Bible Marking: Know Your Enemy - Come Fill Your Cup

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The devil. Cartoons portray him as a little red guy with horns. Flip Wilson famously blamed him for his actions. My high school mascot was the Blue Devils. But what God says enough about the devil makes us realize we must take him seriously. He opposes God and His people. He wants to defeat us. Sometimes it’s good to remind ourselves who he is and what he does. Because there is so much information about Satan in the Bible (and this isn’t even an exhaustive list), this topic will be presented with subtopics.

In the front of your Bible, write:

Know Your Enemy

His names- Matt. 4:3

His work and character- Matt. 4:1

The devil & individuals- Lk. 22:31

How to defeat him- Lk. 22:32

His destiny- Matt. 25:41

Now that you have the above written in the front of your Bible, we will go through and mark each subtopic.

HIS NAMES- Matt. 4:3

And the tempter came and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

Underline “the tempter.” At the end of the verse, write 9:34.

But the Pharisees were saying, “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

Underline “the ruler of the demons.” At the end of the verse, write 13:38-39.

…and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are the angels.

Underline “the evil one,” “the enemy,” and “the devil.” At the end of the verse, write Mk. 3:22.

The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebub,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”

Underline “Beelzebub” and “the ruler of the demons.” In the margin next to Beelzebub, write “prince of hostile spirits.” At the end of the verse, write Jn. 16:11.

and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

Underline “the ruler of this world.” At the end of the verse, write 2 Cor. 6:15.

Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

Underline “Belial.” This passage contains a series of questions involving contrasts. Belial is the complete contrast of Christ. At the end of the verse, write Eph. 2:2.

in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Underline “the prince of the power of the air.” At the end of the verse, write Rev. 9:11.

They have as a king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.

Underline “the angel of the abyss,” “Abaddon,” and “Apollyon.” In the margin next to Abaddon, write “Destruction.” In the margin next to Apollyon, write “Destroyer.” At the end of the verse, write 12:9-10.

And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Underline “the great dragon,” “the serpent of old,” “the devil,” and “Satan.” Notice that he “deceives the whole world.”

HIS WORK AND CHARACTER- Matt. 4:1

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Circle “the devil” and underline “tempted.” No one is immune from being tempted by the devil! In the margin, write “(see also 1 Thess. 3:5).” At the end of the verse, write 13:19.

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.

Circle “the evil one” and underline “snatches away what has been sown in his heart.” At the end of the verse, write Jn. 8:44.

You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Circle “the devil.” Underline “murderer,” “no truth in him,” and “liar and the father of lies.” At the end of the verse, write Ac. 10:38.

You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.

Circle “the devil” and underline “oppressed.” Thanks to the resurrection, Satan no longer has the power to possess people (Heb. 2:14-15) but this serves to remind us of his hatred of humanity. At the end of the verse, write 1 Cor. 7:5.

Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

Circle “Satan” and underline “tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” In the margin, write “Satan tempts married couples.” At the end of the verse, write 2 Cor. 4:4.

in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Circle “god of this world.” Underline “blinded the minds of the unbelieving.” Squiggly underline “so that they might not see the light of the gospel.” At the end of the verse, write 11:14.

No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Circle “Satan” and underline “disguises himself as an angel of light.” At the end of the verse, write 2 Tim. 2:26.

and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

Circle “the devil.” Underline “snare” and “held captive.” At the end of the verse, write 1 Pet. 5:8.

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Circle “the devil.” Underline “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Squiggly underline “your adversary.” In the margin next to “adversary,” write “accuser; opponent, enemy.” At the end of the verse, write 1 Jn. 3:8.

the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

Circle all three occurrences of “devil.” Underline “sinned from the beginning” and “works.” At the end of the verse, write 5:19.

We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

Circle “evil one” and underline “whole world lies in the power.”

