Principalities Archangels: Armor of God Three

 Lucifer was a Archangel and is now a fallen angel. A principality is a kingdom ruled by a king or prince.  There are two types of kingdoms. There are earthly kingdoms, and then there are spiritual kingdoms. The scriptures reveal that spiritual kingdoms can rule over physical kingdoms. 

It is imperative that we grasp the biblical truth that physical things--the things we can see and touch--are always subordinate to spiritual things which cannot always be seen.

The word "principalities," found in Ephesians chapter six, can be used in reference to either a kingdom or to the ruler of a kingdom. The word is translated from the Greek word "Arche." It is interesting to note that the word is derived from a family of Greek words, all containing the word "arch," which includes the word "archangel" as found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. 

A Principality or Archangel denotes precedence or great authority,  and the principalities we are warned against in Ephesians 6:12 are powerful spiritual entities (archangels/princes) who rule kingdoms here on earth.

Although the title “Principality” denotes rank, it carries no inherent connotation of either good or evil—that must be specified within the context of whatever passage it is found in. In Satan’s kingdom, aside from Satan himself, principalities are most likely the highest ranking (therefore the most powerful) order of devils (or fallen angels) we will ever be likely to come up against.

They are also part of a class of devils that can only be successfully fought by adding fasting to our prayers.**  We see an example of this in Daniel 10:12-13 where an angel was dispatched in answer to Daniel's prayer. But the angel was hindered by the "Prince of Persia"—a principality.

The "Prince of Persia" is ("is" not "was," because this is a spirit being who still exists) a very powerful demon/fallen angel who was able to delay Heaven's messenger for 3 full weeks!

**In this study, for convenience sake, the terms fallen angel, devil, or demon may be used interchangeably as they are all purely evil, fallen, beings. We do not really need to be concerned about the differences between them except to understand the four sub-categories listed in Ephesians 6:12, which this series will look at in detail.

In the book of Daniel, the "Prince of Persia" is a principality so powerful that God dispatched another angel, Michael (another principality--only a good one), to assist the first angel in getting through the lines to Daniel (the battle was not completely won in 21 days--only Daniel's part--because the angel who spoke to Daniel said he was going back to finish the fight).

This principality (the Prince of Persia) was directly responsible for hindering the answer to Daniel's prayer for 21 days. But the fact that Daniel persevered and stuck to his commitment not to eat any pleasant bread (partial fast) is relevant to the final outcome.

Are there times we pray and feel that we receive no answer, and then give up because we believe that no answer is forthcoming? It is possible that a very powerful devil known as a "principality" is responsible for the hindrance. Daniel did not give up when no answer to his prayer seemed forth coming, and neither should we!

** Matthew 17:21 (kjv) tells us that there are some devils which will not come out except by prayer and fasting--if your Bible version does not contain this verse, or has a footnote saying the "oldest and best mss" omit it. Toss it! And get a Bible that retains it.

This verse has around 4000 witnesses [in mss, quotes from church fathers, and version evidence] that it is indeed an original part of the Word of God. It has not been added. The subjective statement about the "oldest and best mss," that are referred to, are only two [very controversial] manuscripts out of thousands—not only have they not been proven to be the best—they also have not been proven to be the oldest.

Hungry for more? Listen to a podcast of Armor of God part three (not a transcript of this post)

Know Your Enemy! Armor of God Two

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done (fully accomplishing) all, to stand.

We wrestle not against flesh and blood. Our fight is not with our brother, our sister, our neighbor, our co-worker, or our spouse. They are not the real enemy. We must learn to look past the hostile behavior of people and begin to stand against the powers and wicked entities that are using people and provoking the behavior.

The word "wiles," tends to conjure up cartoon images of the Road Runner and Wiley coyote, at least in some.That is not necessarily a bad thing if it helps keep us aware that our enemy is relentlessly hatching plots to destroy us--but all other comparisons should stop right there. Because no matter how hard Wiley Coyote tried to destroy Road Runner, he never succeeded.

On the other hand, our enemy, Satan, is very good at accomplishing the destruction he sets out to inflict. Unless the one he is attacking knows how to put on God's armor and how to use it.

The Greek word translated "wiles," in Ephesians 6:11, is translated from the Greek word "methodeia" (pronounced Method-i-ah). Does that word have a familiar ring to it? It should. Does it sound anything like our English word "method?"

Hmmm....The methods of the devil....

Combine the word methodeia  with the word "trickery," which is part of the meaning methodeia, and we begin to see a clear picture of an enemy who not only uses trickery to trap and destroy, but he is extremely organized and systematic about it.

It is no hit and miss operation that Satan is running. Because of this, we cannot afford to be lackadaisical in our attitudes about an enemy that we are warned in scripture to be vigilant against.

