The Angelic Conflict

7/29/2019 The Angelic Conflict.

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Before you begin your Bible study, as a believer in the Lord JesusChrist, be sure you have named your sins privately to God the Father.If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.(Known, Unknown and Forgotten sins) (1Jn_1:9)

You will then be in fellowship with God, Filled with the Holy Spirit and

ready to learn Truth from the Word of God.

"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and

Truth," (Joh_4:24)

The Angelic Conflict Spiritual Combat

From the moment of Salvation, every believer,

regardless of age or sex, regardless of status in life, is in

the midst of a great Spiritual conflict. The creation of man

is the result of this conflict, (But as we ALL now know;this was God's plan from the VERY BEGINING. To bring

angels and man into His family --- using FREE WILL;

and to show that God's Thought's and Virtue's are

BEYOND AMAZING;Isa_43:10-13) which has existed

since some time in eternity past. It is a conflict in which

the fallen angels are pitted against God, against the elect

angels and against believers. Exactly how long this

conflict has been raging is a matter of speculation, since

God has not seen fit to reveal this information to us. The

first phase of the angelic struggle was completed before


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man was created. Man entered this Spiritual combat from

the time that Eve, at the subtle suggestion of Satan,

partook of the forbidden tree in the Garden; (2Co_11:3)

and man will continue to be in combat until the SecondAdvent of Christ.

The Church Age in which we now live is unique. It is

the age in which Jesus Christ as the God-Man is glorified:

He is seated at the right hand of the Father in His

resurrection body. (Mat_26:64) And therefore, the angelic

conflict has shifted gears. Until the death, burial,

resurrection and ascension of Christ, it was the intent of

the fallen angels to frustrate the incarnation of Christ and

to prevent the dissemination of the Promises regarding

Him. Since Christ did go to the cross and is now glorified,

the former purpose has changed. Every believer is the

target in the angelic conflict, which has greatly

intensified. In fact, the New Testament uses actualwarfare as a basis for illustrating the great Spiritual battle

in which we find ourselves.

In eternity past, God ALWAYS knew about every

need believers would have at every stage of this

intensified conflict. (Isa_46:8-10) He knew we would live

in a very difficult period of our own national history, as

well as in the Spiritual history of mankind. He knewabout the dramatic rise of Communism with its anti-

Doctrinal and demonic aspects. He knew about the

internal disintegration of our nation through drugs, the

rise of Theological liberalism, and the failure to recognize


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Divine laws relative to police and military activities; He

knew that confusion with regard to the gospel and the

teaching of the Word of God would result from the satanic

utilization of those who choose ecstatic and emotionalcriteria rather than the Thinking of Christ; as their

"Spiritual routine." (1Co_2:14-16) Furthermore, He knew

that, as individuals', we would have to face national

crises, personal crises and local church crises, and that we

would encounter an accumulation of pressures at any

point where His Word might be revealed. Accordingly, in

the Church Age everything is vitally different from any

previous age, and God's provision for every believer in

this Dispensation --- the New Covenant Church Age; is

phenomenal! (Joh_17:21-23)

Characteristics of the Church Age

No believer in the past was permanently indwelt by

God the Holy Spirit or had the New Covenant Spiritual

life. (Joh_7:39) In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit had

a temporary ministry to all believers for learning Truth,

(Pro_1:23) and in order to empower certain people, such

as kings, priests, prophets and the writers of the Old

Testament. And a specialized ministry for the Spiritualability to perform a God-given task. The permanent

universal indwelling of believers by God the Holy Spirit

belongs only to the New Covenant Church Age;


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Tribulation and the Millennium. (Eze_36:26-28;

2Co_6:16; Heb_8:10; Rev_14:4-5) cf. (Joh_12:26)

Since Jesus Christ is now glorified and is seated at

the right hand of the Father; (Heb_1:13) every believer isan ambassador for Christ and is His personal

representative here on earth during this intensified period

of the angelic conflict! (2Co_5:20)

For the first time in history, every believer is a priest.

If you have believed in Jesus Christ, you are a priest!

But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal

PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR

God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the

excellencies of Him, (HIS THOUGHTS AND NATURE)

who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous

light. (The Spiritual life of God the Holy Spirit and Truth)

(1Pe_2:9)

This supernatural way of life is in no way connected

with any trend toward asceticism and which excludes

every aspect of legalism; further, as well as any energy of

the old sin nature; we also have a supernatural means of

execution; the filling of God the Holy Spirit. (Eph_5:18)

The grace apparatus for perception

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Through the filling of the Spirit, the believer has

access to God's gracious provision whereby he can

assimilate and Think with God's Thoughts on EVERY

subject, and this "grace apparatus for perception,''(Operation Z) does not depend upon human IQ or human

ability. (1Co_2:12-14) Operation Z depends upon the true

function of the church in which the gift of pastor-teacher

was designed by God primarily for the authoritative

communication of Truth under the Divine Concepts of,

(1) Isagogics, which is the interpretation of the Bible in

the framework of its historical setting; (2) Categorical

teaching, based on comparing Scripture with Scripture to

determine the Doctrinal classification; (3) Exegesis,

which is verse by verse syntactical analysis of the Bible to

determine its exact interpretation.

To understand the mechanics of the Operation Z, we

must understand that in essence the human soul of man ismade up of self-consciousness, mentality, volition, faith,

emotion, and conscience, plus the old sin nature; and for

believers a renewed human spirit. The mentality of the

soul includes a left lobe, (The perceptive lobe) and a right

lobe, (Containing the Spiritual conscience and where the

frame of reference and Divine Viewpoint are stored). As

Doctrinal information is received into the left orperceptive lobe of the believer who is filled with the Holy

Spirit, it is understood. The Greek word "gnosis"

specifically refers to Truth that is in the perceptive lobe

and understood by means of the filling of the Spirit.


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Once you comprehend the Truth, then you have an

attitude toward it; negative or positive volition. It is not

usable until it is believed. Positive volition expresses

itself by faith. By faith this "gnosis" is transferred to thehuman spirit, where it becomes "epignosis" or Spiritual

Knowledge. The human spirit serves as a storage place for

epignosis,'' (God's Thinking) and from there it is cycled to

the right lobe of the mentality, where it serves as a frame

of reference and memory center, vocabulary, categories

and where it becomes the new norms and standards in the

new conscience; momentum and Spiritual Wisdom. This

"epignosis'' in the right lobe is your primary means of

Thinking with God's Thoughts, (Verses, Promises and

Doctrines): Truth! (1Co_2:13; 3Jn_1:4)

The Edification Complex; Divine Dynasphere;

Temple; Spiritual Life; Love Complex of the soul (Thesenames are all synonymous)

Spiritual Thinking or "epignosis" stored in the human

spirit is the basis of the construction of the"Edification

complex of the soul.'' ''The first "floor" of the structure is

rebound; the second, is the filling of God the Holy Spirit;

the third, is the faith-rest drill; the fourth, is graceorientation; the fifth, is Doctrinal orientation; the sixth, is

a personal sense of destiny; the seventh, is personal love

for God; the eighth, is impersonal love for all mankind;


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the ninth, is sharing the happiness of God; and the tenth,

is occupation with Christ.

This edification complex enables the believer to

become Spiritually mature, to produce Divine Virtue, andto become Spiritually self-sustaining. Through it God is

able to provide you with everything that He designed for

you in eternity past. Grace found a way! Further, this

Temple in the soul is developed only through constant,

DAILY absorption of the Word of God! (Psa_1:2-3)

Now, inevitably, man's days are going to be short and

full of trouble because he was created as an extension of

the angelic conflict. (Job_5:7-9) Before we proceed with

the details of the angelic conflict, it should be made clear

that all of the "flack" you get in your Christian life is not

necessarily because of the angelic conflict. Some things

cannot be directly attributed to the angelic conflict, but to

the old sin nature. Of course, the old sin nature isdefinitely in the angelic conflict; but if you manufacture

your own misery through mental attitude sins or through

emotional revolt of the soul, don't blame it on the angelic

conflict. If you're one of those people who say, ''The

devil's after me," you probably know nothing about either

the devil or the angelic conflict. The devil is not

omnipresent and therefore can be in only one place at atime. And he's after bigger game than you or I. The reason

this is so important is that if you start attributing

everything to the angelic conflict, you may forget to

rebound, and you may become a casualty.


