ENMITY (HATRED) BETWEEN MAN AND SATAN

       Origin of Evil [Part 3 – Enmity between Man and Satan (Gen.3:15)]

“‘I will put enmity between thee [the serpent] and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.’ – Genesis 3:15. The divine sentence pronounce against Satan after the fall of man was also a prophecy, embracing all the ages to the close of time and foreshadowing the great conflict to engage all the races to men who should live upon the earth. God declares: ‘I will put enmity.’ This enmity is not naturally entertained. When man transgressed the divine law, his nature became evil, and he was in harmony, and not at variance, with Satan. There exists naturally no enmity between sinful man and the originator of sin. Both became evil through apostasy.” In our previous studies we learnt that the battle between good and evil which started in heaven continues here on earth. And whoever gets born on this earth is involved in this battle, whether he likes it or not, whether he is aware of it or not. “He that is not with Me [Jesus] is against Me; and he that gathereth not with me scattered abroad.” – Matthew 12:30. “Satan’s enmity against the human race is kindled because, through Christ, they are the objects of God’s love and mercy." In this study we are going to see how the battle between good and evil permeates through generations, and what the results are.

1    Why did Cain kill his brother Abel?

“...Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth...Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” – Genesis 4:3-5,8.

  Note: “...Cain...was of the wicked one...” – 1 John 3:12. This evidence that is brought before us reveals that Cain was influenced by the wicked one [which is Satan] to kill his brother. The spirit of jealous that reigned in the heart of Satan was now revealed in humanity. “The thief [Satan] does not come except...to kill and to destroy...He was a murderer from the beginning...” – John 10:10; John 8:44.

2    What caused Jesus to be rejected by His own people?

Answer: “He [Jesus] came unto His own [people], and His own received Him not...And this is the condemnation, that the light [Jesus] is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” – John 1:11; John 3:19,20.

Note: Christ was simply hated and rejected for His kindness, goodness and marvellous teachings. “And the scribes and chief priests...sought how they might destroy Him: for they feared Him, because all the people was astonished at His doctrine.” – Mark 11:18. “The antagonism that exists between the spirit of Christ and the spirit of Satan was most strikingly displayed in the world’s reception of Jesus. It was not so much because He appeared without worldly wealth, pomp, or grandeur that the Jews were led to reject Him. They saw that He possessed power which would more than compensate for the lack of these outward advantages. But the PURITY and HOLINESS of Christ called forth against Him the hatred of the ungodly. His life of self-denial and sinless devotion was a perpetual reproof to a proud, sensual people. It was this that evoked enmity against the Son of God. Satan and evil angels joined with evil men. All the energies of apostasy conspired against the Champion of truth.” While the Bible calls us to purity [1 John 3:3], and to holiness [1 Peter 1:15], we should be reminded that it is the same attributes that shall put us in disharmony with the Enemy; but “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.” – 1 John 4:4. We need not to fear at all. Read Isaiah 41:13.

3    Why is it important that we don’t take this battle lightly?

Answer: “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.

Note: We should never make a mistake of thinking that our enemy is harmless or powerless. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” – 1 Peter 5:8,9. Notice that Satan in this passage is likened to a very dangerous animal that is full of tactics. He is called “the...serpent” – Revelation 12:9, another dangerous creature; and for this reason we would do well by putting “on the whole armor of God, that...[we]...may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” – Ephesians 6:11. We will have a discussion about this armor of God in the future studies. This armor is put on to counteract the forces from the enemy, not to suit up. “There is little enmity against Satan and his works, because THERE IS SO GREAT IGNORANCE CONCERNING HIS POWER AND MALICE, and the vast extend of his warfare against Christ and His church. Multitudes are deluded here. They do not know that their enemy is a mighty angel, who controls the minds of evil angels...Among professed Christians, and even among ministers of the gospel, there is heard scarcely a reference to Satan, except perhaps an incidental mentioned in the pulpit. They overlook the evidences of his continual activity and success; they neglect the many warnings of his subtlety; they seem to ignore his very existence.” While we don’t want to be pre-occupied with Satan, we still don’t want to be ignorant of his existence, “Be sober, be vigilant”, the apostle Paul said.

