Christianity Defined

If I asked you if you had an enemy, how would you respond? I think for many of us it would be an automatic no. At worst, maybe you have a coworker who is obviously not fond of you, or a negative neighbor who finds absolutely any reason to complain about you. But an actual enemy? Someone out there who’s committed to your destruction? No way, sounds too far fetched, right?

Wrong.

The truth is you do have an enemy. An enemy who is not only committed to your downfall, but completely committed to your utter destruction. If it feels personal, it’s because it is. If it sounds unbelievably evil, it’s because he is.

But knowing you have an enemy does you no good if you don’t know who he is or what he’s after. It might sound easier to just ignore him and not give him any attention. “After all,” you may be thinking, “I’ve gotten along this far just fine without giving him much thought. Why start now?”

But that isn’t the truth.

The truth is, he’s been wreaking havoc in your life since the day you were born, whether you realize it or not. He’s been your enemy long before you even knew what that word meant. And he has no intentions of backing off anytime soon. Trekking along in your life without giving him any thought leaves you highly susceptible to every form of destruction he has intended for your life. Right down to the very demise of your life.

No, an enemy like that requires some form of attention, because to stand against him, you first need to know who he is, what he’s after, and how to fight back.

Let’s answer the who first. Who is this evil being set against you.

You may have heard him called a few different names: Lucifer, Old Serpent, The Devil, and Satan. In this article, we’ll be referring to him by the name Satan. Satan is your primary enemy. Satan is out to destroy you.

But who is he?

In Ezekiel chapter 25, God begins a series of proclamations against seven gentile nations for their treatment against the nation of Israel. One of these seven nations, was the nation Tyre. In chapter 28, God breaks away from His former pattern of declaring decrees solely against the nation, and declares a decree against the King of Tyre. But the chapter gets even more interesting. Because along the way, it becomes clear that the chapter isn’t just about the king himself. It’s about Satan.

In verses 1-10 it’s quite clear that God is speaking against a human king, the King of Tyre. A king who had exalted himself as a god, and therefore, found himself in opposition to God. But when we get into verse 11, it’s clear that God is no longer addressing a human king, but rather someone else who also found themselves in opposition to God:

God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, raise a funeral song over the king of Tyre. Tell him, A Message from God, the Master: “You had everything going for you. You were in Eden, God’s garden. You were dressed in splendor, your robe studded with jewels… A robe was prepared for you the same day you were created. You were the anointed cherub. I placed you on the mountain of God. You strolled in magnificence among the stones of fire. From the day of your creation you were sheer perfection…and then imperfection—evil!–was detected in you. In much buying and selling you turned violent, you sinned! I threw you out—you, the anointed angel-cherub. No more strolling among the gems of fire for you! Your beauty went to your head. You corrupted wisdom by using it to get worldly fame. I threw you to the ground, sent you sprawling before an audience of kings and let them gloat over your demise. By sin after sin after sin, by your corrupt ways of doing business, you defiled your holy places of worship. So I set a fire around and within you.” (Ezekiel 28:11-18 The Message).

Satan wasn’t just in heaven, nor was he just an angel, but he was the anointed cherub.

Here’s what Pastor Tony Evans had to say about Satan in The Tony Evans Bible Commentary:

“Satan wasn’t just any angel, either. He was an anointed guardian cherub (28:14), the highest of God’s created beings. As God’s fire blazed in eternity past, Lucifer was right in the middle of it. He stood in the very presence of God as the highest-ranking angel (28:14).” (Evans 2019).¹

So what do we know this far about Satan:

1. Satan was in heaven with God.
2. Satan was the highest ranking angel.
3. Evil was found in Satan.
4. God stripped Satan of his position and threw him out of heaven.
5. Satan is a fallen angel.

Let’s look at a few more scriptures about this fallen angel.

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:1-6).

So here we find Satan deceiving humans from the very beginning. Now let’s see how God responds to him and his wickedness.

