The Enemies of the Kingdom of God

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;" Ephesians 6:10-18 (KJV)

There is an adversary to the Kingdom of God, Christians and their life style, and whether it is realize or not we are in a WAR, a war is being wage, and it is called Spiritual Warfare. Spiritual warfare is the conflict between good and evil. It is the ongoing battle between two diametrically opposed kingdoms: God’s kingdom (good) and Satan’s kingdom (evil). Though it is inherently a spiritual conflict, spiritual warfare also manifests in the natural realm of flesh and blood. Humans are caught in the midst of this conflict and may participate in the struggle on either side. The origin of the conflict between good and evil goes back before the creation of Man. One of God’s powerful angels, lucifer who eventual became (satan/the devil) is playing a key role.

I. The kingdom of Darkness (devil)

A. Characteristics - satan’s kingdom is basically opposed to God’s kingdom in every way. In the following scriptures the verses reveal the characteristic of satan’s kingdom that is illustrated: Daniel 10:13, 20, satan’s kingdom is in rebellion against God; Revelation 20:10, 14, satan has a temporary kingdom, and Matthew 12:24-30, Inferior to God's Kingdom  Jesus demonstrated this by casting demons out.

B. The Commander and Chief - 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). 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). He is the “Father of Lies” (John 8:44), He has authority, power and a throne (revelation 13:2), He will ultimately give his throne, his power and authority to the beast (revelation 13:2).

C. Description of satan/beelzebub - “His head is large and dark, and he looked like a man, yet at the same time, like some kind of animal or grotesque creature that is beyond description. Upon his head he wears a silver crown, from his temple on both sides there are two long white tapeworms, and they move in every direction. He has two big, red eyes, shaped like the eyes of a serpent. He is broad chested, and his ribcage appeared to be constructed of pipes, his lower torso is cover with what looked like glass or diamonds, their colour was red, purple, blue and green. He wears a black coat or cape, jet black. The black coat or cape at first appearance may look like velvet, but it is really made up of files, maggots, and worms, and the smell, the odour that comes from his body is unbearable.” He has the power to change from time to time his appearance into an angel of light, but his most common appearance is an animal or grotesque, the hideous form that you have ever seen, and evil and hatred permeate from him .” 

D. 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 as satan’s forces are spiritual entities. In reading Ephesians 6:12, what are the various groups of evil forces under Satan’s control? Satan’s forces include principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Who are these forces “wrestling” with? Us (Christians)!

E. 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).

Description of Demons/Evil Spirits

From the book Placebo by Howard Pitman, he shared the tour that was given to by the Angels that was escorting from the earth through the Second Heaven on His way to the Third Heaven.

1. First most powerful type demon revealed to me was also in human form and these demons looked like ordinary people. All of the warring demons were coloured bronze.” Appearing to be about eight to twelve feet tall, they were rugged and handsomely constructed, somewhat like giant athletes.
2. Second most powerful type and a group of demons were revealed to me in mixed shapes and forms.
3. Third group, or orders, all the demons of this rank were revealed in forms other than human.
4. Fourth group of demons – no detail
5. Fifth group particular demons are harder to deal with than any of the rest. It seems their great strength rests in their ability to remain anonymous in their work in the human being.

F. 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. Based upon Mark 9:17-29, what did the spirit do when it saw Jesus? Why do you think it did this? It immediately threw the boy into a convulsion.

G. People - People can knowingly or unknowingly further the plans of satan by doing evil. In reading Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, what two groups of people does Jesus describe in this parable? Sons of God (the good seed) and sons of the wicked one.

H. 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, the 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. For each verse below, write down a short description of the temptations used: Genesis 3:1-6, Proverbs 6:23-28, Acts 5:3, 1 Timothy 6:9-10.
2. Steal, Kill and Destroy (John 10:10 NKJV) - In teaching about the Good Shepherd, Jesus contrasted himself with false shepherds who were thieves 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” Job 1:912, Matthew 13:19.
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. Let’s examine some examples of his opposition to the Gospel.
4. Veil the mind from the truth - One tactic that is particularly effective in warfare is to veil or blind the mind from truth. satan has the 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. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10.)
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. Genesis 3:1-6, Luke 4:3;9-12.

II. What are the snares of satan?

The devil may not always be present in a given temptation. He will use circumstances and human agents to accomplish his purposes. But ultimately he will be the one at work behind the scenes. As the saying goes, "Behind the lie is the liar; behind the trap is the trapper."

1. Greed – Greed is a key snare and illustrates what is in the heart. In the movie [rill Street, Michael Douglas plays Gordon Gekko, who lauds the value of greed. Exodus 20:17, Proverbs 3:31, Galatians 5:21.
2. Gambling - Gambling affects not only the gambler but those around him or her. In a sense, this snare arises from some other snares (greed, covetousness) it also surfaces because we are dissatisfied with God's provision.
3. Alcoholism - Alcoholism is a major source of family disruption and economic devastation, as is an addiction to drugs. “The alcoholic must realize that something else is controlling him or her. The Bible teaches that we should not "get drunk with wine... but be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:1).
4. Pornography - Pornography not only can control our lives, it also defiles our spirit. The Bible admonishes us to abstain from sinful desires (1 Peter 2:11) that war against our soul. Instead, we should live exemplary lives before the watching world (1 Peter 2:12).
5. Sexual Affairs - We live in a world of sexual freedom and we hear false messages from the media and our culture convincing us that happiness is just around the corner with the next sexual partner we meet. This is the myth of greener grass on the other side of the fence.
6. Marriage should be "held in honour among all"(Hebrews 13:4). We are not to unite our bodies with another in sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:15-16).
7. The Search for Pleasure - We live in a society full of lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

Occultism - Movies and television shows promote the occult and make the dark side of evil look enticing, warn us to avoid the occult Deuteronomy 18:9-14.

Summary

What does Jesus’ explanation tell us concerning the characteristics and capabilities of evil spirits? They have intellect and will; they vary in level of wickedness; they are communal; they have limited power (require rest); they can travel; they can enter and live in bodies; they communicate with other evil spirits; and they can recognize or discern the spiritual state of a person, but the devil and the kingdom is defeated.

For addition information and understandings of the subject of Enemies to the King of God

please see my book

“Spiritual Warfare” 

www.clmpublication.info.