spiritual warfare

A spiritual revolution (part two)

Paul’s first missionary journey changed the course of history in that it turned the tide toward non-Jewish conversions to Christianity. After they were expelled from Antioch in Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas traveled east to Iconium where the multitude of the city became divided between loyalty to the traditional teaching of the Jews and Paul’s gospel message (Acts 14:4). The problem Paul and Barnabas faced in Iconium was that things turned violent. A plot to stone them to death caused the two missionaries to flee to Lystra and Derbe, “and unto the region that lieth round about” (Acts 14:6). While they were in Lystra, Paul healed a man that had been crippled from birth (Acts 14:8-10). This miracle caused the people of Lystra to associate Paul and Barnabas with the Greek gods Zeus and Hermes. It says in Acts 14:11, “And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lift up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.”

The people of Lystra seemed to be ignorant of or perhaps, chose to ignore the existence of the god that created the universe. In his argument against worshipping false deities, Paul encouraged the people of Lystra to turn from their false religion to the living God, “which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things therein: who in times past suffered the nations to walk in their own ways.” (Acts 14:15-16). Even though he was able to convince the people of Lystra that he was an ordinary man like them, Paul’s accomplishment backfired when Jews from Antioch and Iconium arrived and persuaded the people of Lystra to stone him. Luke’s description of this incident (Acts 14:19-20) suggests that Paul’s death was never verified, but Paul’s account in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 of a man that was caught up to the third heaven and heard words that could not be repeated is thought to be a personal testimony of what happened to him after he was stoned to death in Lystra.

In spite of the dangerous situations they faced in the cities they had already preached in, Paul and Barnabas returned to Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (Acts 14:20-21) in order to further establish and strengthen the churches started there. Luke tells us Paul and Barnabas were “confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). The Greek word translated tribulation, thlipsis means “‘a pressing, pressure’, anything which burdens the spirit” (G2347). Thlipsis is used in Revelation 7:14 to refer to the great tribulation that is expected to take place just before the millennial reign of Christ. Paul’s statement “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” seems to suggest that satanic attacks or spiritual warfare are a normal part of Christian life and must be endured by every believer. Paul and Barnabas’ example of courageous perseverance made their first missionary journey a tough act to follow.

Trickery

The Jewish religious leaders that were intent on having Jesus put to death tried to trick him into saying something that they could use against him in a court of law. Matthew described this situation by saying the Pharisees “took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk” (Matthew 22:15). The Greek word translated entangle, pagideauo (pag-id-yoo´-o) means to ensnare (G3802). Pagideauo is derived from the word pagis which means “a trap (as fastened by a noose or notch); figuratively a trick or stratagem (temptation)” (G3803). It seems likely that what was going on during the last few days of Jesus life was an intense spiritual battle that may have involved numerous agents of Satan. The Apostle Paul’s description of spiritual warfare indicated there are many levels and sources of spiritual attack (Ephesians 6:12). He instructed believers to “put on the whole armour of God, that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

The Greek word translated wiles in Ephesians 6:11, methodeia is a compound of two words that means “traveling over that is travesty (trickery)” (G3180). The root words refer to travel (G3593) and accompaniment (G3326), suggesting that Satan is aware of the course of our lives and plans his attacks so that we won’t make any spiritual progress. Jesus’ determination to die on the cross was both helped and hindered by Satan. The most critical aspect of what was going on at the time of Jesus’ death was the requirement for him to have lived a sinless life in order to be qualified as the savior of the world. If Satan could somehow cause Jesus to sin before he was crucified, then Jesus would have died for his own sin, not the substitutionary death of everyone else. The Pharisees strategy when they approached Jesus with the question “Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:17), was to make him an enemy of the state. If Jesus said it was unlawful for Caesar to collect taxes from the Jews, then Jesus could have been arrested and put to death for rebellion against Rome.

Jesus was aware of what the Pharisees were trying to do (Matthew 22:18) and overcame their trickery with his brilliant response to their question about paying taxes. He said, “Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Cesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Cesar the things which are Cesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:19-21). Jesus diffused the situation by identifying the origin of the coins that were being used for commerce in Jerusalem. Although its laws and culture had been imposed on the Jews, many people were getting rich as a result of Roman occupation and it’s likely that the Jews’ overall quality of life had been greatly improved. Therefore, it made sense for the Jews to pay their share of taxes. Matthew indicated that the Pharisees were impressed with Jesus’ response. He said of their reaction “When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left him, and went their way” (Matthew 22:22).

