1. Satan is a liar, and the father of lies

This is the strategy that Satan has used from the beginning: to lie and deceive. It should be clear to us that this tactic is not outdated. It is being used every day, every moment to try to delude people. To some, the archdeceiver tells the theory of the Big Bang; to others, that there is still time to prepare for the second coming; and to still others, that they can keep any other day than the seventh-day Sabbath. Christ unveiled the character of Satan when He rebuked the Pharisees and the rulers of His time, declaring: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). We see that the first example of deception upon Earth was when Satan in the form of a serpent spoke with Eve in Genesis 3:1, 4. He told her she would not die, but rather would be like God.

As part of his extensive work of deception, Satan will also use signs and wonders.

2. Signs and wonders

“Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9).Jesus describes that in the last days, the devil will manifest his power through false christs and false prophets, to deceive if possible even the very elect. Matthew 24:24.

3. Satan tempts people to sin

In the Judean wilderness, Satan tried to tempt Jesus to sin, but he was defeated. Although thwarted by Christ, he did not give up on Christ’s followers. He has continued the same work of tempting God’s people throughout all ages. In view of this, the apostle Paul expressed, “I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).

4. Satan causes sickness and disease

Jesus referred to a woman whom Satan had bound with sickness for 18 years. (Luke 13:16.) Another example is Job. We read that Satan “smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown” (Job 2:7).

5. Satan is a murderer

Jesus came to the world that we might have abundant life. Satan came to destroy life whenever he can. He drove Cain to slay his brother. “And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous” (1 John 3:12).

6. Satan is the accuser

“The accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night” (Revelation 12:10).

Among many of those awaiting the second coming of Jesus, there is worry about tomorrow. One tactic of the enemy is to make them so busy with worldly things, that they spend very little time with the things that will not perish.

In Matthew 6:25, Jesus tells us: “Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”

The Lord’s messenger describes:

“I saw that Satan bade his angels lay their snares especially for those who were looking for Christ’s second appearing and keeping all the commandments of God. Satan told his angels that the churches were asleep. He would increase his power and lying wonders, and he could hold them. ‘But,’ he said, ‘the sect of Sabbathkeepers we hate; they are continually working against us, and taking from us our subjects, to keep the hated law of God. Go, make the possessors of lands and money drunk with cares. If you can make them place their affections upon these things, we shall have them yet. They may profess what they please, only make them care more for money than for the success of Christ’s kingdom or the spread of the truths we hate. Present the world before them in the most attractive light, that they may love and idolize it. We must keep in our ranks all the means of which we can gain control. The more means the followers of Christ devote to His service, the more will they injure our kingdom by getting our subjects. As they appoint meetings in different places, we are in danger. Be very vigilant then. Cause disturbance and confusion if possible. Destroy love for one another. Discourage and dishearten their ministers; for we hate them. Present every plausible excuse to those who have means, lest they hand it out. Control the money matters if you can, and drive their ministers to want and distress. This will weaken their courage and zeal. Battle every inch of ground. Make covetousness and love of earthly treasures the ruling traits of their character. As long as these traits rule, salvation and grace stand back. Crowd every attraction around them, and they will be surely ours. And not only are we sure of them, but their hateful influence will not be exercised to lead others to heaven. When any shall attempt to give, put within them a grudging disposition, that it may be sparingly.’ ”1

The enemy hates the group of Sabbathkeepers, and he is concerned when they are passionate and dedicated to truth and the cause of God. He wants to stop any advancement of this mission, and if he can do that, he has won the battle over God’s people. So, we have two choices:

1. Either to press forward in truth and take the gospel to the world; or

2. Profess the truth with our lips, but in practice worry more about the things which will perish, showing that our heart is not one with Christ—or a total denial of Jesus.

Only one of these choices is worth making.

Many people think, “I have just one life, and I want to live it to the fullest. I want to eat, I want to drink, I want to have fun and do whatever my soul enjoys.” What about those preparing to meet the Lord in these last days of earth’s history? Are we looking for the pleasures of the moment, or do we have a higher and nobler goal, something which will last not merely for a moment, but for all eternity? Let us be like faithful Enoch whose mind was stayed upon God.

