Summary: <p>Ephesians 2:2 NLT<br>2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.* He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.<br> <br>Ephesians 2:2 NASB in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. <br><br><br><br>You need to know that Satan is a defeated enemy.<br> Satan was defeated at the cross.<br> Satan is defeated in that he no longer has the right to accuse us.<br> Satan says God’s people deserve punishment<br><br>Ephesians 1:21<br>21 Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come.<br>Jesus is far above any ruler and this includes the Devil or Satan.<br>We don’t need to live in fear.<br><br>How did Christ become exalted?<br> Philippians 2:6-11<br>6 Though he was God,* <br>he did not think of equality with God <br>as something to cling to. <br>7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges*; <br>he took the humble position of a slave* <br>and was born as a human being. <br>When he appeared in human form,* <br>8 he humbled himself in obedience to God <br>and died a criminal’s death on a cross. <br>9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor <br>and gave him the name above all other names, <br>10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, <br>in heaven and on earth and under the earth, <br>11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, <br>to the glory of God the Father. <br><br>Every tongue will confess and this includes Satan.<br><br>1 Peter 3:22<br>22 Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority. <br><br>So what did the cross have to do with defeating Satan?<br>Colossians 2:13-15<br>13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, he disarmed* the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.<br><br>Disarmed means Jesus took away Satan’s ammunition.<br><br><br><br><br>Hebrews 2:14<br>14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had* the power of death.<br><br>Romans 8:38<br>38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,* neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.<br><br>What was God’s purpose in all of this?<br>Ephesians 3:10<br>10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.<br><br>2. You need to know that Satan’s primary tool is deception.<br>Rev 20:1-3<br>Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit* and a heavy chain in his hand. 2 He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. 3 The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while. <br><br>7 When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. 8 He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore. 9 And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them. <br>10 Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. <br><br>When did this binding take place?<br>John 12:31<br>31 The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out.<br><br>“that old serpent” refers to Satan in the Garden of Eden when he deceived Adam and Eve.<br>Genesis 3:13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” <br>“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” <br>After Eden, Satan began to do on a world-wide scale what he began in the Garden.<br><br>2 Thessalonians 2:1-12<br>Now, dear brothers and sisters,* let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. 2 Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. 3 Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness* is revealed—the one who brings destruction.* 4 He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. <br>5 Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? 6 And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. 7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. 8 Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. <br>9 This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. 10 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. 11 So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. 12 Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth. <br><br>Man of Lawlessness being held back now, just as Satan is being held back now.<br>Man of Lawlessness is revealed in order to deceive and bring destruction (on the church), just as Satan is loosed to deceive and bring destruction on the church.<br>Man of Lawlessness’ deception ends with the Return of Christ, just as Satan’s deception ends with the return of Christ.<br><br>What is the extent of the destruction that Satan will bring?<br>Matthew 24:21<br>For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again. 22 In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones. <br><br>Matthew 24:29-31<br>29 “Immediately after the anguish of those days, <br>the sun will be darkened, <br>the moon will give no light, <br>the stars will fall from the sky, <br>and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.* <br>30 And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.* 31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world*—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. <br><br> Satan deceived Israel so that they were not effective in bringing God’s rule to the ends of the Earth.<br> Satan deceived the nations to murder Jesus on the cross.<br><br>1 Corinthians 15:24<br>24 After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power.<br><br>If Satan were not restrained he would rise up to cause all the nations to kill the church.<br><br><br>3. You need to know that Satan still needs to be resisted.<br>Ephesians 4:26-27<br>26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”* Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil. <br><br>Ephesians 6:11, 12 & 16<br>11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.<br>12 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.<br>16 In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.*<br><br>2 Cor 10:3-5<br>3 We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. 4 *We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.<br>Taking these texts together we understand that in defending truth and exposing lies we are doing spiritual warfare.<br><br>1 Peter 5:8-9<br>8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.</p>
