This week I caught a glimpse of the MMA. Has anyone seen these matches? They are brutal. They take place in a cage where two opponents fight three to five rounds. Every round is 5 minutes in duration with one-minute rest period in-between rounds. Non-title matches must not exceed three rounds. Title matches can be sanctioned for five rounds. In other words in most fights you have up to 17 minutes to either knock out your opponent, beat them so senseless they can’t continue, or cause them enough pain where they give up.
To accomplish this you can use a variety of martial arts moves along with more traditional styles of fighting. These methods are boxing, muay thai, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, judo, amateur wrestling, catch wrestling, karate, teakwood, and sanshou/sanda. There are 5 strategies to winning; sprawl and brawl, ground and pound, submission, clinch fighting, and score oriented.
The injury rate for this sport is 228.7 per 1000 athletic participants or almost 23%. Most injuries were head injuries followed by wrist/ hand. Most frequent type of injuries was lacerations followed by fractures and concussions. There have been 7 deaths since being sanctioned in 2000.
As violent as this sport is it did not compare to the violent sports witnessed by the apostle Paul in Rome. One of the most prominent buildings in Rome was the Palestra. Built to resemble a castle it was a place of combative sports. It was open during the daylight hours to those who were training for sports entertainment. There you would find boxers, wrestlers, and pankratists.
The boxers were not like the ones we see today. Boxing was much more violent. The participants were required to wear helmets, not headgear, to keep their heads from being caved in. Few boxers ever lived to retire from the ring.
The boxing gloves were ribbed with steel, serrated like a hunting knife, and spiked with nails. In public they were recognized by their deformed faces, ears, and noses. Some would have an eye missing that had been knocked out during a fight.
There were no rules but one. You could not clinch an opponent’s fist. There were no rounds. The fight continued until one opponent surrendered or died.
Wrestling was a bit less violent due to being preferred by the wealthier class. It was a part of their son’s education. It was done in the nude and most of the violent techniques were not allowed.
The most violent sport was pankration. It meant “more power than anyone else.” It was kind of like a tough man contest. The idea was to prove you were tougher than any one else. Therefore there were no rules. You were permitted to kick, punch, bite, gouge, strike, break fingers, break legs, or any other horrible thing you could imagine. Again you won through defeating your opponent or killing him.
You may be wondering what this has to do with scripture and spiritual warfare. Let’s look at Ephesians 6:12. “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
When Paul wrote this he used the Greek word “pale” for fighting. This was the root word for the Palestra, the castle of combat. He wanted us to understand that in our fight against demonic forces there are no rules. Anything goes. All methods of attack are legal. And whoever fights the hardest, whoever fights the meanest, whoever lasts the longest, will be the winner in that particular confrontation. There are no rounds. There are no count outs. There is no one to stop the fight. We will win the battle or we will lose the battle.
He also stated that our battle is not with flesh and blood. We have talked a lot about the battle field being for our mind and you might ask “Isn’t that flesh?” That’s true. But our battle is not against our mind. The battle is for our mind. Satan seeks to control our mind and therefore control our flesh. But we have a weapon to insure that he cannot manipulate our flesh.
Romans 6:11 “So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.”
Have you ever tried to get a dead person to fight you? I hope the answer is “No.” Reality is you cannot get a dead person to respond. You can kick them, spit on them, and curse them to no avail. They are dead. When you are being attacked verbally by someone recognize the power behind those attacks. Remember you are alive in Christ and dead to the power of sin. And the dead do not respond.
The dead cannot be tempted, seduced, or deceived. Satan is unable to manipulate us because we are alive in Christ and dead to the powers of Satan.
Paul continues to enlighten us on who our battles are truly against. So intent is he on us understanding who these demonic forces are that he uses the word “against” three times.
(Ephesians 6:12.) The word in Greek meant “a face to face” encounter. Paul is warning us to prepare to have a face to face encounter with evil rulers and authorities, a face to face encounter with mighty powers, a face to face encounter with evil spirits.
