“Your enemy…” (1 Peter 5:8)

 

Notice the personal pronoun, “your” this denotes a possession.  The word following this possessive pro-noun reveals the possession and this possession is an enemy.  To make this even more personal and profound, remove the possessive pro-noun and insert you name and use the possessive form with an apostrophe s (‘s).   It will look like this  “Loder’s enemy,”  or  “Robin’s enemy,”  or “Ruben’s enemy, or “Sonsek’s enemy,” etc…

Batman’s enemy is the Joker,  Holmes’ enemy is Moriarty,  Our enemy is (s)atan.  Unlike Batman’s enemy and Holmes’ enemy, our enemy is not fictitious nor does he fall from a precipice and die.  It is true, however, that our enemy dis fall from THe great precipice, but he did not die, other than spiritually, and he did die, in terms of, his relationship to God. (s)atan is very much a living, thriving enemy to you amd me, there must be no doubt upon this matter.

One(1) of his greatest tricks and traps is being elusive and playing behind the scenes….”we wrestle not against flesh and bone, but against, [(s)atan and his unholy host.] Another trick and trap is not being believed in and for those that do know of him, they are made to look: silly, foolish, ignorant, stupid, childish, ridiculous, etc.

When C.S. Lewis published “The Screw Tape Letters.”  he was asked, “Do you mean to bring up the literal devil?”  Lewis’ answered in the affirmative.  Reader, one cannot believe in the Godhead and then disavow or the devil and devils. You simply cannot.  The Godhead speaks to this deadly and most dangerous enemy from the very beginning and he is spoken of throughout Holy writ up until the end!!!

This enemy was called Lucifer, but after he was thrown to the earth he was (s)atan. He is called a liar and a murderer from the beginning, this arch-enemy of man killed the spirit and the ralationship between man and his Creator God. This enemy also killed in the literalist of terms, Job’s children as Job is one (1) of the earliest writings in Scripture, before Abraham, before the law, and before all that we know in Scripture. Our enemy is a killing enemy.

This condemned enemy is called the serpent.  This speaks tto the form he chose in Eden and it speaks to his nature and character. The innate fear persons have of the snake is due to the treasury accomplished in Eden.

The serpent moves like no other, it is subtle to be sure, it can mask itself among it’s surroundings. The serpent can climb trees, poles, posts. The serpent can lie in wait for hours upon hours. The serpent take many forms. There is the rattle snake (deadly), there are the Constrictors (deadly), there is the Sea Snake (Very venomous) There is the king snake, this favoured snake is able tgto withstand the poisons of other snakes, easily and is also able to devour and eat the other dangerous snakes at will.  There is the Hognosed snake, this snake has no teeth, but eats his meals alive, you can watch a frog move inside of the non-venomous snake until you can’t. This Hognose can also play dead.

The one (1) trait, in all snakes throughout the world is it’s nature to turn on you. I have lived with many snakes in my youth and I have held so many more and I can tell you, the snake will turn on you, it is it’s nature to do so. Once, when i was holding a Ball Python, which is “said” to be the “friendliest”  of Constrictors, turned around, looked me in the eye and struck at my face. God, having gifted me with quick reflexes was able to catch the SERPENT in mid-strike.  The store clerk said, “it must have been your cologne.”             “I don’t think so, Tim.”

My Uncle Jerry told me a fable years ago.  A snake asked a turtle if he could ride on his shell a cross the river.  The turtle said, “No way, you’ll bite me.”  The snake in retort to the turtle said,  “If I were going to bite you would I have not done so already?  Besides, if I bite you, wouldn’t we both die?”  The turtle thought about it and then allowed the SERPENT to ride over the river upon his shell.  About midway, the SERPENT bit the turtle!!!  To the turtles dismay, he said, “Why would you do that, now we both shall die.”  The snake replied, “It’s my nature.”  the turtle died and the snake swam away.

There is so much truth to this fable, it speaks to the untamed nature of the snake.  With some alterations, it couls also speak to the depraved human nature of man.

Your enemy can take many, many forms:
*Cult- J. Witnesses, Mormons, Islam.
*(s)atan’s puppets in the local church, tares among wheat or weeds among desirable plants.
*Polticians, especially, but not limited to, the Leftists, Liberals, Progressives.
*Public Education System.

Your Enemy(ies) will use:
*Temptations, these are innumerable. Some are listed in Galatians five (5), “Works of the flesh,”  and Romans one (1)  “all unrighteousness.”  These are also called: Pride of life, Lust of the eyes, Lust of the flesh.
*Your mind, if allowed.
*Your body, if allowed.
*Your will, if allowed.

The world in which we find ourself sojourning in is a world with it’s own god, he is called, the “god of this world.”  Christ did not reprove the tempter when the tempter offered Him all of the kingdoms of the world…doubt not, Reader, (s)atan is the god of this world. BUT, doubt not this either, Our God is God of gods.  (s)atan reports to our God as seen in Job. (s)atan is called “Prince of the power of the air.”  This tell us where he inhabits, but he is free to “ROME” the heavens and the earth. Your enemy is able to blind unbelievers and to overtake them and possess them at his will. It seems God has given your enemy a free reign upon this earth, within limits dictated by God.

Readers, We are behind enemy lines and your enemy knows it and he knows about us and he even knows about specific saints.

Take heed, Sojourner, we do seek  and we do await anothet Kingdom, but until then, “Be vigilant, for your enemy, as a roaring lion seeketh whom he may devour.”  The most frightening word in this passage is not lion or enemy, but “may.”  “May” speaks to permission, my Reader.