“Will you have eternal life? If so, you must turn away from the pleasures of the world.”2

God is not opposed to His people having joy and happiness in this world. The problem is when pleasures divert our thoughts from our Creator, distract our minds, steal our energy and enslave us to the things of this world.

“When the mind dwells upon self, it is turned away from Christ, the source of strength and life. Hence it is Satan’s constant effort to keep the attention diverted from the Saviour and thus prevent the union and communion of the soul with Christ. The pleasures of the world, life’s cares and perplexities and sorrows, the faults of others, or your own faults and imperfections—to any or all of these he will seek to divert the mind.”3

When taking an exam, an essential key to success is the preparation time. Many students are negligent in this. They procrastinate—and then one day before the exam, they begin their study and try to accomplish all the necessary preparation that would have been more effective over a longer period of time. With those who wait for the second coming of Jesus, there is a similar syndrome. They worry about not being ready, yet try to leave the actual preparation for when the Sunday Law will be enforced. Then it will be too late. Now is the time to get ready!

“Testing times come to all. How do we conduct ourselves under the test and proving of God? . . . Character must be formed by us as individuals. . . . It is perilous to neglect to prepare the soul for eternity, and to put off making our peace with God until upon a dying bed.” 4

The enemy is the one that tempts people to neglect their spiritual preparation. When they are young he tells them, “Now you are young, enjoy life, have fun, pursue a career. Then when you get married you can give your life to Jesus.” When they get married, he comes and says: “Now you are too busy, you have got two jobs, children to rear and then to give in marriage. You can do it when you retire.” When a person gets older or retired and they think now it’s the opportune time to prepare, the devil says: “Now it’s too late, do you know how many wrong things and sins you have committed during your lifetime? God will not be able to forgive you.” Remember, Satan is a liar! The preparation should not be postponed. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

The word of God gives us the exact guidelines as to what we should be preoccupied with in these last days. We have a message to proclaim, and people to warn of what is coming upon this world. Sometimes the enemy succeeds in diverting our attention from the message and tempting us to criticize and speculate about the motives and actions of others. I’m not here referring to clear and apparent open sin—we have specific instruction regarding how that to handle that. But when people speculate and judge others based on mere assumptions, this is Satan’s tactic to keep us focused on things that are not only of less importance, but actually dangerous to our own spiritual well-being.

“We are to go forth to proclaim the goodness of God and to make plain His real character before the people. We are to reflect His glory. Have we done this in the past? . . . Have we not been passing judgment on our brethren, criticizing their words and actions? Then the love of God has not been enthroned in our souls. Let us make a decided change.”5

God always tests us on how and in what we are judging others.

“It is of little use to try to reform others by attacking what we may regard as wrong habits. Such effort often results in more harm than good.”6

“Let there be among you no accusing. This is the work of the enemy. If he can lead professing Christians to accuse and condemn, he is served as he desires to be. Let no one, by yielding to feelings of envy, weaken the hands of his brother, so that the work entrusted to him is marred.”7

“As soon as Satan can separate the soul from God, the only Source of strength, he will seek to arouse the unholy desires of man’s carnal nature. The work of the enemy is not abrupt; it is not, at the outset, sudden and startling; it is a secret undermining of the strongholds of principle.”8

“We have a cunning devil to work against! Christ alone is mighty and fully able to match his power, therefore we must have Jesus with us every moment. We are sleepy, stupid, and do not sense the arts and gins and snares of Satan, set for unwary feet. Therefore we must know how we step, that every move is in God. Self must not come in here to make itself heard.”9

For many generations, Satan has tried to make people believe that he does not exist. He has invented all sorts of caricatures and stories about a devil with a pitchfork, horns and tail. But that is just a myth to catch us off guard.

