Whether it is for selling drugs or hacking Facebook accounts, the “dark web” is rife with illegal activity. To combat these nefarious digital vandals, the field of digital forensics investigates cyber crimes by looking for telltale signs. Tracing bot accounts to their IP source or finding signature hacking methods helps authorities gain insight into who may be responsible for an otherwise anonymous crime.
Like our digital nemeses, our spiritual enemies like to work in the shadows. The more covert their operations, the more effectively we can be tricked into thinking our urges and impulses are more altruistic than they actually are. It is important for us to understand who–or what–is influencing our decisions. So, how can we decipher whether what we feel, hear, or think is coming from the devil and his horde of spirits?
Fortunately–for us–we get a glimpse into the devil’s playbook from the very beginning. God’s one prohibitive command is for Adam and Eve to refrain from eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). In Genesis 3, a cunning serpent approaches Eve after both creation and God’s rule have been established; Satan disguises his true form, just as a modern-day hacker does.
He begins by attacking Eve’s understanding of God’s Word–we might say this is Satan’s attack on her faith. God’s word is true, but Satan twists it by initially asking, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1, NIV) His insinuation is blatantly untrue, and Satan knows it. Thankfully, Eve stands firm in the accuracy of God’s word.
So, Satan moves to confuse her identity by calling God a liar and insists she “will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5, NIV) He insists that Eve will certainly not die (3:4), but is offering something he cannot give–life and protection. Satan skews Eve’s perception of herself and her relationship with God to find a foothold in her heart. His words incite her desire, which reveals that the fruit is “pleasing to the eye.” (3:6).
Satan attacks Eve’s faith, finds success is confusing her identity, and incites her desire. In this instance, Satan wins. With his newfound success, Satan continues using the same approach throughout the Bible.
Satan attacked Job in the same ways; exploiting his worldly desires by stealing Job’s wealth and attacking his identity when killing Job’s lineage. However, Job holds firm to his faith (Job 1:21-22). Yet, Job’s plight becomes more difficult when Satan attacks his health. The rest of the poem documents Job’s struggles with believing in God’s character until God reminds Job of His holiness. Job’s relationship with God is restored and so is the righteous man. Again, Satan found success by exploiting Job’s worldly desires, attacking his identity, and perverting his understanding of God to confuse Job toward sin.
As our world of chaos adds pressure to believers, our environment leaves us worn out and vulnerable. Our difficult circumstances prime us to fall to Satan’s repeated tactics by leveraging our fragile moments. Job was already despondent from the loss of family and possessions when Satan struck a second time. Eve was separated from her partner, Adam, and Satan slyly confused her. Similarly, Satan also waited for Jesus’ 40-day fast before offering his strongest temptation.
By this time, the world had long been lost due to the success of Satan’s ploys; so, he tried the same strategy on Jesus, but to a different result. After Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist (Luke 3:21), He heads into the wilderness, knowing the battle ahead of Him. As usual, the devil approaches Jesus first by questioning His identity. Satan presses a starving Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” (Luke 4:3, Matthew 4:3) Jesus, though, responds with the truth of Scripture.
Dismayed but unabated, Satan goes after Jesus’ desires–His ultimate desire to reign over Earth in His upcoming glory (Revelation 14:14) as well as avoid the crucifixion set before him (Luke 22:42). Satan offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world (Luke 4:6, Matthew 4:9), but is again offering something he cannot give. Once more, Jesus responds with correctly understood Scripture.
In a last-ditch effort, Satan lobs an attack against Jesus’ understanding of God’s Word by suggesting Jesus can jump from a cliff and trust God to send angels to protect Him. Jesus replies with Scripture one last time (Luke 4:12, Matthew 4:7). Having run out of options, the devil retreats and Jesus’ ministry begins.
This last attempt is rather ridiculous if we put some thought into it. Whereas Eve and Job may have been fallible in understanding God’s intention, Jesus was with the Father from the beginning. He has heard every word, yet Satan could not come up with a different tactic. Jesus perfectly resists and sets the stage for His ultimate victory.
So it is with us. As James declared, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7, NIV) Knowing Satan’s tactics of attacking our identity, exploiting our desires, and confusing our faith prepares us to resist him best. We must be firm in all areas: our identity, self-control, and–most of all–faith, to have any chance against the ruler of darkness.
How do we resist him? By following the perfect example Christ set. Eve was initially successful in quoting God correctly, but she lost her footing. Job’s initial response is a poem of praise. However, when either of them began speaking their own words instead of God’s, they became vulnerable to failure.
Jesus, instead, correctly quoted Scripture against all three of Satan’s strategies. So, too, must we arm ourselves with a shield of faith and the sword that is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:16-17) to counterattack Satan’s repetitious scheme.
It’s worth noting that we should not be dismayed when the devil comes for us. We become bigger targets AFTER professing our faith, just as Jesus was tempted AFTER the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. As Jesus, the Good Shepherd, seeks the lost sheep of his flock, so, too, does evil pursue those he has lost. When we stay close to Jesus, however, the devil will flee because “The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away... The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.” (John 10:12-13, NIV) Satan cannot steal us away from the Lion of Judah; we must choose to leave Jesus’ side first.
Jesus is our ultimate example in everything, including dealing with our spiritual enemy. Let’s recognize the devil’s plan to exploit our identity, desires, and spiritual misunderstandings by standing firm as beloved children of God (Hosea 2:23), desiring love and spiritual gifts above all (1 Corinthians 14:1), while meditating on God’s law day and night (Psalm 1). These are our only defenses against the father of lies (John 8:44).
