Tag Archives: Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual Warfare 101…and Beyond!

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2 Corinthians 10:4, The weapons of our warfare…spiritual. 

A Redeemed Believers Authority Through Yeshua—The Biblical Concept of Spiritual Warfare

Is the concept of spiritual warfare a biblical one? Perhaps no scripture of the Bible states the fact that it is more clearly than 2 Corinthians 10:3–5. (Eph 6:10–18 would be a close second!)

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:(for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal [but, by implication are spiritual], but mighty through Elohim to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Elohim, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Messiah. (2 Cor 10:3–5, emphasis mine)

Obviously, Paul understood and taught that redeemed believers are in an ongoing spiritual battle against something or someone, but what and who? James reveals that there are three possible sources of conflict for the redeemed believer: the world, the flesh and the devil (Jas 3:15). The flesh (man’s sin nature) is the greatest enemy that the saint faces. Paul discusses his struggles we face with the carnal man in Romans 7. The world is also a formidable enemy of the redeemed righteous ones. In John 17, Yeshua tells his disciples that though they are in the world, they are not to be of the world (John 17:11,14). He then goes on to describe the conflicts they would have with the world because they are his disciples. Finally, in Ephesians six, Paul describes the spiritual combat the saints face with Satan and his cohorts (Eph 6:10–18). He is constantly seeking to destroy us (1 Pet 5:8), and to find opportunistic inroads into our lives to establish a spiritual beachhead (Eph 6:16; 1 Pet 5:8). It is this latter subject which we will discuss in the following study.

The foundation for waging effective spiritual warfare is to have a deep spiritual relationship with Yeshua — to be loving him by obeying is laws through him (Rom 7:25–26).

The Legal Basis for the Believer’s Spiritual Authority

(Taken from Destined for the Throne by Paul E. Billheimer, pp. 71–80 with additional comments by NL.)

Universal Jurisprudence. It is vitally important for every redeemed believer to know the fullness and extent of the victory over sin, death and the devil that Yeshua secured for us at the cross. To fully understand this, we must comprehend the legal basis for that victory. Elohim is an El (God) of total justice. He established the universe to be governed by a legal system. As Supreme Judge of the universe, he must follow the laws of justice he established that keep order in the universe.

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Are You Cursable?

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Numbers 22:11–12, Dealing with curses from the enemy. Make no mistake about it, false prophets are neither the friends of YHVH nor his people. They are grievous wolves who hate YHVH’s people and want their total destruction.

For example, in verse 11 Balak asks Balaam to pronounce a mild curse (arah) on Israel that would result simply in their being driven away, not on their being destroyed. But then notice in verse 17 how Balak employs a much stronger Hebrew expression (kavah) to curse Israel implying their total destruction, thus indicating Balaam’s hatred for Israel (and his contempt for YHVH).

In verse 12, YHVH uses the milder term to let Balaam know that even the mildest curse would not prevail against his people (The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash, p. 858).

Do you walk so closely to YHVH in relationship with Yeshua and in his righteousness that you are protected from even the mildest curse directed at you from the enemy? Do you stay under the blood of Yeshua so that no spiritual darts of Satan can pierce your spiritual armor (Eph 6:16; Rev 12:11)? Do you take refuge perpetually under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty (Ps 91:1, 4)? How does the child of YHVH do this every day?

Proverbs 26:2 states, “As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.” Do you have any “spiritual doors” open so that the Evil One has “legal” entrance into your life to attack you?

The solution to the problem is to repent by turning from sin and then turn to Yeshua! Obey his Word so that you do not open yourself up to the curses for disobedience as mentioned in Deuteronomy 28.

