Remember not all followers of Satan are obvious; many are standing in pulpits in Synagogues and Churches today preaching the word of God for selfish reasons. Here we see infiltration going on by the enemy. Yeshua also warned us about this in Matthew 7:15-20, He said, ”Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit (LOVE) Grapes aren’t gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree produces good fruit, but the rotten tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will recognize them by their fruit”. The alarming warning from Jesus Christ of Nazareth in Matthew 10:36 is that, ”and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.’
What are the people around you influencing in your life? Is it for your salvation or destruction? Good old story when Delilah betrays Samson says it all in Judges 16. Consider the places you go and ask a simple question – will Jesus Christ follow me here? Do you go to places of darkness such as night clubs, strip clubs , indulge in occultism, visit ‘ungodly places etc? Brothers and sisters we need to preserve Sanctity in God’s Living Temple-(The Heart). The Holy Scriptures tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:14 that, ”Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?” The enemy has now waged war on how to alter our lifestyle and sexuality against God’s Ten Commandments. The book of Genesis 9 is a Covenant by GOD with Noah’s Descendants- children of God that, whenever a rainbow appears in the sky, it is a promise that, never again will floodwaters destroy all life as a result of our grievous sin- If you have ears listen. When it comes to objects – ‘the staff of Moses” in Exodus 4:17 was the medium ADONAI-Elohim used to express HIS power with signs and wonders and delivered the Israelite’s from slavery in Egypt. God is aware the devil can connect with items reason he gave us the commandments in Exodus 20:4 that, ”Do not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or on the earth below or in the water under the earth”. In the book of Mark 5:25-28 , the hem of Jesus Christ healed the woman with the issue of bleeding for twelve years. In Jacob 5:14-16 (known as James), the power of anointing oil broke the yoke of afflictions and heal the sick . The enemy imitates and use other mediums to attack. Have you been somewhere and been given any object to carry out anything ungodly in search of solution to your afflictions? Or perhaps is a free psychic tarot palm reading? Apostle Paul burned sorcery books as a result of it’s evil powers in Acts 19:19. When it comes to animals, Jesus Christ [Yeshua], healed and cast out legion (group of demons) from a wild-naked-bleeding, mad man and they begged Him to enter pigs in the book of Mark 5:1–21. There are demons that are instructed by satan to enter people to control them and to cause all sorts of diseases including mental health -Stress, Anxiety, depression, addiction, self-harm and many more. For 2017 study estimates that 792 million people lived with a mental health disorder in the World. This is slightly more than one in ten people globally (10.7%). Fact Check at Our World In Data a project of the Global Change Data Lab. demons enter people to be violent or commit murder, bring about quick temper and anger, hatred,greed, jealousy ;sexual immorality, abuse children and even enter children to rebel against parents and authority- such as joining gangs which brings grieve to the society, just to name a few. Holy Scriptures, Luke 8 tells us that, when Yeshua and the twelve disciples begun traveling throughout towns and villages, preaching and proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God, certain women were healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Miriam, the one called Magdalene, seven demons went out of her. Elohim used a donkey to speak in Numbers 22:28. God also used ravens to feed His Prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 17:2-7. Remember your animals and pets in prayer so they are not used as a medium by the enemy.
We are fighting a battle we have already won. God sent HIS son Yeshua right into the middle of this warfare fulfilling his promise in the beginning ,Genesis 3:16- He told the devil because he deceived mankind and brought sin into this world that, ‘I will put animosity between you and the woman—between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel. The animosity between the children of God and the devil is YESHUA the Messiah. It was the devil that put into the heart of Judas to betray Jesus Christ. The book of Colossians 2:15 tells us that, ”After disarming the principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them on the cross” Though Yeshua was GOD ,He exposed himself to the enemy- the father of lies, deceit and his murderous plans; endured suffering and died. John 12:23 tells us that, There’s more Glory to Yeshua defeating the enemy through suffering than just taking ‘him out’. 1 Peter 4:13 promises us that, there’s is even more Glory to look up to Yeshua amid our struggles than having all these completely removed and loving HIM because of it. 2 Thessalonians 2:14 assures as that, ”He called you to this salvation through our proclaiming the Good News, for you to gain the glory of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah”. We have now seen how our enemy really is as a commander and how his Army operates. It takes careful preparation before a battle and that includes knowing your enemies strengths and weaknesses. Eventually every destructive thing Satan has tried to achieve throughout existence will be reversed, and all that God has set out to achieve will be accomplished. This is made clear in the Scriptures at Revelation 21:5, ”And the One seated upon the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new!” Then He said, “Write, for these words are trustworthy and true.” ADONAI-Elohim has ultimate control over HIS creation, and Satan can do no more than allowed in our lives.
Prayer
Oh Holy Spirit, open my heart and mind not to be ignorant of the enemy devices so not to have an advantage over me in my battles, In Jesus Christ [Yeshua] name,
Amen
Further Reading
John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11; Matthew 9:4; 1 Corinthians 2:11; Matthew 24:30 ;Revelation 20:7-10 ;2 Corinthians 6:14-16; 1 Timothy 5:22; Ephesians 5;Matthew 6:23; 1 Corinthians 5; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 5:18 ; Isaiah 65:17 ;1 Thessalonians 4:16