Sheep in the midst of wolves

Jesus used the metaphor of sheep to describe God’s chosen people who had wandered away from him in their search for pleasure among the pagan nations that surrounded Israel. Jesus sent out his twelve apostles like laborers in a field and instructed them, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5-6). In depicting God’s people as lost sheep, Jesus portrayed them as vulnerable, fearful creatures that were unable to find their own way back home again. There was no judgment or harsh criticism in Jesus’ viewpoint of the situation, only a concerned attitude toward the people that were voluntarily living their lives separated from the God that wanted to save them. The Greek word translated lost, apollumi means to destroy fully (622) and is therefore, referring to a spiritual condition rather than a physical one. What Jesus was implying was that the Israelites were on their way to hell and needed to be rescued from Satan’s grip on them.

Before he sent them out, Jesus told his twelve apostles, “Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matthew 10:16). In comparing the Israelites’ spiritual enemies to wolves, Jesus was suggesting that they would be difficult to detect among God’s children. One of the advantages wolves have over their prey is they can sneak into a flock undetected because they are about the same size and color as sheep. Jesus’ reversal of the roles, sheep in the midst of wolves, meant that he wanted his disciples to infiltrate the enemy’s camp, like a sheep walking into a pack of wolves, and work against them without being detected. Jesus’ instruction to be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves” meant that he didn’t want any harm to come to the lost sheep of Israel that were being held captive by the false teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees that dominated the religious culture at that time.

Jesus warned his disciples of the danger they would face in taking his gospel into enemy territory, but also encouraged them to act fearlessly, because God would protect them (Matthew 10:31). Focusing particularly on the Pharisees who had accused him of casting out demons by the power of Satan (Matthew 12:24), Jesus said, “Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid that shall not be known” (Matthew 10:26). In other words, the teaching of the Pharisees would be exposed as false doctrine by the truth of the gospel. All the disciples had to do was tell God’s people the truth and they would realize on their own that the Pharisees had been lying to them. Likening God’s word to a sword, (Matthew 10:34), Jesus explained that telling people the truth would result in spiritual warfare, but conflict was necessary for the kingdom of heaven to be established on earth. He said, “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household” (Matthew 10:35-36).

The other side

The original word used to refer to God’s people, “Hebrew” was an ethnic term that referred to “a diverse mixture of nomadic wanderers or at least those who appeared to have at one time been nomadic” (5680).  The term Hebrew or Eberite is derived from the word ‘eber (ay’-ber). “When speaking of rivers or seas, ‘eber means the ‘edge or side opposite the speaker’ or ‘the other side'” (5676). The word ‘eber is derived from the Hebrew word abar (aw-bar’) which means “to cross over” (5674). This word can be found throughout the Old Testament of the Bible in conjunction with major events that occurred in the lives of Abraham’s descendants, primarily before they settled in the Promised Land. The Hebrew word abar communicated the idea of transgression, or crossing over the boundary of right and entering the forbidden land of wrong. An example of this was when Jacob “crossed over” the Euphrates to escape Laban (Genesis 31:21).

After concluding his detailed teaching about the kingdom of heaven (Mark 4:1-34), Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us pass over unto the other side” (Mark 4:35). Upon reaching the opposite shore of the sea of Galilee, Jesus was met by a man possessed by a demonic spirit who referred to himself as Legion. This seems to suggest that the territory known as the Decapolis was associated with sinful behavior and may have been considered off-limits to people that were obedient to God’s commandments. If so, the fact that Jesus directed his disciples to go to this god-forsaken location seems to suggest that he wanted them to see what was going on there. Most likely, the reason for their visit to the country of the Gadarenes was so that Jesus’ disciples could see him exercise his authority over Satan’s army because, like their ancestors,’ his disciples would have to conquer these enemies in order to occupy the Promised Land, a.k.a. the kingdom of heaven.

