Who Is The Enemy? (Part 2: His Names)

What is our enemy called? Many of us know him as the devil or Satan, but his very name gives insight as to who he is and what he is about. Here are just a couple of the names he is referred to in the Bible;

Accuser
Father of Lies (Liar)
Adversary
Evil Spirit
Tempter

His name tells us that he is a liar, a manipulator and evil. A pastor once explained that God is good and because God is the beginning then that makes him the original good. So all things good come from God nothing can be good unless God has a part in it. Therefore, on the converse side, if Satan is evil and we know him as the 1st evil then nothing but evil comes from him and he has his hand in anything evil. His intentions will never be good.

The Liar: His ultimate goal is to try to convince us that we have messed up and that there is no forgiveness for us. But if we know the Lord our God, we know that He is a forgiving God. A God that believes in forgiveness so much that He sent His only Son to die a sinner’s death to reconcile us to Him. The devil wants you to believe that you have messed up so much that God doesn’t want anything to do with you. The feelings that are born from this type of lie creates depression and withdrawal from God and His Holy presence. These lies cause for some to want to commit suicide, hurt others and bring about other destructive behavior. So the next time you are feeling depressed, or think that you are not worthy of the Lord, tell that liar to get behind you in the name of Jesus. Tell that liar that there is no place in your life for his lies because your very life is owned and consumed by the Lord your God.

The Accuser: Have you ever known someone who has tried to get you into trouble? They try to say and do anything to make you look bad? That’s what the devil tries to do. He is just waiting to speak against us in front of the Lord.

Zechariah 3: 1-10

1Then he showed me Joshuaa the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satanb standing at his right side to accuse him. 2The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”
3Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.”
Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you.”
5Then I said, “Put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the Lord stood by.
6The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: 7“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.
8“‘Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. 9See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! There are seven eyesc on that one stone, and I will engrave an inscription on it,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.
10“‘In that day each of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and fig tree,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

In this passage Satan is illustrated as an accuser. He is just waiting to speak against Joshua the Priest (not to be confused with Joshua to successor to Moses). The priest is dressed in filthy clothes with represents sin and shame. He has probably done some things in his life that he needs to repent for. But God sees the potential and instructs His angel to take away the filthy clothes and to give him clean clothes. Now you can probably imagine Satan pitching a fit. He’s inevitably perturbed that the Lord is willing to forgive Joshua and set him over His people. Place yourself in the priest’s shoes. At some point in our life God calls us. And He says, “I will take away all your sin, your past, your shame and I will give you clean hands and a clean heart, and I will cause you to walk in My ways. I will give you a position in My kingdom and cause you to reign with Me. I will give you a divine purpose, one that will not be snatched away by the Accuser. You will fulfill this purpose if you keep your eyes on Me and keep My Words in your heart. I will cause you to be obedient to My will so that your time on earth will be used to the furtherance of My kingdom.” We all stand before the Lord of Hosts and the Accuser. While the Accuser is trying to point out why we are not good enough God is saying you are good enough. He is saying that He will make you strong and that you can do all things because He strengthens you. Don’t pay attention to the Accuser, don’t listen to his allegations. Stand before the Lord with assurance that He will bring your through and that nothing the Accuser says will stop the Lord from loving you and using you.

The Tempter: It’s no shock that one of his many names is Tempter. If he had the nerve to try to tempt Jesus, surely he is trying to tempt us. He’s so good at trying to tempt people that he even uses (misuses) the Word of God. This is so clearly illustrated in The New Testament, when Jesus is nearing the end of His 40 day fast and the devil comes to try to tempt Him. Read Matthew 4: 1-11 and Luke 4: 1-13.

All his names reveal his character and expose his devices. The next post will explore these devices and his weapons and the final post will conclude with how we can defeat this foe.