The first group we encounter are the evil rulers. The Greek word also means beginning. These groups of demonic spirits have their roots in ancient times. They were probably the first group who joined Satan in his rebellion. Right beside them is the authorities. They have been given the right to control or govern in specific areas. They have the right to do what they want, wherever they want.
Next are the mighty powers. The Greek meant “raw power that has been harnessed and put into some kind of order.” This was a military term that Paul was using. It represented young men who were “raw recruits”. They were taught to live submitted, disciplined, ordered, and perfectly arranged lives. It was a picture of rank and file. In the end they were turned into a massive, fighting force.
Finally we face evil spirits. These spirits have but one goal. It is to afflict us with all manner of bad, vile, vicious, and malignant behavior.
We find these beings at work in the spiritual world not the physical world. What we do see is the results on their work in the physical world. They are at work in the dark places, those places absent of the light of truth. And they are at work in the heavenly places, doing all they can to impact our relationship with God.
Sadly, they are effective because the church in many ways has become ineffective. Satan’s forces are more disciplined, organized, and committed to their goal than the church is to theirs.
The church has become more concerned with the affairs of the world than the affairs of the kingdom. Satan has a strategy to lessen the impact of the church on winning souls by causing the church to be more concerned about winning causes.
Also he desires not to be taken serious. Too often he is depicted as a harmless little red creature with a pitch fork and a pointed tail. In fact, some believe that Satan, demons, and spiritual forces are nothing more than old wives tales, not to be taken serious. If you don’t believe, he is fine with that.
He is real and dangerous as we see his nature revealed by his other names. Satan has a destructive bent.
Revelation 9:11 “Their king is the angel from the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon—the Destroyer.”
Satan has a destructive bent. He is constantly at odds with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins. The Holy Spirit comes to expose our sins and convince us of the need to repent. Satan comes to burden us with guilt over our sins and expose them for our destruction. The Holy Spirit indwells within us. Satan attempts to capture our mind so that the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit cannot be used. He is bent on destroying your health, your finances, your relationships, and your faith.
Satan has a twisted nature.
John 8:44 “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Jesus states very bluntly that it was Satan who led Cain to kill Able. Satan cannot tell the absolute truth but is sly enough to twist his words where they sound truth like. But mostly he is a liar. Satan will feed your mind just enough truth to blind you in his attempt to kill you spiritually.
Jesus warns us that Satan carries a negative quality in contrast to God’s goodness. His desire is for us to reflect his negativity above God’s love. Satan is portrayed as a dragon and a serpent, both animals unpredictable and able to strike quickly. He is called Beelzebub in Hebrew. This name meant “lord of the flies.” Just as flies are attracted to rotting food, dead bodies, and animal manure, so is Satan. He is attracted to places where rotting, stinking, sinful actions are prevalent. He is called Belial. He is connected with filthiness and wickedness. This name means worthless.
Satan has a desire to control
Ephesians 2:2 “You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.”
Paul declares Satan to be the prominent leader of the demonic spirits. Those who refuse to obey God by accepting the salvation offered through his Son are being controlled by this demonic master. The religious leaders at the time of Jesus understood Satan’s prominence of being the “prince of demons.” They realized his position of being in the highest seat of power in the dark world.
Satan has a manipulative nature.
1 Peter 5:8 “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
Satan is not looking to devour anyone physically. His desire is to devour our spirits. He is opposed to and seeks to destroy anything righteous. He hates righteousness and actively seeks to destroy righteous people. Satan is able to come to us as an angel of light. His deceptive ways are designed to pull you from righteous living into a more insidious lifestyle. He is the devil constantly throwing accusations against the barriers to our mind. He is Satan, the slanderer, filled with hatred and false accusations.
Over the last several weeks we have learned a lot about ourselves and our role in spiritual warfare. We have learned a lot about the enemy we fight. We are almost ready to put on the spiritual armor. But before we do Paul reminds us to be prepared to do so.
Ephesians 4:24-31
24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.
25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body.
26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.
29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.
These items can become openings in the roadblock to your mind. Some of these are deliberated, some are just negligence. Some come from lack of commitment, others are done in secret. But all will make you less effective in your spiritual armor.
