How Satan Operates
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Why We Need To Be Aware
(2 Corinthians 2:11 NKJV) lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
(Ephesians 6:11 NKJV) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Accusation
(Revelation 12:10-11 NKJV) Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. {11} "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
(Zechariah 3:1-2 NKJV) Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. {2} And the LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?"
Satan accuses in four different directions:
Us to God – accusing us before the Lord as with Joshua above. To this Paul replies:
(Romans 8:33-34 NKJV) Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. {34} Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
God to Us – Satan accuses God of being unfair or slow or inadequate and tries to get us to resent God. See Psalm 37 and 73. Satan also accuses the Bible, certain doctrines and the Church to us.
Us To One Another – Satan tries to create division by exaggerating hurts and slights and differences. That is why we should be always forgiving one another. (2 Corinthians 2:10-11 NKJV) Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, {11} lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Us To Ourselves – Satan tries to get us to believe that we are wretched, useless, unloved by God, doomed and tells us that we have committed the unforgivable sin. By doing this he discourages us and defeats us. See Romans 5-8 for an answer to this.
Rumors, gossip, accusation, division, enmity and strife are all due to the accusing work of Stan and must be rebuked, confessed, and forsaken.
A predictable path is followed if things are left alone:
Resolve Resent Reject Revenge
If the issue is not resolved, people will resent one another (or God), then resentment over time will turn into rejection and they will distance themselves from each other, finally they will take revenge in some form. You must therefore solve issues through love, forbearance, patience, repentance, forgiveness and mutual acceptance of one another.
Unless we resolve our relationships we will “give place to the devil”:
(Ephesians 4:25-29 NKJV) Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. {26} "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, {27} nor give place to the devil. {28} Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. {29} Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
Unless our life is together Satan will ensnare us with many accusations and reproaches: (1 Timothy 3:-7 NKJV) } Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
Creating Spiritual Blindness
(Mark 4:15 NKJV) "And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.
(2 Corinthians 4:3-4 NKJV) But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, {4} whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
Hindering Servants Of God
(1 Thessalonians 2:18 NKJV) Therefore we wanted to come to you; even I, Paul, time and again; but Satan hindered us.
Steal, Kill and Destroy (also see Job chapters 1&2)
(John 10:10 NKJV) "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
(John 8:44 NKJV) "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Schemes
(Isaiah 32:7 NKJV) Also the schemes of the schemer are evil; He devises wicked plans To destroy the poor with lying words, Even when the needy speaks justice.
(Daniel 8:23 NKJV) "And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes.
Worldly Agendas
(Matthew 16:23 NKJV) But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."
Devouring The Weak, Vulnerable, The Unwatchful And The Gullible
(1 Peter 5:8 NKJV) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
(Revelation 12:4 NKJV) His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born.
Persecution
(Revelation 2:10 NKJV) "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Satan Operates From a Throne Or Power Base
(Revelation 2:13 NKJV) "I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
By Unleashing A Flood …of Persecution, Lies etc
(Revelation 12:15-16 NKJV) So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. {16} But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
Temptation
(Matthew 4:1 NKJV) Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devi.
(1 Corinthians 7:5 NKJV) Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
(1 Timothy 5:14-15 NKJV) Therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully. {15} For some have already turned aside after Satan.
Lawlessness and Disobedience
(Ephesians 2:2 NKJV) in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
(2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 NKJV) For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. {8} And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
Spiritual Deception
(Matthew 24:24 NKJV) "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
(2 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV) But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
(2 Corinthians 11:14-15 NKJV) And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. {15} Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
(2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 NKJV) The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, {10} and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
(1 Timothy 4:1-3 NKJV) Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, {2} speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, {3} forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
(2 Timothy 3:13 NKJV) But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
Deceiving Leaders
(Revelation 12:9 NKJV) So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
(Revelation 16:13-14 NKJV) And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. {14} For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
(Revelation 20:7-10 NKJV) Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison {8} and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. {9} They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. {10} The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Theological Error
(2 Timothy 2:23-26 NKJV) But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. {24} And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, {25} in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, {26} and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
Pride and Self-Exaltation
(1 Timothy 3:6-7 NKJV) not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. {7} Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.
(1 Chronicles 21:1 NKJV) Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.
Betrayal By False Brethren And Offended Christians
(Luke 22:3 NKJV) Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.
(Matthew 24:9-10 NKJV) "Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. {10} "And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
(Galatians 2:4 NKJV) And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage),
(Matthew 13:38-39 NKJV) "The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. {39} "The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.
(Revelation 2:9 NKJV) "I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Hard Testing
(Luke 22:31-32 NKJV) And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. {32} "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."
Financial Dishonesty And Greed
(Acts 5:3 NKJV) But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?
(1 Timothy 6:9-10 NKJV) But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. {10} For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.