When an army goes into battle, the commanding general will seek to know everything he can about the nature, capacity and intentions of his enemy. This is called "intelligence", and is just as imperative if we are to be effective in spiritual warfare. It is important for us to know our Enemy ‑ his strengths and weaknesses ‑ and also to know ourselves ‑ our strengths and weaknesses.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" Ephesians 6:12.

The Bible doesn't go into great detail about the origin of Satan, the "Evil One", but it provides many hints. Read Isa.14:12‑14; Eze.28:12‑19.

From these verses we see a little of Satan's nature before his fall. The Bible says he was created in blameless perfection, with outstanding beauty and wisdom, but pride corrupted him and he rebelled against the will of God.

Although Satan is now a fallen creature, warped by sin, he still possesses the same essential characteristics that God created him with:

! He is a created being (James 2:19).

! He is a beautiful creature (2 Cor.11:4).

! He is a wise creature (2 Cor.2:11).

The character of Satan is summed up in the name given to him in Revelation 9:11: " Apollyon", which means "the Destroyer". Jesus said: "He was a murderer from the beginning..." John 8:44 (see also 10:10).

Satan's character of destruction is outworked towards mankind in three ways. He is a:

30238. Liar (John 8:44)

30239. Deceiver (1 Tim.2:14; Rev.12:9)

30240. Accuser (Rev.12:10).

Satan's character is the diametric opposite of Christ's:

! Satan is a MURDERER ‑ Jesus is the LIFE.

! Satan is a LIAR ‑ Jesus is the TRUTH.

! Satan is the ACCUSER of the brethren ‑ Jesus is our ADVOCATE (see John 14:6; 1John 2:1).

When Satan tempted Adam and Eve to disobey God, he acquired "authority rights" over mankind and everything that had been given to mankind ‑ the earth (Psalm 115:6; Luke 4:6).

Ephesians 2:2 describes our Enemy as "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in those who are disobedient." This reveals three things about the Enemy's present authority:

Title: Satan is called a "prince" (Matt.9:34; John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).

Influence: The word here translated "power" is in fact the Greek word exousia, meaning "authority" or "dominion". Every action the Enemy makes against people's lives is from the authority base he has in that community (see Colossians 1:13‑ the exousia of darkness).

Altitude: Satan operates from the "heavenlies", in this case meaning the earth's atmosphere (see Luke 10:18; Daniel 10:12‑13; Rev.12:7‑12).

Disinformation is false information, fed by one army to another, in order to mask its true intentions and, if possible, its identity. Satan has five classic ploys of disinformation that disguise his identity and power:

30323. The‑Devil‑Is‑A‑Myth Ploy

30324. The‑Poor‑Misunderstood‑Devil Ploy

30325. The‑Devil‑And‑God‑Are‑Brothers Ploy

30326. The‑Devil‑Made‑Me‑Do‑It Ploy

30327. Who's‑Afraid‑Of‑The‑Big‑Bad‑Devil Ploy

Satan is after four specific things:

! Dominion

! Worship

! The Destruction of Mankind

! The Thwarting of God's Plan

In order to accomplish this, Satan has a strategic (high‑level) and tactical (low‑level) agenda.

The human mind holds a high priority on the Enemy's program, and this is his main battleground (2 Cor.10:3‑5). In order to blind people's minds to the reality of the Gospel, Satan seeks to control strategic points in the community:

30408. Political/legislative institutions

30409. Religious institutions

30410. Financial Institutions

30411. The Media

30412. The Education System

30413. Science and Philosophy ‑ "intellectualism"

Satan's desire is to mould community values in order to create more rebels like himself ‑ "alienated from God and...enemies in (their) minds because of (their) evil behaviour" (Col.1:21). This strategic control is referred to as "Babylon" ‑ the political, economic and religious system of the world (Rev. 18:2; 1 John 2:15‑16).

Our Enemy's tactical agenda doesn't target communities and nations as a whole, but individuals. Satan gains a foothold in individual lives (Eph.4:26‑28) primarily through:

! Temptation (1 Thess.3:5)

! Deception (2 Cor.11:3)

Ultimately, demonic forces seek to control individual lives by demonising them ‑ exercising direct control over parts or all of their lives.

"Be self‑controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings" 1 Peter 5:8‑9 (see also James 4:7).

The Church is the vehicle of God's redemptive plan and is the one thing standing between Satan and his four‑point agenda (2 Thess.2:6‑8). Therefore the Church is at the top of Satan's hit list.

Satan has nine main methods of dealing with the Church, either by destroying it or rendering it ineffective.

30493. Direct (Physical) Persecution

30494. Indirect (Psychological) Persecution

30495. Deception

30496. Ignorance

30497. Division

30498. Apathy

30499. Introversion

30500. Leadership attack

30501. Mixture

Satan's primary weapon against the Church is not persecution (this simply serves to strengthen and purify the Church), but mixture! If he can mix up the two kingdoms in our lives we become ineffective in the purposes of God (2 Cor.6:14‑7:1; 1 Peter 2:9‑12; Phil.2:14‑15).