The Eternal Battle

At The Federalist last Friday, Joy Pullman had a article entitled How Christians Can Engage In The Spiritual Warfare That Drives The Culture Wars. The first thing to wonder about is what indeed does that mean? What it means is that just as there is a culture war, that sometimes heats up, as on October 7, 2023 on our plane of existence, the same war is being waged on the spiritual plane. Thus we pray in the Lord's prayer "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Before you stop reading, hear me out for another little bit. When people study history, whether recent or ancient, they do have certain facts, of course, but generally people respond to the story line, the "great arc of history." Everybody remembers having to study dates and timelines, and how boring that is. But a good story, full of violence, romance, and great adventures by great heroes is also great reading. And the fact that these are real people who did real things that changed the world tells us that maybe, in our own small way we can do the same.

What I am saying is that good history should be read like a novel. It is the same with the Bible. It should be read as a loosely organized novel, but like history, it is real. God created man to have a relationship with Him, but man was deceived by the devil, let's call him Lucifer. At the Tower of Babel, God turned the governance of mankind over to members of his counsel, while he turned to bringing about a people from one man, Abram of Ur of the Chaldeans. Abram believed in God, and God made a covenant with Abram, renaming him Abraham and giving him a son in his old age. That people, children of Abraham became the nation of Israel. It is easy to lose the plot line, but the story isn't ultimately about Israel. The story is about how God built Israel so that they could tell His story, and at the right time He entered into history in the form of a son, born to a virgin, lived a perfect life, took on all the sins of the world, and was crucified for us.

But that was not the end. Three days later, he arose from the dead and was seen by many. He interacted with people. He ate with them; he let them touch him and he touched others. It is this event on which that the Christian faith hang. It really happened. It was God's secret plan to save all of mankind from Lucifer, the father of lies and murderer from the start. If Lucifer captures your soul, you will end up in hell, in eternal torment. God does not want you to go to hell, but if you reject Him, that is where you will go. The gates of hell are locked from the inside. Think of it like the Soviet Union, or East Berlin. Nobody wanted to get in those places, but at the same time, if they could most would have escaped. They were locked from the inside.

Here we are then, back to our own time, on the earthly plane of existence. Pullman is correct that our battles here are reflections of the spiritual war being waged by God and His heavenly hosts with Lucifer and the demons. In ancient times people sacrificed their first born children to Moleck by "passing them through the fire" of Moleck's belly. They literally threw their children alive into the fire stoked up inside a furnace in the shape of an image of Molock. Today people have abortions. It is the same thing, and by doing so people are worshiping Molock. In ancient times people worshiped Astarte. She was the goddess whose priestesses served as temple prostitutes. But gay men and cross dressers were also officials of Astarte. Today, Astarte, also called Ishtar is represented by the LGBTQxyz ad nauseum community, whose sexual perversions are their identity. They are worshiping Astarte.  Then there is Baal. Baal pretends to be the creator of the world and all in it. He tries to usurp God, who is the actual creator. Thus, he has unleased on the modern world Islam. Islam apes the true religion, as Baal apes the true God, and continues the fight started when he deceived Eve.

Pullman is correct though, that each of us should stay in our own lanes. Paul made this clear in 1 Corinthians. Some are called to perform exorcisms, but not everyone. However, each of us has authority over our own bodies. We can reject Lucifer and all his demons, and we should do so. For they are just as real as Jesus is. Saint Paul also writes in Ephesians:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

There is a hymn, not sung often enough in our churches, Onward Christian Soldiers which expresses our place in a nutshell. We are all Christ's soldiers, He is our King and our leader. We are to fight His battles on this plane, not with guns and artillery, but with faith and prayer each according to our current station in life.  If you wonder about what God's plan for you is, well there you are.

Please read Pullman's article and please also consider reading the whole of the Bible. There are a number of apps that let you read a little a day, every day, such that you have read the entire Bible in a year. Moreover, read it not as a text, but as a loosely organized novel telling the story of Yahweh's plan to save mankind. Adam and Eve, Moses and Abraham play their parts, but the real hero of the story is Yahweh, who shows up numerous times directing people to change the world. He is always in control. Best to be on His side.