Worshipping on a battlefield proved a life transforming experience. I did so for the first time in the spring of 1992 when I was invited to preach in a Baptist church that was literally located on a frontline. The town of Karlovac became the focus of fierce fighting in the brutal civil war that broke out following the break up of the former Yugoslavia.
In fact, on one occasion in May 1992, my friend and fellow pastor Ladislav Ruzicka urged a group of Croatian soldiers to leave their hurriedly constructed bunker and take up shelter in his church. Seconds later an artillery shell blew that bunker to pieces. Visiting Karlovac always was, and still is, a sobering experience.
On reflection, however, I can see that it would be misguided to think that this was my first experience of life on a battlefield. In fact, the longer I have served as a pastor the more I've realised that the Scriptures are right when they inform us that the whole world is the focus of an intense spiritual battle.
The evidence is plain for all to see. Take these recent examples found on Christian Today:
"Evangelicals in Northern Ireland have criticized the Human Rights Commission for failing to stop radical new abortion laws coming into effect next month."
"Just when we thought that the madness being unleashed on our children at school couldn't possibly get any worse, it has....Now schools can purchase a teaching resource which blithely informs children that there are 'more than 100 gender identities."
"North Korea is ranked number one on the Open Doors World Watch List of countries where Christians experience the worst persecution. North Koreans are taught to worship the Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-un. Those who practice Christianity are deemed enemies of the state because they worship God and believe in Him as the ultimate authority above the Supreme Leader."
When reflecting on such headlines, we need to remember that when the apostle Paul wrote to his friends in Ephesus he made reference to the influence of dark and malign forces, forces that are at work in the world in general but especially in the lives of those who acknowledge Jesus as Lord.
It's not unusual to find this belief mocked and ridiculed. We are told we are living in a scientific age and this rules out any possibility of the supernatural. But let's not be intimidated: secular atheism is as much a statement of faith as any made by the apostle Paul. We easily forget this invisible dimension to life when we are caught up in the business of every day living, but a true understanding of "Life, the Universe and Everything" will remind us of the amazing resources we have at our disposal as well as the hope we can have even in the bleakest of situations.
Take the current default position on creation that so many people adopt so uncritically. Put simply it suggests that nothing, given long enough and a massive amount of luck, has resulted in a universe bigger than our minds can comprehend and more beautifully constructed than we can even begin to appreciate.
Oxford professor Alistair McGrath rightly says atheism is "hopelessly simplistic". The Psalmist is even blunter: he says it is plain stupid. That simple fact alone should support the apostle Paul's claim that "the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of Christ".
We should never doubt the resourcefulness or the power of the forces of darkness. The temptations of Jesus are evidence of that. Satan, we are told, offered him worldwide dominion in return for worship. The apostle John said something similar when he wrote of "the ancient serpent called the devil or Satan" who leads the whole world astray. As CS Lewis is reported to have said, "There is no neutral ground in the universe, every square inch, every split second, is claimed by God and counter claimed by Satan."
The powers influence the way governments and societies think and behave too. Human structures can become demonic. The early church encountered this through the growing influence of emperor worship. We see it reflected in the different words used to describe the emperor and his government, firstly in Paul's letter to the Romans and then in John's Revelation. In the first, we see the state described as God's servant or minister; in the second it is the devil's ally or assistant.
Cultures can become twisted too as I think Biblical Christians will freely admit when they look at the way societies such as Rome treated infants and slaves, where parallels can be easily drawn with the current prevailing attitudes to abortion and human sexuality.
The media can be influenced and captured by values and ideas that are unbiblical and sinful too. The Devil is also very shrewd, often preferring to seduce believers into compromise and attacking their minds. He can even persuade those who claim to follow Jesus that the Bible doesn't really mean what it clearly says! But then the evil one has been doing that since the beginning.
So let's not lose heart. We are part of a cosmic battle and only God knows the ultimate significance of our particular struggles. The martyrdom of Robert Jermain Thomas is proof of this. Who would ever have thought that the tragic death of a little known Welshman would result in an explosion of Christianity on the Korean peninsula, and a church that is longing to see revival in Wales again?
God has given us some amazing resources to withstand the attacks of the evil one. Better still, He has promised us divine power to win the battle for people's minds as Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect did in the early 19<sup>th century. And so we should never lose heart. The going may prove tough and the opposition may seem insuperable but we cannot lose. Easter Day was the tipping point of history. The resurrection of Jesus is our guarantee that the outcome is already settled.
I sometimes wonder if the devil is experiencing the same feelings as I did when I lost a game of Monopoly when playing with my brother some years ago. It was obvious that I was going to lose. He even owned Park Lane and Mayfair! But doomed as I knew I was, I did everything I could to frustrate his victory for as long as I could. The author of Revelation said something similar when he told his persecuted readers the devil is "filled with fury because he knows his time is short".
Rob James is a Baptist minister, writer and church and media consultant to the Evangelical Alliance Wales. He is the author of Little Thoughts About a Big God.
