Revelation 12:10 (NASB) says, “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.'”
The accuser of the brethren has been cast down. It doesn’t say “will be” cast down like it is some futuristic event, but this is a present reality! The Greek word for “accuser” here is “kategoreo”, which is where we get the English word, “category” from. An accuser is one who “categorizes” people. Therefore, when you label or categorize people, you are fulfilling more of the image of Satan more than you are the image of God. If we start falling into this entrapment of labeling people, we will start putting them in boxes, which causes them to be misjudged and misinterpreted. Whether it is a political box, such as Republican or Democrat, or religious box, such as Baptist or Catholic, or even a “history box”, such as drug addict or adulterer, our labels can limit and put restraints on people instead of interceding for people to step into the fullness of Christ and fulfill what God has called them to do and be. We can either be an accuser, like Satan, or intercessor, like Christ! We have to begin to see people through the lens of the our heavenly Father instead of the accuser!
The accuser is cast down because of “salvation, power, the kingdom of God and the authority of Christ!” Therefore, if the cross isn’t being preached concerning salvation in Christ, we do not function in the authority of Christ and we do not declare the message of the gospel of the kingdom of God, then our silence of truth will permit the accuser to be loud and boisterous!
Who is Satan, the accuser of the brethren? Satan is the archenemy of anything that is good! He was once the angel who led worship in heaven until he became prideful in his beauty and gifting. His pride led to his own demise, and now his desire is deceive people to fall into the same snare he did. He will do it through manipulation as he is the “father of lies” (John 8:44). In the words of Bill Johnson, “If we believe a lie, we empower the liar! The question we need to ask ourselves, “What is the lie that I have believed?” It is those lies that causes us to be deceived and fall short of fulfilling the potential of the kingdom of heaven for our lives.
You don’t have to study demonology to overcome him or read 100 books on Jezebel to figure out that she is drown out by being the spotless bride of Christ! Nonetheless, if you know how the enemy functions, you will be discerning beyond the facade of an angel of light. Several false religions in the world have started from the devil appearing as an “angel of light!” Satan knows how to function and appear as his “former self” when he was Lucifer!
If we don’t believe the devil exists, then we have already lost in spiritual warfare because we will be fighting people instead of the devil, and cultural transformation as a result of kingdom manifestation will not take place as we will call “evil, good” and “good, evil”. We will not recognize demonic agendas or ideas, such as transgenderism. We can no longer try to function in the truth that makes us free while covering up the lies of the enemy on the inside. It’s like being bound in chains with the prison doors swung wide open! If we want to walk in complete and total freedom in Christ, we must expose the lies of the enemy, oftentimes veiled in fear, doubt and unbelief, and allow the love of God to conquer and heal them!
In Jude 9, Michael didn’t use Satan’s tactics to defeat him but simple declared the message he was given, “The LORD rebuke you!” You do not rebuke Satan in your own authority and power. Sure, yelling at the devil, calling him stupid and telling him to shut up and leave might make you feel somewhat better, but do you really think that works, especially when you are trying to use your own authority to do something? Using the devil’s tactics to beat him in spiritual warfare doesn’t work. Because you do not have the fruit of temperance, you have shown the enemy he has you right where he wants you, and you are merely attempting to give him the room and recognition to no longer be “cast down” but “honored” in your life. You do not overcome evil with evil, but you overcome it with good! (Romans 12:21) It’s like someone who doesn’t necessarily have the skill to beat you on the ball court, but if he can talk trash and take residence in your head to cause you to perform beneath your potential or the ability that he himself can play, you will be set up for failure. It is why you say, “The LORD rebuke you”, and let your game do the talking for you!
So, today you have a choice to make. You can function in the lies of the enemy, such as slandering and accusing, or you can operate in the truth of God’s Word, such as intercession and the authority of Christ! If I were you, I’d choose the latter one!