Table of Contents:
Spiritual warfare 2349-1920 BC (Noah and Shem)
Spiritual warfare 1921-1491 BC (Abram & Job)
Spiritual warfare 1492-536 BC (Moses thru Daniel)
God escalates spiritual warfare again (30-70 AD)
Spiritual Warfare in the Bible: Big battle, hate vs. love.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. -1 John 3:8
Spiritual Warfare begins and ends in the Bible.
That Book begins with Creation when everything and everyone is either “good” or “very good.”
4004 – 2348 BC *following a name means that person is in my book Spiritual Lives.
Adam*(4004-3074 BC) and Eve*(4004- ?) were sinless, perfect in every way, and had daily fellowship with the LORD in the Garden of Eden, paradise on earth. The Bible doesn’t tell us how long this continued, but one day the perfect situation changed. How? An enemy showed up.
The first skirmish
He appeared in the form of a serpent and began to challenge God’s word:
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1
This is the first tactic of the evil one, to question if God really said something. He knows God cannot lie, so the devil has to find out exactly what God says. Satan does not know God’s plans nor does he know the future, while God knows both!
And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” – Genesis 3:2-3
Eve is lured into giving her idea of what God said, and she adds to it “neither shall you touch it,” and the serpent seizes the opportunity to challenge God’s word and contradict it:
But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.” – Genesis 3:4
He then goes on to suggest that God is not really good but is trying to withhold something from her:
For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” -Genesis 3:5
Satan appeals to her natural senses, which God gave her to enjoy His bounty, but she foolishly believes eating would make her like God:
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. – Genesis 3:6
Sin is never isolated. It corrupts whatever it touches.
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. – Genesis 3:7
God had given them a conscience, and they immediately became aware of their nakedness in which they had walked unashamedly before. Now they wanted to take care of covering themselves as assuaging their guilt, but we cannot cover our sins, we need the blood of Jesus!
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. – Genesis 3:8
Sin always separates from God, and this is why Satan champions it. Satan left them alone to suffer God’s wrath. But God sought them out because He loved them and acted in their behalf.
The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” – Genesis 3:14-15
Here God puts the devil down and gives the first preview of His plan of redemption. Satan has no idea of God’s plans or understanding of His wisdom because love is essential for that, and Satan is filled with hate. God lays it out plainly in what He does next:
And the LORD God made for Adam* and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. – Genesis 3:21
4,000 years later, Jesus summarized the essence of this situation and of spiritual warfare in general:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. – John 10:10
Spiritual warfare in the family
God took the next step in spiritual warfare by establishing worship.
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain* brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. – Genesis 4:3
This established that God was central to life, and He is worthy of worship. An offering or sacrifice on our part gives us entrance into His fellowship.
His acceptance of our offering depends on our faith in His goodness and willingness to bow before Him.
If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it. – Genesis 4:7
Cain* sinned by killing his brother and rebelling against God. Worse still,
Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. – Genesis 4:16
Although the Bible does not reference Satan here, signs of his influence, pride, anger, murder, and rebellion are evident and Cain is lost.
But God responds in love, as He always does, by giving the bereaved parents new hope and blessing:
And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth*(3874-2962 BC), for she said, “God has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel*, for Cain killed him.”
To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD. – Genesis 4:25-26
So, we see how sin and rebellion shattered the first family, but God triumphed through His gift of love.
Two lines of genealogies
Genesis shows us two lines of genealogies, those of Seth, the children of God, and Cain, the children of men.
Over time, the children of God did not keep themselves separate but intermarried with Cain’s offspring and were corrupted by sin. Soon, the Bible tells us:
The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.
So, the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”
But Noah*(3078-2146 BC) found favor in the eyes of the LORD. – Genesis 6:5-8
What was the difference between the children of men and Noah? God had given Noah faith:
By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. – Hebrews 11:7
Spiritual warfare 2349-1920 BC
After God saved Noah, He gave the rainbow and a promise to all flesh that He would never again destroy the world by water:
I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth – Genesis 9:11
Noah’s descendants soon filled the earth, in keeping with God’s desire and command:
“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” – Genesis 1:28
The Bible does not tell us how idolatry developed as an element of spiritual warfare, but we learn retrospectively from Joshua that it was widespread in Abram’s time:
“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.
Then I took your father Abraham*(1996-1821 BC) from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. – Joshua 24:2-3
God used the same tool to build His people as he did to save them in Noah’s day: FAITH.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. Hebrews 11:8
Spiritual warfare 1921-1491 BC
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” – Genesis 12:1-3
As the LORD blessed Abraham’s descendants, the devil put them into slavery in Egypt.
Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph*(1745-1635 BC).
So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel work as slaves – Exodus 1:1, 13
The “devil” does not appear as an active player in spiritual warfare in the Old Testament. He appeared in disguise, as the Serpent, but after the LORD cursed him, he does not appear again for 2500 years until the scene in the Book of Job. There he appears as “Satan” petitioning the LORD for the right to attack His servant, Job.
