Online Bible Verses About "Fence Riding" - Ephesians Chapter 6: put on the full armor of God
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Ephesians 6:12-13NIV
Dark world and spiritual forces of evil. I would say, with personal experience as an indicator, this is a somewhat foreign line of thinking to someone who has not done a fair amount of study in scripture. I was riding the fence for several years, in my early twenties. Riding the fence in that I had semi-bought in to the notion that Jesus was and is who He claimed to be. Not there yet. So world view at that point did not lend itself to full acceptance that good and evil saw an absolute line between. With that lack of clarity, existence of spiritual beings on two sides was just something to be pondered. Which I did. Upon finally reaching out and committing to Christ in 1993, Bible study became part of a daily routine. World view gradually changed. The cast of spiritual characters took on realism. Satan became more than a little red guy with horns and a pitchfork. He became a fallen angel, whose beauty and capability, along with free will, prompted a desire to have dominion over his own kingdom (Isaiah 14:12-15). His influence on planet earth is first described in Genesis Ch 3, the manifestation of which is reflected in the world we see today. That being, a world where man likewise shows a desire to have full dominion. History suggests, and scripture clearly states, that man’s recipe for success results in failure. Despite that trend, man strives to hit the reset button and try again. Bible prophecy tells us that the process will last for a time, with God ultimately stepping in to re-establish what was originally intended. Re-establishment required due to one element of that original creation, the institution of free will.
The full armor of God can be put on in the form of spiritual weaponry; an awareness of what is taking place, a knowledge of what has occurred and what is to come.
