Revelation Day 31 - Our Enemies

DAY 31
Our Enemies
Ephesians 2:1-5 (NLT)
 
I must’ve been about ten. I was outside our single-story house, probably summer. I needed someone inside the house but didn’t want to walk around and go in. So I walked up to the nearest window and banged on glass with the flat of my hand.

Big mistake! I was instantly attacked by a handful of wasps who’d been lazily nesting in the window corner. I survived but it was a good lesson: you can’t fight an enemy you can’t see, or dont’ know about.

This week we look at Revelation 12 which is all about an unseen spiritual enemy. Revelation says we’re in a spiritual war but probably unaware of the real enemies.

Our Scripture reading today, however, is from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Paul talks a lot about spiritual warfare in Ephesians and mentions in Eph. 2 all three of our spiritual enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. We’re using the New Living Translation (NLT) today because it makes Paul’s words just a little bit clearer for us.

The world is everything in human culture opposed to God. We see that surface throughout Revelation. When Paul says, “You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world,” he’s talking about our values, attitudes, and habits as a group of people that go against God’s way.

The flesh is our own self-centered streak which the Bible calls Sin. We’ve definitely heard about that. Think back to Rev. 2 when Jesus told the seven churches to repent. The Bible talks about sin and sins. Sin is that powerful bias driving us to put ourselves first at the expense of God and others. Sins are the specific ways that bias shows up. Think about the difference between disease and symptoms and you’ve got the idea.

Rev 12 is all about the devil, enemy number three. We’ll say more about this enemy later this week. Let’s end today by asking, why does it matter if we know about these spiritual enemies?

Two reasons. First, if you don’t know your real enemy, you'll fight the wrong fight and attack the wrong people. Paul told the Ephesians, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12, NIV). If you demonize people and attack people, you’re fighting the wrong fight. You’ll hurt people that God loves and Christ died for.

Second, you can’t fight an enemy you don’t know about. We need to be on guard against all three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Many people doubt the devil’s existence, but if you believe in God, if you believe God the Son united himself with us as Jesus of Nazareth, it’s not a stretch to accept the reality of other spiritual beings - including those who don’t have our best interest in mind.

You don’t have to obsess over the enemy but you need to be aware of him. You don’t have to accept all the imaginary stuff we’ve added, like pitchforks and horns, but we’re shooting ourselves in the foot if we ignore our spiritual enemy.

REFLECT
How much do you typically think about our three spiritual enemies?

PRAY
Thank you, Father, for putting me on guard against my spiritual enemies. Help me to be aware. Help me to fight the right fight. Amen.