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This free study is part of a 10 part series called

"The War Against Satan and his Servants"
To view more free Studies in this series, click here

3. Know Your Enemy

The War Against Satan and Demons
When World War One broke out, the War
Ministry in London, England, sent a coded
message to one of the British outposts in
the inaccessible areas of British controlled
Africa, saying, "War declared, arrest all
enemy aliens in your district." The prompt
reply came back, "Have arrested ten
Germans, six Belgians, four Frenchmen, two
Italians, three Austrians, and an American.
Please advise immediately who we are at
war with."
In this study, we will take a closer look at
Satan and the demonic forces against
which the Church is waging war. We need
to know who the enemy is and his schemes
if we are to be successful in the ght
against him. In the book, The Art of War,
written by Sun Tzu, he said, “If you know
your enemy and you know yourself, you
need not  fear the results of a hundred
battles. If you know yourself but not the
enemy, for every victory gained you will
also su er a defeat. If you know neither the
enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in
every battle.”[1] If that is true of earthly wars,
even more so is it true of the spiritual ght
that every Christian is involved.

Spiritual Warfare
In the last two studies, we saw that there
are very real unseen enemies and a battle
in which we are engaged, whether we
realize it or not. We also began to see who
we are and the authority and power that
God has given us through the cross of
Christ. The Lord has not left us unequipped
for this battle. He has given us all that we
need to take our place in the ght and be
victorious against our foe. As Christians, we
are called to wage war against the enemy
whether we see ourselves as spiritual
warriors or not If we are to ful ll the Great
warriors or not. If we are to ful ll the Great
Commission to preach the gospel to the
world and to make disciples of all nations,
we will have opposition. Although there are
di erent gifts and callings in the Body of
Christ, we are all drawn into this cosmic
con ict and called to be overcomers,
victorious with Christ. No one is left out of
the battle.
Question 1. How do we practically align
ourselves with Christ in the battle? Can you
think of ways that you are doing battle day
by day?
3For though we live in the world, we do not
wage war as the world does. 4The weapons
we ght with are not the weapons of the
world. On the contrary, they have divine
power to demolish strongholds. 5We
demolish arguments and every pretension
that sets itself up against the knowledge of
God, and we take captive every thought to
make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians
10:3-5).
We, the church, have been given spiritual
weapons. These weapons are not guns and
bombs, swords, and pistols; they are not
weapons of the world. We cannot ght a
spiritual war against unseen spiritual beings
with weapons of the world. Our weapons
have divine power to demolish strongholds
or forti cations of the enemy. Paul, the
apostle, sees the Christian as advancing on
enemy forti cations where he is rmly
entrenched. The church of God is on the
attack!
 
Empowered by our God, the Church is not
deterred at the seemingly impregnable
walls and the size and power of the enemy.
The bastions of sin and error are battered
down. Every knee shall bow to our God! We
should not think that these strongholds of
the mind, di erent philosophies of thought
set up by our enemy in distant lands, are
our only opposition. We don't have to look
far to see that in our own country, in our
own family, and our minds, there have been
forti cations set up by teachings that we
have received and, at the time we received
them, we were oblivious to the destructive
capability against our soul.
 
Where are these strongholds? In 1970,
cartoonist Walt Kelly famously made a
poster with the slogan, “We have met the
enemy and he is us” If we are unaware of
enemy, and he is us. If we are unaware of
the battle in the area of our mind, we will
nd it di cult to stand against our enemy.
Be careful of your thought life. “Above all
else, guard your heart, for everything you
do ows from it” (Proverbs 4:23). Your heart,
a picture of the central core of your inner
life, your spirit, is guarded by your mind. Be
careful of the images that Satan would like
to sow into the good soil of your heart. Take
captive every thought that arises in
opposition to the truth of God’s Word.
Does that mean we should never ght with
guns and bullets against evil men that rise
to destroy us? Should we only pray? No, if
we had never resisted Adolf Hitler of Nazi
Germany, demonic evil forces would have
gained control over nations, taken away our
religious freedoms, and sought to end the
worship of God in every place where that
evil regime took hold in this world. The
church is called to intercessory prayer to
overcome the spiritual forces that oppose
the forward movement of the church to
preach the Gospel to every creature. In any
battle with an enemy, one should always
seek to know his enemy. Knowing the
enemy’s plans and schemes will help us to
overcome him.

