Whole Armour Ministries was founded by Dr. Casey Smith in an effort to equip the saints with the armour of God as described in the sixth chapter of Ephesians. The spiritual warfare that Christians face daily is either dismally overlooked or altogether unknown. Dr. Smith has said, “We must not allow carnality to distract or compete with our attention to God's instruction for us to be sober and vigilant of the devices of the devil. Those devices come from every area of our lives that has not been sanctified by prayer”

Christians must understand the reason a spiritual war is taking place and that God chose to reveal it to us in His Word. Without revelation from Scripture, we would be blind to this battle. Therefore, to understand this war, we must see what the Scriptures teach. Our opinions, our emotions, and our feelings play absolutely no part in reaching a conclustion to the matter of spiritual warfare! Scoffers must be reminded that the Lord says, “let the Word of God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4).

For Christians, the Bible teaches that there is an invisible realm, which is distinct from the physical realm. Our physical world is in many ways under the power this spiritual world. Much of the evil in the world is a direct result of this unseen war. The number of personalities in this conflict are infinite. This battle is played out in the realm of humanity, the physical world.

According to scripture, the targets of this battle are the souls of humanity, (I Peter 5:8-9), and the battlefield is in mind of humanity, blinding them from the truth, that they perish without salvation. The Bible further teaches that many minds are blinded by the devil in so much that they cannot see or hear the Gospel and are in spiritual darkness. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

This spiritual conflict rages all around us, as the kingdom of Satan wages war on the kingdom of God, for the souls of humanity. When we come to the Lord Jesus Christ, we are save. And once saved, we are now thrust into the call to oppose the kingdom of Satan by going on the offense by brining the Good News of the Gospel in all its power to sinners. We become an adversary to the devil, who has blinded the lost. Understanding, the dynamics of this spiritual world is key, to having victory not only in our life, but also in advancing the kingdom of God, in territory claimed by the enemy.

Why we need to understand Spiritual Warfare?

Have you ever played a game, not knowing or understand the rules? Imagine you are invited to play in a football game, without understanding the rules. You might find yourself asking these questions. What do you do with the ball? Why are these players hitting me? You might find yourself quitting or lying on the ground in agony, not understanding why the other team hit you. This happens in the spiritual realm, when someone comes to Christ, and is "born again.” Many times the new Christian finds himself in the middle of a war, not understanding the conflict.

Christians must understand spiritual warfare! We must not lie in defeat, but move forward in victory as the Lord Jesus has said “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33) Our goal is to advance the Kingdom of God, take territory from the enemy and bring souls into the kingdom. If we understand how our enemy works, his traps and strategies are less likely to take us by surprise.

Satan understands the redeemed (saved) are his mortal enemy. His goal is to remove the advantage of victory they have in Christ, by causing the saved to wallow in bondage and defeat. A defeated Christian is one less enemy Satan has to worry about; one more warrior of the Kingdom of God taken out of commission. Knowing this is Satan's goal, allows the believer to pursue victory rather than wallow in defeat so, we must understand how Satan wages war in our lives, and in the lives those around us. If we know his methods, we will be equipped to disarm, and tear down the strongholds, which cause our constant defeat. Knowing the method of spiritual warfare, allows us to go on the offense, rather than responding from a position of defense and weakness. (2 Corinthians 10:4)

When did Spiritual Warfare begin?

To understand the origin of this Spiritual conflict, our knowledge of this war comes through Scripture alone. God has revealed through the prophets, in both Old and New Testaments, the origin of this war. Satan has many names in scripture; one among them is Lucifer, who was the angel who covered the throne of God.His beauty and pride made him rebel against God's authority, causing him to lead a rebellion of one third of the angels against God. These angels along with Lucifer became fallen angels. The nature of Satan's fall is covered in Ezekiel 28:1-18, and Isaiah 14:1-19, where Satan is referred to as the King of Tyre (Ezekiel) and the King of Babylon (Isaiah).

The devil chose to reject God's authority, along with one third of the angels (Revelation 12;4). With the fall of these angels, the war began. As a place for punishment, God created the everlasting fires of Hell for the Devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:41). Before Satan was dispatched there, God made humanity and allowed Satan to question His authority.

The fall of Man

With the creation of angels, God also created the physical world, and humanity, which was made in the very image of God. Like the angels, humankind had the ability to choose to reject or obey God's commands. God created Adam and Eve, and placed them in the Garden of Eden. Humanity, like the angels, could choose to obey or reject the command in the Garden. Adam and Eve, made in the image of God, were given dominion over the earth; they were to subdue the earth and have dominion over it, being made in the image of God (Genesis 1:28).

