Created by God in His image,
each man is a physical, inner, and spiritual manifestation of His Word, established before the foundation of the world. A call to spiritual warfare reveals the nature of our spiritual existence. That is, we exist beyond the bounds of space and time in a realm governed by God, from Whom all things exist, and have been called to witness the unfolding of all things having come into submission of this authority while given the space to individually choose our battlement as Sons.
All things align after the spiritual.
For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. John 6:33
'First words' of God revealed for our knowledge, written in Gen 1:1-4, brought darkness into submission.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
Through Jesus Christ, all things have already been submitted. From generation to generation we get to see a portion of this unfolding - this living book God wrote - and to be a part of it!
Ongoing warfare found in the Old Testament reveals blueprint. Israel walked through generations of warring, unfolding from receiving God's promise to taking the land that He apportioned them. Like much in the Old Testament, the nation's journey reveals a history, and also a type.
Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. Joshua 1:3
Israel's battles were those against powerful kings and hoards of foreign armies that were flesh and blood just as they were. The battles were spiritually won by means that God alone would get the glory for, however the Israelites were warring with physical enemies. Although enemies like Pharoah, Jezebel, and Haman were obviously in agreement with the kingdom of darkness and against God Almighty, details concerning what kind of demonic oppression these enemies were most likely under is not an Old Testament indulgence.
In spiritual warfare, we name demons after those Old Testament adversaries.
Just as there are types and shadows in the Old Testament revealing the sure coming of Christ, every battle that Israel faced is a model for the battle that would become visible once Jesus rose up from the depths of Sheol with the keys of death (see Rev 1:18).
One of the few times in the Old Testament that we see actual warfare in the spirit is when Daniel was interceding for Israel (see Daniel 9,10). War in the heavenlies, the clearest reference to spiritual warfare in the Old Testament, is most often described there as being one between God and His enemy, a heavenly creature that betrayed God. Spiritual warfare against demonic oppression is seen once in the Old Testament, when Saul seeks refuge from a tormenting spirit after disobeying God (1Sam 17:14)
In the Old Testament, we do not see Mordecai asking Esther to intercede after mercy for Israel's enemies who are otherwise destined to destruction according to God's promise to Abraham. Yet, Jesus commands we bless our enemies during the time He walked on the earth.
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Gen 12:3
In the Old Testament, 'victory' in war was complete annihilation of Israel's enemies. God rejected Saul for neglecting this standard in disobedience. King David's last requests included instruction to his son Solomon for how to destroy the last of his enemies.
Moreover, you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, how he dealt with the two commanders of the armies of Israel, Abner the son of Ner, and Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, avenging in time of peace for blood that had been shed in war, and putting the blood of war on the belt around his waist and on the sandals on his feet. Act therefore according to your wisdom, but do not let his gray head go down to Sheol in peace. 1 Kings 2:5-6And there is also with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol. 1 Kings 2:8-9
Further, when Israel became God's enemy, God did not have a problem with slaying them.
And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you. Exo 32:9-10
Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the LORD's side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him. And he said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Put your sword on your side each of you, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and each of you kill his brother and his companion and his neighbor.' "
And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses. And that day about three thousand men of the people fell. And Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for the service of the Lord, each one at the cost of his son and of his brother, so that He might bestow a blessing upon you this day.” Exo 32:26-29
In the New Testament, Jesus becomes the distinguishment between man and 'enemy', and it becomes clear that His war is not with man. In the Old Testament, God calls the plays from box seating and everyone who cannot follow gets His, 'Get behind me, satan.' In the New Testament, God becomes the play, and everyone the Father gave to His Son gets to follow with their every breath (see John 17:10). It is the value of the cost Jesus paid at Calvary.
It is in this advance that God, in our understanding of time, begins to handle the real enemy.
And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.” Matt 9:33And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone. Mark 7:29-30And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” Luke 4:36Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Luke 10:19-20
The war moved fully into the spirit realm, where it was won, as Jesus descended and arose from Sheol on the third day! The wars God won in Old Testament prove the shadow for what God would accomplish against His enemy.
A sinner, someone who has not come to Jesus, cannot war. They are defeated. When we invite Jesus to take over our hearts, the enemy has no more right to us. Like in Heaven, like in Eden, the enemy treads on territory that has a destiny he has no portion in.
God uses it to His increase.
In many of Israel's battles against their enemies, God revealed supernatural means for the victory. Jospeh is given interpretation of dreams. Moses walks Israel on dry ground through the red sea. Gideon marched a small company out with trumpets and jars.
