Category Archives: Education

Winning the Spiritual War

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places – Ephesians 6:12 (ESV).

It is as if we are living in a tumble clothes dryer that is in its final spin mode. Universities across the Western world have been battlefields with pro-Hamas protestors challenging their schools or, in some cases, taking over them. At Columbia University in New York City, there was a police pushback. The impression is that the upheaval has less to do with the Middle East conflict and more to do with a leftist revolution. 

In addition, there is inflation, runaway government spending, serious wars in Ukraine and Israel, and a decided change in the world order. In other words, we are in a time of shaking and somehow God is involved in it.

The Scripture teaches us that there will be a shaking in the last days. Haggai 2:6 and Hebrews 12:25-29 speak about it. The main purpose is to rearrange the world order to accommodate God’s kingdom: to shake the old world order out of business to usher in the divine. A secondary purpose is to wake up and sober up those who are spiritually sleeping or drunken. Some look at it either as a judgment for unrighteousness or a chastening to the wayward righteous.

The turmoil on Earth is merely the proxy war for the conflict in the heavens. The shaking on earth shows that all the events listed above are spiritual – and the solution is equally spiritual. The Biblical Christian life is a blessed, abundant, adventurous life but it is also a fight. We are called to be good soldiers of Christ as we fight the good fight of faith. Since the solution to the problems is spiritual, we need to understand and exercise spiritual warfare.

How Did We End Up In This Conflict?

When God created the world, it was good. Everything He makes is good, indeed, very good. As one preacher put it, ‘God doesn’t make junk.’ 

So what went wrong? We know what went wrong on earth: the first couple sinned by eating the forbidden fruit in violation of God’s clear command. But what happened in the heavens? To gain insight, we go to the Word of God.

In Isaiah 14:12-20, the prophet starts addressing the King of Babylon but then changes gears and speaks to Lucifer, son of the morning. He had lofty ideas of himself. He said he would ascend into heaven, exalt his throne above God’s stars, and ascend above the heights of the clouds. Then, waxing more brazen, he declares he will ascend above the heights of the clouds and be like the most High God. Then came the slap down: Lucifer will be brought down to hell.

A similar thing happened in Ezekiel 28:11-19, where a prophecy to the King of Tyre ended up describing Satan’s fall. He started off being ‘full of wisdom’ and the ‘perfection of beauty’ indeed he had been to Eden the garden of God. He was the anointed cherub who covered and walked upon God’s holy mountain. He was perfect in his ways from the day he was created until iniquity was found in Him. The result: He will be cast out of the holy mountain and destroyed.

In other words, sin in the heavens became sin on the earth. And the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

In his hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God, the reformer Martin Luther wrote these words:

For still our ancient foe,

Doth seek to work us woe,

His craft and power are great,

And armed with cruel hate,’

On earth is not his equal,’

Is the Day of the Lord Approaching?

The ‘Day of the Lord’ is a prominent theme in Scripture, particularly Joel’s prophetic Book. In short, after humanity has governed the earth, God will have His day and His kingdom. We are called to be ‘watchful’ of what is happening in the world, line it up to Scripture, and ‘pray without ceasing.’

A prominent passage on this, with some choice specifics, is 2 Thessalonians 2:1ff-5 (ESV): 

We ask you, brothers 2. not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4. who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.5. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things.

What are some takeaways from this passage?

  1. The much anticipated Day of the Lord has yet to happen.
  2. Before it comes, there will be a ‘rebellion’ or ‘falling away’ (v. 3).
  3. The man of sin/lawlessness must be revealed. He is the ‘fake Christ’ who precedes the coming of the true Christ? (v. 3)
  4. He will go to God’s temple, declare himself to be God, demand worship … or else. This is called the abomination of desolation, spoken of in Daniel 9 and 12. This is a clear and unique sign of the transition from the earthly kingdom to the heavenly. According to the Book of Revelation, the wrath of God follows.
  5. Verse 7 says the mystery of lawlessness is already present, but the Restrainer hinders his full manifestation. Who is this restrainer? The best answer I heard is ‘the Holy Spirit in the Church.’ As long as there are Bible-based, Spirit-filled Christians on earth, praying, evangelising, and Christian discipleship, evil cannot have full sway.

With the war against truth raging, lying – which is the devil’s language – leads to lawlessness, which leads to rebellion, which culminates in violence.

Only the Church is equipped to face, fight, and win this spiritual battle. In our next article, we will learn how.

The Resurrection Matters


1 Corinthians 15:1-5 (The Gospel in Summary)

1Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

The Easter or Resurrection season is more than cute bunnies who lay chocolate eggs or a long weekend. It is a celebration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and stems from the most important events in human history. In summary, the Gospel can be summarised in four main points:

  • Death: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures
  • Burial: He was buried;
  • Resurrection: He rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures;
  • Witnessed: Acts 1:3: To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Two or three credible witnesses are sufficient to establish a testimony (Deuteronomy 17:6; Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1). In the case of Christ and His resurrection, He was seen by Peter, the Twelve, five hundred, James, all apostles, and finally Paul (1 Corinthians 15:5-8). Case closed!

