In every kingdom there is a ruler and he
subsequently delegates authority to those who serve him. It is the same with
the kingdom of darkness. Lucifer, the evil one, is the ruler over the fallen
angels. He is the prince and power of the air. The objectives of Lucifer and
any agents he uses, mortal or immortal, are to steal, kill and destroy. In
short, he tries to pervert God's will, yet that cannot happen because God is
Sovereign.
God restricts the activities of
Lucifer's agents. Satan’s purpose is to achieve the following:
- To keep men from turning to God and finding
salvation
- To ruin a believers testimony
- To discourage repentance when a believer
falls
- To oppress people and try to keep them in
this state
- To get us to commit suicide or hurt
ourselves
- To get us lukewarm so we don't interfere
with his plans
- To get us to do irrational acts
- To get us to believe were missing out on
life
-To appeal to our lusts
- To emphasize the works of the flesh, the
lust of the eye
and the pride of life
- To tell the 'babes' there is no joy in
serving the Lord
- To blind the rich through the love of money
- To urge pastors to preach good moral ethics
instead of the inspired word of God.
In the Word of God, the issues of
life and godliness become clear when a believer comes to the knowledge of the
enemy and his kingdom. When taught the whole counsel of God, we overcome the
enemy and his kingdom as the Holy Spirit leads us to victory ‘in Christ’.
Some people are blind to the
existence of an enemy. They deny the existence through their own vain
philosophy or man- made religion. This is part of the reason for the war.
The chief purpose of Lucifer is to oppress the brethren, to keep them from
preaching the good news. Satan has blinded eyes so that the lost cannot see
the salvation of Jesus Christ. We need to pray that Christ will open the eyes
of the blind. We can take apart Satan’s kingdom and set people free through
the truth of God's Word.
God reveals the doctrines of
Christianity through the Word of God. When the Holy Spirit reveals the truth,
we can rightly divide the Scriptures. Then the truth will easily entreat a
person who is free ‘in Christ’. Revealed truth coupled with prayer is the
most effective weapon against the enemy. God commends us to test the spirits,
the doctrines, and examine the circumstances surrounding the experiences of
people. If the doctrines are of God, the peace of God will give us witness
through the intercession of His Spirit. The enemy will try every conceivable
way to deceive, counterfeiting the gifts and experiences of God. He will lace
the Word of God with a little poison of his own, the doctrine of demons. The
Word cautions us that rationalism will flourish in the world of the cults.
But know this, that in the last days
perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of
money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal,
despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather
than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from
such people turn away! -- 2 Timothy 3:1-5
Now the Spirit expressly says that
in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving
spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own
conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to
abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those
who believe and know the truth. -- 1 Tim 4:1-3
Beware lest anyone cheat you through
philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to
the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him
dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him,
who is the head of all principality and power. In Him you were also
circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in
baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working
of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your trespasses
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him,
having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of
requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken
it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed
principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over
them in it. -- Colossians 2:8-20
The basis for the doctrines of
Christianity rely totally on the Scriptures; God's inspired Word alone. We
are not to accept anything less. It is through ignorance that we fall into
the devices of the enemy. There is a spirit of truth and a spirit of error.
Anyone who does not believe the following fundamentals of the faith (truth) is
in error:
1. The Holy Bible is the inspired word of God
2. The reality of God as a personal spiritual
being
3. The divinity of Christ and His virgin
birth
4. The ministry of Jesus, the power of his
blood, His miraculous powers and authority
5. His death, burial, bodily resurrection,
bodily ascension, and priesthood
6. The need to be born again
7. The benefits of salvation as they learn
about them
ucifer is referred to as the Prince and power
of the air because God freely allows him roam the earth. Although he claims to
be the god of this world he is actually a defeated foe. God created all of
the angels and tested them before mankind existed. Lucifer deceived one third
of the hosts of heaven into trying to overthrow God. As a result of the
rebellion led by Satan, God cast them out of the heavenlies when His angels
defeated them. After the rebellion, God denied them access to the heavenlies
except for getting permission to test God's chosen people. God chose the Jews
first, and then after the Lord’s ministry on the earth, God also extended His
grace to the church.
