July 3

The Real Battle

In our reading today we visited the kingdom of Babylon. Isaiah is writing a hundred and fifty years before the destruction of this kingdom. As we read these verses we notice something strange is going on. In Isaiah 14:21 we see a king with sons, so this is clearly a reference to an earthly king. Yet in earlier verses we see this king as a being brought down to the grave after trying to usurp the throne of God. My understanding of this is that Satan is behind the power and rule of the king of Babylon. It is actually demonic power that is animating and inspiring his kingdom.

In Ephesians 6:12 we are told that 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.

Behind the evil of our world lies the evil one. He is our enemy. He is the one we fight against. Yet this view of the battle is not believed by 50% of Christians today in the USA.

This view of a personal enemy of our souls was researched by Steve Russo and Neil Anderson. They interviewed more than 1,700 professing Christians teenagers in preparation for their book The Seduction of Our Children. Here are the results of one evangelical Christian High School.

- 45% said they have experienced a "presence" (seen or heard) in their rooms that scared them.
-59% said they've harbored bad thoughts about God.
-43% said they find it mentally hard to pray and read the Bible.
-69% reported hearing "voices" in their heads, like they were subconscious voices talking to them.
-22% present said they frequently entertain thoughts of suicide.
-74% think they are different than others. (It works for others but not for them)

As bad as these percentages are, they rise considerable when teens have dabbled in the occult, followed counterfeit guidance or played certain fantasy games that no Christian should play.

How do you explain that 7 out of 10 professing Christian young people are hearing voices? Are they paranoid schizophrenic, or psychotic? They could be, but we must also consider the truth taught in our passage today, that there is real spiritual enemy we are engaged with.

This battle is called spiritual warfare. And if you don’t believe in it you are already a victim. The Bible teaches with absolute clarity - our adversary is very real. He is invisible, powerful, shrewd and he doesn't play by the rules. He will do anything possible to destroy you, your family, your church and your nation. Keep your guard up today.