THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
Spiritual Warfare
Message Three—The Need of Spiritual Warfare to Bring In the Kingdom of God
Scripture Reading: Dan. 7:1-27; 10:10—11:1; Rev. 12:10a; 11:15
I. According to the record in Daniel 7, Daniel saw a vision of God and His universal dominion and of the coming of the Son of Man to receive a kingdom: (2012 WT, msg. 5)
A. “I watched / Until thrones were set, / And the Ancient of Days sat down. / His clothing was like white snow, / And the hair of His head was like pure wool; / His throne was flames of fire, / Its wheels, burning fire. / A stream of fire issued forth / And came out from before Him. / Thousands of thousands ministered to Him, / And ten thousands often thousands stood before Him. / The court of judgment sat, / And the books were opened”—vv. 9-10: (2012 WT, msg. 5)
1. This is a vision of God and His universal dominion, with the fire signifying that God is absolutely righteous and altogether holy—Heb. 12:29. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
2. A special court, with God’s throne as the center, has been set up in the universe to judge the four human empires—Dan. 7:2-10, 26. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
3. While the struggles are taking place between the human governments, God is behind the scene, managing the world situation—Rev. 4:1-3, 10-11. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
B. “There with the clouds of heaven / One like a Son of Man was coming; / And He came to the Ancient of Days, / And they brought Him near before Him. / And to Him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, / That all the peoples, nations, and languages might serve Him. / His dominion is an eternal dominion, which will not pass away; / And His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed”—Dan. 7:13-14: (2012 WT, msg. 5)
1. Concerning His judgment, God has given all power and authority to Jesus Christ as the Son of Man; hence, Daniel 7:13 and 14 describe the coming of Christ as the Son of Man—John 5:22, 27. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
2. The coming here is Christ’s ascension after He accomplished the work of redemption—Acts 1:9; cf. Rev. 5:6-7. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
3. In His ascension Christ as the Son of Man is before the throne of God to receive dominion and a kingdom—Dan. 7:13-14: (2012 WT, msg. 5)
a. After Christ as the Son of Man receives the kingdom from God, He will come back to rule over the entire world—Luke 19:12, 15. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
b. Christ’s coming will terminate the entire human government on earth, and it will bring in the eternal kingdom of God—Dan. 2:34-35, 44; Rev. 12:10a; 11:15. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
II. Because a war is taking place in the spiritual world behind the physical world, there is the necessity of spiritual warfare, of fighting, to bring in the kingdom of God—Dan. 10:10—11:1; Eph. 6:10-18; Rev. 12:10a; 11:15: (2012 WT, msg. 5)
A. “Your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for twenty-one days; but now Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me”—Dan. 10:12b-13a: (2012 WT, msg. 5)
1. For us to know God’s economy, we need to see the spiritual things behind the physical things, the spiritual world behind the physical world—vv. 20-21. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
2. It is crucial for us to see that behind the physical scene a spiritual struggle, a struggle not seen with human eyes, is taking place—vv. 12-13, 20-21: (2012 WT, msg. 5)
a. Behind the physical scene, a spiritual struggle, an invisible spiritual war, is taking place—Eph. 6:10-20. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
b. The spiritual scene in Daniel 10 includes both good and evil spirits that are engaged in an invisible spiritual war—vv. 12-13, 20-21. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
c. While Daniel was praying for twenty-one days, a spiritual struggle was taking place in the air between two spirits, one belonging to Satan and the other belonging to God—9:3; 10:2-3, 12: (2012 WT, msg. 5)
(1) The angelic messenger had been fighting against the prince of the kingdom of Persia, probably an evil spirit, a rebellious angel, who followed Satan in his rebellion against God—v. 20a; Rev. 12:4a. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
(2) Michael, a prince fighting for Israel, fought together with the angelic messenger against the evil spirits—Dan. 10:13, 21. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
d. Isaiah 14:12-14 unveils Satan’s kingdom of darkness and his oneness with the rulers of the nations. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
e. The vision in Revelation 12 unveils the true situation in the universe—the warfare between God and His enemy. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
f. In our spiritual fighting, we deal not with things that appear on the surface but with the power of darkness behind these things—Eph. 2:6; 6:12. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
B. The church must engage in spiritual warfare, fighting to bring in the kingdom of God—Matt. 12:28; Eph. 6:10-18; Rev. 12:10a; 11:15: (2012 WT, msg. 5)
1. “Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth”—Matt. 6:10: (2012 WT, msg. 5)
a. The coming of the kingdom is not automatic; if there is no prayer, the kingdom cannot come. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
b. Genuine prayer is a joint labor with God to bring His kingdom to the earth and to carry out His will on earth; hence, prayer is a spiritual battle—2 Cor. 10:4; Eph. 6:12. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
2. “Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ”—Rev. 12:10: (2012 WT, msg. 5)
a. Along with our praying for the coming of the kingdom of God, we need to fight for it—Matt. 6:10; Eph. 6:10-18: (2012 WT, msg. 5)
(1) In order for the kingdom of the heavens to be established, there is the need of spiritual fighting—Matt. 12:22-29. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
(2) The responsibility of the church is to continue the warfare that Christ fought on earth; the church must continue the victorious work that Christ has carried out against Satan—Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8b; Col. 2:15; Psa. 149:5-9. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
b. The overcoming believers fight against Satan to usher in God’s kingdom—Rev. 12:10-11. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
3. “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever”—11:15: (2012 WT, msg. 5)
a. Spiritual warfare is the warfare between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan—Matt. 12:26, 28. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
b. The purpose of spiritual warfare is to bring in the kingdom of God—Rev. 12:10. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
c. The kingdom of God is the exercise of the divine will and the overthrowing of the power of Satan by the power of God—Matt. 6:10. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
d. Wherever the devil has been cast out and wherever the work of the enemy has been displaced by God’s power, the kingdom of God is there—12:28; Rev. 12:7-10. (2012 WT, msg. 5)
4. “The kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him”—Dan. 7:27; cf. v. 18. (2012 WT, msg. 5)