UNDERSTANDING HEAVENLY AND EARTHLY WARFARE FROM A BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING

This post will help us understand the spiritual war that we are to overcome in the armor of God. War is hell.

A question I have always asked myself is: “Why is there so much war and bloodshed among human kind?” Many others ask, “If God is love, how can He allow this?”

We must understand first and foremost it is God allowing us to do it to ourselves. At some point He will intervene at the end of this age when He saves us from ourselves. Until then blood is going to be shed among man because man has rebelled against God and His Commandments.

The life of a human is in the blood (Leviticus 17.11). It is a great sin to murder and kill. Life is precious in God’s sight.

The word says that Satan the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10.10). When did this begin? Our investigation will allow the Bible to interpret itself. Isaiah 45 is where we start:

For thus has the LORD said that creates the heavens; God himself that forms the earth, he who made it and established it. He did not create it in vain; he created it to be inhabited; I am the LORD; and there is no one else. Isaiah 45.18

The earth was created to be inhabited.

 I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil: I am the LORD that does all this. Isaiah 45.7

God created darkness, He makes peace and creates evil! This is interesting. How does God create evil?

He gave his creations, both man and angels, free will to make decisions. God did not create robots. Free will to decide means man and angels can choose—choose to obey or disobey. Disobedience is rebellion. Rebellion can lead to evilness. Satan rebelled from God because he became full of himself and wanted to take the throne from God.

 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, who didst claim the GentilesNations as an inheritance! Thou who said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven; upon high next to the stars of God I will exalt my throne: and I will sit upon the mount of the testimony and in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be cast down to Sheol/the grave, to the sides of the pit. Isaiah 14.12-15

Satan wanted to exalt his throne, the one God gave him, above the mount of testimony (the mount of God). Satan ascended above the clouds to God’s throne to be like the most high.

Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering: the sardius, topaz, diamond, turquoise, onyx, and beryl, the sapphire, ruby, and emerald, and gold; the works of thy tambourines and of thy pipes were prepared in thee in the day that thou was created.

Thou, great cherubim, was covered, and I placed thee; thou was in the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked among stones of fire. Thou was perfect in all thy ways from the day that thou was created, until iniquity was found in thee. Satan was created perfect until iniquity was found in him.

Because of the multitude of thy trafficking thou was filled with violence, and thou hast sinned; and I cast thee out of the mountain of God, and I cast thee unto evil from among the stones of fire, O cherubim that was covered. Thine heart lifted thee up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness; I will cast thee to the earth; I will expose thee before the kings, that they may behold thee.

Thou hast defiled thy sanctuary by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy trafficking; therefore I brought forth fire from the midst of thee, which has consumed thee, and I brought thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all those that behold thee. All those that knew thee from among the peoples shall marvel over thee; thou hast been greatly disturbed, and thou shalt not exist again forever. Ezekiel 28.13-19

Satan was a covering cherub—perhaps the most powerful angel in heaven—covering the ark with his wings. He was God’s perfect creation—yet he rebelled.

This began a war in the heavens above the earth.

The Bible indicates that the earth was created to be a beautiful peaceful place prior to the 6 days of creation.

Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou know? Or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner stone thereof; when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?

When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed? Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place; Job 38.4-12

For thus says the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. Isaiah 45.18

God laid the foundations. The morning stars sang together at the creation and shouted for joy! Here shall you come but no further (Lucifer). The earth was formed to be inhabited.

In Genesis 1.1 it says God created the heaven and the earth. In verse 2 it says the earth was void and without form. If the angels sang for joy at the creation of an earth that was to be inhabited what happened between verses one and two?

Is it possible Lucifer (who later becomes Satan) was given dominance over the earth during its formation and young days? Did Satan rebel at this time and ascend into heaven to take the throne? As you can see we can make a Biblical case for this. Why else was the earth without form and void. Was it due to the rebellion of Satan and one third of the angels?

