CRUSHING THE DEVIL: A classic which will rank very highly

A Review of CRUSHING THE DEVIL by Dr Joseph Taken

There is a vicious war taking place right now. This war is spiritual and it is powerful and in fact influences the daily events of the physical world.  “For though we live in the world, we are not carrying on a worldly war.” 2 Corinthians 10:3 RSV. These words, penned by another legendary lawyer and apostle, Paul many centuries earlier, underscores the essence of this book.

With poignant skill and carefulness, Pastor Okoro writes that nobody ought to live and die in ignorance or poverty amidst the vast supply of God's resources. God does not cheery pick believers to determine what benefits of the kingdom they can be entitled to. “We all start on a level playing field” in Christ. Therefore, the inexhaustible resources of heaven are available to every person in Christ. God is deeply interested in the salvation, safety, success and victory of the believer. That is why Jesus came as the Second Adam to restore the fallen offspring of the first Adam to blessed fellowship with God. As “kinsman-redeemer” He paid the sacrificial debt of man’s sin “to restore man to God's original place, plan and purpose.” Christ became the “perfect sacrifice” when “He died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead after three days.” From then on, He made the trusting believer, “more than a conqueror,” redeemed, righteous, a Joint Heir with Jesus, a child of God, a Partaker of the Divine Nature et al.

Once you become a believer, Pastor Okoro writes on, the battle line is drawn and the devil marks you as an enemy. But he cannot overpower you because the outcome of the battle had long been predetermined and the victory of the believer long been guaranteed. So, you engage the devil, not in the fear of defeat, but to “enforce Jesus’s victory”, “to make known to the adversary the manifold wisdom of God”, and on and on, he painstakingly writes, to assure the reader that the saints are forever on the winning side. This is what creation has been waiting for. However, before you become all arrogant and cocky of your fighting prowess, he quickly deflates the egocentric by adding that we are only “mighty through God, and are nothing without Him”. “The battle is really his; you are merely a battle-axe...” How humbling!

Pastor Okoro writes with the uncanny deftness of a skilled writer. Very easily, he engages the reader with numerous examples and stories drawn from everyday to keep you reading. Very cautiously, he takes on the free wheeling intellectual in constant search for alternative explanation to the Creation story as put forth in Scriptures. Without throwing a punch--or does he throw one with kids gloves?--he explains that this warfare is not contemporary war, and cannot be fought or won with assault rifles, machine guns, stealth bombers and grenade launchers but would require a clear understanding of scriptures and the insistent enforcement of your God given right as a believer.

The post-modern man opines that you should not “sweat the small stuff”. Pastor Okoro says, not so. You should “seek guidance from God through the Holy Spirit for each and every battle we face in life. To do otherwise is to walk into one of the many traps, snares and ambushes of the Enemy.” This can make the difference between death and life. Neither Joshua nor Gideon could secure any conquest without paying attention to details. Sweat the small stuff, Pedro says. It is warfare and not diplomacy.

This book is written with such flawless clarity and eloquence, it is obvious that he wanted it an easy read for anybody with a middle school education. This will find great use in communities and nations where not too many people have more than a middle school level of education. This book is a great resource for every believer. Both laity and clergy will find it invaluable in the ministry and in daily life. Bible scholars and those who glean knowledge from their lessons and opinions will gain great insights from Pedro's exhaustive study and expose of the strategies of the devil. This book will help you to understand the forces of darkness and the elements of the underworld.

C.S. Lewis once said that “The future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is.” Pastor Okoro seems to have done so a lot faster by giving this book to the Body of Christ. It is a classic which will rank very highly in the literary and Christian world. I recommend it to every believer and hope that it will bless you as it has me.

Dr Joseph Takon

Pastor, 

Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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Pedro Okoro is a Professional Blogger, Copywriter, Coach, List Grow Strategist and Pastor. He is the founder and CEO of Astute Copy Blogging. He is also an Award-winning and bestselling Author. He is married with two delightful daughters.