As human beings we interact with the world around us through our senses. For things beyond what we can perceive with our senses we use devices such as radio, television, and smartphones to bring information to us. But is there a hidden reality beyond what we now know?

Well, the Bible gives us an understanding that there is indeed a hidden reality. This is the topic that we will explore in this post.

Our Bible Quotation of Focus

To discuss our topic, we will focus on a Bible quotation, namely, the Bible verse 2 Kings 6:17.

For those who are new to Bible notation, “2 Kings 6:17” is a reference to the Bible, which is a collection of books. In the Bible, each book consists of one or more chapters, and each chapter has numbered sections called verses. The quotation referred to as “2 Kings 6:17” is taken from the book of 2 Kings in the Bible, the 6^th chapter, and the 17^th verse.

“And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD [God], I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD [God] opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:17.

The Invisible War in the Universe

At a fundamental level, the reality is that there is an invisible war in the universe. This war between God and a band of angels started way back in eternity in the past. “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and He rules the universe by a law of love.

However, evil was introduced into the universe by an angel named “Lucifer” (Isaiah 14:12), who persuaded some of the angels to join him in his rebellion against God’s law of love. The evil and wrongdoing of Lucifer, who is now “called the Devil, and Satan” (Revelation 12:9), and his angels, God calls “sin.” Genesis 4:7.

Subsequently, Satan introduced evil into the earth when he succeeded in tempting the first human pair, Adam and Eve, to do wrong. The consequence of Adam and Eve’s fall into sin is that all humanity is born with a disposition to do evil.

In response to the existence of sin, God is actively seeking to rid the universe of evil and He is therefore engaged in warfare against Satan and Satan’s angels.

Satan’s Warfare on Earth Against God

All humanity is involved in the conflict between God and Satan for humanity’s evil character causes them to be in agreement with Satan in his rebellion.

On the one hand, God seeks to change the character of every human being from sinfulness to love. However, on the other hand, Satan seeks to prevent such a change of character and so keep the individual on his side of the war.

Now, God promises that every individual who allows Him to change their character to one of love will receive eternal life from God. But those individuals who retain their sinful nature will receive eternal death from God along with Satan and his angels.

God’s Protection

God says, “Woe to the inhabiters [inhabitants] of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath [rage], because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (Revelation 12:12) to live.

For Satan hates every human being because God loves them and, hence, God plans to save humanity from the penalty of their sins. Especially does Satan try to kill every human being who seeks to turn away from their sin and to be made righteous by God.

Hence, God says of Himself, “He [God] shall give his [holy] angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Psalm 91:11, 12.

These holy angels are known as guardian angels who protect the individual “while there is hope” (Proverbs 19:18) that they will turn away from their sins. Every such individual may say of God in truth, “He [God] delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.” Psalm 18:17.

Christ, when He was on earth, said, “I say unto you, That in heaven their [guardian] angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 18:10.

The Context of 2 Kings 6:17

We will now look at the context of our Bible verse of focus, 2 Kings 6:17.

Elisha Warns the King of Israel

“Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God [Elisha] sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither [there] the Syrians are come down.” 2 Kings 6:8, 9.

“And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.” 2 Kings 6:10.

The King of Syria is Troubled

“Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore [very] troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?” 2 Kings 6:11.

“And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.” 2 Kings 6:12, 13.

The King of Syria Rises Up Against Elisha

“Therefore sent he [the king of Syria] thither [there] horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed [encircled] the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed [surrounded] the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?” 2 Kings 6:14, 15.

Elisha Prays

“And he [Elisha] answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:16, 17.

What the young man saw was an army of holy angels sent by God to protect Elisha.

“And when they [the Syrians] came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite [strike] this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote [struck] them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.” 2 Kings 6:18, 19.

“And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.” 2 Kings 6:20.

The King of Israel is Guided by Elisha

2Ki 6:21  And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite [strike] them? shall I smite [strike] them?” 2 Kings 6:21.

“2Ki 6:22  And he [Elisha] answered, Thou shalt not smite [strike] them: wouldest thou smite [strike] those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.” 2 Kings 6:22.

