Satan and His Kingdom: What the Bible Says and How It Matters to You

by Dennis McCallum

This highly readable--and useful--examination of Satan and spiritual warfare was written out of necessity. In recent years, pastor and teacher Dennis McCallum found himself fielding more and more questions about Satan. He wanted to recommend a book on the subject, but those he found either reflected extreme beliefs, contained little biblical instruction, used fear tactics, or were poorly written.

In Satan and His Kingdom, McCallum clarifies what is true and what is false about Satan, demons, and demonic control--both historically and today. He shows readers how to effectively battle the enemy individually and corporately, all the while keeping their focus on Christ, not Satan. A reliable resource for pastors, lay leaders, and any Christian wanting to know more about evil in the world.

Genres: Christian, Christianity, Theology, Christian Living, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Religion

286 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2009

About the author

Dennis is Lead pastor of Xenos Fellowship, which is a grassroots house church planting ministry. Since beginning the group as a student Ohio State University, during the Jesus movement, he has remained interested in reproducing church features found in the New Testament. Xenos focuses on Bible exposition at its meetings, and most of Dennis' books focus on Bible teaching.

Reviews

[Victoria Chien · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is finished.



...And I find myself admiring all of the research and thought put into this book. Despite being a book about the supernatural, nothing about it reads as corny or beyond human logic. It's full of applicational teachings with real-life examples of how Satan works that I recognize in my own life in with biblical references to back it up. And easy to read!

[Jared Totten · Rating 4 out of 5]

As embarrassed as I am to admit this, my thinking on Satan and demons has almost solely been shaped by Lewis' Screwtape Letters and Peretti's This Present Darkness. Until now. Dennis McCallum has written a much needed work for Christian literature in Satan and His Kingdom. It is well studied, biblically balanced, and very readable.



While it may not be at the top of my list of recommended reads for the new Christian, it most certainly is for anyone in church leadership. Dennis McCallum is frank about spiritual warfare being fought around us and the tendency of most Christians to fall into a "peacetime mentality". While he is not seeing demons around every corner and behind every temptation, McCallum is honest and strongly biblical about the existence and activity of spiritual beings opposed to God and his children.



Many Christians are too quick to attribute every temptation and conflict to Satan and his minions ("The devil made me do it" type of people) rather than our own sinful tendencies and the system of the world. Others ignore their reality to the point of verging on naturalism. Dennis McCallum is a fresh voice bringing balance and biblical insight into the all too real battle going on around us.



If I have one criticism, it is that after a couple chapters of such subject matter, I felt like I needed to cleanse my palate, put the book down, and read the Bible. But I think McCallum would be happy with that.

[Olivia Sun · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a book i’d recommend to all, especially newer believers! it covers all the main struggles you will encounter as a Christian with many useful verses. theologically, it has some claims i’ve never heard before and will be thinking and praying about, but it doesn’t take away from the main points that he makes.

[Trey Nowell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot, information was good, more of a Christian reading than for all types though. I was hoping for a more historical view beyond just the biblical view though. The information was very good, like how the author included a little about himself, but mostly stuck to the issues. I like how he postulizes numerous things, but it is more of a book coming from a preacher than a scholar, so if you like that, this book I highly rec! The author has an obvious understanding of Satan within the Bible and interpreting how he views things. I really agree with him that Satan had no idea what was to come of the cross, that Satan is limited in his understanding even to a degree like humans, very enjoyable read.

[Justin Richard Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read for anyone

Dennis does a good job of putting the way Satan operates into light. I see the spiritual world in a whole different way now and feel better prepared for the battles.

[Christian Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book very detailed i liked it alot.

[Carly · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Christians, the most important part of our daily walk is getting closer to Jesus. But it is also important to know more about Satan, the one who wants to keep us from having that relationship with our Savior. It is important to know who he is, how he works, and all his tricks. Satan and His Kingdom is just the book to help Christians learn more about the enemy and understand how he operates.

Many people don’t like to hear about Satan, the subject makes them uncomfortable, but the Bible is full of references to the evil one. Satan and His Kingdom does a really good job of pulling verses of scripture into the text to really illustrate the Godly basis of understanding who Satan is. This book is very readable and easy to follow. There is a lot of practical, useful information that can help each of us recognize Satan’s traps, protect ourselves and avoid sin.