For territory, Israel must wrestle. Jacob wrestled with an angel for a blessing before he would have to face Esau, enroute to a place he would be able to dwell away from Laban's trickery. God called Israel to war at the borders of the Promise Land, at Kadesh and at the Jordon. When I am confronted with wrestling, I look around with expectation for the increase.
There have been times in my life when I wonder how it is that people who are not believers are capable to living lives that so look like ignorant bliss. But, I realize that these are like Israel before being called to enter into the rest. God's hand kept them for an appointed time of choosing. I also realize that I don't even know how I endured the former life, one without rest as I know God's rest today.
A powerful teaching guidance I discovered concerning the battle going on in the spirit was recently, in a testimony blog post on Kris Vallotton’s page. In the July 2019 blog post, Kris shares a powerful testimony that bares several truths which – somehow – escape the Christian community. I do not say this as a by-stander.
As Kris shares, a turning point in the journey relayed in his 2019 blog post involved change in thinking he'd acquired from teaching in the church. I personally identify closely with this part of Kris's testimony concerning spiritual warfare. We learn, rightly, in church that God has an enemy, that this enemy has already been defeated, and that our warfare is not carnal.
Like Kris - before life training - I'd thought for a Christian that the enemy though not visible was 'out there'. Surely, war with the demonic was not something that a Christian would encounter at close range. That is, within one's own person. This paradigm was shattered once I began to walk after something God downloaded into my spirit in 2016. I realized that war with the demonic can be one sure sign that a man or woman is walking in something God called them to.
This may be shocking to read. Christians sitting in church who can't describe such battles in their own lives are not bad - or so super Holy that nothing will try to oppose them. It's just that the devil has not really yet had worry about them rising up against his kingdom. The enemy's logic impairment has not subsided after thousands of years - it's gotten worse. If satan would come up against God Almighty in the universe created by His Word, surely this same enemy is stupid enough to try it against God's children who bare the image of satans final defeat, JESUS.
In this post, I will draw out the points in Kris’s 2019 spiritual warfare post ( krisvallotton.com/8-things-spiritual-warfare-gets-real), one that I believe is powerful not only because of the truths that it walks through, but because of the power of testimony. Kris, a spiritual father, personally walked through the things he’s laying out in his blog post and shares about it in detail.
from KrisVallotton.com
Kris Vallotton is an author, international speaker, culture leader, and most of all, a spiritual father to this generation.
As the Senior Associate Leader of Bethel Church in Redding, California and co-founder of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM) and Moral Revolution, Kris has helped thousands of Believers over the last 20 years realize their identity as sons and daughters of God.
Testimony
A picture of the vital importance of testimony is displayed in modern movie depictions of WWII battles.
In 1940, French fortifications along the German border were unable to halt the unanticipated German advance through the Ardennes forest. As a result, French troops, the British Expeditionary Force, as well as a large force of Allied troops, all totaling over a quarter million Soldiers, were trapped on the beaches of the French port, Dunkirk.
The Dunkirk harbor too shallow for ships, desperate rescue mission was carried out by hundreds of little ships and by civilians sailing to the aid in their fishing and motor boats, yachts, ferries, and smaller commercial vessels. The evacuation effort drove on over a week, until the Germans were three miles from the harbor1. The number of Soldiers rescued in the epic rescue mission totaled numbers over 330,000.
In 2017, Christopher Nolan released the film Dunkirk, produced with reference to historical first hand accounts contained in Joshua Levine's book, Forgotten Voices of Dunkirk. The very same year, Joe Wright's Darkest Hour was released in theaters. While Dunkirk (2017) shows the fight on the ground, Darkest Hour (2017) depicts a look at the political front, where a war of words and propaganda were unfolding. The two movies side-by-side provide an inclusive look at the true desperation of the situation at Dunkirk along with the background battle at play that stood to turn the war definitively in one direction or the other.
Dunkirk (2017) opens with a scene that displays the weight of the propaganda involved in WWII.
In the scene, enemy flyers - not explosive bombs - are falling from the sky, made specially for all the Soldiers fighting against Germany. The flyers encouraged the Soldiers to give up fighting. The scene is true to what historically occurred during WWII as a plethora of propaganda flyers were distributed by Germany as rally for their win, including flyers directing their enemies to surrender.
"World War I propaganda influenced the young Hitler, who was a frontline soldier from 1914 to 1918. Like many, Hitler believed Germany lost [WWI] because of enemy propaganda, not defeat on the battlefield." - United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
A most fascinating glance into the propaganda war during WWII unfolds in Christopher McQuarrie's 2008 movie, Valkyrie.