So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:14-15).

I want to bring a couple of things to your attention.

First, notice the capitalized S in the word Seed. God said he would put enmity between Satan and the woman, and between his seed and her Seed. Her Seed, is a direct reference to Jesus; a descendant of Adam and Eve (Luke 3:23-38), who would one day be born into the world to die for the sins of every human being who would believe on Him and receive His free gift of salvation.

Now let’s look at the word enmity.

Here’s how the online Merriam-Webster dictionary (n.d.) defines enmity: Positive, active, and typically mutual hatred or ill will.²

There is hatred between Satan and humanity. And there is hatred between Satan’s seed (anyone who is against God) and Jesus, including those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

In other words, if you are a human, whether you believe in God or not, Satan hates you. If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, Satan hates you.

Let’s review once more, what we know about Satan:

1. Satan was in heaven with God.
2. Satan was the highest ranking angel.
3. Evil was found in Satan.
4. God stripped Satan of his position and threw him out of heaven.
5. Satan is a fallen angel.
6. Satan hates humanity and Satan hates Jesus.

Now that we know who our enemy is, let’s find out what it is he’s after.

Satan Is After Your Mind

World renowned Bible teacher and Author, Joyce Meyer, has a familiar saying, “Where the mind goes, the man follows.” This may be an unfamiliar concept for some, but it isn’t for Satan. As we saw in his interaction with Eve, he knew that if he could get her to believe his lies, he could control her actions. And he was successful.

If Satan can get you to believe that something’s being held back from you, or that you’re missing out on something you deserve or can’t live without, He can steer your mind away from God and onto the path he desires for you. Unfortunately, his pathways always lead to death.

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…” (John 10:10a).

This is the first half of John 10:10. In this verse, Jesus is telling us exactly what Satan’s purposes are for us. No matter how well he presents something or how good he makes it sound, it is a lie and it will lead to your destruction. Every single time.

So let me ask you, what have you been thinking about lately?

Have your thoughts been filled with joy or doom and gloom? Gratefulness or constant thoughts about what you don’t have and what you think you need? Do you have thoughts of love towards others or are you harboring offense and unforgiveness? Are you content with God’s goodness in your life, or are you panged with jealousy over what someone else has that you don’t?

It’s these types of thoughts, and so many more, that Satan uses to keep our minds away from the path of peace, joy, and life, all of which Jesus died for us to have.

Let’s look at the entire verse for John 10:10:

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Let’s break this down:

Satan comes to:

• Steal
• Kill
• Destroy

Jesus came so that we:

• Can have life.
• Can have life abundantly.

These are two very different pathways we get to choose. The choice is very simple. Do you want death or life? If you choose life, you must be mindful of your thoughts. Don’t simply agree with or entertain whatever thought comes to your mind. Ask yourself, is this a thought that leads to life or to death.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

Every thought should be submitted to Jesus. Any thought that doesn’t line up with His teachings, His will, His ways, is a thought from Satan. If you struggle with what to think, follow Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

When you’re meditating on things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy, you will recognize when a thought comes in that is the opposite of these thoughts. And when you notice it, stop it, take it captive, and purposely choose God’s way of thinking.

Satan Is After Your Purpose

Did you know you were created with purpose, for a purpose? There’s not a single human being who has been born into this world, that was created unintentionally and meant to live a meaningless life.

God has a purpose for you, and Satan is determined to stop it from ever coming to fruition.

We see this taking place numerous times in the life of Jesus, but let’s take a look at one specific example.

Jesus was born into our world for the sole purpose of sharing the message of the kingdom of heaven, dying on the cross for our sins, and to take back what Satan stole from humanity. Satan knew this, and he tried to shut it down through Peter. To no surprise, Jesus knew exactly what was happening.

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:21-23).

