Know your enemy before you enter into battle

BY Argie Simonis

Obviously this whole message concerns the enemy of our soul, the devil. As I have mentioned in my other messages, satan is a defeated foe who is unfortunately overestimated by many people out of ignorance. He is a deceiver, a fraud, the father of lies (John 8:44) and the only power he has is the one we give him. 

There is no need to focus too much on him, but it is good to know the enemy we have to face before we enter the battle.

So let's start with his origins first. 

Most Christians believe that God created satan. And yet this is not true. God created Lucifer. I hope that after the description and explanation that I will give you, your point of view will change completely. You will realize that he is not as powerful as you think, and that he can do nothing without the cooperation of one person.

I believe that God created everything, including Lucifer. He created Lucifer as a powerful anointed angel. Nevertheless, Lucifer was not satisfied with this and did not remain the anointed Cherub that God created.

Let's read Ezekiel's description:

" You have been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was your 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 your tabrets and of your pipes was prepared in you in the day that you were created.

You are the anointed cherub that covers; and I have set you so: you were on the holy mountain of God; you have walked up and down in the middle of the stones of fire." Ezekiel 28:13-14

From this description it is probable that Lucifer was the leader of the worship of the Heavenly army of angels!

Many believe that Lucifer took a third of the angels and rebelled against God in Heaven, where he was defeated and then thrown to earth. All of this is taken from a single verse in Revelation 12:4:

"And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth..." Rev. 12:4

It is good to be a little more careful not to rush into whole doctrines based on just one verse without confirmation from other scriptures in the Bible.

I believe that Satan was originally on this earth in the Garden of Eden as Lucifer. He was the number one angel of God sent to earth to bless Adam and Eve.

There is a reference in the Bible for angels:

"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Hebrews 1:14

Lucifer was not sent to earth to tempt Adam and Eve, but to bless them. He was an angelic being on a divine mission, sent to be their protector and to serve them. It was there in the Garden of Eden that Lucifer committed his transgression against God.

Let's continue reading from Ezekiel:

"You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, till iniquity was found in you." Ezekiel 28:15

At this point let's use our logic. Is it possible that God sent satan to Earth to tempt man to see how he would react?

Is there a father who would throw his child in the lion cage to see the reaction? That would be completely an irresponsible criminal act. No father would do that to his child and much less God the Father to Adam and Eve!

So what did made Lucifer turn against God?

Lucifer saw God do something for man that He did not do for any of His other creations. When the Lord created man, not only did He create him in His image and likeness, but He gave them unconditional and absolute power on Earth:

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Gen. 1:26

This power was given without any strings attached. God never told them 

"as long as you follow my advice and as long as you do what I want you to do, I will let you rule the earth"

God spoke it and His Word was a covenant:

"My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." Psalm 89:34

God can not lie. The integrity of His Word is what keeps the whole universe together. Unlike us humans who have the right to change our minds, God will not violate His Word. When he told Adam and Eve that they had complete dominion, authority, and power to subdue and rule the earth, so it was.

"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power..." Hebrews 1:3

Lucifer understood very well the integrity of God's words and when he heard this, I believe that something inside him arose. He saw that Adam and Eve had something he wanted but did not have: They had unconditional power. In a way, they had become gods of this world, they could subdue it and rule over it.

In Psalms we read:

"The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth has he given to the children of men." Psalm 115:16

Although Lucifer may have been God's number one angel, he wanted more. He was unsatisfied, jealous and greedy. In fact he wanted to take the place of God.

Look at what Isaiah writes: 

"For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also on the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High." Isaiah 14:13-14

Lucifer realized that if he could deceive Adam and Eve into giving up their power willingly, he could become the god of this world. He could take the power given to mankind, use it to overthrow the kingdom of God, and receive the worship and glory he wanted.

Paul writes in his letter to the Romans:

"Know you not, that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?" Romans 6:16

The moment Adam and Eve submitted themselves to Lucifer's lies, he became satan, the god of this world. 

Of course the first question you will ask is: 

Satan deceived them. Shouldn't God have stopped him?

See what Paul writes to Timothy:

"And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." 1Tim. 2:14

Adam was not deceived. He knew what he was doing.

I believe that the moment Lucifer disobeyed God's command and deceived Eve, he lost his angelic power. 

Satan now has no power or authority of his own, but only what man gave him after he deceived him.

This is the most important statement of this message and I hope it brings light in the dark areas of many of you.

Think about what this means and the application it can have to us as believers. When we resist the devil and fight against him, satan has no power or authority over us. He only has the one we give him because of the ignorance we have on this area. In short, due to our ignorance, we cooperate with him and authorize him to have access to our lives.

Satan roams like a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour (1 Pet. 5:8)

He is looking for people who will open the door to him through things like lust, disobedience, strife, unforgiveness, fear and more. When we submit ourselves to these things, we enable him to gain access to our lives in order to steal, kill, and destroy us (John 10:10).

Until you understand the power and authority God has given you, you will never be able to defeat the devil, receive healing, prosper, and live a life of victory. Knowing your power is the key! 

I hope you were blessed with this message. Soon I will deal with the power we have as children of God. This teaching is an absolute necessity for every believer.

Amen.