December, 2015
The Three Battlegrounds, Revised Ed. 2006
By Francis Frangipane
NOTE: I’ll post one of these every once in awhile. Not every week, not necessarily even every month, but regularly. I am always interested in learning and applying Biblical principles to my life so I can grow as a believer, so I’m always reading something. Today’s selection is meaty.
I saw this in my church’s bookstore a week ago (the Sunday after Christmas) and got it. OMG very weighty. This book is very easy to read and understand, but every page has something good and heavy in it that makes me put it down so it can sink in. I can only read a little bit each time and got to page 46 this morning (Jan. 3).
You ever find a book (besides the Bible) that you have written all over, highlighted, read slowly, read it again, refer to it even after several months, and recommend and give away? This is going to be one of those for me.
I usually read fast, but not this one! And I read a lot. This book, however, has already become a classic for me on spiritual warfare. I don’t say that about every book I read! I think it’s the way he explains it.
For instance, in the first 2 ½ pages of chapter 1, Francis discussed how believers can traffic in darkness by tolerating sin.
When Satan rebelled against God, he was placed under eternal judgment in what the Bible calls “pits” (2 Peter 2:4) or “bonds” of darkness. The devil and the fallen angels with him have been relegated to live in darkness. This darkness does not simply refer to areas void of visible light. The eternal darkness to which this scripture refers is essentially a moral darkness, which ultimately degrades into literal darkness. However, its cause is not simply the absence of light; it is the absence of God, who is light (p. 14).
He then spoke about how that darkness can be the legal acccess point for demonic activity because their realm is the realm of moral darkness:
But when you harbor sin, the “light which is in thee” is “darkness.” Satan has a legal access, given him by God, to dwell in the domain of darkness. Thus, we must grasp this point: The devil can traffic in any area of darkness, even the darkness that still exists in a Christian’s heart (pgs. 14-15).
Now don’t get me wrong. I am not one to believe that there’s a demon behind every bush, or that demons cause all the disease in this world. I don’t believe that a true Christian can be “possessed” by the devil and Francis does not, either, as I have continued to read. There are people who believe these, but I do not. I have worked in mental health for a number of years and I think I’ve only had a small handful of clients who I believe were demonized.
Having said that, spiritual warfare is a reality that each believer must face or be destroyed. If you want balanced but deep teaching on spiritual warfare, I would recommend this one. Other books I have read on this topic that I would recommend:
- Spiritual Warfare by E. M. Bounds
- The Strategy of Satan by Warren Wiersbe
