Though depicted in popular culture as a playful but harmless figure in a red suit with with a pitchforks, horns, and a barbed tail, Satan is anything but harmless.  He’s actually an unspeakably malicious spirit entity intent of deceiving and destroying as much of humanity as possible.  Other descriptions of him include:

          -the tempter (Matthew 4:3)

          -murderer, father of lies (John 8:44)

          -wicked one (1 John 5:19)

          -the prince of the power of the air, the spirt working in the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2)

          Once known as Lucifer, Satan was part of the heaven host until he tried to usurp God’s place as ruler of the heavens.   A third of the angels joined in this rebellion, which ultimately failed and led to their expulsion from heaven,  Satan knows what’s in store for him, and that his fate is inescapable.  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever (Revelation 20:10).

            Satan knows that hell is real, and he’s not playing games.  He will pull out all the stops to ensure you suffer with him in the lake of fire.  If you think that Satan can’t deceive you, he already has.  God the Father and Jesus Christ are smarter and mightier than the devil, but we are not.  He’s been deceiving people for 6000 years now, and he’s very good at what he does.  You go out there and try to match wits with him, and he’ll pick you apart.

          Some bank robberies and are carried out by men who barge in yelling and waving guns.  But some people discreetly pass the teller a note demanding money.  The teller, trained not to resist, gives up the money, and the robber leaves, leaving everyone except the teller none the wiser that a robbery even occurred.  Conversely, Satan does not always behave like the proverbial bull in a china shop.  He’s diabolically clever, observant, patient, and extremely methodical.

          Satan is called the tempter for a reason.  He can’t force anyone to look at pornography or have an affair, but he is behind the temptation to do these things.  But he might not tempt you with obvious sin, but will try to keep you distracted.  He’ll try to get you to take your eyes and mind off Jesus, and he’ll do anything to keep you from reading, studying, and most importantly, obeying the King James Bible. 

          What Satan hates and fears the most is the possibility of someone deciding to be a sold-out slave of Jesus Christ, the kind of person who obeys God out of love and gratitude and not just fear.   Someone might burn or shred their stash of pornography, stop dabbling in the occult, and start putting Jesus Christ over the desires of their sinful flesh.

          Once you receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, you become a threat to Satan.  You cannot harm him physically, but the Lord can use you to reduce the number of people Satan takes with him into the lake of fire.  Prayer and fasting, saying no the flesh, empowers the believer in Jesus.  And Satan will fight you every step of the way.  To Satan, a believer who spreads the gospel of Jesus Christ out of concern for the eternal destiny is extremely dangerous.  Some will reject it, but others will call upon Jesus for salvation.   Next thing, four of five.  Then maybe six or seven, and so on, and so on.  

          He’s all about damage control.  Remember Satan is smarter than you or I will ever be.  And it wouldn’t surprise me if he could recite the entire Bible, Genesis to Revelation.   James 5:16 says that the prayer of a righteous man avails much, and Satan knows that.  So if he can’t stop you from praying, he’ll try to sabotage your prayers and make then ineffective by tempting you with sin and unrighteousness. 

          Another one of Satan tactics is duping people into thinking hell is reserved exclusively for those who engage in ‘big’ sins like murder or pedophilia.  Actually, there are probably millions of so-called ‘good people’ in hell.  You don’t have to be an actual Satanist or devil worshipper.  If you’re not under the blood of Jesus Christ, the devil by default is your ruler, your master, your king.

          And of course, Satan will try to convince you of that you’ve got plenty of time.  People will terminal illness anticipate death, but death doesn’t call or email its victims and tell them when, where and how its coming.  It takes its victims by surprise, and when it comes, you can’t get ready.  You have to be ready.

          Believer have a powerful enemy in Satan, but we have an even more powerful ally in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The only reason Satan is able to operate with seeming impunity is because God allows it.  When Satan tested Job in the book of the same name, he not only needed God’s permission, but had to observe very specific parameters regarding what he could do.  His utter destruction is unavoidable.  Don’t let him take you with him.