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John Piper warns spiritual warfare lies beneath every human conflict
Pastor and bestselling author John Piper recently explained that while Christians face real human conflict, such struggles are ultimately rooted in spiritual warfare, and emphasized the urgency of responding with Gospel-centered resilience and the armor of God.
In a recent episode of the Ask Pastor John podcast, the 79-year-old chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota, addressed a listener wrestling with the practical meaning of Ephesians 6:12: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces in the heavenly realms.”
The listener asked how Christians can apply that verse to the tangible, often painful realities of daily life, especially when interpersonal conflict makes it feel like people, not demons, are the real problem.
“This question is not artificial in any way,” Piper said. “It’s right there in Ephesians 6. It demands our attention. It’s a good question. I like it — I like this kind of question.”
Piper began by breaking down Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:11–12, which call believers to put on the “whole armor of God” in order to stand against the schemes of the devil. The passage continues, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
The challenge, Piper said, lies in understanding whether Paul is excluding human conflict altogether or suggesting something deeper about the nature of that conflict.
“‘Flesh and blood’ here refers to human beings over against supernatural demonic reality,” Piper explained. “But what about the fact that Paul did have real human adversaries that threatened his faith and the faith of his churches and his own life?”
Piper pointed to several passages in Paul’s writings where human opposition is not only acknowledged but also directly confronted. In 1 Corinthians 16:9, Paul writes, “A wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” In 2 Corinthians 11:13–15, Paul describes false apostles and deceitful workers as “servants” of Satan.
“It’s patently obvious, and everybody knows it, that Paul had real human adversaries to wrestle with. And so do we,” Piper said. “Paul is reviled; he’s persecuted; he’s slandered; he’s beaten; he’s whipped; he’s imprisoned; he’s deserted; he’s betrayed. And all of those are humans doing the mess, right?”
The Desiring God founder also emphasized that Paul saw these visible conflicts as intertwined with spiritual warfare. He noted that in Ephesians 4:14, Paul warns against being “carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” — language that mirrors the description of Satan’s tactics.
“I would go so far as to say that I don’t think Paul believes there is any human sinning that is not also influenced by Satan and his forces,” Piper said. “In other words, I don’t think it’s ever helpful to try to think of human evil as one thing and demonic evil as another thing. They’re always interwoven.”
Piper pointed to Ephesians 2:1–3, where Paul describes believers’ former lives before Christ as “following the course of this world,” “following the prince of the power of the air,” and “carrying out the desires of the body and the mind.”
“That sounds a lot like flesh and blood. And it is,” Piper said. “Flesh and blood apart from Christ is always under the sway of the spirit of the age, and it’s always under the sway of the prince of the power of the air, and it’s always acting out of its own bodily, mental desires. Therefore, in one sense, there is no separation in our warfare with human sinfulness and demonic schemes. They overlap; they’re intertwined.”
One example, Piper noted, comes from 2 Corinthians 2:10–11, where Paul links forgiveness with resisting Satan’s schemes: “Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive… so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.”
“A person who sins against us, a real flesh-and-blood human being, is in a place where we have to do some kind of spiritual warfare against the satanic, community-destroying work of Satan,” Piper said. “That’s real flesh-and-blood, human opposition and adversity, and it is a satanic design to destroy the church.”
In this light, Piper said, Ephesians 6:12 does not deny the reality of human conflict — it situates that conflict within a broader, more sobering spiritual landscape.
“When it says, ‘We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the [demonic forces],’ I think Paul means this: We do not wrestle against mere flesh and blood, mere humans. The opposition against us in this world is always bigger than that,” Piper said.
He cited 2 Corinthians 4:4, which says the minds of unbelievers are blinded by “the god of this world,” and Acts 26:17–18, where Jesus commissions Paul to “open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God.”
“We’re always dealing with two issues: the darkness of sin and the bondage of Satan,” Piper said. “The good news is that, in the death of Christ, the price has been paid for the forgiveness of those sins, and the damning power of the devil has been broken.”
Piper encouraged listeners to put on “the whole armor of God,” as Paul commands in Ephesians 6, and to step into daily struggles — both seen and unseen — with confidence in the Gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit.
“We put our whole armor on. That’s what we should do: Put on the whole armor of God and go triumphantly in the Gospel and the power of the Spirit,” Piper said.
According to a 2015 Gallup Poll, while about 9 in 10 Americans said they believed in God (89%), only about 61% of the same sample believe Satan exists.
Similarly, the Pew Research Center’s 2014 Religious Landscape Study found that roughly 7 in 10 (72%) Americans said they believe in Heaven — defined as a place “where people who have led good lives are eternally rewarded.”
