I often look at my Facebook posts and wonder what professing Christians think. While the Bible is calling us to be aware and careful where we invest our resources and our relationships, we often seem to be wandering along as what the Bible calls, "sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36)." When Jesus said this, he was observing the Jewish people as they did life, oblivious to the wars happening for their very souls. He follows this statement with a verse that convicts us, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few (Matthew 9:37)."
Today, I want to equate the two verses, above, with another verse from Ephesians 6. Ephesians reminds us that we battle against forces we (in the "enlightened" world) seem to ignore or not believe. "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12)." While this is a mouthful, and is starkly against a culture that ignores the idea of unseen forces, I want us to take some time to examine where these battles take place, and with whom we are fighting.
Three places are mentioned. The unseen world, this dark world, and heavenly places. Biblically, the unseen world represents powers and presences that are among us but are not visible. In the Bible, there are 2 realms of creation. The first is the Elohim, where angels, spirits, and the "sons of God (note the lowercase "s") exist. The Elohim can be either the place or the beings from this realm. Created beings from the Elohim have, in the Bible, come into the world, and have created both mischief and good (angels come with the blessing of God ... other beings have come in disobedience) This dark world is where we live, in the seen part of the creation. There are mighty powers here, some from evil people and some from beings that have come here (from the Elohim) for nefarious purposes. Finally, there are evil spirits in heavenly places. These spirits wage a cosmic battle against God (Isaiah 14, Revelation 9). Our world, at least as it is described in Scripture, is not one-dimensional.
Three enemies are mentioned. Evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world include fallen "sons of God" who are declared enemies of God in Genesis, Isaiah, and the Psalms. Most people ignore or consign these powers (and references to them) to myth, allegory, or just hyperbole. If you believe Scripture, and you are not blinded by our culture, you might begin to see these powers (and their patterns). You might even ask, "Why do certain places in the world seem to produce incredible evil that permeates an entire area/culture?"
Mighty powers in this dark world are also mentioned. There are people, some having great resources or great authority, that have joined Satan in his plan to bring people under his authority. These people have sold out, and are now part of Satan's plan. Some of these are even false prophets who lead people astray by looking like the good guys. Have you seen this? I know I have!
Finally, there are evil spirits in heavenly places. It is interesting to know that even in God's realm of the Elohim, there are created beings that oppose God. Lucifer, before he was cast out of heaven, was "an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11)."
I'll leave on these few thoughts. We will sing a song in 1st Service this week. It is called, "Ain't No Grave." A line in the song tells us about the battleground, and about our champion. "There is a battle, a war between death and life, there on the cross, the Son of God was crucified, He went on down to hell, and took back every key, He rose up like a lion, and now He's setting all the captives free!" Jesus has won the battle, so Paul says do 2 things. Put on the full armor of God (truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and God's Word). And pray. Pray "in the Spirit," For this battle is a spiritual battle. You can't escape the battleground, but, with Jesus' help, the battle is won! AMEN, and praise God!
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