The Battle Against Evil – Ephesians 6

Harness the horses; mount the steeds! Take your positions with your helmets, polish the spears, put on the armor! Jer. 46:4

⁷ Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

The Lord wants us to be ready spiritually for His coming, which will be very soon! But also He wants us to be aware that before His coming we’ll go through a very critical time, a great spiritual battle that the enemy is bringing mainly against God’s people, looking to destroy as many as he can, physically, mentally & spiritually (a great falling away 2 The.2:3), since he knows have short time left. But God is waking up His children, His watchmen, to rise up with Him & IN Him, in prayer, in the Spirit of God.

He will allow these fiery trials because He is cleansing His house (1 Pet.4:12-17, 1 Cor.3:13, 11:32) separating the sheep from the goats, and these trials will help refine His true followers as gold & silver (Malach3:2-4), but remember He always will be  the closest to you during the refining process, so don’t dismay & trust Him.

We are already in a raging battle against evil at this time of great darkness, but the fire is about to intensify, for this reason (before doing anything else) we need to submit to God first, (repent of wrong doing, put yourselves in His hands, & obey His Word). Let us get closer to the Lord, let us be strong in Him & put on the whole armor of God. Without Jesus there is no armor, & we can’t do spiritual battle in the flesh or in our own.

We need our spiritual armor to be able to stand & resist the evil days specially the darkest ones approaching (possibly we may even see demons/aliens manifesting, so be prepare, this will make many doubt their faith & the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, many believers will fall away).

In the the book of Ephesians 6 the apostle Paul refers to the armor of God and the imagery he uses remind us of a Roman centurion. Paul was writing this letter to the church in Ephesus an important city of the Roman empire that had hosted gladiators fights, and were well aware of the Roman soldier gear. The armor of the Roman Army was one of the several factors that made it the best fighting force in the world.

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Eph, 6:10-18

We have been given authority but not always use it.  In the same way, we need to use the resources God has given us to defend & protect ourselves while fighting spiritual battles.

1/ Belt of Truth  (vs.14) – Jesus is the Truth (Jn 14:6). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (Jn.16:13; 14:17) & The Word of God is the Truth (Jn.17:17).  He also said that He came into the world to testify unto the truth (God’s Truth) & that everyone who belongs to the truth listens to Him (Jn.18:37). We need to know & believe this truth to protect ourselves from the deception of the world & the lies of the enemy (the father of lies). And because we are children of truth we are truthful in all we do (imitating our Father), we live with honesty and integrity.

2/ Breastplate of Righteousness (vs.14) – Protects vital organs, mainly our heart (our emotions & desires). The righteousness that guards the believer is not our own but  is the Righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21) & because of His sacrifice for us we choose to please Him.

3/ Sandals of preparation of the Gospel of Peace (vs.15) -The Roman sandals were fixed with straps to provide a firm stand (not flip flops) we need first an unmovable faith in the Gospel. The we are ready to share the gospel of peace which is the good news that Jesus gives to all who want to trust in Him. – “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”  Romans 10:15.

4/ The Shield of Faith (vs.16) – This was the most  important piece of the armor of the  Roman soldier. Having faith in God & trusting His Word we extinguish all the fiery arrows of the enemy, like temptations, doubts, etc. “for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2 Tim.1:12)

5/ Helmet of Salvation (vs.17) – Protect our minds, the thoughts & believes of the transformed mind (Rom.12:2, 2 Cor.10:5). We understand salvation is not just  an event or a thing of the past (Justification- Rom.5:1, 18, 8:32-34), but is a process or growth of the present (sanctification Jn.17:17, Rom.12:1-2,  1 Cor.1:30, 1 Tim.4:16, Col.2:6, 1 Thes.4:3) & of our future (glorification –1 Cor.53, 2 Cor.4:17). We are now God’s sons & daughters He loves us & He will intervene mightily in our battles while we are here on earth. One day after the battles are over, very soon, we will be with Him for ever, no more pain, no more tears.

6/ Sword of the Spirit (vs.17) – The sword is the Word of God, the Bible (Heb.4:12). When we know the Scriptures we can discern between the clean and the unclean—the holy and the profane. What is from God & what isn’t. Also we trust what God says in His Word & it will help us defeat the enemy, because we know & believe “No weapon form against us shall prosper” Isaiah 54:17, & that our God will supply our needs (Phil. 4:19).

7/ Prayer in the Spirit (Vs.18) – This is how we do battle with the armor. Prayer & supplication for the brethren & also for others. Letting ourselves be led by the Holy Spirit. 

If you noticed, Jesus is our Armor, He is the Truth (Jn.14:6), He is our Righteousness (2 Cor.5:21), His message is the Gospel of Peace (Rom.10:15),  He is the author & finisher of our faith (Heb.12:2), our salvation (Isa.12:2, Rom.10:9, Acts 4:12, etc), He gave us the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) & He is the Word of God (Jn.1:1). Even we as believers have protection available for battle, we don’t always have our whole armor on, reason why Paul is saying to put it on for spiritual battle. While we do battle let us not forget to have compassion for the lost, even the ones the enemy may send against us.

Matthew 9 :35 Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they fainted and were scattered, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest, that He will send out laborers into His harvest.”

Matthew 10:1
And calling His twelve disciples to Him, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could drive them out and heal every disease and sickness.

Luke 10:2
And He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.

Luke 10:19-20
Look, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. And nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

John 4:35
Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest.

John 8:31
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you remain in My word, then you are truly My disciples.

This video is a confirmation of what I think the Lord is telling us at his moment: