Well, folks, we are living in days when it can feel as if the adversary has been given a wider field of operation. Antisemitism has risen sharply across the UK and Europe. Radical Islamist ideology continues to produce violence, parallel communities, and open hostility to the God of Israel and to the freedoms that grew out of a Christian heritage. Looking at the news, a Christian can easily say, “It seems Satan is off the leash.”

That feeling is not entirely wrong, but it is incomplete. Scripture gives us a clearer picture.

Satan Stood Up Against Israel

1 Chronicles 21:1 says, “Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.” The parallel account in 2 Samuel 24:1 tells us that the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He moved David to number the people. Both statements are true. Satan actively opposed God’s people and tempted David. At the same time, God remained sovereign. He permitted the temptation and held David accountable for the choice he made.

David’s sin was pride and unbelief. Instead of trusting the Lord for the strength of the nation, he counted the fighting men. The result was judgment—a plague that took seventy thousand lives. Yet when David repented and built an altar on the threshing floor of Ornan, God stopped the angel’s hand. Mercy answered repentance.

You see, this is the consistent pattern. Satan is real, he is the adversary, he stands against Israel and against the Church. We see today he works through pride, false religion, and the blinding of minds. But he is a created being where he operates only within the limits God sets. He is never equal with God, and he is never outside God’s ultimate control.

The Same Pattern Today

What we see in our own time fits the same biblical pattern. Hatred of the Jewish people has surged. Official figures from the Community Security Trust and the Home Office show antisemitic incidents remaining near record levels years after the October 7 attacks. Much of it is fuelled by anti-Israel agitation that regularly slides into older anti-Jewish lies. At the same time, Islamist terrorism remains the most lethal ideological threat across Europe. Large-scale migration has enlarged the communities in which radicalisation occurs. Not every Muslim is an extremist, but the ideology of political Islam and jihad is real, costly, and opposed to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

None of this catches God by surprise. When nations turn from the living God, He often allows the consequences of that rejection to unfold. Yet He remains faithful to His covenants with Israel and to His Church. The same God who stopped the plague when David humbled himself still rules over the nations and over the adversary.

Putting On the Whole Armour

I  did this study at a mens meeting last night, so this is fresh with me to share and to know the battle is spiritual, Paul tells us exactly how to stand and stand firmly. Ephesians 6:10–20 is not a suggestion for difficult days; it is the practical equipment God has given His people.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

We are not told to be strong in ourselves. Our strength is in the Lord. Then Paul lists the pieces:

• The belt of truth holds everything in place. In a time of confusion and deliberate lies about Israel, about the gospel, and about what is happening around us, the truth of God’s Word keeps the rest of the armour from slipping.
• The breastplate of righteousness protects the heart. It is the righteousness of Christ that covers us. When accusations come—from the enemy or from the culture—we rest in what Jesus has already done.
• The shoes of the gospel of peace give us firm grippy footing. Peace with God means we can stand and move without slipping when the ground shifts.
• The shield of faith quenches the fiery darts. Doubts, fears, twisted reports, and hatred are extinguished by simple trust in the Lord.
• The helmet of salvation guards the mind. We know we belong to Him. Our hope is secure. That keeps us from panic when the headlines grow dark.
• The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, is the one offensive weapon. Jesus used it in the wilderness. We use it by knowing Scripture and speaking it.

Paul then adds prayer: “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit… for all the saints.” The armour is put on and kept on through prayer. Without prayer the pieces stay in the cupboard.

Someone once joked, “What do you call a soldier with just a helmet and a sword? A streaker.” The point is simple. Half-dressed soldiers do not stand. We need the whole armour.

How We Stand

This equips us for the days we are in. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood. We resist principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness. The armour lets us remain clear-headed, truthful, and useful. We pray for the Jewish people, for protection, and for the gospel to go forth. We pray for Muslims to come to know the true Messiah. We speak the truth in love without fear. We refuse the lie that every warning about Islamism or open borders is itself hateful. And we remember that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.

Satan may appear to have freer rein for a season, we may have been thinking of the USA midterm elections last night but he does not.

Christ has already triumphed at the cross where one day every knee will bow. Until that day, we put on the whole armour, we stand in the strength of the Lord, and we keep our eyes on the One who is still on the throne.