God also permitted Satan, the fallen angel to tempt Adam and Eve. By questioning God's nature and commands in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, like one third of the angels yielded to Satan's temptation, and rejected God's command. They rebelled against God and fell. They turned over their rights of dominion to Satan. What a mess indeed! At that point, man was separated from God as sin brought death as the wages for disobedience to God's commandments. In rejecting God's command, Adam also forfeited his dominion over the earth. For this reason, Satan could tempt Jesus on the mountain, and offer him the kingdoms of the world, if Jesus would fall down and worship him (Luke 4:5-8).

In God's foreknowledge, He established a plan of redemption through the seed of Eve, the woman. A descendent (a seed) of the woman would crush the head of the Serpent (Satan). The war, which began in the Spiritual realm, now entered the physical world, as God promised that the judgment on Satan, would come through the offspring of the woman. The Messiah, a descendent of Eve, would one day crush Satan (Genesis 3:14-15).

The Spiritual War now entered the physical world. From the time of Cain and Abel, we see two groups of descendents emerge from Adam and Eve, one who seeks God and one who rejects God, like our spiritual counterparts the angels. For this reason, God called out a people from the earth, who would serve him. These people are the redeemed of the earth. They are the Lord's army representing God in the Spiritual War, opposing the work of Satan. Meanwhile, Satan and his fallen angels works to corrupt and subvert God's people, trying to prevent his final end.

The redemption of humanity and Satan's fall

Prior to the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and even after His birth, Satan's goal was to prevent the redemption of man. From the point when Cain killed Abel, the “seed” of the Serpent has pursued the “seed” of the Woman. In the days of Noah, God separated His people, the family of Noah, from fallen humanity. After Noah's Ark landed, and his descendents began to multiply, we see Satan continue the battle, which began in the garden. Again, God calls out a people, Abraham and his descendents who are chosen, to be God's people, opposing to the work of Satan.

Remember, Satan's goal is to prevent the fulfillment of God's Word, which declared his being crushed by the “Seed” of the woman. God chose Israel, descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as His people. In the book of Exodus God refers to the children of Israel, the descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as “My people” nineteen times. He makes a distinction between His people and the people of Egypt (Exodus 6:7).

Through the descendents of Israel, God would complete his plan of redemption in the world. Satan again tries to prevent this. In Exodus chapter 1, Satan through Pharaoh, tries to integrate Israel into Egypt by killing all the male children, which would have forced Israel to become Egypt. Out of this struggle, Moses emerges to lead the people of Israel back to the land of Canaan,, the land of promise. On the way to the Promised Land, God again declares the distinction between His people and the rest of the nations (Exodus 19:5-6).

Israel, was created to be distinct on the Earth, a unique people, a holy people. The Hebrew word for holy is Xwdq Qadowsh, meaning sacred, set apart or saint, the New Testament equivalent is hagios, which translates as saint. Israel was to be a nation of saints, among fallen humanity. Through the nation of Israel, God would bring forth the Messiah, who would crush Satan. As we read the stories of war and battles in the pages of the Old Testament and the nation struggles with sin, we can witness the spiritual war through which Satan tries to prevent the Messiah's birth.

The prophets such as Isaiah declared the Messiah (Christ), would be a descendent of King David, who would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:1-2). He would rule on David's throne over the nations and His kingdom would be eternal (Isaiah 9:6-7). However, the Messiah would suffer and pay for the sins of man, before he came in glory and power to judge the nations (Isaiah 53). Jesus at the cross, defeated Satan who earlier tempted Jesus to worship him, promising Jesus the nations in exchange (Luke 4:5-8).

When Jesus died on the cross, He redeemed what Adam and Eve lost and paid for the sins of humanity. He suffered, the Serpent bruised (crushed) His heal (Genesis 3:15), but in the process the Messiah became the payment of sins for all humanity. Again, God was redeeming His people from those on the earth. The Church is the body of Christ on the earth representing God's presence in the world. In the same way Israel represented God during the Old Testament period, we represent God today. We have been grafted into the covenant blessings of Israel (Romans 11:17). Praise God!

The Lord Jesus Christ declared his victory over Satan, giving authority to His people, the saints, over the fallen angels. Therefore, redeemed by the blood of Christ, Christians carry the battle forward, having authority over the enemy. We have authority over the demonic realm in the name and power of Christ. This is what Satan tried to prevent, from the fall of man until the time of Jesus Christ (Luke 10:17-20).

Satan, however, is still at work trying to prevent the advance of the Kingdom of God in the world, despite his defeat at the cross. He understands his time is short and that one day the saints, the redeemed of the earth, will inherit all things. We see this declaration in the book of Daniel, over 500-years before the birth of Jesus (Daniel 7:27).

