Ezekiel28:12 ..”`You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were

Satan on his way to bring about the downfall of Adam. Gustave Doré’s illustration for Paradise Lost by John Milton. Paradise Lost Book III, lines 739-742 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, [2] turquoise and beryl. [3] Your settings and mountings [4] were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. 14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. 16 Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. 17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.’”

Sara has made mention about whether or not satan exists as an actual being, or if instead, he is just this vague force of evil. I have remained silent about how I know satan is a real being, with a separate identity and personality, because people have to decide and understand their own relationships with God, and in turn, with satan. I’ve watched as several people around me have sunk into a kind of despair this week, and it has been hard for me to not point at some of the fingerprints I recognize and advise on the war tactics against the devil that have worked for me. But, until one accepts that satan and his army of fallen angels are indeed as real as you and me, there is no warring against them. You can’t fight an enemy that you don’t even believe in.

To me, though, satan has always been distressingly real, and the more I got to understand his hatred for Jesus and for us, the easier it was for me to turn all the anger that I’ve grappled with towards him as a target. Now, Sara is beginning to wonder if she may have been initially incorrect about this enemy’s actual existence, and it feels like a good time to put my thoughts on the enemy down.

I find it sad that some churches are either unaware, or uninterested, in talking about the existence of satan. If we are looking at it from a financial standpoint, talking about the devil is just bad business. No one wants to feel threatened, and we sure don’t want some spooky para-normal entity to be lurking around us. How many people would actually agree to become Christians if they really understood the nature of the war we are embroiled in? Some, like my one commenter, seek to come to a truce with him, signaling to me a complete lack of knowledge about the being of satan as he really exists. Other either ignore his existence, or completely steer their minds away from dwelling on him at all.

I think that is just another brilliant ploy by the enemy to render some people ineffectual. I am not caught in that web, and maybe that is one of the main reasons he launches his minions to attack me constantly…He doesn’t try to convince me anymore that he can be bargained with, ignored, or disbelieved. Now, he just tries to wear me down.. Ahhh, but I still have all this righteous anger, which grows by the minute when I see what he does to all the people around me, and because of that, I keep my eyes always open for the next attack.

I am always cautious about not being arrogant when dealing with satan, mainly because the bible told us not to, but also I have a healthy respect for his power as my enemy. He’s been plying his trade since the beginning of time…I’ve been here about 44 years…if it weren’t for Jesus, I’d never win any battles against him! But one of the gifts I believe Jesus has blessed me with is my understanding of satan’s ploys and motivations, and knowing the tricks of the enemy does help stave off some of his attacks. I think this goes back to the hyper-vigilance I developed, and my love for strategy games. Jesus works all the bad things that happen to us to His good… I see that truth all over my life!

I don’t believe that satan himself is behind every evil thing that happens in my life. I have a sinful, fallen nature just like everyone else, but I do recognize when satan’s little minions show up to party in my existence…Anymore, they are woefully desperate, throwing attack after attack at me. And, as it seems to be happening with Sara, they might be over-playing their hands a bit. Sara wasn’t inclined to believe in satan at all, had he not been trying to show her how powerful he himself was, as she indicated here. It makes me chuckle a little, too. I can honestly say I thought he was going to blow it with her exactly the way he did. Pride goes before the fall, always. The principle applies to satan and his minions as well.

The scriptures indicate that the devil is a being with manipulative skills and able to receive a curse – Genesis 3.

He was called the Day Star, Son of Dawn – Isaiah 14:12-15 Why name some vague evil force?

Sinners are considered his sons – John 8:44 Evil forces don’t have family.

He is a liar and the father of lies – John 8:44

He is a schemer – Ephesians 6:11-18 A really, really good one, and a worthy enemy.

He has a history and a destiny….

Some of my favorites about his history and destiny: