01.19. ESSAY NO. 19

ESSAY NO. 19

"Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:10-12).

Probably Paul’s experience when he planted the church at Ephesus (Acts 19:1-41) is reflected in this scripture. In this city given over to magic, exorcism, and the superstition of Diana, "God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul," an example of which is expelling evil spirits by Paul’s handkerchief being taken to men possessed by them. These special mira­cles were needed to counteract Satan’s special activities in this great, unutterably wicked city. If God al­lows the agents of Satan to work miracles as he did in the case of Pharaoh’s magicians, and as he will again (Revelation 13:13-15), indeed he will have his serv­ants work greater miracles to confound their ene­mies. Certainly, for some reason Paul is more keenly conscious of, and is brought more fact to face with organized, spiritual opposition in a realm inhabited by both men and demons in Ephesians than in any other letter. In this matter he agrees with Christ who also taught that Satan’s kingdom possesses order and unity, for, said he, were it divided, it could not stand.

"In the Heavenly Places" The phrase, "In the heavenly places" is found in Ephesians five times, but not elsewhere in the Bi­ble. From the first three passages in which it oc­curs, we learn that Christ sits "in the heavenly places" at God’s right hand, dispensing "every spiritual bless­ing" to Christians, who are said to sit with him. The other two passages (Ephesians 3:10 and Ephesians 6:12), put Christ’s ad­versary with his "hosts of wickedness"; that is, "The prince of this world," whom Christ said he would "judge and cast out" (John 12:31), also "in the heav­enly places." Paul has already said in Ephesians 2:2 that men before they become Christians walk "according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience." The phrase seems to mean, therefore, the battlefield where the forces of Christ and the forces of Satan met and wrestled some­what as Jacob and an angel wrestled at the Jabbok. It includes, then, the earth and the region of air up to the throne of God. (We need to remember that this matter transcends human searchings, that reve­lation is our only source of information, and that we should be happy to learn anything God puts into his Book). The Bible throughout abundantly supports this view. Fallen Satan and at least some fallen angels range the earth and the heavens. According to Job 1:6-19, Satan, after "going to and fro in the earth," presented himself before God, along with the sons of God, to get permission to "sift" Job. After receiv­ing this permission, he returned to earth to afflict Job. It is revealed in 1 Kings 22:19-23 that God on his throne surrounded by "all the host of heaven" gave "a lying spirit" leave to enter into godless Ahab’s false prophets to lead him to his death in battle. According to 1 Chronicles 21:1, "Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David against Israel," there­by causing the death of seventy thousand Israelites. Of course such things are always Satan’s joy for "he was a murderer from the beginning ... is a liar" (John 8:44), and hence hates life and truth. Zechariah 3:1-2, is a revealing scripture. It shows Joshua the high priest interceding for Jerusalem before Jeho­vah "and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary" as accuser of Jerusalem. Finally, for an illuminating glimpse of the wrestling between the forces of God and the forces of Satan "in the heav­enly places," and of the interlocking of the work of angels and of men in God’s government of his uni­verse (see Daniel 10:1-21). The archangel, Michael, and another angel of high rank take the side of the Jews against two angels called "the prince of Persia" and "the prince of Greece," respectively, in the interna­tional struggles of these three peoples a few cen­turies B.C.

What could Cyrus the Great and Alexander the Great know about God’s being their generalissimo, and about some angels being for and some against them! Men live in a world of which the most impor­tant things can be learned only by faith. Knowing that all "these things were written for our learning" (Romans 15:4), we can better understand our Christian war­fare today. By faith we know that God "maketh his angels winds, and ministers a flame of fire," and uses them as "ministering spirits, sent forth to do services for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation" (Hebrews 1:7; Hebrews 1:14). This knowledge gives us patience, comfort, and hope, for no matter what happens among men around the earth, no matter what demons side with Communism or Catholicism, God still reigns to the eventual destruction of all "the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" both angelic and human. Can we be thankful enough for the written word of God? Do we study it enough? How much do we even read it? The Christian Armor

Paul opens the discussion of this topic by insisting that Christians in their wrestling with Satan will need "the exceeding greatness of his (God’s) power to us-ward" (Ephesians 1:19); will need to "be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might"; will need "the whole armor of God." Then Paul in an extended meta­phor names six items of a Roman soldier’s armor and tells what they stand for in the armor God furnishes his soldiers. Finally, he names prayer in the spirit, which gives set and effectiveness to the whale armor. No Christian "can please him who enrolled him as a soldier" without constant communion with him and referring everything to him. In the classic wrestling match between Hercules and Antaeus, it was useless for Hercules to throw Antaeus for he always arose from mother earth renewed in strength after a fall. But when he held Antaeus aloft, he easily strangled him. When Christians in their wrestling with Satan allow him to break their union and communion with Christ, they are easily vanquished.