“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. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day,…”
The big story of Tolkien’s trilogy of the rings, is that the evil Saruman, who could be equated with Satan, has raised up an army of thousands upon ten thousands of his minions, called Orcs and they are marching against Middle Earth and the world of men to destroy everything in their path. They are looking for the One Ring which has the power to hold the entire world under its evil power. Saruman lost it, and he wants it back.
In the second installment of this Trilogy, “The Two Towers”, Gandalf the wizard, Aragorn, the rightful heir to the kingdom of Gondor, Legolas the elf and Gimlee the dwarf, have come to find Theoden, king of Rohan, to enlist his aid in the battle for Middle Earth.
Theoden has seen much trouble and sorrow. He has just buried his only son, recently killed in battle, and he is greatly saddened.
The discussion among these characters about the enemy’s movements and the impending danger, leads Gandalf and company to urge Theoden to rally his men and join them.
Theoden, standing in the middle of his great hall, declares, “I will not bring further death upon my people. I will not risk open war.”
Aragorn, who will eventually take his place on the throne of Gondor, answers Theoden’s statement with, “Open war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not.”
(Lines quoted from the movie, “The Two Towers”, directed by Peter Jackson)
Theoden had been under an evil spell for quite some time, and had not been aware of anything going on around him. He had been released from that spell by Gandalf, shortly before this conversation.
But there is no indication given in the story that he needed to be convinced of the existence of the enemy, or the great danger that was growing in the land.
The problem was that he was taking the approach to this situation, that if he stayed out of it, he would not be caught up in it. That if he ignored it, it would eventually go away. That the fight was someone else’s, not his.
The truth of the matter was, the war was coming to him, and decisions had to be made.
OPEN WAR IS UPON US
Paul has not suggested to us that perhaps we ought to be ready incase evil comes to us. He has stated very clearly that we are in a struggle, and that struggle is a spiritual one, and there are steps we are to take in order to resist, and to continue to stand.
The world cannot see this, we know that. But tragically, the church to a large degree seems to be ignorant of the dangers also. In many cases, I am afraid, even going to the length of denying the existence of the enemy.
If Theoden had held out and continued to refuse to join forces with those taking their stand against this vast enemy, he and his kingdom would have been run over in a very short time, and utterly destroyed.
Even combining forces with the other kingdoms of Middle Earth, it was a close call,, and Theoden himself eventually fell in battle. But the victory was won and, you’ll be happy and relieved to learn, the world of men survived.
Christians, we struggle against the very same rulers and powers and wicked spirits of darkness that Christians of the first century struggled against. I wouldn’t be surprised if they even have names.
They are real, and they are active, and they know things to be true that people of flesh, in their ignorance, deny. I want to focus more sharply on this today, and let’s try to better understand the mindset and the purpose of the enemy; so that we might resist in the evil day, and continue to stand.
WHAT DID ADAM SEE?
Here’s something I wonder about. Was Adam able to see into the spiritual realm?
In II Corinthians 4:4 Paul tells them that the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ; and that just makes me wonder what else sin keeps us from seeing.
Maybe Adam couldn’t see angels with his physical eyes, but I’ll bet he was very aware of spiritual presence around him, not yet having his senses dulled by sin, not yet being dead in sin. He wasn’t in a glorified state. He was simply created man. But before sin introduced death into the world, he must have been much more keenly aware of the spiritual realm than mankind after him could have been.
Well, the reason I wonder about that, is that it seems that Satan wants us blind and ignorant of spiritual reality, so that must mean that God would want us to be very clear and cognizant of spiritual reality and truth. I think scripture makes it clear that He does.
Throughout God’s word there is a frequent contrast expressed. Sin is equated with ignorance and darkness and blindness, where righteousness and holiness are equated with knowledge and light and clarity of vision.
It is my belief that Satan, over the millennia of earth, has led the ignorant down a path of deeper ignorance. He is not in the convincing business. He is in the deceiving business. So he bombards the futile imaginations of men with pictures of angels, depicted as chubby babies, or thin beautiful women with long, flowing hair and wings, standing austerely and uselessly with their hands clasped in front. And suitable for nothing but to adorn the top of a Christmas tree.
He inspires fiction that depicts himself as something no worse than a conniving vacuum cleaner salesman; or a moustache twirling “Oil Can Harry” type of figure.
And demons are irritating little impish creatures who cause rashes and hide your car keys.
