3 For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, 5 [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasoning's and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One),
Revelation 12:7
7 Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels went forth to battle with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought.
1 Peter 3:22 (Amplified Bible)
22 [And He] has now entered into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with [all] angels and authorities and powers made subservient to Him.
John 10:9-11 (Amplified Bible)
9 I am the Door; anyone who enters in through Me will be saved (will live). He will come in and he will go out [freely], and will find pasture. 10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it [a]overflows). 11 I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His [own] life for the sheep.(A)
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (Amplified Bible)
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel, and with the blast of the trumpet of God. And those who have departed this life in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we, the living ones who remain [on the earth], shall simultaneously be caught up along with [the resurrected dead] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so always (through the eternity of the eternities) we shall be with the Lord! 18 Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words.
Spiritual Warfare is a topic of great interest in the body of Christ. Last summer I read several books by Greg Boyd on Spiritual Warfare and Cosmic Conflict. The titles were, " God at War" & "Satan and The Problem of Evil (Constructing a Trinitarian Warfare Theodicy)". There are hundreds of books written on the subject and a person could go bankrupt trying to read all of them. I am exploring this subject more personally to see exactly what this idea of a spiritual war in the heavenly realm looks like according to Scripture and then "jive" that up to the experiences of people I have talked to, including my own experiences. Cosmic conflict began when Lucifer the Arch Angel and Director of Worship in Heaven got the idea that the entire host of Heaven were worshiping him instead of God. At that point pride manifested in the heart of this rebellious angel. The cosmic war began, God gave Lucifer the boot and the hordes of angels that followed in this insurrection. After God created mankind and the events of Genesis 3 played out we had the beginning of war waged against humanity. According to the Bible, the battle rages in the spiritual realm, but it also spills out into the Earthly realm. Genesis 3:1-24 (Amplified Bible) 1 NOW THE serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And he [Satan] said to the woman, Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden?(A) 2 And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit from the trees of the garden, 3 Except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. 4 But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die,(B) 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves apronlike girdles. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you? 10 He said, I heard the sound of You [walking] in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom You gave to be with me--she gave me [fruit] from the tree, and I ate.13 And the Lord God said to the woman, What is this you have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled (cheated, outwitted, and deceived) me, and I ate. 14 And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all [domestic] animals and above every [wild] living thing of the field; upon your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust [and what it contains] all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her [a]Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel.(C) 16 To the woman He said, I will greatly multiply your grief and your suffering in pregnancy and the pangs of childbearing; with spasms of distress you will bring forth children. Yet your desire and craving will be for your husband, and he will rule over you. 17 And to Adam He said, Because you have listened and given heed to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it, the ground is under a curse because of you; in sorrow and toil shall you eat [of the fruits] of it all the days of your life. 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you shall return. 20 The man called his wife's name Eve [life spring], because she was the mother of all the living. 21 For Adam also and for his wife the Lord God made long coats (tunics) of skins and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of Us [the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit], to know [how to distinguish between] good and evil and blessing and calamity; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live [b]forever-- 23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So [God] drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden the [c]cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep and guard the way to the tree of life.(D)
I view this portion of scripture as literal with some symbolic representation. The point is clear though. Satan fell and now man as well. The consequences are vastly different though. Satan's punishment is expulsion from heaven, man's is mortality and expulsion from the Garden. Alienation from God and later reconciliation through Christ Jesus. I'm going to end this for now due time constraints, but I will write more later.
Shalom,
Chaplain Jeremy
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