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Since we must first of all examine creatures which

we cannot see, creatures who hover about us, who indwell

some members of the human race; creatures who have a

great deal to do with the course of history; creatures whoinfluence rulers and kings; creatures who simulate certain

things, such as tongues and healing; creatures that

definitely influence people in this world today, we are

going to begin our study of the angelic conflict with the

angels themselves.

Description of angels

The Bible reveals the existence of a higher creation,

and the Word of God is very lucid on this subject. The

word "angels" is used repeatedly throughout the Scripture.

Before the canon of Scripture was completed, angels

often became visible to members of the human race. The

Age of Israel was characterized by the appearance of

angels. This world, as well as the universe around us, is

filled with angels, and there are untold numbers of these

beings.

Many details concerning the angels have been a

source of controversy over the centuries, but few have

ever been resolved.Not all angels look the same; some are described as

being very beautiful and some are not. Apparently they

are all male. Only one sex among angels means that all

angels were directly created. This explains in part some of


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the events of, (Gen_6:1-5). Also we learn from this

passage that at one time in history fallen angels had

sexual relations with the daughters of men.

The best we can do on the composition of angels isthat they seem to have a body, but one which is quite

different from ours. Our body is corporeal; theirs is

immaterial. From the name "Lucifer," which is the

Hebrew noun "helel," (Derived from the verb "halal")

meaning "bright and shining one'' we learn something of

the substance of their bodies. The angelic body appears to

be composed of light; and since light has content, it could

make a definite body and one which could easily become

invisible or visible. Their bodies are further differentiated

from ours in that wings are often attributed to them. Not

all angels have the same number of wings. (Eze_1:6;

Rev_4:8) Some angels are super angels in beauty and

strength as compared to others. These super angels arecalled "cherubs." (Cherubim --- plural from the Hebrew)

A cherub is not a little baby with wings. He happens to be

the most beautiful and most magnificent creature that ever

came from the hand of God. Some of the cherubs are

actually named: the leader of the elect angels is called

Michael; the leader of the fallen angels, Lucifer, or Satan

or the devil. These two angels are apparently the mostbeautiful of all creatures. Lucifer is described in terms

that exceed any other Biblical description of a creature.

(Eze_28:12-13) No one is more beautiful or more

personable than Satan. Of course, that eliminates the usual


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representation of Satan with a red epidermis, slanted

green eyes, a forked tail and a trident. Gabriel seems to be

another of the cherubs. He has a responsibility that far

exceeds the power of any person in the human race.Gabriel is the one who keeps human dictators or rulers

from going berserk, unless it is a part of God's plan.

Gabriel went to the court of Cyrus in Persia to keep him

from being attacked by demons. (Dan_10:13 --- Gabriel is

speaking in this verse)

Nothing in history escapes angelic observation.There

is no major event in history that does not have and is not a

part of the angelic conflict, from the fall of man to the

Second Advent of Christ. Angels were involved in the fall

of man, and angels will be involved in the Second Advent.

At the Second Advent, angels will follow Christ;

(Mat_25:31) angels will be involved in a war; (Rev_12:7)

and fallen angels will be removed from the earth duringthe Millennium. (Dan_7:11-14; Rev_20:1-3)

The Book of the Revelation is a book of angels.

There are: more references to angels in this book than in

any other book in the Bible because the conflict is

entering its last stage before the fallen angels are removed

from the earth; (Dan_7:12) therefore, the intensity of the

angelic conflict is portrayed very clearly.(Rev_12:4-13) for example, teaches how Satan seeks

to destroy the Jews. He has always tried to destroy them,

in fact, and when he is not trying to destroy them directly,

Satan is responsible for anti-Semitism. The rumor that the


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Jews are the reason for all the troubles of the world; is

from Satan. The Samaritans under Sanballat, the

Chaldeans, the Persians at one time in their history, the

Assyrians many times in their history, the Syrians andeven modern races and peoples have subscribed to this

idea; that the Jews are the source of all trouble.

Under the angelic conflict, Satan has a battalion of

teachers, who teach false Bible Truth to believers, and

push false demonic thinking into the souls of unbelievers

through the old sin nature --- "mataiotes." (Vacuum ---

Eph_4:17-19)

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some

will fall away from the faith, (The Spiritual life)paying

attention to deceitful spiritsanddoctrines of demons.

(1Ti_4:1)

So whether you realize it or not, all the history whichyou have read and the events of the present are related to

angels.

Categories of angels

As far as the angelic conflict is concerned, angels

exist in two categories: the elect and the fallen angels. Theelect angels, which were always sinless, even before man

was created, and are generally designated in Scripture by

one of two names: "holy," (Mar_8:38) and "chosen."

(1Ti_5:21) The fallen angels are divided into two groups:


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the imprisoned angels, those "who did not keep their own

domain," (Jud_1:6) and the operative fallen angels,

generally called "demons."

(Mar_5:12; 1Co_10:20-21; 1Ti_4:1; etc.) The imprisonedangels were involved in the great revolution and

infiltration of the human race of, (Gen_6:1-5). They are

locked up in Tartarus, (2Pe_2:4) under the Euphrates,

(Rev_9:14-16) and the half-man half-demon descendents

in the Abyss. (Rev_9:1-11)

These categories did not always exist. Prior to

history, there was a conflict in heaven among the angels

and a division ensued. Angels were originally in a state of

perfection, just as man was; then, when Satan fell by

exercising negative volition toward God and toward

grace, a great portion of the angelic structure chose to go

along with him. "And his tail swept away a third of the

stars of heaven, (Angels) and threw them to the earth...(Rev_12:4) The angels which followed Satan had the

opportunity to live with God, and refused to do so. (They

are going to trial against God)

A trial was inevitable because of the essence of God.

God is sovereign and dominates creatures; He is perfect

righteousness and cannot tolerate anything less than that;

He is justice; and righteousness plus justice demands thata trial be conducted. So the trial was first of all based

upon God's righteousness and justice.

God is also eternal life, and He provides eternal life

for any creature who, from his own free will, goes the


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grace way. (Heb_2:2) indicates that angels had a choice of

whatever means of Salvation existed for them. All these

creatures had this choice in common with us. (And if we

do not take the deal, "faith in Christ; and then grow toSpiritual maturity" we will have to take it to trial; and

represent OURSELVES before God! (Rev_20:12;

2Co_5:10) I beg you; TAKE THE DEAL!) Angels have

souls, which include their volition; they have perceptive

ability which is greater than ours; they have some form of

conscience, which is brought out by the third chapter of

Genesis. They also have self-consciousness, (Awareness

of their own existence) and they have faith and emotion.

The fallen angels, (And the entire human race) have

Satan's old sin nature, (Joh_8:38; Joh_8:41; Joh_8:44)

which distinguishes them from the elect angels.

However long it took, the trial was fair in every sense

of the word. God is omniscient He knows all the facts; Heis omnipresent He was an observer; He is omnipotent He

has the power to execute justice; He is immutable God is

incorruptible as a Judge; and He is Truth. (Veracity) Satan

was a liar from the beginning of human history;

(Joh_8:44) and those angels who went against God; and

followed Satan, followed a lie.

At the end of the trial, Satan and all the fallen angelswere sentenced to the lake of fire. (Mat_25:41) In this

pre-period of history, the period of angelic creation only, a

sentence was passed, but not executed. All during human

history, the sentence is suspended. After the end of man's


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history, (The end of the Millennium with the destruction

of the world and the universe; Rev_21:1) the sentence

will be carried out. (Rev_20:10)

Now, we can immediately deduce something fromthis: if the sentence is pronounced before man was created

but not carried out until after man's history is concluded,

then man was created by God to resolve something that

happened at the end of that trial. The words "diabolos''

and "shatan'' both tell us what happened because "Satan''

and "devil" are not names for the super angel but titles.