Satan’s Hierarchy of Evil

Inhabiting this unseen spiritual realm that
intersects with Earth are at least four
di erent categories of spiritual beings that
are at war against God’s creation and
kingdom:
 
10Finally, 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 esh 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 (Ephesians 6:10-12).
 
Paul the Apostle was careful that the
Church is aware against whom we are
ghting. He tells us of four categories of evil
beings. First of all, though, he says that we
are to stand against the devil’s schemes or
methods (v.11). As in American Football, the
coach is standing beside the eld with his
playbook. Through his hierarchy of evil,
Satan is continually trying di erent plays
against you, although we should not call
against you, although we should not call
them "plays." There is nothing playful about
his strategies and schemes. He observes
your weaknesses and attacks you in such
areas.
 
There is a fable that Satan's agents were
failing in their various attempts to draw into
sin a holy man who lived as a hermit in the
desert of northern Africa. Every e ort had
met with failure; so Satan, angered with the
incompetence of his subordinates, became
personally involved in the case. He said,
"the reason you have failed is  that your
methods are too crude for one such as this.
Watch this." He then approached the holy
man with great care and whispered in his
ear, "your brother has just been made
Bishop of Alexandria." Instantly the holy
man's face showed that Satan had been
successful: a great scowl formed over his
mouth and his eyes tightened up. "Envy,"
said Satan, "is often our best weapon
against those who seek holiness."[2]
 
Do not underestimate the knowledge that
he and his evil angels and demons have
gained over thousands of years as they
have watched people go about their daily
lives. He knows how the human mind
thinks. Remember, Satan is not limited to an
earthly life of seventy or so years; he has
been at this from the very beginning.
 
The word translated into English as struggle
(v.12) is the Greek word palē, which means
to wrestle swaying back and forth. It carries
the thought of two individuals in hand-to-
hand combat, each trying di erent
maneuvers to pin the other into submission.
Paul says that our struggle or wrestling is
not against esh and blood. People are
never our enemy. The enemy will use
people against us when given an
opportunity, but the Christian is not to
retaliate against that person. It is not esh
and blood that we ght against; the ght is
against unseen spiritual forces in the
heavenly realms. Being aware of these
things is essential for us to understand. In
the church, your brother (or sister) is never
your enemy. See opposition for what it is.
The REAL battle is with the enemy of our
souls. The Lord will give you the strategy to
overcome evil with good. Ask God for His
plan.
 
John the Apostle wrote:
We know that we are children of God, and
that the whole world is under the control of
the evil one (1 John 5:19).
 
I take it that John is saying that Satan has so
structured his evil forces that countries,
regions, towns, villages, and yes, even
people, have some level of enemy
personality at work to control what goes on
under each enemy sphere of in uence. In
referencing the whole world under the
control of Satan, John the Apostle is talking
about the world system that is set up by
Satan against God. Those of us who are
walking with Christ is out from his authority
and control (Colossians 1:13). The only way
he can in uence us is in the area of our
minds if we will allow him. Let’s now take a
closer look at the Greek words used by
Paul to describe the four categories of evil
spoken of in Ephesians 6:12:
 
1) The Rulers. The Greek word used by Paul
is Archē. This word means principalities or
chief rulers. It speaks of beings of the
highest-ranking in Satan’s kingdom. The
word also implies beginning—perhaps
those angels  colluding with Satan in his
rebellion against God. This word speaks of
dark angels of a position so high that these
spiritual rulers confer with Satan himself
and rule over nations and geographical
territories to bring about the goals of these
enemies of God. We can compare them to
Hitler’s top men that formed the Nazi Party
before the Second World War, men that sat
down with Hitler, and took action to
dominate most of Europe. In the book of
Daniel, there is an example of an evil
spiritual prince that ruled over the whole
territory of Persia. I believe that every nation
has an evil prince such as the one
mentioned.
The context of the passage is that of an
angel of God sent to the prophet Daniel to
help him understand a revelation given to
the nation of Israel (Daniel 10:1). He spent
time in partial fasting and prayer for twenty-
one days while he sought the Lord for the
understanding of the vision, referenced in
chapter eleven. An evil spiritual ruler called
the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted
and delayed the angel in getting the
answer to Daniels prayer through the
unseen realm to Daniel. Finally, the good
angel gets through to Daniel and speaks to
him:
 
12Then he continued, "Do not be afraid,
Daniel. Since the rst day that you set your
mind to gain understanding and to humble
yourself before your God, your words were
heard, and I have come in response to
them. 13But the prince of the Persian
kingdom resisted me twenty-one days.
Then Michael, one of the chief princes,
came to help me, because I was detained
there with the king of Persia” (Daniel 10:12-
13).
 