 

Battling a Kundalini or Serpent Spirit in a Loved One

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I just got a email from a bereaved wife whose husband has come under the kundalini spirit.  He was a believer in Yeshua, even following the Torah, to one degree or another, but has now turned to Eastern, new-age and Hindu practices including trying to awaken the kundalini (or coiled snake) spirit in himself through Hindu practice (such as meditation and breathing exercises) in order to experience spiritual enlightenment. The wife pleaded for advice on what to do. She is a Messianic, Torah-believing saint and is at wit’s end on what to do. Below was my response to her. Perhaps this will help someone who is in a similar situation. I would also appreciate any thoughts and insights (based on the Scriptures) some of you may have who have dealt with this demon spirit.  Natan
The kundalini or serpent spirit (in Greek, puthon or python;  see Acts 16:16) is a demon or fallen spirit that is trying to inhabit a human body. It goes back to the worship of Baal in Canaan and the religion of the nephilim. That’s another discussion. Elohim was so opposed to Baal worship that he instructed the Israelites to perform genocide on the Baal worshipers in the Promised Land. This is a very rebellious, wicked and perverse spirit.
I suspect that spiritual doorways were opened sometime in the past for this evil spirit to come into your husband, and he either never really repented of them or never knew about them. They can hide undetected for a long time and become “a familiar spirit,” since they meld in with the person’s personality.
This evil spirit could have been generationally passed on down due to ancestral sin, or his own sins (dabbling in the occult, etc. when young), or it could have been picked up somewhere along the way in his Pentecostal church experience. Now I’m not against the Pentecostal or Charismatic movements in the church. I spent time there and was greatly blessed. I was baptized in the Spirit in my living room in 1990 and then received a fuller immersion in the Spirit at a Foursquare church in 1992. I was in several P. and C. churches between ’92 and ’98 and experienced a lot—including the good, the bad and the ugly. For example, some of the things  going on in Toronto in the early to mid-‘90s was very new age. Same with the so-called revivals in Florida a little later. I was in some meetings where men were trying to “make things happen” instead of letting the Spirit lead along biblical lines. This is very dangerous and can lead to spiritual witchcraft. I even saw videos of Copeland and Hagen come under some sort of bizarre spirit and they both slide out of their chairs like snakes and with their tongues doing the snake thing. Do I need to mention the bizarre and demonic manifestations at some Todd Bently meetings? I could go on. My research shows that the focus of these meetings was more on manifestations and not on the genuine work of the Ruach including repentance, holiness/righteousness, and obedience to Yeshua and his commands. Perhaps you husband picked something up in that arena.
Whatever the case, your husband is under the great delusion of lying spirits.
The kundalini spirit or any other evil spirit is difficult to deal with, since we don’t have the authority to go against a person’s will; i.e., if they want the spirit in them it makes it difficult to cast it out. We can cast it out against their will in Yeshua’s name by the Spirit, but it will only come back in stronger later, since the person didn’t fill the spiritual void left in them when the demon was cast out with Yeshua (Matt 12:25–30 and 43–45; Luke 11:14–26).
This is where prayer and fasting come in—to determine the will and battle strategies of Elohim on how to combat this evil in your spouse.
When praying, cover your prayers in the blood of Yeshua (Rev 12:11), so the enemy won’t hear the plans, and thus be able to mount a defense against them.
Do intercessionary repentance for your husband as Daniel and Nehemiah did for the Jews. YHVH heard and answered them. Pray that YHVH will give him the gift of repentance. Pray and do spiritual warfare against the lying and deluding spirits that are deceiving him.
Also, you can remit his past sins as Yeshua gave his disciples (and us) the authority to do in John 20:22. What is the purpose of this? As I understand it, we can remit the past sins of someone so that their sins are no longer holding the person down such that they can’t even help themselves spiritually since they are so burdened down due to guilt, shame, fear, rejection, bitterness, anger, unforgiveness, delusion or whatever. This will potentially enable them to be able to see the true reality of their situation and come to repentance and faith in Yeshua.
As I study the Scriptures on spiritual warfare, I see Yeshua and the disciples only openly rebuking demonic spirits that are actually manifesting at that moment. Everything else was done by prayer in the name of Yeshua, not on the battlefield, but before the throne of Elohim through Yeshua our Great High Priest there in heaven’s courtroom. The reason I mention this is that I see many spiritual warfare advocates literally shouting and yelling at the devi, which isn’t a scriptural thing to dol. Where is this in the Bible? Yes, when on the battlefield, and when confronting a demon, Yeshua gave us the authority over all of Satan’s powers (Luke 9:1; 10:19; Mark 16:17). But when not actually on the battlefield, but in prayer, we must go to the the courtroom of heaven and appeal to the Father as the Righteous Judge through Yeshua, our Advocate or spiritual attorney or Great High Priest. These distinctions and perimeters are important to know, so that we follow heaven’s protocols thus insuring greater success in our battles against the evil one.
Finally, despite all of our best efforts, if the person we’re interceding for and spiritually warring over does not want to leave their sin, repent and turn to Yeshua, there is little or nothing we can do, since they have free will to make their choices including rejecting Yeshua and following Satan/Baal straight into the lake of fire. That being said, we need to pray for ourselves, so that we will know what to do. If it’s a spouse, Yah will either give us the his strength and grace to endure the situation, or, if it gets too bad so that person becomes abusive and begins to persecute us, it may be necessary to depart the marriuage for good. These are all difficult choices that must be made through much prayer, fasting and seeking the will, the heart and the leading of the Father through his Set-Apart Spirit.

