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Satan's Strongest Stronghold

Author: Phil Maxwell, April 1998

The enemy, Satan, is a spiritual enemy whose war against our souls is waged chiefly in our minds. As any great warrior, he seeks to establish strongholds that serve tactical and strategic purposes in accomplishing his aim, to keep us from the way of life.

2 Cor 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down IMAGINATIONS, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the KNOWLEDGE of God, and bringing into captivity every THOUGHT to the obedience of Christ;

Eph 6:12 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.

Although the enemies devices and strongholds are multi-faceted, there is one stronghold common to man which is Satan's headquarters, his strongest stronghold: Fear of death.

Job 2:4 And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

Heb 2:14-15 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

As in any war, when the enemy's headquarters is overthrown, the enemy is essentially defeated. Yahshua did this "through death" for the purpose of delivering all those (us) who are kept in bondage through fear of death. This being the case, Yahshua having already overcome the devil who had power of death, our fear of death is based on a lie. That lie is the reverse of the lie he told Eve, through which he gained power over death in the first place. While he told her, "you shall not surely die," he tells us when confronted with death, "you shall not surely live." In other words, he denies the resurrection, which is the truth and our chief weapon against this lie, the means by which this strongest of strongholds can be pulled down and our enemy, the devil, defeated. This final defeat is shown:

Rev 12:10-12

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they LOVED NOT THEIR LIVES unto the death.

Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

Yahshua faced this challenge Himself as He prepared for the offering up of Himself as the Lamb of God, to shed His blood for the sins of man, praying earnestly on the Mount of Olives as we are instructed to pray, "thy will be done" (Matt 6:10):

Luke 22:42-44 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

While He purchased our victory through the shedding of His own blood shortly thereafter, He dealt the final blow of defeat over Satan there on the Mount in prayerful submission to His Father. He was proven faithful through the ultimate test, prevailing even against the strongest of the devil's strongholds, resigning Himself to the Father's will, that He should die.

John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

The devil through his own children was given a place of power over Yahshua's life, but since Yahshua was obedient even unto death (Phil 2:8), cleaving to nothing of this world, not even His life, the devil had nothing IN Him. Death could not hold Him (Acts 2:24).

The account of Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego in Daniel (chapter 3) illustrates the same point. They were subject to King Nebuchadnezzar by the will of Yahweh. Their very lives were in his hands, this pagan king who in many ways forms a type of Satan and foreshadows end time events.

As the report goes, Nebuchadnezzar made an idolatrous image and commanded that everyone bow down and worship it when they heard the sound of all the musical instruments. The alternative was to be cast alive into a fiery furnace. Well, these three faithful servants of Yahweh were, like Job, more fearful of Yahweh's judgment than of death, and would not bow to the king's image.

Dan 3:16-19 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

The pagan king's first desire wasn't to kill these three, it was that they yield to his will and worship his image. He even gave them a second chance. He had power over their lives, yes, but to these faithful servants, that was not the ultimate power. They saw his power over death as the limit of his authority, not the limit of all power and authority, which belongs solely to Yahweh. He tried to provoke them to bow to his image through fear of death, but they overcame through faith in the living God, Yahweh, the Creator of all things, whom they feared more than death.

Prov 9:10 The fear of YAHWEH [the LORD] is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

Therefore, we find that the fear of death present in our natural minds is the last line of defense for the devil, and that the weapon we have to overcome that stronghold is the truth, which must be mixed with faith. Consider Abraham as he offered up Isaac a living sacrifice, believing that Yahweh was able even to raise him from the dead if necessary to fulfill His promises. He faced the enemy's strongest stronghold, and overcame by faith.

Gen 22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

Heb 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

Abraham's faith was not just a feeling, nor an aimless trust in the invisible God. It was a very specific knowledge that Yahweh had all power in heaven and earth, that He was absolutely faithful to His Word, and that even death was subordinate to Him. In a word, he believed in the RESURRECTION, looking "for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Heb 11:10), as have people of faith throughout the ages.

Heb 11:13-16

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

All this reminds me of a story I once heard:

A man who was performer of spectacular and dangerous feats was preparing to walk a tightrope stretched across Niagara Falls pushing a wheelbarrow. Singling out a young lad in the gathering crowd, he asked the boy if he believed he could make it across. The boy quickly answered affirmatively, "Sure, I do." \par \par Wanting to be absolutely certain, the man asked him again, "Are you SURE you believe I can do this?" Again, the boy affirmed his belief in the man's abilities.

One more time, he pressed the now slightly agitated boy, who emphatically retorted, "Yes! Yes! I DO BELIEVE!"

After a slight pause, the man looked the boy directly in the eyes speaking in a calm voice, "Very well, then, how would you like to ride in the wheelbarrow?"

The boy, dropping his head, walked away without a word.

The point is that there is faith, such as Abraham exhibited when he forsook his home to sojourn in a strange land, and there is FAITH such as he demonstrated when he overcame the fear of death. There is faith such as shown by Yahshua when He overcame Satan's temptations in the wilderness, and there is FAITH to obey even to the surrender of our lives, as He also did. There is faith to forsake all and follow Yahshua, as the disciples did, and there is FAITH to follow Him all the way through trial s, persecutions, and even surrendering our own lives for His sake, as many have, also.

Satan's stronghold was shown in the words of Peter when Yahshua first began preparing them for His own death. Notice the resistance to believing in the resurrection evident in Peter's response, and this immediately after he had been commended for rightly testifying of Yahshua's identity.