But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. – Job 1:11-12
Here we see the devil’s mindset, to hurt God’s people, to rob them of their blessings, as Jesus aptly described him, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. And so he did to Job, but God’s response of love is shown in Job’s healing and restoration:
And the LORD turned the captivity of Job when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. – Job 42:10
Spiritual warfare 1492-536 BC
God used Moses*(1571-1452 BC) to set free His people who had been enslaved in Egypt.
Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.
And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses. -Exodus 14:30-31
God gave them His law, set up His worship, and called them to be holy.
I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. Deuteronomy 5:6-9
The devil attacked them with unbelief and idolatry.
And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. – Exodus 32:1
Idols in spiritual warfare
The idol worship of the children of Israel had profound consequences in spiritual warfare:
And they made a calf in those days and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.
Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. – Acts 7:41-43
God hates idols because they corrupt the worship He set up:
They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.– Deuteronomy 32:17
Idols were surrogates for Satan who appeared only twice during this long, thousand-year era, both times to encourage sin and thwart the worship of God.
First, he induced David*(1085-1015 BC) to disobey God:
And Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel.-1 Chronicles 21:1
This sin brought the judgment of the LORD, and a pestilence killed 70,000 in Israel. Hidden though he may be, the devil uses subtilty in spiritual warfare to cause damage to those God loves.
500 years later, Satan appears for the last time:
And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.- Zechariah 3:1
This scene occurs as the Old Testament ends and the temple worship is being restored. The angel of the LORD here is the pre-incarnate Jesus:
The Angel of the Lord; not any created angel, but Christ the Angel of God’s presence, who is called Jehovah, Zec_3:2 is the rebuker of Satan, and the advocate of his people; and who takes away their sins and clothes them with his righteousness: – John Gill (1697-1771)
Satan’s posture here is consistent with his character from the first as an archangel in heaven:
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. – Isaiah 14:13-15
This pride and ambition in heaven before the world began mark the real beginning of spiritual warfare.
Between the Testaments
The Bible is silent during these years as God prepares the earth for the coming of his Son when the spiritual warfare will continue and escalate.
Everywhere the devil ruled there was death, darkness, and destruction. While the Canaanite peoples were vanquished, first by Cyrus*(599-529 BC), then Alexander the Great*(356-324 BC), and finally Pompey the Great*(106-48 BC) and the Romans, their cults survived, and people everywhere worship idols or demons, as the Bible calls them.
Daniel*(623-570 BC) prophesied that the Messiah would “be cut off” 490 years after the Temple was restored in 456 BC, and Jesus would be crucified around 30 AD, but no one knew when He would be born.
During these 5 centuries the Jews struggled to maintain the Temple and their nation, while they were under constant attack, first from the Persians, then the Greeks, and finally the Romans.
When the New Testament begins, King Herod*(74-4BC) ruled in Jerusalem supported by Roman military might. But Herod and others were interested in when the Messiah would be born.
God escalates Spiritual warfare as the New Testament begins
5 BC- 30 AD
Matthew records the setting for spiritual warfare:
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. – Matthew 2:1-3
God provided the star which the enlightened Magi saw and that the wicked establishment sought to crush. The Lord’s part in spiritual warfare is always planned long-range.
The wise men gave gifts to the holy family that would keep them when they had to flee. God also warned them about Herod and sent an angel to Joseph to urge him to flee:
And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. – Matthew 2:13
Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were safe in Egypt when Herod sent soldiers to kill all the infants born in Bethlehem,
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men. – Matthew 2:16
The spiritual warfare is brutal and filled with hate from wicked people, but the devil himself has not yet appeared on the scene. That is about to change dramatically when John baptizes Jesus:
And Jesus, when He had been baptized, went up immediately out of the water. And lo, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him.
And lo, a voice from Heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. – Matthew 3:16-17
Now, God has publicly blessed Jesus and called Him His Son. The next chapter is the biggest face-to-face confrontation in the Bible between Jesus and the devil. John Milton saw the spiritual warfare here and used it for his masterpiece sequel to Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained.
Intense Spiritual Warfare in-person battle
Once again, we see that God sets the scene. The devil makes the challenges and acts like he is in charge, but the opening verse tells us:
Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. --Matthew 4:1
Satan had no idea of Jesus’ power and divinity at this time and always overestimates his own power and ability. He tempted Him 3 times:
First along the line of appetite or senses:
If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. – Matthew 4:3-4
The Word of God always trumps whatever is played in spiritual warfare.
Second, along the line of personal glory, asking Him to jump from the top of the Temple to show He could survive:
If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands, they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. – Matthew 4:6-7
Here we see that the devil can quote scripture, but now he recognizes Jesus IS the Son of God. This recognition leads to his third temptation:
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. – Matthew 4:8-10
Jesus gives the perfect and overcoming answer to every temptation, the Word of God. Notice too, that Jesus takes charge of the exchange, rebukes the devil, and ends the spiritual warfare. He has more important things to do, and so do we.
God again closes this exchange of spiritual warfare with strength and comfort:
Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. – Matthew 4:11
Immediately after this, Jesus begins his ministry:
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. – Matthew 4:17
His warfare strategy operated on 2 fronts.
