101 Answers to Questions About Satan, Demons, and Spiritual Warfare

LEWIS

1

Why spend time thinking about Satan and demons?

As a chess master walked through an art gallery in Europe, he came across a painting that fascinated him. In it, a young man was playing a game of chess with the devil. There was a look of glee on the face of the enemy and of panic on the face of the young man. The name of the painting was Checkmate.

As the chess master observed the painting, he felt uncomfortable—something about the painting just wasn’t right. He called for the curator of the gallery and asked him to take the painting down. When that didn’t work, he requested to meet the artist. The artist agreed to meet him at the gallery.

The chess master arrived at the meeting with a chessboard and the chess pieces. He set up the board exactly as the artist had arranged it in the painting and said, Something is wrong with your painting. When the artist inquired as to what that might be, the master stated, "You titled the painting Checkmate, but that implies that the young man has no more moves to make. The champion reached over to the board and moved the young man’s king one space and said, The devil is now checkmated. He then looked at the young man in the painting and said, Young man, your enemy made a fatal miscalculation. You don’t have to lose. You win!"¹

Maybe you feel like the man in the painting sometimes. Maybe right now. Perhaps you picked up this book because you’re in the struggle right now and are searching for answers. Fear and anxiety are stalking you night and day as you imagine the devil making the final move in your life. You feel as if you’re about to be checkmated by struggles in your marriage, finances, career, health, or any of a myriad of other problems.

I’ve got great news. If you have trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you win! Your Champion has defeated the enemy. The King made His final move and announced checkmate through His resurrection from the dead. The war has already been won. All you and I have to do is play out the rest of the game under His guiding hand and claim our victory in Him. In the battle against our enemy, God’s people fight from victory, not for victory. Contrary to what many people might think, spiritual warfare is not scary or frightening. Understanding it brings us hope, encouragement, and reassurance that victory is ours through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Another reason why we should learn about spiritual warfare and the unseen world around us is simply that God has chosen to reveal it to us. This alone justifies our interest in the topic and the time we spend studying it. If God in His Word has defined, described, and delineated the spirit world behind the veil of the seen, it is incumbent on us to take this revelation seriously.

The study of systematic theology includes separate categories for the study of Satan and the study of demons. The study of Satan is called Satanology, and the study of demons is called demonology. These two areas are often combined. But the fact that entire areas of theology are devoted to these subjects should pique our interest.

As we will see in this book, the Bible includes a great deal about Satan, demons, and the unseen global conspiracy raging around us. Satan is mentioned for the first time in Genesis 3 and makes his inglorious exit in Revelation 20. It is not an overstatement to say that one cannot really understand the Bible from beginning to end without some knowledge of Satan and his evil minions. God has chosen to reveal truth to us about the unseen world from Genesis to Revelation, so it must be important for us to know about it.

A third reason to spend time thinking about spiritual warfare is that many different views of this topic exist. Champions of the modern-day spiritual warfare movement advocate cosmic-level spiritual warfare, spiritual mapping, and identifying and confronting territorial spirits. Many others promote deliverance ministry, including rebuking and binding Satan and demonic spirits. Are these practices biblical? Should believers participate in these activities? What does Scripture say? With the emergence of divergent views and practices, followers of Christ today need to understand what Scripture says about spiritual warfare in order to avoid being sidetracked by unbiblical practices and ending up on the casualty list. Spiritual warfare is not a game. Successful warfare against the enemy must be waged according to God’s power and God’s principles.

A fourth motivation for studying Satan, demons, and spiritual warfare is that according to Scripture, demonic activity and spiritual warfare will increase dramatically in frequency and intensity during the end times (see Revelation 9). We aren’t in the end times yet, but we can expect demonic activity to ramp up as the end times draw near, and it appears that’s just what’s happening. With demonic activity increasing in intensity, we don’t want our understanding and awareness of the unseen war to be on the decrease. That’s a dangerous combination. Our study of spiritual warfare must match its surge in our world today. We cannot afford to be disarmed.

A fifth motivation for us to understand the unseen world around us is that it helps us make sense out of what we can see. According to the Bible, an invisible world war is raging all around us. Understanding this war gives us a unique perspective that those without this knowledge do not possess. Ray Stedman gives powerful insight into why we need to understand the spiritual war that surrounds us. Read this quote carefully.

As the world’s great leaders grapple with the dilemma of modern life, all they can say is, What is wrong? What is the unknown element behind this? We cannot understand or explain this! Something is missing from our understanding of human nature and human behavior. What is it?

The answer: There is a spiritual war going on behind the scenes of history, and that spiritual war in the unseen world is driving events in our own visible world. There is no peace in the material world because there is a war now raging in the spiritual world.

