Strategies of Satan as an outcast (PART 2)

The multiple revelations of Satan regarding his fallen state render clear evidence of his continued efforts to wage war against God and
His kingdom. In this way he endeavours to muster up more support for his alternative kingdom of darkness with a view to ultimately establishing himself as the sole ruler of the universe. It is expedient to conduct a closer examination of his kingdom’s structures and methods since he still wields considerable power.

Right from the onset of human history the devil has made concerted efforts to promote apostasy among people by leading them into false religions in which foreign gods (demons) are worshipped. By his masterminding the Fall of man he achieved a major victory by establishing a sinful nature in all people’s lives, thereby making them easy targets for further deception.

During the first coming of God’s Son to the world, Satan often carried out virulent attacks against Him in an effort to kill Him, deceive Him spiritually, and also to instigate His own people and the world to reject Him. If Satan had succeeded in incorporating Jesus into his kingdom of rebels, it would have afforded him a shortcut to fulfil his ultimate objective of becoming sole ruler of the universe. The fact that Jesus came in the form of a humble servant with a frail human body, could have led the devil to believe that He was an easy target for attack and deception.

According to Luke 4:1-13, Satan’s cleverly planned strategy to deceive Jesus was based upon three false arguments. Although he completely failed to achieve his purpose, he did not give up. During subsequent centuries he has been even more determined to implement new techniques of deception by which he offers these same lies to tempt the Christian church and the depraved world. For this reason it is imperative to clearly take note of Satan’s historical efforts to deceive Jesus. The three deceptive strategies which he employed are the following:

A prosperity gospel based on the fulfilling of material needs. The Lord Jesus had fasted for 40 days, and had become very hungry, thus the devil exploited his biggest physical need at the time by saying: “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread” (Luke 4:3). Jesus immediately overcame this temptation by emphasising that man’s life does not depend on satisfying of his material needs, but rather on spiritual fulfilment: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4). If we first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33), we will never become victims of Mammon’s kingdom of earthly wealth and worldly prosperity. If we are dedicated to seeking God’s kingdom, these other needs will be provided for.

An unbiblical kingdom theology associated with the worship of a foreign god. Satan deliberately tried to introduce Jesus into his alternative kingdom, on condition that He would be prepared to worship Lucifer as God. The promise of great earthly power and dominion was made to Him, if He would have been willing to follow this radical advice: “Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours” (Luke. 4:5-7).

The Lord Jesus did not dispute the fact that Satan, through his deception of virtually all of humanity, has gained control over earthly kingdoms – that being the reason for Jesus referring to him as “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30). However, while He persisted against Satan’s temptations, Jesus clearly stated that neither He nor any of His followers would be permitted to subject themselves to an earthly kingdom which is hostile towards the kingdom of God, nor to worship the god of such a renegade kingdom: “And Jesus answered and said to him, Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only shall you serve” (Luke 4:8).

A religion of supernatural signs and wonders. A final effort was made by the devil to convince Jesus to relinquish His role as the humble Servant who would be rejected, persecuted and eventually crucified. Rather than Him enduring these awful events, Satan suggested to Jesus that He jump off from the pinnacle of the temple and miraculously make a safe landing, so that the people would be convinced by this sensational sign and recognise Him as the Messiah sent by God (Luke 4:9-12). However, the Lord Jesus resisted the devil by stating that one should not succumb to megalomania by tempting God into giving you supernatural powers in order to exalt and glorify yourself.

In the light of these personal attacks on Christ it is obvious that Satan has a comprehensive plan of action to pursue his evil war against God and His kingdom with all the might at his disposal. Firstly, it is a battle for his survival in an effort to avert his further humiliation and eternal condemnation as prophesied in the Bible. Secondly, it is an attempt to change his fortunes by achieving victory in his battle against the kingdom of light and thus becoming ruler of the universe in God’s place. With this being his ultimate goal, he continues to expand his support base through relentless efforts to gain control over more and more people.

When Christ returns to the world at the end of the great tribulation, the devil will again personally confront Him in the battle of Armageddon by waging war against Christ and His heavenly army (Rev. 16:13-16; 19:19-20). The turn of events on that day will prove to be disastrous for Satan and his myriad of supporters.

As the end of the church dispensation rapidly approaches, it becomes obvious that Satan realises that time is running out for him to execute all his plans. Conspicuously, the strategies which he used in his temptation of Christ in the wilderness, are once again being extensively applied to all people in preparation for the revelation of the Antichrist and his world empire.

Churches are being deceived into proclaiming a prosperity gospel focussed on earthly wealth, thereby impoverishing themselves spiritually and making themselves victims of shallow thinking. With these worldly values being the centre of their attention, they will be receptive to the establishment of an earthly kingdom, even before the coming of Christ as King of kings. In order to realise this kingdom they must be deceived into a compromise with all other faiths under the erroneous premise that all religions worship the same God.

However, they do not realise that the devil is the universal God of all false and unbiblical faiths, and they also disregard the fact that no compromise is possible between God and all the false gods (2 Cor. 6:14-18). Multireligious deception will progress to the extent that a Satanically driven alliance of world religions will have been formed in a humanistic world empire. Apostatised humanity, involved in the building of a modern tower of Babel, will employ cosmic powers to perform signs and wonders.

All these false religious manifestations will be typical of the Antichrist once he assumes dominion on earth during the final seven years before the second coming of Christ. He will amass earthly treasures, gain political and religious control over all people, and also perform astounding signs by means of his occult powers. His coming will be “according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish” (2 Thess. 2:9-10).

Paul adds that people who are deceived by the Antichrist, wilfully turn their backs on biblical truths and the true Christ: “And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thess. 2:10-12).

It is vitally important that all people of all ages take note of Satan’s temptation and deception, because without this knowledge they are easy targets of subtle lies. The strategies which are applied by the kingdom of darkness are all aimed at harming God’s kingdom by influencing people to fall away from the truth (Heb. 3:12). The more knowledge people have regarding this dark kingdom, its principles and plans of action, the better they will be able to defend themselves against it.

- Bible Guidance