The Battle-Prize and Angel Worship

“Let no one cheat you of your battle-prize [Norw.], taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.” Col. 2:18-19.

It is possible to lose your battle-prize—not because you fight, but because you refrain from fighting. You will be cheated of your reward if you allow yourself to be fooled by false humility and angel worship, which is one of Satan’s most effective tactics in his war against the people of God.

When someone comes to you, pretending to be humble, and admires and flatters you, it requires considerable grace from God, and light and vigilance, to use the sword against such a person. The easiest and most common response is to listen to the flattery and allow yourself to be deceived. You allow yourself to be worshipped as an angel of the Lord, as someone who has been entrusted with something from God; and you enjoy it when they behave in a humble way, because it is flattering and appealing to your natural, human emotions.

If we are faithful to God and give Him the honor, we will reject all angel worship and all false humility, which only serve to please ourselves. We will take up a battle against such people and tell them clearly what we think. By doing this, we keep our battle-prize, and God gets the honor.

Angel worship is truly flourishing these days. Because people have itching ears, they heap up for themselves teachers (angels) according to their own desires without asking whether God has appointed these people. They admire them in order to gain an advantage. Women admire the young preacher and gather close around the podium to listen to him. They look at him and receive good advice for their problems and receive comfort from him. Religion is the means, but the goal—even though it is usually unconscious—is to win the preacher. That is why you will notice that when the preacher does not come to the meeting, his admirers do not come either. It was nothing more than angel worship. The natural desire that a woman has for a man (Gen. 3:16), which was formerly restrained, is given free reign as soon as they come under this religious influence, since they believe they are safe from Satan’s power. The devil takes advantage of this careless, negligent attitude because he is more experienced in warfare than these young ones who have so many desires and interests.

If the young preacher allows himself to be ensnared, he will become unfit as a minister of the word; but if he lays hold of the sword and hacks away mercilessly at all this religious flesh, the upright will rejoice, and God will give him victory.

Satan—the prince of darkness—knows how to utilize his power and his resources when people don’t have the knowledge of God. He leads people into darkness and attacks them in those areas where they do not have light. It is only through utmost vigilance and prayer that we can overcome angel worship and keep our battle-prize.