Nature of our warfare

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,  but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)

The conflict we face on a daily basis is with the unseen forces of darkness. Ephesians 6:12 says our battle is not with people. We wrestle with unseen demonic spiritual forces.

Images of Halloween and Christmas

Rulers of the darkness of this world

The Bible uses the word “Kosmokrator” to describe rulers of the darkness of this world. The word means a world ruler. It is epithet of Satan, a ruler. This word is used once in the Bible in Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)

It describes a class of demonic power. Imagine a chess board with the back roll being your major major chess pieces. The rulers of the darkness of this world are world-class, high-level demonic presence ruling on continents, nations, ethnic people groups.

They work through people

Ephesians 2:1-2, “And you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who works in the sons of disobedience.”

They are children of the wicked one, Matthew 13:37 (KJV)

Jesus said to those opposing him, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do…” John 8:44 (NKJV)

How many rulers of the darkness of this world?

How many rulers of the darkness of this world? I don’t know, maybe thousand each specializing in different forms of darkness.  There are some who specialize in pornography, another in gaming, another may specialized espionage. They is no doubt that rulers of the darkness of this world are running the dark web. The list is endless.

In Mark 5:6-13, Jesus was casting out an unclean spirit, and Jesus asked the spirit, “What is your name?” The unclean spirit said our name is Legion because we are many. Many unclean spirits were able to live and express themselves through one man!

According to 2nd Corinthians 4:4, Satan is the god of this world who put a veil over the eyes of those perishing

Those caught up in this world’s system are being bombarded with thousands of messages through many platforms. These messages present a false reality. For example, in the image above, a retailer displays images of Halloween and Christmas side by side in the first week of October.

At first glance, it appears that the retailer is marketing their merchandise. But on the other hand, it is a pressure tactic to get people to buy merchandise that they can not afford.

People are mentally conditioned to make impulsive decisions. There is a merging of seasons where the retailers are attempting to reap out of season. They bypassed Thanksgiving. Consumers are conditioned to go into debt to borrow money to finance a lifestyle.

A rock solid principle

This is a rock solid principle: man was created to be a servant. We were created to be partners with God from the first day of our creation, See Genesis 2:5, “and there was no man to till the ground.”

Servanthood is going to be this way for all eternity, See Revelation 22:3, “And his servants shall serve Him…”

God’s method of doing things is Seed Time Harvest. Satan pushes us to violate the terms of the covenant.

Got to get God’s timing! Revelation 22:2, the tree of life will bear fruit in its seasons. This is an eternal reality!

Men ought to say

James 4:13-15, men ought to say, “If it be God’s will, we will go into a city to buy, sell, and make a profit.

Is it really that way?

Think about the covenant God made with Noah and his sons. The seal and sign of the covenant is the rainbow! Genesis 9:12-13

“And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.” Genesis 9:12-13 (NKJV)

Notice that the covenant is a perpetual covenant to generations between God, every living creature, and the earth!

God said, ‘As long as the earth remains, seedtime harvest, cold, hot, winter, summer, day and night shall not cease.’ Genesis 8:22.

How powerful is this covenant?

In Revelation 4:2, the apostle John was allowed to see the throne room of God, and behind the throne, there is a sign of the covenant, a rainbow behind the throne of God.

Man has repeatedly breached the contract by ignorance and disobedience, especially through his partnership with Satan. God calls this breach of the covenant relationship “fornication.”

Grace & peace!