Michael, the church and the portal

Submitted by Michael S (United States), Jan 21, 2016 at 04:52

Hi, Moh. You said,

"Maybe the allegorical portal to this other world is in the heart."

I agree completely, and Lewis portrayed it that way. When the Bible refers to the "heart", by the way, it's not speaking of an organ of the body. The "heart" of a person is his innermost being; and the physical heart is an allegory for this.

The point I wanted to get across, is that we, in our "hearts", are living at the juncture of two parallel universes -- according to the Bible, not some dreamt-up scheme. Consider the following:

Revelation 12:
[7] And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
[8] And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
[9] And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

That describes an event in "heaven", the main actors being Michael and Satan.

[10] And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
[11] And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Here, in v. 10, the one cast out of heaven is called the "Accuser of the Brethren"; and the ones "overcoming" him were not Michael, but the accused brethren. While Michael was busy defeating Satan (described elsewhere as a serpent) in heaven, the brethren on earth were fighting that enemy with "spiritual weapons" -- the testimony of Christ, patience and the lack of fear of death.

Michael appears elsewhere in scripture, where he again is found in combat with the Serpent:

Daniel 10:
[10] And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
[11] And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
[12] Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
[13] But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

Again, the battle is taking place in heaven. The "Prince of the kingdom of Persia" was the spiritual ruler of Persia. Reading in Revelation, we see that prince as one of the "heads" of the "beast", which that book says is given power by Satan. The beast has seven heads and ten horns; in Daniel's day, the head representing Persia was in power. Just before WWII, the "ten horns" representing the great Colonial Powers ruled the earth; and now, in the Post-Colonial era, the beast itself is in charge.

In the end times, that beast will make war against God's people: that is what will happen on earth. IN heaven, this war will be manifested by Satan being cast down from the sky, along with his minions. Both these events happen at the same time: One is the mirror of the other. Michael is again mentioned, in his "end of the age" context:

Daniel 12:
[1] And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
[2] And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
[3] And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
[4] But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Here, he is described as THE great prince, "which standeth for the children of [the Jewish] people"; and the event described in Daniel is the same as that described in Revelation. "THE" great prince can only be Messiah, the "anointed one"; so Michael is a depiction of one aspect of Jesus. As I discussed earlier, though, he doesn't fight Satan in the last days as a singular human individual: He fights him as Messiah's body, the church; and the weapons used are not fleshly weapons, as it says,

2 Corinthians 10:
[3] For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
[4] (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
[5] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

These weapons are even detailed, in particular:

Ephesians 6:
[11] Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
[12] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
[13] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
[14] Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
[15] And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
[16] Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
[17] And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
[18] Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

As you can see, this corresponds with the weapons used by the "accused brethren" in Revelation.

That's one example of the "portal", and how it manifests in our lives. It also intimates how the "Battle of Armageddon" will be fought and won. Certainly, there will be a physical aspect of that battle: Zechariah 14 goes so far as to say it will involve nuclear war. But the victory will not go to the one with the biggest bombs; it will go to the church, and they will rule for 1000 years.

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