His name is Lucifer, Star of the Morning. (Isa_14:12)

"Satan" and "devil" means "adversary," and "accuser" or

"attorney'' --- someone who goes to court and appeals.

Satan appealed the case. So, by putting together certain

evidences which occur throughout Scripture, we can

begin to see why man was created.

It is true that man was also created for the glory ofGod; but that doesn't explain many other questions, such

as, why sin? Why suffering? Why free will? Why

establishment? The fact that we are here to glorify God is

a generality. When we discover that by means of our old

sin nature; we don't and CANNOT glorify God,

(Rom_8:8) we must dig a little deeper for a more detailed

explanation. Under the filling of God the Holy Spirit andgrowth to Spiritual maturity; we can be on the winning

side of God's victory and glorification; (Rev_21:7) but

there is only one thing that really answers all the why's,

and that's the angelic conflict. It's important for us to


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understand the angelic conflict, because our existence on

the earth after Salvation is directly related to it. So are the

Truths, the Promises, the Commands and the Doctrines of

Scripture.

Satan's objection

The greatest attacks Satan has made against God

were made before man came into the picture. Satan is a

super genius; he is smarter than any created being who

has ever lived! (Eze_28:12) Before anyone existed on thisearth, Satan had his back to the wall with a Divine

judgment upon himself, and millions of angelic creatures

who followed him. Obviously, Satan would not like the

judgment, and in seeking to do something about it, made a

very strong objection an objection that was, in effect, an

appeal which demanded a new trial, a new case. Based

upon a knowledge and understanding of, (Mat_25:41) and

(Rev_20:1-10) his objections can be deduced very simply:

How can freewill be TRULY free if we, (Fallen angels in

this case) must obey the Divine Thinking and Virtue love

of God; and How can the Virtue love of God cast His

creatures into the Lake of Fire? The answers are

interesting to us, because as human beings, we havebecome involved in the same objections from every

namby-pamby, maudlin, addle-brained type of individual!

This, of course, originates from Satan himself,and the


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answer has to do with angelic and human free will versus

God's Sovereignty.

Angelic free will had an opportunity under grace and

rejected it. Therefore, while the fallen angels were saying,"Not fair!" God created man in order to demonstrate to

them that His position in grace was valid, that Virtue love

can only express itself through grace, and that God cannot

change His essence to accommodate any creature,

whether angel or human being. God's perfect character

included Virtue love for the angels; but God cannot love

in a way that is inconsistent with His other characteristics.

When Satan went negative and said, "...I will be like the

Most High," (Isa_14:13-14) God had to make a decision,

one that was compatible with His righteousness and

justice, as well as with His Virtue love.

The great underlying issue in history is always the

essence of God, of which Virtue love Divine Integrity andHoliness are a part. When you understand reconciliation

and propitiation, you can see that God has done some of

the most astounding things, and yet never lost or

compromised one bit of His essence.In other words, the

devil was "ACED" BY GRACE! There is no way the

devil can win! He couldn't change God, and you can't

change God, nor can any other human being. In fact, oursecurity is in the fact that He cannot change.That's why

we have the assurance, "Jesus Christ is the same

yesterday and today and forever." (Heb_13:8) The big

issue in the angelic conflict is God's essence! In all of


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history, we have certain creatures going for Satan; in

prehistory, the angels --- in history --- man.Only God

remains intact!

The pattern of angelic rejection

The pattern of angelic rejection has to do with the

angels' free will. We know that angels had free will

because Satan, who is the ruler of fallen angels, went

negative toward God. The first sin of any creature was

one of negative volition, when Satan said to himself fivetimes "I WILL." (Isa_14:12-14) And this tells us a great

deal, because of the negative volition of man; (Adam and

the woman) and the negative volition of Satan; add up to

a parallel situation. It also adds up to another Principle,

that God created man to resolve the angelic conflict and to

overrule the objection of Satan.

In, (Heb_2:2) we have the angelic rejection of the

Lord Jesus Christ; "the word spoken through angels

proved unalterable, and every transgression and

disobedience received a just penalty.'' This Scripture

relates man's Salvation to angelic Salvation.Mankind and

angels are both involved in the same Principle of negative

volition. We do not know the mechanics of the graceSalvation for angels; but, since Satan had sinned, every

angel had had his opportunity to make a decision for or

against Christ before man was even created.


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Resolving the angelic conflict

To resolve the angelic conflict, a creature inferior to

angels was created and placed on one planet. (Psa_8:5;Heb_2:7)Now you have to understand something about

the angels and demons, (Fallen angels):they were created

with the ability to travel throughout the universe with all

of its galaxies; and some of the angels have

"CHAROITS." (Isa_66:15; Eze_1:19; Eze_10:13) cf.

(1Ki_7:32-33; 1Ch_28:18) Generally their abode was in

the second heaven, and they had access to the thirdheaven for angelic convocations. (Job_1:6) Certain

angels, such as Lucifer, lived in the third heaven.

(Eze_28:13-15) But when the angelic fall occurred in the

third heaven, and after the revolt that took a third of the

angels with him, he established a headquarters on a very

tiny planet which we call "earth." (Job_1:7) At the

rebellion God turned the earth into a block of black ice.

(Gen_1:2; Jer_4:23-26) Under Satan, the earth had

become what the original language describes as ''tohu wa-

bohu," which means that it was desolate and ruined. So

God covered the whole earth with deep darkness,

resulting in an ice pack, ("Ice Age" --- and this is what

also ruined the dinosaurs). It stayed that way for anunknown period of time, during which time the fallen

angels had their trial and were sentenced. The earth had

been in existence for perhaps billions of years; its

antiquity is unknown and even carbon dating cannot help


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us. But when Satan made his objection, God the Holy

Spirit removed the ice pack and set about reestablishing

the earth and putting it in order. In six days, (Literal days)

God reestablished the earth and made it habitable for anew creature --- man. To put it briefly: in order to resolve

the angelic conflict, an inferior creature, (Man) was

placed on one planet, (The earth) possessing one thing

which the angels had --- free will or volition. (Psa_8:3-5;

Heb_2:7)

(Heb_1:1) thru (Heb_2:18) actually give us the whole

story.

Volition tested

Now, since God does not desire to force love and

obedience from His creatures, man's volition must also be

tested. Human volition on the earth was tested in the same

manner as angelic volition. As a matter of fact, there were

four similarities involved: (1) both angels and mankind

began in status quo perfection. (2) Both angels and

mankind went negative and sinned. (Isa_14:13-14;

Gen_3:5-6) (3) God had to provide for this contingency,

which He had anticipated. Therefore, for the angels He

provided a Salvation which is unknown to us at this time.For mankind He provided a Salvation which is known to

us the cross. (4) For this reason both angels and men are

divided into two categories chosen or elect and fallen

angels, and saved and unsaved mankind. (Heb_2:2;


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Joh_3:18) The two categories of mankind can be very

simply stated: positive volition is believing in Jesus

Christ;negative volition is rejection of Christ orfor

believers --- rejection of Truth.

Because that which is known about Godis evident

within them; forGod made it evident to them.For since

the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His

eternal power and Divine nature, have been clearly seen,

being understood through what has been made,so that

they are without excuse. For even though they knew God,

they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they

becamefutile in their speculations, and their foolish heart

was darkened. (Rom_1:19-21)

The Test Under Perfect Environment

There were two tests instituted for man's volition:

Adam had two, and since then, all mankind has one. First,

in perfection and under perfect environment, Adam's

negative volition was tested with a tree. There was just

one tree that was forbidden. The only way he could sin

was to go negative and partake of the fruit of that one

tree, and this he did. (Gen_2:17) --- Also describes thepenalty for sin in connection with that tree: "...For in the

day that you eat from it you will surely die." The word

"die" refers to Spiritual death; (Separation from God in

time)


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Adam did not die physically the moment he sinned.