1. Repent: He calls on us to change our lives, to renounce sin, selfishness and hatred and come to Him.
2. Enter the kingdom of heaven: the door to everlasting life is open to everyone who believes on Him.
And His ministry was welcomed:
And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. – Matthew 4:25
But the devil fought back as Jesus sowed the Gospel seed:
The seed is the word of God.
Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. – Luke 8:12
But the devil could not prevail, and so he found allies in the scribes and Pharisees:
What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. – John 11:47-48
Then from that day forth, they took counsel together for to put him to death. Verse 53
Jesus knew all of this but prepared Himself to die for our sins. The night before, He gave His disciples the Lord’s Supper.
And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; – John 13:2
Jesus’ response? He washed their feet and went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and wait for His enemies to arrest them. They did, and He was crucified praying for those who nailed Him to the cross.
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.– Luke 23:34
As He suffered and bled His final three hours, one of the thieves crucified with Him spoke:
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. – Luke 23:42-43
After this, Jesus said,
It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. – John 19:30
It certainly looked as if the devil had won.
But on the 3rd day, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to 500 people before He ascended to heaven. The spiritual warfare would continue.
One of those who witnessed this explained:
Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. – Acts 2:24
Just before He ascended to His Father:
Jesus came and spake unto them, saying,
All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. – Matthew 28:18-20
Looking back at that 3rd temptation Satan made to Jesus, we see how foolish and blind the devil is, to offer power he does not have to the One to whom all power has been given!
Spiritual Warfare 30 – 70 AD
God escalates spiritual warfare again
If the devil thought the war had eased up when Jesus went to heaven, he was wrong:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. – Jesus in John 14:12
Jesus’ ascension triggered the birth of the church when the Holy Spirit filled 120 of His disciples and gave them the power to speak in tongues and spread the Gospel.
On the very day the Holy Spirit fell on the 120, 3,000 more souls were added to the church! Soon there were thousands more, and the works of the devil were being destroyed.
But the enemies of the Gospel, the Jewish religious leaders, and King Herod, began to attack the Christians, forbidding them to speak and putting them, men and women, in prison. Herod put Peter in prison, but the Lord got him out:
And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. – Acts 12: 7
God escalated again His spiritual warfare regarding Herod:
And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
But the word of God grew and multiplied. – Acts 12:23-24
The most dramatic and powerful event of spiritual warfare in Acts was directed by Jesus Himself in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus the principal persecutor of the church. Luke records Saul’s testimony before King Agrippa:
At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.
And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; -- Acts 26:14-16
Saul became Paul the apostle, the greatest missionary in history, founding, building, and writing to dozens of churches throughout Asia, Greece, and the Roman Empire.
Of course, the devil did his best to thwart him at every turn: Here is Paul’s testimony to the Corinthians:
Of the Jews, five times received I forty stripes save one.
Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
In weariness and painfulness, in watching’s often, in hunger and thirst, in fasting’s often, in cold and nakedness. – 2 Corinthians 24-27
He comments on his trials to the Romans:
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. – For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:37-39
Paul’s greatest gift to us in spiritual warfare is his 14 epistles in the New Testament. He warns us against the devil, especially his false teachers, but gives us these weapons to sustain us:
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: – Ephesians 6:11-17
Jesus brings total victory and an end to spiritual warfare
The New Testament was not complete when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, and none of those living then knew the outcome of the spiritual warfare they saw all around them. But Jesus showed the disciple He loved, St. John the Apostle, the result in Revelation:
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. – Jesus in Revelation 1:8
He has scheduled execution day for the devil:
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Revelation 20:10
It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. – Revelation 21:6-8
Spiritual warfare today 2022
The world, the flesh, and the devil are all lined up against God’s people. St. Peter warns us:
Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
– 1 Peter 4:12-13
The Bible is the great fortress that we can always run to for strength. Sustained by it we are “more than conquerors through Him who loves us.” We have two great advantages the devil can never overcome:
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. – 1 John 4:4
I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. – Jesus in Matthew 28:20
Conquering now and still to conquer. Sing with me, or listen to this HERE
1
Conquering now and still to conquer,
Rideth a King in His might,
Leading the host of all the faithful
Into the midst of the fight;
See them with courage advancing,
Clad in their brilliant array,
Shouting the name of their Leader,
Hear them exultingly say:
Not to the strong is the battle,
Not to the swift is the race;
Yet to the true and the faithful
Vict’ry is promised through grace.
2
Conquering now and still to conquer,
Who is this wonderful King?
Whence are the armies which He leadeth
While of His glory they sing?
He is our Lord and Redeemer,
Savior and Monarch divine;
They are the stars that forever
Bright in His kingdom will shine.
3
Conquering now and still to conquer,
Jesus, Thou Ruler of all,
Thrones and their scepters all shall perish,
Crowns and their splendor shall fall,
Yet shall the armies Thou leadest
Faithful and true to the last,
Find in Thy kingdom eternal Rest,
when their warfare is past.
Fanny Jane Crosby (1820-1915)
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