Agents of Evil

“And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world— he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”—Revelation 12:9

As believers in Christ, we have three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the powers of darkness of which Satan is the head. Satan is a fallen angel, a spirit creature who rebelled against God and was cast out of heaven because he was desirous to be god himself (Isaiah 14:12-15, Ezekiel 28:12-15). In his rebellion, he convinced one third of the angels in heaven to side with him (Revelation 12:4), who were also cast out of heaven, becoming known as demons in the process (Revelation 12:9). Despite the fact that Satan is a defeated foe and his sentence has been declared, yet not yet enforced, he remains on earth warring against God by attacking His church and using his agents of evil, demons, to do a great deal of it.

Demons are terrifying creatures that know the Bible (James 2:19), promote false worship (Leviticus 17:7; 1 Corinthians 10:20), counterfeit signs and wonders (1 Timothy 4:1; Revelation 16:14), perpetrate violence (Deuteronomy 32:17; Psalm 106:37), can possess people (Matthew 8:28), humiliate them (Luke 8:27), and eventually destroy them (Mark 9:22). They promote bitter jealousy, selfish ambition, and every kind of evil and vile practice (James 3:14-16). They work in institutions (Revelation 2:9; 3:9), and take captive men and women through worldly philosophies (Colossians 2:8, 20). One of their most subtle devices is when they masquerade as false prophets (1 John 4:1) and servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

As believers, we are commanded to “Submit” ourselves to God, and then “Resist the devil,” because “he will flee from you”—James 4:7. Concerning his agents, whenever we encounter a spirit of some sort, we are to “test” them to ascertain whether they are from God or Satan (1 John 4:1). We must not believe that we have any authority in and of ourselves to defeat Satan or his agents (Acts 19:15). As the book of Jude says,  

“But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you’"—Jude 1:9. 

God is the one who has defeated the devil and his agents of evil. We know that we have Christ in us and that as we face terror and the temptations from Satan, we can say like John the apostle did,  

“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world”—1 John 4:4.

No matter what Satan or his demons may throw at us, we know that through the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:11) we are made conquerors and will have victory over our accuser. Trust in the Lord, my brother or sister, and be aware of the enemy’s tactics. He wants to destroy us, but as we continually trust in the Lord Jesus, renew our minds through Scripture, and nourish the Holy Spirit within us, we will be victorious. May God strengthen us so that we may be able to stand against the enemy and whether by life or by death testify to His all-saving power! Amen.