The War of the Worlds
No, we are not trying to compete with H G Wells, neither are we into sci-fi. Our subject is fact and not fiction.
Mankind has been previously referred to as God’s special creation. No other of God’s creatures were made in God’s own image. By now you will have picked up that each man and woman is destined to spend eternity either with their Creator or banished from Him. Just the two options. Reference has also been made on a number of occasions to the fact that the destiny of each of us is settled during this life, which is all too brief and uncertain.
The intention behind this page is to clarify what is happening on this planet around us and within us. As you can see from earlier pages, God’s purposes are not going to be served by everyone being banished to Hell, nor are they served by everyone being admitted to Heaven. The separation of the whole human race into two groups is God’s plan for us.
Each one of us has been created by God with a soul, being the spiritual part of our nature, which will return to God for judgment on the death of the mortal body. We are taught that the soul is the immortal part of us which will never be annihilated in the sense that it will totally cease to exist. It will continue into eternity either in Heaven or in Hell. One of the most terrible things about Hell is that there is no end to the suffering of the souls that are consigned there. We are each responsible for our own soul and its well-being. If we choose to ignore it, or convince ourselves that it doesn’t exist, we will deserve everything that we have coming to us.
For the duration of time, a great battle is raging between God and Satan, each with their spiritual armies, and the object of the war is humanity. The contest is between good and evil, and outside of time, in eternity, the war is already won with good triumphing over evil. The battle is being fought over the final destination of each and every individual soul.
The solution to the problem of sin has been provided, so that men and women can be reconciled to God, their righteous Creator. The Devil may be a defeated foe, but while time exists, his one aim is to prevent as many people as possible from taking advantage of the power subsisting in the Cross of Christ. Both worlds of Good and Evil pervade the Earth in which we live, and they are in constant conflict. The struggle to win our souls is something of which we are quite sensitive at times, when we become aware that conscience is grappling with worldly self-interest. Satan’s wiles are so subtle that evil is portrayed as desirable, as it was in the first instance of temptation resulting in sin.
Even Christians are liable to fall into sin when they fail to detect the presence of evil when faced with temptation. If the Devil achieves a minor victory in this way, the Christian is forgiven when he or she truly repents. Of course, if Satan approached boldly to offer something that was obviously wrong, no matter how appealing it might be to self-interest, the Christian is able to combat it with the power of the Word of God. Hence the need for cunning and disguise in the way evil operates.
This interminable warfare between right and wrong rages in and around us whether or not we are conscious of it. As the default of mankind’s destiny is death, the Devil and his agents are expert in lulling folk to sleep regarding these issues. This is often achieved by giving a person an improper sense of self-satisfaction so that the real issues of spiritual health are unrecognised or dismissed as irrelevant. Another one of the more frequent tactics employed is to keep a person so busy with the day to day process of living that no time is spared for God and His claims upon us. Any ploy that squeezes out from our lives the time that should be spent in consideration of God, in prayer and actively serving God is directly contrary to the welfare of our souls. Lack of time to devote to the more momentous matters of our mortal existence has caused, and will no doubt continue to cause, the culminating downfall of many.
It is not possible for any of us to opt out of spiritual hostilities. We must support one side or the other, and our involvement makes us soldiers fighting with one of the armies. Spiritual warfare is clearly recognised in the Bible, and we are warned that the battle is not against flesh and blood, but against demonic powers and ‘spiritual wickedness in high places’. Christians are urged to put on the armour which God supplies to protect them in the fight. This is obviously only provided for those campaigning for good against evil and right against wrong, i.e. they are fully committed to God’s side having turned to Him for deliverance from their sinful state by claiming Christ as their Saviour in the power of the Holy Spirit.
If you have the curiosity to learn about the extent and nature of this armour, you will find detail given in verses ten to eighteen of the sixth chapter of the book of Ephesians which is to be found in the New Testament of the Bible.
Considering our involvement in the battle, it is vital that we don’t take a purely intellectual or detached view of these realities. No apology is offered, therefore, for asking you to consider carefully the answer to this question:
Whose side are you on?
There is much to be said for being on the winning side. At times it may seem that things are going Satan’s way, but don’t be deceived. The ultimate victory belongs to God, who created all things in the first place. It is a foolish person who is content to remain with those destined to defeat. In matters of such importance, it is just not sensible to become the worst possible type of loser.