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The SPIRITUAL Showdown

We sometimes forget that there is nothing the rulers of this world, or the spiritual demonic entities, can do to catch God off guard. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob knows the end from the very beginning.
“The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.” A.W. Tozer
When we talk about the spiritual showdown revealed to us in this 16th chapter of Revelation, we also talk about the spiritual warfare every Christian is involved. If we are not familiar with the entire Bible, which includes all prophetic passages (about 28 % of it is prophetic), we are ineffective when the enemy brings 100% of his plan to your doorstep. The whole world will find out the hard way.
The kingdom of God is the rule of God. God desires to rule over all He has created; the invisible spiritual realm and the visible earthly realm. He will have His way in both domains. How will He do it? Isaiah 14:12-27 God will bring the spiritual and the physical domain together for a final showdown to judge the spiritual and the physical rulers. The 6th bowl judgment is all about that final showdown which God promised in His word would come to pass. He will fulfill it in every detail.
Careful observation will reveal that this is the identical sequence which we find in the Garden of Eden story. It was there where God walked and talked with His creation. This spiritual showdown will set the final steps of God in motion to once again walk and talk with His creation on this earth.
There are 3 very specific demon spirits mentioned in this verse.
One comes from the Dragon’s mouth. The second one comes from the mouth of the beast. And the third one comes from the mouth of the false prophet. This trio is known as the TRINITY FROM HELL. The Dragon is Satan, the Beast is the Antichrist, the False Prophet is the religious leader.
This special place is in the plain of Megiddo. Megiddo is the Hebrew word corresponding to the Greek word Armageddon. This valley of Megiddo is 14 miles wide and 20 miles long. Certainly not large enough to be sufficient for the armies of the world. But the Bible does not tell us that that’s where they all will be at one time. The Greek word translated “battle” literally means “campaign”. Actually, the text in verse 14 literally means:
“ unto the campaign (or battle) of the day, the great one, the one of God, the Almighty One.” In other words, these words emphasize the fact that this period will fully demonstrate the omnipotence and sovereignty of God Almighty.
In other words, the whole world is assembled for this spiritual showdown. It will be the world, under the leadership of Satan, against God Almighty.
How God will do it, we will learn in the next few chapters. Remember, whatever God has written down in his Word, every prophecy, every promise, every single word, will come to pass just as He said. WE can certainly trust Him and His Word.

Refuge In God’s SOVEREIGNTY

We have already learned that all of us are subject to spiritual warfare; that Satan and his demons have built strongholds in our mind, that is, make us believe certain doctrines that are contrary to the Word of God. And we all have learned from the Apostle Paul’s admonition that such strongholds, such doctrines that contradict the Word of God, must be pulled down, demolished, pulverized.
When we read these verses, we can easily come to the conclusion that the battle is entirely in our hands and in our power. However, as we will find out today, these weapons of warfare are MIGHTY IN GOD. And the battle of our mind, bringing our very thoughts into captivity, cannot be done apart of OBEYING THE WORD OF GOD.
Who is really in Control? You, Satan or God Almighty?
THE ANSWER MUST ALWAYS COME FROM THE BIBLE, which happen to be our standard for living.
God’s sovereignty does not mean that you have no responsibility in spiritual warfare. Although the ultimate outcome is not in question, what happens in your life will be affected by how you respond. Listen, Satan is not deciding what is going on in your life. It is God Almighty who has His own purposes for allowing the enemy access to your life, and God’s purposes are always only for your good.
Because Jesus found refuge in God’s sovereignty, the attitude was one of absolute obedience, the obedience unto death, having confidence in His Heavenly Father as Jesus Himself focused on the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2).
Satan did warfare against Jacob and his sons. Satan’s intent was to destroy them all, so God could not fulfill His promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. After Joseph was sold into slavery, and the brothers struggled to survive in Canaan during a great famine, God finally revealed His ultimate purposes to those involved. Satan wanted to derail God’s purpose by using evil means, but God meant it for good. He will always turn into good what Satan means for evil. All our spiritual battles are in our mind. The way we think. Strongholds, Paul calls them. Do we think according to the Word of God or according to the things we feel or hear?
No exception.