Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand firm against the devil’s cunning schemes; for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand firm on the evil day and, having done everything well, to remain standing. Stand firm, then, with your loins girded with truth, and clothed with the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the readiness [to bear witness] to the gospel of peace. Above all, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one, and take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and keeping watch to this end with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints,
Ephesians 6:10-18
A former high-ranking Satanist, who now serves the Lord very faithfully in the Gospel, urgently warned pastors after his conversion to encourage believers to put on the armor of God and described the following experiences. Although he had little biblical knowledge at the time, he simply reported what he had experienced and seen:
He said that the armor of God must be put on anew every day through proclamation. Every Christian has a personal angel who serves him. As it says in Hebrews 1:14: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to serve those who are to inherit salvation?
When Christians pray in their armor, the answer comes through the hand of their personal angel (Dan 9:20), who is likewise clothed in full armor.
And whatever you ask in my name, I will do it… John 14:13
If you ask anything in my name, I will do it—John 14:14
However, if the praying Christian does not care for his armor, then his angel comes without spiritual armor or with incomplete armor.
The powers of darkness can very easily recognize the weaknesses of the respective Christians based on the missing parts of the armor on their personal angels. For example, the helmet of salvation is protection against thoughts whispered or projected into our minds by demons. If you neglect this, your angel will come without a helmet. Spiritual weapons that you ignore on earth are also absent from the angel who serves you. The armor of God is therefore not meant to protect our physical bodies, but our thoughts and our spiritual actions.
When an angel comes with an answer, the demons immediately see which areas are unprotected and attack precisely those areas. In the spiritual world, they shoot at the angel’s head if he has no helmet. The Christian, as a physical human being, experiences these attacks through aggressive, destructive, or sinful thoughts.
If he has no breastplate, they shoot at his chest. In such cases, the physical person is severely weakened by unbelief and doubt or by fear and panic attacks.
If the angel is not wearing boots, the person is prevented from sharing the Gospel, for example, by paralyzing fear of people.
Battles in the spiritual realm are intense. Here, spirits fight against spirits. Powers of darkness can also overpower and capture angels of God who are on the move without armor or with only meager armor. The first thing they then target is the answer to the Christian’s prayer that the angel carries. They rob him of this.
Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1:17 (Schlachter 2000)
The devil can create nothing, but he steals what is unprotected and gives it to his followers. This is how, for example, it comes to pass that…
- People who cannot have children run to witches and sorcerers, and the women become pregnant, though the children are subjected to satanic rituals while still in the womb, which then bind them to demons for life.
- Unscrupulous businesspeople go to Satanists, sorcerers, or witches, sell their souls to the devil in satanic rituals, and then receive plans for profitable inventions or lucrative business models.
The dark forces cannot hold God’s angels captive for very long. But it is enough for the Christian to be unprotected for a while and thus become a victim. Affected Christians, for example, do not receive the urgently requested help in time or are subjected to depression, which can sometimes lead to suicide. Some succumb to deception and accept false teachings or fall into destructive sin. Others suffer accidents, are overwhelmed by illness, or fall under bondage.
The consequences of this can destroy affected families or even entire congregations, or render their prayers ineffective.
Therefore my people go into captivity for lack of knowledge; their nobles are famished, and their masses languish from thirst. Therefore the grave opens its mouth wide and has gaped its throat exceedingly wide. And their splendor goes down, and their multitude, along with all their clamor, and those who rejoice in it.
Isaiah 5:13-14
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