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A. Purpose
Now that we have reviewed the origin of the spiritual conflict between good and evil, we can begin the “Basic Training” of our preparation for spiritual warfare. In the previous section we learned how our enemy, Satan, opposes and attacks us in a variety of ways. As God’s adopted children through faith in Jesus Christ, we receive a commission in God’s army to continue the work of Christ in bringing every enemy under Christ’s authority. With that in mind, we are given several instructions concerning readiness for battle.
1. What instructions concerning battle readiness do each of the following verses give us?
Ephesians 6:10,11,13:
We can assume that our enemy is well skilled in warring against mankind, and has about 6000 years of experience! Training is an essential activity for the warriors who hope to succeed in resisting the enemy and advancing God’s kingdom. In this section, we’ll explore some fundamental areas that we should be familiar with for warfare, including the forces, their capabilities and the enemy’s typical tactics.
B. Kingdoms in Conflict
In conventional warfare, military intelligence is often a key ingredient to victory. As spiritual warriors, it is important for us to understand the two kingdoms in conflict and the relative capabilities of each.
1) God’s Kingdom
a. Characteristics
Jesus used many parables to describe the characteristics of God’s kingdom.
2. For each of the scripture passages, please write the aspect of God’s kingdom that is described:
Mark 16:17, Philippians 2:9-11:
Jesus’ many parables illustrated a kingdom that was radically different from earthly kingdoms. This difference is especially evident in the concept of greatness in the kingdom. In earthly kingdoms, military might, wealth and political power are typical measures of greatness. In God’s kingdom, such things are foolishness, as God has unlimited power and resources. So how is greatness measured in his kingdom?
3. Please read the below verses and write how greatness is measured in God’s kingdom:
Matthew 20:25-28, Matthew 23:11:
b. The Commander-in-Chief
Read Ephesians 1:20-23 and Revelation 19:11-16.
4. Who is in command of God’s army?
5. What are some of the names he is known by?
6. Describe the commander’s current position and authority:
c. Angels
Holy Angels are created spiritual beings that do God’s bidding. God can give angels great power and authority to carry out missions (ex. Revelation 18:1). I’ve listed below some of the typical missions angels are sent to do, along with an example from scripture.
7. For each verse, please briefly summarize what happened.
Execute God’s judgment on the earth
Other examples: Genesis 19:13, Numbers 22:22,31-32
Serve in God’s army, which may intervene in human conflicts
Other examples: 2 Kings 19:35, Joshua 5:13-6:5
Fight against Satan and his angels
Daniel 10:11-13,20:
Other example: Revelation 12:7-9
Help God’s people
Helping God’s people is an angelic role particularly relevant to spiritual warfare. God’s angels are “flames of fire” that minister to Christians (Hebrews 1:7,14).
8. For each of the below verses, summarize how the angels assisted people:
Give instructions
Other examples: Acts 10:22, Revelation 1:1
Protect
Other examples: Psalm 34:7, Psalm 91:11-12
Respond to prayer
Other example: Matthew 26:53
Strengthen people
Other example: Luke 22:43
We should remember that God directs the holy angels (Psalm 91:11), not us. We are to pray to God, not to the angels. Many non-Christian religions involve praying to deities who in fact are not gods but demons or “fallen angels.” (ex. Deuteronomy 32:17).
d. People
People who believe and obey Jesus Christ are among the most effective troops in God’s army.
9. What is our identity in Christ?
10. Read 2 Timothy 2:1-4. What is our role in God’s army?
11. Read 1 John 4:4. What do we have in us that is greater than Satan?
12. What are we commissioned to do?
2) Satan’s kingdom
a. Characteristics
Satan’s kingdom is basically opposed to God’s kingdom in every way.
13. For each of the below verses, write the characteristic of Satan’s kingdom that is illustrated:
Daniel 10:13, 20:
Revelation 20:10,14:
14. What are five objectives of Satan’s kingdom?
2. Luke 4:6-8:
3. Ephesians 2:2:
5. Revelation 12:17:
b. The Commander
As we studied previously, Satan was formerly the angel, Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12), who was the covering cherub for God’s throne (Ezekiel 28:12-16). Created perfect in beauty, Lucifer was full of wisdom. Lucifer became Satan, meaning the adversary, when he sinned by pride (Isaiah 14:13-14, Ezekiel 28:17). He was cast out of heaven to earth and now fights against God’s followers. He is the current ruler of the earth (Luke 4:5-6, John 12:31) and is referred to as the “prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2 NKJV).
In addition to his typical work of stealing, killing and destroying, Satan accuses Christians before God day and night (Revelation 12:10). He is the “Father of Lies” and has been a murderer since the beginning of creation (John 8:44). He has authority, power and a throne (Revelation 13:2), and may give his authority over the earth to whomever he wishes (Luke 4:5-7). He will ultimately give his throne, his power and authority to the beast (Revelation 13:2).
