THE ACTIVITIES OF DEMONS
Demons follow orders given by their prince,
Satan. We can summarize the activities of demons by noting that they are always
directed against God, His plan, and His people.
Demons are used by Satan to attack the Word of God, your worship of God,
your walk with God, and your work for God.
In Chapter Eight you will learn details of
the enemy's strategy in spiritual warfare.
Satan uses his demons to accomplish this strategy throughout the
world. Demons extend Satan's power by
promoting deception and wickedness. They
affect individuals, governments, nations, and the world system. They promote rebellion and slander both God
and men. They promote idolatry, false
doctrines, and blind men and women to the truth of the Gospel.
These demons attack unbelievers driving them
to commit terrible evil acts, to murder, injure, commit suicide, etc. They affect the mind with emotional problems
and the body with physical infirmities.
Demons attack believers by temptation, deception, depression, and
oppression. They try to keep you in bondage to habits and fear. They accuse and slander you and create
division among the people of God. They
target your spiritual walk with God and fight against the Word of God, the
worship of God, and your work for God.
They also attack your physical body.
Unbelievers are defenseless against the
attacks of demonic powers, but believers have powerful spiritual weapons and
strategies for dealing with this mighty spiritual force of evil. You will learn about these weapons and
strategies as you continue this study of spiritual warfare.
ENEMY
TERRITORY
There is only one enemy, but as you have
learned in previous lessons he works through a mighty force of demons. As the Key Verse of this chapter reveals,
Satan not only uses demons but he also works through the evil forces of the
flesh and the world:
Love not the world, neither the things that
are in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father,
but is of the world. (I John 2:15-16)
PART
ONE: THE WORLD
The word "world" has different
meanings in Scripture. It can mean the
earth or universe in its physical order.
It is used to refer to Gentiles which are all nations other than the
Jewish nation.
But the word "world" also is used
to refer to the present condition of human affairs in opposition to God. It is
the system that runs the inhabited earth, a system that is opposed to God and
the Lord Jesus Christ. It is this meaning that is used in this lesson. The "world" is the corporate group
of flesh-centered individuals who make up the human race. Flesh, in this context, is not referring to
the actual flesh of your body. It is a term which describes the basic evil
human nature of man which is in willful rebellion against God.
As your enemy, the world is the whole
organized system of social, economic, materialistic, and religious philosophies
which have their expression through organizations, personalities, and
governments. It is not a specific
government, organization, or person, but the worldly system upon which these
are based. The world system is an
extension of man's fleshiness. It
provides an atmosphere, environment, and system which promotes fleshly
sins. It surrounds man with that which
appeals to his fleshly desires.
THE
PRINCE OF THE WORLD:
Satan is the "prince" or ruler of
the world system:
Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast
out. (John 12:31)
86
Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath
nothing in me. (John 14:30)
Satan is also called the god of this world:
In whom the god of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believed not... (II Corinthians 4:4)
The kingdoms of the world are presently
influenced by Satan. They are guided by Satanic philosophy and principles. They are flesh-centered and flesh-governed:
Again, the Devil taketh him up into an
exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the
glory of them;
And saith unto Him, All these things will I give thee, if thou
wilt fall down and worship me. (Matthew
4:8-9)
Some day they will become the kingdoms of our
Lord:
And the seventh angel sounded: and there were great voices in heaven saying,
The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His
Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.
(Revelation 11:15)
THE
REASON FOR THE CONDITION OF THE WORLD:
Sin is the reason for the present condition
of the world. When Adam and Eve were originally created by God, they were given
dominion over the world. This meant they
had control over the world, to guide its systems and inhabitants according to
the plan of God. When they sinned against God, they lost that dominion. (Genesis l-3)
When Jesus was crucified for the sins of all
mankind and resurrected from the dead, He reclaimed the world. He pronounced judgment on the spiritual
forces of evil:
And having spoiled principalities and powers,
He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:15)
Although Jesus reclaimed the world from the
power of the enemy, Satan does not yet acknowledge that claim. Satan still is at work in the world with his
evil powers. Satan will not acknowledge
the claims of Jesus over the kingdoms of the world until the final conflict
which you will study about in the last chapter of this course.
