Characteristics
of Satan’s kingdom - Our Adversary
General Characteristics
- In
rebellion against God (Daniel 10:13, 20)
- God
is preparing Satan's kingdom for final
destruction (Revelation 20:10,14)
- Inferior
to God's Kingdom: Jesus demonstrated this
by casting out demons (Matthew 12: 24-30).
Mission
objectives
- Maintain
Satan's rule of the earth (John 12:31,
Revelation 12:3-17,16:14, 20:7-8)
- Oppose
God's kingdom and the redemption of people
(Revelation 12:17)
- Promote
rebellion against God (sin) (Ephesians
2:2)
- Steal,
kill and destroy (John 10:10)
- Draw
worship, devotion and service from people
to assist in mission accomplishment (Luke
4:7, Revelation 13: 1,3-4,8,11-12,14-15)
Command
Structure
Ruler:
Satan
- Formerly
Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12), who was the covering
cherub angel for God's throne (Ezekiel
28:14-16). (See Ezekiel 10 and Ezekiel
1:5-26 for description of the cherubim
angels)
- Served
in the midst of the fiery stones before
the throne of God (Ezekiel 28:14,16)
- Created
perfect in beauty, adorned with precious
stones and full of wisdom (Ezekiel 28:12-16)
- Established
by God with tremendous power (Isaiah 14:9-11,
Ezekiel 28:14)
- Sinned
by pride (Isaiah 14:13-14, Ezekiel 28:17)
- Is/was
a destroyer of nations and cities (Isaiah
14:12,16,17,20)
- God
cast him out of heaven (Isaiah 14:12,
Ezekiel 28:16-17, Luke 10:18)
- Became
Satan ("the adversary") and
accuser of the brethren (Zechariah 3:1-2)
Current
status:
- Satan
is the ruler of the earth (Luke 4:5-6,
John 12:31). He is also referred to as
the "prince of the power of the air,
the spirit who now works in the sons of
disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2 NKJV)
- Has
authority, power and a throne (Revelation
13:2), and may give his authority over
the earth to whomever he wishes (Luke
4:5-7). He will ultimately give his throne,
his power and great authority to the beast
(Revelation 13:2).
- Primary
tactics: steal, kill, and destroy (John
10:10). He also uses death (Hebrews 2:14),
deception (Revelation 12:9), lust (Proverbs
11:6, 2 Peter 1:4, Ephesians 2:1-3) and
pride (1 John 2:15-17) to rule the earth.
- He
is stealthy, seeking opportune times to
attack (Luke 4:13)
- Asks
for God’s permission to afflict
certain people: Peter (Luke 22:31); Job
(Job 1:11-12).
- He
is the father of lies and there is no
truth in him (John 8:44)
- He
is a murderer (John 8:44)
Powers:
-
Has the power of death until both he and
death are destroyed during the establishment
of God’s everlasting kingdom on
earth (1 Corinthians 15:24-26, Revelation
20:10,14)
- Able
to supernaturally move people (Luke 4:9)
and project temptation into the mind (Luke
4:5, John 13:2).
- Strong
deception powers to deceive individuals
(2 Corinthians 4:4) and nations (Revelation
20:3, 8,10).
- Can
transform himself into an angel of light
(2 Corinthians 11:14)
- Can
travel back and forth on earth and also
to heaven (1 Peter 5:8, Job 1:6-7, 2:1-2)
- His
power and rule are limited (Revelation
12:9, 20:1-3)
- Not
omnipresent (Luke 4:13)
Forces
- Forces
include principalities, powers, rulers
of the darkness of this age, spiritual
hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places
(Ephesians 6:12)
With the exception of people used by evil,
Satan’s forces are spiritual, not
flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12)
Evil
Angels:
- Satan
deceived a third of the angels in heaven
and them to serve himself (Revelation
12:3-9). Since there are "myriads
and myriads" of God's angels, it
follows that a third of them is also a
large number (Hebrews 12:22, Revelation
5:11)
- Fight
with God's angels over matters involving
human events. Daniel 10:13,20 depicts
warfare between good and evil angels.
- Will
fight God's Archangel Michael and other
angels and will be cast out of heaven
with Satan (Revelation 12:9).
- Will
ultimately be tormented in everlasting
fire (Matthew 25:41)
- Imprisoned
forces: Some rebelling angels were imprisoned
just before Noah's flood and now await
final judgment. They rebelled by taking
human wives and produced offspring (Genesis
6:1-6). They helped draw the human race
into continual evil. God sent the flood
to wipe out this corrupted race, and imprisoned
the guilty angels in Hell (2 Peter 2:4,
Jude 6). Jesus Christ proclaimed his victory
over all evil to these imprisoned spirits
during His resurrection, sealing their
destruction (1 Peter 3:18-20).
