Stopped by Apollyon

Journey to the Celestial City #32. In our continuing look at John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress," today we find the man, Christian, having entered in upon the Valley of Humiliation, he encounters a formidable foe. From across the field Apollyon appears to meet him having once been in charge of his soul. This enemy is hideous to behold so Christian's mind is overcome with fear and thoughts of turning back. This will be his hardest test yet. Can Christian survive? And Satan is quite the threat. To miss this is to our own hurt. The devil will have us when we least expect it. Don't let your guard down. "'Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat.'" (Luke 22:31) "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12) More to come in the next blog post. Check back soon. (To read this entire blog post series, scroll down to "Pilgrim's Progress Series" in the left sidebar.) pp 48-49