Introduction to the series
The Conflict of the Ages
The Battles of The Lord
by LeRoy Gardenier
Many well intentioned, sincere, dedicated Christians become discouraged owing to a lack of victory in their lives. They know about the armor of God and are eager to uphold the cause of Christ. Yet, despite their own best efforts and the advice and encouragement of religious leaders, they feel more like Don Quixote rather than the valiant heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11. Too many true believers invest the majority of their time and effort in this cause or that, aligning themselves with some new spiritual movement or getting involved with some sort of "Christian" social commitment. While many of these endeavors, if truly sanctioned by the Lord, bring forth real, tangible fruits, too often the Christian warrior is left with the frustration of tilting at windmills. An undue reliance upon Christian traditions; a presumptuous acceptance of the counsel of others can keep a Christian perpetually busy, yet spinning his chariot wheels as far as real and lasting victory is concerned. A humorous sign I once saw read: "Make sure brain is engaged before putting mouth into motion!" We Christians could seriously paraphrase that advice by admonishing ourselves and one another that we had better really know where the battle is before we even begin to put on the full armor of God, let alone go dashing off to engage the Enemy of our souls.
Before commanding us to put on the armor of God, Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood..but against spiritual wickedness in high places." 2 Corinthians 10:3 makes it clear that "we do not war after the flesh" and also that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal..." It is not only in a few isolated portions of the Epistles that these foundational truths are affirmed, but the entire panorama of Scripture bears it out. From early on, in Genesis right through to the final book of the Bible, we see the same battle reenacted in various scenarios that together coalesce in what is known as THE CONFLICT OF THE AGES.
Satan Wants to Destroy
the Seed of the Woman
Just as God has a perfect plan for our lives, so Satan has his counter plan to thwart God's glowing promises and reliable prophecies, striving to make the Word of God of none effect. The Adversary's overall plan is TO DESTROY THE SEED OF THE WOMAN - the One destined to bruise his head according to the thrilling promise, some call it the protoevangelium, of Genesis 3:15. The Lord Jesus Himself said of Satan: "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to DESTROY " (John 10:10). If the Enemy of God and of our souls cannot achieve that grisly goal, he has a "plan B" ready at hand. Failing to destroy the Seed of the woman, Satan seeks TO CORRUPT THE SEED OF THE WOMAN, and all those who are truly united to Him. Corruption is part of his scheme to bring to fulfillment his arrogant, outlandish, equally unattainable boast of Isaiah 14:14 "I will be like the Most High". DESTRUCTION - CORRUPTION: the Scriptures are full of incidents and examples of this two pronged satanic onslaught. The serpent tempts our first parents hoping God will destroy them for their disobedience. Instead, an innocent animal is slain; its blood poured out in atonement; and its very skin used by a merciful, forgiving God to hide the shame, while the blood covered the very penalty of sin. True religion is corrupted by Cain who rejects God's own example of a blood sacrifice; a sin (offering) that lieth at the door. Genesis 4:7 An innocent, righteous Abel is murdered while Satan hopes his "perfect plan" for humanity will be realized. If he can get any one of us to murder our brother, then, in turn, be slain in vengeance for our crime, he would be well on his way to destroying the Seed of the woman.
Corruption: Mythology/Astrology
The use of corruption in this on going conflict of the ages is most powerfully exemplified by the Enemy's introduction of mythology and the perversion of astrology as succinctly described in the book of Genesis, chapters 6-11. The references to the nephalim (the fallen ones) or, better, to the rephaim (the dead, deceased ones) are those weird offspring called "giants" or "men of renown". They were actually the product of some strange union between spiritual beings and human females! THE LIVING BIBLE, in Genesis 6:4-5, describes this fatal, far reaching phenomenon. "In those days, and even afterwards, when the evil beings from the spirit world were sexually involved with human women, their children became giants (nephalim), of whom so many legends (mythology) are told. When the Lord saw the extent of human wickedness, and the trend and direction of men's lives were only towards evil, He was sorry He had made them. It broke His heart." It is most important for Christians to appreciate this supernatural, demonic source of the world's corruption and not attribute universal wickedness solely to man's moral failure. If we take a close look at Isaiah 26:14 we encounter these same "giants" (rephaim). Here we see the awful implications of the existence of a supernaturally unique "mixed breed" These "giants" are neither fully angelic, nor are they truly human! They were the progeny of the fallen angels. As such "They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise; therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish." If we can understand the awful reality and the extensive implications of this early "battle" of the nephalim, then we can appreciate the absolute necessity of a universal flood to preserve the purity of the human race. God's glorious plan of salvation applies only to fallen humanity; not to breeds or races that are purely the products of satanic intervention.
