“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth” (Rev. 5:6)
"You will understand a great mystery when you see that in the book of Revelation we are shown two sets of spirits which are sent forth into the same areas and seek to control the same territory — the “seven spirits of God” and the “three spirits of devils”! Right here lies the cause of the great battle within! The seven spirits of God signify the fullness of the spirit of the Lord raised up within God’s people. This seven-fold spirit is raised up to subdue, reconcile, and redeem the whole man — spirit, soul, and body. Thus we read that the seven spirits are “sent forth into all the earth” — truly into all the earth that we are, as well as into all the earth-realm where the Lord’s people dwell!"
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"“We read that, ‘There was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David waxed stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul waxed weaker and weaker’ (II Sam. 3:1). David prefigures in type the spiritual man of the new creation within; while all the kings, and the house of Saul, stand in type for the carnal realm of the flesh. ‘The flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: for these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things ye would’ (Gal. 5:17). There has been a long war within us, but, praise God, the Christ life waxes stronger and stronger, to overcome the carnal nature and bring it to an end."
“Another example of a long war — ‘Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them…’ (Josh. 11:18-20). Significant that as Joshua, and the warriors of Israel, came up to a city, instead of that city seeking a peaceful surrender, THE LORD WOULD HARDEN THEIR HEARTS, they would insist on doing battle, and would be destroyed. I have experienced betimes that God will harden ‘a king’ within us, our own self-will crystallizes into a firm rebellion, that He might draw out that which is within us, until He has purged us, and IS LORD OF ALL WITHIN. All of this serves as a parable for our spiritual walk with God. It’s amazing the ‘nations’ and the ‘kings’ that have been resident in us, which He now draws out into the battle, to conquer. For, WE BECOME OVERCOMERS IN CHRIST TO THE DEGREE THAT WE ARE OVERCOME BY CHRIST. Thank God, ‘In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed…it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever’ (Dan. 2:44)."
"There have been within all of us many usurping kings, possessed of the bestial spirit of this world, who are very subtle, very powerful warriors, and very acute disputants. Each of us is like a huge, elaborate palace just full of these kings! Beloved! Examine yourself — do you not find this to be true? What mighty, powerful, persuasive, unwearied rulerships and dominions exercise their authorities within the courts of our bodies and souls, what strange, strong, and subtle reasonings are there? Insomuch that the old Adamic man carries all before him, and these lusts, these desires, these emotions, these imaginations, these habits, these religious inclinations, these selfish and self-serving tendencies, these ruling kings of flesh bear away the day of it, and tread down all that stands in their way; by their false logic, their cunning sophistry, and their powerful affection they ride rough-shod over the voice of the spirit, over the word of God, over the ways of righteousness, and right over the revealed will of the Lord. And this you know is, and has been of old, and shall be, my beloved, until Jesus Christ be revealed, until He be pleased, with His almighty power to arise within the soul and command obedience, and that He will now manifest Himself, and comes forth with regal, conquering power, else our lusts and thoughts and emotions make such a noise, such a blustering, such a clamoring in the soul until Christ cannot be heard. But when the King of kings commands all the kings to gather on the field of battle He marches forth to command them all, to put them all to silence, answering, convicting, and banishing every fleshly lust and every soulical sentiment, with every vestige of self-will, and then great Babylon falls, the captivity of the spirit is ended, and then His kingdom comes in great power and glory, and He reigns in soul and body, becoming the King of the life! Great is the mystery!"
"“In this spiritual battle, as in every other, the decisive part of the engagement is not public and ostentatious; it is in secret. Long before the armies clash in the open field, there has been a conflict in the general’s office, where pro met con, and the determinations were reached that controlled each movement of the outward war. Even in law, ‘Cases are won in chambers.’ So, in the achievement of divine nature and spiritual character there is a hidden battlefield on which the decisive conflicts of the kingdom of God are waged. Behind the Master’s public ministry, through which He moved with such amazing steadfastness, not to be deflected by bribes, nor halted by fear of man or devil, nor discouraged by weariness, lay the battles in the wilderness where He fought out in fasting and prayer the controlling principles of His life. Behind His patience in Pilate’s Court, and His fidelity on Calvary, lay the battle in Gethsemane, where the whole problem was fought through and the issue settled before the face of God. All public consequences go back to secret conflicts. Napoleon sat for hours in silent thought before he ordered the Russian Campaign. Washington, praying at Valley Forge, was settling questions on which the independence of his country hung. We are deceived by the garish stage-settings of big scenes in history. The really great scenes are rarely evident. The decisive battles of the world are hidden, and all the outward conflicts are but the echo and Reverberation of that more real and inward war."
"But now there is another spirit — three unclean spirits like frogs — and this three-fold spirit is likewise sent forth “unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world.” This three-fold unclean spirit seeks to dominate and control the same territory of our lives where the seven-fold holy spirit has come to live and reign. The message is clear — WAR is about to break out in the “earth” of God! These spirits “go forth unto the kings (inner dominions) of the earth (carnal Christians) and of the whole world (of our beings), TO GATHER THEM TO THE BATTLE OF THAT GREAT DAY OF GOD ALMIGHTY!” Can you not see the mystery? The seven-fold spirit (of the perfection of God) comes into active conflict with the three-fold spirit (complete power of the flesh, the world, and the devil) of man’s carnal, natural life. This three-fold spirit may also be characterized as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, for these spirits go forth unto the “whole world,” and the apostle John informs us that “ALL THAT IS IN THE WORLD IS the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life!"
"There are three things:
(1) The lust of the flesh
(2) The lust of the eyes
(3) The pride of life.
That’s all there is in the WHOLE WORLD!
Those three are what “THE WORLD” consists of!
Therefore, the “kings” of the “whole world” signify the ruling principles and powers of fleshly desire that influence, dominate, and control the natural and soulical religious life of man! We need to note that Armageddon is a battle among kings. The spirits of devils go forth unto “the kings” of the earth-realm and of the whole world — and that is the end of those kings!
Can we not see by this that the battle is between the flesh and the spirit, for Paul tells us plainly that “The flesh wareth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other…” (Gal. 5:17). Right there, my friend, you have your battleground — ARMAGEDDON!"
"So, you say — I would never be deceived by the doctrines of the three frogs going forth to gather the kings of the earth. Don’t be too sure! If you still have kings in YOUR earth, or flesh life, kings of pride, jealousy, resentment, criticism, condemnation, judging, presumptuousness, desire for recognition, authority or control, carnal reasonings, vain imaginations, doubts, false doctrines, fears, anger, frustration, lusts, worldliness, or any one of a hundred more, somewhere deep within you are hearing the croaking of the three ugly frogs and there is that within you which leads to turmoil and conflict. So many people are caught up in viewing Armageddon as an external battle between nations that they completely overlook the possibility of these kings actually existing in their very own flesh life."