Dear friends, greetings in the blessed Name of our Lord Jesus. I trust that the Lord had been watching over you. Being a free man, I’d like to thank men and women all across the world who laid down their lives that others may live. “Greater love has no one than this that he (she) has laid down his (her) life for his (her) friends.” Brothers and sisters have slaughtered each other for millennia.
Notwithstanding the cause or reason behind it, war has always ravaged humankind in inexplicable ways. There were biblical wars waged in the Old Testament by the Hebrews at God’s behest, and then in the last century we witnessed two world wars, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam war, the Bosnian war, the two Iraq wars, and the Afghan conflict, with one potentially brewing in Ukraine. I salute all the brave men and women (both uniformed and civilian) who served not just their country but humanity. However, today I’d like for us to focus on the unseen battle that’s being raging since God created mankind – the battle in the heavenly realms.
I’d like to refer to Ephesians 6:12 where the Apostle Paul clearly indicates the wars fought on this earth have their origins in the ongoing conflict in heavenly places. Revelations 12:7-10 depicts this war between God and Satan in bone chilling detail. As to why the all knowing Almighty God would create a universe which He knew would be torn by strife is unfathomable, but we do know that to be a fact (Romans 8:20). The Lord Jesus willfully shattered the false peace and harmony established by Satan to liberate the children of God (Matthew 10:34-36). What’s even more frightening is that this spiritual war in heavenly places trickles down to earth in devastating ways. For example, consider the sufferings of the Apostle Paul (2 Cor 11:25-27) who was beaten more often (for being holy) than a criminal. He faced trouble everywhere he went (Acts 16:19-23; Acts 19:23-40: The Riot in Ephesus; Acts 21:27-32: Paul Arrested). Who should we suppose instigated mob violence against a non-violent minister of the Gospel? It was obviously Satan. So you see friends, Satan instigates all the evil In this world, beginning with the first murder (Genesis 4:8-15: Cain murders Abel) to everything that’s happening today.
Let me give you another example of how Satan’s war with God directly affects us. Just before His arrest, the Lord Jesus warned the Apostle Peter that Satan had asked God to sift him as wheat (Luke 22:31-32). The Apostle Peter was both ignorant and adamant (Luke 22:33), because he couldn’t see what was happening in the unseen. The Old Testament also tells us how Satan had God’s permission to tempt Job (Job 1:9-12). The subsequent destruction and events seem to be perpetrated by humans (Job 1:15: “the Sabeans attacked…”), but these humans were obviously instigated by Satan. The Bible is replete with such examples when we see the battle in heaven spilling onto earth. If brothers slaughtered each other in the American Civil war, if religious minorities were wiped out in World War II, if intolerant radicals like ISIS behead unarmed journalists, then we’d be naïve to assume that things will only improve in the future (2 Peter 3:7) . Governments and free societies should realize that they are dealing with powers beyond their comprehension that have corrupted the heavenly realms. That’s where the battle is won or lost. To merely talk about terrorism or fascism and not know its origins means that we’ve lost the battle before it’s begun. Remember saints, before bullets fly, the Spirits are warring in heaven. This is a battle we can’t afford to lose. So let’s get our focus right and be combat ready spiritually (Ephesians 6:13) before we put boots on the ground.
I dedicate this writing to all the men and women on active duty all across the world. I wish I were there with you my friends to fight this war against Satan. Please be assured that I’m there with you in spirit, and in prayer. God bless.
Dear friends, I’m quite certain that all of you are sanctified, Holy Ghost baptized saints. Should there be any among you that don’t know the Lord yet, I pray that the Lord of the Universe will set you free from sin and disobedience into His glorious light and freedom. Amen.
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