DIGGING DEEP NO. 1052 September 10, 2024 Spiritual Warfare – Preparation of Battlespace Genesis 3:10–11 (NKJV)

¹⁰ So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

¹¹ And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

 

The Bible IS NOT a book ABOUT PRAYER, although it’s filled with prayers.

The Bible IS NOT a book ABOUT CHRISTIANITY, although it has Christianity within it.

The Bible IS NOT a book ABOUT SIN, although it addresses sin.

The Bible IS NOT a book ABOUT MONEY…

 

The Bible IS a book ABOUT THE KING & HIS KINGDOM.

The GOSPEL is the REDEMPTIVE STORY of The KING’s Children BACK to HIS KINGDOM, through HIS son CHRIST JESUS by the testimony of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 6:33).

 

Desired Learning Objective:

1. When did spiritual warfare begin? What is spiritual warfare?
2. What is the battlespace of spiritual warfare? What are Satan’s first and second objectives in spiritual warfare?

 

 

DISCLAIMER: This lesson is comprehensive but not exhaustive. A disciple who is serious about finishing the Christian race* well and intends on doing something(s) great for the Kingdom of GOD WILL KEEP RECORDS of their spiritual journey*, battles, encounters, and defeats. The devil walks about looking for access points when he examines every person… because his intelligence is limited and he DOES NOT want your spiritual advancements to spread to anymore people. Teachers of the gospel; TAKE NOTICE!!

 

John 14:30 (NKJV)

³⁰ I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.

 

It is from these encounters* that you will pass down spiritual intelligence to your children** like the Hebrew Patriarchs of old.

 

QUESTION 1: When did spiritual warfare begin? What is spiritual warfare?

Revelation 12:1–11 (NKJV)

The Woman, the Child, and the Dragon

12 Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. ² Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.

³ And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. ⁴ His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born. ⁵ She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. ⁶ Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

Satan Thrown Out of Heaven

⁷ And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁸ but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. ⁹ So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. ¹¹ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

 

Head(s) = Leadership

Horns = Authority

Diadems/crowns = Thrones (Leader* + Authority = government)

Kingdom = King’s Throne/government + Territory 

 

Genesis 3:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her Seed;

He shall bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel.”

 

ANSWER #1: According to scripture, spiritual warfare began in heaven between the dragon, and Angel Michael (Rev. 12:7-9) while earth was created but before the creation of man. And spiritual warfare is the intellectual & combative battle of spiritual thrones (divine and demonic) to establish the preeminence of Jesus as The Christ (Rev. 12:5).

 

The Hebrew word שָׂטָן (satan) means to oppose, obstruct, or accuse/”the serpent”. The Greek term (σατάν, satan) literally means “adversary” of men (opposing witness) in a legal sense rather than combative.

 

2 Samuel 19:21–23 (ESV)

²¹ Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?” ²² But David said, “What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be as an adversary (satan) to me? Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day? For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel?” ²³ And the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king gave him his oath.

 

1 Kings 5:1–4 (ESV)

Preparations for Building the Temple

5  Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram always loved David. ² And Solomon sent word to Hiram, ³ “You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. ⁴ But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary (satan) nor misfortune.

 

Devil (διάβολος, diabolos; “slanderer, dragon, tempter, Belial, and “the dragon”). The adversary of God (lies & blasphemy).

 

Matthew 4:1-3 (ESV)

The Temptation of Jesus

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

 

BIBLE LOGIC: GOD speaks in absolutes, whilst Satan/devil speaks with conditionals.

 

 

 

 

QUESTION 2: What is the battlespace of spiritual warfare? What are Satan’s first and second objectives in spiritual warfare?

 

Genesis 2:15-17 (NLT)

¹⁵ The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. ¹⁶ But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— ¹⁷ except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

 

Genesis 3:1–5 (NKJV)

The Temptation and Fall of Man

3 Now the serpent was more cunning** than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; ³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” ⁴ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

 

BIBLE LOGIC: The battlespace of ALL spiritual warfare is spiritual knowledge.

 

DISCUSSION: What was wrong with the serpent comments about the consequences of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the garden?

 

Matthew 3:16–4:3 (ESV)

¹⁶ And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; ¹⁷ and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

The First Temptation of Jesus

4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

 

BIBLE LOGIC: Superficial understanding* of scripture ALWAYS leads to sin. A man that has full understanding of scripture by manifesting the GOD commands in obedience is violent.

