PT-2 "The Battle Against Demons" (Eph. 6:12)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/4/2019 9:52 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  PT-2 “The Battle: Against Demons”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 6:12

 

            Message of the verse:  “12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

 

            We have already talked a bit about the highly organized and structured way of Satan’s evil army.  I have highlighted the word “against” five times in verse 12 and four of them speak of the different categories of the organization of Satan’s army.  I also want to mention that the holy angels, the ones who did not fall and go with Satan also have a highly organized system, but remember there are two times as many holy angels as there are demons or unholy angels.

 

            These demonic categories are really not explained but we will take a shot in looking what they are.  It is pretty sure that the word “rulers” is speaking of the highest ranking of the demons.  John MacArthur writes that they are “linked with ‘authorities” in Col. 2:15 which states “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.”  Let us now look at 1 Peter 3:22 “21b Jesus Christ, 22  who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.”  MacArthur goes on “world forces of this darkness’ perhaps refers to demons who have infiltrated various political systems of the world, attempting to pattern them after Satan’s realm of darkness (see Dan. 10:13; Col. 1:13).”  We looked at Dan. 10:13 earlier and now we can look at Col. 1:13 “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.”  We could go back and look at what was going on in Egypt back when the children of Israel were there and as Moses came on orders from the Lord we see that all of the plagues that God put onto Egypt were attains their idols that they worshiped.  We know that Hitler was deep into the occult, and in our last Presidential election we found that Hilary Clinton was also into the occult, and now we see a divided country as the division in our country today is between good and evil, so we can figure what side the demons are on.

 

            MacArthur describes “The ‘spiritual forces of wickedness’ are possibly those demons who are involved in the most wretched and vile immoralities—such as extremely perverse sexual practices, the occult, Satan worship, and the like”

 

            Paul could have explained this division of the hierarchy, but that was not his intention, as it seems that Paul desired us to realize what we as believers are up against, to make sure that we don’t attempt to fight them on our own as he states that we are not against “flesh and blood” and then goes on to explain what we are against, a force much too powerful for any human to fight against. 

 

            I read a book soon after I became a believer which was by Hal Lindsey, the author I read most in my early walk with the Lord.  “Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth” is the title of that book and I may have mentioned that he stated that he had cast a demon out of a woman before he began to write that book and stated that he believed that God desired him to do this in preparation of writing this book.  Well, John MacArthur states that even though this type of thing is now prevalent today he finds no evidence of exorcism in the Bible.  I mostly don’t disagree with John MacArthur but this time I do as we do see the casting out of demons when Jesus was on earth and also when the Apostles were on earth as Paul cast out a demon from a woman who was messing with his ministry in, I think, was in Ephesus.  I certainly do agree with MacArthur that what Paul is writing about here is that we, as believers are to use the Spiritual Armor when we find that we are being tempted by evil.  Remember these are defensive weapons in the Spiritual Armor.  MacArthur writes “Whenever Satan is confronted by Christians, the means of opposition is the strength of the Lord and the provision He has already made for all believers.  Every believer has already experienced ‘the surpassing greatness of [God’s] power toward us who believe.  These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heaven is our power, bequeathed to us as joint heirs with Him.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Using the power of God to combat the battles that I go through is something that the Bible teaches in this sixth chapter of Ephesians.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  It is an ongoing battle for humility as this is important to win the battles that I am dealing with.

 

Today’s quotation from “Love in Action” comes from the book of Daniel:

 

Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery

furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king.

BUT IF NOT, let it be known to you, O king, that we

do not serve your gods, nor will we

worship the gold image which

you have set up.

Daniel 3:17, 18

(emphasis added)

 

10/4/2019 10:33 AM