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Our Great Spiritual Battle
Every true Christian believer is involved in a great spiritual battle between good and evil. As soon as we are born again by the Holy Spirit, we become a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17), a member of God’s family (Mk 3:35, Rom. 8:14, Eph. 1:4-5), Ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20, members of God’s kingdom (Col. 1:13, Lk. 17:20-21), soldiers in God’s army, and more than conquerors (Rom. 8:37). By true Christian, I mean those who are born again by the Holy Spirit and who have a daily relationship with God, endeavoring to follow Him and obey His commands.
God, the remaining two-thirds of angels in heaven, and those who are true Christians battle evil forces including Satan, wicked angels and principalities and powers in heavenly places, and those people of the world who have not yet believed in Jesus and the work He did on the cross at Calvary.
God’s word tells us the world doesn’t understand the kingdom of heaven or any Spiritual things from above because Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers. In 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 KJV scripture says, “But if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
Scripture also tells us the natural man cannot understand the things of God. In 1 Corinthians 2:14 God’s word says, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Spiritual discernment comes from God who gives the Holy Spirit without measure to those who ask.
Satan not only blinds the minds of unbelievers but he also brings false counselors or messengers, with false messages, to lead multitudes of people down the path of destruction, which will eventually lead them spiritual death and eternal life in hell, where they will be tormented forever. Satan has multitudes of false prophets, teachers, and others who will spread their false gospel to anyone who will listen. Satan, himself, will even go to the extreme of masquerading as an angel of light [good angel] to hinder even one soul from entering into heaven. God’s word tells us, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ, and no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15 KJV)
Scripture repeatedly warns us about the messengers that bring false gospels saying, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8 KJV) So be aware and know that Satan will try anything within his power to hinder people from coming into the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to lead them down the path of destruction to eternal death with him and his followers, into the lake of fire.
Satan also hinders people from coming to the one true living God, Yahweh, by tempting us with false gods or idols, and false religious systems. Any god but Yahweh is a false god or idol. People, places, created things—tangible or intangible—can become false gods if we elevate them to the most important priority in our lives. Some examples of intangibles that can be idols include, but are not limited to, people’s ideas, opinions and man-made philosophies and religions, worldly knowledge and wisdom (opposed to God’s), science that excludes creation by Yahweh, imaginations that exalt themselves against God, and evil actions or evil words that defame God or others or destroy others. God cannot be destroyed by man and God’s plan cannot be thwarted by man. Though men may say they don’t believe there is a God, it doesn’t take away from the truth—God exists.
The world is plagued with false gods, false miracles and wonders, and false religions. Satan is a master at creating imitations and he has created false imitations of some of God’s works. As Christians, we must be careful to check these things out and heed what the Holy Spirit is telling us. We may not even understand why they are false, but the Holy Spirit warns us by giving us a check in our spirit, letting us know we need to stay away from these imitations. We also need to filter any new ideas or thoughts we want to believe through the filter of God’s word. We should not be quick to believe what other people say to us, as Satan can use them to spread his lies.
“Religions” are imitations of the true work God has done. Religions have been created by humans so that they can somehow work their way to heaven by being “good” or by doing good works or at times, even doing evil works to receive some kind of reward. Yet the Bible tells us our works, before we come to Christ, are as filthy rags in God’s sight and cannot be a means to salvation or eternal life. We simply cannot provide our own salvation or means to get to God or heaven. The Bible says, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6 KJV)
Christianity originated from God, not man. God sent His one and only Son, Jesus, into the world to pay the penalty for our sins. Jesus, the word of God, was involved in creation from the beginning. John 1:1-14 tells us that all things were made through Him [Jesus], that He was with God, and He is God. Jesus came to dwell among us, though we did not recognized Him. But to those who received Him he gave the right to become children of God. God reached out and demonstrated His love for us by sending Jesus into the world to that we may have life. In doing this, God initiated this great work and made a people for his own. The people who believed and received Jesus later became known as “Christians.” The belief and acceptance of Jesus Christ, God’s word, and His works has grown into the worldwide movement of the one, true God, Yahweh, and is known as Christianity.
Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and the Christians—is a three-in-one God, also known as God, the Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Son and Word, Jesus Christ. His nature is love; He draws and keeps people with His loving-kindness—not by binding them up with fear. Scripture tells us, “Perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18)
God gives us a free will and allows us to decide whether or not we want to love Him. He sets us free so we can choose to love Him by choice, and not because we fear Him. God doesn’t want robots who He can order to love Him, and God doesn’t get glory from forcing people to love and worship Him. If we choose to reject His love, God will not go against our choice, though we will have consequences because unbelief is a sin.
Though Yahweh disciplines us at times, because we sin, He always does it with a motive of love and restoration. God loves people and doesn’t want anyone to choose the path to destruction, death and hell. But He allows people to make their choices. Some people choose to allow themselves to be led down the path of destruction by false teachings and false “religious” systems. Many individuals and religious systems have elevated the false teachings or false prophetic statements of dead men or women, giving them too much credit or power over people. Multitudes of people are being sucked into cults and other false religions, and our being bound up and stuck in false belief systems because their leaders use fear tactics and threats to keep them submitted and bound up in their false system. Others make false promises that will never come true, but the people have false hope that keeps them bound up, even to the point of killing themselves or others.
According to a video set called The Pagan Invasion[i] with Chuck Smith from Calvary Chapel, one of Satan’s goals in these last days is to create an imitation or false Christianity, which will be an umbrella for a multitude of false belief systems and true Christianity. Satan hopes to deceive true Christians and convince them that all religions are “Christian,” and that the people in those false religions are saved and can be truly called “Christians.” This imitation “Christianity” is a whopper of a lie, and nothing can be farther from the truth. It originates with Satan, whom the word of God says is a “liar, and the Father of lies.” It also says there is no truth in him [Satan]. (John 8:44) We Christians must learn God’s word and listen to the Holy Spirit so we don’t fall prey to this false Christianity.
In the Bible, John 3:5 KJV says, “Jesus said, ‘Verily, verily; I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Therefore, if a person rejects Jesus Christ and does not get born again, he or she cannot enter into heaven; nor is he or she a true Christian believer.
Among other tactics of the enemy are accusations, deceptions, destruction, distraction, false miracles—signs—wonders, fear, harassment, intimidation, lust of the flesh, lying, twisting and perverting God’s word, tempting people to fall into sin, robbing, and killing people. Satan and his allies will use any of these tactics and even more to try to destroy God’s kingdom, God’s people, and God’s work. Our adversary will stop at nothing to bring us down. We are truly in a great spiritual battle!
Revelation 20:10-15 KJV tells us about the fate God has for Satan and his followers saying, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. And I [Apostle John] saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works (…). This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
As soldiers in God’s army, we have a part in this great battle between good and evil spiritual beings, waging war against the evil. Our war is not against flesh and blood, but it’s against evil spiritual beings. The Bible tells us, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Eph. 6:12)
The leader of our enemy forces is a fallen angel named Satan who is angry at God for casting him out of the third heaven. God cast him out of heaven because Satan because evil was found in him. Satan became so puffed up with pride that he thought he could ascend to heaven and exalt his throne above the stars of God and be above the Most High. (See Isaiah 14:13-14) Satan rebelled against God’s divine order and also convinced one-third of the angels to join him.
The Bible warns us about Satan encouraging us to, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8) Revelation 12:9 KJV also tells us about Satan saying, “And the great dragon was cast out of heaven, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
In this spiritual battle we not only wage war against Satan, but we also fight against the enemies of God who try to destroy God’s work, God’s people, and God’s kingdom. The enemies of God try to rob, kill, and destroy everything important to God. But Satan doesn’t have the power to hurt God so he wars against God’s people, the apple of God’s eye.
Satan’s allies, fallen angels join him in the war against God’s people, and His kingdom. Also, the Bible speaks about evil spirits called “demons” who can inhabit people who are not born again and do not have Jesus living in their hearts. In several places in the Bible, Jesus casts out demons from people, and in some cases, the demons make people physically impaired. Also, these demons drive people into doing wicked things.
