Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Last month, we concluded looking at things we’re redeemed from. In order to complete the action of leaving curses behind and entering into blessings, we also must acknowledge every good thing that is in us in Christ. This is imperative; Philemon tells us it makes our faith effective.
“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time’” (Revelation 12:7-12).
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12).
Since the devil was thrown out of heaven in time past, how can scripture point to this happening in the future? Genesis says, God created the heavens (plural). Ephesians tells us that Christ ascended above all the heavens (plural). Paul was taken up to the “third heaven.” The first heaven is the atmosphere you live in (Greek “aer”). The second is the cosmos where we see heavenly bodies. The third is God’s. Satan was thrown out of third heaven to second heaven. Sometime in the future, he will be thrown down to the earth.
Satan does not live in hell and won’t until the end of the Millennium. He is cast out of God’s heaven, rules from the second, and is at war with the first. He now rules his demon hosts from his headquarters in second heaven, but ultimately will be thrown down to the first. Great wrath will come upon the planet because this signals his time is short. Until then: “…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
Demons would inquire of Jesus if He was going to send them to the pit before their time. Not being omniscient, how did they know it was before their time? Perhaps it is as simple as the fact that the devil hadn’t arrived yet. Satan and his demons know what is written, believe it and tremble! In any event, God is in heaven, the saints on the earth beneath, and Satan and his works in between. God wants us to bind heaven and earth together in order to get His will performed here, but Satan wars against this.
Daniel 10 shows us Daniel in prayer and fasting. At the end of 21 days, archangel Gabriel showed up with enlightening information. He told Daniel that his words had been heard and his answer dispatched on the very first day. Why then did Daniel have to wait since angels don’t travel slowly? It was explained that the prince of Persia, a spirit, rose up and fought with Gabriel, locking him in combat. Finally, Michael was dispatched to take up the war over Persia, allowing Gabriel to complete his mission.
One reason saints find blessings elusive is because they don’t last for whatever number of days it requires for their answer to arrive. God is not slow in hearing you. The moment you speak, He dispatches an answer, but there is a power that would keep you from receiving it. To get heaven and earth together, get the attitude of Daniel at work in you. He would have kept going until whenever Gabriel came.
Prayer uses your mouth as the launching pad for blessing and cursing: “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing” (James 3:10). In this same chapter, James says that your mouth is set on fire by hell and generates or sets in motion “the wheel of Genesis” (the cycle of beginnings). Your mouth will launch blessing or cursing. Daniel stayed in prayer with God and wound up with the blessing; so can you if you refuse to grow weary in the heart. In Luke 18, Jesus taught this as the prayer of importunity, taught so men would pray always and not faint.
Jesus said that if you will confess Him on earth, He will confess you in heaven. If you fail to do this public acknowledgment, you fail to obtain His acknowledgment of you at the right hand of God Almighty. “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus” (Hebrews 3:1). You can’t get to the Father except through Him, so you make a confession on earth and Jesus makes the identical confession in heaven. As you confess, acknowledge, agree with, and say the same thing as God says, then Jesus is your High Priest. Your confession rises to Him, He hands it to Father, Father sends the Spirit, and Holy Spirit moves on your behalf. Jesus is also the apostle of your confession. This means “the one sent forth.” As you acknowledge God’s truth, it puts Jesus in motion.
In conclusion, there is the third heaven where your answers are found, the first heaven where your problems are found, and in between, a ruthless dictator doing everything he can to arrest every answer God dispatches to you. Gabriel broke through, not because Michael came, but because Daniel prayed on. If Daniel had quit, there would have been no continuing linkage of heaven’s answer to earth’s problem. Consider hearing a sermon and saying you had received something from God. The issue is, will you still be saying that days later. According to Jesus’ parable of the Sower, the seed that was planted will be stolen away by Satan and never come to fruition unless you hold fast to it. May the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord!
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