The present situation is similar to military
conditions that often occur in the natural world. A political or military power will take
control of a nation but their claims will not be acknowledged by rebel troops
within that nation. The rebel troops
continue to war throughout the country. They try to take possession of territory
not rightfully theirs and overpower the citizens. They
often use tactics of terror to accomplish
these purposes.
The situation in the spirit world is
similar. Jesus reclaimed dominion over
the world, the enemy, and his evil forces.
But the rebel troops of Satan still war throughout the world. They try to take possession of territory not
rightfully theirs and influence men and women for evil. This battle, which is
our "spiritual warfare," will continue until the final conflict.
THE
STRUCTURE OF THE WORLD:
The world structure is in direct opposition
to God, His plan, purposes, and people:
The Evil World System:
The present world system is evil:
Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might
deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our
Father. (Galatians 1:4)
The world system is without God:
...having no hope, and without God in the
world. (Ephesians 2:12)
There is much deception in the world to
ensnare believers to become part of the world system:
For many deceivers are entered into the
world...(II John 7)
The world is already judged and under
condemnation by God:
But when we are judged, we are chastened of
the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. (I Corinthians 11:32)
The Elements Of The World:
The "elements of the world" refer
to the elementary principles that govern the world. They lead to spiritual bondage:
Even so we, when we were children, were in
bondage under the elements of the world.
(Galatians 4:3)
The Rudiments Of The World:
These are the regulations on which the world
structure rests. They are different from
the principles upon which God structures His Kingdom:
Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the
rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to
ordinances. (Colossians 2:8,20)
The Spirit Of The World:
The spirit of the world is in direct
opposition to the Holy Spirit:
Now we have received, not the spirit of the
world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are
freely given to us of God. (I
Corinthians 2:12)
The Philosophy Of The World:
Philosophies are principles of
knowledge. Worldly philosophies are not
based on Christ:
Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of
the world, and not after Christ. (Colossians 2:8)
The Wisdom Of The World
Worldly wisdom is not God's wisdom:
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness
with God. (I Corinthians 3:19)
The Course Of The World:
The "course" of the world is the
cycle of the present world, its routine, the way in which it operates:
Wherefore in times past ye walked according
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. (Ephesians 2:2)
The Voices Of The World:
The many "voices" in the world are
contrary to the voice of God:
There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices
in the world, and none of them is without signification. (I Corinthians 14:10)
The Peace Of The World:
The peace of the world is temporary, fragile,
and sometimes deceptive:
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto
you: not as the world giveth give I unto
you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)
The Sorrow Of The World:
Godly sorrow differs from that of the world:
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to
salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh
death. (II Corinthians 7:10)
The Attitude Of The World:
The world hates God:
...Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with
God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of
God. (James 4:4)
The world hates believers:
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated
me before it hated you. If ye were of
the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world,
but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. (John 15:18-19)
Since the world is made up of flesh centered
individuals who hate believers, we need to learn more about this powerful force
called "the flesh."
PART
TWO: THE FLESH
The world is an evil social force of Satan
that works from the outside to attack believers. It is the corporate organization of fleshly
individuals. The flesh is an evil force working
from within the believer. The same "fleshly spirit" that operates in the world will operate in
your life if you allow it to do so. The
word "flesh" as used in Scripture can refer to the actual body of man
and beast. But this is not what we are
talking about when we use the word "flesh" in this lesson.
The Bible also uses the word
"flesh" to describe the basic sin nature of man. The flesh is the
center of willful defiance and rebellion against God:
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh)
dwelleth no good thing; for to will (to do good) is present with me; but how to
perform that which is good I find not.
For the good that I would I do not; but the
evil which I would not, that I do.
Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I
that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
(Romans 8:18-20)
The flesh is a compulsive inner force which
expresses itself in rebellion through sin.
It is this meaning of flesh which is used in this lesson. The words "carnal" and "old
man" are also used to describe the fleshly nature of man. All men have this basic, sinful, fleshly
nature:
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned. (Romans 5:12)
For all have sinned and come short of the
glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
THE
LUST OF THE FLESH:
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)
What is the lust of the flesh? First let us define the word
"lust." Lust is "strong
desire, soulish emotions, the natural tendency of man towards evil." The Bible warns that we should not lust after
evil things:
Now these things were our examples, to the
intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. (I Corinthians 10:6)
Lusting after evil things which will please
your fleshly nature is "lust of the flesh.” It is how Satan attacks from within. It is like a civil war within a nation, with
your spirit and flesh warring against each other.
