by Tony Evans on Youversion
If your problem originates in the heavenly places, then you need a solution that originates in the heavenly places as well. Most of us are vaguely aware of angels because they’re not part of our physical world. But we need to understand that the angels of God and the demons of hell are the warriors in the cosmic battle between God and Satan.
When you hear believers say they are being attacked by the devil, they probably mean they are being harassed by his foot soldiers. Satan is a limited being, just like any other created being. He is not everywhere present, all-knowing, or all-powerful. Satan is not God, but he has a whole host of evil angels called demons he can use for spiritual attacks. Anything that hell can bring against you results from satanic activity in the same realm in which God operates, called heavenly places.
You and I are no match for the power and deceptiveness of Satan and his army. We need the power of God to neutralize and eventually overcome Satan’s attacks against us. We can be thankful that God has established His throne in heavenly places, pitting His kingdom against the kingdom of darkness. The kingdom of darkness has its own king, Satan, and he wants to be in charge of the universe. Yet when it comes to the universe, there’s no question that God’s kingdom and His King, Jesus Christ, are firmly in charge. And Jesus’ eternal victory is already assured. Still, God has allowed us to choose in our individual lives who will rule over us.
Revelation 12 depicts a day when the invisible warfare in the heavenly places will break out in a very visible form. Verse 7 shows us who the enemy is in this conflict:
“And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels waged war.”
The archangel Michael and the holy angels are fighting Satan and the angels who rebelled with him. The battle is angelic, but they are fighting over the earth. Thus, the war in heaven directly affects what is happening on earth.
We are in the midst of an angelic conflict, a satanic rebellion, in which Satan is seeking to bring this whole world under his rule. That means when you were born into the kingdom of God, you were born into a war.
You were born a warrior.
You are surrounded by a spiritual enemy, but the battle is not for land or anything physical. This cosmic battle is for glory.
The issue is: Who is going to get the glory in this universe? Who is going to be worshiped? Who will have notoriety? Who will get to call the shots?
Satan has essentially said to God, “You cannot have all the glory in creation. I want some of the glory for myself.”
God’s response? “My glory I will not give to another” (Isa. 48:11).
Of course, that answer didn’t sit well with Satan, so he set about to steal what was not rightfully his—glory. The battle is for glory. Understanding that is half the fight. That’s why Paul told us, “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31; see also Col. 3:23).
Glory—it’s what the battle is all about.
Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.
Revelation 12:7
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another.
Isaiah 48:11
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
Colossians 3:23
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