Demons/Evil
Spirits
Characteristics
- Dwell
on the earth and seek bodies to inhabit.
(Revelation 18:2, Matthew 12:43-44, Mark
5:12)
- Know
they will suffer at the hands of Jesus
at an appointed time (Matthew 8:29)
- Recognize
Jesus Christ as the Son of God (Mark 1:24-26,
Mark 5:10-13). They also recognize those
operating under the authentic authority
of Jesus Christ (Acts 19:15).
- Communal.
When re-inhabiting a former host person,
a demon will take 7 spirits more wicked
than himself and reoccupy the person (Matthew
12:43-45). Examples of multiple demons
inhabiting a person are found at Mark
16:9 (Mary had 7 demons) and Mark 5:9
(Gadarenes man had a legion of demons).
Also, in James 3:16 NKJV, James confirmed
their communal traits, "where envy
and self-seeking exist, confusion and
every evil thing are there."
- Have
intellect and will (Matthew 12:43-45)
- Vary
in level of wickedness (Matthew 12:43-45)
- Description:
Job’s friend, Eliphaz, described
an encounter with an evil spirit in Job
4:12-21. The spirit was characterized
by fear and disquieting thoughts. Eliphaz
saw the spirit’s form but was unable
to discern it’s appearance.
Capabilities
- Limited
power; they require rest (Matthew 12:43-44)
- Can
travel (Matthew 12:43-45)
- Can
affect the "state" of their
host person (Matthew 12:43-45) ranging
from total demonic possession (Mark 5:2-8)
to periodic demonic influence (Mark 9:17-18).
- They
are able to influence the emotions, thoughts
and actions of their host toward destruction.
Examples include the Gerasene demoniac
cutting himself in Mark 5:5 and the boy
who was being thrown into the fire in
Mark 9:22.
Vary in power level. Some are only routed
through prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21,
Mark 9:29).
People
- People
can be used by evil powers to accomplish
satanic purposes. Examples include Judas
betraying Christ (John 13:27), Elymas
thwarting
- Paul’s
ministry (Acts 13:8-10) and David numbering
Israel's army (1 Chronicles 21:1).
- Can
be used as false apostles and deceitful
workers (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).
- Satan's
forces can speak through Christians (Matthew
16:22-23). Satan spoke through Peter,
tempting Jesus to avoid suffering and
death.
- Satan
may enter people to influence them directly
(Judas - Luke 22:3, Ananias – Acts
5:3)
- Sin
nature: Our own sin nature can be our
worst enemy. Evil powers may try to manipulate
us by appealing to our sin nature and
use sinful desires to war against us (1
Peter 2:11-12, James 1:14-15).
Communication:
- Native
kingdom language is deception. Satan is
the father of lies (John 8:44).
- Satan's
Forces are able to communicate individually
and as a group. This is illustrated in
the examples of the legion of demons in
the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:2-8) and
the demon returning with 7 other demons
to his host in Matthew 12:43-45.
- Evil
words: Can be used to promote destruction,
fear, doubt, blasphemy and curses (James
3:6,10-12). One example of how evil forces
can use evil words is found in Ecclesiastes
10:20. Solomon talked about how a "bird
of the air" could reveal a person's
evil thoughts and words spoken privately
to other people. The Amplified Bible refers
to a "winged creature," which
could suggest a fallen angel or demon
that intercepts thoughts and words.
- Idle
words: can provide a foothold for affliction
and judgment of the speaker (Matthew 12:36-37)
- Blocking:
Evil angels attempted to block God's angel
from bringing the answer to Daniel's prayer
in Daniel 10:13,20.
- Counterfeit
spiritual gifts: evil forces may use counterfeit
spiritual manifestations to accomplish
their purposes. Divination, necromancy,
witchcraft, fortune telling, palm reading
and sorcery are all examples of manifestations
of evil power (see occult sin page for
more info and refs).
Future:
Jesus Christ will crush Satan's kingdom
completely, and the last enemy to be destroyed
will be death (1 Corinthians 15:24-26).
The
Archangel
Michael will defeat Satan and hurl him down
from heaven (Revelation 12:9). Next, he
will be bound by an angel and thrown into
the pit for 1000 years (Revelation 20:1-3).
Finally, Satan and his forces will be cast
into the lake of fire permanently (Revelation
20:10,14-15). Jesus
Christ
will then triumphantly hand over the kingdom
to God the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24-25).
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