Somewhere in the world there are wars and rumors of wars, with the most evident these days being the war in Ukraine and threats from China over Taiwan.  Both world wars world wars took heavy tolls on the world in the early twentieth century, and the same is happening again.  economic impact is THE most obvious, with increasing inflation and threats of food shortages, plus other inconveniences.

        Many people are distressed and discouraged by current developments in our world, but “Words from Above” in the Bible tell us that there is a type of warfare that should concern all of us even more, and that is warfare that is spiritual.  The apostle Paul speaks about it in Ephesians 6:12, where he says, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, and against powers, and against the rulers of darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places.”  Nations have certainly developed many advanced weapons to fight and defend themselves against other nations, but spiritual warfare is a totally different matter.

        Spiritual warfare began when the devil attacked Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden through deception and false promises.  He has continued to wage such spiritual warfare against those created in the image of God and after His likeness after since that time, and he has no intention of stopping any time soon.  His attacks are aimed specifically at the human soul, and his intention is to destroy it, steal it, or kill it, like Jesus says in John 10 when He speaks about those who seek to violate the sheep in a sheepfold.  Jesus definitely wants us to know that we are fighting no ordinary enemy, but the enemy of our soul.  Ever since he and one-third of the angels of heaven had been expelled from heaven, the devil and these demons have been seeking revenge against God for kicking them out of heaven.

        In the Old Testament, we read about Jacob wrestling with an angel of God, and he actually prevailed, but it is a different matter with principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against wickedness in high places.  Paul is saying that there is ranking order among the evil spirits, and they have their various duties and responsibilities, but all with the same purpose of taking into captivity the souls of men.  This is why Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 about the armor of God which we can use to defend ourselves against these evil spirits.  The best news is that we can prevail over evil with the help of the Lord, and one day all evil will be defeated.