Question 2. This passage of Scripture says
that, in this case, an answer to prayer was
delayed by an evil spiritual being with the
rank of a prince. Do you think that a delay in
response to prayer has happened to you?
Share your thoughts and examples.
 
The Scripture says that the evil prince's
dominion was over the geographical area
of Persia, now present-day Iran. It was only
after the archangel Michael intervened that
the angel got through to Daniel with the
message for which he was waiting. Since
the cross and the giving of the Spirit to the
church, the Church is given authority to
resist and oppose evil spiritual forces
through cooperating with God in prayer.
That spirit is still there in Iran, whispering
into the ears of those in power to do what it
can to destroy American and Jewish
people and those that serve the God of
Israel. The leaders of Iran were held under
the domination of an evil angel, the Persian
prince who exerts control in that part of the
world through thoughts, philosophies, and
religion.
 
2) The Authorities. The Greek word is
Exousia. This word means authority. It is
delegated authority from higher up the
chain of command (Matthew 8:9). It speaks
of a spirit that is given permission,
capability, right, and authority to act. Using
the analogy of Hitler's men, this would be
like his generals directing the eld of battle,
men who were given commands from
above, and exercised that authority on the
battle eld. These evil spirits take their
orders from those that are high in Satan's
chain of command. They apply their power
by fear of death and domination through sin
and ignorance of Satan's ways. Perhaps, an
“authority” would be a spirit that holds sway
over a city in which collectively a body of
people have given themselves to a
p p g
particular deception or sin by an evil spirit
“authority” that exerts its hold, an evil spirit
such as Moroni, the spirit that spoke to
Joseph Smith and started Mormonism. A
spirit such as this uses religious deception
and holds sway over the city of Salt Lake
City in Utah. Such a strong spirit could also
be a “principality.” It is di cult to know. It is
wise for the church in a city or town to
research for what the city is known to
understand how to engage the spirit over
an area. One should then seek God’s
wisdom and guidance in pulling down the
stronghold or spiritual forti cation for which
the city is known. It is not enough to pray
against a spirit, but e ective spiritual
warfare is waged by doing acts that are the
opposite of how the evil spirit's control is
manifested in the city. Our actions
themselves are useful in combat. In simple
obedience, we are ghting the good ght
when we live our lives going against the
ow of the evil one.
 
3)  The Powers of this Dark World. This
phrase has the Greek
word Kosmokratōr. The rst part of the word
is kosmos, translated into English as “world.”
The second half of the word is  krateō,
which means "to hold." It reads, "world
holders of this dark world." The picture is of
evil spirits that hold the physical world
under the grip of darkness by an assault on
the mind. I believe that Satan has given
these spirits charge over belief systems
that tie men’s minds to religious works,
false gods, and systems of thought that are
opposed to the worship of the Lord. These
spirits don't so much control territory; their
in uence is mostly through systems of
thought that dominate  people's minds to
demonic in uence. Jesus said, “You will
know the truth, and the truth will set you
free” (John 8:32).
 
Question 3. How do you think these spirits
manifest themselves on planet Earth?   Of
what examples can you imagine?
 
These spirits promote belief systems such
as Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam,
Communism, Secular Humanism, to name
just a few. The evil spiritual powers also use
men and women in educational elds, men
such as Charles Darwin with the Theory of
Evolution. They also work in the cultures of
nations, such as the gaming industry that
are driving young people ever deeper into
 gy gp p p
darkness. Then, there is the movie industry
in Hollywood, promoting ever-increasing
incremental stages of fear and sex. There is
also the music industry. You don't have to
search extensively on Google or YouTube to
nd examples of musicians who have sold
their souls to the devil for success and
notoriety. Then, there are religious spirits
that bind people to try to earn salvation in
the Christian religion or Islam, or Buddhism,
instead of receiving the gift of life from
Christ. Religious spirits are very powerful
and deceptive. These spirits hold a lot of
people all over the world in bondage, trying
to please God by religious works. Paul
wrote further about the in uence of these
particular spirits, the dark world powers
when he wrote his second letter to the
church at Corinth:
The god of this age has blinded the minds
of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the
light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,
who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4).
 
