Satan dictates or rules a host of evil spirits in a well organized demonic hierarchy. There is proof of this demonic structure in scripture. A good example is found in Daniel where an angel had to fight the prince of Persia, which is clearly not a human being, but an evil spirit that was placed in charge of the kingdom of Persia to carry out Satan's plans there:
Daniel 10:13, "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia."
Further insight into this hierarchy and how Satan oppresses people, is found in the book of Acts:
Acts 10:38, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."
If you look up the word for oppressed in this verse, you will find the Greek word katadunasteuo, which means, "to exercise dominion against, that is, oppress." The word dominion here does not refer to ownership of a person (it's God who owns every soul, see Ezekiel 18:4), but rather an army that is under your rule. Satan exercises his army of fallen angels (his dominion) against us.
Now if you look up the word dominion in the the 2006 Merriam-Webster dictionary, under definition #3 it speaks of an order of angels, referencing to Celestial Hierarchy, which speaks of a host of angelic beings, including principalities, powers, etc. In Ephesians 6, we find that the powers of darkness come in different ranks and powers:
Ephesians 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."
Satan's kingdom is made up of an army of fallen angels. When Satan was cast out of heaven, he drew with him a third of the angels, which are now fallen and known as demons or devils:
Revelations 12:4, "And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born."
Revelations 16:14, "For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty."
Satan is known as the lord of the flies (Beelzebub), because there are so many evil spirits that are under his rule in the kingdom of darkness:
Matthew 12:24, "But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils."
Satan is the leader, and a host of fallen angels are under his rule carrying out his evil plans.
How Satan oppresses
When a person is said to be turned over into the hands of the tormenters (Matthew 18:23-35), they are not directly tormented by Satan, but by the army of evil spirits in his kingdom. Satan may issue a command in his army to oppress a person or to carry out a certain task, but he himself rarely gets involved because he's only one spirit and cannot be everywhere at once. When we hear of Satan oppressing a person, it is actually a demonic spirit within his kingdom that is doing the dirty work according to Satan's rule and leadership. For example, if you look at Luke 13:11, we find the woman with the spirit of infirmity. It clearly tells us that she was bound by Satan, but who was carrying out the actual dirty work? A spirit of infirmity!
Luke 13:11,16, "And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself... And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?"
Our enemy is obviously Satan, but it's not him that we directly struggle against, it's against the demonic army of evil spirits that is under his rule. It is important that we learn who our enemy is and how he carries out his plans, so we can effectively wage spiritual war against them.
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Your Daily Expectations
Did I begin today in prayer?
Have I read my Bible today?
Did I give today my best efforts?
Did I make someone’s life a little better today?
Did I take steps towards the dreams I have and God has for my life today?
How did I add value to the world around me today?
Was my attitude ever in the way of me or others having a productive, happy day?
Can I put today behind me, go to sleep, and give tomorrow another chance?
How can I improve my answers tomorrow night?
Am I ending today in prayer?
Have I read my Bible today?
Did I give today my best efforts?
Did I make someone’s life a little better today?
Did I take steps towards the dreams I have and God has for my life today?
How did I add value to the world around me today?
Was my attitude ever in the way of me or others having a productive, happy day?
Can I put today behind me, go to sleep, and give tomorrow another chance?
How can I improve my answers tomorrow night?
Am I ending today in prayer?
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