Matt 16:20-23

Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

The subject was Yahshua's death and resurrection, and through Peter, Satan opposed Yahshua in this. Isn't that strange, since it was Satan, who has always been first and foremost a murderer? Was it not Satan who instigated the murder of Yahshua? What was Satan trying to accomplish here? He was standing in opposition to the will of the Father, which was for Yahshua to willingly lay down His life. Notice how Satan is said to regard the things that be of men, and in this case, particularly life as we know it on this side of the limit of his power, the power of death. As long as he can keep us focused on things of this life, he can keep us from that FAITH that transcends the limits of his power, the strongest of his strongholds, the fear of death in our own minds.

Of course, this wasn't only about His own death and resurrection, as Yahshua continued, showing that this was the final leg of the journey that had started with His initial call to these disciples to follow Him:

Matt 16:24-25 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Yahshua and Peter had a similar exchange shortly before Yahshua was arrested and crucified. Peter truly believed that he believed, but his faith was found to be spelled with a small "f" when he denied Yahshua in the face of peril. Using a phrase borrowed from Gordy, his faith was in his faith, and when the trials and persecutions come, that just isn't going to be good enough to sustain us.

Here we see Yahshua giving them a long view of the glory that was ahead of them, preparing them for the trials that they were about to undergo. Notice how delicately He revealed to Peter that he was going to fall, while also sowing the seed of hope beyond that:

Luke 22:29-34

And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.

And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death.

And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

The words spoken above then worked to bring repentance to Peter after he had done just as Yahshua had told him he would.

Luke 22:61-62 And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

All of this was a carryover of the disciples' lack of faith in the resurrection, which was shown in the following dialogue, when Yahshua began revealing the course set before Him to His disciples. As the truth is presented, so the presence of Satan in Peter's yet to be converted mind also came forth, standing in opposition to the clear will of Yahweh:

Though Peter's faith was shown to be lacking, he obviously had a desire to follow Yahshua as shown above, all the way. He just wasn't yet free of that bondage that comes through our inherent fear of death, which falls under Satan's domain (Heb 2:14-15). Had Peter really been willing at that time to follow Yahshua to prison and even death, as he believed that he believed, he would not have fallen into temptation to deny Yahshua. Had his faith been with a capital "F" he would have not only been able to affirm Yahshua as He was carried off as a prisoner, but also believed that not even His forthcoming death would prevent His imminent return by the resurrection.

The ultimate stronghold in our minds (2 Cor 10:4-5) is our fear of death. The truth of the resurrection is the primary spiritual weapon we have been given to tear this Satanic wall between us and true discipleship down. At the time of Yahshua's death, Peter didn't hold this truth as such, and he fell away. Even after the resurrection, neither Peter nor any of the disciples believed the report others gave them that He was risen.

Mark 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

Of course, this changed after they had seen Him for themselves, and not too long afterwards, Peter, having received the promise of the Father, the Holy Ghost, preached powerfully on the resurrection he had previously held in unbelief:

Acts 2:32-33 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

Later, as he had also been told by Yahshua, Peter even came to a point of faith that he willingly surrendered his own life for the name of Yahshua, whom he had previously denied. Notice the similarity of the heart of Peter to minister to others while he was facing his own death. He was coverted, indeed!

2 Pet 1:14-15 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.

Likewise, Paul wrote to Timothy along the same line, showing a faith with a capital "F" in the resurrection, fully realizing that his death was on the way to glory (Phil 1:21):

2 Tim 4:6-8 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Naturally, this subject applies every bit as much to us as it did to them. Faith with a capital "F" believes in the resurrection to the pulling down of Satan's stronghold of fear in our minds, and those in our generation, far removed from being firsthand witnesses of Yahshua's resurrection have particular blessings in store IF we can just believe.

John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

This type of faith is not easily discerned from the "faith in faith" type that Peter had before he was converted by the power of the Holy Spirit. Even after witnessing all the miracles (including the resurrection of Lazarus) and having been personally instructed at length by Yahshua, still couldn't truly believe in His resurrection without seeing for themselves, and much less were they of a faith to believe in their own resurrection at that time.

The parable of the sower indicates that the only way to tell the difference between the sprouts with deep roots coming forth from good soil and those without roots in shallow soil is through trials and persecutions. Do the trials and persecutions only fall upon the ones with shallow roots?

Matt 13:20-21 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

As much as I realize that very few really want to hear about such things, we would be mistaken to have too much faith in our own faith to withstand (or avoid) such trials. In fact, since our faith is developed through progressive trials, we would do well to heed all the warnings we have been given:

2 Tim 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Are we really looking for GLORY? Seeking to be INCORRUPTIBLE? Have spiritual POWER? All these things are promised to the faithful, but many don't correctly portray how, when, and where these promises will be fulfilled; Like the Israelites of Moses' day, they want to reap all the promises of Yahweh without facing the enemies that stand in the way:

1 Cor 15:42-49

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Satan's power over death has not been defeated...yet. Death stands as a fortified city of giants in our path, like Goliath, mocking the armies of the living God. Yahshua's death and resurrection do not serve to protect us from Satan's power of death in the flesh, but does give us a real and living hope in the resurrection beyond death.

As it is written, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." (Prov 29:18 ) Yahshua is our hope of glory, and He instructs us that in order to follow Him we must take up our cross, hating even our own lives in contrast to the glory that is set before us. If our vision does not go beyond this life, we are destined to fall, for we must all go through the fire of testing. In that day, you can be sure that Satan will use every device in his arsenal to obstruct our way, and his strongest device is death. If our vision is properly focused on the resurrection, we have nothing to fear:

Matt 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

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