Our war as Christians is not against persons, but powers (Ephesians 6:12). We face a throng of foes whose identities remain hidden to most. They hide from those without "ears to hear and eyes to see." (Mark 8:18, Matthew 13:16). The devil and his demons make war on us, and that war will be waged daily. The serpent of old, the dragon, the devil seeks to "kill, steal, and destroy," (John 10:10) us. He lurks in wait, that old Lucifer, waiting to lung upon the Lord's anointed.
Spiritual warfare has been majorly ignored since the 18th century. The deception that we are wiser these days, and that most demonic activity can be attributed to chemical imbalances has made most disciples of Christ unaware of the spiritual war. The devil and his horde of demons have become folklore to the today's 'sophisticated' society. The legion of evil that once plagued man's thoughts and mind are now considered medieval mythology and mystical tales.
It is understandable that many in Church are afraid of the subject of demons and deliverance. There have been many radicals in the Deliverance Ministry that have driven Christ's disciples from the subject. While exploring this important part of the Christian life, we must remember something, Jesus defeated the enemy: "In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross." (Colossians 2:15). Our foe was beaten two thousand and fifteen years ago at the cross. We must remember this, but also realized, "Submit therefore to God, resist the devil, and he shall flee." (James 4:7). There is a resisting that goes on despite that the devil was defeated. Our enemy has not given up on trying to destroy us, he seeks to dismantle our victory through implanting thoughts in our minds, encouraging bad behaviors, and crafting deceptions of his own.
The dragon is crafty and to defeat Him the Word of God says, "They (the saints) triumphed over him (the dragon/devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death." (Revelation 12:11). Ultimately it is Christ's blood that vanquishes the Red dragon, who is Satan. However, for us to win, there is the testimony. Our testimony is our profession of faith, our daily continuing and keeping relationship with Jesus Christ. Our testimony is tested by the devil, because if it falters, he can damn us, but the Blood of Lamb can never falter. So you see, while the dragon is defeated by the Blood of Jesus, we to stay free of the fires of hell that come from the dragon's mouth must keep our testimony and say in the end: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7). Paul's words touch on the last part of what the saints who triumphed did, they did not shrink from death. We must be willing to resist our enemy, the devil, even unto death.
This is where it is complicated. Jesus has defeated the devil, but we must through Jesus daily let the victory stand; we must fight or else the devil can gain another soul for sorrowful plains of Ghenna (hell). It is not that we are without power to defeat the devil, Jesus said, "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you." (Luke 10:18). We have the power and the promise, "that greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4). But we must fight! The devil cannot defeat our King and Lord Jesus Christ, but he can defeat us if we yield and cease fighting! The devil has lost, but he also wants us lost! This is the reality of spiritual warfare. Jesus has won, but we must continue to believe He has won and remind our enemy, that dragon with seven heads (Revelation 12:3), that we are the saints of God and "no weapon against us shall prosper." (Isaiah 54:17).
One might ask, why is Satan allowed to persecute the saints and test us? Why doesn't Jesus just remove our enemy once and for all? Well the answer is that our enemy will one day be judged, but until then his purpose is to keep us vigilant, alert, and our "lamps lit." (Matthew 25). In the Book of Revelation it says, "This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus." (Revelation 14:12). We are to be patient in the trials and temptations that the dragon hurls at us. We must fight back with prayer, trust in Christ, the word of our testimony, and the Blood of the Lamb. Each day, the dragon seeks to distract us and deepen the gulf between us an Almighty God. We must fight back, and not let fires of the devil burn us into submission! We must commune with Christ Jesus and keep close any gap between us and our God that Satan tries to place. Do not forget, Jesus has not abandoned us to fight alone. No, the Lord promises us, "And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day." (John 6:39). With this promise we also have another, "Christ Jesus who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." (Romans 8:34). We have not been abandoned on the battlefield.
Our battle will last for as long as we live. The dragon who is the devil wages war against us, and even after Jesus Christ returns, our enemy is allowed to fight for a little longer. The Scriptures say,
"He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore." (Revelation 20:2-3,7-8). It is clear that even after our Lord returns, we will have to do battle with the dragon.
There is good news in the end. One day, after Jesus Christ has returned and reigned a thousand years, the devil is defeated once and for all! The Scripture says, "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Revelation 20:10). The dragon will not simply be devoured in flame and cease to exist, no he shall suffer affliction and torment for eternity! At last vengeance will prevail and God will have our foe who has caused man since the beginning to stumble to be tormented as we have been tormented! Victory at last comes and it is sweet, for at last the dragon shall know the same terror and torment we had on this earth: the sleepless hours, the mind numbing thoughts, and physical affliction. At last, we shall be free of the torment, and the Tormentor shall face endless suffering for all the lives he has caused to suffer! Justice at last will be served! But we must endure until the end. Our God and Savior Jesus said, "the one who stands firm to the end will be saved," and "To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne." (Revelation 3:21). The Apostle Paul affirms the words of the Savior, "if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us.." (2 Timothy 2:12).
We must stand firm against Satan until we are either taken from this life to be with Jesus Christ or witness Him returning on the clouds and are caught up. Until either of these happen, the dragon shall seek to divide us from our Lord, to snuff out our discipleship and destroy every trace of our relationship with Christ. Do not let him! He cannot prevail against the Blood of Jesus, and He must, "flee" if you resist him! Do not make the mistake of believing that our enemy is incapable of causing harm. He wants to destroy us, and his fury is directed at us, the believers, not at non-believers. The devil has not need to descend as a dragon on the worldly, he has them already, no his furnace of flame is prepared for us and he shoots "fiery darts" at the saints. So "hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil," (Ephesians 6:16) and do battle with the "sword of the spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). [Note: There is more armor to utilize see all of Ephesians 6]. Remember that our Lord and Savior Jesus resisted the devil in the desert by saying, "It is written.." (Matthew 4:4, Luke 4:4). Jesus quoted the Scriptures against the dragon, and resisted him and he did flee. So memorize Scripture for battle, pray in tongues, pray, call on the Blood of Lamb, and resist the devil! Fight! Fight until the end, and until you hear, "well done my good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:33).
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