WHAT SATAN IS CURRENTLY DOING TODAY

(A Rightly Divided Study from the King James Bible)

Many people imagine Satan as a red devil ruling from a fiery underworld, commanding demons with pitchforks and chains. Yet according to the King James Bible, this popular image is a myth rooted in religious tradition, not Scripture. The Bible reveals that Satan’s present activity is far more subtle, spiritual, and deceptive than most realize. He is not in hell today, nor is he yet bound. He is actively at work in this present dispensation of grace, operating through religion, philosophy, and counterfeit spirituality to oppose the revelation given to the apostle Paul.

1. The God of This World Who Blinds Minds

Paul identifies Satan in 2 Corinthians 4:3 to 4 as “the god of this world” who “hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ… should shine unto them.” Satan’s first and primary work in this dispensation is spiritual blindness. His goal is to keep people from seeing the truth of the gospel of the grace of God, the message that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again, shedding His blood to offer free justification to all who believe.

This blinding is accomplished not through open evil but through distraction, deception, and religious counterfeit. He blinds men through moralism, legalism, philosophy, science falsely so called, and emotional experiences that appear spiritual but are rooted in self righteousness. Every false gospel that adds human effort, baptism, or works to grace is part of his strategy. His focus is not on frightening the lost but on keeping them religious yet lost, satisfied with substitutes for truth.

2. The Angel of Light and His Ministers of Righteousness

Second Corinthians 11:13 to 15 warns believers: “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” Satan’s most effective work today is religious deception that looks holy, moral, and Christlike. He does not come with horns and fire, but with pulpits, choirs, and ministries that claim to represent Jesus while denying the mystery revealed to Paul.

Through his false apostles and teachers, he has filled the world with counterfeit Christianity, denominations that mix Israel’s law program with the Body of Christ’s grace calling. They preach Israel’s kingdom promises, water baptism for salvation, speaking in tongues, signs, and wonders, all of which belong to a program that has been set aside. The result is a Christianity that uses Bible words but not Bible doctrine rightly divided. Satan’s ministers appear righteous, but they corrupt the simplicity that is in Christ, 2 Corinthians 11:3.

3. The Enemy of the Mystery and Right Division

In Ephesians 6:11 to 12, Paul warns believers to “put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” These wiles are not random acts of evil but organized strategies against the truth. The chief truth Satan opposes today is “the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery,” Romans 16:25.

That mystery, hidden since the world began, reveals that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ’s finished cross work, and that God is forming one new man, the Body of Christ, separate from Israel’s prophetic promises. Satan’s goal is to obscure or silence this revelation by convincing Christians to mix Israel’s prophecy program with the Body’s mystery program. When assemblies preach tithing, covenant promises, priesthoods, or the Great Commission of Matthew 28 as the Body’s marching orders, they unknowingly advance Satan’s confusion, not God’s truth.

4. The Accuser and Hinderer of the Saints

Satan not only blinds the lost but also accuses and hinders believers. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:18, “But Satan hindered us.” He opposes the ministry of reconciliation, 2 Corinthians 5:18 to 20, working to discourage, divide, and distract believers from their ambassadorship. Revelation 12:10 calls him “the accuser of our brethren,” which describes his constant effort to burden saints with guilt and fear, causing them to doubt their standing in Christ.

Through emotional manipulation, self condemnation, and false doctrine, Satan works to keep believers from resting in the completeness of their position in Christ. When saints live under the Law instead of grace, constantly seeking forgiveness or striving to feel saved, they are walking in the bondage of his lies. The only way to overcome these accusations is by standing firm in the truth of Ephesians 1:7, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”

5. The Prince of the Power of the Air and the Course of This World

Ephesians 2:2 describes the world system that surrounds us, “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air.” Satan orchestrates the present age’s values, trends, and ideologies. His influence pervades politics, education, entertainment, and culture, forming a global system that normalizes sin, mocks truth, and glorifies self.

This course of this world is designed to distract mankind from the cross of Christ and to build a world where man believes he can save himself through progress, unity, or religion. Satan’s ultimate aim is to lead humanity into rebellion against God’s authority, preparing the stage for the coming man of sin who will deceive the nations after the Body of Christ is caught up to heaven.

Summary, The Subtlety of Satan’s Current Work

Satan’s present operation in the dispensation of grace is not one of open warfare but of religious corruption and spiritual blindness. He blinds minds to the gospel, transforms himself into a false light, resists the mystery revealed to Paul, accuses the saints, and controls the world system through deception. His success is measured not by chaos but by confusion, by keeping men busy with religion, tradition, and emotionalism instead of sound doctrine rightly divided.

The believer’s protection is found in the armor of God, Ephesians 6:13 to 18, truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer. Our defense is not mystical or emotional, but doctrinal, standing firm in the Word of God rightly divided. We overcome Satan’s lies by holding fast the form of sound words given through the apostle Paul, and by boldly making all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, Ephesians 3:9.

In this present evil world, Satan is working tirelessly. But his defeat was sealed at Calvary through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The believer’s victory is not found in fighting the devil, but in standing complete in Christ, resting in His finished work, and proclaiming the grace and truth that Satan hates the most, the gospel of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection for the justification of all who believe.