 

When Confronting Our Spiritual Enemy: Battlefield or Throne Room?

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When engaged in spiritual warfare prayer, consider this. Yeshua only addressed demons or Satan directly when the demon or Satan were actually manifesting. The same is true with Paul when dealing with the python spirit in the slave girl in Philippi, or with Peter when dealing with Simon the Magician. This is because at that moment they were on the spiritual battlefield, and direct confrontation with the enemy was unavoidable.

When not on the battlefield, we need to go through the courts of heaven when dealing with our spiritual enemies. To wit, I can think of no examples in the Bible of the saints speaking to Satan or his demons directly unless engaged in direct battle with them when evil spirits were actually manifesting.

Therefore, when engaged in spiritual warfare and not on the battlefield and in direct confrontation with the demonic element, we need to address our spiritual warfare issues and make our petitions known before the throne of the Almighty in the courts of heaven. It is also there that we will be given divine guidance to formulate our battle plans when the time comes to directly engage the enemy on the battlefield. We must communicate with Elohim in a way that the enemy will not overhear these strategic plans and thus be able to thwart them by mounting a defence against them ahead of time.

Yeshua instructed his disciples to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matt 10:16). He also declared that, “the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light”  (Luke 16:8). Therefore, we need to engage the enemy prudently, shrewdly and intelligently following strict biblical protocols if we want to experience more victories.

 

Call 9-1-1 in the Bible: An Uplifting Commentary on Psalm 91

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Psalm 91:1 (and the rest of Psalm 91) Is the Biblical 9-1-1 to Call in Our Time of Trouble

Psalms 91:1, Secret. Heb. cether means “covering, shelter, hiding place, secrecy,” and is from the root word meaning “to hide, conceal.” When troubles comes our way like a tidal wave, the natural human reaction is to stand and fight or to flee in fear. In psychology this is known as the fight or flight response. There is a time to fight, but at all times we need to be hiding in the secret place of our relationship with our Almighty Father in heaven, to which the latter part of this verse alludes. Out of that place, and from under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty and in his throne room, we will not be cowering in fear from our enemies, but we will find the courage, will and stamina to stand firm in faith, and, if necessary, to come out and to fight the enemy not in our own strength, but in that of Elohim as led and guided by his Spirit.

Abide. Heb. luwn means “to lodge, stop over, pass the night or abide.” A lodge is a place where one temporarily spends the night. When dark times come our way, we need to stop over, spend the night, run to and abide in the throne room of the Almighty! This speaks of prayer, worship, praise and studying his Word.

