The Pilgrim’s Progress – Chapter 4 (A Fierce Battle)

He had just entered the Valley of Humiliation when Christian was immediately tested. He had not gone far before he saw a foul fiend coming over to meet him. His name was Apollyon.

Christian was afraid and struggled with what to do: should he go back or stand his ground? When he realized that having no armor for his back would make him an easy target for the enemy’s flaming arrows, he decided that standing his ground would give him the best chance of surviving Apollyon’s attack.

So, Christian went forward and Apollyon met him; he was a monster that was hideous to behold.

Apollyon (A): Where did you come from? Where are you bound?

Christian (C): I came from the City of Destruction, which is the place of all evil, and I am going to the City of Zion.

A: By your answer I perceive that you are one of my subjects, for all that country is mine, and I am the prince and god of it. How is it that you have run away from your king? Were it not for the fact that I wish you to enter into my service again, I would strike you to the ground with one blow. (Threaten with death.)

C: Indeed, I was born in your dominions, but your service was hard, and a man cannot live on the wages you pay, ‘for the wages of sin is death’. Therefore, when I grew into a greater understanding, I did as other thoughtful persons have done. I searched to see if there was a way to make myself into the person I should be. (Okay, die or return and die. 🤔)

A: There is no prince who will so easily lose his subjects, nor will I lose you. But since you complained about your service and wages, be content to go back. What our country can afford, I promise to give to you.  (Oh, slick! Look Christian, I hear you, I can be reasonable.)

C: But I have given myself to another, even to the King of princes, so How can I in fairness go back to you? (Ok, lets use reason, then.)

A: As the proverb says, you have ‘changed a bad for a worse,’ but it is very common for those who have professed themselves His servants to give Him the slip after a while and return to me. And if you return to me, everything will be well with you. (Everything? Matthew 12:45 says otherwise.)

C: I have given Him my faith and have sworn my allegiance to Him. How can I change my mind now without being hanged as a traitor? (Et tu, Judas?)

A: You did the same to me, and yet I am willing to let it pass, if you will now turn and come back.

C: What I promised you was done in ignorance, and besides, I believe that the Prince under whose banner I now stand is able to absolve me and to pardon me for those things I did while in you service.  Besides, O you destroying Apollyon, to speak truth, I like His service, His wages, His servants, His government, His company, and His country better than yours. You can stop trying to persuade me otherwise.  I am His servant and I will follow Him.

A: Consider again, when you have cooled down, what you are likely to meet up with on the way you have chosen. You know that for the most part His servants come to an ill end, because they are transgressors against me and my ways. Think how many of them have been put to shameful deaths! Besides, you count His service better than mine, and yet He has never come out of the place where He dwells to deliver from my hands any who served Him. But as for me, how many times, as the whole world very well knows, have I delivered from Him and His, either by power or fraud, those who have faithfully served me!  Likewise, will I deliver you.

C: His present restraint not to deliver them is for the purpose of testing their love, to see if they will cling to Him to the end.  As for the ill end you say they come to, that just adds glory to their account. For they do not expect deliverance now and will endure all life’s trials, knowing it adds to their glory in eternal life when their Prince comes in His and the angels’ glory.

A: You have already been unfaithful in your service to Him – so why do you think you will receive wages from Him?

C: How, O Apollyon, have I been unfaithful to Him?

A: You almost fainted when you first set out, when you almost choked in the Swamp of Despond. You also attempted to get rid of your burden in the wrong way, instead of patiently waiting for the Prince to take it off. You sinfully slept and lost your scroll, you were almost persuaded to go back at the sight of the lions, and when you talk of your journey and of what you have heard and seen, you inwardly desire your own glory in all you do and say.

C: All this is true, and much more that you have failed to mention. But, the Prince whom I now serve and honor is merciful and ready to forgive. Besides, these infirmities possessed me while I was in your country, for there I allowed them to come in. But I have groaned under them, have been sorry for them, and have obtained pardon from my Prince.

Then Apollyon broke into a hideous rage, “I am an enemy to this Prince!  I hate His person, His laws, and His people! I have purposely come here to stop you!”

C: Apollyon, beware of what you do, for I am in the King’s Highway, the Way of Holiness. Therefore, take heed to yourself.

A: I am void of fear in this matter. Prepare to breathe your last, for I swear by my infernal den that you will go no further. Here will I spill your soul.

And with that he threw a flaming dart at Christian’s breast, but Christian had a shield in his hand by which he averted it and its danger.

Then Christian drew his sword, for he saw that it was time to make a stand.

And the fierce battle begins. 

The narrator of the story recalls, “During the entire battle that I saw and heard in my dream, the yelling and hideous roaring from Apollyon can scarcely be imagined, resembling the voice of a dragon. Nor can the intensity of the sighs and groans that issued from Christian be fully described. Christian fought with such vigor that his countenance never once relaxed its grim expression until he perceived that he had wounded Apollyon with his two-edged sword. Only then did Christian smile and look upward, but until that point, it was the most dreadful and fierce fight I had ever witnessed.”

Then there came to Christian a messenger with a handful of leaves taken from the Tree of Life. Christian took the leaves and applied them to his wounds, which healed immediately. He then sat down and ate some of the bread and drank from the bottle that had been given to him by Prudence, Piety, and Charity.

After refreshing himself, Christian continued his journey. Not knowing if Apollyon would come back, he drew his sword and walked carefully to the end of the Valley of Humiliation.  There he could see another valley, the Valley of the Shadow of Death.  And since there was no other way to the Celestial City, Christian was obliged to go through it.

Scripture: Romans 6:23   Micah 7:8   Romans 8:37   James 4:7 

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Thoughts to Consider: The evil one has been fighting Christians long before they were called Christians!  Satan wanted to be God and Satan is immortal, but he’s a created being and his power is limited.  When mankind was created to live in the constant presence of God, Satan came and used his tricky half-truths to tempt Eve to disobedience… Adam witnessed and kept his mouth shut.  i.e., he didn’t correct Eve.  He did open his mouth to eat of the forbidden fruit though! 😄 God kicks Adam and Eve out of the garden preventing them from immortality through the Tree of Life.  But not before he promises to defeat Satan through a son of Eve… a man! How blessed are we to have this whole story… from promise to fulfillment.

We get to see Satan’s partial truths, false promises, and outright lies.  He’s so clever with the “Did God really say…” getting believers to doubt. Or, the ‘You will certainly not die…’ (Liar!)  He knows human weaknesses: our desires, our pride, our greed. When God came down to be born of a woman and walk among us as a man named Jesus, Satan tested Him in the Wilderness, too, right after his baptism.  When Jesus fought back with the sword of Scripture, Satan started quoting Bible back to him, too. 

It is interesting to look at how Apollyon attacks Christian. First, he threatens Christian, then he tries to negotiate. Then he lies… plants all kinds of seeds of fear… then, my personal favorite, he attacks Christian personally for every misstep he’s made… THEN he shows his true colors… I am an enemy to this Prince!

How many Christians do not stand firm and fight the way Christian does when he is attacked?  They listen to the lies and deception and give in… turn back… or just compromise.  Rationalizing or justifying their switched allegiance or partial obedience the same way that Eve did?  Sometimes, even thinking, that God would approve of our rationalizing even though Scripture clearly states otherwise. They never even get to the point in the struggle where the truth is revealed. Satan hates Jesus, His laws, and His people. His purpose is to stop you from entering the Kingdom of God.

God gives us His complete Word – in both human example, Jesus, and in revealed, written Word. We ignore it to our own peril.

Scripture: Genesis 3:1-6   Genesis 3:14-15   Matthew 4:1-11   Matthew 12:45