Anyone who believes and receives the Gospel has eternal salvation. Thats what Good Friday and Easter Sunday (Resurrection Day) are all about.

Why Did Jesus Go to the Cross?

Without the cross, there would be no resurrection and crown. Jesus was the Passover lamb who took away the sin of the world (John 1:29) and caused the ‘death angel’ to pass over everyone who had been cleansed by his blood (1 John 1:7). He endured fiery hatred to manifest God’s everlasting love; estranged from His own nation (John 1:11) so that He might bring reconciliation to the world (Ephesians 2:16). The cross was a curse to those who hung on it (Deuteronomy 21:23) but it released blessing on all who believe (Galatians 3:13-14). 

Christ endured the most painful, humiliating and horrible death so that we might live an abundant life (John 10:10). The notion of a cursed and crucified Saviour was a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks. Yet faith in the gospel turns these impediments into the wisdom and power of God (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). God uses the ‘foolishness’ of preaching Christ crucified to destroy worldly wisdom, overthrow temporal realism, and reveal His own irrefutable celestial wisdom. 

Weakness, always shunned and rejected, becomes magnified in death. Indeed, there is nothing weaker than death itself. The weakest living man is mightier than the strongest dead man. The message of the cross is that God uses the weakness and death it brings to reveal God’s power: the power of the resurrection, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the power of changed lives.

Cross-induced power destroys every known foe, no matter how formidable and universal they once were. The cross crucifies and destroys sin, sickness, worldliness, danger, the devil, death and hell. Nothing else can do this. Jesus Christ is a great Saviour who gives us a great salvation.

The Scripture Must Be Fulfilled

Christ took a high view of Scripture — every word of it (Matthew 4:4; Proverbs 30:5). The scripture must be fulfilled & cannot be broken. Here is a sample of Old Testament prophecies which were fulfilled by Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection – the Gospel in cameo:

  • Betrayed by a close friend Ps 41:9/Lu 22:47
  • Betrayed for 30 pieces of silver Zech 11:12/Matt 26:14-15
  • Accused by false witnesses Ps 35:11/Mark 14:57,58
  • Silent to accusations Is 53:7/Mk 15:4-5
  • Spat on and struck Is 50:6/Matt 26:67
  • Hated without reason Ps 35:19/Jn 15:24
  • Vicarious sacrifice Is 53:5/Rom 5:6,8
  • Crucified with malefactors Is 53:12/Mk 15:27
  • Pierced through His hands & feet Zech 12:10/John 20:27
  • Sneered & mocked Ps 22:7,8/Lu 23:35
  • Reproached Ps 69:9/Rom 15:3
  • He prayed for His enemies Ps 109:4/Luke 23:34
  • Soldiers gambled for His clothing Ps 22:17/Mt 27:35,36
  • Forsaken by God Ps 22:1/Matt 27:46
  • His bones were not broken Ps 34:20/John 19:32,33,36
  • His side pierced Zech 12:10/John 19:34
  • Buried with the rich Is 53:9/Matt 27:57-60
  • To be resurrected Ps 16:10/Ps 49:15/Mark 16:6

What’s At Stake? If the resurrection of Christ was ‘fake news,’ we would be in serious trouble. There would be no atoning death, no new birth, no forgiveness of sins, no Christian faith and no future resurrection from the dead. 

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:13-18 a real catalogue of woes. 

If there is no resurrection from the dead, then Christ did not rise either. There is no such thing as a one-time, one-person resurrection. If Christ did not rise, then our preaching is useless and so is your faith. Furthermore, we would be violating the ninth commandment by bearing false witness of God: that He raised up Christ from the dead. Again, no resurrection of Christ, your faith is in vain and you are still in your sins. Frightfully, those who committed their souls to a crucified, dead, buried, and un-resurrected Messiah are eternally lost. Paul concludes this catalogue of woes by stating if only in this life do we have hope in Christ, we are the most pitiful people on the planet.

Despite all these dreadful ‘what if’s,’ they are the ultimate ‘fake news.’ We have nothing to fear. In 1 Corinthians 15:20 Paul triumphantly announces that Christ is indeed risen from the dead and become the first fruits of those who sleep (a metaphor for death). When you see the first fruits on the crop, you know the rest of the harvest is coming. Christ is the first fruit of the dead, then those who belong to Him when He comes back to earth. On earth He will go about destroying all enemies: dominion, authority, and power (1 Corinthians 15:24). The final enemy assigned for destruction is death. Once accomplished, Jesus will hand over the kingdom to God the Father (v. 24).

The splendour and glory of the coming kingdom are so indescribably wonderful that we will vaguely remember the troubles we had in this fallen world. Yet it was all made possible by crucifixion, burial, and an empty tomb – He is not here for He is risen (Luke 24:6).

That is why the resurrection matters: yesterday, today, and forever.