War - Part 1

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. Ephesians 6:10-12 (NIV)

As I write this article which is due for publication on April 1^st, it's the 26^th of March. Before I took my shower this morning, I had no idea what the Holy Spirit wanted me to write about. But it just serves to amaze me how direct He can be in giving me the message He wants me to convey to you.

But this message is going to take a while. And you may want to hold on to something.

I'm sitting here, in front of my computer, just as I do most days. I can see the beauty of the Sun rising into the cloudless blue sky, I can imagine the children playing games during recess at school, I am greeted by literally hundreds of smiling people each day who are simply going about the business of their daily lives. And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are in a state of war.

Most of us don't see or hear the bombs falling or the bullets flying—except perhaps on the nightly news. But some of us do. They and their families bear witness to unspeakable sins at the hands of criminals who don't consider the consequences of their actions. They only think of themselves and their needs, regardless of how selfish, irresponsible or evil they may be. And I'm not talking about just in the United States. This is happening throughout the world, and in many cases, the crimes committed in other countries are much, much worse than anything we see here. And we, Christians, know why this is.

In the verses above, we learn that our enemies aren't made of flesh and blood. They are the spiritual forces of the evil ones, the fallen angels, who are the true rulers of this world. We are now, and we always have been, in a constant state of spiritual warfare against beings who are more intelligent, more manipulative, and more evil than anything that we will ever be able to imagine so long as we exist in this life. It is our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, and only that, which gives us the power to resist those forces. Without Him, we would all be lost … forever.

But wait. Those verses say something else. Something that we know is true without it being said. It isn't just the supernatural beings who are our enemies. The verses clearly state that:

“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.”

What does this mean? Well, in my humble opinion, it means that our enemies can also be the people of this world. Now, you may ask, how can our struggle be “not against flesh and blood” and yet still be “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world”? Isn't that a contradiction?

No. And here's why.

Those spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms use the non-believers of this world against us. The devil and his minions manipulate the people around us—and us by default—in ways that we can't easily comprehend in order to knock us off our path. To take our minds and our focus off the Lord our God and the work that He has put us here to do. And they've had thousands of years and the millions of humans who came before us upon which to hone their skills.

In short, they're very, very good at what they do.

And they can and will use both the smallest things; someone flipping us the bird in traffic, or the largest; a global conspiracy of the elites to deceive us of the truth, and everything in between to achieve their goals.

I am, in essence, a gatherer of information. I have a lot of time on my hands, and I spend a good bit of it learning about the world that we live in. About the environment, about the heavens above us, about the planet we live on, and about the people that we share it with. I am an expert in nothing (except customer service … but that's another article), but I have a broad base of general knowledge about a myriad of things. And if I don't know the answer, I will take the time to find out what the truth is as best I can with the information that's available to me. I believe that the Lord has blessed me with the spiritual gift of discernment. What that means is that I have the ability to “cut to the chase”. To see the truth of things based on my perception of the facts. Have I ever been wrong? Of course, I have. There's only ever been one person who is always right. But I will state boldly that I am right a lot more than not.

Such is the nature of a spiritual gift.

When I was asked to write these articles, it was suggested that I write no more than about 1,000 words. That way, you can read them during a single session in the library (the bathroom). But this subject, and the evidence that I plan to present to you, is much too important and wide-ranging to accomplish in such a forum. So, in keeping with that restriction, I will attempt (no promises) to write an article once per week instead of my usual monthly installment for the duration of this series. I will present you with links to websites that will explain how I have formed the conclusions that I will be making. Please take the time to search them out and do so with an open mind. Above all, if I state anything that you either disagree with, or that you know is factually untrue, call me out on it. Let me know when I am wrong. I ask only that you assess the knowledge that I will be bringing to you with godly wisdom. Pray that, not only you understand it in terms of what the Spirit wants you too, but also that I deliver it to you as God would have me.

With that … I'm passed my word limit.

Today is the day. Now is the time. The battle is on!

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)

G. J. Fortier is a member of Ironmen Ministries and First Baptist Church, Centerville, GA. Look for his novels on Amazon on Kindle and paperback. Or visit his website at www.GerardFortier.com