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For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12, NLT).
My wife plays Pokémon®. At home and when we travel, she’s online battling the evil rulers and world forces of Pokémon.
The battles are called raids and often include friends (fellow Poké-warriors) from Springfield, Ohio, across the USA, and even from countries like Israel, who join online to demolish Pokémon strongholds.
In the early days of her Pokémon, players would gather for in-person group raids, fighting en masse to take down bosses of the dark powers. During these raids, players could join the raid during a countdown period and then fight together.
When it was time to begin the battle, a player in Springfield would shout to the assembled Poké-players, “Battle, battle, battle!”
It’s taken my wife years (79 of 80 possible levels) to become a player who has accumulated billions of points. When she joins raids, the other Poké-players usually pause for a moment of silence!
She is Pokémon royalty, and I now walk three steps behind her.
In group raids, all the players together win, lose, gain points, or wither away. It’s not good to wither away; it’s much better to attack and win. My wife attacks so often that I believe that her ancestry hails from a lost tribe of Vikings.
The Apostle Paul could have been prophetically speaking about Pokémon when he wrote…
In this way, he [Christ] disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross (Colossians 2:15).
The key to winning a “battle, battle, battle!” is unified attacking. With the Pokémon app, players view the unseen world of the Poké-universe. If my wife were sitting next to you, she could show you on the screen of her inter-dimensional Poké app that Poké-characters — both good and bad — surround you.
I have complete peace traveling with my wife as she’s constantly watching and taking captive bad P0kies. Just last week, Shadow Lugia (a very bad Pokémon) sat down next to me at Olive Garden®, desiring to snag one of the meatballs from my spaghetti and meatballs entrée. I didn’t notice, but my wife saw it and started throwing capturing balls at him.
Victory for Barbara, as she defeated Shadow Lugia, casting him to the netherworld.
By applying the faulty exegesis often used by skeptical Bible critics, I give testimony that one more Poké-boss of the interdimensional universe has been defeated, and I was able to eat all three of my meatballs.
As the Apostle Peter reminds us…
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).
Okay, a bit of fantasy and nonsense today, but tomorrow I get more serious, explaining the four principles of spiritual warfare found in the Bible (using correct exegesis). Until then, if you are a Pokémon player, my wife’s moniker in the Pokémon realm is “Cats Rule Always.”
Battle, battle, battle!
This Shadow Lugia tried to eat one of my meatballs!