There is nothing more meaningful, more relevant, more real that we could be involved in than the cause of God in this vast spiritual war. The biblical teaching of spiritual warfare shines a spotlight of truth on the basic problem of human existence and human history…

Well, you say, this is all very depressing. I would rather not think about it. I don’t like to think about it either, but I have discovered that you cannot wish the truth away. There is only one realistic approach to this struggle, and this is to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might…

Those who ignore this call and the battle that rages around them are doomed to be casualties. We cannot remain neutral. We must choose sides. We must align ourselves with the forces of God, the forces of good.²

Understanding this invisible war helps us to see the world as it really is. One of the fundamental truths of God’s Word is that behind the paper-thin facade of this world, an invisible, relentless battle is raging. Satan is locked and loaded, and his bullets have our names on them. If we don’t want to end up on the casualty list, we have to understand this battle and arm ourselves with God’s powerful resources. The enemy has us in his crosshairs.

I once saw a Far Side cartoon of two deer standing next to one another. One of the deer is looking down at a bull’s-eye on his stomach. The other deer says, Bummer of a birthmark, Hal. Whether we like it or not, if we are seeking to live for Christ and His glory, we have bull’s-eyes on us.

My friend Pastor Philip De Courcy told me a story that he heard Jill Briscoe relate to a group a few years ago. She was on her way back to the United States on September 11, 2001, from overseas. When the terrorists struck, her plane was diverted to Reykjavík, Iceland, where the crew and passengers had to spend a couple of days before they could continue their trip.

While in the airport Jill Briscoe observed a young female American soldier. She looked distressed and shaken. Jill Briscoe eventually initiated a conversation with her to see if she was okay, and try to encourage or comfort her. The young lady was shaken over the events of 9/11. When asked what had shaken her so deeply, the young woman, anticipating what was in her future, responded, I didn’t join the army to go to war.

Many believers are like that young soldier today. They didn’t sign up to go to war. Many don’t even want to think about it. But the truth is, every Christian must go to war. We have no choice, so we’d better make sure we know the enemy’s strategy and have our armor on.

Our enemy is relentless and always probing for an opening.

Sir William Slim was a commander in the British Army who served with distinction in both World Wars and was wounded three times. When he was once asked where he learned his greatest lesson as a solider, he told a story that’s so simple yet crucial that it’s repeated today in the training manuals of the US Marine Corps.

Many years ago as a cadet hoping someday to be an officer, I was poring over the Principles of War, listed in the old Field Service Regulations, when the Sergeant-Major came up to me. He surveyed me with kindly amusement. Don’t bother your head about all them things, me lad. There’s only one principle of war and that’s this. Hit the other fellow, as quick as you can, and as hard as you can, where it hurts him most, when he ain’t lookin.³

Satan employs this sinister strategy against God’s people every day.

Of course, our thinking about spiritual warfare requires careful balance. We don’t want to go overboard and become obsessed with Satanology and demonology. Believers can be led to ignore the enemy on one hand or become too focused on Satan on the other. Either extreme is harmful, and the enemy doesn’t care which extreme we adopt. To ignore Satan and his strategies is to commit spiritual suicide. But to become preoccupied with Satan and his kingdom is equally dangerous. A.W. Tozer highlights the danger of too much focus on Satan by calling Christians to keep Christ at the center of all things.

The scriptural way to see things is to set the Lord always before us, put Christ in the center of our vision, and if Satan is lurking around he will appear on the margin only and be seen as but a shadow on the edge of the brightness. It is always wrong to reverse this—to set Satan in the focus of our vision and push God out to the margin. Nothing but tragedy can come of such inversion.

The best way to keep the enemy out is to keep Christ in. The sheep need not be terrified by the wolf; they have but to stay close to the shepherd. It is not the praying sheep Satan fears, but the presence of the shepherd.

The instructed Christian whose faculties have been developed by the Word and the Spirit will not fear the devil. When necessary he will stand against the powers of darkness and overcome them by the blood of the Lamb and the word of his testimony. He will recognize the peril in which he lives and will know what to do about it, but he will practice the presence of God and never allow himself to become devil-conscious.⁴

We need to remember that in Paul’s letters, he uses the word Satan only ten times and devil only six times. Conversely, we find the words Jesus in 219 verses, Lord in 272 verses, and Christ in 389 verses. Clearly, we are to rivet our attention on Christ, not Satan. We’re to be Christ-centered, not Satan-centered.