Satan himself (the god of this age) is the
one accused of blinding people’s minds,
but I tend to believe that he is the one
directing the powers of this dark world that
in uence people’s minds. 
 
4) The Spiritual Forces of Evil in the
Heavenly Realms. These can be compared
to your basic foot soldiers. These spiritual
forces are demons of varying lower ranks
that oppose and obstruct men and women
from searching and nding the truth in this
world. These demons target not only non-
Christians but also hinder the spiritual
growth of God’s people after they commit
their lives to Christ. Every man or woman of
God, I believe, is plagued by a demonic
spirit continually looking for ways to
weaken and destroy the testimony of the
believer. The principal weapon of these
forces of evil is to sow destructive thoughts
in the seedbed of people's minds. Negative
evil thoughts, if we allow them to, can
germinate and grow and become attitudes
and habits designed to enslave people and
bring them into bondage to Satan. The
higher the level of in uence you have in the
Kingdom of God, the higher the rank and
cleverness of the evil spirit assigned to you.
The enemy also assesses your potential to
damage his kingdom. If he thinks that you
are a threat to the realm of darkness, he will
oppose you to stop you from ever
becoming a challenge. If you have ever had
it in your heart to be a warrior for God, don’t
be surprised if Satan comes at you with
strategies to try to weaken your potential
and hamstring your walk before you get to
run for God. Be strong in the power of God’s
might, not your own—pray through every
opposition to your growth in Christ. Be
diligent in the things of God.
 
Some attacks may be more than thoughts,
and they can go deeper into oppression.
You cannot stop the birds of the air ying
about your head, but you can prevent them
from making a nest in your hair. If we buy
into the thoughts and mull over them, they
can become feelings, such as depression,
discouragement, frustration, bitterness, and
resentment among many other things. You
may nd that the enemy's strategies of
attack against you may change, as you
grow older and more mature in Christ. I saw
that in my early days as a Christian, the
enemy would plant a thought, such as “You
don’t really believe in God, do you?” As I got
older, that thought would no longer come
to me, for the enemy knew he was wasting
his time sowing that seed thought. I had
come to a stable, logical, Bible-centered
belief that there must be a God ruling and
reigning over the Earth. I had thoroughly
searched and weighed the evidence and
come to reliable conclusions on which to
base my faith.
 
Question 4. Have you ever been aware of
spiritual warfare in your Christian life? How
have you been e ective in overcoming
negative thoughts?
 
A Disarmed Enemy
You may not be aware of being in a battle,
but let me assure you, if you are a disciple
of Christ endeavoring to do God's will on
planet Earth, you are in a ght whether you
like it or not (2 Timothy 3:12). Some
expositors believe that Revelation 12:4
indicates that Satan has won over to his
side a third of the stars of heaven. The
belief is that the stars are angelic beings
that are now called demons. I don’t know if
that is the proper interpretation of that
passage, but I do believe that there are a
multitude of demons that inhabit the
unseen realm. They are structured in such a
way to do the maximum damage that they
can to the Kingdom of God. We need not
fear these demons and evil spirits sent
against us because Christ has triumphed
over them by the cross.
 
And having disarmed the powers and
authorities, he made a public spectacle of
them, triumphing over them by the cross
(Colossians 2:15).
 
The Word of God is very plain about the
power that lies within those who are born-
again of the Spirit. The Scripture says, “The
one who is in you is greater than the one
who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Who is in
us? Christ Jesus has taken up residence in
our hearts when we receive the gift of
eternal life. In a later session, we will look at
the authority and power Christ has given us
to frustrate the plans of the evil one. “I have
given you the authority to trample on
snakes and scorpions and to overcome all
the power of the enemy; nothing will harm
you” (Luke 10:19). Peter assures us in his rst
letter that Christ has conquered all the
power of the enemy and sat down
alongside the Father in the throne room,
and enemy powers are under His feet.
 
Who has gone into heaven and is at the
right hand of God, angels and authorities
and powers having been made subject to
Him (1 Peter 3:22 emphasis mine).
 
