How Satan Fights: A Military Intelligence Analysis of the Spiritual War

By Mark Kelly

How Satan Fights offers a unique military intelligence analysis of how Satan and his demonic army will wage war against mankind, using the same unclassified intelligence process that is used by the US Armys military intelligence corps today. Author Mark Kelly is a Christian who served as a tactical intelligence officer for thirteen years; he now presents an investigation of the war from biblical times through today, providing a deeper knowledge of our enemy, Satan. He explains the combat strength of Satans demonic army, their arrangement on the battlefield, their political and military command structure, their strengths and weaknesses, and their mission on earth.

With analysis based on information found in the Holy Scriptures, How Satan Fights considers what Satan intends to do with God if he wins the war. Kelly reveals Satans military doctrines and explores how he has used these doctrines from the time of Adam to the present day. More important, he demonstrates that Satan uses the same tactics of yesterday against the faithful Christians of today. Through this study, you can gain increased understanding of the war that Satan waged against Jesus and the apostles.

This war is real, and it is being waged all around us. We must understand our enemy and his tactics if we, through the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, are to defeat him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inspiring Voices
• Release date: Feb 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9781462408467

Mark Kelly

Mark Kelly has served as the junior US Senator from Arizona since 2020. He was a captain in the United States Navy when he commanded the final mission of space shuttle Endeavour in May 2011. A veteran of four space flights to the International Space Station, he is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy and holds a master’s degree from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. 

Book preview

PART I

CHAPTER 1

The Nine Principles of Spiritual Warfare

War should be made methodically, for it should have a definite object; and it should be conducted according to the principles and rules of the art.

Napoleon I: Maxims of War 1831

To understand and conduct an intelligence analysis of the spiritual war we as Christians first need to understand how the war is fought. We must therefore develop a general understanding of military doctrine. Satan and his army just like any other army, to include heavens army, cannot function efficiently on the spiritual battlefield if they fail to follow the nine principles of war. The key to understanding how Satan employs these principles is to have a working knowledge of what these principles are and what they are intended to accomplish on the battlefield. These nine principles are;

1. Objective

2. Mass

3. Simplicity

4. Unity of Command

5. Surprise

6. Offensive

7. Security

8. Maneuver

9. Economy of Force

Throughout the course of man’s history Satan has employed every one of these principles against mankind. He has most assuredly employed these principles against the Church. However, God in keeping Satan in check has done the same. If we will take the time to learn these principles, we will place ourselves in a much better position to defend against satanic attack.

Of great importance is that Satan doesn’t always initiate a full blown attack against us rather he will methodically conduct minor attacks until one day we wake up and realize that we have been overcome by the world. This is the boiled frog theory. As the theory goes, a person boiling a frog does not turn the stove on high to boil the water because a frog when placed into a pan of boiling water will jump out. So the frog is placed in a pan of water that is set on low. The water is slowly turned up until the frog, before he knows what has happened to him, is poached. Satan uses this same strategy against us every day but if we understand how war is fought in the spiritual realm then the success of such a tactic will be minimized.

What these principles will demonstrate is that the spiritual war is real. It is all around us and it is waged every day. If we stick our heads in the sand and pretend that the war is not affecting ourselves, families, churches or communities, then when are in spiritual denial.

The Apostle Paul was very clear in Ephesians 6:12 when he testified to the reality that we are engaged in a spiritual war with forces that are not of this world;

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The Apostle Paul makes a clear distinction between flesh and blood, which is the human race and the evil forces of the spiritual realm that are at war on earth. It is true that our struggle is with the spiritual forces of evil as Paul has testified to however the evil that we are at war with has the ability to manipulate mankind into acting as soldiers against the faithful in Christ. This is what we must prepare ourselves for; not only evil spirits led by Satan but those on earth who soldier for Satan and do his will.

In applying the principles of war while incorporating elements of the military intelligence process to war, we will be able to bring the war to life so that you can see the war, know that it is real and take the necessary actions to protect yourself, your family and your community.

In any army, discipline must first be established and then maintained. Military doctrine is useless without military discipline and applying the principles of war will most certainly end in failure when initiated by an undisciplined army.

