FRIEND, WE ALL HAVE AN ENEMY (Of the Devil & His Evil Ways)

Who overcomes By force hath overcome but half his foe.
-John Milton (1608 - 1674), Paradise Lost

I have never been to a physical war. I cannot comprehend the sheer terror gripping one’s heart in the middle of nowhere, with only a stranger at your side sharing your fear. I can’t imagine the emptiness one feels after his first murder, after he watches a fellow man die, after the war ends.

I have never been to a physical war, and I hope you and I never do. But we ARE in a war – and this war has been going on forever. We cannot escape this war, because not only are we the soldiers, but we are also the prize. This is a spiritual war.

The most dangerous enemy is that which is not known, and we DO have an enemy. And our enemy is not just the school bully, or the corrupt bureaucrat, or the oppressive superior, but The Enemy of God Himself – The Devil. And once again let me remind you: The most dangerous enemy is that which is not known, and the Devil has made it top priority that we scoff and laugh at his existence, so that he can walk among us unnoticed. Just because we don’t believe in the Devil doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist.

The Devil is a unique creature, and cannot be underestimated. Originally created as the most perfect angel of God, he tried to take over Heaven and was exiled, along with his angel followers. Now known as the Devil and his demons (among other names), they sought to conquer Earth because it was given to mankind (the children and image-bearers of God). By convincing the first man and woman to disobey God, the Devil gained legal ownership of the Earth and became its present ruler. Let me make this clear: We are living in Satan’s territory right now. Although Jesus has “overcome the world,” the final reclaiming of the Earth won’t happen until Jesus returns. This is why we are instructed to be pilgrims on Earth, and why Jesus said “My kingdom is not of this world.” Only by dying can Jesus pay the price for our disobedience to God, and only by accepting Jesus as our Savior can we hope to avoid the same exile (known as Hell) from God.

Our Enemy has only one purpose: to claim as many people as he can, and deny us of God forever. Throughout history we have been caught in the crossfire between these kingdoms. The Devil has all his armies and weapons targeted at us, and he’s not smiling. He remembers that we were originally designed to be perfect reflections of God, and that we were called to be God’s children and rule the Earth. He remembers that he was once perfect, and that if he goes down, then he’ll bring as many as he can with him. He makes us downplay our importance, and makes us forget who and what we are. He makes us forget we are in a war, and we grow to accept the hardship of life as normal, instead of the relentless attack of our eternal Enemy. He makes us think that even though we did not create ourselves, we can create our own destiny.

He makes us forget that we have a way out, that God Himself sent His Son Jesus to pay the price for our sins and save us and restore our lives to the full AND guarantee us full pardon, blessings and eternity with God.

Whether we eat or drink or pray or work or whatever we do, the Devil has an attack. We can get sick, we can get fired, we can get disappointed or angry or oppressed in a million ways without realizing we are under attack. Unless we accept this fact, we as people are helpless victims. We as Christians are sheep to be slaughtered – we no longer wish to be part of the lost world, but after accepting Christ’s salvation we don’t want to accept the conflict we are in.

Today I ask heaven and earth to be witnesses. I am offering you life or death, blessings or curses. Now, choose life! Then you and your children may live.
Deuteronomy 30:19