HOW
LUST DEVELOPS:
Lust, or sinful desire, first enters through
the natural senses. The eye sees
something evil or the ear hears something wicked. A touch, a taste, or even a smell can even foster lust. This is
how Satan uses the environment of the world to tempt the flesh. These natural senses trigger an evil thought
or desire in the mind. This is
lust. The lustful thought is what tempts
you to do evil:
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted
with evil, neither tempteth He any man.
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn
away of his own lust, and enticed. (James 1:13-14)
Remember, God never tempts you. You are tempted when you are drawn by your
own sinful,
fleshly lusts. But you do not have to yield to this
temptation. God always provides a way of
escape:
There hath no temptation taken you but such
as is common to man: But God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way of escape that ye may be able to bear
it. (I Corinthians 10:13)
Since the mind is used to tempt the flesh,
Paul warns:
For to be carnally (fleshly) minded is death;
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against
God: for it is not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be. (Romans
8:7-8)
You will learn later how the mind is one of
the main battlefields of spiritual warfare.
THE
RESULTS OF LUST:
If you yield to lust, temptation results and
if you yield to temptation, it results in sin which leads to death:
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth
forth sin, and sin, when it is finished,
bringeth forth death. (James 1:15)
The world is corrupt because of lust:
...having escaped the corruption that is in
the world through lust. (II Peter 1:4)
Your flesh is corrupt because of lust:
That ye put off concerning the former
conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts...
(Ephesians 4:22)
THE
RELATIONSHIP OF THE SPIRIT TO THE FLESH:
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and
the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other; so
that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
(Galatians 5:17)
When you are saved and filled with the Holy
Spirit, that Spirit indwells your spirit.
The Holy Spirit in your spirit opposes the lusts of the flesh. Your flesh wars against your spirit and the
Spirit of God within you. The flesh entices you to sinful lusts. This is why you often cannot live the way you
desire to live.
Paul described this battle between the spirit
and the flesh in Romans chapter 7:
I find then a law, that when I would do good,
evil is present with me.
For I delight in the law of God after the
inward man (the spirit);
But I see another law in my members (the
flesh), warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin which is in my members.
(Romans 7:21-23)
THE
WORKS OF THE FLESH:
The lusts of the flesh, if not conquered,
lead to sinful works of the flesh which result in spiritual death:
Now the works of the flesh are manifest,
which are these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings,
and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time
past, that they which do such thing shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
This list can be divided into four categories
of sins:
• Worship Sins: Idolatry and witchcraft.
• Sexual Sins: Adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, and lasciviousness.
• Personal Sins: Drunkenness and revellings.
• Relationship Sins: Hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, envyings, and murders.
Each of these sinful works are defined in
detail in the Harvestime International Institute course "Ministry Of The Holy
Spirit." They are contrasted to the
fruit of the Holy Spirit which should be developed in the lives of believers.
POWERFUL
EVIL FORCES
The world and the flesh combine with Satan
and his demons to war against believers.
These are the spiritual forces of evil.
In the following lessons you will learn strategies of spiritual warfare
to combat these powerful spiritual forces of
evil.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary
the Devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour;
Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing
that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the
world. (I Peter 5:8-9)
THE
ENEMY AND GOD
Satan's original sin was that he wanted to be
like God, so his present power and activities are directed primarily against
God. All of his other activities and his
very nature are viewed as stemming from his original rebellious ambition.
For example, Satan's attack on the first man
and woman, Adam and Eve, was really an attack on the character and control of
God (Genesis 3:1-5). Satan also induced Cain to murder Abel in
opposition to God (I John 3:10-12). You can study every attack of Satan
recorded in Scripture
and you will discover that it is actually an
attack on God and His activities and nature.
Satan is in direct opposition to God in every
activity and quality of nature. For
example, God is love whereas Satan is hateful and promotes hatred (I John
3:7-15). God is life and creates life while Satan promotes death and
destruction (Hebrews 2:14).
Satan not only opposes God and His nature,
but he also opposes God's program. He
denies the existence of God (Psalms 14:1-3), promotes lies (Ephesians 2:2; II
Thessalonians 2:8-ll); and is behind false religions, the occult, and cults
with their false doctrines and practices.