Psalms 91:1, 4, Under the shadow of the Almighty…under his wings. According to the ancient Jewish sages, Moses composed this psalm for the tribe of Levi who dwelt under the shadow of the wings of cherubim that stood over the ark of the covenant in the Tabernacle of Moses—a physical representation of YHVH’s throne room in heaven. The sages go on to explain that the psalmist describes the devout man of faith who lives with Elohim in his heart, and who never leaves Elohim’s shadow. Such a man is a true biblical hero of faith to whom Elohim pledges (v. 16) he will satisfy with long life and show him his salvation (The ArtScroll Tanach Series Tehillim/Psalms Commentary on Ps 91). This psalm ends with the promise of the blessing of long life to those love and serve YHVH, and beyond that, salvation, which is the Hebrew word Yeshua—the very name of the coming Messiah who would offer his people deliverance from the ultimate enemy, namely sin and its death penalty. The result of this deliverance is the glorious divine gift of eternal life through faith in Yeshua the Messiah—the supreme gift and blessing of all! This psalm is a prophecy pointing to the Messiah.

In Jewish understanding, the Tabernacle of Moses wasn’t complete until the glory of YHVH’s presence took residence in the tabernacle’s inner chamber, the holy of holies. This was evidence that YHVH was making this habitation his own in a most intimate way. How was it possible, they ask, for the Creator of the universe to inhabit a mere tent? They explain that he focused his presence into this tiny spot. This isn’t unlike a magnifying glass that reflects the suns rays into a small but focused point on a piece of wood or paper. Were the earth closer to the sun, it would be burned up. Yet the sun’s light can be brought to the earth in a concentrated form that will not cause harm. This is exactly what Elohim did when he incarnated Yeshua into the womb of Mary. The sages had the understanding that the holy of holies is a picture of man’s heart that the Creator wants to indwell, which is the most sacred sanctuary of all.

The conception and birth of Yeshua was the fulfillment of this prophecy. The fire of the Set-Apart Spirit that came down upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 was a fulfillment of this desire of YHVH of which the fiery glory cloud that dwelt in and over the Tabernacle of Moses was a prophetic portent. Yeshua promised his disciples that through this same divine fire he would dwell in their hearts after his death, resurrection and ascension. The result of this divine encounter of Elohim with those in the upper room resulted in many repenting of their sins and coming to faith in Yeshua the Messiah (Acts 2:38–41), which is the greater message of Psalm 91.

Psalms 91:3, Snare of the fowler. This is literally referring to a bird trap and the trapper. In ancient times, birds were trapped and used for food. This could be a poetic picture of Satan and his demons who fly through the air searching for human prey. A biblical example Continue reading →

 

Lessons from Deuteronomy on Faith, Fighting and Overcoming

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Deuteronomy 1:26–28, Moving forward in the face of obstacles. Many times in our spiritual walk we are just at the point of spiritual breakthrough, but we receive an evil report about some spiritual giants that is blocking our forward movement and our resolve to advance melts. It seems sometimes that if we could just see what the future holds for us that it would be much easier for us to go forward! Yet Yeshua said, Blessed are those who haven’t seen, yet still believe in YHVH’s promises (John 20:29). Do you have what it takes to go on without being deterred by the world, the flesh and the devil? How can one go forward in faith if one cannot see where one is going? It gets down to personal and intimate relationship with your Heavenly Father, through Yeshua. He directs us through his Spirit. Can you hear his voice with your spirit when he tells you, “This is the way, walk you in it,” (Isa 30:21)?

Deuteronomy 1:29, He will fight for you. How does Elohim fight for us? Let’s look at the example of the children of Israel. We can learn a lot from them (1 Cor 10:11). How many examples are there of the Israelites sitting down and doing nothing while YHVH fought for them? Few if any. What then does YHVH require? We must do our part, and he Continue reading →