Note that the huge dragon deceives the whole world. Sometimes we are led to believe the wrestling match is one of power. But basically the issue is one of truth and deception.

All power belongs to God, and God has given His authority and power to Christ. The devil works with the authority and power Christ has apportioned to him so the will of God may be brought to pass.

The reason we saints cannot seem to exercise the degree of righteousness in the world around us that we would, and sometimes not even in our own immediate environment and our own flesh, is that we are warring against wicked spirits who impose their will on us.

How are we to overcome these spirits?

God has given us His Divine Truth in the Scriptures. When the Holy Spirit opens a passage of Scripture to our understanding, and then we mix faith with the Word that has been given to us, the power of God through Christ enables us to begin to live by that Word.

Our task is to come to know the truth and to choose to obey that truth. God's task is to open truth to us as we press forward in faith, and then to send us power from Heaven so we are enabled to obey the truth of God. In this manner we come to know Divine truth and the Divine truth sets us free from the bondages of sin.

But we must keep on choosing to obey the truth. We Christians are to keep on asking the Lord to lead us into all truth by His Holy Spirit who dwells in us. There is much deception in the world around us. This deception is proceeding from wicked spirits and we are not able to overcome the deception by means of our own wisdom and strength. Only Christ is able to overcome the deception that comes from the enemy of our souls.

Satan is not permitted to exercise authority or power over a person who is walking in the light of God's will. In order to harm us, Satan must persuade us to believe a lie. If Satan can deceive us into straying from the path of truth in some way, then we begin to lose the power of the Holy Spirit who is helping us. In this manner Satan lures us out from under the protection of the blood of Christ, away from the wisdom and power of the Spirit of God.

If Satan can deceive us into turning aside from the pathway of Divine truth he can bring us into bondage so we will worship him and perform his will in the earth.

The Philistines could not harm Samson until Delilah was able to deceive him into allowing her to cut his hair. The moment Samson's Nazarite vow was broken his strength left him.

Balaam was unable to curse Israel. Therefore he sought to seduce the Israelite warriors to commit fornication. Balaam understood that God's protection would be removed from Israel if the soldiers of the army could be led into sin.

To be continued.