 

 

Psalm 119:130 (ESV)

¹³⁰  The unfolding* of your words gives light;

it imparts understanding to the simple.

 

Proverbs 25:2 (ESV)

² It is the glory of God to conceal* things,

but the glory of kings is to search** things out.

 

Isaiah 14:12–20 (ESV)

¹² “How you are fallen from heaven,

O Day Star, son of Dawn!

How you are cut down to the ground,

you who laid the nations low!

¹³ You said in your heart,

‘I will ascend to heaven;

above the stars of God

I will set my throne on high;

I will sit on the mount of assembly

in the far reaches of the north;

¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.’

¹⁵ But you are brought down to Sheol**,

to the far reaches of the pit.

¹⁶ Those who see you will stare at you

and ponder over you:

‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,

who shook kingdoms,

¹⁷ who made the world like a desert

and overthrew its cities,

who did not let his prisoners go home?’

¹⁸ All the kings of the nations lie in glory,

each in his own tomb;

¹⁹ but you are cast out, away from your grave,

like a loathed branch,

clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword,

who go down to the stones of the pit,

like a dead body trampled underfoot.

²⁰ You will not be joined with them in burial,

because you have destroyed your land,

you have slain your people.

“May the offspring of evildoers

nevermore be named!

 

Ezekiel 28:11–16 (NKJV)

Lamentation for the King of Tyre

¹¹ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹² “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

“You were the seal of perfection,

Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

¹³ You were in Eden, the garden of God;

Every precious stone was your covering:

The sardius, topaz, and diamond,

Beryl, onyx, and jasper,

Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.

The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes

Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

¹⁴ “You were the anointed cherub who covers;

I established you;

You were on the holy mountain of God;

You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones*

¹⁵ You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,

Till iniquity* was found in you.

¹⁶ “By the abundance of your trading**

You became filled with violence within,

And you sinned;

Therefore I cast you as a profane thing

Out of the mountain of God;

And I destroyed you, O covering cherub,

From the midst of the fiery stones.

 

Matthew 11:12 (NKJV)

¹² And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

 

DISCUSSION: What is violence according to Jesus in Matthew 11:12?

 

 

 

2 Corinthians 10:3–6 (NKJV)

³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments (imaginations) and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, ⁶ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

ANSWER #2: According to scripture, the battlespace for all spiritual warfare is fought on the grounds of spiritual knowledge. Satan’s knowledge seeks to place the individual ABOVE the knowledge of the Christ, and usurp GOD’s Kingdom (government) over a human’s life (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:12-16). When the dragon manifested in heaven, he manifested as a bringer of light (understanding) to a third of the angels with a kingdom (government) that was full of self, and absent of GOD (selfish, narcissistic, vain). Ironically enough, the Kingdom (government) of GOD is absent of self and full of GOD because GOD so loved the world that HE gave… (John 3:16).

 

Likewise, Satan’s first objective in spiritual warfare is to encounter you while you’re void of the Holy Spirit (Genesis 3:4; Matthew 4:3). Satan’s second objective in spiritual warfare is introducing satanic doctrines (teachings). The objective of ALL satanic doctrines is ensuring GOD’s Word (Jesus) is conditional or inconsequential in your life (Genesis 3:4; Matthew 4:3). Satan’s ultimate deception is to advertise* a life OUTSIDE the Kingdom (government) of GOD as freedom/liberty, whilst subsequently advertising life INSIDE the Kingdom (government) of GOD as restrictive/void of spiritual knowledge. Lust for spiritual relevance, having the knowledge of GOD but OUTSIDE the government of GOD, was the first sin (iniquity; Ezekiel 28:15, Matthew 7:21-23). Proximity to the throne of GLORY does not lead to righteousness; but rather, complete obedience to the will of GOD, through grace*, leads to righteousness (Matthew 7:21). GOD’s Word in its precise and complete totality MUST be the center and circumference of every disciple’s life if they’re to contend against demonic doctrines (teachings).

 

2 Corinthians 11:1–4 (ESV)

Paul and the False Apostles

11 I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! ² For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. ³ But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. ⁴ For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

 

REVIEW Desired Learning Objective:

1. When did spiritual warfare begin? What is spiritual warfare?
2. What is the battlespace of spiritual warfare? What are Satan’s first and second objectives in spiritual warfare?