Further, “as we approach the close of time, when Satan is to work with greatest power to deceive and destroy, he spreads everywhere the belief that he does not exist. It is his policy to conceal himself and his manner of working.”10

“If God has granted to His children promise of grace and protection, it is because there are mighty agencies of evil to be met—agencies numerous, determined, and untiring, of whose malignity and power none can safely be ignorant or unheeding.”11

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

“There is nothing that the great deceiver fears so much as that we shall become acquainted with his devices.”12

Although the enemy is working with full force and mastery to deceive if possible even the very elect, the Bible has promised special protection for those who take God as their Safeguard.

In this battle we are not alone. We have protection promised to us, which is why God was accused by Satan that He had made a hedge around Job, his house, and all that he had on every side. Job 1:6–12.

“The power and malice of Satan and his host might justly alarm us, were it not that we may find shelter and deliverance in the superior power of our Redeemer. We carefully secure our houses with bolts and locks to protect our property and our lives from evil men; but we seldom think of the evil angels who are constantly seeking access to us, and against whose attacks we have, in our own strength, no method of defense. If permitted, they can distract our minds, disorder and torment our bodies, destroy our possessions and our lives. . . . But those who follow Christ are ever safe under His watchcare. Angels that excel in strength are sent from heaven to protect them. The wicked one cannot break through the guard which God has stationed about His people.”13

“Christ will never abandon the soul for whom He has died. The soul may leave Him and be overwhelmed with temptation, but Christ can never turn from one for whom He has paid the ransom of His own life. Could our spiritual vision be quickened, we should see souls bowed under oppression and burdened with grief, pressed as a cart beneath sheaves and ready to die in discouragement. We should see angels flying swiftly to aid these tempted ones, who are standing as on the brink of a precipice.”14

As a matter of fact, in the conflict between Christ and Satan, the latter has already lost the battle. That’s why he is so furious and goes around roaring as a lion, looking for any prey to devour. We must never underestimate his power. In Daniel chapter 10, we catch a glimpse of this spiritual warfare where we read that after 21 days of fierce spiritual battle, the angel of God was joined by Michael the archangel, who came to withstand Satan and his host from having their way with Cyrus. Praise God, Michael won!

During Christ’s entire time on earth, the Lord never gave the devil opportunity to say that He had failed in any temptation. “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

The victory of Jesus is our surety that we can overcome sin and the devil. He is our Elder Brother who has gone ahead of us to make the path to victory possible—and He offers His power in our lives.

In any professional winter skiing competition, there is always a need for someone to check the course in advance and develop the first track for the competitors to use in order to protect them from veering off the safest path. Likewise, in the spiritual race, Christ is the One that traveled first. He has prepared the path on which we can firmly walk. Although there might be some hills, curbs, and dangerous corners, He has gone first.

“Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:17, 18).

“Jesus has given us an example to show how we may meet and conquer Satan. At infinite cost the Son of God came into the world to counterwork the work of the enemy. He came to destroy sin and bring in righteousness by enabling the human agent to cooperate with the divine. He took His stand upon the Word of God. ‘It is written,’ was the weapon with which He met and repulsed the enemy.”15

“In Christ there is perfect and complete help for every tempted soul. Dangers beset every path, but the whole universe of heaven is standing on guard, that none may be tempted above that which he is able to bear.”16

“The work of the enemy . . . commences in small things—the neglect to be true to God and to rely upon him wholly, the disposition to concede to the demands of the world for the sake of gaining numbers on the church books. But soon a wide gulf is opened between the position of the shepherd of the flock and the plain truths of the word of God. Our only safety is in searching the Scriptures and in being much on our knees before God, entreating Him to imbue us with His Spirit, that when the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall for us lift up a standard against him.”17

The tactics and sophistry of Satan will be well-known to the children of God. But this will not be their main focus. The faithful ones who await the Lord and strive to hasten His soon return must put all their effort, time, and energy to save souls in darkness. Are you prepared to advance the kingdom of God? Would you be ready to give up your temporary comfort for the cause of Christ? These are the things we need to ponder—and as we choose to follow Him with all of our heart, the Lord will give us the will and power to accomplish His work. Amen!