God judged the angels with Lucifer,
but God will carry out the sentence after God uses them to carry out His
will. Some of the angels went to Sheol/Hades, or the unseen grave. This is
the place where the departed dead went to before the Lord Jesus Christ took
away the keys of death and hell. The angels who did not get sent to prison
are serving Lucifer. God is now using them to test mankind. God will test
all of His creations before He gives them eternal authority as stewards of His
universe with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The agents of Satan want to keep
humanity blinded and in subjection through ignorance. Everything in creation
is subject to Christ, and He delegates His authority to the church. In other
words, He made the spirits of this world subject to the obedient Holy
Spirit-led believer.
Through God's Word, we receive
instruction and gain knowledge to overcome the enemy. When we trust in God's
Word, we find wisdom. When we become obedient to God's Word and the Holy
Spirit, we receive understanding. When we rely totally upon God's Spirit, He
anoints us and endues us with power from on high. This is how to properly
wield the sword of truth which is the Word of God.
When we understand our authority ‘in
Christ’, we are able to do all things, according to the will of God. A
believer should rebuke or bind a demon and silence them when the Holy Spirit
leads us to exercise our authority. Let's make that perfectly clear! When a
Christian hears God's voice, they should start a battle through prayer, led by
the Holy Spirit. They must understand, ‘the battle is the Lord's’.
The Lord Jesus and Holy Spirit will
lead us through any encounter with the enemy. He will give us the peace that
surpasses all understanding to shield us; the Word of God to empower us. He
clothes us with the weapons for warfare. We know we have the authority to set
a person free. Jesus has already set them free from the curse of the law, and
will bind the spirits that are oppressing them. We should rely on His Word
and the prayers of the church to back us up. We see God's promises
throughout the following scriptures:
‘Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on
earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be
loosed in heaven. --Matthew 18:18.
And again; ‘And these signs will follow those
who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new
tongues; - - Mark. 16:17
And when there is opposition to the command to
depart, we also have the right to believe God's Word and ask anything in Jesus
name, knowing He will do it for us:
‘Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes
in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he
will do, because I go to My Father. ‘And whatever you ask in My name, that I
will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ‘If you ask anything in
My name, I will do it. ‘If you love Me, keep My commandments. --John 14:12-15
here are five different departments in the
underworld or netherworld. One is paradise where the faithful dead stayed
until the Lord redeemed them. It is now empty. Then there is Hades or hell,
the abyss, the bottomless pit, and a prison for fallen angels that we will
refer to as Tartarus. There are two classes of fallen angels. Those who are
already in prison and those free to roam the earth who carry out the will of
Satan. They are free until imprisoned in the future.
Tartarus in the Latin, or Tartaros,
the Greek equivalent, is a place lower than Hades. It is a dark abyss and a
place of punishment. The word properly translated in 2 Peter 2:4 and in Jude
6 is not Hades or hell; it is Tartarus. Modern translations seldom give this
place its due respect, and this lack of knowledge has kept some churches
powerless. Examine these verses closely. They hold a key to spiritual
understanding of our authority and power 'in Christ'.
'For if God did not spare the angels who
sinned, but cast them down to (Tartarus) hell and delivered them into chains
of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; -- 2 Pe 2:4
And the angels who did not keep their proper
domain, but left their own habitation, He has reserved in everlasting chains
under darkness for the judgment of the great day; -- Jude 6
When a fallen angel or demon knows
we understand our authority is ‘in Christ’ Jesus, they will flee, to avoid
being bound in Tartarus, until their final judgment and punishment. A spirit
will recognize the term because they know its use and location. With the
threat to bind and send them to Tartarus if they are not obedient, they will
flee. When helping someone, the first objective is to relieve the oppression
and free their will.
Any time we encounter a person
oppressed with a spirit, we need to rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance.
These spirits are Satan's fallen angels. They are our adversaries, so do not
trust, listen to, or, spare them from an early imprisonment. The reason they
are able to gain control over a person's free will, or oppress them, is
because of the visitation of iniquity, or because of disobedience. God uses
angels to send the judgments for iniquity unto the third and forth
generation. These angels or demons meet out judgment from the curses of the
laws. The Lord also uses angels to test the saints and to afflict the
unbeliever.
At this time, in the Age of Grace,
the Spirit of God is being poured out through and upon His church. There has
not been a time since Nimrod when there has been more influence from the
children of darkness in the world. There is an invisible battle being fought
in the heavenlies. It's spiritual warfare. The battle lines are drawn. The
army of our enemy attempts to keep the world from the truth. The armies of
God are being directed by the Holy Spirit and through His body on earth, the
church.
![[Under Construction]](http://abundantprofitclub.com/undercon.gif){kind=small}