Awaking from a dream because of a sudden pain in my leg to find a black entity ominously standing beside my bed grabbing said leg is unsettling, to say the least. I might have passed off the experience as sleep paralysis or another dream, but this was different. A distinct aura \u2014 like the presence of death \u2014 surrounded the being. Only when I prayed to the Lord did it let go.<\/p>\n
I had long believed a spiritual war rages beyond what I could see, but it had always seemed distant. Growing up, I was no stranger to the idea <\/em>of spiritual warfare. One of my earliest \u201cHallelujah Day\u201d costumes was the armor of God. During my teen years, I read Frank Peretti\u2019s and Ted Dekker\u2019s novels, which included overt spiritual themes. Then, in college, I had that dark experience that I could only describe as a spiritual encounter. And I realized that I had a role in this war.<\/p>\n What better way to understand my role than to study what the Bible says about spiritual warfare?<\/p>\n To be clear, I know the term spiritual warfare<\/em> is often abused. If anything, I\u2019m the kind of person who is skeptical when people use the term to describe what I think is just an unfortunate event (no, a demon didn\u2019t hide your keys). However, the spiritual realm is real and does affect us. In fact, it\u2019s referenced clearly throughout Scripture.<\/p>\n While Satan was certainly the instigator of this war, he is not alone in the fight against God. In Daniel 10\u201311<\/a>, an angel’s message to him indicated an all-out war was raging between spiritual powers loyal to God and territorial rulers of darkness. It is this same war in which we find ourselves today.<\/p>\n When Jesus came, He began the restoration of God\u2019s real and full reign over all the cosmos. Jesus was not only proclaiming this news as the gospel<\/a>, but also fulfilling it through His life and casting out evil spirits (Matthew 4<\/a>, 8<\/a>, 12<\/a>).<\/p>\n Although rebellious spiritual beings know they are defeated, they, like Satan, are seeking to kill and destroy until the very end. First Peter 3:21\u201322<\/a> tells us that all spiritual beings are subjected to Christ, who is enthroned at the right hand of God. Nevertheless, Paul told the Corinthians that Christ must destroy all the spiritual rulers of evil before the end can come (1 Corinthians 15:24\u201328<\/a>).<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to wonder, how is Christ fighting this battle? The final part of it has been raging for 2,000 years, after all. The answer is the work of the Holy Spirit through us, the church (Matthew 16:18\u201319<\/a>).<\/p>\nWhat I learned<\/h4>\n