Battleground Earth 8: The War in the Heavens - David Mitts

"The stars fought from heaven, from their courses they fought against Sisera.” (Jdg 5:20 NASB)

Click here to listen to "The War in the Heavens"

We have been looking at Justice in these unjust times. We have looked at four Judges in Israel and how their characteristics exemplify aspects that are part of justice from God’s perspective. This chapter I want to take a step back and look at a bigger perspective before we move on to our fifth judge, Gideon. The foundation text for today is Judges 5, which is called the Song of Deborah.

Recalling Deborah, she is the fire prophetess who brings God’s Word in a way that defeats the enemies of Israel and God strategically in such a manner that there is a shift in the heavenlies.

Let’s look at the big picture. The Apostle Paul lets us know that all conflicts are not with human agencies. 

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Eph 6:12 NASB)

There is a battle as old as time, that is between the seed of God and the seed of Satan and his kingdom. We often see ourselves as the children of God, but we also need to see ourselves as the seed of God. Seed is made for planting and the advancement of a crop. There is and always has been a war between the seed. Mostly invisible to most Believers, it is very visible in the place of power and ruling. The Word of God constantly demonstrates an authority related judgment based almost entirely on worship by the king.

Let’s unpack this a bit. Sisera was a Canaanite. Turn with me in the Song of Deborah to Judges 5:19-21:

"The kings came and fought; Then fought the kings of Canaan At Taanach near the waters of Megiddo; They took no plunder in silver. "The stars fought from heaven, from their courses they fought against Sisera. "The torrent of Kishon swept them away, The ancient torrent, the torrent Kishon. O my soul, march on with strength. (Jdg 5:19-21 NASB)

This passage describes an earthly realm battle but with heavenly host engaged. First, we hear of “kings” coming and fighting. In Hebrew the verse states:

Jdg 5:19 WLC  בָּ֤אוּ מְלָכִים֙ נִלְחָ֔מוּ אָ֤ז נִלְחֲמוּ֙ מַלְכֵ֣י כְנַ֔עַן בְּתַעְנַ֖ךְ עַל־מֵ֣י מְגִדֹּ֑ו בֶּ֥צַע כֶּ֖סֶף לֹ֥א לָקָֽחוּ׃

The Hebrew reveals the combatants as “Melachim” who go to war against the Malchei Canaan. Now, on the ground, we have Barak and Deborah and their 10,000 against Sisera and his iron chariots and numerically superior forces. But this is NOT where the true battle occurs. It occurs in the heavens. In the heavens, we have the “stars” who fight against “Sisera”.  The stars do not literally fight with Sisera but with the principalities and powers that are the territorial strongholds of Cannan.

Sisera’s principalities are swept away by a river torrent, named Kishon. This is the same place where Elijah will draw on this power point to overcome the prophets of Baal. The image of a river washing away the enemies of Israel reminds of the vanquishing of the Egyptians and of the flood.  God uses the judgment of water to cleanse the earth of those who worship false gods, the fallen angels of the kingdom of darkness.

This is an important revelation that God is declaring a war on the gods of the nations, who are the fallen angels of Genesis 6.

Now it came about, when men began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. Then the LORD said, "My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years." The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.(Gen 6:1-8 NASB)

The” sons” of God in this passage refer to fallen angels who take wives from among mankind and breed Nephilim, the fallen ones.  The Nephilim are also known as the giants of the Land which Israel must fight. It is important to realize that behind and empowering the conflicts between people and especially races, there is a hidden agenda of darkness. These agendas are built on the authority of confusion that arose out of the Tower of Babel. Let’s turn to Genesis 11.

Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly." And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." The LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. The LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. "Come, let Us go down and there, confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another's speech." So, the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore, its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth (Gen 11:1-10 NASB)

This is an insight into spiritual conflict. The people of the Earth using one tongue, or one speech, repeating the same mantra, a unified declaration, and have an agenda. Their agenda is to reach and take hold of heaven. There is a knowing in man that the true battles are fought in the heavens. Yeshua teaches us this when He says:

10‘Your kingdom come.

Your will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven. (Mt 6:10 (NASB))

Earth is a mirror of heaven. The builders of Babel’s tower are using their unity of speech to reach heaven and make for themselves a name. What is a name? In their minds, a name is a destiny, a purpose. It is difficult for us, in this identity deficient time, to realize the power of a name. They want to make for themselves a destiny. The destiny they want is in opposition to God’s destiny for them which is described as “being scattered over the face of the earth”. 

To understand their motivation, we need to back to Genesis 6:4

"The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown."  Gen 6:4 (NASB)

You see, the realm of heaven they were trying to reach was the realm of their fathers, the sons of God. These angelic fallen beings occupied this realm of heaven and the hope of the men of Babel was that if they could reach this level, they could regain their “name” becoming again “giants” among men, men of renown. Apparently, there is some kind of unifying effect of this outcome that is still driving the One World Government of our present day. The alternative, they knew, is to be scattered abroad over the face of the Earth.

Let’s take a step back and see with kingdom eyes. All mankind seeks to know the Father. The Father is the source of the seed. The Enemy knows this and has always worked to be an imitation of the true Father. Why? Because children always seek to get their identity from the Father. This is the most crucial question of life, who am I to you? 

At the tower of Babel, this drive to connect with their fathers as they knew them drove this superhuman effort. What they feared was being scattered across the Earth. What they didn’t know is that scattering of seed is crucial for the fulfillment of destiny. The Father’s Glory, His children could not fulfill their mandate if they stayed home. This is hard for parents often to understand as we often want to retain influence on our children and keep a sense of family unity. Yet God knows that inbreeding and cliques would be the death of the seed. 

"The LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them."  Gen 11:6 (NASB)

There is a power in unity itself, but it is not the true power of the seed. The true power of the seed lies in its diversity, not its unity. This is a hard concept for us because we love agreement and want to feel that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves that we agree with. This is what the scripture calls factions.

The unity that we crave is really a unity that completes us. This is called grace. Grace is the unity of God that is released in our diversity. This seems like an impossibility. Yet that is only the case with man’s unity. Man tries to find unity in diversity through tolerance. The problem with tolerance as a strategy for unity is it is missing the grace piece. Grace is NOT tolerance. Grace is the power of fulfillment through oneness.

"who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,” 2Ti 1:9 (NASB)

Notice that we are saved and called with a holy calling. This is not according to our works, which are our strengths, but according to His purpose and grace! You see, there is a unity that comes from our diversity but according to His purpose and grace. His grace completes us, it is made perfect in our weakness!

"And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."  2Co 12:9 (NASB)

There is an agenda that has been loose in the Earth since the flood that is raising up a unity framework based in tolerance that is supremely intolerant of the true sons of God who are led by the Spirit into true oneness and truth. It is a battle in the heavens that is played out on Earth.

The good news is that Yeshua has already won this victory. He raises up the Deborah’s and the Jael’s and the Gideons and the David’s to lead the true sons of God through the Holy Spirit. But make no mistake about it, there is a true war on the seed.

You see God dispersed the seed at Babel. He confused the languages of the world. He did this on purpose to drive diversity. He knew that this would result in wars and rumors of wars. He knew that nation would rise against nation. In the end, He knew that man would finally be driven to repent and receive the Lord Yeshua.

"so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  Php 2:10-11 (NASB)

As we turn back to Judges 5, the song of Deborah, it tells the story of both an angelic and a natural war. The final verse tells us:

""Thus let all Your enemies perish, O LORD; But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might." And the land was undisturbed for forty years."  Jdg 5:31 (NASB)

There is a day of reckoning with the enemies of God. There also is a rising of a new day of love and light for those who love God and are called according to His purpose!

Activation: Become aware that there is a war in the heavenlies. Yeshua defeated the heavenly host at the cross and led them away captive. Yet they are immortal and are still influencing us through their schemes of a new age tower of babel, the one-world system. Ask yourself if you have inadvertently become unity focused or are you scattering seed to bring about diversity.