Good angels were already subject to Him
before His victory at Calvary’s tree. The
angels mentioned in the above passage are
evil angels. We have learned that this world
system is in uenced by  demonic forces
under the control of Satan and that they
in uence what happens in the world by
using  esh and blood individuals. What is
the church to do against such forces? In
some way that I cannot fully explain, you
and I who are Christians are seated in the
heavenly realms with Christ, even though at
the same time we are walking on this Earth.
Christ is sitting on the throne far above
every authority, power, and dominion, and
because of our relationship to Christ, we
also are seated with Him, exercising His
authority in the world through prayer. Paul
explains this place of authority in these
words:
 
18I pray also that the eyes of your heart
may be enlightened in order that you may
know the hope to which he has called you,
the riches of his glorious inheritance in the
i t d hi i bl t
saints,5and his incomparably great power
for us who believe. That power is like the
working of his mighty strength, 20which he
exerted in Christ when he raised him from
the dead and seated him at his right hand
in the heavenly realms, 21far above all
rule and authority, power and dominion,
and every title that can be given, not only in
the present age but also in the one to
come. 22And God placed all things under
his feet and appointed him to be head over
everything for the church, 23which is his
body, the fullness of him who lls
everything in every way (Ephesians 1:18-23).
 
6And God raised us up with Christ and
seated us with him in the heavenly realms
in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming
ages he might show the incomparable
riches of his grace, expressed in his
kindness to us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians
2:6-7).
 
How do we become useful in our ght
against the evil one? How do we become a
formidable force in the kingdom of God?
We have established that every one of us is
amid a spiritual battle whether we are
aware of this or not. Also, we know that we
have been given the authority in Christ and
the powerful weapon of prayer in the name
of Jesus Christ. There are some basic 101
principles we need to be aware of to be
e ective.
 
1. Know who you are in Christ. Are you
convinced of the authority of Christ?
Don't try and wage warfare in your
strength. Rely on His power and take
direction from the Holy Spirit.
 
2. We are to agree with the Word of God.
In this world, you will nd that it is
becoming more and more unpopular to
live your life in  obedience  to  the Word
of God. The Word of God is consistent,
and it does not change. The truth that is
in God's Word should shape our
thinking and our decisions. Learn the
truth in God's Word, and in applying
that truth, you will nd yourself on the
right side of the spiritual con ict,
regardless of what others think of you.
God’s Word, Scripture tells us, is
powerful and sharper than a two-
edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). We will
talk more about this later.
 
A ith th H l S i it i kl E
 3. Agree with the Holy Spirit quickly. Every
time you exercise self-control instead
of losing your temper, every time you
choose to forgive instead of harboring
bitterness, and every time you decide
to consider other’s needs before your
own and make unsel sh decisions, you
are training yourself for battle and
becoming a formidable warrior. You
cannot ght the enemy while at the
same time giving him ground in your
own life. If, however, you are aware of
the battle in your mind and your own
life and are submitting to the Lordship
of Christ, you will grow in your ability to
exercise Christ's authority and be
e ective in seeing the Kingdom of God
made manifest in our world and
overcoming the enemy.
 
4. See the possibilities. What areas of your
life do you see the enemy in ltrating?
Do you need to be more active in this
spiritual battle for members of your
family or friends? The enemy would
seek to blind us to possibilities or make
us think that we have to accept the way
things are, but if we look at things from
God’s perspective and in agreement
with His Word, we can start to do battle
in these situations! Do not accept
defeat, but allow God to enlarge your
vision of what He wants to do in your
life! Ask God to help you see the
possibilities and exercise your faith in
Him and His Word to see a change in
your own life, your family, and beyond.
The forward advance of God’s will and
purpose is warfare, and God is for you! 
Every time you draw close to the battle
lines in prayer, you are waging war. The
beautiful thing is that we can proclaim
the victory Christ has already won on
our behalf.  If God is for us, who can be
against us?  
 
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for the work of
Christ on the cross in delivering me from
Satan's dominion. Grant me a growing
sense of the power and authority that I
have been given to overcome and resist the
enemy's attacks on the lives of my family,
my friends, and myself. Amen.
 
Keith Thomas
Email: [email protected]  
Website: www.groupbiblestudy.com
 
 
[1] http://www.artofwarquotes.com
[2] Edited by Michael Green, 1500
Illustrations for Biblical Preaching,
Published in 1982 by Baker Book House,
Grand Rapids, Mich. Page 121.

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