The Armour of GOD

“And the Dragon was ENRAGED ...
 and he went to make WAR with those who keep the Commandments of GOD
 and have the Testimony of Jesus Christ.”  
Revelation 12:17.

Note: Satan is NOT enraged with the world, he is enraged with the Saints of GOD.  Why?  Because they are the ones who destroy Satan's accusations by being witnesses to GOD and His Truths. 

What are Satan's tactics of Warfare?  I hear many Christians today say: I don't want to know anything about the Devil.  I say: Why not?  Knowing about the Devil doesn't mean you have to be like the Devil.  On the contrary, to remain ignorant of who Satan is, and how he operates, is dangerous.  To remain ignorant of Satan's mode of operation is foolishness for it will lead to your destruction.  Therefore I say: Know Your Enemy.  Know him exceedingly well because he knows YOU exceedingly well.  “Be sober (be serious minded) and vigilant for your adversary the Devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”  1 Peter 5:8.


Satan's Weapons of Warfare

If you were going to War against an enemy, what kind of armour would you use?  Would not your armour depend upon his weaponry?  Would you wear a gas suit into a nuclear reactor, or a radiation suit into a biochemical plant?  If you did you would surely die, because a gas suit would not protect you from dangerous radioactive emissions, nor would a radiation suit protect you from nerve gas.

So when you go to War against the Devil, does your armour match his weaponary, or is your armour nothing but a facade?  In order to counteract Satan's weaponary, your armour must match his weaponary 100%.  Note: that's not 90% or 99%, it is 100%, or else he will succeed in his strike against you.  Remember Satan is so ingenuously clever that if your armour is only 99% solid, he will get through that 1% crack, and through it dislodge the rest of your armour until you become totally defenceless against his attacks.

Many Christians believe there are different types of armour for different types of people, that somehow our armour is based upon our own individual strengths and weaknesses.  This is WRONG.  There is only ONE type of Armour for ALL Christians.  “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against Principalities, against Powers, against the Rulers of the Darkness of this Age, against Spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  Ephesians 6:12.  This battle is unto DEATH.  Either you destroy the enemy or he will destroy you.  There is no middle ground.  If Satan becomes the Victor he will take the spoils of his Warfare - Your Soul.

What are Satan's Weapons of Warfare?  If you read the Bible from beginning to end, Satan's War tactics are always the same.  He uses the same methods over and over again.


Weapon 1 - Deception

Satan is the Master of Deception and his most powerful and chief weapon is Deception.  Everything Satan does is based upon Deception - from his first words to Eve in the Garden of Eden to his last Battle of Gog and Magog. “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations ...”  Revelation 20:7-8.

How does Satan deceive?  His system is called Truth by Association.  Satan will never come out and tell you an outright lie.  He is far too clever for that.  He will ALWAYS add a lie onto the truth, and in that way, make the lie undiscernible from the truth, because they are both mutually associated.  Thus Satan's most clever lies are the ones closest to the truth.  These are Satan's tactics of deception as the most “cunning” beast of the field.


Weapon 2 - Fear

Satan's second most powerful weapon is Fear.  If Satan cannot get you by deception, he will try to get you by fear.  Fear of what?  Fear is the first negative emotion we learn as children.  Fear of loss, fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of circumstances, fear of change, fear of the future, and especially, fear to stand up for what is right.  ALL forms of fear are inspired of Satan in an effort to make you conform to the standards of the world which he controls.  

Unlike Deception, Fear is a worldly weapon, because fear will make you strive harder for the things of this world under the illusion that attaining these things will dispel the fear.  This is deception, for the more you strive to dispel your fear by conforming to the standards of the world, the further you remove yourself from GOD, and the easier it becomes for Satan to destroy you.  “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with GOD?  Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of GOD.”  James 4:4.  


Weapon 3 - Coercion

Satan's third most powerful weapon is Coercion.  This Coercion comes in two forms:  Oppression and/or Bribery.  

1.  Oppression.  If Satan cannot deceive you, or place fear into you, he will oppress you until you submit to his will.  One of the cruellest forms of oppression is when an evil parent oppresses a child into Sin.  I know how absolutely devasting this is because I experience this form of oppression from my father.  Oppression can come in many forms however, such as financial oppression, physical oppression through bad health, or more direct forms of oppression through parents, spouses, employers, and governments.

2.  Bribery.  This is the weapon Satan used against Jesus in the wilderness.  “The Devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him: All these things I will give you if you will fall down and worship me.”  Matthew 4:8-9.  Why did Satan use this tactic on Jesus?  Because Satan knew Jesus could not be deceived, nor controlled by fear.  Thus we can conclude that bribery is Satan's LAST resort.

