There are passages in the Bible that make you realize some things:
- The Jews did not make this up, and
- We know very little about the spiritual world
One such passage is at the end of Joshua chapter 5. The children of Israel have just crossed over the Jordan and they will soon be attacking Jericho. The land is theirs for the taking and God has said that the inhabitants there will be driven out before them (Joshua 3:10). And it says that, "When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand." Joshua reacts as a leader of an army would when he is before a hostile city and sees somebody he does not recognize with a drawn weapon. He asks, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" Now here is where the story takes a very interesting turn. In one word we realize that the Jews did not make this story up (because if they did, the next word would have been different) and in one word we find out that we know so very little of what is going on behind this world, at the spiritual level. The "man's" answer to Joshua is:
"No."
So in answer to, "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" He answers, "No." His whole answer is that of immense power, of an entity who realizes he is representative of more power than the man talking to him can even imagine. He says, "No; but I am the commander of the army of the LORD. Now I have come." He merely announces his presence. This is reminiscent of the answer that Gabriel gives to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, when his word is questioned. He says, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God." But the interesting thing to me about the answer given to Joshua is that if you were making stories up about your God, who favors you as a people and who is going to purge your enemies from before you then why would you have the Commander of the Army of the LORD answer the question of whether or not he is for you or against you with a "No"? Does that make sense? It certainly does not. This, to me, is a great proof of the Bible. It is one of those times when we get a glimpse into the spiritual realm and it makes little sense to us. There are other verses in the Bible that give similar glimpses (Daniel chapter 10 has a few of them, for example) and it is clear from these that we know very little (and the Bible reveals very little) of what is really going on outside of this temporary existence.