The movie was based on an actual events that took place on July 20, 1944, when officers the Wehrmacht (armed forces Nazi Germany's Third Reich) attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler as a move towards deposing the Nazi regime. The 2008 movie historically accurate in it's general narrative, it followed the events of the July 20th attempt - Operation Valkyrie.
The operation was a Nazi operation originally established to secure transfer of power in the case of emergency within the Nazi regime. As depicted in the movie, the operation was updated to allow for a military coup that would depose of the Hitler's Germany following his assassination . Also accurately portrayed in the movie, the conspirators gave consideration not only to the forceable removal of Hitler, but also to the circulation of announcements of his death.
Side note .. this makes me think of the small ads that I see on social media which allege the grieving of some famous person who is absolutely still alive. Why is this a normal occurrence in advertising?
The closing scenes of Valkyrie (2008) make it overwhelmingly apparent of how intertwined the state of the war was with circulation of information.
It's the perfect picture for the heart of Kris's testimony, in which he shares that his warfare was extended because of information that he did not have. Having secured the missing piece by the goodness of God, Kris explains in his post that his warfare briefly intensified around his intent to share the information with others.
krisvallotton.com
"I enjoyed complete freedom for more than a week. After three years of hell, it was amazing to be filled with peace. My joy returned, my appetite came back and all my physical symptoms disappeared. The demonic visitations left, and for the first time in years, I slept through the night.
But soon I encountered the harsh reality that getting free and staying free were two very different things. One dark, cold night, I was driving home from work in my Jeep, winding through the forest on a narrow, unlit road that followed a wide creek. I was so excited about my newfound freedom that I shouted out loud; “I’m going to tell everyone about this—I’m going to help thousands of people get free!”
Just then a voice in my mind shouted back, “If you tell anyone about this, I will kill you!” Suddenly, all my symptoms returned. I had such a bad panic attack that I could not even drive. I pulled over into the ditch alongside the road. My heart was racing, and I was hyperventilating.
Then a quiet, yet powerful Voice asked me a question: Does the devil hate you? (I knew instinctively it was the Holy Spirit speaking to me.)
“Yes!” I responded in my mind.
“Then why didn’t he kill you when you got saved?” the Voice pressed.
“I don’t know,” I replied, still trying to gain my composure.
“Because he can’t! He has no power over you unless you give it to him,” the Voice insisted." - Kris Vallotton
Sharing our testimony is adding fuel to the right fire, in a battle that will be waged until its appointed end. It is the counter to the enemy's basic weapon of choice, information spin - lies.
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Prov 15:4
From the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is satisfied by the yield of his lips. Prov 18:20
Clinging to God
In his 2019 spiritual warfare post, Kris calls his experience a storm. But, it was a three-year storm.
This is a long time to deal with what he unashamedly describes as demonic oppression. Meanwhile, as he descibes, he was taking care of a family, running his business, trying to simply live life.
It's likely that had I not had my own experiences to give me plenty to relate to here, I would wonder to myself what Kris had done wrong. Instead, when I read what he shares about the span of his warfare, I picture God allowing Kris to walk that thing out. In the natural, storms are events with a beginning and an end, you don't (wisely) pretend that they're not happening, and once through them you can see what has and holds value.
What we are responsible for in our stormy seasons absolutely comes up. God, Who is all about maturing us, is never out of control of the situation when it feels like a roller coaster ride through the depths. Once through, whether this means repentence, wisdom, loss or gains, there is unforetold advance to be seen. This is certainly my testimony concerning warfare, and all aspects point to the simple fact God is alongside of His children every single step of the way. When we meet Him there, even if in a storm, there is so much to be learned.
Nothing can teach like experience. And God, in LOVE, allows it.
Clinging to God when it comes to spiritual warfare is so much more than a snuggly idea to keep on the burner in case of a crunch. It IS the learning experience, should you stand to learn anything. My experiences with spiritual warfare are defined by encounters with a supernatural and absolute hatred.
This alone gives me experiential knowledge of Ephesians 6.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (v12)
Clinging to God is after the Truth that He alone can deliver the only victory which will suffice after having glance at such dark places. God's Love is a supernatural power that has overcome all and that all will bow to. In this love, I have reflection of myself which is the only one that will stand, including the peace of forgiving when I would not naturally be able to, receiving forgiveness when I have no logical reason why I should be, and seeing a future (eternity) with God though He is too big to ever chase down in my flesh.