Christians march forward in victory over the power of Satan. The Devil's goal for the Christian, is to take away the victory we have in Jesus Christ, causing us to live a life of defeat. By doing this, he removes one more threat against his work. God however has put limits on just how far Satan can go. We see this in the book of Job as Satan rejects Job's righteousness, because he (Satan) does not have the permission to touch him, because the Lord has put a hedge around Job. (Job 1:8-10).

The Invisible world of the Spiritual realms

Satan's work against the Kingdom of God, takes place in the invisible realms. We cannot see the spiritual world with our physical eyes, but its effects are just as real. Scripture clearly declares the existence of the unseen invisible world (Romans 1:20, Hebrews 11;27, Colossians 1:16). This world cannot be comprehended with our physical senses.

The idea of a spiritual world, stands in contrast the philosophy of materialism, which teaches all that exists is the physical or of matter.

The Apostle Paul taught the Ephesian Christians that not only is this spiritual realm invisible but it is organized with a structure of rule. The battle we face in the world is not one in the physical world but one in the spiritual (Ephesians 6:1-12).

The word for wrestle pavlh Pale, is found only here in the New Testament. The wrestling contest referred to here depicts a contest between two in which each endeavors to throw the other, and which is decided when the victor is able to hold his opponent down with his hand upon his neck. Paul uses this example to illustrate the contest; we face against the invisible spiritual realms. Our battle is very real, its actually against an organized system of power and influence in the heavenly realms.

Through Paul, the Holy Spirit reveals in Scripture that the root behind the conflict is not the physical, but the spiritual. The angelic world and the demonic (fallen angels) conflicts are being played out in the physical realms, which involves us. The extent and nature of this invisible world is more than we can imagine. However, the Bible gives us glimpses of how the invisible world interacts with the physical. In Second Kings, the King of Syria is at war with Israel, Elisha the prophet kept telling the king of Israel what the Syrian king planned to do. Finally, the Syrian king sent an army to get Elisha. The morning they arrived, Elisha's servant was shocked and frightened, and he cried out to Elisha “Alas my master what shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15).

Let's look at Elijah's response: “So he answered, Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, Strike this people, I pray, with blindness. And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha (2 Kings 6:8-17).

Halleluiah! Elisha, understood the situation from a spiritual rather than physical viewpoint! The servant was there for our benefit as God allowed us to see the situation as the servant saw it, so that we could understand the world we live in. Here two men stood, Elisha and his servant, who represented the Lord, versus a much larger physical army of chariots and horses from Syria. In the world of flesh, Elisha would have no chance of escape. The physical world however, is subject to the spiritual realms. The spiritual realms are just as real as the physical only they are not seen with our physical eyes. This is the point Elisha wanted his servant to understand, and God wanted us to know. The armies of the Lord are present in the world, and servants of the Lord have authority over the fallen realms through the power of Christ. For that, Christians must praise the Lord for his provision and faithfulness to be with us in all things never to forsake His people (Psalm 23).

Another example of this invisible world is found in the New Testament book of Mark. In the fifth chapter, a man who was possessed with demons confronts Jesus. Through this event, Jesus allows us to see the operation of the demonic realms of this invisible world.

“ Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me." For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!" Then He asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many." Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them." And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea” (Mark 5:1-13)

From this one event, we can glean a great deal of insight into the spiritual realms. Some major points to note include the following:

• The man had a supernatural strength but his power was subject to God.
• The man in whom the demons dwelt was in torment
• He recognized who Jesus was, and appealed to Him.
• The spirit dwelt in the man, allowing him to interact in the physical world.
• The demon was frightened of Jesus
• He had an identity, he was named “Legion”
• He was more then one demon
• They could only do what was permissible, such as entering the pigs

The Lord desires His people to understand spiritual warfare so we can be on the attack as we move throughout the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Satan's goal is not to be seen, but to deceive. In a secular, skeptical world its to Satan's advantage for people to think he does not exist. But, we will not be deceived because we know of his devices and declare that “the gates of hell shall not prevail” against the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ! (Matthew 16:18)

Spiritual warfare is a reality Christians face every day. Armed with the Word of God and knowing that God will never “leave or forsake” us, we can boldly proclaim his Gospel among sinners. In doing so, we will be faithful to the call of His people to be “salt and light” to give flavor and hope to a tasteless and dark world fallen in sin. Christians must love sinners by fighting against laziness, complacency and fear. Together, through the Holy Sprit we must advance as we hear the voice of our Great Shepherd call us to the frontlines to be soulwinners for Him until He calls us home. Jesus is both Lord and Christ! To Him be all glory, power, praise and dominion for ever and ever amen!