The Accuser

The Accuser

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1Pe. 5:8 KJV

another version says:

“Curb every passion, and be on the alert. Your great accuser, the Devil, is going about like a roaring lion to see whom he can devour.” 1Pe. 5:8 Weymouth NT.

We are at war with invisible enmities. Though we cannot see those that accuse us, we experience the result of their accusations by the sorrow of a believing heart. Therefore, on one hand we turn in their direction and yet, when we turn in God’s direction can be a joyful deliverance.

Who he is…

The accuser has many names:

Abaddon, Accuser, Adversary, Angel of the bottomless pit, Apollyon, Belial, Beelzebub, Confuser, Devil, God of this Word, Murderer, Prince of Devils, Prince of the Power of the Air, Father of Lies, Ruler of Darkness, Serpent, Tempter, Unclean Spirit, Wicked, Thief, Idolater, Adulterer, author of all sin, Cheat, Satan, Lucifer, Prince of this World and the Bible continues to say he disguises himself as a angel of light. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, anti-christ, deceiver, devourer, enemy of righteous, tempter, Son of Perdition, son of the morning and spoiler. 

While there are many more to name, I feel that those listed above are more than enough that describe his character.

In the beginning the Bible talks about how beautiful of an angel Lucifer was and that he was involved in The Music Ministry in heaven. Some believe he was the chief music minister. Power hungry, he became jealous of God’s authority and tried to take over the very one who created him. Because of his prideful betrayal he was kicked out of heaven, onto earth taking a third of God’s angels with him.  

The character of the ruler of darkness will whisper lies to you. Eventually, for every truth that you learn from God he will counter with an untruth. He confuses. Though the Bible is the true word of God, it is satan and the fallen angels who will say it is false and try to bring doubt in your mind. He will try to replace your faith and love in a good God, with fear, doubt and unbelief and entice an alternative belief system towards another god.

The Christian God Jehovah is one who offers hope and encouragement, because you receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ. The Spirit of Darkness extends despair that leads to depression, then hopelessness. This is one reason why they are called lying spirits. He will create circumstances in your life to cause a wounded spirit at any age. Unless this is corrected through godly counseling a person will conform their life around the fearful lie they have been seduced to believe. The enemy has molded a mindset of thinking and acting like a victim ingrained in fear, when instead they could be set free.

Early on, he will present himself in the form of a lying fearful spirit:

Fear of “what if’s”

Fear of watchful eyes.

Fear of gossip.

Fear of rejection instead of acceptance.

Fear of exposure.

Fear of being judged by others.

Fear of disease, divorce or death.

Fear, fear, fear and lies and more lies!

When in my teens I had a girlfriend who was in bondage with a spirit of fear. She was a little over weight and quite fearful of what other people would think of her and say about her, so much so; that she would not get out of the car to go into the grocery store. Being 16 at the time, I knew she was fearful, but I did not realize the extent and harm this spirit was doing at the time. A spirit of fear will work with a lying spirit and whisper lies to produce the fear. “No one will like you, everyone will think you are fat (or too thin, or dumb etc)” He ACCUSES you!

Years marched on and I moved away and after marriages and many babies later. I went to visit my old friend. She appeared to be alright. A few years later I was called by her sisters to come and see her. She was bedridden and had struggled with different diseases, but had apparently given up on life and did not try to even get out of bed. Her husband no longer cared for her, the children were grown and she did not seem to have any reason to fight for her life. Her mind started to go. By this time I knew what had consumed her life. It was a spirit of fear, depression, lies and bondage. It was one of the saddest days of my life when I was again called to be by her side as she was dying in the hospital and unconscious. “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6

After talking to one of her sisters I discovered, her spirits came in through molestation in her childhood and took over the rest of her life. Back then, no one talked of such things and usually the child worked it out for themselves the best they could.  Could she have been prevented from going through such suffering? I do not have the answer.

What I do know, is that the enemy can use someone to discourage another to the point of hopelessness. Many people do not know how to pull themselves back up, when that happens.

Wherever there is a crack in the window pane of your life, there they will find your weakness. Know where you are weak! If truth is presented into your life, be prepared; in return the enemy will twist and pervert what you have just learned to justify your sin. Then, there will be a decision, who will you believe?

The enemy takes their prisoner just as far as they are allowed to go with their goal being total destruction. From the very first whisper of flattery or selfish indulgence he lends; conveys a long path towards his selfish ambition. And, he has the patience and expertise to follow it through.

Many years ago shortly after I was born again, I was studying about spiritual warfare and every time I would study about a particular spirit, I would see the outcome in the physical realm. I remember seeing the results of the spirit of heaviness (extreme depression in the belief of total hopelessness, a lie) all around me. Two houses down from mine a young man’s sister came home from work and found he’d hung himself. A street over, a man blew himself up with a shotgun and then, nearby a girlfriend’s husband also shot himself to death. 

The end result is death when we believe in a lie.

We all have our weaknesses. What is yours?

The whole seducing period that the enemy courts is subtle and light and can bring gaiety into an otherwise dull life. All of a sudden a feeling of importance is felt and attention. Little by little as the relationship develops a stronghold takes root in your life as you continue to choose to believe a lie. He will charm your vulnerability and your loneliness to sway you into doing his will instead of God’s will. 

A weakness towards material possessions is an easy mark for the enemy. All he has to do is keep you playing those x-box games, nose buried in the smart phones, buying more shoes or purses, a burial ground of debt, getting a bigger car or better house; in that way your concentration is on the idol of things, instead of God. He has you right where he wants you.

The weakness of an unhappy marriage brings a roving eye and the enemy will have the right person in the right place at the right time. The enemy makes up excuses in your mind and says, “his wife doesn’t love him like I do, or she doesn’t understand or deserve him.” There use to be a country and western song that went: “how can it be wrong, when it feels so right?” But we all know better.

Do our emotions get the best of us as we drink the rest of that wine and eat that whole bag of chips? A famous movie star once said “a slip on the lips will be forever on the hips.” There is always a payday for the things we do and that is one paycheck we do not look forward to receiving.  

The enemy will manipulate people using those that are unaware of his devices. Even “Christians” are used to turn people off of Christianity through different methods and styles of preaching or sometimes in the world of business. I’ve heard some call it “sloppy agape.” Agape meaning love.

The truth is, when our military is on the battle field they do not take chances; they know their enemy. They know how he thinks and can pretty much see which way he is going to maneuver to try to bring as many soldiers down as possible. If the enemy can at least maim a warrior, he will not be as effective in battle.  Again, the enemy knows our weaknesses. We should know their weaknesses and how to fight them. There is a way and that will be in my next article.