In the minds of foolish, ungodly men, he makes any perception of a spiritual realm into a silly joke. Myths with which to frighten small children on Halloween. Something to scare your girlfriend with so she’ll sit closer and want to be held. Something for the intellectual snob to sneer at and relegate to the superstitious babblings of the ignorant and uncultured.
I submit to you today, that ignorance and unawareness of the spiritual realm is not the mark of an educated, sophisticated society; it only means that Satan has succeeded in what he wanted to do.
The societies and cultures of the past and even present day cultures that are less refined, isolated from modern technologies and isolated from modern day developments in philosophy and thought, are not necessarily as superstitious and backward as we might ascribe to them.
Certainly, in their beliefs and practices they might be what we would call pagan, and ignorant, before they are exposed to the gospel and begin to learn scripture truth. But their profound belief in the spirit world and activities there is not what makes them backwards.
Men and women in the mainstream of modern society are just as backwards and ignorant; just as pagan, as the jungle dweller dancing around the fire in bare feet and painted face, until they come to Christ. If you wonder about the validity of that statement, talk to some of them about what they believe to be true about God and Jesus and the Bible and general spiritual truth. They’re a mess!
THE DEMONS BELIEVE
I have heard a variety of opinions about Frank Peretti’s books; “This Present Darkness” and “Piercing the Darkness”.
In case you haven’t seen them, they are fiction stories that describe the activities of both angels and demons, in the lives of humans, both saved and unsaved.
Now I cannot testify to the absolute accuracy of these stories. They were entertaining, and Peretti certainly got the gospel message across in them. But I can say that they served to make me more aware of the fact that there is a spiritual realm that is very much active and affecting the physical realm, and that as Christians we certainly are in a battle that involves that realm, whether we are conscious of it or not.
When we are not, then we are caught off guard and often get tripped up. That’s why Paul is telling us to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. It’s why he is admonishing us to put on the full armor of God so that we might be able to resist and to stand.
There is a struggle for souls going on, and since Satan has control of unbelieving minds, we’re supposed to wrestle control back and win those minds to Christ. The reason Paul sees it as so important that we prepare ourselves and make ourselves ready to resist and stand, is because if we ourselves cannot stand in the evil day; if we’re constantly being knocked down and dragged out, then we certainly cannot fight to rescue anyone else.
There are real, intelligent, evil entities around us, Christian. And they are very aware of what’s going on. People, in their ignorance, deny God, deny Christ, deny any accountability to a Creator, and scoff at the very idea of any spiritual influence in their life.
But the demons know. James 2:19 tells us the demons believe in God, and shudder.
Why do they shudder? Because they know the truth. They know who is in control, and they know their time is short.
When Jesus confronted them on the shore of the sea of Galilee, in the body of the Gerasene, (Mark 5) they begged Him not to torment them. Why? Because they know that He is the one with the authority to send them to the abyss.
Do you hear what’s being said? The demons believe in the Trinity. They know that Jesus is the only begotten Son of the Living God. They know, and they work to blind men to the truth that would save them from an eternity of darkness.
And they are also aware of us. They know our strengths and weaknesses. They know whether we are a threat to them or not.
In Acts 19 seven foolish men thought to confront a demon in their own strength and authority, instead of going as ambassadors of Christ, and they found out the hard way just how knowledgeable the demons are. It recognized Jesus, and it knew about Paul, but these guys didn’t give it a moment’s pause.
“And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” Acts 19:16
Yes, the demons believe. And they know about you and me; enough to prey on our weaknesses, our doubts, our guilt, and keep us, by any means at their disposal, from walking in joy and victory, or bearing any fruit for the Kingdom.
BRACE YOURSELVES
Now I have to give you fair warning here, that you have to make a decision today. You have two paths in front of you, and both mean trouble. There’s no escaping it.
Because you see, you can choose to ignore the things I’m saying, put them out of your mind and go on as though blissfully ignorant of spiritual reality. But for the Christian that means trouble, because as I said earlier, the battle is upon you whether you acknowledge it or not. And if you don’t don your armor, take up your sword and do battle, you’ll just continue to get knocked down and run over.
But if you say, “Yes, I know these things are true, and I am going to be diligent to put on my armor, stand in the Lord’s strength and resist”, you’re going to find yourself in a real fracas!
They are going to pull out all the stops, and do everything possible to discourage you, to distract you, to wear you down, to get your eyes off the goal, to keep you from praying, to make you ineffectual for Kingdom work.
