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| Summa Vittis, 1260 A.D. |
Long ago there was a War in Heaven. A coupe was led by a Cherubim named Lucifer. This greatest of the angels led one third of God's host against the Almighty and his contingents. Lucifer and his legion were defeated and cast from the presence of the Most High to the formless and void. This fallen lieutenant has since led a ceaseless campaign against Jehovah. Upon our Genesis, Satan found a new enemy to send his sentinels to seduce and slay. The devil as he is most commonly called, hates the human race because we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). He also loathes us because we took his domain. It is said Lucifer led worship in Eden, before the existence of mankind. It is believed by theologians that Earth has been destroyed before. That the War in Heaven was waged on what became the formless and void that God reshaped and created the planet we call home. (Revelation 12:7, Isaiah 14:12).
Satan or Hasatan as he is known in Hebrew is not the red tailed creature or bull headed monster depicted in iconography. He is an intellectual being second only to God. He spends his every second devising and conniving ways to control and kill us. Satan doesn't just operate via black magic or with blatant displays of evil. He is cunning and he will turn your greatest joy against you and pollute what you love most. He has even taken our greatest hope, Jesus Christ and depicted him via The Spanish & Roman Inquisitions as something our Savior is not. Satan is sly and seductive. He knows just how to coarce and beguile the human race. He has studied us, our bloodlines, and our linage. He knows what faults he can exploit and how to twist and shape people into abominations of themselves.
The Prince of This World is not the only the leader of legions who fell. He has lieutenants such as Jezebel, Leviathan, Prince of Tyre, Prince of Persia, Apolloyon, and Baal. He has children known as demoniacs or demons. It is said that "The Sons of God (angels) went into the daughters of men and produced children, children who became the Nephilim (giants)." (Genesis 6:2). There is a whole host of "principalities, powers, thrones, and forces of darkness, (Ephesians 6:12)" who seek to eliminate us from the face of Earth. In some cases these powers strike unbelievers dead and other times they manipulate relationships and causes circumstances that make people wish they were dead. They are the forces of this present darkness and they want to win. It is over the souls of men that these spirits battle and they have been successful in blinding people of this century to the struggle.
Today, people are told that demons are the ancient way of describing mental illness and imbalance. That Satan is a syndrome, not a sinister Seraph bent on slaying God's Children. Psychologists are convinced that hearing voices is symptomatic of Schizophrenia and odd behavior like mood swings is Bipolar disorder. They say that hearing the voice of God or the devil indicates madness. These Psychics are pawns of Satan. The first rule of a fight is to get the enemy to believe you don't exist. So many people are convinced Satan is as mythological as the Centaur or Unicorn. Bible believing Christians refuse to consider that a Fallen Seraph could harm believers.
If you begin talking about demons or devils these days people automatically think your are either superstitious or senile. The truth is that we must be aware of our enemy. Sun Tzu said, "know yourself and know your enemy." The conflict is real and it is as intense as the battle in the new Man of Steel Film. In fact, Superman fighting General Zod is a perfect analogy of exactly what is happening in the dimensions we cannot see. General Zod and his retinue of Fallen Kyptonians seek to destroy the human race and establish a new world. Zod makes comments like, "I will kill each and everyone of these humans you love, one at a time." This statement sounds exactly like what Satan would say and is definitely what he is doing.
The good news is that we are on the winning side of this war. Jesus Christ won the victory 2013 years ago. At Calvary He ransomed us from the fate Satan would desire for us. He saved our souls. However, while the war may be won, the battle wages on. It is like when World War II ended, fighting continue on in the Pacific. Guerilla warfare continued long after the surrender of Nazi Germany. In this fight God has equipped us with weapons. He has given us power to fight back against these cosmic contingents. The weapons we possess are The Bible, Prayer, and The Gifts of the Spirit. Scripture has power when read aloud or recited. During spiritual warfare verses become like a sword's edge and repel the Reviled one. The second but equally powerful weapon is Prayer. Satan hates prayer because in the spirit realm is equates to power. Prayers can direct God's good hosts of angels into battle and compel God to intervene directly. Finally there are Spiriutal Gifts which offer the saints tools to combat the forces of Darkness. One gift is Discernment or Discerning of Spirits, this allows a Christian to feel, sense, and even see spirits in the spirit realm. Then there is Prophecy which acts on one hand to reveal glimpses of the future, but mostly means confronting these spirits and systems in the flesh with God's Word and the words the Lord is specifically given to the prophet. There other gifts like Healing and Tounges that can be spectacular displays of the Almighty's power.
It is comforting to know that Christ is on our side. We are sealed by Jesus and Satan is limited by that seal. Satan does not have absolute power over our lives, only Christ can decide if we shall live or die (Revelation 1:18). But the protection of the Most High shouldn't' be taken for granted. Satan is a legalist and he will find means to go before the Heavenly Court and gain the right to infiltrate that protection and cause the saints great suffering. It is important to remain morally pure, to follow Christ and his teachings, otherwise you will open yourself to attack. Those who fall into immorality, adultery, and other sins will open the floodgates to the Foe of Our Faith. If you decide to harbor in your home something that has Satan's mark, say a piece of art, a statue, jewelry, a movie, or video game made by a Satanist, you will experience Satanic activity. The Devil will argue before The Most High that he has right to your home because his property is on your property.
I am astounded by what is popular today. People have become obessed with vampires, zombies, and werewolves. All of which have ties to Satan. Lucifer has desensitized this generation to the supernatural. People go to see horror and paranormal films that make manifestations and other real Satanic phenomenon seem fictitious. Through the media, medicine, and market the Malevolent One has convinced the world that He and his horde are imaginary and that anyone who believes is superstitious and old fashioned.
Take heed ye Saints. Our Enemy is real and he at work everyday to destroy Christian Families and individuals. We like the Knight in Summa Vittis must stand guard against the dark powers and pray without ceasing. We must trust in our Lord Jesus Christ and wield our spiritual sword. We must as Paul said, "Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:10, NIV).
To learn more about the Spiritual War we are waging, order Chip Ingram's Series, The Invisible War. Pastor Ingram says a statement that we must keep in mind when thinking about our enemy and the invisible war, "be aware of your enemy, but not preoccupied with him." Pastor Ingram says we can end up seeing a devil or demon under every bush, which is not the intent of this post. I'm trying to help whoever reads this be aware so that they can route and repel the devil.
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