While their ship was crossing the sea, it says in Mark 4:37, “there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.” In spite of the sudden violent gust of wind and the torrential rains that accompanied it, Mark indicated in his account of the incident that Jesus was asleep on a pillow in the hinder part of the ship (Mark 4:38). Jesus’ disciples had to physically arouse him from his peaceful slumber and then, in a panic asked him, “Master, carest thou not that we perish” (Mark 4:38). The Greek word translated perish, apollumi doesn’t refer to death, but what is often associated with death; ruin, the loss of well-being. In other words, the disciples were suggesting that Satan could ruin their trip in order to stop them from doing damage to his kingdom. After rebuking the wind and telling the sea to be still, Jesus asked his disciples, “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that you have no faith” (Mark 4:40). His point being that they hadn’t even made it to the other side yet, and his disciples were ready to concede to their enemy.

Temptation

Before he began his public ministry, Jesus was “led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil” (Matthew 4:1). The phrase led up of the Spirit tells us that it was God’s will for Jesus to go through this 40 day temptation experience which began in the desert region of the lower Jordan Valley. Jesus’ personal encounter with Satan involved three temptations or tests that proved his ability to defeat his enemy in the most extreme type of spiritual warfare. Jesus had no inward desire or inclination to sin. “Because he was God He did not sin in any way, whether by actions or word or inner desire (2 Cor 5:21; Heb 7:26; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5). Yet Jesus’ temptation was real, not merely symbolic. He was ‘in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin’ (Heb 4:15)” (note on Matthew 4:1-11).

Through his encounter with the devil in the wilderness, Jesus gave us an example of how to successfully deal with temptation and overcome the spiritual forces that entice us to sin against God. Each time Jesus was confronted by Satan, he used “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). One of the key tactics Satan used to tempt Jesus was to question his identity. He said, “If Thou be the Son of God, command these stones be made bread” (Matthew 4:3). Jesus was declared the Son of God when he was baptized by John in the Jordan river (Matthew 3:17) and he was capable of transforming the stones into bread, but Jesus didn’t do what Satan asked him to, instead he responded by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Jesus’ declaration of spiritual truth showed that he was able to defeat his enemy, Satan without using any of his supernatural powers. The weapon Jesus used, the word of God, is available to everyone and the scriptures he quoted were taken from a single book of the Bible, Deuteronomy, so an extensive knowledge of the Bible wasn’t necessary. In his temptation, Jesus demonstrated to us that his human nature wasn’t subject to the devil, but was transformed by the word of God into a weapon more powerful than the strongest of all evil forces. After passing his spiritual test in the wilderness, Jesus immediately began his public ministry and continuously used his spiritual authority to cast out demons and to heal people of all kinds of diseases (Mark 1:34).

The truth

The angel Gabriel’s second visit to Daniel was opposed by Satanic forces. Gabriel told Daniel, “Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine hart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days” (Daniel 10:12-14). Gabriel described for Daniel the spiritual battle that took place as a result of his prayer to understand the vision he had. It took both Gabriel and Michael, two archangels of God, fighting against the prince of the kingdom of Persia to overcome him, and the battle lasted twenty one days.

Gabriel told Daniel he would show him what was noted in “the scripture of truth” (Daniel 10:21). The exact meaning of this phrase is unknown, but Gabriel may have been referring to the divine record of the destinies of all human beings (note on Daniel 10:21). Gabriel’s reference to the scripture of truth indicates that God keeps a record of the events in his realm in the same way that earthly kings do (note on Psalm 51:1). This record is believed to include a list of the righteous, whom God blesses with life (note on Psalm 69:28). David prayed that his enemies would be “blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous” (Psalm 69:28). Moses interceded for God’s people and said, “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written” (Exodus 32:32). Gabriel told Daniel, “there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince” (Daniel 10:21). Apparently, only the two archangels, Gabriel and Michael have access to this record.

Gabriel said to Daniel, “And now will I shew thee the truth” (Daniel 11:2). The Hebrew word translated truth  is emeth (571). Emeth is a shortened form or contraction of the word aman (539) which means to believe or have belief. Aman appears in Genesis 15:6 where it says that Abraham “believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” In other words, God recorded Abraham’s belief in his book of righteousness. What Gabriel showed Daniel, was a detailed account of a conflict between the north and south that would ultimately lead to a power struggle between Jesus and the agent of Satan, Antichrist for the kingdom of God. In conclusion, Gabriel said of Antichrist, “And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him” (Daniel 11:45). Gabriel’s mention of the battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:13-16) indicated that even before Jesus was born, it was predestined that in his first coming to the earth, he would be rejected by God’s people, and then, in his second coming be proclaimed as Savior, not only of the Israelites, but of the entire world.