A soldier for Christ understands this. He understands that military discipline in the army of God means that we do our best to follow the commands laid out for us by God. A successful campaign against evil starts with being a disciplined soldier of Christ. All true Christians know that Christ through His grace provides us with the protection we need to overcome Satan but the grace of Christ will be of little use to those who falsely profess the Christian faith; fail to follow His commands and embrace secular beliefs that contradict the laws of God. This is why Christ testified in Matthew 7:21-23

21 "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

True Christians will effort to follow the laws of God and defend the faith. This is military discipline at its best. However, not all who call themselves Christian do this and in truth those who profess our faith but embrace the evils of the secular world are not Christian nor have they ever been a Christian. Their faith is false and they, in truth are actually the enemy. Christ himself testified against these people and referred to them as evildoers.

It is important to understand that Jesus Christ when He was on earth presented with a clearly defined mission to bring salvation to the world and establish His church, but He also came to crush Satan and his army. Jesus testified in Matthew 10:34

34 Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

The sword is the word of God. A counter to the lies perpetrated on us by Satan. But the sword is also for the flesh and blood enemies of God, those who do not hold true to His commandments and are led by Satan. When Christ was arrested after being betrayed by Judas, He testified in Matthew 26:53;

Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

The reason seventy-two thousand warrior angels did not descend from Heaven that very moment was because of the mission or objective of Christ at that time. He must sacrifice himself as foretold by the prophets of God. Christ testifies in Matthew 26:54;

54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?"

Christ made it clear that attacking with twelve legions is an option when opposing evil. Attacking with twelve legions would also be considered attacking in Mass.

Christ, just before His crucifixion, ordered the apostles to carry a sword. This command is found in Luke 22:36

36 He said to them, But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one."

The purpose of the sword was to defend the word that was on the hearts of the apostles, as the scriptures as we know them today had yet to be written. It was not for show but to be used in defense if necessary. Christ was well aware of Satan and his demonic army lying in wait for the first opportunity to kill the apostles, so he gave them a command to carry a sword with the implied task of physically defending themselves from those who might attempt to kill them once Christ had ascended to heaven. In giving this command Christ is anticipating that Satan will employ the principles of war and attack the apostles in an effort to kill them and the church.

A spiritual warrior in the army of God knows clearly that our commander, Christ, is not just a God of love and compassion. He is a warrior King who happens to love His people. When He came to earth as God incarnated He came in love offering grace and salvation to all who desired it. That was His mission. But when He returns he will return as a warrior King with His sword in His hand riding a white horse leading a massive army of powerful angelic warriors against Satan and all those who follow him. The Apostle John in Revelation 19:11-16 testifies to Christ as a warrior King when he wrote:

11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

The scriptures above reflect a biblical precedent for the spiritual warrior in Christ to hold the line, defend the faith and protect the church from Satan and his allies until Christ our commander, returns. Understanding and then employing the nine principles of war will greatly increase a Christian’s ability to fulfill this mission.

CHAPTER 2

The Principles of Objective

The objective… is unquestionably the most important of all the principles of war. It is the connecting link which, alone, can impart coherence of war… Without the objective, all other principles are pointless. It gives the commander the what. The other principles are guides in the How.

Admiral C.R. Brown USN: The Principles of War, June 1949

In any military operation the objective always remains the focus throughout each battle as well as the war as a whole. Therefore, every military operation is directed towards a clearly defined, decisive, and attainable objective. In the Normandy invasion the initial objective was to establish a beach head or foothold in France whereby a second Front could be created. When Christ came to earth as God incarnated His objective in the spiritual war was to establish a beachhead or foothold within the kingdom of Satan, the prince of this world by establishing His church, the fortress of truth. This truth would counter the satanic lies and deceptions that Satan had introduced to mankind from the beginning and set our paths straight for those of us who choose to follow Him. This truth brought with it salvation to the world and condemned Satan and the rebel angels for all eternity. Christ’s military objectives in this war are as follows;

Christ’s military objectives in the spiritual war.

Satan’s military objectives are;

Mankind’s spiritual and military objectives are;

It is clear that Christ’s objectives are centered on God’s will for mankind and Mankind’s objectives are to be centered on Christ however the objectives of Satan are centered on his own self-interests as he wants to be like God with control and power over all creation.