4    Are the righteous people promised peace in this world?

Answer: “...all that will desire to live godly in Christ Jesus SHALL suffer persecution.” – 2 Timothy 3:12.

Note: “The same enmity is manifested toward Christ’s followers as was manifested toward their Master...The followers of Christ and the servants of Satan cannot harmonize...The spirit which put Christ to death moves the wicked to destroy His followers.” All that choose to serve Christ become the enemies of Satan. These individuals put Satan’s plans at stake, and for this reason, he would do whatever it takes to destroy them from the surface of the earth. “The more nearly the Christian imitates the divine Pattern, the more surely will he make himself a mark for the attacks of Satan.” The battle between good and evil will exist for as long as sin and sinners exist in the same realm as the saints. “Think not that I [Jesus] am come to send peace on earth: I CAME NOT TO SEND PEACE, BUT A SWORD. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.” – Matthew 10:34,35. Jesus in these verses is not implying that He came so that everything would go wrong, but He tries to emphasis the fact that by Him coming, the battle between good and evil would become intensified to an extend that even friendly fires might be experienced as the result of disputes about the matters concerning the truth and error. Read John 15:18. Just don’t forget that THE REAL BATTLE IS BETWEEN CHRIST AND SATAN.

5    How should God’s people relate to worldly customs?

Answer: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world...whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God...And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewal of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” – 1 John 2:15; James 4:4; Romans 12:2.

Note: “Satan is continually seeking to overcome the people of God by breaking down the barriers which separate them from the world. Ancient Israel were enticed into sin when they ventured into forbidden association with the heathen. In a similar manner our modern Israel led astray...Conformity to worldly customs converts the church to the world; it never converts the world to Christ.” When Satan heard that “it [the seed] shall bruise...[his]...head” – Genesis 3:15, he made it his first priority to destroy the seed as soon as it was born. Realizing that Abel was obedient to God, he thought, perhaps Abel might be that seed or that seed could come from him, and he used Cain to kill Abel [Genesis 4:1-8; 1 John 3:12]. Then God introduced another person from whom the seed could come from: “And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel...” – Genesis 4:25. In Genesis 4 we find the descendants of Cain, and in Genesis 5, the descendants of Seth. So Satan noticed that GOD ALWAYS COMES UP WITH A WAY OF PREPARING A HOLY BLOODLINE FROM WHOM THE SEED COULD COME, he [Satan] then attempted to intermingle the wicked descendants of Cain with the righteous descendants of Seth: “...the sons of God [descendants of Seth] saw the daughters of men [descendants of Cain] that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.” – Genesis 6:3. And the results were these: “...the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually...” – Genesis 6:5. That’s when God had to allow the flood to intervene, because out of all the people that lived, only 8 [Noah and his family] were found righteous [Genesis 6:9]. Had God not allowed the flood to come, eventually all men were going to become defiled, and He couldn’t have had a holy blood line through whom He could bring the seed. DON’T FORGET THAT THE SEED WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IS NONE OTHER THAN CHRIST [Galatians 3:16]. Throughout the Old Testament we see Satan doing his ultimate best to hinder God’s plan of bringing the seed into the world. When Jesus was born, command was issued by Herod to destroy all babies with the hope that Jesus would also be killed [Matthew 2:1-16].

6    How do those who dwell on the earth overcome Satan?

Answer: “And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony...” – Revelation 12:11.

Note: The lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ [see John 1:29,36]. It is important that we remember that we are not alone in this battle. I would like to close this section with the words of comfort which I found to be very much encouraging, and if you can be able to get them into your head, please do so. Here they are: “CHRIST WILL GIVE STRENGTH TO ALL WHO SEEK IT. NO MAN WITHOUT HIS OWN CONSENT CAN BE OVERCOME BY SATAN. THE TEMPTER HAS NO POWER TO CONTROL THE WILL OR TO FORCE THE SOUL TO SIN. HE MAY DISTRESS, BUT HE CANNOT CONTAMINATE. HE CAN CAUSE AGONY, BUT NOT DEFILEMENT. THE FACT THAT CHRIST HAS CONQUERED SHOULD INSPIRE HIS FOLLOWERS WITH COURAGE TO FIGHT MANFULLY THE BATTLE AGAINST SIN AND SATAN.” GC.