Complete devastation

The prophet Joel is probably the most mysterious and intriguing of all the Old Testament prophets. Little is known about the time period or background of his message, but it clearly fits in with others like Isaiah’s and Jeremiah’s that speak about the end times. Joel uses the phrase “day of the LORD” (Joel 1:15) to refer to the warning he has been commanded to give. What seems clear from the overall content of Joel’s message is that he was given a glimpse into the horrible scene that is portrayed in the book of Revelation. A key indicator of the connection between the two messages is that Joel uses language that fits with the complete devastation that will take place when God judges  the human race.

Joel opens his book with a description of the plague of insects that is similar to the one described in Revelation 9. Joel says:

Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten. Awake ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it is cut off from your mouth. For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek-teeth of a great lion. (Joel 1:3-6)

Revelation 9:1-3 introduces the plague of locusts with the suggestion that spiritual warfare is taking place. It says, “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.”

The Greek word translated power in Revelation 9:3 is exousia. Exousia as a noun, denotes authority which is drawn from the meaning of “leave or permission” (1849). To a certain extent, the power that is being referred to is power that one has the right to exercise, the power of rule or government. Another way of looking at this type of power is freedom or mastery, the ability to take control. I believe Joel’s prophecy was meant to convey the idea of a total loss of control. All of the Israelites’ freedom would be taken away and they would become subject to another form of government, a satanic one that would prohibit their worship of God.

The good news hidden within Joel’s message was that God would not allow his people to become a part of Satan’s kingdom. Joel declared, “Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come” (Joel 1:15). The Hebrew term Almighty or Shadday (shad – dah´ – ee) is a title that signifies ultimate power and authority, but in actuality, “the title Shadday really indicates the fullness and riches of God’s grace, and would remind the Hebrew reader that from God comes every good and perfect gift – that He is never weary of pouring forth His mercies on His people, and that He is more ready to give than they are to receive” (7706).

The sword

The transition that occurred during the Israelites’ period of captivity was focused on a change in the type of relationship God had with his people. Beginning with Abraham, God sought to establish a personal relationship that included ongoing communication between him and his chosen people. Once the nation of Israel came into existence, God’s messages were delivered primarily through prophets that were often ignored and sometimes punished for what they said (Jeremiah 26:11). In order to reestablish communication with his people, God sent them to a place where the absence of his presence would force them to reevaluate their behavior and admit they had been living in sin (Ezekiel 20:43).

A part of God’s judgment of his people was designed to separate out those who wanted salvation from those who thought idolatry would provide for them a better way of life. God told Ezekiel to say to the land of Israel:

Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I am against thee, and will draw forth my sword out of his sheath, and will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked. Seeing then that I will cut off from thee the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of his sheath against all flesh from the south to the north: that all flesh may know that I the LORD have drawn forth my sword out of his sheath: it shall not return any more. (Ezekiel 21:3-5)

The LORD’s sword was described as a cutting instrument (2719), perhaps a dagger or knife that he could use against his enemies. The reference to drawing the sword out of his sheath rather than its sheath may indicate the sword was not a physical sword, but actually a person. Talking to his disciples about their mission on earth, Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34).

Even though Jesus was known as the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6), the result of Christ’s coming was conflict “between Christ and the antichrist, between light and darkness, between Christ’s children and the devil’s children” (note on Matthew 10:34). When Jesus was presented in the temple for dedication to the Lord, a man named Simeon was given a special insight by the Spirit so that he would recognize the Christ. It says in Luke 2:28-32, “Then he took him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” Afterward, Simeon spoke directly to Mary, Jesus’ mother and said, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35).

In the sixth chapter of the book of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul talks about putting on the whole armour of God “that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 5:11). In his description of our armour, Paul tells us to “take up the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). Obviously, the armour Paul was talking about was not comprised of physical items that we put on our body. Spiritual warfare must be dealt with in our spiritual capacities that we are not always aware of, so Paul used physical items to relate their usefulness to us, and the means by which we can activate them.

The sword of the LORD was activated when God’s people went into exile. Since we know that Ezekiel was already in exile when he received his message from the LORD, the sword was most likely activated some time after the first wave of refugees was taken to Babylon, but before the fall of Jerusalem took place in 586 B.C. In a symbolic act of mourning, God told Ezekiel to sigh before the eyes of the people. Perhaps also, as a signal to antichrist with whom the spiritual engagement was about to begin to take place, God said, “And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord GOD; remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more until he comes whose right it is; and I will give it him” (Ezekiel 21:25-27).

