El proceso de urbanización como condicionante de la edificación Insistimos en que la relación ejercicio de la facultad de edificar

provided for us.

As this age draws to a close, the spiritual conflict between the forces of God and the forces of Satan becomes more intense and extends throughout the universe. To understand what this conflict requires of us on earth, we need to ask ourselves: Why is Satan leveling accusations against us? What is his purpose?

Obviously his purpose is to prove us guilty. In all his dealings, Satan’s primary weapon is guilt. If he succeeds in proving his charges against us, then we no longer qualify to receive God’s blessings. Left to ourselves, we are no match in spiritual warfare with Satan.

Scripture assures us, however, that God has given us the spiritual weapons that are needed for this spiritual warfare and they are guaranteed to bring total victory if used correctly.

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down

arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 God has given us weapons that are appropriate to our warfare. Our warfare is not carnal—it is not in the physical or material realm. Therefore, our weapons likewise are not carnal or material; they are not bullets or guns, tanks or airplanes. They are spiritual weapons for spiritual warfare.

In verse 5, the apostle Paul tells us that through these weapons we can cast down “every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.’’

That is an amazing statement! We could read it many times without fully appreciating what it says.

But God is telling us that through the weapons that He has committed to us, we can become His agents to cast down the one supremely high thing that opposes God’s Kingdom: Satan’s kingdom in the heavenlies.

Revelation 12:7-9 depicts a war in heaven in which Michael and his angels are opposing the devil and his angels:

And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon [Satan]; 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.

As I was pondering the conflict described above, I had a vivid mental picture of myself in heaven. All the heavenly hosts of God encircled His throne with

a symphony of praise. Then, absolute silence.

Suddenly, the songs of Christians worshiping on earth began to rise up. By contrast with the voices of angels, they sounded pathetic in their weakness. Yet I felt they were making an essential contribution to the purposes of God.

For some reason, my mind carried me back to the five years that I spent in East Africa. Once again I heard the words of a Christian chorus that we used to sing in Swahili: Nguvu za sheitani zimeshindwa, meaning, “The power of Satan has been conquered.”

After awhile, I heard the sound of robes rustling, but I could see no visible change in the scene before my eyes. The rustling grew louder and louder.

Suddenly I realized that the rustling sound proceeded from the garments of Satan’s angels vacating their abode in heaven.

Then another sound broke in upon my ears—a loud, sustained roar. It began somewhere on the level of heaven but gradually spiralled downward to the level of earth. At first it seemed to express savage rage, but as it descended lower and lower, its tone gradually changed to agony—an agony so deep, it could not be expressed in words.

Suddenly I understood the significance of what I was hearing. It was none other than the voice of Satan himself as he was compelled to give up his throne in heaven and to take up a new abode on the level of earth.

Scripture indicates that up to the present time Satan and his angels have retained a position in heaven. It will only be as a result of the future conflict described above that they will finally be evicted from the heavenlies and cast down to the earth.

But this will not be a conflict only of angels. The

believers on earth will also have their part to play:

“And they [the believers on earth] overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death” (verse 11).

It is important for us to recognize that the victory in this conflict against Satan’s kingdom will only come through a joint action by God’s angels in heaven and the believers on earth. This challenges us to ask whether or not we on earth are sensitive to what is taking place in heaven and ready to play our part.

Could it be said of us as Christians on earth:

“They did not love their lives to the death”? This describes total commitment. Picture yourself confronted by a situation in which you have only two alternatives: to lay down your life or to renege on your testimony to Jesus. Which would you choose?

For the kind of believers described in Revelation 12:11, it is more important to do the will of Jesus than to hold on to life.

The comment that follows this account of Satan being cast out of heaven indicates that it will take place close to the end of the present dispensation.

“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.”

verse 12 Some people reading this account of Satan being cast out of heaven have assumed that the events described must have followed immediately after Christ’s death and resurrection. According to the description given here, however, this cannot be true, because at this point the devil knows he has but a

short time. Two thousand years have elapsed since the death and resurrection of Jesus. This could not be described as a “short time.”