In a way, I’m not doing you any favors today. Because of what I’m telling you, you are now forced to decide to be a nominal, chair-warming Christian, or a sword-swinging warrior. There is no in between. No armchair soldiers in God’s army.
Theoden joined his army to the armies of men and elves, and they took their women and children and gathered at Helm’s Deep; a fortress built against a mountain. When the armies of Saruman lay siege to the fortress the battle raged, and eventually the Orcs broke through the outer walls of the keep. The defending forces pulled back to the inner chambers of the fortress and soon the Orcs were pounding on those doors also.
They had no place else to go. Theoden and Aragorn stood watching the doors begin to break under the power of the battering ram on the other side.
In despair, Theoden sighed, “So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?”
Aragorn looked back at the king, a gleam came into his eye, and he said, “Ride out with me”.
Theoden stared back at him, eyes wide in disbelief. Did he hear right?
“Ride out and meet them”, repeated Aragorn.
When the doors finally crashed in, what awaited the Orcs on the inside was a small army of men, mounted on horseback behind two courageous kings. The charge was given and they did indeed ride out among the enemy, slashing and stampeding; fighting what appeared to be a useless cause, but brave and noble and unwilling to surrender.
Well our cause is not lost, Christian. It is not useless. We ride behind the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and our future is settled in Heaven.
“Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God’s own choosing;
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sab-a-oth His name, From age to age the same;
And He must win the battle.”
-Luther
WHAT CAN MEN DO AGAINST SUCH RECKLESS HATE?
So what are we to do?
First, we must remember that for us the battle has been won. We need fear no enemy that comes against us. No demon of hell, nor Satan himself. We are caught up safe into the bosom of the Father and nothing can snatch us from His hand.
Secondly, we must come to realize that we do not struggle against these spiritual forces of wickedness for the maintenance of our own Christianity, but for the souls they hold captive.
Like Theoden said, “So much death”. Christians, there is so much death around us!
The church in these final days, you and I, fellow believer, need to wake up to what’s going on around us, get a lot more militant and aggressive in our walk and witness, and ride out among them.
When did the church become a place of comfort and refuge? When did it become a place to go, to feel all warm and fuzzy and accepted?
What is it that the great Christians of old knew, that we have lost sight of? What was it that was present in their lives, that made the enemy so afraid that he had them burning at the stake, being sawn in two, eaten by wild beasts, boiled in oil…
Not that I am anxious to experience any of that. I doubt they were. But something is terribly wrong, something is missing in the church, when the persecution has slowed down to an occasional trickle.
Why have we become almost apologetic about what we believe? Why do we cringe inside at the thought of confronting someone face to face and telling them they need to repent and believe in the gospel, or spend eternity separated from God?
They sure aren’t shy about telling us how adamantly opposed to the gospel they are. They don’t cringe when they have an opportunity to tell us that all religions are the same, and all they have to do is be as good as they can and they’ll make it to heaven.
They don’t hold back from telling us that we are old fashioned and closed minded and intolerant for insisting that Jesus is the only way.
The enemy is battering down the doors, and we just stand with our hands at our side, despairing.
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood? What struggle?
And you know what part of this we should be ashamed of? This was written to us by a man chained to a wall because of his own involvement in the battle.
I’m going to refer only one more time to the Lord of the Rings and then I’ll let you go.
After Aragorn challenges the king to ride out with him, someone in the room mentions that the dawn is breaking. Aragorn looks up toward the window where light is beginning to shine through, and he remembers that Gandalf , who had ridden off to find reinforcements, told Aragorn to look for him at the break of day “three days from now”. And this was the third day. And Aragorn smiled.
He knew Gandalf wouldn’t fail.
We have a hope, Christians. A sure and certain hope that our Savior is coming to snatch us out of the fray and take us to our reward and rest.
Let’s not be standing behind closed doors despairing when He comes. Let him find us, having ridden out among them, doing spiritual battle, dressed in the armor He has provided, swinging the sword of truth, breaking the hold of the enemy on the hearts and minds of men and setting them free.
Let’s start actively resisting and standing in the Lord’s strength against the foe, so that when He comes, when for us the battle is over, when we’ve found our final rest and we stand on Heaven’s golden shores, there will be no need for shame, but the deep contentment and satisfaction of having fought the good fight, right up to the end.
