In our western way of thinking we often disregard the spiritual realm, and the daily realities of spiritual warfare.

Still, I contend that obsessive dwelling on spiritual matters would not be helpful for the Christian life. In fact, in most situations the devil may tempt the immature to focus on his kingdom rather than that of God. To focus on things below, more than above.

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2)

This is largely because the things above our eternal. This earth, and all the powers of evil and rebellion will perish. When we dwell on eternal things, it gives us reason for hope.

Yet, any search on YouTube or the IOT will reveal the mass majorities insatiable appetite for sensational media. As an example videos and articles about demons, the Illuminati, secret scripture and apocalyptic prophecies are rampant and immensely popular.

I came across one such video pertaining to “lost scripture” which the creator claimed had been removed from the cannon to hide ancient truth about spiritual warfare revealed in the “Assumption of Moses”. Some claim Jude quotes this extra biblical source but most theologians do not recognize this work as being inherent, and therefore not scripture (and for good cause)

Regardless if Jude actually references a story from it, or not, we can assume this story was at least common knowledge to his audience. I would argue that similar to our modern context, his audience loved this sensational story of their patriarch. As it goes, Jude 9 reads:

“But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”

Even at face value, it’s an epic picture. Michael the archangel fiercely battling against the devil over Moses. A clash of two super powers. The war between good and evil. It has all the makings of a Hollywood block buster.

But, it’s still not scripture. Don’t get me wrong here, yes Jude 9 is scripture, but what Jude references is not.

For a side note on how the early church defined the canon, I would recommend this video here.

And if you don’t have time to watch that, let me remind you of at a minimum the power and purpose of scripture.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 reads:

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Scripture is living (God-breathed). We often will call this inherent and inspired, because God inspires the authors to write, and they did so without error. This is the power of scripture. It is not man contrived wisdom, or philosophical meanderings. It’s a gift from God. Further, because it is living, it is also active in the lives of those who use it for righteousness (teaching, rebuking, correcting and training).

As far as Jude 9 is concerned, let us not get wrapped up in spiritual warfare, or even in the power and might of Michael. There is other times for that, and more applicable scripture to study. Instead let’s heed the warning, only the Lord rebukes.

It is not our place (even if we were Michael, and we were talking to the devil) to pronounce Gods judgement. That would be blasphemous. It’s not our domain. We are not sinless. We are not inherrent.

God is.

Jude is reminding his audience that these evil men, that pridefully seek to destroy and corrupt the Church will be judged by God. We should be warned of their existence, and mindful of our wandering towards and alongside them. We should seek to identify and align ourselves with Godly men.

Likewise, don’t get caught up in sensational materials that cause us to lose our attention on Christ and His Kingdom. Yes, we must keep a keen biblical understanding on spiritual warfare and the unseen realm. Yes, we must be extremely cautious and test “the spirits” to see if they are from God. But we cannot at the expense of our focus on Scripture, and how God is revealed therein or on what He promises to do in the future, including pour out his judgement once again, and in finality.

So, let us be a people who are eager, and waiting on the day of judgement, hoping in Christs righteousness, which has been given to us not by our works, but by His grace.

Here are few great resources for further study on spiritual warfare.

Pastor John Piper answering “Do you believe we should cast out demons today?”

This review of an excellent book by David Powlison, which he wrote to define the role of spiritual warfare in counseling practices.

Peace be with you.