He died SPIRITUALLY! He was cut off or separated

from God. He did not die physically until he was 930

years old. (Gen_5:5) Therefore, "the wages of sin"obviously is not physical death. (As is taught in just about

every Bible school in the United States) The wages of sin

is Spiritual death; and as a result of the fall physical death.

(Rom_6:23; Heb_9:27)

The Test Under Sinfulness

Secondly, Adam's positive volition was tested under

sinfulness, and this too involves a tree the cross. After he

had sinned and had become separated from God,

Salvation was promised to him and to the human race.

(Gen_3:15)

And I will put enmity Between you and the woman,

And between your seed, (Satan's) and her seed; (Christ)

--- He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise

him on, (And or with the; Psa_41:9; Joh_13:18) the heel."

Salvation would be provided through the virgin birth

of Christ. (Gal_4:4-5) All Adam had to do to becomeSpiritually alive again was to exercise positive volition,

(Faith) toward the Lord Jesus Christ, who would provide

Salvation in FULL. The moment Adam sinned, he died

Spiritually. We are BORN Spiritually dead, (Separated


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from God) though physically alive. However, we too can

become Spiritually alive by the exercise of positive

volition, (Faith) toward the work, (Spiritual death and

judgment) of Christ on the cross. The two tests ofmankind's volition under sinfulness occurs, (After the fall

of Adam, man can only be tested under sinfulness). (1) At

the moment he becomes aware of or conscious of God

and; (2) at the moment he hears the gospel. Man's faith in

Christ, which is a non-meritorious expression of positive

volition toward Christ, resolves the initial phase of the

angelic conflict. (Col_2:14-15; Heb_1:4-14; Heb_2:1-18)

Angelic observation

When you accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, the elect

angels rejoiced while Satan's crowd groaned. Why?

Because you responded to grace from your own free will!

The issue in angelic observation is, will man, who is

inferior to angels but equipped with the same free will,

choose for or against the plan of God? Will man respond

to grace or reject it? (Joh_3:17-18) The angels can

understand why they are condemned when they observe

human beings on the earth placing their trust in Jesus

Christ. Thus demonstrating that the negative free will ofman does necessarily choose against God, as Satan and

the fallen angels did in eternity past.This explains the

rejoicing of elect angels over the sinner, who repents,


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(Changes his mind about Christ and believers about

believing and Thinking with Truth;Luk_15:7-10).

There are many passages in the Bible that teach that

angels are observing man. First of all, angels observed theLord Jesus Christ in His humanity just prior to the Church

Age. (Mat_4:11; Mat_28:2; Luk_2:13-14; Act_1:10-11;

1Ti_3:16) Angels observe believers in Phase Two.

(1Co_4:9; 1Co_6:3; 1Co_11:10; Eph_3:10; 1Ti_5:21;

1Pe_1:12) Fallen angels are organized under Satan's

Command to resist and oppose believers. They must

observe believers in order to do this. (Job_1:8-12;

Job_2:1-10; Eph_6:12)

Angelic observation and participation in this Spiritual

conflict constitute a major reason for putting the emphasis

of the Christian life on learning and Thinking with Truth

not simply DOING something. We tend to get off into

minor Concepts and to falsely think in terms of DOINGsomething such as praying, witnessing, giving or certain

other activities of the Christian life. These are legitimate

and bona fide functions; (In fellowship; Psa_66:18) but

because of the angelic conflict and the necessity of

orienting to the grace of God and Spiritually Knowing His

will, the great emphasis is on Thinking with Truth.

(Php_4:8-9) For the believer-priest, Truth is theequipment that makes witnessing, praying, giving, etc.,

effective. It is only through the filling of God the Holy

Spirit and Thinking with Truth that you are able to enjoy

these WORSHIP activities.(Joh_4:23-24)


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Results of the angelic conflict

Phase One. There are three phases to the plan of Godfor believers: Phase One, Salvation; Phase Two, the

believer in time; Phase Three, the believer in eternity. The

result in Phase One is Salvation. At the moment he is

saved, the believer enters Phase Two and is positionally

higher than angels. (Heb_2:7) This is the first victory of

the angelic conflict. When we accept Christ as Savior, the

Holy Spirit enters us into union with Christ. (Baptism ofthe Spirit) So, since the humanity of Christ is now seated

at the right hand of the Father and has been made higher

than angels, and since we are in union with Him, we too

are made positionally higher than angels. (Eph_1:17-23;

Col_2:9-10) This was retroactively the case for the Old

Testament believers.

Phase Two. There is also victory in Phase Two for the

believer who operates under Operation Z and builds THE

SPIRITUAL TEMPLE of the soul. (1Co_3:11-16) Such

victory comes from suffering; for it is through suffering,

(Sin nature, thought, people, system, and disaster testing)

that the believer utilizes God's grace and develops the

faith-rest technique to the point of occupation with Christ.(Rom_5:2-5; 1Pe_1:7-8)

Phase Three. In Phase Three, which begins with

death or the harvest, (Rev_14:14-20) every believer will

receive a resurrection body exactly like that of Jesus


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Christ. (Php_3:21) Through the possession of this

resurrection body, believers will be experientially:

physically superior to angelic creatures; in time believers

are now, positionally: mentally superior to the fallenangels,(Only byThinking with the Mind of Christ). cf.

(Joh_8:31-32)

Freedom From Satanic Control

Through the fall of man, Satan gained control of the

earth. Satan is spoken of in Scripture as the ruler and thegod of this world. (Joh_12:31; Joh_14:30; Joh_16:11;

2Co_4:4; Eph_2:2) He did gain control of man on the

earth,but man's volition makes him a free agent in the

devil's world, and he can choose between the plan of God

and the plan of Satan. (Act_26:17-18) Salvation, through

faith in Christ;positionally frees man from Satanic

control and domination; (Rom_6:3-6) and experientially

through daily intake and obedience to the Thinking with

the that Truth. (Rom_6:17-18)

After Salvation, the great NEED is Spiritual

Knowledge of Truth; acquired by means of Operation Z.

The more Divine Thinking the believer has in his human

spirit --- the more Truth he has in the right lobe of hismentality, the more freedom he possesses in being able to

Think independently from Satan. (Joh_8:38; Joh_12:47-

50; Joh_13:17; Joh_17:13) One of the great issues in the

Christian life is Divine guidance, and the whole basis for


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knowing the will of God on any particular point, or in

general, is the Bible: God's Thinking in the right lobe.

(1Co_2:16)

Remember, Truth in the left lobe, the perceptive lobe,

does not go straight across to the right lobe as with human

knowledge; it must go through the process of cycling to

the human spirit by faith and then to the right lobe.

http://thinkingtruth.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/top-and-bottom-circles/

It can be hindered because of negative volitiontoward Truth, and it can be short-circuited by mental

attitude sins. (Mat_13:22; Luk_8:13-14) As a category,

mental attitude sins represent the greatest enemy of the

Christian life!

Now, to sum up the reasons for the angelic conflict,

let us see the answers to several basic questions of life.

Questions answered by the angelic conflict

Why Does Man Exist? As we have seen, mankind

exists to resolve the angelic conflict. Man approaches the

cross with free will; and under God's plan --- has the right

to express positive volition by faith in Christ and to enter

into God's game plan --- by being born again. Or, he hasthe right to exercise negative volition. When a person

rejects the righteousness of God, which is imputed

through faith in Christ --- the work of the cross,

(Rom_9:30; 2Co_5:21) and rejects the administration of
http://thinkingtruth.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/top-and-bottom-circles/http://thinkingtruth.wordpress.com/2008/02/05/top-and-bottom-circles/


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the justice of God in pouring our sins out upon Christ,

then God's righteousness and justice would be

compromised if He did not penalize the unbeliever with

the Lake of Fire forever. Therefore, God is just as fair incasting the unbeliever in the Lake of Fire as He is in

providing eternal life for the believer.

