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"Wrestling" With the Flesh, the World, False Christian Doctrines, and
the Earthly and Fallen Angel "Kosmokratoras"
"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil.
12. 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.
13. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and
having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God:" Ephesians 6: 11-17
"Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common
salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you
that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once
delivered unto the saints." Jude 1: 3
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4. (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through
God to the pulling down of strong holds
5. Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ;
6. And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your
obedience is fulfilled." II Corinthians 10: 3-6
The follower of Jesus Christ who wrestles against his own flesh, the
world, false doctrines and the kosmokratoras, or world rulers in the
spiritual realm and their human minions, is not lukewarm. For Christ
says "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I
will spue thee out of my mouth." Revelation 3: 16
The lukewarm Christian is the one who avoids conflict with his own
flesh, with the world because it lies totally in evil, and with false
doctrines. But the one who is in love with the truth of Jesus Christ
revealed in Scripture is more likely to be found in the middle of a
controversy, where he is engaged in spiritual wrestling.
This does not mean, however, that the one that is in love with the truth (II
Thessalonians 2: 10-12) gets into continued arguments with those who
defend their false doctrines. The one in which the light of the truth
of Christ is alive and bright may repeat his positions because that is
how others learn the truth. But he does not engage in continued
argument with those who use the dialogue of the dialectic to defend
their false doctrines, because in doing so he can himself begin to be
processed by the dialectic of Transformational Marxism in Christian
clothing.
There are several texts in the Bible that tell us that when the truth
is presented, it will set off a conflict with those who do not want to
hear the truth, because they reject the authority of God or because
they claim to be Christians but are in false doctrines.
John the Baptist says in Matthew 3: 11-12 "I indeed baptize you with
water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I,
whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the
Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will
throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but
he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
In giving is the Holy Spirit, Christ baptizes his people with fire,
with a faith that is not lukewarm nor cold.
But if the person who claims to be a follower of Christ and does not
have that love of the truth which is said to be live fire, he or she
will not usually go on the offensive with truth, and so no conflict
with others in darkness will develop. When a follower of Jesus Christ
shines some of the light of Christ into the darkness, conflict will
often result. "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness
comprehended it not." John 1: 5
"The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which
sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up." Matthew 4:
16
"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath
shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ." II Corinthians 4: 6
But the darkness will make a counter-attack upon the light, as Satan
who was restrained at the Cross, comes up again out of the bottomless
pit of Revelation 9: 1-3. A number of scriptures predict a falling away
from the truth (II Thessalonians 2: 2-4). Look at Luke 13: 21, for
example. "It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three
measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." The word "till"
indicates that the leavening takes some time to totally leaven the
churches.
Those in the churches who are lukewarm tend to accept the leavening
process and do not battle against it, but instead often use the
dialectic process to defend the false doctrines they have been taught
as part of the leavening.
These are some of the people who come to the center of the conflict
against those in love with the truth who shine Christ's light into that
darkness of leavening.
"For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord:
walk as children of light: But all things that are reproved are made
manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light"
Ephesians 5:13
Those who are in love with Christ's truth, have Christ's
righteousness, have the Gospel and the shield of faith, the helmet of
salvation and the offensive sword of the Holy Spirit, the Word, will
stand. They stand in battle against false doctrines, unrighteousness
- Hide quoted text -
and sometimes even their own fleshly mind.
Although the spiritual conflict will rage when one goes on the
offensive against darkness, the joy of the Lord is often greater when
one is on the offensive and inspired by the Holy Spirit and using the
Word.
Then, at some time in the last days, which Paul in II Timothy 3: 1-2
says will bring perilous times, when people will be lovers of their
own selves, proud, blasphemers, unholy, when the transgressors are
come to the full (Daniel 8: 23) and spiritual darkness is greater than
before, the Lord will call out his anointed Remnant of Israel. "And
they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they
shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil,
many days." (Daniel 11: 33) The anointed Remnant of Israel, with the
full armor of God on, will go into that spiritual battle with the
light of Jesus Christ burning in them brightly.
"Yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by
spoil, many days" in Daniel 11; 33 indicates that this is to be a
spiritual battle, though it is not totally clear who is to fall,
whether its only those who are instructed by the Remnant, called the
144,000 in Revelation 7: 1-8, or both groups.
Luke 10: 19 says "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents
and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall
by any means hurt you." If by "nothing shall by any means hurt
you"means physical harm as well as spiritual harm, then the members of
the Remnant will have the shield of the Lord to protect them from
physical harm. Yet, Luke 10: 19 may be saying that protection is only
from spiritual harm from the serpents and scorpions, who are those
that defend the false doctrines against the Remnant.
Luke 21: 36 can also be relevant to who might fall in this heightened
spiritual conflict in the last days.
"Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy
to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand
before the Son of man."
Note that Daniel 11: 33 implies that some who are in that spiritual
darkness during the great conflict of the end times will turn from
false doctrines to the truth as a result of being instructed by the
Remnant. Zechariah 13: 8-9 and Ezekiel 5: 1-5, 12 are broad
prophecies that predict some part of those in false doctrines will
turn to the light of Christ. Zechariah 13: 8-9 says "And it shall
come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts therein
shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I
will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as
silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call
on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and
they shall say, The LORD is my God."
Ezekiel 5: 1-5, as a metaphor of the hairs of Ezekiel's beard, shows
three larger groups of those who claim to belong to God, and a fourth
much small group who in Ezekiel 5: 3 are to be bound in Ezekiel's
skirts. Then Ezekiel 5: 12 says "A third part of thee shall die with
the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of
thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee and I
will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a
sword after them." Verse 12 is describing the fate of the three groups
shown in Ezekiel 5: 1-5.
Ezekiel 5: 1-5, 12 does not say that one part of the people of God
will turn to him, but Zechariah 13: 9 does say this, and putting the
two texts together we can see that the prophecy predicts that a part
of the people who claim to be of God will come out of their false
doctrines. The metaphor of bringing the third part through the fire
suggests a spiritual crisis and trial in which a part, not
necessarily one third, but one part out of three parts, will call on
the Lord and he will accept them. The text does say God will
"...refine them as silver is refined, and as gold is tried."
Those who have come more fully to the light of Christ and have more
of his mind in them - Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:
27) - will be able to operate in the Spirit during the time of great
tribulation (Matthew 24: 21) when the spiritual conflict is greater,
while those fixated in the flesh and in false doctrines will have
tribulation.