Even though Satan is a fallen angel, he still has power that we should be cognizant of.
15. What Satanic powers are mentioned in the following verses?
Job 1:12,16,19:
2 Corinthians 4:4, Revelation 20:2-3,8:
Satan’s power, though considerable, has notable limitations.
16. Please note how Satan’s power is limited according to the below verses:
Hebrews 2:14-15, 1 Corinthians 15:24-26:
c. Forces
Satan has a well organized group of forces to carry out his schemes on the earth. With the exception of people who serve his purposes, Satan’s forces are spiritual entities.
17. Read Ephesians 6:12. What are the various groups of evil forces under Satan’s control?
18. Who are these forces “wrestling” with?
i. Evil Angels
Satan’s angels are involved in cosmic and human events, just as God’s angels are. Scripture suggests the number of Satan’s angels is one third of God’s original population of angels in (Revelation 12:3-9). Since there are “myriads and myriads” of God’s angels, it follows that there is a large number of evil angels as well (Hebrews 12:22, Revelation 5:11).
19. Please briefly summarize the conflicts that evil angels were involved in for each of these references:
Daniel 10:13,20:
Some rebelling angels were imprisoned just before Noah’s flood and now await final judgment (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6).
20. Read Genesis 6:1-6. What did these angels do to deserve incarceration?
21. Read 1 Peter 3:18-20. Who came and proclaimed his finished work to these angels while they were in prison?
22. Read Matthew 25:41. What will ultimately happen to evil angels?
ii. Demons/Evil Spirits
While demons and evil spirits could be the same beings as evil angels, there are enough references to them in the New Testament to warrant further study.
a. Examples
By studying some particular incidents we can learn much about demons and evil spirits.
23. Read Luke 8:26-35. How were the demons able to communicate with Jesus? What was their demeanor as they confronted Jesus?
24. How had the demons apparently affected the man they inhabited?
25.What was the corporate name that the demons went by? Why was this used?
26. Did the demons obey Jesus immediately? If not, what did they do in response to his command?
27. What was the one place the demons definitely did not want to go?
28. From the demons’ bargaining attempts, what can we conclude about the “home” they preferred to inhabit?
29. What does the final condition of the man tell us about how the demons had affected him?
Mark’s account of the Gerasene demoniac gives us further details. Read Mark 5:1-13.
30. What additional details do we find concerning the demonized man’s strength?
31. What did the man do constantly, night and day? What did he do that was self-destructive?
32. How many demons were in the man?
Jesus took a few moments to teach about evil spirits, while replying to the Pharisees’ request for a sign. Read Matthew 12:43-45.
33. When an evil spirit leaves a person, where does it go and what does it look for?
34. What are two reasons it returned to the person it left?
35. How did the evil spirit regard the body of the person it left?
36. What reason does Jesus suggest or imply for the spirit being able to re-enter the house?
37. Who does the evil spirit recruit to come with it when it re-enters its host? How is the host person affected?
38. In summary, what does Jesus’ explanation tell us concerning the characteristics and capabilities of evil spirits?
b. Purposes of demons and evil spirits
From the examples we just studied, we can get a feel for the purposes of demons and evil spirits. From the story of the Gerasene demoniac and Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 12 we know that one purpose of demons is to torment their victims, even to the point of causing death. This may not be their main objective, however, as torment could simply be a means by which to achieve a “higher” purpose. We find a hint of such a purpose in Paul’s first letter to Timothy.
Read 2 Timothy 2:24-26.
39. What had happened to the people in opposition to Paul?
40. Considering that Satan’s forces serve him, what can we surmise concerning a purpose of demons based on the above scripture?
41. Read Ephesians 2:1-3. What Satanic work in mankind is revealed in this passage?
42. Again, assuming that Satan’s forces assist him in this work, what purpose might demons have when inhabiting or influencing people?
As we have seen in the examples we’ve studied, demons tend to be communal and defensive of their territory. With the Gerasene demoniac, the group of demons named “Legion” resisted being cast out. The Matthew 12 demon recruited seven additional demons to come and live with it in the host. We also know from Mark 16:9 that Jesus cast seven demons out of Mary Magdalene.
43. From a military perspective, what might be the purpose for multiple demons inhabiting a location / host?
44. Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. What are our spiritual weapons intended to “pull down”?
A stronghold can exist where a person has allowed sin to rule his or her life or simply has tolerated its existence. By repeatedly sinning in a given area, a person builds a stronghold, which then in turn may allow demons to enter.
45. Based on the examples we’ve studied, what are some ways that demons might reinforce strongholds in people?
46. One final purpose that demons and evil spirits fulfill is illustrated in Acts 16:16-18. What purpose did the evil spirit apparently have?
c. Responses to spiritual warfare
As we’ve seen in previous examples, demons resist being expelled in a variety of ways. One of the reasons for this is that they apparently vary in power level. Let’s examine another example which illustrates this.
