This professor believed Satan did not perform any kind of supernatural activities in the world today. His students, who had worked in third world settings, snickered under their breath. They agreed he should live for a month in the places where they ministered then see if he changed his belief about the devil and demons. Two extreme teachings exist concerning Satan and demons. One extreme claims he is only an influence and not a real being. He is not something with which they should be concerned. The opposite perspective originates from people who become obsessed with demonology and see a ‘demon behind every bush’. Christians in this category often spend more time focused on the devil than they do on God. The balanced reality is the devil and demons are spiritual beings and do exist. They are enemies of God and actively wage war against all believers. We should never make demons the focus of our Christian walk; however, we must understand the methods Satan uses to deceive the world, and how we battle against these attacks.
Satan’s greatest battleground is our minds. As the father of lies, he deceives people so they believe untrue teaching about God. One of his avenues is philosophical worldviews. First, he is accomplishing his purpose as the world moves in the direction that there is no God and people assert they are atheists. Yet, Satan is not an atheist. He knows God exist. Job writes the devil has stood in the presence of God. Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come” (Job 1:6)? In the same vein of thought neither is the devil an agnostic or one who is unsure of the existence of God. Even demons, Satan’s workers, know God exists. You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder (Jas 2:19).
Since the human mind is Satan’s battleground, he has saturated our public educational systems with the teaching of secular humanism. In its simplest form humanist says, “Man is the measure of all things.” Most humanists do not believe God exists and reject religion and the supernatural. Satan utilizes this and deceives people that, since there is no God, man must reach his full potential through reason. This leaves people seeking to define their own meaning in life. Sounds a bit like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. They reasoned the serpent was telling them truth and they could reach a higher potential without God by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The truth is Satan is not a secular humanist. He knows God made man to depend on Him and He has a purpose for every person who becomes a believer in Christ.
Deists are those who believe God created the universe, put natural laws and principles in place, then abandoned it to operate on its own—like winding a watch. (Note SW, Jan 6, 2013). They believe that after creation, God never, nor will He ever, intervene in the affairs of the universe or man. Think of all the results if this were true. Miracles would not be possible because a miracle is God overruling the normal laws of nature and performing some supernatural action. Prayer requests would be meaningless. If the laws of nature control everything and God does not interact with the created universe then prayer would accomplish nothing. Satan is not a Deist, although he tries convicting people this is true, he knows it is a lie. He fights us in prayer bringing doubt that God, can or will change our situation. If God had not intervened, then Jesus could not have been divine nor did He rise from the dead. Neither could the Bible be the inspired Word of God. Satan knows prayer can change the most hopeless situation. He knows Jesus is the divine Son of God died, and God raised Him from the dead.
Put this all together. If there is no God or He has no part in world affairs, this leaves humans to create their own meaning. Then they die with no further existence. So, what is the purpose of life? People begin believing that life has no intrinsic meaning or value. Life is meaningless, hopeless, and futile. We call this worldview nihilism. Satan is not a nihilist. Although his future is hopeless (Rev 20:10), he knows believers have hope, value, and meaning. We can see this hopelessness influencing people every time there is a senseless killing in schools, malls, colleges, etc. It is someone trying to find meaning and recognition even if it is only ‘15 minutes of fame’ on the evening news.
One of Satan’s greatest deceptions today is that all religions are equal and get you to heaven. Yet, Satan knows there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name [Jesus] under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (Act 4:12). God intervened and gave us His Word. Satan knows every word is truth. It must be our guide in this confused world. Satan is not all he claims to be.
Sustaining Word for the Week: All believers have value, meaning, hope, and purpose. Stand in the victory Christ gained when He defeated Satan. Know the truth of God’s word and live by it in a deceived and confused world.