The above title comes from 2 Corinthians 2:11 where the Apostle Paul was discussing the subject of forgiveness, but made a side comment about Satan: "In order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes" (2 Cor. 2:11).

Unfortunately, many believers today are unaware of Satan's schemes. They may say, "I want to learn about God, not about Satan," and that is understandable. The Bible does not have any big section explaining about Satan, either. Information about him is scattered, a little here and a little there. If a group of believers are not being influenced by Satan and his demons, they may not need to know much about them. But if believers or their friends are having trouble with them, then they need to understand, so they can fight.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 6:12).

Notice that the above verse mentions a variety of "spiritual forces". Satan works through "black forces" that appear evil and "white forces" that appear good. Many Christians do not know this - they are often unable to tell the difference between demonic "white forces" and angels of God. Hopefully, this article will help the believer to clearly understand the difference between Satanic "black forces", "white forces" and angels of God.

The Bible does not use the terms "black forces" and "white forces", but it does show that Satan, his demons and the people influenced by them sometimes appear evil and sometimes deceive by trying to appear "good". The terms "black forces" and "white forces" are useful in speaking of all of the demonic entities at once.

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).

"For such men are false apostles; deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve" (2 Cor. 11:13-15).

Satan operates both as a devouring lion, and as an angel of light- his followers do also. He rarely appears as both at once. The purpose of the first approach is to frighten, to make Christians believe that Satan is so powerful that they cannot oppose him. The purpose of the second is to deceive, to appear righteous to believers, but then get them listening to Satan rather than God.

This writer has read about magic, the occult and Satanism as well Christian books about casting out demons. I also personally know people who have been involved in these things. I cannot think of anyone that disagreed with the basic structure of the demonic world: There are "black demons" who do evil things; who help "black witches" and "black warlocks" do "black magic." On the other hand, there are "white demons" who do at least some "good" things, who help "white witches" or "white warlocks" (also called "mediums", "channelers", "wizards", etc.) do "white magic". Satan, and a few of the most powerful demons can appear as either white or black. All tell the truth when possible, because truth is easier to defend than lies. But they lie when it is to their advantage - some lies have been perpetuated for thousands of years.

All demons are organized into a hierarchy. Every demon has a boss who is more powerful than he - with Satan being the most powerful and head of all demonic forces. In most cases, black demons rule over white demons-they consider their "goodness" as weakness. White demons may hope that their "good works" will give them an easier time in the judgment. All demons were once angels, but followed Satan in disobeying God:

"And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home - these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day" (Jude 1:6).

"For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but condemned them to the chains of Tartarus and handed them over to be kept for judgment" (2 Peter 2:4).

The Bible gives a number of examples where Satan and his demons (also called "evil spirits") appear terribly evil:

"When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way" (Matt 8:28).

Matthew 17:15 "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said ...."He often falls into the fire or into the water" .... Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy.." (Matt 17:15,18).

"When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones" (Mark 5:2-6).

"Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus (Luke 22:3-4).

"Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding" (Acts 19:16).

If some of these verses sound like parts of horror movies, it is because horror movies usually accurately depict the real evils of black demonism.

The Bible gives examples where Satan and his demons try to look good, and sometimes actually do things for God.

Some are too long to print here. Chapters 22 and 23 of the book of Numbers tell how Balaam, false prophet, was hired to curse Israel. He knew that God would not let him, but he tried many times and finally told Israel's enemies how they could get Israel to sin (Rev. 2:14). God actually spoke through Balaam's donkey and then through Balaam– showing that just because God speaks through someone (or thing) does not mean that they are following God. Similarly, King Saul asked a medium to bring "Samuel" back from the dead (1 Sam 28:7-20). This "Samuel" was probably a demonic counterfeit as the Bible teaches that the righteous dead are awaiting a resurrection (Hebrews 11). Nevertheless, the medium produced a message from God that came to pass. Notice, below, that some hide their evil as they feast with believers:

"They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed-an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey-a beast without speech-who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness" (Pet 2:14-16).

"And the LORD said, "Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?" One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, I will entice him." "By what means?" the LORD asked. "I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets," he said.."You will succeed in enticing him," said the LORD. "Go and do it" (1 Kings 22:20-22).

"But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery, in, the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the great power of God"" (Acts 8:9-10 NKJV).

"...We were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling .... Paul... said to the spirit, "In the name, of Jesus Christ I command you to come out "of her!" At that' moment the spirit left her" (Acts 16:16-18). Some "white, forces" actually pretend to be of God. Others just do apparently useful things - one could make a lot of money at gambling or the stock market with someone who predicts the future. But is that God's purpose?

How can a believer tell the difference between an angel, or a human servant of God and a "white `spirit"? God commands us to learn to do it:

"Dear' friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).

"If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not 'known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him" (Deut. 13:1-4).

Here are some points, that will help you separate "white demonic forces" from God's servants:

1. White forces may teach things contrary to scripture, though they may not do it right away.

2. White forces frequently have severe sin, though they usually try to hide it from believers.

3. White forces will charge money for healings, prophesying, etc. God's servants refuse such gifts ( 2 Kings 5:16; Acts 8:20).

4. White demons want to "get personal" with people - have the people know about them and call upon them. God's angels do not want people to call upon them or worship them, they do their job and leave (Gen 16:6-13; Judges 1 3; 1 Kings 19:5-8; Dan 3:25-28; Matt 1:20-24; Rev. 22:8-9)

By my experience, people who are diligently serving God have more unwanted demonic attacks than complacent Christians. They must look to God for help. Strangely, some people who know about demons think they can get "something for nothing" from them. But demons, White or black, always take more than they give - and people's lives are often destroyed before they figure it out.

"Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD..." (Deut. 18:10-12).