Striking at the head of the snake is a legitimate and ancient military strategy: disabling the enemy's leadership shortens hostilities, lessens casualties, and usually assures swift victory, though it is difficult because leaders are so closely guarded. The same strategy applies to spiritual warfare. Paul says the Christian's warfare is spiritual (II Corinthians 10:3-6), and the enemy is Satan and his demons, the principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, and hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:11-12; Revelation 12:9-12). Though a secular age discounts their existence, the Bible plainly names them the true enemies of mankind, especially Christians. The apostles instruct believers to have nothing to do with them, give no place to the devil, submit to God, and resist the devil so that he flees (James 4:7). Peter warns that the adversary prowls like a roaring lion, so Christians must be sober, vigilant, and steadfast in the faith (I Peter 5:8-9). Resistance means abstaining from every form of evil and following Christ, who met the devil's temptations with Scripture and a firm resolve to obey only God (Matthew 4:1-11). Paul adds that believers should be wise in what is good and pure concerning evil, for God will crush Satan under their feet (Romans 16:19-20). The first prophecy, God's curse on the serpent in Eden, foretells this conflict: enmity between the serpent's seed and the woman's Seed, Christ, who will bruise the serpent's head while the serpent bruises His heel (Genesis 3:15). God Himself will strike the snake's head to end the hostility swiftly.

Christians are soldiers in a state of war on three fronts: Satan, the world, and our own flesh. The most dangerous front is the flesh, where we least suspect treachery and have grown most complacent. The battleground is the human mind, heart, or spirit, a fortified enclosure with walls that must be defended (Proverbs 16:32; 25:28), and the battle plan is self-control, the most difficult fruit of the Spirit to attain. Paul's struggle in Romans 7 is answered in Romans 8:13, where the Spirit enables us to put to death the deeds of the body. God supplies all the Holy Spirit needed, but He does not rapture us out of the arena. We cannot be sunshine patriots or conscientious objectors, because character is not created by fiat and cheap grace is esteemed too lightly. Victory means aggressively winning back territory from the carnal mind and establishing beachheads, enclaves, or foxholes for the Spirit, going into trench warfare with Satan in hand-to-hand combat (James 4:7; I Peter 5:8-10). Satan works like a satellite communications system or a microwave oven, amplifying the lusts and attitudes already within us, so the enemy has sympathizers inside. Trials are weights that build spiritual muscle, as Jesus learned obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8). Hard times purge faults and purify strengths, while prosperity and ease have repeatedly led Israel into apostasy. Because the struggle is against ourselves, the reward will be greater.

God is the Divine Warrior, one of the oldest and most frequent images of Him from Genesis to Revelation: "The Lord is a man of war" (Exodus 15:3), and He teaches hands to make war. Liberal commentators dismiss this as borrowing from the warrior gods of neighboring nations, but it reveals His righteous character and sovereignty and should increase godly fear, for He never loses a battle. At the Red Sea He set the pattern: He lets His people reach a situation only He can resolve, promises to fight for them, tells them not to fear, springs a trap on the enemy, and brings His people through unscathed. Israel only walked through in faith, a type of Christ's victory over Satan, in which we contribute nothing, and of baptism. The Commander of the Lord's army with drawn sword before Jericho (Joshua 5) is the Lord Himself, who is above partisanship; the only thing He opposes is sin, whether in the nations or in Israel. The title Lord of hosts (Yahweh Sabaoth) stresses His supreme sovereignty over all armies and all things, of which warfare is one aspect. Commands to destroy peoples like the Amorites and Amalekites are just, since those peoples knew God and sinned without excuse (Romans 1; 9), and He may use any nation as His rod of wrath; they will be raised in the resurrection and offered salvation. Today His warfare through the church is spiritual, but in Revelation 19 He returns personally as Faithful and True, judging and making war, to strike the nations, establish peace, and usher in God's Kingdom.