"We do not wrestle
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against
spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places" (Ephesians
6:12)
As a nation, the United States is at
war. We agree that this particular enemy is not seen but is
right here within this land. Sound familiar? It should. This
particular enemy has bombed our cities and killed innocent people,
and yet they have no country, no cities, no visible military
installations that we can attack in return. And this enemy has
fought us before.
Our weaponry includes night vision capabilities,
so that we even have limited vision in darkness. We have sophisticated
electronic devices that can "see" an enemy, far beyond the range
of human vision. Yet this foe is still not adequately perceived,
even when they recently commandeered transportation devices
(airplanes) and turned them into weapons of mass destruction,
aimed at our people.
The reason it should sound familiar
is because this most recent enemy attack, is once again simply
the outward manifestation of another enemy that has been fighting
us for centuries, even millennia.
The enemy is often not who he seems
to be, for there are always two wars occurring at the same time.
One of them involves bullets, sweat, airplanes and blood, but
the other battle is for the souls of men. God fires "bullets"
of faith into the hearts and lives of those who will receive
Him (even war can have a good ending), but the enemy counters
with bursts of unbelief, aimed at the very center of our being.
The Holy Spirit of God surges into the lives and hearts of those
who receive Jesus, and God's angels are before and behind to
protect those who say "yes" to Him. But the enemy quickly counter-attacks
and the revival of yesterday becomes the formalism of tomorrow.
This is a strange war, in which we must
"die" before we can live for God and become effective as His
soldiers. We see this in Jesus' words,
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23).
To be placed on a cross was to be made to die. Paul says much
the same in Romans 6:13, where he reveals to us
that "our old man was crucified with Him
(Christ), that the body of sin might be
done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."
To be "crucified" to this world,
is to be set free from sin and to come alive in Christ.
F. W. Faber, who lived in the 1800's,
said "God is whispering to us well-nigh
incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the
soul, or sink low, then we hear the whisperings of God. He is
always whispering to us, only we do not hear, because of the
noise, hurry, and distraction which life causes as it rushes
on." We must look away, even if only for a little time each
day, from the distractions of this world, and listen to Him."
For we are in a war, and our God is the Commander In-Chief.
We must receive His battle instructions if we are to be effective
for Him.
Lou Meier wrote about these events,
and said it is time "to decide whose side
you are on. The leaders of the USA are asking leaders of other
countries all over the world to choose if they are for us or
against us. The events we saw on TV herald the acceleration
of a long running war between good and evil. These events also
ask the question in the spiritual war. Whose side are you on?
Are you a mere bystander in this spiritual war? If you are,
you are being asked to declare yourself. The real war is the
spiritual war. Jesus Himself said ‘He
who is not with Me is against Me’
(Matthew 12:30) in this war. .
. There are only two sides. ‘Bystanders’ end up becoming ‘collateral
damage’ in this battle for the hearts of mankind."
I remember discovering two wonderful
Bible Chapters on this subject while I was in college. They
were Isaiah Chapter 14, and Ezekiel 28. Both Chapters deal with
this unseen enemy, who has laughed at and attacked mankind since
the beginning of time. These are fascinating accounts because
they reveal that the "apparent" enemies, including their human
leaders, are often merely the dupes of a much greater foe.
Much of Isaiah 14 is ostensibly about
the king of Babylon, and the Lord prophesies his downfall. But
in verse 12, the Lord speaks through this outer man (the king)
and directly addresses the power behind him, saying "How
you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning… For
you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will
exalt my throne above the stars of God…" (Isaiah 14:12-13.
The true enemy was not Babylon, but the demonic entity that
urged that country on.
This is also seen in Ezekiel Chapter
28, which starts out with a prophesy in relation to the king
of Tyre, but then reaches through him to the real enemy, and
we learn he was "the anointed cherub who
covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of
God" (Ezekiel 28:14). The king of Tyre never left this
earth until his death - it was Satan himself who had been the
"cherub" who backed that earthly
king.
Our battle is "against
spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places" (Ephesians
6:12) and the people who ruined the buildings and killed all
those people were responding to the leadership of creatures
that hate God and all humanity. The "Great Satan" is not people
but instead is a being that wants to kill us all. The good news
is that we do not fight this battle alone.
Pastor Gus Roa told his people about
Scriptures that are for the world right now: "Be
strong and courageous; do not be afraid nor dismayed before
the king… nor before all the multitude that is with him; for
there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of
flesh; but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight
our battles" (2 Chronicles 32:7-8). God will help us.
The Lord is with us and HE will win
this battle. I have a button made for me by Marty Haynes, which
says "Do not meddle in the affairs of
dragons, for you are crunchy and go good with ketchup".
We would lose but "with us is the Lord
our God, to help us and to fight our battles" (2 Chronicles
32:7-8). Our great weapons that God has given us, include
faith in Him, the love of the Holy Spirit, hope
based in Christ, and prayer to God. The outward war will
be won, but not by the weapons we have previously known.
Father, these "spiritual
hosts of wickedness in heavenly places" are beyond us
and we need you now. Yes, Lord, we do ask that You will defeat
the foes that have attacked America, but even more we ask You
to rescue us from beings that would destroy our trust in You.
Help us, Lord, for we surely need You now. In Jesus Name. Amen.