(Col_2:14-15) These passages demonstrate how the

cross relates to the angelic conflict by showing that the

angelic conflict would be resolved and the doom of Satan

and the fallen angels would be certain if only one Person

would be born perfect and submit to God's authority to the

point of death! (Php_2:5-11)

Why Does Sin Exist? Many people, especially

idealistic people who tend toward asceticism, have great

difficulty with the origin of sin. First of all, sin did not

originate with God; it is absolutely incompatible with His

essence; it is utterly impossible for Him to sin, to causetemptation, or to be the origin of sin in any way. We have

direct statements of Scripture to the effect that God is not

the author of sin. (Jas_1:13) But even from the standpoint

of essence alone, He could not be. Why, then, did God

permit sin?

The fact that man had to be given free will in order to

resolve the angelic conflict also made it possible for manto sin. Actually, Satan set the pattern.His was the first sin,

and it was a voluntary act involving his free will.The

fallen angels followed suit by also making decisions of

negative volition.Similarly, original sin in the human


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race, involving first the woman and then the man,

stemmed from the exercise of negative volition by each of

them.

Had man been created without the freedom to makehis own choice, (Either negative or positive) there would

have been no parallel to the case of Satan and the fallen

angels, and the angelic conflict would not have been

resolved. Angelic sin was judged; the sins of the world

were judged. Christ chose of His own free will to go to

the cross; He chose to be judged for the sins of the human

race. He was qualified to be judged for sin, having no sin

of His own. (2Co_5:21) So Christ is the issue of

Salvation, and since He is the issue, we have free will.

Our free will can express itself in faith in Christ; and we

can be saved;or we can reject Christ and spend eternity in

the Lake of Fire.

Why Does Suffering Exist? There are numerousreasons for suffering as far as the angelic conflict is

concerned, and we can easily understand that man's fall

and departure from perfection would inevitably lead to all

kinds of suffering. Equally obvious is the fact that Satan

with all his genius is incapable of handling his own

kingdom --- this world. (Joh_12:31) Suffering exists in

this world to the extent that Satan cannot cope with theproblems of the human race. He would like to create an

ideal environment for humanity in his world, and he has

attempted to do so by introducing the false Concepts of

socialism, by declaring all men to be equal, by trying to


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provide enough money and a job for everyone; and by

supplying so-called "social security" and Obama-care for

all, etc.In every case his solution has failed.The United

Nations; (And the League of Nations before it) representsa satanic effort to create a perfect environment and to

eliminate warfare; however, its interference has only led

to greater problems, and it will continue to do so.Satan is

not "like the Most High," and whatever he has tried by

way of cure-alls has merely complicated matters and

intensified suffering.

While the Church is on the earth, God permits

suffering, (Sin nature, thought, people, system, and

disaster testing; for believers to grow to Spiritual

maturity) for the purpose of blessing.Through suffering,

He demonstrates to you and to me that His grace

provision is greater than the suffering itself; and that He

has provided for every difficult circumstance throughbelieving and Thinking with Truth; filled with God the

Holy Spirit. Now it doesn't mean that you are going to be

blessed just because you are suffering. It all depends on

your use of the Spiritual life!One of the greatest blessings

of suffering comes through faith-rest which leads to

occupation with Christ. When suffering is caused by

discipline, the use of, (1Jn_1:9) turns the cursing toblessing.

Why Does the New Covenant Church Exist? Why

has the angelic conflict shifted gears? Why not the New

Covenant with Israel? Why do we have a change of


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Dispensation? First of all, the previous Dispensation, the

Jewish Age Old Covenant Age was fulfilled, (Heb_13:20)

and Israel as a nation rejected Christ. (Mat_23:37-39)

Christ started the New Covenant Church Age as aclone of Israel to be the steward of the Gospel and the

canon: the full realm of Scripture. A Spiritual Kingdom;

(Luk_17:21) withGod the Father as the author of the

plan; (Eph_4:4-6) with God the Holy Spirit providing a

Temple, (Spiritual life) inside the believer; (1Co_3:16) for

the Ruler-ship of Christ --- in progressive growth levels;

(Gal_4:19; Col_1:27; 1Pe_3:15; 2Pe_1:19) but not as a

political or racial kingdom as Israel was. (Gal_3:28;

Col_3:10-11) But a Theocracy: God Ruling each believer

personally; through the Shekinah Glory --- the LORD

Jesus, the Christ! (Isa_37:16; Col_2:9-17) CHRIST is the

key to the Eternal New Covenant of the Church,

Tribulation and Millennium; made between God theFather and God the Son; Jesus Christ. (Eph_2:14-16;

Heb_13:20)

Since Christ is absent from the earth during this

Dispensation, His Body continues to represent Him as His

ambassadors. This Body, of which Christ is the Head, is

composed of all regenerate persons. (Believers)

But in the Church Age, the believer is thebattleground for the angelic conflict, which is now inner,

hidden and subtle.Only in the Tribulation will it come out

in the open! (Rev_9:1-11) Which will begin when the G

20 agreement, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_G-20_London_Summit) is broken in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_G-20_London_Summithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_G-20_London_Summit


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2012. (Dan_9:27) To survive in this conflict, we must

have training, which comes through Spiritual Knowledge

of Truth.Therefore, we will study a passage of Scripture

which deals with our training and the equipment whichGod has provided for us to overcome and to move and to

be victorious in the angelic conflict.

God's provision for the angelic conflict: the full

armor of God

In, (Eph_6:10-17) we have a military analogy toteach us the Principles of combat in the Spiritual realm.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able

to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

(Eph_6:11)

This verse begins with an aorist middle imperative ofthe Greek word "enduo." It means to put on equipment, to

equip ourselves for battle. The aorist tense refers to any

point of time when the believer functions under Operation

Z. The middle voice indicates two things: (1) our positive

volition toward the Word of Truth; (2) and the benefits

which are derived by the exercise of positive volition

toward Truth. The imperative mood indicates an order. Weare Commanded to put on "the full armor," which is the

Greek word "panoplia" --- the complete equipment.


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There were three kinds of soldiers in the Roman army

who had this complete equipment. First of all, the

"hastati." They were the young recruits, analogous

to new believers or Spiritual babies. "Hasta" is the Latinword for javelin, which was their chief weapon. The

"hastati" were out in the first line of battle. When they

had thrown their javelins, they passed back through the

ranks and were not used again in the tactical situation. In

the second line of battle were the "principes," the

young, vigorous and strong soldiers, analogous to the

Spiritual adolescents. Finally, the "triarii," who made up

the third line of battle, were the most experienced

veterans; analogous to mature believers.

Comparatively, the adolescent believer has enough

Truth, ("Epignosis" God's Thinking) in his human spirit to

be developing a frame of reference in his right lobe and

have a fairly consistent exhale toward God and productionof Divine Virtue love. The mature believer has a complete

edification complex, (Temple; Spiritual life) of the soul

and is a producer of Divine Virtue love. (Gal_5:22-23)

The new believer is simply starting under Operation Z.

The Spiritual moron will never make it. He is a casualty

in the angelic conflict.He is the person who operates on

emotion, and who gets involved in every emotionalactivity from the Satanic tongues movement all of the

way to some system of social action. Maybe he simply

spends his time in little Christian endeavor-type

devotionals, followed by meaningless decisions throwing


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a fagot, (Piece of wood) on the fire, dedication,

rededication, and all of the other things which are

substitutes for learning Truth.

Now the Principle is that ALL believers must wearthe armor, regardless of their Spiritual growth. Certain

things are provided just as much for the new believer as

for the mature believer; and of course this would refer to

such things as the filling of the Spirit, the faith-rest

technique, and the occupation with Christ Principle. The

source of these things, (The complete equipment) is of

God.