When Christ came to earth as God incarnated Satan being true to his objectives tried to kill Christ before Christ’s mission could even be initiated. Satan remembers all too well that God decreed back in the garden that He would send someone to crush his head so he attacked Christ when he thought Christ would be at His weakest, that being as a mortal infant. Revelation 12:4 states in part;

The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.

Satan was poised to attack even before Christ was born yet he still failed in his attempt to kill the infant Jesus. As a result Jesus grows up under the protection of heaven and fulfills His mission. He is crucified and Satan was condemned. This is where Satan loses the momentum in the war. But he still continues to fight because he knows that his time is growing short. The apostle John testifies in Revelation 12:12 in part;

He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short.

The apostle John testifies in Revelation 12:17 as to whom Satan has specifically targeted in this war. In other words, the apostle John reveals to us one of Satan’s six objectives;

17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

So the apostle John clearly establishes that one of Satan’s six objectives is to wage war with those who keep God’s commands and hold fast to the testimony about Jesus. Satan is not waging war against the atheists, agnostics, or the liberal/false Christians of the world. Why would he? They soldier for him. No, Satan is waging war against those who hold fast to the testimony about Jesus. He is waging war against the Christian faith. So the apostle John has implied through his testimony that the destruction of the Christian faith is a clearly defined objective of Satan. I hope that this sinks in. Applying the Principle of Objective has just revealed to us that Satan has specifically ordered his army to wage war against the Christian faith. We are under attack.

As Christians we must understand this most significant threat against us. It is real and it is deadly. If our faith was false then Satan would not waist his resources on us. It is therefore essential to our mission that we identify and follow the clearly defined, decisive and attainable objectives that Christ has laid out for each of us in our own lives. We must be mission oriented if we are to persevere through this war.

Even though Satan is waging war against Christians with his objective to be like God and rule over all creation, he poses no threat to God the Father, Christ the Son or the Holy Spirit. He is inferior to them in every way. But he does pose a serious threat to us, God’s rightful heirs to His throne and we are most assuredly inferior to him. So God through Christ provided us with a weapon so powerful that not even Satan and all His rebel forces attacking in mass can defeat it. We are shielded from spiritual death because of Christ’s supernatural power and His grace which He employs for our benefit against Satan. The Grace of Christ is probably the most devastating weapon on the spiritual battlefield. However, Satan can still use deception against us in an effort to counter the Grace of Christ. If we become weak and spiritually undisciplined we allow ourselves to become open to the satanically initiated beliefs of the world. We become worldly Christians and are deceived into thinking that we can live worldly lives and still benefit from the grace of Christ. This deception is Satan’s only counter to the grace of Christ and it is only effective if we allow ourselves to be deceived. Jesus testified in Matthew 6:24 in part;

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

Therefore we must stay focused on our objectives in Christ. We must guard against the worldly Christian or what the news media terms as a liberal Christian. In truth there is no such thing as a liberal Christian. This term in itself is a great deception and leads people to believe that you can embrace heresies and still be saved. You can live a life style that is counter to Gods holy word, call yourself a Christian, attack the true faithful for not falling for the same deception they fell for and still be saved. This is the spiritual war being played out in America today. God simply does not work like that. If you consider yourself a liberal Christian then you are in truth participating in a false religion and you are not saved. The author of Hebrews, possibly Barnabas or Apollos stated in Hebrews 6:6;

4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. 7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

What the author of Hebrews is testifying to is that there are those who claim to be in the Christian army who profess the Christian faith who never received or accepted the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit conducted its pre-conversion conviction process which gave these people the opportunity to have true knowledge of God and His glory yet they rejected this knowledge before it could take root within them. Even so, they still chose to align themselves with the Christian faith. They are not Christians rather they are those who have infiltrated our faith and work to undermine our objectives in Christ. They are easily identified by their works and their worldly beliefs. Therefore, their objectives in the spiritual war are not our objectives. We must never forget this. We must continue to stand firm in the faith and do not under any circumstances allow those who profess the Christian faith yet support a secular world view in opposition to the word of God steer us away from Christ. As testified to in Hebrews, they produce thorns and thistles, they are worthless