Satan in his opposition to the church of Jesus Christ assumes one of two guises. Sometimes he goes about as a “roaring lion” (1 Pet 5:8), in which case his purpose is to destroy. At other times he assumes the form of an “angel of light” (2 Cor 11:14), in which case his aim is to deceive. Either way he, as the archenemy of God and man, stands ready to oppose any and all attempts to invade his territory or to liberate his captives. This comes out very clearly in the Acts of the Apostles, where we have the record of four instances when the gospel messengers encountered demonic opposition; and each time it “happened” to coincide with a fresh attempt on the part of the church to penetrate deeper into enemy territory.

When the gospel was first preached to the Samaritans (Acts 8), Simon Magus, a sorcerer, stood in the way and tried to match his power with that of the apostles. When he discovered that this was impossible, he offered Peter money to give him the superior power which he had seen displayed by Philip. Peter, sensing the gravity of the situation, pronounced a curse on Simon Magus: “Your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart

is not right before God.... I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity” (Acts 8:20-23).

At the outset of Paul’s first missionary journey we have a similar situation. When the proconsul of Cyprus showed an interest in the Christian gospel, Elymas, a sorcerer, tried to turn him aside. Paul, recognizing the demonic nature of the opposition, did not hesitate to pronounce a curse on him: “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?” (Acts 13:10). As a result of the apostolic curse, Elymas was struck blind for a time.

The third episode took place immediately after Paul set foot in Europe. As he went back and forth to the place of prayer in Philippi, a demon-possessed slave girl, who brought her masters much gain by soothsaying, mocked Paul and his companions, crying: “These men are servants of the most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17). She kept this up for many days until Paul could stand it no longer, whereupon he turned to the spirit and said, “I charge you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

The last event of this kind took place in Ephesus, the center of the worship of the great goddess Artemis (Diana). Pilgrims from all over the Roman Empire journeyed to Ephesus to participate in this pagan form of worship. So deeply entrenched was this religious system that it required “extraordinary” miracles by the hand of Paul to make any impression on the city. Sick people were healed and demon possessed persons were delivered.

As might be expected, the devil fought back. Itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to duplicate the miracles performed by Paul, using the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantations. But the evil spirit called out: “Jesus I know and Paul I know; but who are you?” (Acts 19:15). At this point the demon-possessed man leaped on the exorcists and overpowered them so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded.

It is important to notice that in all four episodes the opposition to the gospel was not human but demonic. Also it occurred precisely when the gospel was introduced for the first time into parts of the world until then under the undisputed sway of Satan. In each case the confrontation was sharp and bitter, and ended in victory for the kingdom of God. Paul was speaking from his own experience when he said that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against demonic powers (Eph 6:12).

Under these circumstances it was inevitable that the devil would use his emissaries—sorcerers and other demon-possessed persons—to withstand the apostles. He would not suffer his kingdom to be invaded by the messengers of the cross. Every convert to the Christian faith weakened Satan’s hold on his own territory, and if enough converts were made they would pose a threat to his entire kingdom.

 J. Herbert Kane, Christian Missions in Biblical Perspective