Satan's religious system results in false teachers, prophets, and
"christs." You will study more about this later as you study
"Spiritual Wickedness In High Places."
Satan will reach the climax of his rebellion
against God and His plans during the time of "The Final Battle"
discussed in the last chapter of this course.
Despite these evil strategies, Satan and his hosts of demonic powers are
no threat to our Almighty God.
THE
ENEMY AND THE NATIONS
Satan is called the "god of this
world" which includes men who are not believers and demonic angels. (II Corinthians 4:4) He offered the nations to Jesus during the
temptation of Christ, and our Lord did not dispute the legitimacy of the
offer. He simply refused to rebel
against God in submitting to Satan's way of obtaining the rule (Matthew
4:8-10).
Satan uses his demons to influence and
deceive the nations, leading the leaders and people astray from God. This is why there are cruel dictators and
ungodly political systems in many nations. It also accounts for the wars and
divisions between the nations. Satan
especially influences leaders against the Church and God's chosen people,
Israel. He also works through
governments to hinder the spread of the Gospel.
During the tribulation period Satan will
actually direct the affairs of a group of ten nations through the Antichrist.
After the second coming of Christ, Satan will be bound for a thousand years
(Revelation 20:3). Upon his release, he
will deceive the nations one last time to assemble them against Jerusalem and
God (Revelation 20:7-10). In the end,
every kingdom of earth and the Kingdom of Satan will become the Kingdoms of our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
THE
ENEMY AND UNBELIEVERS
The enemy has a very powerful strategy
operating against unbelievers. He blinds
their minds to the Gospel (II Corinthians 4:3-4) and snatches away the truth of
the Gospel when they do hear it so that no response will occur (Luke 8:12). As a result, the Gospel sounds foolish and
irrelevant to those who are lost in sin (I Corinthians 1:18).
Satan also snares many unbelievers in false
religions (I Timothy 4:1-3) and leads them to walk according to the
"course of the world" which is the philosophy of the age. That philosophy may vary from generation to generation
and culture to culture, but it is always creature-centered and
creature-promoting rather than
God-centered. Satan is constantly sowing
the seeds of rebellion (sin) in the hearts and minds of unbelievers.
One of the purposes of the Holy Spirit is to
war against Satan for the souls of unbelievers.
The Holy Spirit works to convict men and women of their sinful rebellion
against God (John 16:7- 11).
THE ENEMY AND BELIEVERS
When you accept Jesus Christ as Savior, it
certainly does not mean the battle is over!
You have won one major confrontation when you are saved, but in reality,
your intense struggle has only begun.
You will learn many specific strategies of
Satan as you continue to study this course and are armed with spiritual weapons
and mobilized to enter enemy territory.
But all of these attacks can be summarized in four major areas. In the life of a believer Satan attacks:
THE WORD OF GOD:
Satan will cause you to question the Word of
God and will add to, take from, or distort the Scriptures. Remember that this happened in the very first
temptation of Eve. This is why it is
important for you to study and understand God's Word so you will not be
deceived by these attacks.
YOUR WORSHIP OF GOD:
Satan's original rebellion involved his
desire to be worshiped, so he especially targets the worship of believers. He
will try to prevent you from worshiping or lead you into false or fleshly
worship.
YOUR WALK WITH GOD:
Satan attacks your personal walk with
God. He accuses and slanders you, tempts
you to engage in the works of the flesh, to be occupied with the world, and to
rely upon your own human wisdom and strength.
If Satan can win territory in your personal walk with God, it will make
it easier for him to defeat you in the next area which is...
YOUR WORK FOR GOD:
Satan also attacks your work for God. He will try to deter you from accomplishing
God's will by persecution, disaster, discouragement, prayerlessness, and busy
involvement with the cares of the world.
Satan also tries to affect your work for God by infiltrating the Church
with false teachers and disciples (II Corinthians 11:13-15; II Peter 2:1-19;
Matthew 13:38-39).
While God sows good seed through your
ministry, the enemy sows tares which are the "sons of
the wicked one.” He promotes division within the Body of
Christ trying to affect the work of God and His purposes in your life and
ministry.
SO---WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Satan's strategies are certainly varied and
powerful as he works against God, the nations, unbelievers, and believers.
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