The Real Battleground - Part Three
by Darryl Robbins

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Gen. 3: 14,15)

From the time Satan was cursed by God for his treachery in the Garden of Eden and was informed of his ultimate undoing through the seed of a woman, his mission has been to stop the promised Seed from coming into the world. Throughout Old Testament history we see him attempt to hinder and destroy any person or group of people who had dealings and fellowship with God.

Bearing this in mind, look again at Absolute Principle Number Four;

'Light and darkness, Good and evil are at war with each other throughout the course of each Age, the warfare intensifying near the close of the Age.'

We have seen clearly the warfare of Satan against God and the people of God all the way through he Old Testament Record. On that we should be settled, so let's go ahead and deal with the last part of the principle: the fact that warfare becomes concentrated and intense near the close of an age.

Remember, as you read the following scriptures, that the birth of Jesus into the earth is the one key event that signals the soon coming end to the Old Covenant, the Age of Law. It's important that you take the time to read the following scriptures.

But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. (Galatians 4: 4-7)

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

.....behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matt. 1: 18, 21-23)

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. (Matt. 2: 1-3)

And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. (Matt. 2: 12-13, 16)

You may have noticed that we referred to quite a bit of scripture. The reason for doing so was quite simple. I wanted to give you a sense of the intense spiritual activity that surrounded and saturated the event of Jesus' conception and birth.

Angels were actively involved. Notice the angel that appeared to Joseph in a dream to set him at ease about a pregnancy that was quite unnatural. For a virgin to conceive a child by the Holy Spirit is the stuff miracles are made of. A miracle in a category of its own is the fact that Joseph believed the story! Only an angel would have been able to convince him.

It would appear that God Himself is directly involved as He warns the wise men in a dream to depart some other way and not to return and give Herod word of the child or His location. Again, it was an angel by way of dream that warned Joseph to take mother and child into Egypt so that Herod would not kill Him.

We must mention also, that Satan and his demonic helpers were at work. Herod and all those in Jerusalem are described as being "troubled". Now that's an interesting word. "Troubled", as it is used in this text literally means that they were "stirred" and "agitated". It implies the activity of an outside force or forces. When Herod realizes that he has been mocked by the wise men in their failing to return, he is at that point so "troubled" and so wroth that he orders the wholesale slaughter of all children two years of age and under. "Troubled"? Troubled indeed!

The flurry of spiritual activity surrounding the conception and birth of Jesus could only be described as concentrated and intense. It was in fact, spiritual warfare of the highest level.

The Real Battleground - Part Four