Spiritual warfare is dependent on accurate enemy intel. But most of us have been fed misinformation on the war. To survive 21st century spiritual warfare, we need the right intel so we can level up our armor of God.
What is Spiritual Warfare?
21st century spiritual warfare—especially in western societies—isn’t performing exorcisms against demon-possessed maniacs who levitate or throw objects across the room with their minds. Spiritual warfare is actively working against what our enemy is trying to accomplish. Thus, understanding what our enemy is trying to accomplish is critical, need-to-know information.
The enemy
Our enemy is not human. Our enemy is a powerful, supernatural being.
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12).
Jesus calls him the prince of this world (john 14:13), and a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). Paul calls him the power and authority of the unseen realm (Eph. 3:10). And John tells us the whole world is under his control (1 John 5:19).
Satan was created as one of God’s highest-ranking angels, but was banished from heaven after attempting to usurp God’s throne. Seeking revenge, he tricked humankind into enthroning him as the god of our world. Ever since, the world has been at war as battle rages between God and Satan with humanity caught in the middle.
Understanding what is being fought over is critical, need-to-know information. Knowing your military assignment is critical, need-to-know information. Accurately gauging the threat is also critical, need-to-know information. And most importantly, accurate intel on the enemy is critical, need-to-know information.
And yet, most of us have been given misinformation on all of these crucial aspects of the war.
To successfully wage war against Satan, we must have accurate enemy intel. Even the apostle Paul notes that if we don’t want to be outwitted by Satan, we must be aware of his schemes (2 Cor. 2:11).
Here are 5 lies most of us have been taught about spiritual warfare.
Lie #1: Satan was Defeated on the cross
On the cross, Jesus did not overthrow Satan as the god of this world. Satan is still god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). Jesus did not imprison Satan in Gehenna so that he was no longer free to devour people (1 Peter 5:8). And Jesus did not defeat Satan and take control of the world. In fact, Scripture specifically states that this world is under the control of Satan (1 John 5:19), and that it will not be subject to God until after Jesus returns and death itself is destroyed (1 Cor. 15:25-28).
The Bible describes Satan as having authority, control, and freedom. That does not describe a defeated enemy. (Satan was however disarmed. For more info, check out the post Disarmed vs Defeated).
This is critical, need to know information because how seriously are we going to take spiritual warfare or the need for armor if we think the enemy has already been defeated.
Lie #2: The Cross is the Climax of Redemptive History
The villain is defeated at the climax. But as we just saw, Satan has not yet been defeated. Jesus’ return is the climax of redemptive history, because it is when Jesus returns that He will overthrow Satan as the God of this world, imprison Satan in the abyss, assume control of this world, and after defeating death, subject the world to his father.
This makes the cross the midpoint of Redemptive History.
Understanding the difference between the midpoint and the climax is critical, need-to-know information because we as Christians are not passive damsels waiting to be whisked away by the Prince on our honeymoon. We are soldiers in a war story with a mission to complete—taking back territory from the enemy by spreading the gospel throughout the whole world.
And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come (Matt. 24:14 NLT).
The real climax of redemptive history—the defeat of the villain—cannot happen until we complete our mission. And because our mission is spiritual warfare—infiltrate enemy territory with the gospel—we need armor to survive.
Lie #3: Satan’s Goal is to Wreak Havoc in the Christian’s Life
Satan isn’t looking to mess with Christians for giggles, cackling maniacally when they miss out on the “abundant life in Christ” they could have had if only they’d read their Bibles a bit more. He’s not looking to steal our joy or peace or our “identity in Christ.” Satan doesn’t get his jollies from seeing us miserable, stressed out, or living under a cloud of self-depreciation.
Satan is prowling around looking to devour Christians not on their guard (1 Peter 5:8). Devouring isn’t a symbolic term for missing out on blessings, or not experiencing your guaranteed “invincibility” in Jesus as some Christian leaders teach.
Devouring means you are a casualty of war.
Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not . . .fall from your secure position (2 Peter 3:17, NIV).
Who are Peter’s “dear friends?” He tells us in the beginning of his letter (2 Peter 1:1, NIV)—“those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.”
Peter is forewarning Christians—who are saved by the righteousness of Jesus and share the same faith in Jesus that Peter has—Be on guard or you will fall from your secure position.
The Apostle Paul agrees with Peter’s concern for Christians, and explicitly warns that the Holy Spirit Himself is the one who says that in the end times Christians will abandon their faith.
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons (1 Tim 4:1, NIV).
Getting devoured and falling from our secure position is a real threat, a real possibility. These verses are not speaking of missing out on a spiritual blessing in this life.
