Prayer – Lord, please give us insight and understanding in the spiritual realm of this world, heaven and earth. Prophets in the Old Testament times had glimpses into heaven—but it is not all golden streets, fruitful trees, and crystal decorations. There will be wars and spiritual battles. At least Your word, Lord God, gives us the reassurance that You win. Hallelujah!
Read 1 Kings 22.
Then Micaiah continued, "Listen to what the LORD says! I saw
the LORD sitting on his throne with all the armies of heaven around him, on his
right and on his left.” 1 Kings 22:19
Meditate. Listen to what the Lord is saying.
Is there anyone you know that is always pessimistic when it comes
telling you what to do—or gives you advice that gets you into trouble?
At this time the nation of Israel was divided into the northern
and southern kingdoms. The king of Judah—to the south—and the king of Israel—to
the north—were having a discussion about land that once belonged to them.
Should they take it back from the current inhabitants? They decided to consult
the 400 prophets…and then to also consult God’s prophet, Micaiah, who prophesied
against Israel’s northern kingdom’s King Ahab. Ahab was killed in battle.
Micaiah spoke of his vision of God in heaven, seated on His throne with angels
all around Him. Interesting aspect is that among these angels is one that is
willing to be a lying spirit. Does that mean that evil angels stand before
God’s throne now, too? It seems that all the fallen angels were not cast from
heaven with Satan—even Satan goes before God—remember their discussion about
Job (see Job 1). Satan and his angels will ultimately be thrown out of heaven.
Cast down to earth—oh my. That will be a scary time for anyone on earth. Evil
will be loosed on the whole world.
Then there
was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his
angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out
of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan,
the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his
angels. Revelation 12:7-9
What a day that will be! There is so much that we don’t understand
about God, Satan, angels, heaven, and spiritual warfare. Heaven has some
mysteries—but God has a plan. We know that He wins the battles on earth and in
heaven. We can feel safe knowing that the Lord has His armies surrounding His
throne in Heaven. Praise be to the Lord!
Verse of Salvation ~ Living with our Lord God forever is
salvation—only if we are saved from our sin by the blood of Jesus will we live in
the house of the Lord forever.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will
pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD
forever. Psalm 23:6
Knowing the Lord is what life is all about.
Knowing Him is Life.
© 2023 Text, photos, and
illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New
Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright ©
1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale
House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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