"
And Joshua went to him and said, '
Are You for us or for our adversaries?'
So He said, '
No,
but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.'" (Joshua 5)
The, "No," response of The, "Commander of the army of the Lord..," gives us more understanding of Daniel 10. This battle is not between humans, nations, political parties, etc. It is against, "the prince of Persia," and, "the prince of Greece," and every prior and succeeding governments.
Enter, "The Kingdom of God/Heaven." We can translate the opening Words of John the Baptist, and the first public Words of our, Commander of the Army of the Lord," our Lord Jesus Christ, "Repent, for the Government of God is at hand."
What we are witnessing in America and the rest of the earth, and, I might add, participating in, is the warfare between the Government (Kingdom) of Heaven and, "the kingdoms of this world." I urge the Global Church to put aside for a moment, "God has a wonderful plan for your life," and the jargon of many mega-churches and mega ministries, and consider/obey the command of Jesus, "And as you go, preach, saying, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Does anyone ever use these Words of Jesus in "sharing the Gospel"?!?
Colossians 1 tells us, "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins (the Words for, 'power' and 'kingdom' are both governmental Words)." We might as well admit it; for too much of Church History, the message has been, "a different gospel," an intensely "personal," and in recent generations, christianized-self help, rather than what Jesus tells us to proclaim.
Let me simply say again: The battle, from the Garden to this present day, is a cosmic battle between the Kingdom of Darkness and the Kingdom of Light. If an individual or group of individuals attempt to make sense out of the global scene apart from this cosmic battle, their confusion will only go deeper. "Put on the whole armor of God...," which translated is, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ,"-------------- "The Commander...."
Father, in Jesus' Name, help me to proclaim and emphasize in life Your Words. Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2