Satan's 10 Key Military Tactics: Anticipate, Defend, and Counterattack His Advances Against Us

By Mark Avery Reed

The Bible expects believers to understand the tactics the devil uses in his warfare against us, and those we love. Like it or not, we are in a battle with evil spirits, led by Satan. In Satan's 10 Key Military Tactics, Dr. Mark Reed points out ten primary strategies the devil employs. For example, Satan tries to ruin our health, relationships, and any good the Lord has given us. He and his evil spirits attempt to keep us from being at our assigned post by diverting us to something that may even be good but is not God's best for us. If we don't engage in this hand-to-hand combat with these evil forces, we will needlessly suffer for it. Yet, we must also understand how the devil attempts to ruin us if we would prevent him from doing so.

Satan's 10 Key Military Tactics is a very unique book on the spiritual warfare we face each day because it uses well-known military tactics to provide understandable insight into the strategies of our foe. Those who enjoy military history will find many interesting military stories where each tactic was used by people such as George Washington, Napoleon, Stonewall Jackson, Erwin Rommel, Adolphus Gustavus, Oliver Cromwell, Robert E. Lee, de Grasse, U. S. Grant, Julius Caesar, Hannibal, and many others. Biblical evidence is given that Satan has used each tactic and in some ways is continuing to use them against us now. Ideas are presented for what we can do to prevent the devil from successfully using these tactics against us.

This book can help answer questions like:

-To what tactics am I most vulnerable?
-Should I suspect that the enemy is using a tactic in this situation?
-How can I best protect my loved ones and myself?

The many stories in this book are both entertaining and illuminating. We see how studying military history can have an enriching effect on our lives. We learn valuable insights for successfully waging spiritual war; and we better grasp these needed lessons through concrete examples from military history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Reed Publishing Co.
• Release date: Nov 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9780997367652

Mark Avery Reed

Mark Avery Reed is an ordained minister with a Master’s degree in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He also holds two Master’s degrees in Education and Marriage, Family, and Child Therapy plus two Bachelor’s degrees in Philosophy and Political Science.He has a number of teaching credentials and experience as a chaplain, counselor, and developer of curriculum on spiritual warfare, biblical doctrine, and healthy family living. Mark seeks to enrich God’s people by examining aspects of biblical truth which are largely ignored today.

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Published by Reed Publishing Co.

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Special thanks to Lion’s Branches and Christian Massey for designing the cover and formatting the interior of this book for print. For more about him and his company, go to lionsbranches.com or reach out directly at [e-mail].

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Printed in the United States of America

First Edition: 2019

Reed Publishing Co. Edition: 2019

ISBN: 978-0-9973676-5-2

Table of Contents

Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Do Reconnaissance, Infiltrate, and Plan Accordingly

Chapter 2 – Deceive Them

Chapter 3 – Be Offensive-Minded

Chapter 4 – Anticipate Their Responses

Chapter 5 – Deprive Them of What They Need

Chapter 6 – Create Communication Problems

Chapter 7 – Divide Them

Chapter 8 – Catch Them Unprepared

Chapter 9 – Undermine Their Morale

Chapter 10 – Keep Pressure on Them

Conclusion

Appendix: How Satan May Exploit Our Tendencies

About the Author

Bibliography

Endnotes

Abbreviations

AAT = An American Translation

BBE = Bible in Basic English

BDAG = Bauer, Danker Greek-English Lexicon, 3rd edition

CEB = Common English Bible

CW = Clear Word

DPCC = Dictionary of Pastoral Care and Counseling

ESV = English Standard Version

GW = God’s Word

HCSB = Holman Christian Standard Bible

JB = Jerusalem Bible

KJV = King James Version

LB = Living Bible

LXX = Septuagint

NAB = New American Bible

NASB = New American Standard Bible

NBV = New Berkeley Version

NCV = New Century Version

NEB = New English Bible

NIV = New International Version

NLT = New Living Translation

NKJV = New King James Version

NRSV = New Revised Standard Version

REB = Revised English Bible

TEV = Today’s English Version

ZPEB = Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible

Introduction

Satan uses many military tactics to launch assaults on God’s people. We are not to be ignorant of the methods Satan uses against us.¹ If we choose to be unaware, we and those we care about will suffer. This would be true in regular warfare and it is the case in spiritual warfare as well. It is very foolish to be uninformed.

Jesus learned about and understood the devil’s schemes.² This happened as He studied the Bible and through His experiences: observing those who had clear demonic problems, paying attention to how people were diverted or blocked from serving the Lord, and interpreting and walking through personal encounters with the evil one, evil in general, and errors in beliefs and practices. We are to be like Him. This knowledge was vital for Him and it is even more critical for us.

The initial inspiration for this book came from my dad. He was a high school dropout who eventually got his Associate of Arts degree from a nearby college, worked hard to become a lieutenant commander in the United States Navy, and served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. His stories about the military spurred my interest to research military tactics and how they might be relevant for faith in God. Through this came the realization that there is a correlation between general military tactics and the ways in which Satan attacks us to impede the plan God has for our lives.

