Spirit Wars

“There is a fifth dimension beyond
that which is known to man.
It is a dimension as vast as space
and as timeless as infinity.
It is the middle ground between light and shadow,
between science and superstition.
It lies between the pit of man’s fears
and the summit of his knowledge.
This is the dimension of imagination.
It is an area which we call … The Twilight Zone.”

Every Friday night during the early 1960s, I would listen to Rod Sterling voice those words as he introduced his television program “The Twilight Zone.” The anthology series dealt with that “middle ground” where the visible and invisible forces in the universe intersected with one another.

Each week, ordinary people would discover that “fifth dimension” of reality that invaded their everyday experiences. Those of us who grew up watching “The Twilight Zone” will always remember the episodes about the airline passenger who looks out his window one stormy night and sees a demonic creature on the wing destroying the engines, the customer who realizes that the mannequins in a department store were once human beings, or the father who discovers that his life is a motion picture, and he is only an actor on a set playing his part. 

Beyond the natural entertainment value of the show, the appeal of “The Twilight Zone” (and the other sci-fi programs that it spawned) is that it taps into the instinct we all have that there is something more to life than what we can see or measure. How else do we explain … 

• The coincidences in life that cannot be attributed to mere chance.  
• The intuitive feelings we experience that turn out to be correct.  
• The random impulses we feel to do something completely out of character.  
• The sensations we have when we are alone that we are not alone.

1. Existence of Another World

Rod Sterling was right. There is another world that is beyond human comprehension. This other world is as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. This other world is the spirit world. It is the realm where God, Satan, angels, and demons reside. And whether you realize it or not, it is the reality that is responsible for most of the struggles you experience every day of your life.

Behind the curtain of our visible existence is a world more real and more enduring than the one we can see. There is another world, but what is the world like? And what is our place in that world?

2. War of the Worlds (Ephesians 6:12)

Although this parallel world is invisible to the naked eye, as well as the most powerful microscope or telescope, we do possess an instrument that allows us to peek behind the curtain. Through the lens of the Bible, we discover that there is an unseen war raging between the forces of good and evil.

But why do those of us who may be worrying about surviving the next round of lay-offs at work, making our mortgage payment next month, or navigating our children through adolescence need to concern ourselves with some unseen spiritual war?

3. How the “Other World” Invades Your World

Every day, our world is invaded by what are commonly thought to be random events, and we respond accordingly.

Couples divorce, so we develop marriage enrichment seminars. Drug use among children increases, so we educate them about the dangers of narcotics and encourage them to “Just say ‘no.’” Use of pornography among Christians rises dramatically, so we organize accountability groups. Churches often fight and threaten to split, so we hire arbitrators to help resolve conflicts. Christians complain of depression and thoughts of suicide, so we medicate them with our latest drugs. 

Please understand, I am all for marriage seminars, drug education, accountability groups, conflict resolution, and psychiatric medication when necessary. 

But what if the source of our problems is something more than just random events? What if the explanation for the problems that assault us regularly is something other than “stuff happens?” What if we are indeed under enemy attack? Would we change our strategy—or at least adapt it—to confront such a reality? 

Our greatest problem is not what you see, it’s what you don’t see.

Notice Paul’s use of the personal pronoun “our.”  This war is not just a spat between two cosmic forces that have little to do with us. We cannot shrug our shoulders when we read about it and say, “I don’t have a dog in that fight.” We do have a stake in this battle. Why? 

• Invasions from Without

Admittedly, most Christians are unaware of the intense battle in which we are engaged. Although we regularly witness the fallout of the enemy’s assaults all around us–broken marriages, wayward children, divided churches, inexplicable acts of violence–we fail to connect the dots and understand the source of much of our conflicts. 

• Invasions from Within (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)

There is a war that is raging around us as well as within us. Every Christian is a walking battlefield. One writer describes the war within our hearts this way: “Deep within the hidden recesses of the human heart, a bloodless battle is being fought–a life-and-death struggle for the soul. This intense spiritual warfare is raging between God and Satan upon the invisible battlefields of our hearts. As long as we are upon this earth, every square inch of space and every split second of time in our lives is an arena of war.”

4. Why We Need to Understand Spiritual Warfare

In case you think that all this talk of “spiritual warfare” is symptomatic of some kind of spiritual paranoia, consider the numerous passages in the Bible that utilize the imagery of war to describe our existence on earth.  The first allusion to Christ in the Bible is that of an injured warrior (Genesis 3:15), and the final picture of Christ in the Bible is that of a conquering soldier who returns to earth to reclaim His kingdom (Revelation 19). 

Between the first and second coming of Christ, His followers are described as foot soldiers who are fighting for the establishment of His kingdom on the foreign soil of planet earth.  

At some point, we need to decide whether or not we believe—really believe—that the biblical worldview is correct. If we are convinced that the Bible is God’s Word, then we must conclude that we are living in the crossfire of a great cosmic battle. 

Furthermore, we cannot claim neutrality in this war. “I’m a lover, not a fighter” is no excuse for passivity. There is no safe place on the sidelines for us to sit out the battle until the “all clear” signal is sounded. Jesus made it clear that there was no allowance for conscientious objectors in this war when He said, “He who is not with Me is against me” (Luke 11:23). 

Why do we need to understand the reality of spiritual warfare?

• Crucial for Faithfulness (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
• Crucial for Survival (1 Peter 5:8)

5. Avoiding Extremes

Christians tend to go to one of two extremes when it comes to the subject of spiritual warfare. Those who are unaware and, therefore, unprepared to fight the very real battle that Satan is waging against them are destined to become “spiritual road kill.  However, others become so fixated on Satan and his minions that they become obsessed.

In this series, you will discover how to be both intensely biblical and extremely practical as we discover what we can do to protect our faith, our family, and our future from the powerful attacks of our enemy. But even though Satan and his forces are real and really powerful, we need not fear them, nor do we need to become obsessed with them.

You are in the middle of an invisible, though very real, war. The stakes are high. Your enemy is skilled, armed, and determined. The possibility of losing everything important to you is real.  You must be aware of and prepared for the fight.

And in the weeks ahead, we will discover how you can win the greatest battle of your life by utilizing your Divine Defense.

Full Passage: Ephesians 6:12