The serpent, described as cunning and crafty, embodies deception beyond any other created being. This enemy, identified as the great dragon, the serpent of old, called the devil and satan, deceives the entire world, holding it under his control with unparalleled subtlety. His cunning manifests in surprise attacks on humanity, sowing seeds of doubt and questioning God's intentions, making individuals feel like victims deserving more than what they have been given. He plants seeds of envy, contention, and pride, fueling carnal minds into competition against God and each other, enticing them with promises of self-sovereignty and godhood. This cunning adversary targets the mind, battling to control thoughts, attitudes, and inclinations that lead to actions. By subtly shifting one's balance or direction, he makes sin more accessible. His tactics include fostering negative thoughts and attitudes, often disguised as justified, against others, which bear no good fruit. He promotes pride through subtle boasting or humble bragging, encouraging actions that draw attention to oneself rather than to God. His spirit of pride accuses and separates, contrasting sharply with God's Spirit, which forgives and unites. Constantly planting seeds of pride, he prepares the way for sin, exploiting pride that manifests in various outward sins. His cunning lies in making individuals feel inferior, leading to overcompensation through prideful actions or attitudes. This dual surprise attack targets both the sense of inadequacy and the desire for control or esteem, making pride synonymous with idolatry by placing personal desires before God. Only through God's Spirit can one combat this cunning deception, bringing every thought into captivity to align with Christ's obedience and rooting out the satanic tendencies of pride and contention.

Satan employs cunning rather than brute force to deceive and betray, working covertly to delude and destroy. His methods, described as wiles, involve a systematic and technical approach, using artifice and craft to ensnare. These cunning devices are not simple frontal assaults but are carefully laid out with skill, operating in the dark where they cannot be readily seen. As an invisible adversary, satan maintains a continual ambush, seeking chinks in character to exploit with subtle and persistent tactics. The sharp-eyed one, as satan is called, uses his craftiness to broadcast thoughts and images into minds, influencing attitudes and desires. Through temptations, as seen in the case of Jesus Christ, satan subtly plants ideas to separate individuals from God, using lies and false promises to appeal to pride or immediate gratification. His approach with Judas involved presenting images of wealth and power, only to reveal the devastating reality after the betrayal. Similarly, with Ananias and Sapphira, satan tempted them with the appearance of generosity while encouraging deceit, leading to their downfall. Satan's cunning extends to societal influences, promoting images of anger, hatred, and lust through various media, setting standards contrary to God's way. He sows thoughts of rebellion and disobedience, affecting individuals and nations alike, pushing for mass rejection of divine principles. Even in personal interactions, satan's subtle influence can come through friends, as seen when he worked through a close companion to dissuade Jesus Christ from His purpose. Despite satan's numerical advantage with his demonic forces, his cunning cannot prevail against those who draw close to God, submit to His will, and arm themselves with His truth and righteousness. By humbling themselves, studying and applying God's word diligently, and maintaining a proper mindset to resist wrong imaginations, individuals can thwart satan's schemes. God assures that He will carry this work to completion, supporting His people in their struggle against satan's vicious and crafty designs.

Satan is described as the most cunning of all beings, a primary characteristic highlighted from the beginning. This cunning nature drives his deceptive and plotting tendencies, influencing his spiritual descendants to exhibit similar traits. Through his sway, mankind has been led to conspire against God, as seen in historical attempts to unify the world under a single government, such as with Nimrod, who acted as a despot against the Lord. Satan's subtle and cunning strategies create confusion and division, even among his own forces, as various groups with shared goals of a supranational government and religion often clash due to conflicting interests. Despite his efforts to manipulate and control through deceit and flattery, using strategically placed individuals to achieve power without military force, his kingdom remains divided and ultimately will not stand. God's sovereignty prevails, and His plan will come to pass, unaffected by Satan's cunning schemes.

We face powerful and cunning spiritual enemies who are merciless and subtle in their attacks. Satan, the leader of these forces, is defeated, yet remains crafty, possessing an ingenious subtlety that he employs through various devices and schemes. His tactics, described as wiles or contrivances, are primarily mental, designed to twist our reasoning and lead us astray from the knowledge of God. He invades our minds with opinions and feelings that exalt themselves against God's truth, aiming to alter our behavior as he did in the Garden of Eden. Satan's cunning is evident in his ability to turn good into evil, using even spiritual qualities like godly sorrow to create self-pity or bitterness, thus destroying relationships with God and the church. His subtlety creates distractions and illusions, making material things seem important while diminishing the value of eternal, spiritual matters. He employs disinformation, lies that appear plausible, to deceive us, often through false prophets who seem to be part of the true church but speak under a demonic influence. His malevolent brilliance, likened to a predator silently stalking its prey, is seen in his initial approach to Eve, subtly casting doubt on God's authority with a suggestive question. By minimizing the penalty of disobedience and offering a grand reward, he reoriented Adam and Eve's focus from obedience to God to self, turning God into a rival to be outwitted rather than a friend to cooperate with. This cunning manipulation sows skepticism about God's love, portrays obedience as servility, and promises control and equality with God, leading to a twisted perspective that sees evil in everything. Satan's lies and counterfeits are so subtle that only the trained can spot them, gradually leading us step-by-step into enslavement by sin through addictive desires and imaginations. His ultimate goal is to destroy life, both in quality and through death, by making disobedience seem better than obedience to God. We must be vigilant to catch his devices at their inception, remaining aware of his modus operandi to avoid being entrapped by his shrewd and malevolent strategies.