I need to be honest–I have so immersed myself in endtimes prophecies and current events that I’m battling a spirit of fear. Fear can come from within–it is instinctive–or from outside of us. The enemy uses a spirit of fear to fight against us. I am telling you, not because I have been overcome, but so that you know I am just like you!
I am not superhuman, superspiritual, or whatever! I am not always fearless and bold! I have strength, when I draw close to God and draw my strength from Him. HE gives me boldness and strength. He will do the same for you. Fight the fear and draw close to God! Do not shrink back, do not let fear overcome you.
Remember the old saying ‘give him an inch and he’ll take a mile’? This is very true with the powers of darkness. If you retreat, they will be emboldened to advance even further. You have to hold them off–and even better–advance on them! When you move forward, in God’s will, He will strengthen and empower you. He has been waiting a very long time to see most of us stand up and fight.
There is no better way to victory than to draw out your spiritual sword and do battle with the evil spirits that come against you and your family. You don’t fight against flesh and blood–but against the spiritual powers of darkness.
You may be content to ‘hold them off at the gate’ of your mind, or your physical property–but do you think they’ll stop there? Do you want to be hunkered down, peeking out to see if they are still there, waiting for an opportunity to come back? I say no!! Fight beyond your gates to create a ‘buffer zone’. Send the enemy fleeing beyond the boundary you determine, and hold onto what you have conquered!
Spiritually, we have lost America. We have been driven back to our churches, where many are hunkered down, hoping the enemy won’t come any further. Look behind you! While you are peeking out the windows at the evil forces outside, evil spirits have already infiltrated your congregation!
There are four boundaries you need to endeavor to win back–in this order:
- Your mind and body
- Your family’s minds and bodies
- Your home
- Your church
- Your community (small town or neighborhood)
You continue advancing outwards as you gain ground. But you have to be sure you are thoroughly purging the forces of evil as you go. Liken it to the way that God told the Israelites to totally give over to destruction the towns they were invading. They were to not leave alive man or beast, and then they were to destroy the buildings and bodies with fire.
Hear me–I am not saying to fight against men, or to fight in the physical realm! What we see in the actions of the children of Israel was in the physical realm, but what was happening in the spiritual realm was more significant.
The Israelites were purging the land of evil spirits–and they didn’t even know it! This is why it was SO important not to leave alive a single man or beast, whom the evil spirits could enter into, and why they were not to leave a single building that the spirits could haunt. They were to leave them no place to go, so that they would flee the land! (As you know, you can’t kill demonic spirits. You have to remove what they need to live, so that they will flee!)
I’ll be honest, until this moment I have believed, because of my faith in God’s righteousness and goodness, that what God told the Israelites to do was right and He had a reason–but it seemed very harsh to me. We are talking about genocide. But as I am writing this, He has opened my eyes to understand why. I had never seen it as a spiritual battle before. Now it makes perfect sense!
The Bible could simply have summarized to say that the Israelites completely destroyed the people they conquered, or something to that effect. But instead, it was shown, town by town and stressed again and again. And it was duly noted when the Israelites failed to do as God had directed. This is because God wanted us to understand the importance of this!
I think most of us do realize it was very important, even if we haven’t completely understood why. And I’m ashamed to say, I guess I just concluded that these were people God wanted to eliminate from the face of the Earth. I understand now that God was not eternally against these people (although He was bringing judgment upon them), but against the evil entities that they had given place to. Their lands had become a ‘hot spot’ of demonic activity and God wished to scatter those spirits (as He scattered the people at Babel, because of what they intended to do).
I also want to point out, that after the Israelites had killed the people, the disembodied spirits could just as well have entered into them–if they had given them an opening, through sin in their life!! God did not begin revealing about spiritual warfare to His people until Jesus came. The only way that the Israelites could be safe when fighting the spiritual forces of darkness, was to live lives of purity, and to have God present in their midst.
Do you see now? Just as we train up our children, God told them WHAT to do (and was very strict about it), but He didn’t try to explain WHY, because they would not have understood. This is also why He was quick to purge those who were sinful and rebellious from amongst the midst of the Israelites (which had also seemed a tad bit extreme to me before).
This is a picture of how we must fight now! We must live lives of purity and have the power of the Holy Spirit within us. Then, as God directs, we must advance upon, and scatter, the spiritual forces of evil. (He is NOT calling us to fight against people, but rather the unseen forces behind them.) When we do this, He will empower and protect us.
It is time to enter the battle! Purge the evil from your own life and mind, then lead your family in doing likewise. Then, do what you can in your church–if your church isn’t interested in being pure and living righteously–leave it!
Then, contend for your town. (I may be wrong, or just missing the point–but I like peace and safety.) The country is lost. The states are lost. But, it may be possible to ‘win back’ a few towns and communities from the enemy, if we try.