They are speaking of not surviving the war.
Joshua Harris, author of Why I Kissed Dating Goodbye and former pastor, recently abandoned the faith. Jon Steingard, the lead singer of the Christian music band, Nelson Hawk, has also now abandoned the faith. These men are only two examples of Christians who have fallen from their secure position (2 Pet. 3:17). They abandoned the faith (1 Tim. 4:1). They were devoured by Satan (1 Pet. 5:8).
The Christian life is a war. Not a romantic, spiritual quest. Armor is not “spiritual blessing apparel” that helps a bride deepen her relationship with her groom. Armor is protection and weapons. It is meant to help you survive, which means not having it means you do not survive.
This is critical, need to know information because most of us aren’t going to bother putting on armor if there’s no danger of not surviving spiritual warfare anyway.
Lie #4: Satan’s Endgame is to Collect as Many Souls as Possible
The war between God and Satan is not a contest to see who can collect the most souls. Satan’s ultimate goal is not to spite God by taking all those souls to hell with him, as though making God sad is what brings Satan joy.
Satan wants what any other enemy in a battle wants: to win.
Satan doesn’t want human souls. Satan wants God’s throne. And He can’t storm heaven and usurp God’s throne if he is imprisoned in the abyss (Rev. 20:1-3). Thus, he needs to indefinitely delay his imprisonment so that he can retain his power, authority, and freedom.
How can he accomplish such a feat? He must make it impossible for Jesus to return, because that is when he is imprisoned. The only way for him to do so is to ensure that the conditions for Jesus’ return which God himself laid out in Scripture cannot be met.
And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come (Matt. 24:14 NLT)
This is critical, need to know information because 70% of American Evangelical Christians are completely unaware that there are 1.6 billion people who have never even heard the gospel. 6,825 people groups have never even heard of Jesus’ first coming, let alone know to be prepared for His second.
Most of these people groups live in the 10/40 Window, which consists of 67 countries and includes the majority of the world’s Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists.
To maintain his hold on the 10/40 Window, Satan seeks to prevent the spread of the gospel in those countries by:
• Making Christianity illegal, highly restricted, and life-threating• Establishing anti-conversion laws by their governments• banning missionaries (especially those from North America) from entering
So why does Satan want Christians to fall from their secure position? Because they won’t share the gospel with someone if they no longer believe in it.
This is ultimate spiritual warfare: As long as the 6200 unreached people groups in the 10/40 Window don’t hear the gospel, Satan indefinitely delays his imprisonment and retains his power, authority, and freedom because according to the Bible Jesus can’t return until they do.
Lie #5: No one spends eternity in heaven or hell
So this one isn’t exactly critical, need-to-know information. It’s just a serious pet peeve.
Heaven is God’s realm. It’s where God lives. Heaven is where God’s throne is and the realm Satan wants to usurp (Isa. 14:13-14; Rev. 12:7-10).
Hell is the dead’s realm. It’s where the dead live. Hell is the English word. The Hebrew word is Sheol and the Greek word is Hades. But’s whether you call it Hell, Sheol, or Hades, it’s the same thing—the land of the dead. It can be a place of torment or a place of rest (Luke 16:23) while one waits to be resurrected (Dan. 12:12).
Gehenna (aka the lake of fire) is a prison created for Satan and his angels (Matt. 25:41). It’s probably also synonymous with the abyss. After the resurrection and the judgement, all humans whose names are not found in the Book of Life are sentenced to Gehenna with Satan. Hell (the land of the dead) is then consumed by Gehenna (Rev. 20:14) because there is no more death and thus no more need for a realm of the dead.
The New/Renewed Earth is the earth restored (or recreated) to its original state of perfection. On this new/renewed earth, there is no cellular degeneration, no evil, suffering, pain, or death (Rev. 22:3).
It is where all who love God will live with Him forever because God is leaving heaven, and taking his throne with him, to live on the earth with people. (So if you plan on spending eternity in heaven, you’re pretty much spending it all by yourself.)
No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. And they will see his face . . . God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever (Rev. 22:3; 21:3-4).
While this one might not be critical, need to know information, it’s still relevant to our engaging in spiritual warfare because it reminds us what we are fighting for. We aren’t fighting to someday live in an immaterial realm as ghosts. We are fighting so that our captain and king can return to defeat the enemy and renew the earth so we can live with Him in a world with no evil and suffering.
Spiritual Warfare 101
Having accurate enemy intel is only spiritual warfare 101. To truly level up your armor, you need to know what the armor of God is and how to put it on, understand why Satan is targeting America, and recognize Satan’s various schemes. For more info, check out the post The Full Armor of God.