But at the same time, Pew found that only 58% of U.S. adults believe in Hell — defined as a place “where people who have led bad lives and die without being sorry are eternally punished.”
In an episode from 2024, Piper explained why Satan can wield such immense power over the spiritual world, especially when it comes to blinding people to the Gospel.
According to Piper, by allowing Satan’s presence to persist, God’s triumph in overcoming both the blindness of human depravity and the deception of Satan is magnified.
“God is showing us the double prison we are in,” Piper said. “We are doubly dark: the darkness of our own shackles around our wrists and ankles, and the darkness of Satan’s locked doors — like Peter in prison, had to have the hands freed, then he had to have the gates freed and the doors freed.”
“There were layers of bondage: the darkness of our own delusions about God — that’s one level of bondage and blindness — and then the added darkness of Satan’s lies and deceptions all around us.”
“If he obliterated Satan earlier, his power would be glorified. But if Satan remains, and we are able to defeat his deceptions by seeing the superior beauties of Christ, then not only is the superior power of Christ glorified, but also the superior beauty of Christ is glorified,” Piper said.
“We are so corrupt, we cannot see that Christ is a superior beauty, a superior worth, a superior greatness, and therefore a superior satisfaction over everything else. In our depravity, we are blind to all of that.”
Sources:Christianpost
വാഷിങ്ടൺ: പ്രമുഖ സുവിശേഷകൻ ഫ്രാങ്ക്ലിൻ ഗ്രഹാമിന്റെ മകളും അന്തരിച്ച സുവിശേഷകൻ ബില്ലി ഗ്രഹാമിന്റെ കൊച്ചുമകളുമായ സിസ്സി ഗ്രഹാം ലിഞ്ചിനെ യുഎസ് അംബാസഡർ അറ്റ് ലാർജ് ഫോർ ഇന്റർനാഷണൽ റിലീജിയസ് ഫ്രീഡം സ്ഥാനത്തേക്ക് പ്രസിഡന്റ് ഡൊണാൾഡ് ട്രംപ് നാമനിർദേശം ചെയ്തു.
സെനറ്റിന്റെ അംഗീകാരം ലഭിച്ചാൽ ലോകമെമ്പാടുമുള്ള മതസ്വാതന്ത്ര്യ സംരക്ഷണവുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട യുഎസ് വിദേശനയ പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങളിൽ ലിഞ്ച് പ്രധാന ചുമതല വഹിക്കും. നാമനിർദേശം വലിയ ബഹുമതിയായി കാണുന്നതായും മതസ്വാതന്ത്ര്യം സംരക്ഷിക്കുന്നതിനായി മികച്ച രീതിയിൽ സേവിക്കാൻ പ്രാർത്ഥിക്കണമെന്നും ലിഞ്ച് അഭ്യർഥിച്ചു.
2010 മുതൽ Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Samaritan’s Purse എന്നിവയുമായി പ്രവർത്തിക്കുന്ന ലിഞ്ച് നിലവിൽ സീനിയർ അഡ്വൈസറും മിനിസ്ട്രി വക്താവുമാണ്. മകളുടെ നാമനിർദേശത്തെ സ്വാഗതം ചെയ്ത ഫ്രാങ്ക്ലിൻ ഗ്രഹാം, പുതിയ ഉത്തരവാദിത്വത്തിനായി അവൾക്ക് ജ്ഞാനവും ശക്തിയും ലഭിക്കാൻ പ്രാർത്ഥിക്കണമെന്നും അഭ്യർഥിച്ചു.
Sources:globalindiannews
Cissie Graham Lynch, the granddaughter of famed late Southern Baptist evangelist Billy Graham, said this week that President Donald Trump asked her to take up a key religious freedom position in his administration.
Lynch, whose father, Franklin Graham, leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, revealed the news on X on Sept. 15, saying Trump had asked her to serve as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom.
The role helps lead the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Lynch on X said it would be “a great honor and privilege” to serve in the role.
“If confirmed by the Senate, please pray that I would serve with excellence and make the most of every opportunity to protect our most precious and fundamental right—and one that far too many people around the world still live without—freedom of religion,” she wrote.
Lynch has remained active in the religious advocacy and aid networks started by her grandfather and continue to be run by her family.
She has served as an adviser to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and at Samaritan’s Purse, an international Christian aid organization also led by Franklin Graham.
On Sept. 15 Franklin Graham said his daughter is “uniquely” qualified for the role, the duties of which include promoting religious freedom abroad and advising the U.S. government when that right is violated internationally.
The government says the religious freedom ambassador serves as “a principal adviser to the president and the principal adviser to the secretary of state regarding matters affecting religious freedom abroad.” The ambassador‑at‑large also has served as a nonvoting member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which has three vacancies yet to be appointed by the president.
Franklin Graham said his daughter has “traveled the world and been a student of this issue for many years” and has “a broad worldview and knowledge of the issues facing religious freedom today.”
“I couldn’t be more proud of her, and I ask you to pray that God would give her wisdom and strength,” Graham wrote.
http://theendtimeradio.com
മെസ്ക്വിറ്റ്: ഷാരോണ് ഫെലോഷിപ്പ് ചര്ച്ചിന്റെ ആഭിമുഖ്യത്തില് സെപ്റ്റംബര് 19, 20 തീയതികളില് പ്രത്യേക യോഗം നടത്തപ്പെടുന്നു. പാസ്റ്റര് അനീഷ് ഏലപ്പാറ ദൈവവചന ശുശ്രൂഷ നിര്വഹിക്കും.സെപ്റ്റംബര് 19 ശനിയാഴ്ച വൈകിട്ട് 7 മണിക്കും, സെപ്റ്റംബര് 20 ഞായറാഴ്ച രാവിലെ 9:30-നും യോഗങ്ങള് നടക്കും.
വേദി: Sharon Fellowship Church, 940 Barnes Bridge Rd, Mesquite, Texas.
കൂടുതല് വിവരങ്ങള്ക്ക് പാസ്റ്റര് സാബു സാമുവല് – 201-960-0427, ബ്രദര് റോയ് എബ്രഹാം – 214-738-3976 എന്നീ നമ്പറുകളില് ബന്ധപ്പെടാം.
സംഘാടകര് ഏവരെയും ഈ പ്രത്യേക ആത്മീയ യോഗങ്ങളിലേക്ക് സ്നേഹപൂര്വ്വം സ്വാഗതം ചെയ്യുന്നു.
Sources:nerkazhcha
വത്തിക്കാൻ സിറ്റി: 21-ാം നൂറ്റാണ്ടിൽ ലാറ്റിൻ അമേരിക്കയിൽ മാത്രം ക്രൈസ്തവ വിശ്വാസത്തിനും സാമൂഹിക നീതിക്കും വേണ്ടി ജീവൻ ബലി കഴിച്ചത് 304 ക്രൈസ്തവരെന്ന് ഔദ്യോഗിക കണക്ക്. വത്തിക്കാൻ സമാഹരിച്ചുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്ന പുതിയ നൂറ്റാണ്ടിലെ രക്തസാക്ഷികളുടെ ആഗോള പട്ടികയിലാണ് കണക്കുകളുള്ളത്. വിശ്വാസം ഏറ്റുപറഞ്ഞതിന്റെ പേരിലും പാവപ്പെട്ടവർക്കായി നിലകൊണ്ടതിനും, സംഘടിത കുറ്റകൃത്യങ്ങൾക്കെതിരെ ശബ്ദമുയർത്തിയതിനും, പ്രകൃതി ചൂഷണങ്ങൾക്കെതിരെ പോരാടിയതിനുമാണ് ഇവര് കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ടതെന്ന് റിപ്പോർട്ട് ചൂണ്ടിക്കാട്ടുന്നു.
മിഷ്ണറിമാർക്ക് പുറമെ സാധാരണക്കാരായ അല്മായരും ജീവൻ വെടിഞ്ഞവരുടെ പട്ടികയിലുണ്ട്. വിശുദ്ധരുടെ നാമകരണത്തിനായുള്ള വത്തിക്കാൻ ഡിക്കാസ്റ്ററിയുടെ പ്രീഫെക്റ്റ് കർദിനാൾ മാർസെല്ലോ സെമെരാരോയാണ് ഇതുസംബന്ധിച്ച വിശദാംശങ്ങൾ വ്യക്തമാക്കിയത്. ക്രിസ്തു വിശ്വാസം ഏറ്റുപറഞ്ഞതിന് പുറമെ, മയക്കുമരുന്ന് മാഫിയകൾ, വനനശീകരണം, പ്രകൃതിവിഭവങ്ങളുടെ നിയമവിരുദ്ധമായ ചൂഷണം എന്നിവയ്ക്കെതിരെ ശബ്ദമുയര്ത്തിയതിനും അനേകര് കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ടു.