Jesus has already won the battle with Satan and his armies, but Satan refuses to admit defeat and give up. He still roars about like a lion, and his evil allies still battle, trying to destroy God’s work and hurt God’s people. They want to steal our faith and take as many people as they possibly can with them into the lake of fire, which was made only for the destruction of Satan and his followers. This fire is the second death, the final spiritual death.
Though Jesus already won the battle against evil, we still have to walk out our lives on this earth and war against the evil. However, God will not allow His enemies to do anything that will completely, eternally destroy His people. Also, God has given us spiritual armor and His word to use as a sword against the evil forces. (See Eph. 6:10-18) He has also given us prayer and our spiritual prayer language so we can call upon Him for strength, other needs, and even to fight our battles for us, though we may still have a part to play in the battle. God wants us to call on Him and to trust Him to bring us safely through the battle, overcoming the enemies.
As soldiers in God’s army, God has equipped us with powerful armor and weapons to use in the battle. These weapons include prayer-both natural and spiritual, the Word of God—our sword of the spirit, and a set of armor. We need to learn how to put on our armor and use our weapons in battle. We also need to learn how to discern and recognize our enemies and their tactics. The Bible tells us, “Wherefore take unto yourself the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. (Ephesians 6:10-18).
In this world, Satan and his allies devise and/or use a multitude of influences and resources to promote their agenda and their worldview. Christians must be aware of these outside influences, many of which bombard our hearts and minds daily as we endeavor to walk with God. We must remain alert and watch our doctrine and our lives closely. We must also continue our personal relationship with God. As we pray and read God’s word every day, He by the power of the Holy Spirit who resides in us, will alert us to the dangers around us. We need to listen, obey and trust God with our lives.
As we live out our daily lives, we hear or see evidence of enemy forces that dwell on earth and throughout the universe. They try to convince us to sin. They try to divide God’s family, either church or individual families. They try to convince us we are worthless, and they try to steal our faith in God. They try to cause us to doubt God and to fight with our Christian brothers and sisters. They disbelieve or mock God. They form webs of deception and ruin others so they can gain wealth or gain power over others. They deceive us into thinking that alcohol and narcotics are harmless to our bodies. They tell us that we have to be beautiful, handsome, skinny or wealthy in order to have value. They tromp over others and abuse them because it somehow feeds their ego and makes them think they are better than the person they repeatedly put down. They kill others to gain material wealth or because some false religion teaches them that those who disagree with their religious views need to be obliterated. They use whatever means they have to try to rob, kill and destroy—and to try to pull us away from God, His plan for us, and His blessings and promises for the future.
As Christians we need to be on guard, stand, and call on God when we find ourselves under attack from the enemy. God has more than enough power to stop Satan and His forces from destroying us, and only God is everywhere and knows everything at the same time. We are precious in God’s sight and He will fight on our behalf.
When Jesus returns for the church at the second coming of Christ, Satan will still be waging war against God’s people. Enemy attacks will become more intense because Satan knows his time is running out. He still wants to drag as many people as he can with him into the lake of fire on the final judgment day. Satan and his allies will use any weapon they can find to bring death and destruction. Sometimes Satan even uses subtle evil influences or twists the word of God and uses it as a weapon. These evil influences are so common and so subtle that we have even come to accept and embrace them as part of our lives. Do you remember the story of the frog that was put in a pot of water? The stove was turned up slowly, and before the frog knew what was happening, he was boiled alive. Satan and his allies can deceive us, like the chef subtly did with the frog. We can find ourselves so steeped in sin that we suddenly find ourselves in an extremely dangerous and hot spot, and sometimes we even destroy ourselves. We need to stay alert and be careful when we choose the things we accept into our hearts and lives.
Thank God he has given us the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us to the truth. He is with us always, dwelling in our hearts and convicting us of sin. He also warns us of trouble and alerts us to the lies of the enemy. If we ask, God delivers us from all of our troubles. We need our awesome God to take care of us and divinely intercede in our lives as we battle against the enemies. God is the only one who can deliver us from all of our troubles. So why don’t we believe and ask Him to help? Why are we always so quick to think we can handle it ourselves, only to discover later that we’ve made a bigger mess? Why do we always fight so intensely against what we so desperately need?
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