You Cannot Fight an Angel
"Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word." — Psalm 103:20
The Visitor in the Living Room
The argument had been going on for some time — one woman insisting that God had commanded a covenant, the other stubbornly refusing, insisting she could fight and protect them both herself.
Then the room filled with light.
A figure stood in the living room, robed in white, with a drawn sword in his hand. He was very tall; his head nearly touched the ceiling. He radiated power and his face was fierce. The sword shone with a pure white light.
Before anyone could speak he said:
"Hold your peace, woman. I am a servant of God most high, Jesus Christ of Nazareth who was born of a virgin, walked this earth in the flesh for thirty-three years, and died on a cross for your sins. This Jesus who now sits on high at the Father's right hand is my Master. I am sent by God the Father to kill this one who is so rebellious and disobedient. She has angered God."
How They Knew What He Was
Notice the first thing that happened: he identified himself by confessing Jesus Christ, come in the flesh.
That was not incidental. It was the test, and it was passed before anything else occurred.
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God... Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God." (1 John 4:1–2)
"For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14)
Demons impersonate angels of light. It is one of their standard tactics. So the God-given test must be applied to every spirit, without exception and without embarrassment — including the impressive ones, especially the impressive ones.
Never accept the identity of a spiritual being on the strength of how it looks.
The Difference Between Angels and Demons
The woman who had spent years in the occult was entirely unafraid. She shook her fist at him: "Okay, big guy, let's see if you can put your action where your mouth is."
She was dragged back onto the couch and told to be quiet — and then she was told something she badly needed to hear:
You cannot fight against an angel.
She was used to fighting with demons, and demons can be resisted, bound, and cast out in the name of Jesus, because they are rebels operating without authority.
Angels of the Lord are entirely different. They fight with the power of God and they obey only His will. There is nothing in you or available to you that can stand against one. That angel would indeed have killed her; he was not joking. And the Lord had every right to strike her dead.
Point to Ponder
Demons can be resisted because they are rebels. An angel on assignment cannot be resisted at all.
Verse to Remember
"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God... Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God." — 1 John 4:1–2
Question to Consider
Have I ever accepted a spiritual experience as being from God without testing it?
Today's Practice
Learn the test properly, because you will need it and you may need it suddenly.
Memorize 1 John 4:1–2 word for word. Not the gist — the words.
Then rehearse how you would apply it. If any spiritual being, impression, voice, dream figure, or manifestation presents itself to you, the question is not did it feel holy or was it beautiful. The question is: does it confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh? Ask it directly, out loud, in those terms.
Then examine your past. Have you had spiritual experiences you accepted without testing? Visions, voices, encounters, impressions, a presence during meditation, a "guide," a departed relative, a being of light?
Take each one to God: "Father, show me the truth about that experience. If it was not from You, I renounce it now in the name of Jesus Christ, and I command anything that gained access through it to leave me."
Prayer
Father, You are holy and I have not taken that seriously. I have argued with You, delayed You, and treated Your commands as suggestions to be weighed.
Thank You for the mercy that has kept me alive through years of that.
Teach me to test the spirits. I have accepted things because they were impressive or beautiful or comforting, and I never once asked the question You told me to ask. Forgive me.
Where I have opened myself to something that never confessed Your Son, expose it and cleanse me by His blood. I renounce every such experience now.
And give me a right fear of You — not terror, but the sober reverence I have entirely lacked. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Never accept the identity of a spiritual being on the strength of how it looks. Ask it the question.