ഗോത്രവർഗ്ഗ മേഖലകളിലെ വനനശീകരണത്തിനെതിരെയും അനധികൃത ഖനനങ്ങൾക്കെതിരെയും സുവിശേഷമൂല്യങ്ങൾ മുറുകെപ്പിടിച്ച് ഇവർ നിലകൊണ്ടപ്പോൾ, അത് ക്രിമിനൽ-സാമ്പത്തിക താല്പര്യങ്ങൾക്ക് തടസ്സമായി മാറുകയായിരിന്നുവെന്നും അങ്ങനെയാണ് നരഹത്യ നടന്നതെന്നും കർദ്ദിനാൾ മാർസെല്ലോ സെമെരാരോ പറഞ്ഞു. ഈ നൂറ്റാണ്ടിൽ ലോകമെമ്പാടുമായി രക്തസാക്ഷിത്വം വരിച്ച 1,700-ലധികം പേരുടെ വിവരങ്ങള് വത്തിക്കാന് ഔദ്യോഗികമായി രേഖപ്പെടുത്തിയിട്ടുണ്ട്.
കടപ്പാട് :പ്രവാചക ശബ്ദം
The Catholic Church has documented 304 martyrs in Latin America so far this century. These are men and women killed not only for professing their faith but also for defending the poor, confronting organized crime, and protecting creation.
Their stories are part of a global catalog of martyrs promoted by the Vatican that already exceeds 1,700 documented cases.
“Many were murdered for reasons related to drug trafficking, deforestation, or for opposing the exploitation of natural resources,” explained Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
The cardinal noted that while many were missionaries, the group also included lay faithful who gave their lives defending the Gospel and denouncing drug traffickers, protecting Indigenous territories from deforestation, or fighting the illegal exploitation of natural resources.
As he explained, the common thread in these cases is that these individuals became “inconvenient” to those controlling illicit activities. Their Gospel witness clashed directly with economic interests and criminal structures.
A conference to reflect on the new martyrs
Semeraro offered these reflections while presenting the international conference “The 21st Century: A New Era of Martyrs?” at the Vatican, a day of study and reflection dedicated to exploring the witness of Christians who have lost their lives for the sake of the Gospel in various parts of the world.
The gathering, organized by the Commission for New Martyrs — Witnesses to the Faith, was scheduled to take place Sept. 15 at the Pontifical Augustinianum Institute in Rome.
The international congress will bring together some of the most prominent voices from the Church, academia, and journalism in Rome to reflect on Christian witness in the contemporary world.
Participants include Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo; Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem; and Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio. Experts will also speak, such as Archbishop Fabio Fabene, president of the Commission for New Martyrs; journalist Lucia Capuzzi; historian Father Roberto Regoli; and South Sudanese religious sister Alice Jurugo Drajea, who will share about Christian life amid the war ravaging her country.
The initiative comes a year after the commemoration of the martyrs and witnesses of the faith of the 21st century, presided over on Sept. 14, 2025, by Pope Leo XIV together with representatives of other Christian churches and communities at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.
Pope Leo XIV celebrate Mass for the commemoration of the martyrs and witnesses of the faith of the 21st century on Sept. 14, 2025, at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. The commemoration was an ecumenical event that also brought together representatives from Eastern Orthodox churches, Oriental Orthodox churches, various Christian communities as well as ecumenical institutions and officials from Vatican dicasteries.
The commission continues to gather testimonies and information regarding Christians killed for their faith, aiming to preserve their memory and document the various forms of persecution and Christian witness in contemporary times.
According to data released by the organization last year, 1,624 martyrs worldwide had been documented between 2000 and 2025. Of these, 304 were from the Americas, a figure that reflects the specific nature of martyrdom in this region today.
The commission also noted that the record now exceeds 1,700 documented cases and that between 100 and 150 new testimonies were added in the last year alone, confirming that the phenomenon remains very much ongoing.
Holiness goes beyond canonization
In his remarks, Semeraro emphasized that holiness in the Church is not limited to those officially canonized.
“The grace of holiness in the Church is represented by canonization, but it is not exhausted by them. Obviously, this does not rule out the possibility that, provided the necessary conditions are met, the corresponding processes of beatification and canonization could be initiated for some of those listed in the catalogue,” he noted.
This is the case, for example, of Floribert Bwana Chui, a young Congolese man from the Community of Sant’Egidio who was murdered in 2007 for refusing to accept bribes and who was beatified in 2025.
However, he noted that the primary goal is to highlight the “high standard of ordinary Christian living” spoken of by St. John Paul II in Novo Millennio Ineunte, which Pope Francis later referred to as that of “the saints next door.”
The anthropological value of holiness
The cardinal also highlighted the deeply human dimension of Christian holiness.
“We need witnesses, martyrs, who have given themselves completely to demonstrate this to us day after day. We need them so that, even in the small choices of daily life, we may choose the good over comfort, knowing that this is precisely how we truly live life,” he explained, citing Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Spe Salvi.