47. Read Mark 9:17-29. What did the spirit do when it saw Jesus? Why do you think it did this?
48. How did Jesus deal with the spirit? How did the spirit respond?
Matthew’s account of this story reveals some additional information.
49. Read Matthew 17:19-21. What were two reasons Jesus gave for the disciples being unable to cast out the demon?
From Jesus’ reply we can conclude that some demons are “stronger” than others.
A final point concerning demons and evil spirits concerns their “recognition” abilities.
50. Read Mark 1:23-24. Who did the demons recognize?
51. Read Acts 19:13-16. By whose authority did the Jewish exorcists attempt to expel the spirit?
52. Who did the evil spirit claim to know or recognize? Who did they not recognize?
53. What was the implied reason that the spirit was able to beat up the exorcists and chase them away?
54. What can we conclude about evil spirits’ recognition abilities?
iii. People: People can knowingly or unknowingly further the plans of Satan by doing evil.
55. Read Matthew 13:24-30,36-43. What two groups of people does Jesus describe in this parable?
56. What were the implied missions of the sons of the wicked one?
Perhaps the most dangerous sons of the Devil are those who pose as church people. By infiltrating God’s people, they may gain positions of trust and respect, from which they can do great damage to the body of Christ.
57. Read 2 Corinthians 11:13-15. What types of positions do Satan’s servants seek in ministry?
We find a detailed description of false prophetesses in Ezekiel 13. Working somewhat “under cover,” these women were practicing magic against God’s people. God instructed Ezekiel to prophesy against these false prophetesses.
58. Read Ezekiel 13:17-23. What were some of the notable things that these women were doing?
Jesus called a group of Pharisees and Scribes sons of the Devil in John 8.
59. Read John 8:38-47. What were the Pharisees and Scribes doing that indicated they were sons of the Devil?
The Devil’s sons are not all trying to masquerade as followers of Christ. Paul encountered such a person in his ministry on the island of Cyprus.
60. Read Acts 13:8-10. What two things did Elymas the Magician do?
61. Speaking through Paul, what did the Holy Spirit say about Elymas?
62. What were Elymas’s ongoing evil efforts aimed at doing?
Satan is perhaps a master opportunist. Though he has many dedicated servants, he apparently uses unwitting people often to carry out his will. We find examples of this in scripture.
63. For each example below, please summarize how the people served evil purposes:
Acts 5:3:
We should also take a moment to consider the spiritual powers that the Devil’s servants can potentially wield.
64. Read Exodus 7:8-24 & Exodus 8:5-6. What 3 feats were Pharaoh’s magicians able to accomplish?
There is one final “force” that can work to further the Devil’s purposes in every person. In fact, the devil crafts his temptations to appeal to this force in hopes of persuading us to sin. This enemy has the greatest potential to ruin our walk with God and destroy our lives.
65. Read James 1:14-15 & 1 Peter 2:11-12. What or who is this enemy?
66. Read Matthew 15:19-20. What is a source of our inherent evil desires?
C. How the enemy attacks us
The devil uses many tactics to accomplish his mission. By studying examples of the devil’s tactics from scripture, we can better recognize them when we face them in spiritual warfare.
1) Tempt through lust of eyes, lust of flesh and pride of life
Tempting through lust and pride are perhaps the more obvious ways that Satan and his forces attack us.
67. For each verse below, write down a short description of the temptations used:
2) Steal, Kill and Destroy
In teaching about the Good Shepherd, Jesus contrasted himself with false shepherds who were thieves. Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 NKJV). As the ultimate thief, Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy God’s people, just as the thief did to the sheep in Jesus’ metaphor. Let’s consider some examples from scripture of Satan’s work in these areas.
68. Read the below examples and briefly describe what was stolen, killed or destroyed:
3) Oppose the Gospel of Christ
Another way the enemy attacks is by opposing the Gospel of Christ. Satan opposes the Gospel in order to stop it from strengthening and expanding God’s kingdom. The Gospel is the truth that sets people free from the bondage of sin and enables them to become the sons of God they were created to be. This greatly threatens Satan’s kingdom. Let’s examine some examples of his opposition to the Gospel.
69. Read the below examples and briefly describe the tactic used to oppose the Gospel:
Colossians 2:8, 2 Timothy 2:17-18:
4) Veil the mind from truth
One tactic that is particularly effective in warfare is to veil or blind the mind from truth. Satan has notable power to deceive people, i.e. to influence what people see and believe. Let’s look at some examples of this “mind control” in the scriptures.
70. For each scripture, please describe how people’s minds were influenced:
5) Weaken faith in God
Our faith is potentially a very powerful weapon against the enemy. When we believe God and his word, all things are possible to us. It makes sense therefore that one of Satan’s strategies is to weaken our faith in God. He does this in a variety of ways.
71. Please read the below passages and describe how the enemy (and his forces) tried to weaken people’s faith: