A short, scripted journey of the three steps before glory
The text to read for this is Habakkuk chapter 3. The chapter is a prayer of Habakkuk that describes the visions given to him of God’s power over mankind and the earth itself. It is a testament of what God has done for the nation of Israel in the past and a plea to help them once again. The imagery portrayed of God’s might is a bit astounding.
Who was Habakkuk?
A quick little history lesson… Habakkuk was a prophet, perhaps a Levite, during the time King Jehoiakim ruled Judah. Jehoiakim was a wicked king of Judah. The prophecy, or message, written by Habakkuk was most likely around 605 BC.
The Israelites kept looking for security in all the wrong places which was nothing new for them. God was telling Habakkuk that He was going to raise up the Chaldeans against their nation. Habakkuk in chapter 3 prays to God that he has seen what God has done in the past and pleas for intervention to save their nation.
God’s glory and might
A vision of God’s glory and might. God’s glory made war against the works of Lucifer. That glory and piercing illustrate His armies battling the evil one.
Also, this is consistently true in relation to God waging war against the works of Satan. His glory and might is represented as the nations and armies of Israel as the vehicle, conquering nations across the land more evil and vile than we could imagine even by today’s standards.
In this present dispensation, it represents the spiritual warfare, and God’s glory and might is represented through faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, with the power of the Holy Spirit as the vehicle working through those who call on His name.
God’s word is consistent and true, throughout the ages, from the beginning all the way to the end. God has and will always prevail.
How it comes together
We as flesh beings only relate to the flesh. When we read or think about God’s people making war, we tend to only consider the bad that comes of war – death, pain, loss, etc. In reality, when God instructed Israel to take on the battles, it was truly God making war against the powers of darkness. This is a two-fold thing:
- It is the light causing the darkness to flee, and
- It was done to fulfill previous prophecies of inheritance.
We see this as being true today, only slightly different. As God’s people we are not out conquering nations, as it were. We are fighting spiritual battles, not fleshly ones. More on spiritual battles in my post on retaliation which includes one of my favorite passages:
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 – For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards, for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ.
The three steps
The first step in this was the fall of Lucifer. He was described as being one of the most beautiful and talented angels of all. He lifted himself up to be greater than God then was cast out of Heaven. Please see Isaiah chapter 14 verses 12-20. This was the beginning of all that is not good, and why the serpent persuaded Eve to question and make herself equal to God at the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
The second step was the beginning of God’s plan of salvation starting obedience to God by means of rules, simply doing good, then on to the laws given through Moses. This step was more or less a focus on the flesh. A law that couldn’t be kept, and physical battles and wars between God’s people and those that would push their own gods and idols.
The law was proven to be all but impossible to keep, so enter grace through faith in Jesus Christ, the only begotten of the Father. This is the third step. Transitioning from the physical to the spiritual.
These three steps take us from complete emptiness to completely flesh battles to completely spiritual warfare. The next is the end. A last surge of war from the powers of darkness briefly flying through the three steps in a last-ditch effort to defeat the works of God. Ultimately, however, God wins; He always wins.
The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® https://netbible.com copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.