I always have wondered about the Book of Jude and what Jude is talking about.

 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. Jude 6-7

Was the first estate of Satan and his angels the job to oversee the formation of earth in its early days of creation? They decided to rebel and the earth becomes formless and void. It was inhabited by the angels during this time but they rebelled. They ascended up to heaven it says in Isaiah 14.13 to usurp the throne.

This was the beginning of war in heaven. Satan and a third of God’s creation decided to take things into their own hands and become the rulers. They thought they could over throw the Creator. The earth was formless and void. There was war in the heavens. There was violence in the heavens due to Satan’s traffic/merchandise. Ezekiel 28.16

Look at the moon and some of the planets. They are scarred with craters. Even the earth has some gigantic craters from the ancient past. Was this due to WAR IN HEAVEN? Is Jude describing a heavenly war with large objects striking the earth and planets?

In any event war and violence began when Lucifer rebelled. The word violence in Hebrew means destruction, malice, ruthlessness, fierceness—violence!

In this sense God created evil as stated in Isaiah 45.7. God gave His creation freedom to choose. We choose good or evil. This is the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Trees represent people in the Bible. The olive tree is Israel. The tree of good and evil represents the choices we make.

Will we yield to the Creator and choose wisely and good or choose disobedience and our own wicked desires? It is a choice between life and death—the knowledge of good and evil. This knowledge either brings us eternal peace in God or death.

Satan chose the way of death. He then enticed Adam and Eve into the same choice. He comes to steal (our inheritance), kill (murder), and destroy (tear down). This was the beginning of violence and war. It began when Lucifer became full of himself.

He is the prince of this world. Mankind is under the influence of his evil spirit. Humankind chooses to follow Satan’s path of self, greed, the lust for power, false witness, and lies. The law of God is ignored.

God’s Royal Laws are intended for bringing us blessings and good. Man chooses violence. Abortion is an excellent example of man’s violence.

Violence, war, and bloodshed is the way the world chooses--to be under the power of darkness rather than coming over to God’s Way of Light. To obedience to God’s Royal Law.

Don’t blame God for the wrongs in this world. He must allow it. He must give us freedom to choose. We love to blame God for the violence in the world. How could He allow this if He is a God of Love? This is exactly why He allows it. He loves us enough to allow us to choose. Life or death? Our Father allows us to choose because of His great love for us.

This is why He sent His beloved son to redeem us from this violent bloody world. It was upholding the law…life for a life…blood for blood…the life is in the blood. Yeshua saves us! He restores us to eternal life through the shedding of His precious blood. The Eternal’s sacrifice of Love towards His creation.

Amidst all the beauty of this fallen world there is violence due to trafficking—the world of competition and striving for personal glory, power, and riches. This is Satan’s domain. This is his specialty. It is how he steals, kills, and destroys us. The choice belongs to each and every one who has ever lived. Ezekiel 28.18 – Traffic = Heb. 7404 = trading of merchandize = human merchandize or traffing.

Yeshua told us to “not to love the world and the things of the world.” Be content with what you have and are given by Yahweh. We belong to a Holy Kingdom—God’s Kingdom. We are supposed to give—not take.

There will be blood and war until the King comes and puts down the rebellion once and for all. Then he will sit down at the right hand of Yahweh and give His Father the Kingdom.

Yet a little while and He will come and save us! We will occupy in His name until that day! He will establish the kingdom in a final violent heavenly war and reward his faithful servants in that day.

A final Judgment is described in Revelation 20. When He comes those who have chosen His way will be resurrected from the grave and given eternal life. This is the first resurrection. Those who rise at this time the second death (resurrection) will have no power over them. After the Millennial Kingdom of a thousand years the White Throne Judgment will find Satan and his angels thrown into the pit of fire along with his angels and servants.

God allows His creation to live violently but that is not what He desires for us. It is our choice. His desire is for us to love His word and commandments so that we can walk in His love. We should reflect His love in a violent world. Choose well.