Spiritual warfare

In the same way that every Jewish person belongs to God, they are his people/servants, so every non-Jewish person belongs to Satan, they are his people/servants. Because we were created with a free will, God gives non-Jewish people the option to switch sides if they want to. We do not have to remain under Satan’s control if we don’t want to.

Salvation is the process whereby Satan’s hold on a person is released, We escape from him. God literally snatches believers out of Satan’s hand (Isaiah 50:2). Even though the Israelites belonged to God, Satan was still able to influence them into disobeying God because of their free will. Therefore, everyone needs salvation.

Isaiah stated, “Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:1-2). The Hebrew word translated separated, badal means to divide (914) in the sense of cutting or splitting something in two (2673).

To separate something can mean that it is consecrated or set apart for a specific purpose (5144). In this sense, Israel had deliberately separated itself from God in order to worship foreign gods or idols (Hosea 9:10). In essence, they chose to join Satan’s  camp and were enemies of God. That’s why the northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed and its people  removed from the Promised Land.

In order for God’s people and the rest of humanity to become unseparated from God, there needed to be an intercessor, someone that could encroach upon Satan’s territory and set his prisoners free (Isaiah 59:16). Basically, from a military stand point, the Messiah’s mission was to advance over Satan’s territory (area of influence) and make an impression on his people so that they would choose to abandon ship and return to God.

The reason why Satan’s people are referred to as prisoners (Isaiah 42:7; 49:9)  is because they cannot set themselves free. The  power of sin can only be broken by God. The separation that occurs when a person sins is permanent unless God forgives the sin and restores the relationship. Isaiah declared, “Therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness sustained him” (Isaiah 59:16).

Israel’s Messiah was expected to be a warrior, but the people were mistaken about the type of warfare he would engage in. Isaiah described the Messiah in spiritual terms. He said, “For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke” (Isaiah 59:17).

The apostle Paul described similar attire for Christians in Ephesians 6:14-17 where he talked about putting on the whole armour of God in order to defeat the devil. Paul explained, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

Somehow, when Jesus came, Israel didn’t recognize its Messiah, even Paul rejected Christ initially. Isaiah talked about “an acceptable time” and “in a day of salvation” when Israel would be redeemed (Isaiah 49:8). Isaiah concluded with, “And all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Savior, and thy redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob” (Isaiah 49:26).

Because God intended that his Messiah would save the world, not just his chosen people, his plan of salvation included a period of time when the Gentiles’ sin would be dealt with. Prior to the dawn of Zion’s glory, there would be a period of grace in which salvation would be offered to everyone. Afterwards, God’s people would be redeemed. Isaiah declared:

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. (Isaiah 60:1-3)

 

Pillars

Some people believe there are guardian angels that watch over people. I believe I have two angels, one that stands on my right side and one that stands on my left at all times. I believe these two angels were assigned to me at a specific time to deal with the spiritual issues of doubt and fear. The one that was given me to fight against doubt I named Tom to remind me of doubting Thomas who didn’t believe the Lord had risen until he saw him with his own eyes. The one that was given me to fight against fear I named George to remind me that I am gorgeous in the eyes of God because I am his beloved bride.

Chapter 7 of 1 Kings contains a detailed description of two pillars that stood outside the main entrance of Solomon’s temple. It says in 1 Kings 7:21, “he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz.” The significance of these pillars is unknown, but they may have embodied some symbolism. The fact that they were named indicates there was a ceremonial purpose for their existence. As worshippers approached the temple, the pillars may have appeared to be guarding the entrance. All who entered the temple had to pass through them. The word translated pillars, ammud is derived from the word amad which means to stand. “It is what a soldier does while on watch” (5975).

The unseen spiritual realm is for the most part a mystery to believers. Angels engage in spiritual warfare on our behalf and often they defeat our enemies without us being aware of it (2 Kings 6:16-17). I believe the angels that stand beside me serve several functions, one of which is to protect me and they are responsible for my safety as types of spiritual bodyguards or bouncers. When I wake up afraid in the middle of the night, I imagine them standing one on each side of my bed, clad in brass armour with their swords drawn to defend me. I immediately calm down knowing that I am in good hands.