"That you will be able to stand firm... The word for

ability is "dunamai"--- ability which is the result of

Operation Z and the edification complex, the latter of

which is the chief launching pad or weapon in the angelic

conflict. The present tense indicates that this ability

always belongs to the believer on the basis of the functionof Thinking with Truth. The active voice --- every

believer must stand on his own Truth; he must stand in his

own armor. Furthermore, your attitude toward Truth

determines your fulfillment of the plan of God, your

orientation to grace, the development and the construction

of your edification complex. What is the primary purpose

of the Christian life? To construct an edification complex;and to acquire maximum Truth in the right lobe.

Once you put on that equipment, you are TO

STAND. ("Histemi") It is used here in a technical military

sense, and it means to stand fast under combat conditions.


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You see, in the third and fourth chapters and halfway

through the fifth chapter of Ephesians the training period

was set forth: every believer has been given a Spiritual

gift; he has been provided with Bible teaching, a graceapparatus for perception, an edification complex and

everything that pertains to that. When you are trained,

when you put on the armor, you are ready for Spiritual

combat. The active voice means that you have to fulfill

your own part on the combat team!

''...Against the schemes of the devil" (Eph_6:11) is

literally "face to face with the schemes of the Devil" ---

therefore, the combat situation, (Sin nature, thought,

people, organization, and disaster testing). You are to put

on the armor of God and you are to have the equipment

necessary to face the Devil's unseen forces in a Spiritual

combat. Satan has an objective, and it involves strategy

which is directed toward every facet of our life; asunbelievers and BELIEVERS!

The enemy forces

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but

against the rulers, against the powers, against the world

forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces ofwickedness in the heavenly places. (Eph_6:12)

We must put on the whole armor because of, (Not

"for") Satanic strategy, because Satan is the ruler of this


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world, and because we reside in "cosmos diabolicus."

"Struggle" actually refers to combat. It could be any kind

of personal combat, such as boxing or wrestling; but in

our context it has a military connotation and refers to ourpersonal combat with the enemy. "Because our combat is

not with human beings; (Flesh and blood) but, in contrast

with mankind, our combat is with an unseen enemy, the

demon army." The angelic conflict finds the believer

pitted against the army of fallen angels as a part of Phase

Two.

Satan's demon organization

Now, let us notice something of Satan's demon table

of organization, spoken of in this verse as ''...against the

rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of

this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in

the heavenly places."First of all, we have "rulers," which

is the Greek word "archon," one of the words for highest

rulers. "Archon" was first used in Attic Greek in the day

of the Athenian democracy. The "archon" was the

president or the preeminent decision-maker in Athens the

highest ruler.

From the Age of Pericles in the Fifth Century B.C.,the word "archon" has gone through many transitions, but

it has always retained its exact meaning. It is one of those

words that went from the Attic Greek to the Alexandrian

Greek to the Koine Greek, all the way down to New


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Testament times with exactly the same meaning highest

ruler. So the Satanic organization has a certain number of

five-star generals the exact number unknown. There are

millions and millions of demons. (Rev_9:16)We have a secondary group of rulers called "powers."

The Greek word, "exousias" (Authorities) is comparable

to commissioned officers. So at the top, Satan has an

unknown number of "archon," who are army

Commanders. Under them he has an unknown number of

corps Commanders, divisional Commanders, brigade

Commanders, combat team Commanders, battalion

Commanders, company Commanders and platoon

Commanders!

These also have supporting-type organizations. For

example, an infantry division will have so many batteries

of artillery, and in certain terrains it will often have

attached to it various types of armor; it will havesupporting organizations from the quartermaster, (Supply)

and transportation corps. There will be assigned to it a

number of engineers with certain responsibilities, along

with special weapons-type organizations. So, then, any

military organization has many supporting organizations

attached to it, and that is exactly what we have in Satan's

table of organization.The third category is "the world forces of this

darkness." This is "kosmokrator" --- one word in the

Greek. "Krator" is ruler and "kosmos" is world; therefore,

a world rulers not "rulers of darkness." The word


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"darkness" comes later in the sentence and is the Greek

word "skotos." The phrase should actually read, "World

rulers of darkness." Why is this organization called

"world rulers of darkness"? It is Satan's elite corps of"rangers" that are used in attacking rulers, national entities

and VIP's. Each "kosmokrator" is in charge of his own

territory.

This elite corps attacks rulers, as in, (Dan_10:13).

Daniel's prayer did not receive an answer for three weeks

because Gabriel was busy fighting the "ranger"

organization of demons, led by the "prince of Persia,''

Satan's "kosmokrator" over Persia. In, (Dan_10:20)

another world ruler of darkness is mentioned; this time it

is the "prince of Greece." This same organization attacks

ALL national entities. Any national entity that functions

under the Divine Institution of Nationalism and which

evangelizes on the inside and sponsors missionary activityon the outside is going to be under attack. Also VIP

believers are under attack, as illustrated by the Apostle

Paul. In addition, all believers who are in the vicinity of a

VIP believer are under attack. That is the history of the

attack on Corinth. When Timothy, a VIP believer, went to

Corinth, the same thing happened. Before Timothy, it was

Apollos. Any time there is great exposure to the Word ofTruth, this specialized satanic organization attacks.

There is a fourth category in Satan's table of

organization mentioned in, (Eph_6:12). "Spiritual forces

of wickedness in the heavenly places. "This actually


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refers to the rank and file of demons, which perform

numerous functions. Some of these demons indwell

unbelievers and influence believers; only to induce

sickness. When Satan calls out the demons, the unbelieveris miraculously healed in order to promote some person as

a healer. Then there are those who control the vocal cords,

such as the "eggastromuthos,'' (Ventriloquist) demons;

and their control of the vocal cords of unbelievers and

believers; involves a simulation of "tongues" in order to

attract people in that direction.

There are demons who perform certain extra-natural

activities for Satan, such as those recorded in, (2Th_2:9).

Then, too, there are certain members of the human

race, who, under demon possession and or influence, are

very brilliant and are able to make predictions in order to

gather followers and to point people in a given direction

usually toward religion, social action, or some form ofhuman old sin nature works. There are demons designated

to encourage sin, though sin is not the great objective in

the satanic system. The old sin nature actually takes care

of the basic sin Concept. The world, (False realities and

values) the flesh, (Lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and

the pride of life) and the devil, (Demonically inspired

false Biblical and non-Biblical thinking) are involved intemptation, but most of the sins, (Gen_3:4-6) in the

human race originate from the old sin nature, (Jas_1:14-

15) (Adam and the woman sinned without a sin nature).


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The armor

Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you

will be able to resist in the evil day, and having doneeverything, to stand firm. (Eph_6:13)

"Therefore" --- because of the angelic conflict,

because of Satan's strategies, because of the Divine

reconnaissance, (Location and organization of the enemy)

and the information found in the first part of our passage

we are given a Command: "Take." This word

("Analambano") means "to take, to receive or to seize,"and to do it over and over again.You don't put the

uniform or battle equipment on ONCE; you put it on

again and again and again! This is a reference to Divine

Thinking, with emphasis on the function of Operation Z,

the daily repeated intake of Truth.Nothing short of this

will build up stability in our Spiritual Thinking; in and for

the time of crisis and or prosperity! (2Ti_2:4)

Analogy to the Roman Soldier

(Eph_6:14-17) examines the items of our equipment.

You will never look at any combat soldier without

noticing that he has belts and buckles and pockets and

various pieces of equipment, each of which has a verydefinite purpose. At the time of the writing of Ephesians,

the Apostle Paul was under house arrest and had a

member of the Praetorian Guard with him at all times.

Now, a Praetorian was not an ordinary infantryman; he


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was in training to become an officer, and the Praetorian

camp was as close as we can come to West Point,

Sandhurst or Saint-Cyr. It was a military academy, and the

men who guarded the Apostle Paul would one day beofficers in the Roman Army. And so, as Paul was writing

this particular chapter, he could look up and observe the

various articles of equipment of the Roman soldier who

was in attendance.

