Chapter 8
The topic is about Satan as the enemy of mankind ,God and His activities Satan is the first enemy of humanity, starting with Eve. His original rebellion and his on going activities were directed against God.
He first tempted Adam and Eve as in Genesis 3:1-5 and Cain to murder Abel in 1 John 3:10-12.God and satan are not alike God’s nature is that He is love, life, creates life while Satan is hateful, promotes hatred, death, and destruction):Satan opposed God’s plan, denying God’s existence, promoting lies, and being behind false religions, cults, and false doctrines.
Despite Satan’s strategies he and his demons are not a threat to the “almighty God”.
Satan uses demons to influence nations and leaders, leading to ungodly political systems and wars. He works against God and Israel and hinders the spread of the gospel.
During the tribulation, Satan will direct a group of ten nations through the Antichrist. After Christ’s second coming, Satan will be bound for 1000 years, released briefly to deceive people again, before the Kingdom of Satan becomes the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Satan as an “enemy” works in blinding minds to the Gospel and snatching away the truth. This makes the Gospel seem irrelevant to those lost in sin. He promotes “creature-centred” philosophies and constantly plants seeds of rebellion (sin). The Holy Spirit works against Satan for the souls of unbelievers, convincing them of their sin and rebellion against God.
Satan is referred to as the “god of the world”. The devil has four primary attacks against a believer:
The Word of God: Satan attempts to make believers question, distort, or misinterpret scripture. We should read and understanding the Word to counter this.
Worship of God: Attacks on worship aim to stop believers from genuine worship or lead them to false worship.
Walk with God: Satan attacks a person’s personal relationship with God through accusations, slander, and temptation to engage in worldly desires and rely solely on human strength.
Work for God: This involves efforts to deter believers from fulfilling God’s will through various means like persecution, discouragement, and infiltrating the church with false teachers and division.