The wonderful Plan of Redemption includes human beings created by God and all animal, plant and inanimate beings that are truly "the works of His hands" and come under the purview of His redemptive powers. The doctrine of ultimate reconciliation, which teaches that Satan and his coteries will eventually be saved, is just as much a perverted myth as all the silly sagas of Mount Olympus; the fanciful deeds of derringdo connected to the so-called Greek and Roman "gods". Scripture also reveals that another irruption or invasion of this same "spiritual wickedness in high places" occurred just prior to the call of Abraham and God's preparations for establishing His people in the land of Canaan. When Satan discovered that Abraham was chosen the father of all believers and given the Promised Land another satanic deluge of "giants" took possession, not of the whole earth, but mainly occupied the land of Canaan. The Canaanites who "were then in the land", as Genesis 12:6 tells us, were the same kind of "giants" as those before the Flood. They were also the descendants of fallen angels. They, too, were quite capable of completely corrupting the godly line of real humans that had come down from Noah. No wonder that God sternly forbade any intermarriage between His chosen people and this fallen race. How necessary it was for these "dead ones" to be removed by the sword of Israel just as the previous "giants" had been destroyed by the Flood! The Bible also describes some of the nephalim as beings of gigantic proportions (like Goliath) and capable of superhuman strength. Most likely, legends surrounding the stature and exploits of these "supermen" were distorted in transmission and formed the basis for the stories of mythology found in so many cultures but immortalized through classical education.
Conspiracy:
The Tower of Babel
Another conspiracy of corruption involves the story of the Tower of Babel and the blatant perversion of ancient revealed truths. Genesis 1:14 tells us that God created lights in the firmament of heaven "... for signs and for seasons, and for days, and years." Psalm 19:1 affirms that the heavens declare the glory of God. A study of twelve constellations, beginning with Virgo (the virgin) and ending with Leo (the Lion [of the tribe of Judah]) clearly and correctly tells the story of "The Coming One" (even Jesus)! This 'witness of the stars' is a continual reminder that God always employs a two-fold witness to confirm His revelations. Verse 7 of Psalm 19 speaks of the Law (God's teaching through the Scriptures) as His other witness here on earth. Besides showing man how vain and arrogant it is for him to aspire to reaching Heaven (God) using his own strength and ingenuity, the Tower of Babel might very well solve another ancient mystery. Although most versions of the Bible describe the tower as one "whose top may reach heaven" (Gen.11:4), the original Hebrew states: "and its top with the heavens", i.e. with the zodiac depicted on it. Evidently, such towers were fairly common in the ancient world. A different perspective, a shift of emphasis implying that the zodiac depicts, not the story of "The Coming One", but, rather, the story of each individual human being this could easily change a beautiful, edifying, comforting promise of God to all mankind into a confused, unreliable, gullible fantasy about one's personal destiny. Whether the satanic lie was sown in one startling incident or it developed over a period of time, the truth of the matter is that God's simple, perfect, precious astronomy was quickly corrupted into a false system of bogus astrology.
A very precious promise found in Isaiah 4:5 states: "And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defense (a canopy)". May the gleaming brightness of each day and the darkened velvet canopy of the night sky, both of which declare the glory of God, be a continuing comfort and an ongoing teaching and reminder of God's merciful and marvelous providence.