The Belt of Truth. (The Thinking of Christ) "Stand

firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH

TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ONTHE BREASTPLATE OF

RIGHTEOUSNESS.'(The filling of God the Holy Spirit;

Eph_6:14) cf. (Joh_4:24) Although the word "stand" in

itself is the ordinary word for standing under almost any

condition, in this instance, with the military uniform

involved, it means to stand in ranks, to be in the proper

place in a combat situation. The aorist tense means that itis to be done in a point of time; the active voice indicates

that volition is involved in obedience to a Command; and

the imperative mood strengthens the fact that there must

be obedience to the Command.

Since there are a series of aorist participles occurring

in the verses that follow, it is necessary to stop here and

recognize the Principle governing them: the action of theaorist participle precedes the action of the main verb.

From this structure, we will see that the items of

equipment represent training and preparation so that we

may be able to stand fast in the battle situation. The main


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verb "to stand," ("Histemi") is given right at the beginning

of, (Eph_6:14) and it has reference to the actual combat

situation. Everything else is preparation for it!Each one

of us, as a believer, is in combat; we are in the unseenangelic conflict.In addition to that, we are in full-time

Christian service, and we are faced with adverse

circumstances in the devil's world and with various needs

in our lives. Each item we are going to examine

represents preparation and training for our combat, which

will continue as long as we live on this earth.

The Greek word for "having girded" is

"perizonnumi," and it is an aorist middle participle, "Peri"

means "around" and "zonnumi" means "to put"; that is, to

put around the waist. The Roman soldiers wore a very

wide belt, which was actually the foundation piece for all

their military equipment. At one place on it there was a

loop for the "machaira," (Sword) at another point therewas a loop from which a couple of ropes dangled,

together with a sack for rations. Items of equipment were

attached all the way around this belt, which was designed

in a manner to insure that it would remain firmly in place

at all times and so that the equipment would be easily

accessible when needed. No Roman soldier ever fought

without his belt, for it carried all of his equipment.This military belt is said to be "Truth," but the Greek

word, "aletheia," does not mean to tell the Truth, in and of

itself. It is a technical word, which has the connotation of

God's Thinking; not in its simple presentation but in its


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categories. The belt of Truth, then, is a reference to the

whole Principle of Operation Z. This is the basis for

learning Truth or putting on the "belt of Truth."

The Breastplate of Righteousness

(Eph_6:14) goes on to say, "and having on the

breastplate of righteousness." The Greek word for "having

on" is "enduo," meaning to "put it on." It is an aorist

middle participle to indicate that over a period of time, if

we are "consistent" in Bible study,we gradually build upan accumulation of Truth in the human spirit, which in

turn will lead to the construction of the edification

complex of the soul. (Spiritual life) Without this

edification complex or Doctrinal structure in the soul,

there is no Spiritual maturity and, basically, no happiness

in the Christian life.

"Thorax'" is the Greek word for "breastplate." Thispiece of armor is a very interesting article. Most of the

ancient peoples wore breastplates, which were made up of

many layers of cloth or linen. Some were made by

attaching bits of horn or hoof to a heavy cloth foundation.

Later, they were made of bronze and even of iron. The

Roman breastplate was made of metal and protected the

upper part of the body the vital spots. In order to keep it inplace, little rings were affixed to the lower edge, and it

was secured to the belt by means of thongs which were

drawn through the rings. Putting on the breastplate took


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some time. In our passage, this breastplate is analogous to

learning to stay in fellowship and build the edification

complex.Put on the belt, (God's Thinking --- Truth) and

the breastplate, (The Filling of God the Holy Spirit ---Temple). We do not become mature believers overnight.It

takes time to develop Temple complex in the soul.

Pressure and suffering accelerate the building of an

edification complex.

The Roman soldiers did not wear any protection on

their arms. Being very offensive-minded, they liked to

have their arms free. The hauberk, which was a chain mail

covering for the body and arms, came into use during the

Middle Ages and indicated the defensive-mindedness of

that period. But the Romans had the idea of

aggressiveness and wanted freedom to move. And this is

exactly what we have in our passage. The breastplate of

righteousness gives you freedom for production andaction. It is not the actual production, but, rather, the

FREEDOM to produce.

The Feet Shod

''And having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE

PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE.''

(Eph_6:15) It is inevitable that the Apostle Paul, indescribing the great Spiritual warfare --- the intensity of

the angelic conflict --- should eventually come to the feet.

The infantryman moves into battle on foot. Weapons may


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change, but warfare demands the presence of the infantry.

The success of the army Depends upon the feet of the

army.

The Roman soldier wore a very heavy-soled leathersandal, the soles of which were studded with cleats to

give the soldier firm footing. This sandal was called a

"caligula"; and since they were issued in pairs, the pair

was referred to as "caligulae." These were the Romans'

"GI" shoes, and they were worn only by the infantry. The

aorist tense of "shod" indicates a constant series of

learning certain types of Doctrinal information so that

when we arrive at any particular battlefield; we are ready

to use that information. This is our preparation, this is our

readiness: having our feet shod by means of the readiness

of the gospel of peace, (Reconciliation; Eph_2:7-22)

I want you to notice that every believer, not just some

believers, is Commanded to put on these GI shoes. So thefirst thing we learn from having on GI shoes is the fact

that every believer is in full-time Christian service, of

which witnessing is apart. Therefore, it is imperative that

every believer be shod and ready for action at any time.

As we move through life, it is our responsibility to be, as

it were, on our feet and ready to meet situations which

demand that we witness for the Lord Jesus Christ; andprovide Truth to believers. (Heb_5:12)

The word for "preparation" ("Etoimasia") means full

preparedness. Now, there is one thing the infantryman

does he marches somewhere, often many miles.


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Preparation is being able or fully prepared to move on

your feet over a long period of time so that you can arrive

at some point, where you can use your weapons

effectively, and work in conjunction with others. One ofthe worst things in the world would be to march miles and

miles to the battlefield and then step into battle without

shoes! You must arrive with the ability to fight; ready to

go into action, ready to use your weapons. You must be

well organized!Readiness means that you can march for

many miles to the battlefield and be ready to go into

action, to be a part of your organization, and to be ready

to function with them as a team.

Our full preparedness is said to be with "the gospel of

peace." "The gospel" refers to a specific type of Truth:

about Salvation or the Truth concerning God: the full

realm of Scripture; depending on the context. The Greek

word is "euaggelion." "Eu" means "good"; "aggelion" ---"announcement." This is generally translated "good

news.'' We have some good news, but it cannot be

communicated unless it is understood. Evangelism does

not belong solely to the pastor behind the pulpit. EVERY

BELIEVER must be ready at ALL TIMES to

communicate this good news.

Through the Principle of Operation Z, you mustknow certain Doctrines, you must have correct

information about Salvation and the Spiritual life. You

must know your subject, and the objective is to


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communicate the information accurately and clearly so

that the hearer can make a decision.

There was one thing about the Roman soldier with

the caligulae on his feet: he was flexible to move!Howyou communicate the information is going to depend

upon your vocabulary, your personality, your ability to

estimate a situation, your relaxed mental attitude. The real

key, after you have assimilated a certain amount of Truth,

is your flexibility; to THINK with God the Holy Spirit.

(Luk_12:12; Luk_21:14-15) You must never get the idea,

even when someone responds to your communication of

Truth, that there is only one way to do it. The Holy Spirit

will handle situations in many different ways. There are

MANY approaches ---stay flexible!

The Shield of Faith

''In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with

which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming

arrows of the evil one. (Eph_6:16) In addition to." Does

not mean that the next item is greater, but in the Greek

this is, "en pasin" which means in addition to the items

previously listed: the belt, which represents the Principle

of Divine Thinking; the breastplate of righteousness,which refers to the Filling of God the Holy Spirit;and the

feet shod with the preparation --- for declaring the gospel

and or the full realm of Scripture.


