The Spiritual Battle
Many people do not believe that there is a spiritual battle going on in the heavenlies. Many people are frightened by the thought. Others do not believe that we must fight this spiritual battle, they think that God only fights this battle. We want to take a closer look into this subject because we know that the devil attacks each one of us. Daniel 10: 2-9 tells us about Daniel’s encounter with an angel. “In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed. On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris, I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man dressed in linen, whose waist had a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. His body also was like topaz, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great fear fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my complexion turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground. Then behold, a hand touched me and shook me on my hands and knees. And he said to me, “Daniel, you who are treasured, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand at your place, for I have now been sent to you.’ And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing in my way for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the latter days, because the vision pertains to the days still in the future.”’ Did we not see this in Joshua? Joshua 5:13-15, “Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, he raised his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ He said, ‘No; rather I have come now as captain of the army of the Lord.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down, and said to him, ‘What has my lord to say to his servant?’ And the captain of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, ‘Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so.”
When there is a battle to be fought God’s angels are there fighting on our behalf, but as we saw with Daniel, he had been praying and fasting for 21 days. Same with Yeshua, He was in the wilderness for 40 days, fasting and praying and the devil came to test Him and He quoted the Word of God. Why the Word? Because it is part of our armor that we must put on to fight the spiritual battle. Ephesians 6:10-18 says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
When Israel walked around Jericho for seven days blowing the shofar, they did it in faith. Yes, the shield of faith is what protected them from the army of Jericho. You have to realize that they were in close proximity to the weapons of their enemy, and they could have been attacked at any time. It was a spiritual battle and God sent His Commander of His army to give them the plan for victory. In Hosea 4:6, God said that His people perish because of lack of knowledge. God gave us His armor for a real battle, a battle that everyone must fight, like Daniel, Joshua and even Yeshua. James 4:7-10 gives us some good advice. “Submit therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God and He will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable (fast), and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” Yes, God will give us the victory, but we must never put down our weapons of warfare, because the devil never stops his fight against us. He wants us to fall, but God wants us to win and He will fight alongside us if we stand with Him. As we go through life living for God according to His Word, we must remember what Yeshua told His disciples, if the world hated Me, it will hate you. Yet, we are not to fight against flesh and blood, but the devil will use others to attack us. Put on your armor, believers, and when you are sure that you are in right standing with God, then stand and see the victory of the Lord.
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