May God help us to keep this balance in mind as we make our way through this book together. May our focus be on Christ our Conqueror, not our defeated enemy. Revelation 5:5-7 tells us that the Lamb who was slain is standing at the center of everything in heaven. If the crucified, resurrected Lamb is the focal point of heaven, how much more should He be the focus of everything here on earth—our churches, our families, our marriages, and our lives. Let’s not allow our focus to be diverted from our dear Lamb, who was slain for us. Our focus should be on worship, not on warfare.

Our attitude toward our spiritual enemies should be like a quarterback’s appreciation of an opponent’s stout defense. If the quarterback keeps his eye on the linebackers and defensive backs, he will never connect with his receivers. The quarterback must focus primarily on his own backs and wide receivers, but at the same time he must be keenly aware of the defensive players and anticipate their moves, or his throw will be intercepted. The effective quarterback must carefully study the opponent’s formations by watching hours of film. But when the game begins, his ultimate focus must be on his own assignments and his own receivers. That’s the way we’re to be when it comes to the subject of spiritual warfare. Our ultimate focus is on Christ and His game plan for our lives. But we are fools if we are ignorant of the devil and his schemes.

Part 1

Speak of the Devil

Satan promises the best, but pays with the worst; he promises honour and pays with disgrace; he promises pleasure and pays with pain; he promises profit and pays with loss; he promises life and pays with death.

THOMAS BROOKS

The Devil takes no holiday; he never rests. If beaten, he rises again. If he cannot enter in front, he steals in the rear. If he cannot enter at the rear, he breaks through the roof or enters by tunneling under the threshold. He labors until he is in. He uses great cunning and many a plan. When one miscarries, he has another at hand and continues in his attempts until he wins.

MARTIN LUTHER

2

Does Satan really exist?

A bruised and bleeding boxer stumbled back to his corner after a tough round. His trainer splashed cold water on his head and rubbed him down as his manager tried to encourage him. He said, Rocky, you’re doing great. Your opponent hasn’t laid a glove on you.

The half-dazed boxer looked up and said, If my opponent hasn’t laid a glove on me, you’d better keep an eye on the referee because somebody out there is beating the daylights out of me.¹

I think of that story when people question the reality of Satan. If the devil isn’t real, then someone else like him is continually assaulting us. How else can we explain the extent of evil in the world? Make no mistake. Satan is real. He may rarely be recognized, and his existence may often be denied, but he is real. The Bible is full of references to him, and God’s Word is our only reliable source for information about Satan, demons, and spiritual warfare. As E.M. Bounds notes, The Bible is a revelation, not a philosophy or a poem, not a science. It reveals things and persons as they are, living and acting outside the range of earthly vision or natural discovery. Biblical revelations are not against reason but above reason.² Biblical revelation unveils the reality of an evil being named Satan.

The Bible refers to Satan by many names and titles. He is mentioned in seven of the thirty-nine Old Testament books—Genesis, 1 Chronicles, Job (12 times), Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah. The most detailed passage about Satan in the Old Testament is Job 1–2, which may be the first inspired words ever recorded because most scholars believe Job was the first book of the Bible to be written. Satan stands before God in Job 1–2 with the other angels and speaks with Him directly. Genesis also presents the devil as a real being. C. Fred Dickason examines the evidence just from Genesis and Job for Satan’s existence.

The Old Testament assumes the existence of Satan, much as it does the existence of God. There is no formal proof presented for either one, but the story unfolds depending for its vitality upon their reality.

The whole plot of the book of Genesis depends upon the reality of Satan working through the serpent to cause the fall of mankind into sin (chap. 3). The basic facts of the Creation and the fall lay the foundation for the whole battle between good and evil throughout the Bible and history, and for the whole redemptive plan of God centered in the God-man who overcomes Satan.

The whole story of the tragedy and triumph of Job is based in the first two chapters upon the personal challenges and battle between God and Satan…

We conclude that there are some books in the Old Testament that make little sense historically and exegetically without the reality of Satan’s existence and influence as a person.³

Turning to the New Testament, Satan is recognized by every New Testament writer, although not in every book. Satan is mentioned in 19 of the 27 New Testament books, including 29 times in the Gospels, with 25 of those from the lips of Christ.

It is clear from the pages of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation that Satan exists. However, one of his subtlest yet strongest tactics is to convince people he doesn’t exist. God desires above all to be fully believed and worshipped, but Satan, the master deceiver, works best when he is underestimated, ignored, or denied. As Vance Havner said, God is the Great I AM. Satan is the great ‘I am not’; and he is never happier than when he has convinced people that he is non-existent.⁴ Satan loves to downplay his own existence so he can go about his business unheeded, unhindered, and unchecked. Those who don’t believe he exists are playing