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"Taking up the shield of faith..." "Taking" means to

"pick up" --- in this case, to pick up something lying on

the ground, just as a Roman soldier would pick up his

shield when he fell in for his formation and for action.Since the action of the aorist participle precedes the action

of the main verb, "stand" --- (And "stand" means to be in

battle array, ready to go into action) and indicates that

before you can go into action you must have the shield.

The shield ("Thureos") was a large shield carried by the

Romans to protect the entire body. "Faith" refers to the

Principle of the "Faith-Rest Technique." It consists of, (1)

acquiring a knowledge of the Promises of God, (2)

believing and Thinking with these Promises and Doctrines

by faith. (Rom_4:20)

There are five ways to fulfill the Command to pick

up the shield of faith: (1) By the daily function of

Operation Z. You need your shield every day.(Rom_10:17) (2) By the exhale of Truth --- Thinking

WITH the Promises. (Heb_4:1-3) (3) By the filling of the

Holy Spirit. (Gal_5:22-23) (4) By picking up the shield in

combat. (1Pe_1:7-8) (5) By occupation with Christ, which

is actually a Spiritually mature extension of the Faith-Rest

Technique, (1Pe_1:8 compared with; Heb_12:2).

"With which" (Literally, "with which shield") youwill be able..." "Able," ("Dunami") is a word for ability or

power; but the future tense anticipates the battle; and

indicates that there is a training period before the use of

the shield. And that is exactly the way it is in the Christian


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life. You begin through the function of Operation Z, by

learning some Promises and then you learn some

Doctrines; and that is the training period.

"...With which you will be able to extinguish all theflaming arrows of the evil one." (Eph_6:16) This latter

phrase is literally, "missiles which have been set on fire."

The missile itself was called "bele" or "belos," which is

taken from "ballo," meaning a projectile. The word "fire"

is a perfect passive participle of "puroo," which means

"having been set on fire" And so we have missiles which

have been set on fire. This type of fire arrow was a very

ancient weapon. The Persians used it in their invasion of

Greece in the days of Xerxes, and it is said to have existed

long before then. Herodotus, Thucydides and Livy all

make mention of this weapon. "Of the evil" ("Ho

poneros") is literally "Of the evil one," and refers to a

specific person, i.e., Satan.In line with Paul's analogy taken from ancient

warfare, the Principle involved here calls for the use of a

shield to meet all of the pressures, all of the problems of

life and the organized opposition of Satan in whatever

form it comes. Further, a shield was used in a flexible

manner. The Romans had a whole manual of arms,

(Training routine) for the shield, and they were flexibleand reacted differently to meet each situation.

Throughout the whole realm of the Christian life,

there is the Principle of Thinking Truth and Promises, the

Principle of flexibility in handling difficulties and


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problems of all kinds, all of which makes faith-rest the

basic system --- THAT IS THE SHIELD; that quenches

the missiles which have been set on fire by "the evil one!"

Thus, God has made provision for your protectionfrom these "flaming arrows" which Satan projects toward

you from all sides and all directions, (Old sin nature,

thought, people, organization and disaster testing).

The Helmet of Salvation

"And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and thesword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God."

(Eph_6:17) The word "take" is an aorist active imperative

from the verb "dechomai." In this verse, it means "to

receive," and to receive gladly or to receive with

happiness. The aorist tense is the point of time when the

individual goes into combat. The active voice: each

individual makes the decision for himself. And theimperative mood gives the individual believer the

opportunity of utilizing the helmet of Salvation. Literally,

then, "receive the helmet which is ETERNAL Salvation

from the Lake of Fire."

The helmet is something which is placed on the head

for protection. Now the human soul resides inside the

head. It is the soul which is said to be saved at the point ofSalvation, (Psa_19:7; Mar_8:36; Heb_10:39) and

therefore it is apropos that the Roman helmet should be

used to illustrate the Principle of eternal Salvation. You


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are never in the protocol plan of God until you have

personally accepted Jesus Christ as Savior. Since this

passage is addressed to the believer, the helmet of

Salvation specifically refers to knowing the Doctrinespertaining to Salvation, and thus having the assurance of

Salvation and eternal security.

The Roman helmet or casque was by far the best in

the ancient world and was the only one that was

absolutely foolproof. It was composed of four parts.

(1) It had a very excellent liner, which was made of

skin. This skin lining emphasizes the work of Jesus Christ

on the cross. The first reference to skin in connection with

Salvation is found in, (Gen_3:21) where the Lord made

Adam and Eve coats of skin. Since skin is obtained by the

shedding of blood, this lining reminds us that when we

are cleansed by the blood of Christ; (That is, the Spiritual

death and judgment of Christ) and that at faith in Christ;we receive the imputed righteousness of God. (2Co_5:21)

(2) Generally, the helmet was made of bronze, which

is tough and durable and able to withstand anything that

hits it. This emphasizes the permanence of the plan of

God in Phase One.

(3) The helmet of the Praetorian who was guarding

Paul would have had a gold crest; and this emphasizes theunique Person of the God-head who is our Savior Jesus

Christ, the God-man. Thus it refers to the Doctrine of the

hypostatic union.


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(4) The chin strap gave the helmet stability in battle,

and kept it on. This of course would refer to the Principle

of eternal security. Once you have believed in Jesus

Christ, you cannot lose your Salvation from the Lake ofFire. (Joh_10:28)

The Sword of the Spirit

Up to this point Paul has referred to items of

equipment which are defensive in nature. In the latter part

of, (Eph_6:17) he directs attention to the only offensiveequipment mentioned --- "the sword of the Spirit, which

is the Word of God." The Greek word for "sword" here is

"machaira." This was a Roman invention and was

probably one of the most unusual and ingenious

inventions of ancient warfare. Unlike the lengthy, two-

handed broadsword, which was used by the Gauls and the

barbarians, the machaira was only about eighteen incheslong; but it was sharp on both edges and had a sharp

point. It was a very maneuverable weapon, and all parts of

it could be used. Its outstanding advantage was that the

soldier was never off balance while using it.

The Greek word for "Spirit" here is "pneuma." It

refers to God the Holy Spirit, and it is in the genitive case,

that is genitive of source, so that literally we have "thesword from the Spirit."God the Holy Spirit is the source

of this sword, which is the "Word of God."The word used

here is "rhema," which means "the Saying or the category


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or the Concept." It is a word for Truth, and it implies a

specific Truth, presented exegetically or categorically; it

can also mean "Spoken through a believer by means of

God the Holy Spirit." And "of God" is again the genitiveof source. Thus, we have "the sword from the Holy Spirit,

which is the Truth from the source of God." This is our

offensive weapon!

So from a brief study of this passage, we can see

clearly that, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, our lives

have meaning and purpose and definition; further, we are

personally involved in this great conflict. It is also clear

that God has graciously made every provision for the

believer in the present New Covenant Age the Age of the

intensification of the angelic conflict.He has provided the

grace apparatus for perception in order that you might

comprehend His Word and know what His will is for your

life.There is no limitation to the things that can beunderstood; nothing is hidden; everything is to be

comprehended!He has made it possible for you to erect a

Spiritual Temple in your soul in order that you might be

equipped to do His will. (1Co_3:11-16)And, by these

provisions, He has made it possible for you to meet the

challenge of the intensified angelic conflict with stability,

confidence and complete inner happiness. (Php_2:2;1Jn_1:4)

Thus, it is by reason of man's faith that the angelic

conflict is resolved!Angels observe man's positive

volition as he first receives Salvation through faith in the


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finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then as he

demonstrates the adequacy of God's provision through

daily study and appropriation of the contents of God's

Word!

Now to Him who is able to do farmore abundantly

beyondall that we ask or think, according to the power

that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church

and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.

Amen.(Eph_3:20-21)

End

Documents

The Angelic Conflict