“I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked me. Then Michael, one of the archangels came to help me, … Soon I must return to fight against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia, and then against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece … (There is no one to help me against these spirit princes except Michael, your spirit prince…)
– Angel Gabriel
The role of the angels
The role of the angels in our battles is very critical. In fact, you cannot conclude a message on warfare without mentioning the role of these unseen forces in determining the outcome of conflicts. What happens behind the scene (that is in the spirit real) is often more important and critical than the actions we see. It is the spiritual that controls the physical. If you win the war in the spirit, then you become a victor in the physical. The angels are involved in all the battles we do as Christians. You may or may not see them, yet they are always actively involved. They are like the arms of God. The carry out instructions and commands from His throne. They wait on God and minister to us. They insure that the will of God is carried out throughout of the universe. They aid the righteous in the battle against evil and evil forces. These innumerable, special, holy and very powerful spirit beings are in different categories and also perform different duties. Sometimes, you distinguish them by their character, duties or glory. Like, there are some that receive worship, while others don’t. Some go on very special duties. Others act as messengers, etc. The one that receives worship or is called the Angel of the LORD is believed to be the appearance of God (or Jesus Christ). Angels are in hundreds of millions. One angel can kill hundreds of thousands of soldiers in a day, as we have variously seen in the scriptures. But, let me also be quick to say that in discussing the spirit real, one can only limit him/herself to the things already revealed by the word of God. This is very important because that realm is very vast and no mortal can claim to know it too well.
The angels of God as revealed in the scriptures include: the archangels, the Angel of the LORD, the angels. You also have the extremely powerful cherubim and seraphim, the four Living Creatures and the 24 elders. That is in the kingdom of God. In the kingdom of Satan (darkness), it also has its own structure: Satan, fallen angels, principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, demons. Satan is a fallen cherub. There are also other extremely wicked fallen angels that the book of Jude told us that God chained and kept in the prison of darkness, waiting for the day of judgement. I keep imagining what will happen if these guys are released now. Maybe, they have the capacity to make this place uninhabitable? I don’t know. This structure of satanic command (directly and through their human agents) constantly fights against Christians and the will of God on earth. They desperately make every effort possible to ensure that they oppose everything that is godly and holy. This contrasting position of these two kingdoms wholly explains the conflicts you see in the world, in the society and in our life.
We had a peep into these activities in the book of Daniel chapter ten and from verse twelve. After Daniel learnt about the plan of God to deliver the people of Israel from the captivity in Babylon, he began to pray and fast for its actualisation. God immediately sent angel Gabriel to bring answers to him. But, a very powerful demonic principality called the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked Gabriel from reaching Daniel with the divine message of freedom. Then another archangel Michael; the spirit prince of Israel had to rush in to help Gabriel after the 21 days delay in battle, and that was when Gabriel was able to go and deliver the message to Daniel, promising to return to continue the fight against that demonic principality. Wow! Can you see that? But it is there in the bible. The forces of heaven supported Daniel’s prayer for Israel to be delivered from captivity, but the kingdom of darkness didn’t want such to happen. And it resulted in the fierce battle between the angelic beings ruling (or guarding) over those nations and interests. There are angelic beings guarding every nation, society and every individual. You must dislodge them for you prayers to have any effect on those they oversee. (Sorry, we cannot treat all these in details here. It is a very vast but interesting subject). Check out some of these detail in my book ‘Breaking Generational Curses: Claiming your freedom’ at amazon.com
So, when you go into a battle as a Christian or you are fighting for a godly cause, the kingdom of God mobilises the necessary angels to fight for you. Like I said earlier, you may not see them, but they are always there for you. Yes, Daniel didn’t know, until after 21 days, that from the first day he started praying that God sent Gabriel to attend to him. Thank God he continued until an answer eventually came. When we pray, when we get involved in the battles of life (spiritual and physical), let’s always be assured that there are very powerful, mighty angels sent from God to help us. You can also request God to send them to you if you feel like. They will come. I have tried it even in very critical and dangerous ministrations and I received instant interventions. I remember once asking God to send me archangels to help me in a very dangerous deliverance ministration. The demonic principality was virtually resisting every command until the reinforcement came. It was indeed a very strange and dramatic experience that I will never forget. Jesus actually said that he could tell his father and He would send legions (a legion is about 6,000 troops) to defend Him. Please, note that you ask God to send them. Don’t go and worship angels or spirit beings. Direct your prayers to God, and then He would send them to attend to you. They are ministering spirits to us. They involve in every aspect of our life. They are attracted and empowered by a life of holiness and prayer. They are involved in all the battles we face in life.
It was angels that shut the mouths of lions and made the devourers sudden friends to Daniel. Angel came and transmuted the blazing heat into a cooler when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were thrown into the furnace. It was the angel of God that dislodged Pharaoh and led the children of Israel out of Egypt in a ‘commando’ night operation. Ask God to send His angels to assist you in that your current battle. Have you given your life to Jesus Christ? Do that immediately. Till next week, God bless!