In Eden, humanity bowed to its complete destruction, the mind of satan where there is no refuge. Separated from God, the Word tells us that the enemy of God who once dwelled in Heaven, but sought to place himself above God, will be a different kind of wonder -
Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you:‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world like a desert and overthrew its cities, who did not let his prisoners go home?’ Isa 14:16-17
It is a picture of a once beautiful creature becoming less than the dust of the earth . Outside of the presence of God, it is the only thing that satan can ever imagine for himself and the only thing his thinking could ever perpetuate. This spiral for satan has been descending for thousands of years. That's a lot of time to descend from being something God created to being the complete opposite.
It's a mind set of darkness beyond any human's comprehension. The only defense in warring with it is God and His mind which He faithfully bestows on us to make each experience of our life turned towards Him. As given in the Word for our understanding, God called His people Israel into warfare as the final task before entering into the Promised land. 'Promise', though an entering into His Rest, required from God's people a willingness to war.
At the first attempt, it was the different mind that God brought to the front and blessed - before any battle had even begun.
Of those men who went to spy out the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive. Num 14:38
At the next season to enter in, God prepared Joshua's mind -
Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Josh 1:6-9
Territory
"Much like Joshua’s promised land experience or Nehemiah’s rebuilding of the walls, the enemy defends his territory when we are pushing forward into the new land." - Kris Vallotton
What Kris shares here is key to understanding that encountering spiritual warfare is not what can definitely feel like a punishment. It is a training ground. In my experience, the warfare is the taking of the ground. In other words, we don't war and then take the ground. It is an intertwined event.
Entering new territory as a believer means increase of stewardship. God's modus is the goodness that walks us into the Promised Land prepared to steward and multiply. The details of our warfare as believers become the foundational blueprint on which we can build.
Warfare as a believer is Psa 23: 5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
It is the perfect storm for drawing near to and learning things about God that we otherwise would not have the sailing winds for.
Even as a Christian, let me tell you, I was not prepared for my intro to spiritual warfare. That is, I was just fine with snuggling up to God in all my growing and remaining hidden away there indefinitely. But, God's nature is to multiply. It is a rhythm I have come to love as sign that God is indeed with me.
God in this is like the loving mom that will tell her young son or daughter expressing that they will fly to the moon one day that they absolutely can - with one difference. It's God that has the high thinking. Without apology, God thinks you can do things that you can't!
That is, He has no issues telling a single man to go before a Pharoah in a foreign land and rescuing a whole nation that had been oppressed for 400 years. Through Jesus, He does not see you. He sees His Word fulfilled. So, God Who is all powerful is continuing His legacy likewise.
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. John 14:12
Through warfare, the most valuable thing that I've learned is why, after speaking twice (John 14:13; John 15:7) that whatever we ask with God's Word abiding in us will be done for us, He reveals the Word to abide,
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12
God's love is incomprehensible without Him. It is what defeated satan at the Cross. This is the legacy that will be multiplied for all time and eternity. We need power to walk in it; we need power to love as He does, and this is what we are called to.
John, the Disciple that God loved, rested on His bosom.
Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. 13:23
In preparing to leave, Jesus said of this discple what is sumbitted in Luke 9:27 -
But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.
Jesus said to him, If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me! John 21:22
God's love manifests as multiplication. For John, multiplication of years and the supernatural power required for continuing in a world increasingly estranged to God. Essentially, The LORD called the Disciple that rested in Him into battle.
John had the language for it, an intimate relationship with God in His love.
This disciple who wrote ,
We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 John 4:19-21
Jesus knew loving as He does was the requirement for bringing forward the fullness of what He did -- and that it woud involve warfare. Surely, it is a battle that is waged in His rest -
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. John 14:13-14
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:11
I believe that if the single reason God would allow John to remain was for the warfare of being a living epistle of this kind of Love walking in the earth at the time He returns, it would be enough.
Adolph Hitler and WWI: 1913-1919. encyclopedia.ushmm.org
Dunkirk Evacuation. Rosenberg, J. (July 28,2017). thoughtco.com/dunkirk-evacuation-british-army-1779311
Operation Valkyrie: The Plot To Get Rid of Adolf & End The War. Hemmings, J. (April 20, 2019). warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/operation-valkyrie.html
1 The Battle and Evacuation of Dunkirk. Hickman, K. (Jan 22, 2019) thoughtco.com/battle-and-evacuation-of-dunkirk-2361491.