My dad once told me of the heavy cruiser, the USS Indianapolis, which delivered the atomic bomb to the island of Tinian. This bomb was eventually dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Four days after dropping off the bomb at Tinian, the ship sank after being torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Of the 1,196 crew members, about 900 lived to go into the water but only 317 survived. Sharks ate hundreds of them.

As I have pondered this story throughout the years, I have often wondered what spiritual lessons there are for us to learn by this. Since the Indianapolis was ordered to travel by itself, perhaps one lesson is the value of being with supportive others.³ Another possible lesson is that there is a price for victory or even progress in any type of war – whether that be war between groups of people, the war in ourselves to truly do what is right, or in spiritual war with Satan. The price is suffering and possible death. This certainly is seen in Gethsemane, at the cross, and in the lives of the apostles. Since we can receive helpful spiritual insights by reflecting on things like ants and locusts, how much more is this likely to be true of us thinking about how military tactics relate to how we live and do spiritual warfare?⁴

The ten tactics are interrelated. Thus, one tactic is typically used in combination with others. For instance, Satan creates communication problems by deceiving or dividing us, catching us when we are unprepared, and undermining our morale.

All of life is constant spiritual warfare.⁵ We are in a daily war against Satan and those through whom he works. When we forget this, we end up with an approach that is deficient in prayer because we only see our struggle as being with people. This leads to needless casualties and pain.

Spiritual warriors are to be every bit as insightful as the brave military personnel who defend us. Their practices, from military history, can be great examples for spiritual warfare. I hope their stories enlighten and inspire us to better live the way God wants us to live, to stir a love in all of us for military history, and to facilitate a greater appreciation for our military men and women who, in so many ways, are good models for us.

Chapter 1 - Do Reconnaissance, Infiltrate, and Plan Accordingly

Reconnaissance is concerned with gathering intelligence about enemy activity from outside his territory or sphere of influence. Some examples include use of satellites and jets to take photos or having a device which can decode secret messages. A further instance could be use of scouts in neutral territory.

To infiltrate means that our enemy has entered our territory or we have entered his territory. It can involve a partial invasion by military force, the harassing activity of a raiding party, or continuing to occupy key ground on which they are now present. It can also refer to their use of spies, in our territory, to gather information.

Military Examples Of The Tactic

In the American Revolutionary War, George Rogers Clark decided the British-controlled Illinois country could be subdued. This would help Kentucky, which was often attacked from the Illinois area, and would weaken the British position north of the Ohio River. In 1777, Clark sent spies into the Illinois territory to evaluate British strength and vulnerabilities. Their reports strengthened his belief in possible success. Despite nearly running out of ammunition, Clark was able to use mainly diplomacy and bluff to gain control of the entire Illinois territory.

In the American Civil War, Confederate General ‘Stonewall’ Jackson sought to divert Union troops that were scheduled to be used against the Confederate capitol of Richmond. He attacked numerically superior Union troops in the Shenandoah Valley. Though tactically defeated, he used speed and occupation of the central ground to mask his intentions and raise fears in Washington D. C. The result was the diversion of many Union troops from their intended use against Richmond to the pursuit of Jackson and his ‘foot cavalry.’ Richmond was spared that year.

Schroetter, a German spy sent to Florida in 1940, was to get information on a naval air station near Miami. Though he was unable to get onto the station, he obtained a night job at a bar near it. This bar was heavily frequented by station personnel and they talked freely after they had been drinking for a while. Schroetter asked them questions and was able to glean a good deal of information.

In 1782, a British fleet of 36 ships fought a French fleet of 33 ships in The Battle of the Saints. Risking court-martial or worse, British Admiral Rodney gave in to the pleadings of his Fleet Captain that they defy the rules for naval combat laid down in the ‘Fighting Instructions’ to take advantage of the wind and a gap in the French formation of ships. By seizing the opportunity and sailing into the gap, the British were able to rout the French.

The British were able to decode secret German messages in WWII thanks to Ultra. When General Montgomery went up against German General Rommel in North Africa, Ultra informed Montgomery that Rommel, despite his successes, was now weak. This information enabled Montgomery to not panic, avoid retreat, and to instead plan for Rommel’s defeat.

A Polish farmer saw that one of Hitler’s new secret weapons, the V-2, was buried in a swamp. Apparently, the test had gone awry and the missile had failed to explode. The farmer told a member of the Polish underground and they were able to get a team to extract it before the Germans were able to find it. They smuggled it to London and this forewarning enabled the British to save many lives as they evacuated people to the countryside before the V-2 attacks on London.

Someone on the Massachusetts Committee of Safety kept British General Gage well informed about the location of American munitions and the American plan for resistance. When Gage planned on capturing American ammunition, he knew most of it was stored at Concord.

During the English Revolution, Oliver Cromwell, who was one of the greatest of all cavalry leaders, extensively used ‘scout masters’ and spies to gather as much information as possible about the enemy. This knowledge of enemy movements gave him insight into their likely plans and enabled him to formulate his own effective counter-measures.

Hitler had his chief of secret intelligence, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, organize an extensive German spy network in the United States in the 1930s. This spy ring was immensely successful. By 1939, the Germans had stolen virtually every American defense secret.

In WWI, when the German 18th army broke through the French line, Ludendorff told them to wait. He rigidly stuck to his plan instead of taking the opportunity to cut off