“Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back…..So the dragon became enraged at the woman and went away to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep God’s commandments and hold to the testimony about Jesus.” Revelation 12:7, 17 NET https://bible.com/bible/107/rev.12.7-17.NET

Christmas is full of manger scenes and friendly angels. The first Christmas was not so much but rather a war scene. God’s birth, meek and mild upon the earth, was a desperate struggle to keep evil from stopping God’s plan of salvation. That war in the heavenlies continues today against those who loved God’s appearing, demonstrating their love by testifying to Him and about Him so that all people can believe in Him and obey His commands. God commands that we love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This means He is more important, consumes more of our intention, is our greatest desire, and receives our best effort to please than ourselves or anything or anyone else on earth. He commands that we love one another as we love ourselves, the greatest demonstration of which is our desire for self-preservation. We preserve ourselves for all eternity when we love Jesus and obey His commands, and we preserve our neighbor for all eternity when we share that love for Jesus with them so that they receive eternal life. Those who love God and obey His commands will be at odds with the evil one who works against God and all those who love Him. Can you feel the war around you? Are you taking hits from the enemy, or is this war largely unknown to you, indicating you may not be in the Lord’s army?