Pray for your town’s leaders. Vote for righteous men and women. Clean up your town of filth and depravity (do battle in the spiritual realm before attempting to confront or convince people). Battle the spiritual forces of wickedness, and pray that God will create a safe haven for you and your family.
If, after all you’ve done, only your home is free of the demonic–then thank God for that, and remain vigilant. But how much better it will be if we have some towns and communities that are oases, free of demonic oppression, in the days ahead!!
One other point: I hear some talk about ‘the remnant’, almost as if the people who form the remnant are superior to other Christians. Don’t fall into that trap of pride!! No one is a remnant yet–we are all Christians just now waking up and beginning to learn the truth from deception.
Unfortunately, as the truth is presented to them, some people are choosing not to love the truth, and God will send them a powerful delusion to believe instead. This is what is called ‘the great rebellion’, ‘the great apostasy’, ‘the great falling away’. The love (of righteousness, of truth, of God) of many will grow cold. Many will turn away. After that, the backslidden/apostate Christians will begin to persecute and hate the remnant that were faithful to the truth*.
When the persecution begins–then the ones who hold to the truth can be called ‘the remnant’. To do so now is to risk ‘writing off’ people who may or may not be Christians now, but who are being misled and deceived by false doctrines–for whom there may yet be hope of repentance!!
*Don’t be surprised if, in those days, a ‘Christian’ president is elected and (apostate ) ‘Christians’ form a majority in Congress. With great pride, patriotism and zeal they would fight the unrighteous (who have been in power) and the ‘fanatics’/’religious zealots’ (the remnant that hold to the truth).
The ‘false prophet’ will be
- a false religion that appears Christian (much of this is already in the church),
- and promotes the ‘beast’ empire (the beast is not a man)
[The beast (empire) will rule over the nations of the world. This may not be really obvious. It may be a lot like America does today, through occupation, military bases, and taking authority over countries by various means (regime change, sanctions, and other means of control). The beast (empire) will have final say, and will punish those nations that don’t fall in line.]
It is this false prophet/false church that will create the image of the empire that is to be worshipped (through intense patriotism), and whose mark is required to participate in buying and selling in the global marketplace.
Don’t be surprised that it would be ‘Christians’ that persecute ‘the remnant’–after all, it was the Jews that killed Jesus! There is no more formidable adversary than one who is deceived into thinking that they hold the truth of God and are fighting on His behalf.
Lest you think the same of the remnant, remember this: the remnant, those who do have the truth of God, fight spiritually but the deceived will fight in the physical realm–by putting to death their ‘enemies’.
Will They Take Away Our Children?
I used to be terrified of the idea of the tribulation, persecution, etc. I’m not sure how I’ll face this when it comes, but at present, I’m not afraid. Perfect love casts out all fear. He who fears is not perfected in love.
Here’s how Jesus presented this to me. He is my Lord, all powerful, and will not allow anything to touch me without His permission. He is trustworthy and good and He loves us. We will be with Him for eternity (which is a lot greater than anything we may go through in this limited period of time). He will never let go of me. So if He’s only going to allow things for my good, He cannot fail, and His love is unfailing, what have we got to fear–either for ourselves or for our loved ones?
What you say about God’s character is true. It sounds like He has ministered to you when you were afraid.
I want to speak on behalf of any Christian who knows and believes these things, yet still battles fear. “Perfect love casts out all fear. He who fears is not perfected in love.” That is Scripture. But, it is one that has always been a bit puzzling to me in its meaning. Do you think you could take a few minutes to share your interpretation of this passage? “He who fears is not perfected in love” sounds a bit condemning, and may not be helpful to someone who is battling fear, if they don’t understand what it means. (Maybe I’m the only one who doesn’t . . .)
I think there are several types of fear. One is a natural, instinctive response to something that one perceives may threaten their physical survival. As far as I can tell, it is present in almost all people and animals. It fades when the danger subsides, or when something stronger replaces it. I have a feeling that even well trained soldiers, who are Christians, still encounter this. Perhaps a military person is reading this and could comment on what kind of training is used to help a soldier overcome fear.
I think having a strong sense of purpose, or strong determination, is probably helpful with this. Ultimately, what matters is not that you felt afraid, but whether you still chose to do the right thing, in spite of it–whether you chose to act courageously, whether you felt courageous or not.
Another type of fear is having a pattern of worrying about things, dreading, and expecting the worst. It can stem from trauma in one’s life. Deep down, it is probably a symptom of a lack of trust in God. Any symptoms we manifest–whether physically, mentally, or spiritually–should cause us to seek out the roots and cause(s) of the symptoms.
I don’t think any Christian purposely mistrusts God–they may not even be aware that they do. What the Lord spoke to you is a perfect tool for fighting this type of fear–it is overcome by retraining the mind (having the ‘mind of Christ’, being transformed through studying the Word of God).