“And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.” 2 Kings 6:23.

Prophets

Elisha was a prophet of God. What is a prophet? God says, “Hear…my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.” Numbers 12:6.

Moses, the leader of ancient Israel, was a prophet who was especially favoured by God. Speaking of Moses, God said, “My servant Moses is…faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently [visibly], and not in dark speeches [riddles]; and the similitude [shape] of the LORD shall he behold.” Numbers 12:7, 8.

When “I…raise them up a Prophet…[I] will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto [be obedient to] my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:18, 19) in that he will be accountable to me.

But God says, “Beware of false prophets.” Matthew 7:15. We may ask, “How shall we know the word which the LORD [God] hath not spoken?” Deuteronomy 18:21.

“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD [God], if the thing follow not [does not happen], nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” Deuteronomy 18:22.

Prayer

God says, “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him.” Psalm 91:15. This is what is known as prayer. We speak to God and God speaks to us.

How does God speak to us? He rarely speaks in an audible voice. Most often God speaks to us by impressing His thoughts upon our mind.

The Necessity of Prayer

Speaking of humanity, God says, “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.” James 4:2.

God sustains all life on earth with food and He also provides for humanity in other ways. But in order to especially benefit from the promises of God, we must pray. In other words, prayer is a necessity if we are to be blessed by God in certain ways.

Conditions for Prayers to be Answered by God

There are conditions for answered prayer. God says, “And this is the confidence that we have in him [God], that, if we ask any thing according to his [God’s] will, he [God] heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” 1 John 5:14, 15.

How to Make War Against Satan

God calls upon all humanity to engage in warfare with Satan so that they may receive eternal life from God. Since Satan and his angels are known as demons, this is a war against demonic influence in the life of, or demonic control of, an individual. Such warfare is often called spiritual warfare.

Every human being may say of themselves in truth, “For though we walk in the flesh [in the physical body], we do not war after [according to] the flesh [physical body]: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal [do not pertain to the physical], but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds [strongholds];)” 2 Corinthians 10:3, 4.

“Casting down imaginations [thoughts], and every high thing [every demon] that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5.

For when our character is changed by God to one of love, then it is true of us that our thoughts are obedient to Christ. Such individuals are righteous and God therefore calls them “saints.” Deuteronomy 33:3.

The End of the Invisible War

Will the invisible war ever end? God says, “I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity [sin].” Isaiah 13:11.

“When I begin, I will also make an end” (1 Samuel 13:12) “that I may destroy them [the wicked], and blot out their name from under heaven.” Deuteronomy 9:14. That is, the wicked among humanity along with Satan and his angels will cease to exist. At that time the invisible war will come to an end.

“And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and…[they] shall serve and obey him [God].” Daniel 7:27.

These people are “the ransomed of the LORD [who] shall…obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isaiah 35:10.

Conclusion

The hidden reality is that there is an invisible war now being waged in the universe. This is a war between God and some of the angels who are led by Satan.

This war involves all of humanity in that the destiny of every human being is at stake, whether it be eternal death or everlasting life.

To protect human beings from the malice of Satan, God has assigned a guardian angel to every person. So, in the case of the prophet Elisha, God sent angels to protect him from Satan in response to Elisha’s prayer.

Prayer is a necessity for humanity. It will be answered favourably by God if we meet His requirements. Through prayer every person may wage war against Satan on their own behalf. Thus, they are enabled by God to become righteous.

The invisible war will one day come to an end when all the wicked in the universe are destroyed. Then God will give the kingdom to His saints and joy and gladness shall reign on earth forever.

How This Blog Teaches Bible Study

My blog posts take one or more Bible verses and unpack what is often the hidden meaning in them, to help you to gain in your understanding of the Bible, and to receive insights into how to study it. For God says, “Study [the Bible] to shew [show] thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing [interpreting] the word of truth [the Bible].” 2 Timothy 2:15. There are new blog posts every two weeks on a Monday at 12:01 a.m. in timezone UTC-5 (GMT-5).

Further Reading

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