Satan’s tightly organized kingdom and numerous messengers exist for the sole purpose of achieving his evil goal. Satan desires four things:
(1) In eternity he wanted to be the Most High (Isa. 14:14).
(2) In the garden of Eden he wanted to be like God (Gen. 3:5).
(3) In the wilderness he wanted to be worshipped (Luke 4:7).
(4) In the temple he will want to be God (2 Thes. 2:4).
Satan’s consistent goal is to be God and to be worshipped as God. In order to achieve this, he has formed a tightly organized kingdom. He controls all the materials in it on the one hand, and he tries to build up his kingdom on earth on the other hand. He knows that God eventually will establish His kingdom on earth, and he has gone a step ahead of God to establish his own. Genesis 6 reveals how Satan corrupted the men God had created. In Genesis 11, Satan instigated men to corporately rebel against God by building the tower of Babel to make a name for themselves. In Egypt Satan used Pharaoh to persecute the Israelites (Exo. 1:8-22). The great image in Daniel 2:31-43 signifies the earthly kingdoms which are established by Satan himself. These kingdoms up- lift men, rebel against God, and withstand God’s kingdom (which at that time was Israel).
(1) Blinding men’s thoughts (2 Cor. 4:4).
(2) Stealing men’s worship (Rev. 13:12).
(3) Snatching away God’s word which men have heard, so that men forget what they have heard (Matt. 13:19).
(4) Bringing in counterfeits—religion and morality (1 Tim. 4:1-3).
Satan knows that God hates the flesh. Therefore, he pretends to hate it by instigating men to be vegetarians and to abstain from marriage. He also wins men’s hearts by promoting culture and science, creating confusion to convince men of their impotence, and creating false peace to cover up his darkness.
(1) Persecutions, threats (Rev. 2:10; Acts 5:28).
(2) Attacks on the body (2 Cor. 12:7).
(3) Counterfeits, slanders, and lies (2 Cor. 11:13-15; Rev. 2:9; 3:9).
(4) Filling men’s hearts and causing men to become covetous (Acts 5:3). This shows us that it is difficult to separate Satan from money.
We have to pay attention to Satan’s works. Concerning everything that happens to us, we should not ask what it is but where it is coming from. It is not a matter of good or bad but a matter of the source. Everything that Satan does is with a view to increase his power, kingdom, and authority. He is doing everything he can to oppose God. He exhausts all of his tactics and employs all of his messengers to do just one thing—win men over. The kind of people he is most afraid of are those who do God’s will. Today God’s goal is to gain men who will destroy all the works of Satan. Satan’s goal is to win men over to oppose God’s will. This is a warfare between two thrones. God wants men to destroy Satan’s will, while Satan wants men to destroy God’s will. May the Lord clearly show us Satan’s kingdom, organization, and evil plots. May God cause us to be those who only love His will so that we can deal with Satan, His adversary.