Man will often obtain wealth and success in the world when he lives by Satanic principles.  That is because Satan is the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and he lets those who live in his will prosper, while those who live in GOD's will are brought into trial and tribulation.  This weapon of Bribery works extremely well with men who have given themselves over to Satan in return for wealth and power. 

Note the order of Satan's weaponary: Deception --> Fear --> Coercion.  One is built upon the foundations of the other.  See how Coercion is tied back into Fear, and Fear is tied back into Deception.  Deception <-- Fear <-- Coercion.  Why doesn't Satan use Coercion first?  Because Deception is Satan's primary quality.  He is a Liar and the father of Lies, that is why he will ALWAYS use Deception as his primary weapon.  

These 3 weapons of Warfare are enough to wipe out the entire human race, for without the armour of GOD upon you, you WILL FALL to one or more of these war tactics.  Our next question is: how do we counteract these weapons of soul destruction?


Armours of Defense

Now that we know Satan's primary weapons of Warfare, how do we know which specific armoury is required for each weapon?  The answer is contained in Holy Scripture.  Satan is by nature the every opposite of GOD.  That means his mode of operation is opposite of GOD's.  That means our Armour must be the complete opposite of his Weaponary.


The Armour against Deception is TRUTH.

How can we combat Deception?  By Truth.  And what is Truth?  “Your Word is Truth.”  John 17:17.  When Satan tempted Jesus in the wildnerness, Jesus always replied: It is written ...  Truth is therefore, the Word of GOD.  

In the Old Testament, Truth is the written Word of GOD.  “Your Law is Truth.”  Psalm 119:142.  In the New Testament, Truth is the incarnate Word of GOD.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with GOD, and the Word was GOD."  John 1:1.  “Jesus answered: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”  John 14:6.     

So how do we protect ourselves from Satan's Deception?  By the Word of GOD.  We MUST abide in the Word of GOD in order for Satan not to be able to deceive us.  Note: the Word of GOD is synonymous for both Jesus and His Word. 


The Armour against Fear is LOVE. 

How can we combat Fear?  By Love.  And what is Love?  “GOD is Love.”  1 John 4:8.  “There is no fear in Love, for perfect Love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in Love.”  1 John 4:18.  He who fears has not attained the fullness and measure of Christ.  Fear involves torment, and that proves it is an element of Satan.

So how do we combat Fear?  By abiding in the Holy Spirit.  “For GOD has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of Love.”  2 Timothy 1:7.  And how do we abide in the Holy Spirit?  By abiding in the Word of GOD.  That means abiding in Jesus and in His Word.  “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.”  John 8:31.  “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”  John 15:7.


The Armour against Coercion is . . . 

How do we combat Coercion?  Remember Coercion comes in two parts: Oppression and Bribery.  The answer may seem difficult at first glance, but not so difficult if we abide in the Word of GOD.

What is the Armour against Oppression?  Unlike the preceding Armours, this armour is totally provided by GOD Himself.  Of course ALL the armours are provided by GOD, but this one is uniquely different in that man can do absolutely NOTHING.  It is the LORD Himself who will release you from the oppressors hand.  “I snatched you from the power of Egypt and from the hand of all your oppressors.”  Judges 6:9.  “He will defend the afflicted ... He will crush the oppressor.”  Psalm 72:4.

What is the Armour against Bribery?  This armour is also uniquely different in that man is not asked to put on anything but on the contrary, he is asked to remove something.  That something is himself.  “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”  Matthew 10:37.  Then Jesus said to His Disciples: “If anyone would come after Me, he must DENY HIMSELF, take up his Cross daily, and follow Me.”  Matthew 16:24.  Not only must we renounce the world, we must also renounce ourselves.  Once we have renounced ourselves, Satan's lures and enticements have no affect over us.

What does all this mean?  It means that we are no longer fighting the enemy but that GOD is fighting the enemy for us.  Note how the entire Armour is ONE integral whole which cannot be divided.  The Armour displays the attributes of GOD, just like the Weaponary displays the attributes of Satan.


Conclusion

The Armour of GOD is GOD Himself.  Note that man is asked to do two things: to abide in the Word of GOD and in His Love.  Only then will the LORD do His part for us.  See how GOD always works in Covenant with man.  The Saints are the only people fully equipped with the armour of GOD, as they live in the Spirit of GOD.  “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.”  Zechariah 4:6.