Semeraro also highlighted the ecumenical value of this project, a characteristic that he noted St. John Paul II had sought to instill in the commission from its very inception.
Martyrdom continues to grow in the 21st century
During the presentation of the conference, historian Riccardi, vice chair of the commission, maintained that the Church is truly experiencing a “new era of martyrdom.”
He recalled that St. John Paul II promoted the gathering of testimonies from 20th-century martyrs for the jubilee of the year 2000, an initiative deeply shaped by his personal experience under the Nazi and communist regimes. In Riccardi’s view, that insight has proven even more relevant today.
For this reason, he explained, Pope Francis decided to reactivate and consolidate the Commission for New Martyrs, convinced that “the time of martyrdom continues.”
The Churchʼs response has been extensive. Dioceses, religious congregations, lay movements, episcopal conferences, and apostolic nunciatures have sent hundreds of testimonies to the Vatican.
http://theendtimeradio.com
‘Natural Realm Responded’: Filmmakers Detail Spiritual Manifestation on Set of New Movie
In Romans, the Apostle Paul wrote about the earth pointing to God’s “eternal power and divine nature.” The Koomans, two...
മറ്റുള്ളവർ ടാഗ് ചെയ്ത പോസ്റ്റുകൾ ഇനി സ്വന്തം പ്രൊഫൈൽ ഗ്രിഡിൽ; ഇൻസ്റ്റഗ്രാമിന്റെ പുതിയ ഫീച്ചർ എത്തി
ഇൻസ്റ്റഗ്രാമിൽ മറ്റുള്ളവർ പങ്കുവെച്ച് നമ്മളെ ടാഗ് ചെയ്ത പോസ്റ്റുകൾ സ്വന്തം പ്രൊഫൈലിൽ കൂടുതൽ പ്രാധാന്യത്തോടെ പ്രദർശിപ്പിക്കാനുള്ള അവസരം ഇനി ഉപയോക്താക്കൾക്ക്. ടാഗ് ചെയ്ത പോസ്റ്റുകൾ നേരിട്ട് പ്രൊഫൈൽ...
മതസ്വാതന്ത്ര്യ അംബാസഡറായി സിസ്സി ഗ്രഹാം ലിഞ്ചിനെ ട്രംപ് നാമനിർദേശം ചെയ്തു
വാഷിങ്ടൺ: പ്രമുഖ സുവിശേഷകൻ ഫ്രാങ്ക്ലിൻ ഗ്രഹാമിന്റെ മകളും അന്തരിച്ച സുവിശേഷകൻ ബില്ലി ഗ്രഹാമിന്റെ കൊച്ചുമകളുമായ സിസ്സി ഗ്രഹാം ലിഞ്ചിനെ യുഎസ് അംബാസഡർ അറ്റ് ലാർജ് ഫോർ ഇന്റർനാഷണൽ...
മെസ്ക്വിറ്റ് ഷാരോണ് ഫെലോഷിപ്പ് ചര്ച്ചില് സെപ്റ്റംബര് 19, 20 തീയതികളില് പ്രത്യേക യോഗം
മെസ്ക്വിറ്റ്: ഷാരോണ് ഫെലോഷിപ്പ് ചര്ച്ചിന്റെ ആഭിമുഖ്യത്തില് സെപ്റ്റംബര് 19, 20 തീയതികളില് പ്രത്യേക യോഗം നടത്തപ്പെടുന്നു. പാസ്റ്റര് അനീഷ് ഏലപ്പാറ ദൈവവചന ശുശ്രൂഷ നിര്വഹിക്കും.സെപ്റ്റംബര് 19 ശനിയാഴ്ച...
ഈ നൂറ്റാണ്ടിൽ ലാറ്റിൻ അമേരിക്കയിൽ രക്തസാക്ഷിത്വം വരിച്ചത് 304 ക്രൈസ്തവര്
വത്തിക്കാൻ സിറ്റി: 21-ാം നൂറ്റാണ്ടിൽ ലാറ്റിൻ അമേരിക്കയിൽ മാത്രം ക്രൈസ്തവ വിശ്വാസത്തിനും സാമൂഹിക നീതിക്കും വേണ്ടി ജീവൻ ബലി കഴിച്ചത് 304 ക്രൈസ്തവരെന്ന് ഔദ്യോഗിക കണക്ക്. വത്തിക്കാൻ...
MTV Star Leaves Gay Lifestyle After Encounter With Jesus
Davis Mallory was once an MTV star who lived an openly gay lifestyle while simultaneously adhering to what he called...
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