Another type of fear is a physical response to unseen (but sensed) spiritual forces of evil. If a person has ‘invited’ these forces into their life through sins they are involved in, they have good reason to be afraid! In that case, repent! Renounce! Do spiritual battle against the forces of evil you have indulged.
There is much sin and spiritual opposition in the world today. I believe it is possible to pick up ‘spiritual hitchhikers’ unintentionally–through a website you visit, someone you bump into, something you watch on tv, etc. Or, that Satan sees that you are living righteously and singles you out for a little oppression. A visit from a spirit of fear may bring doubts and fearsome thoughts to your mind, in a way that you may think they are your own. Or, it may just impart a feeling of fear.
Don’t take this to mean that Satan has power over you, and that you need to be afraid. He is just an opportunistic thief that will come and ‘rattle your gates’ every so often, to see if he can get in. All you need to do, is to speak out loud to any evil force that may be present, and command it to leave, in Jesus’ name. (Repent and renounce first, if you need to.)
We all feel fear at times. Feeling afraid is no sin. Indulging fear is. It’s one of those things you really don’t want to give a foothold to in your life. Choose to have faith. Choose to trust God. Choose to act courageously, even if you don’t feel brave. Don’t give in to fear–be vigilant and fight it!
You’ve probably explained this a lot better than I did, DBF. Yes, I do think it is the second kind of fear you mention–the one concerned with worry and fret over things happening or soon to happen. While you may be battling a spirit of fear (this isn’t usually the kind of attack I face–the enemy typically sends other demons my way), most of the people I’ve spoken with who are afraid of the times to come are afraid in a worrying and fretting kind of a way. I used to do this, too, and maybe–likely–when bad things seem closer, I will again battle with this.
However, years ago in the 70’s when my church was preaching end-times prophecy continually, I was very afraid. They made a big deal about how we were all going in the “first boat,” then turned around and talked about how we needed to have years of supplies laid up in case of need. I was very poor, had two young children, and an absent husband. I could barely afford to put groceries on the table and already carried a load of guilt for not always tithing to this wealthy ministry. I was confused and afraid and I spent literally hours (while doing other things) fretting over what I would do if this or that thing happened.
That’s the kind of fear I’m talking about. Yes we are all capable (and in this life will always be capable of) the kind of immediate fear you feel when your teenage daughter is driving you up a twisty, slushy, slippery mountain road for the first time. 😆
But the kind of fear you experience when you place yourself and your children into some scenario of persecution you’ve read about happening in, say, Somalia? Or the fear of what you’ll do when/if the food runs out or some gang overruns your house, steals everything and does horrible things to your young daughters? We’re not meant to fret over that sort of thing that may never happen. God gives grace for whatever He asks us to endure when the time comes–not when we read about it having happened to someone else. That’s the perfect love I’m talking about. Trusting in Him to be there for us and to be sufficient for us.
His perfect love gives us the assurance to follow Him one step at a time, knowing that frightening things likely lie ahead, but that it’s okay because we’re with Him.
You only get that by drawing near to Him and, as 1 John 4 also mentions, drawing near to our brothers and sisters in Him. This unity perfects the love He’s placed in us and enables us to trust.
I don’t see this as judgmental or discouraging, in that it’s asking something of us we can’t do. God isn’t asking us not to fear. He’s asking us to draw near–we’ll know we’re near because we won’t be afraid any more. So if we’re afraid, we know what to do. Look away from the fear and draw near to Him individually and in and through the family–our brothers and sisters.
Unfortunately, you’re likely not going to find that in a conventional “church” setting where you go and sit for an hour or three once or thrice a week–or even every night at the “big revival.” You need real brothers and sisters who know you for that–but that’s a whole ‘nother post. 😉
Love, Cindy
Thanks for taking the time to say more. What you shared are awesome words of encouragement! I want to highlight this point you made:
And not when we worry ahead of time, but rather when (and if) the time comes.
In regards to the Scripture that I was always unclear about:
I believe God has shown me what it means. Here goes:
When you love someone with all your heart, fear disappears. You would take a bullet for them, walk 500 miles for them, defend their honor, rush into a burning building to save them . . If you are afraid to do those things for them, then you don’t really love them with all your heart. (You don’t really love them completely, perfectly.)
Great definition, DBF. I hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right. Like a mother who is terrified of spiders will not hesitate to pick up a big hairy spider right out of her baby’s stroller and throw it away from him.
Only we also get the benefit of being the baby in this case. The love goes both ways, and we love Him because He first loved us. In fact, He is the only source of love in the universe, so all the love we give to Him first came from Him. We get to be the moon that reflects our small part of His huge love back toward Him. God is sooo good! I can’t wait to see Him.
Maranantha!
Love, Cindy