THE DEVIL AND INDIVIDUALS- Lk. 22:31

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;

Circle “Satan” and underline “demanded permission to sift you like wheat.” Peter did give in to Satan when he denied Jesus. At the end of the verse, write Jn. 13:2.

During supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him,

Circle “the devil” and underline “put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him.” Judas gave in to Satan when he betrayed Jesus with a kiss. At the end of the verse, write Ac. 5:3.

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?”

Circle “Satan” and underline “filled your heart to lie.” Ananias lost his life when he gave in to Satan. Satan doesn’t have the power to take over our heart without our permission. In the margin next to “filled your heart,” write “to live in accordance with.”

HOW TO DEFEAT HIM- Lk. 22:32

but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.

Jesus had just told Peter that Satan wanted to sift him like wheat. Jesus knew that Peter would yield to the temptation but He also knew that Peter would overcome. There is a perfect four-part formula for resisting the devil. Underline “prayed for you,” “faith may not fail,” “turned again,” and “strengthen your brothers.” Ask others to pray for you. Hold onto your faith. Turn away from sin. Strengthen others. If you wish, number these four phrases in the text and in the margin write, “How to Overcome Satan.” At the end of the verse, write Eph. 4:27.

and do not give the devil an opportunity.

Circle “devil” and underline the whole verse. This is in the middle of a passage about various sins (sinning in our anger, theft, unwholesome speech, etc.). How can we avoid giving in to these things? In the margin next to “opportunity,” write “place; occasion.” Do not give Satan space in your heart. Do not let him take residence there. Make sure there is no room for him. At the end of the verse, write 6:11-16.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm agains the schemes of the devil…

Circle “devil” (v. 11) and “the evil one” (v. 16). Underline all the ways mentioned to resist him: “put on the full armor of God” (v. 11), “take up the full armor of God” (v. 13), and “take up the shield of faith” (v. 16). Now squiggly underline what these actions will enable us to do: “stand firm” (v. 11,13,14), “resist” (v. 13), and “extinguish” (v. 16). At the end of verse 16, write Js. 4:7.

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Circle “the devil.” Underline “resist.” Squiggly underline “he will flee from you.” The roaring lion will run away from any resistance! This is a promise from God! At the end of the verse, write 1 Pet. 5:9.

But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

Underline the whole verse. Again, this is a perfect formula for overcoming the prowling lion. 1) Resist him, 2) firm up your faith, 3) know you’re not alone. In the margin next to “resist,” write “oppose; stand against.”

HIS DESTINY- Matt. 25:41

Then He will say to those on His left, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels…”

Circle “the devil” and underline “eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.” At the end of the verse, write Rom. 16:20.

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

Circle “Satan” and underline this whole sentence. At the end of the verse, write Rev. 12:10.

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…”

Circle “the accuser” and underline “has been thrown down.” At the end of the verse, write 20:10.

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Circle “the devil.” Underline “thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone” and “tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Satan is determined and active and a force to be reckoned with. BUT, he’s not omniscient, omnipresent, or omnipotent. He can’t read our thoughts. He can’t force us to do anything. God is the One with all the knowledge and presence and power. And through the victory of His Son Jesus, we can resist the devil and stay strong in the faith.

*This is an interesting subject that may have brought up some questions in your family concerning the devil. An excellent resource is Christian Courier. Check out their website and click on “Satan” in their topical index for additional study.

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Kathy Pollard

Kathy is married to Neal Pollard, who preaches for the Lehman Ave. church of Christ in Bowling Green, KY. They have three grown sons, all married, 2 new grandsons, and a granddaughter on the way! Kathy attended Faulkner University and Bear Valley Bible Institute and has a bachelor’s degree in Bible. She is the author of the book, Return to Me…What to Do When Loved Ones Fall Away. She and Carla Moore host a weekly podcast for Christian women called Looking Up. Kathy enjoys spending time with family, traveling to Israel, tending her gardens, and getting to know her new dairy cow, Peaches.