Notice that when Jesus turned to Peter, He didn’t address Peter, He addressed Satan. Jesus knew, it may have been Peter standing there before Him and Peter doing the talking, but He recognized the evil influence and intentions of Satan.

Satan wanted to steal Jesus’ earthly purpose, but Jesus was fully committed to doing the Father’s will (John 6:38-40).

Satan wants to steal our purpose too.

But why?

I believe the answer lies in one of Jesus’s prayers:

“I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.” (John 17:4).

Jesus said He had done two things:

1. He glorified God on the earth.
2. He finished the work the Father had given Him to do.

Likewise, we bring glory to God here on the earth, when we finish the assignments we were created for. That is, when we live out our purpose.

The truth is, Satan could care less if you’re a stay at home parent, a doctor, or a Bible teacher. He simply does not want you to use your life to glorify God. If he can send people to oppose you, circumstances to distract you, or get your mind fixated on things that don’t matter past this earthly life, he can keep you from doing what you were created to do. He can keep you from your purpose.

Satan will never stop trying to keep you from fulfilling your God given purpose, but if you determine to be committed to doing the Father’s will, just as Jesus did, his attempts will prove futile, and nothing or no one will keep you from glorifying God here on earth.

Satan Is After Your Life

Plain and simply, Satan is after your life. Not your earthly life, your eternal one.

The fact is, we all have a destination past this life: Heaven or Hell.

One is where Jesus is, filled with light, love and life. One is where Satan will be, filled with darkness, hate and terror.

Satan knows where he’s doomed to spend eternity. And because he hates you, he desires for you to be doomed to eternal punishment in hell as well.

Let’s stop for a moment and grasp the weight of the word eternity:

• The online Merriam Webster Dictionary defines eternity as: The quality or state of being eternal; Infinite time; The state after death; A seemingly endless or immeasurable time.³
• The online Cambridge Dictionary defines eternity as: Time that never ends or that has no limits.⁴

To bring this into focus, the Bible teaches that:

• Life on Earth = Temporary (James 4:14, 2 Corinth 4:17-18)
• Life in Heaven = Eternal (John 3:16, John 10:28, 2 Corinth 5:1)
• Life in Hell = Eternal (Matt 25:44-46, Matt 25:41)

In other words, you will not stay here forever. One day you will die, as many others already have. The location you wake up in, whether Heaven or Hell, is where you will reside for all eternity; that is, with no ending.

No Ending.

Satan’s goal, is to keep you from the pathway that leads to life. He literally wants to steal your life away.

In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Jesus declared some truths in this statement that we can’t afford to ignore.

He declared He is:

• The way
• The truth
• The life
• That no one can come to the Father except through Him.

For the purpose of this article, we will focus on life. But make no mistake, everything Jesus declared in that statement is worth focusing on!

Jesus said He is the life. Satan is after your life. Therefore, Satan’s goal is to keep you from Jesus.

We see this truth in The Parable of the Sower in Luke chapter 8. Jesus shares a parable with His listeners about a sower who sows his seed and how the seed fared. Afterwards, His disciples asks Him to explain the parable. Luke 8:11-12 is the beginning portion of that explanation:

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.”

Through lies, through temptations, through false teachings, through manipulation, and as Jesus said, through stealing the Word out of people’s hearts, Satan attempts to keep you from believing the truth, and being saved. Because he knows that believing in Jesus and receiving His free gift of salvation leads you to eternal life (Romans 6:23). A life he will never have.

Satan is your enemy. And he is after things you cannot afford to lose. Be mindful of what you’re thinking about. Be diligent in doing the Father’s will, and get to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. His free gift of salvation is still available to you today. It is the only way to life. Do not let Satan steal it from you.

Sources

1. Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Eternity. In Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved July 14, 2026, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/eternity
2. Evans, T. (2019). The Tony Evans Bible Commentary. Holman Reference.
3. Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Enmity. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved July 13, 2026, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enmity
4. Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Eternity. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved July 14, 2026, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eternity

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