The studies in this section are designed to equip us to stand and fight victoriously against this intelligent, well organized, and powerful, spiritual enemy. This series of articles contains no spiritual platitudes--no feel good stuff. Instead, readers may find themselves dealing uncomfortably with more reality than they are accustomed to.

This study is not for the faint of heart. Persevere.

Hungry for more? Link to podcast of Armor p2  (not a transcript of this post)

The weapons of our warfare: Armor of God One

 All Christians are engaged in spiritual warfare whether we are actively engaged in fighting the good fight or not. Ignoring the reality of the fight will not protect us, but will accomplish just the opposite.

The Bible says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. That means they are not fleshly or natural weapons. Instead, they are mighty spiritual weapons, which, through God, will pull down spiritual strongholds.

The scriptures tell us the only way defeat powerful spiritual opponents--fallen angels (principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places) is by putting on the whole Armor of God.  And we are given no option to using every single spiritual weapon at our disposal if we expect to win.  The "whole" armor means wearing every single piece at all times.

The defensive weapons of our warfare consist of: Truth, Righteousness, The Preparation of Gospel of  Peace, Faith, and The Helmet Salvation.

The offensive weapon, listed in Ephesians chapter six, is the Word of God--the Bible. It is biblical for us to speak or pray the Word of God over people and situations in our lives (an utterance must always be in line with the written Word of God). Jesus gave us a perfect example of how to do this in Matthew chapter four. When he was being confronted by Satan, Jesus stuck stubbornly to his iteration and re-iteration of, "It is written...."

The prophet Isaiah wrote that those who claim to speak for God, but whose words do not align with what has already been written have, "No light in them." (Isaiah 8:20)

How do we apply the armor? How do we wield the weapons?

Will getting up in the morning and mentally picturing ourselves girding our loins with the truth, putting on the breastplate of righteousness, donning our foot gear, or picking up a shield, and putting on a helmet help us?

Of course not. That kind of mental imagery would be an exercise in futility. Yet how times have Christians heard instructions to do this very thing?

This series of posts will focus on learning Bible truth concerning the weapons of our warfare and how we can use the very powerful weapons we read about in Ephesians 6:1-18, so that we can have victory against very real spiritual enemies.

 Hungry for more? Link to audio teaching of Armor of God part one (Not a transcript of this article) 

Armor of God Part Four: Sin, Forgiveness, and the Breastplate of Righteousness

 How to put on the Breastplate of Righteousness. It is part of our protection against very powerful spiritual enemies.

Listen Here
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jocelynandersen/2011/03/13/sunday-am-bible-study-the-armour-of-god-p3--breastplate-of-righteousness
(the link says p3 but it is really p4--typo)

Archangels: Armor of God Part Three

All archangels are not good angels

Listen Here
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jocelynandersen/2011/02/27/sunday-bible-study--armour-of-god-p3

Spiritual Warfare Part Two: Fallen Angels and the Armor of God

 Fallen angels are real and still busy opposing Christ by attacking his people

Listen Here
https://www.blogtalkradio.com/jocelynandersen/2011/02/20/armour-of-god-p2--know-your-enemy



Listen to Part One here
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jocelynandersen/2011/02/13/sunday-morning-bible-study

Power to get wealth

We have to have it, and there is no doubt that not having enough money is not only a source of great distress to many, but poverty is known to be a significant source of emotional and physical health problems as well—poverty is even known to cause death—sometimes on a massive scale (that is not to say that there are many happy and healthy people who may also happen to be poor). 

That being said, no one can deny that having more than “just enough” money does indeed make life easier and sometimes a bit happier for some, while not necessarily so for others.

Most have heard the saying found in the Bible: “The love of money is the root of all evil.” How do we reconcile this saying with another in the Word of God which says: “But thou shall remember YAHWEH ELOHIM for it is HE who gives you power to get wealth…THAT HE MAY ESTABLISH HIS COVENANT (Deut 8:18)?”

The first, we see, is self oriented, and the second God oriented. When we are after all we can get for ourselves, others always suffer—one way or another. But when our focus is on God, others always benefit, because God is love. We are told that there are three things we have access to, now, that will transcend time and follow the Christian into eternity. Those three things are faith, hope, and love, and Bible tells us that the greatest of these, is love. 

How do we apply this truth to money and provision? To most people money is a highly personal matter. They take their money very seriously—one way or another. And the Bible has much to say about money. So it behooves us to understand how we can rightly discern the Word of God on this very important subject. Thank God, the Bible, on the subject of money, is really very simple.

Christians live in every conceivable financial strata. Some are rich (the majority are not wealthy, though plenty are), and some are poor. And most will fall somewhere in between. All, at some point in their lives, will know what it feels like to experience financial need. But we can be comforted by the words of Christ when he said, “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these other things will be added unto you.” 