I think my favorite chapter of this book would have to be Satan’s Power Moves (Chapter 17). I say that because this chapter focuses on the occult. Before I became a Christian, I always thought the occult was just an innocent hobby. I was never interested in the occult, but I know a lot of people are these days. This chapter tells us, again citing multiple verses of scripture, just how dangerous the occult is. Like the author says, “Satan most often prefers to work in stealthy ways.” That is so very true.

Our God is a very loving God and I highly recommend Satan and His Kingdom to help you understand the one who wants to come between you and God.

[Jennifer Tse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book mostly geared toward Christians, but non-Christians will also be interest if they are interest in finding out more about Satan. McCallum did a great job describing who Satan is and why didn't God destroy him. He also instructs us why we need to live in a war-time mentality fighting against the dark forces of this world. I'm very impress by how he analyzed Satan's attacks on us from the scene Adam and Eve encountered with the serpent in the beginning, and the scene of Jesus facing Satan's 3 temptations. He really showed how Satan uses the same 3 attacks on us and how susceptible we are without memorizing and having a good knowledge of God's words. I especially found the chart about our sinful attitude useful. He covered deserving, threats, super spirituality, self righteousness, overconfidence, excuses, and rationalizations.

Favorite Quotes: (From the chart) "We always have ample excuses for our failures, and none of them matter. Instead, we should admit our fault frankly and without qualifications. Only agreeing with God breaks the power of sin. Making excuses only means we will fall again - and soon."
"In our ingenuity, we can justify virtually anything. Grace, not rationalization, is the answer to guilt feelings. This is what we are doing when we rationalize sin. God says it's evil, but we argue that it's not so bad."

[Christy Trever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Satan and His Kingdom by David McCallum is a hard-hitting look at the prince of this world. McCallum sticks strictly to Scripture to explain just who Satan aka the devil aka the accuser, etc, etc is. Lucifer is a title not actually appropriate for him as it is from a misinterpreted piece of the book of Isaiah. By breaking down every biblical reference to Satan, he delves deeply into exactly what his role is and what his actual abilities are. He shatters some illusions (sorry folks, but there's no pointy tail or pitchfork), but really tries to keep the focus on the damage Satan inflicts by allowing people of the Western world to think that he is just a myth. While McCallum does try to keep his focus on Scripture, I think that by ignoring Satan's portrayal in historical literature and pop culture, the book isn't as interesting as it could be. If he had chosen to refute each error point by point, it would make for a more enjoyable read. The book's ending is a bit of a disappointment, it doesn't conclude so much as just fizzle out with some unnecessary appendices. It's still a must read to dispel the illusions that have grown up around the devil.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a unique book; every believer should read it. I know I tend to forget about the impact Satan can have on my life. Dennis shows the importance of being sober-minded and alert (1 Pet. 5:8) to combat Satan. Alertness is essential; our enemy loves it when we aren't aware of his presence or actions. Satan doesn't have to do much to hurt our ministry because his world system (kosmos) easily distracts with its insistence on fortune, fame, and fun. The book has much practical advice.

This book also sheds light on God's plan through the ages of reconciling humanity to himself. Dennis writes about God's hidden mystery, how God seems to have intentionally clouded predictive, messianic prophecy in the Old Testament to trick Satan and defeat him once and for all. This is all in the appendices, so be sure to read them. I had to keep a finger in the text, one in the appendices, and one in the end notes, but it was worth it. It's really encouraging and motivating to reflect on how we're a part of a larger plan that will not fail.

[Despond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall good book about Satan and His Kingdom. I don't necessarily agree with all his views (e.g. Satan didn't know Jesus would die). He is very methodical, content is biblical and well-researched (has extensive footnotes and notes). Some chapters are very brief. Some of the final chapters were a bit redundant and outlines of different sections. I learned a few things from it.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is excellent biblically sound book! luv it..

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Satan wants me to question God's character, my own salvation and beliefs! He is crafty and very intelligent, but I know how to defend against him. Awesome book! Highly recommended!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Biblical account of who Satan is and his tactics for leading you away from God and His work.

[Jacklin Billings · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some interesting points, but toward the end, I couldn't help but remember why it is that I rarely read these types of books. It is biblically based, which is a good thing, but in general, I tend to prefer the source over someone else's interpretation. However I will say that it was a good refresher and reminder on how not everything is necessarily "the devil" (in my Waterboy Momma's voice lol), but sometimes it is and we need to be aware of the principalities and powers at work.