Matthew 11:12 teaches that from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and forceful people lay hold of it. The phrase is not limited to John's time, just as Paul's "from Adam to Moses" and "from the first day until now" extend beyond their starting points. The verse describes the violent effort required of those God has called as He circumcises their hearts and turns the hearts of fathers to children and children to fathers. This change takes an all-out effort against opposing forces, both within and without, for most of life. Externally, the friction shows up as hatred from the world and even betrayal by family, as Jesus warned in Matthew 10. More often it shows up in the battle within each person to have the heart completely changed and to live Christ's instructions in Matthew 5-7. Like veterans who won a war and then faced the harder struggle of faithful daily living amid tedium, apathy, self-doubt, and self-pity, the called fight scattered across the world in the places God has set them. God encourages them as He did John in prison, reminding them of who He is and that His Word is sure. The remedy is in Matthew 11:25-30: obedient submission to the Father and Son in everything. This moves the mind away from Satan, and the more one submits, the lighter Christ's yoke and burden become. The battle is raging, and the Kingdom must be taken by force.

Spiritual conflict is the unavoidable result of the Christian paradox: God calls believers holy by judicial decree while they still live in the flesh. At baptism, when hands are laid on us and God gives His Spirit, we have two natures that are almost always at odds, especially when a moral choice must be made. The older, carnal human nature is self-centered, comfortable with its long-established habits, and determined to stay dominant. God's Spirit, the mind of Christ, is powerful, loving, and self-controlled, and it cooperates with us rather than bullying us as the flesh does. Romans 7:13-25 shows Paul describing this war: the law is holy and the fault lies in us, since sin dwelling in the flesh makes us do what we hate. Two realities, the law of sin in the members and the law of God in the mind, contend for dominance. Human nature alone cannot win, and only Jesus Christ delivers us from the body of death. Paul serves God's law with the mind and sin's law with the flesh, so the fight lasts as long as we are in the flesh and ends only at death or Christ's return. Galatians 5 gives five responses: walk in the Spirit; expect conflict and resist the flesh; remain led by the Spirit, so that God's grace continues to cover us; mortify the works of the flesh; and produce the fruit of the Spirit. First John adds that we must not deny our sin, but confess it, receive forgiveness through Christ our Advocate, and keep walking in the light.

God's people live in Satan's world and face not only dangers within themselves but an outside enemy who seeks to seduce and destroy the church. This conflict has run from the church's beginning through the whole era since Christ's resurrection, the "last hour," and grows fiercer in particular times of crisis until a final conflict just before Christ returns. Paul describes it as a wrestling not against flesh and blood but against principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness (Ephesians 6), and the New Testament is full of this theme. The spirit of antichrist is the main weapon: a subtle, lying power that opposes Christ or stands in His place, often wearing the Christian name while denying Him by false doctrine and lawless works. It appears in individuals, institutions, religions, and governments, and it culminates in the Beast and the False Prophet, whom Christ will overthrow at His return. Satan's deception, traced from Eden to Revelation, works by stealth, so lies and confusion mark his presence. God allows antichrists within the church to test the righteous, so believers must test the spirits, guard the truth, forgive one another, and stand fearlessly for it. The anointing of the Holy Spirit lets every member recognize error, and "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." Rather than fixating on one future antichrist, believers must persevere, as the Philadelphians did, so that no one takes their crown.