Does this mean that we devote our lives to only spiritual pursuits to the exclusion of everything else? Of course it doesn’t, we know that would be foolish—unless, of course, we are specifically called of God to do such a thing—and some are. Let’s balance this statement of Jesus with the passage that says, “Consider the ant you sluggard consider her ways which having no guide or ruler provides her food in summer and gathers her food in harvest.” And also with the verse that says, “They that do not work do not eat.”

There is no denying that we see a clear parallel in the Bible between work and financial provision. Even the apostle Paul referred to his work as a tent maker. But what about those who cannot work? And when we look around us, we also see that there are many hard working people who struggle financially. 

Why is that? 

One reason for financial difficulty, to the hard working Child of God, is debt. Many have struggled financially for that very reason, in spite of the fact that the Bible explicitly admonishes the Christian to avoid debt by owing no one anything but to love them. Another reason for financial struggle to the hard working Child of God, is that we live in a fallen world. The enemy of our souls is determined to overthrow our faith--even our lives—If he can. God knows how to add to our income when it is not enough to make ends meet. And he counsels us through His word to build our knowledge and faith in the area of His provision—note that I just said KNOWLEDGE and faith. 

The Word of God illustrates for us examples of how our attitudes towards and treatment of our money and possessions can affect all parts of our lives—for the good or for the bad—and not just the financial parts. Our money can serve as a god for us—separating us from the intimate counsel of the one true God. Or it can serve as a way to bring us closer to God, as it does when we worship him by his Spirit and by his Word of Truth when we obey his commands to give—to both God and to the poor and needy. 

Nabal is an example of a man who allowed his possessions to create a gulf between him and God. David and his band of armed men had a need to eat. Nabal was so hateful and greedy with his food (of which he had in an over abundance), that he died of a stroke when he found out that his wife, Abigail, had gone behind his back in taking food to David and his army. 

Abigail knew she was married to a fool who would get them all killed if he had his selfish way. You can read about this in the 25^th chapter of 1^st Samuel. It is fascinating.

Psalm 41:1-3 Promises that if we consider the poor (in providing for their needs, including giving them money), we can be assured of God’s provision and deliverance in times of trouble and calamity (all calamity is not money related). When sickness strikes, we have a promise of healing that is directly related to giving to the poor. Read about it. Psalm 41:1-3 contains that amazing promise to God’s people. 

Speaking of the Nation of Israel, God said, “I will abundantly bless her provision I will satisfy her poor with bread.” He also said, and I will paraphrase here, “If you love and serve me I will bless your food your water your children your garden I will take away all sickness from the midst of you and you will not die before your time.” Read it. It is found in Exodus 23:25-27. 

Serving God includes giving money.

But that is Old Testament you say? We agree. The Children of Israel had a fantastic Covenant with their God—who also just happens to be our God—the God who is the same yesterday today and forever. And doesn’t it say in the book of Hebrews that although the Old Covenant was good, the New Covenant is even better, as it is based on even BETTER promises? That’s Bible!

God said through the prophet Malachi, that if we are selfish and stingy with our money, and do not allocate God his portion, that we are robbing God. Haggai wrote that, “You have sown much and reaped little you eat and you are still hungry you drink and you are still thirsty you have clothes but they are not warm enough you earn wages and put it in bags with holes—Thus says the LORD OF HOSTS—Consider your ways!

Strong words. 

There are many ways we serve God. The most important is to know His Son. After that we build on our foundation of faith in many ways. One of those ways is looking at our money in a new and a better way. 

Every good thing we have comes from God. Money is a blessing to most. It is a curse for some. God warned that too much money is a curse to all. How about that? Consider this, when ancient Israel demanded a King, so they could be like all the nations surrounding them, God gave them what they asked for, but He warned their Kings, because he knew they would be in the best position to accumulate wealth, not to “greatly multiply” that wealth to themselves. 

God is not a respecter of persons. If the Kings Israel were commanded not to do it, then we can rest assured, that greatly multiplying financial wealth to ourselves cannot be a good thing for any of us.

Remember, we balance the command not to greatly-key word, greatly—multiply our personal financial wealth against many conditional promises that God indeed wants us to prosper and get wealth. So obviously there is a difference between the prosperity of God—which can include financial wealth—and the love of money (which is the root of all evil) which would cause some to GREATLY multiply money to themselves. 

God never said money was evil or that having it makes us bad, although it can tempt some who have it to use it in ungodly and unhealthy pursuits. The Bible promises that God loves us and will provide all of our needs according to His riches in glory. We are admonished to do the work God has given us to do, whether it be a secular job, or a ministry job—or both. God’s word says it is God will for us to be in good health and to prosper—and to trust God in all things. 

The writer of Proverbs said it well when under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he penned the words, “Give me neither poverty nor riches feed me with food just right for me lest I be full and deny thee and say Who is the LORD or lest I be poor and steal and take the name of my God in vain.