Searching for the Truth in the King James Bible;
Finding it, and passing it on to you.

EDITOR:
Steve Van Nattan

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STRATEGIC LEVEL
SPIRITUAL WARFARE

I thought this would go nowhere in the 1970s since the "binding" and territorial claiming was such a disaster. Not so friends-- C. Peter Wagner of Fuller Seminary has given his guruistic authority to SLSW, and it is now a world wide wave of Satanic activity duplicated only in the Toronto Blessing and the Brownsville River of Flotsam. I am getting a bit weary in my soul of these devilish ploys. We MUST warn the saints, but it really gets heavy, folks.

Graphic in public domain at Wiki Commons

 

Is Satan really bound by Satan's children? Isaiah 14:29 Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent. Isaiah 59:5 They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. As of April 2016 I am leaving the term Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare. All of those in this trendy cult are practicing deviation, not deliverance. Though I will not be able to establish change in thinking, I am henceforth talking about Asymmetric Christian Warfare. Rather than giving much time to chasing devils, we need to take aggressive action against Satan and destroy the foundations of Satan's evil kingdom and people.

The Bible makes it very clear that PEOPLE are the worst trouble makers on planet earth.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

The heart of any sinner is deceitful above all things, and that means evil men are significantly more creative in doing evil than Satan himself. If you do not believe that, you are blaspheming the above Bible text.

ANCHORED TOPICS ON THIS PAGE

PETER WAGNER'S LATEST INSANITY

PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS FROM MY EXPERIENCES
Steve Van Nattan

SLSW DEFINED BY THEIR MAN

C. PETER WAGNER'S PRESENTATION OF THIS HERESY

 

ELSEWHERE IN THIS JOURNAL

LEARN HOW TO MAKE ASYMMETRIC CHRISTIAN WAR AGAINST SATAN

PETER WAGNER'S LATEST INSANITY

1. SPIRITUAL WARFARE:
Shaking the Queen's throne

"Over 50 million intercessors have prayed towards the aim of 'a church for every people group and the gospel for every person by the year 2000'", says Professor Peter Wagner, leader of the AD2000 and Beyond movement's United Prayer Track and president of Global Harvest Ministries (Colorado Springs, USA). He continues by saying that the cooperation between strategic intercessors and 'God's groundcrew' - mission agencies, church-planting and evangelistic movements - is very important, and that one of the key concepts of today's intercession movements is the reality of the presence of demonic forces and their role in blinding Large sections of humanity to the truth of the gospel. He identifies a particularly influential demon which calls itself 'The Queen of Heaven' and operates directly under Satan's orders.

Operation Ice Castle

In a previously secret 'Operation Ice Castle', a team of intercessors led by Doris Wagner and Mexico's Ana Mendez travelled to the Mt. Everest region of the Himalayas, to carry out a direct prayer attack against one of the "Queen of Heaven's" presumed homes. The locals call Mt. Everest 'Sagarmata', which means 'Mother of the Universe'

The Moon Goddess in Ephesus

Wagner identifies the key power behind Islam as the Moon Goddess, "one of the Queen of Heaven's most flexible and adaptable identities. That is why we see her symbol, the waxing half moon, on all mosques and on the flags of many Islamic nations. Another strong hypothesis from our research is that the Queen of Heaven's centre of geographical operations lies in Turkey, in the old Ephesus", he says.

Blessed Quietness Journal-- Editorial--  
Steve Van Nattan--  The "Queen of Heaven" is a name for the paganized Mary of the Roman Catholic Church, WHICH THE ROMAN CHURCH GAVE TO HER.  Peter Wagner is either plain insane, or he is demon possessed.  He is covering for the Pope or the Vatican, for the Mary of Rome, Her Infernal Majesty, is NOT the Mary of the Bible, and she is in residence at the Vatican.

BACK TO TOP

PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS FROM MY EXPERIENCES-  

By:  Steve Van Nattan--  
Editor- Blessed Quietness Journal

HIGH DESERT OF CALIFORNIA--  1970s

The Prince of Barstow is Bound--  

The Lord called me in the 70s to pastor a Fundamental church in the High Desert of California.  The activity of devils was very great in our area, and the New Age was just cranking up, and we had a full dose if it in those days.  One day I went to the city of Barstow where we did most of our shopping and business.  A bill board of the largest variety, and right on main street, had been rented, and a message was on it in very fine print.  I pulled over to read it.  The title was, "The Prince of Barstow has been bound."  The message then assured me that evil had been run out of Barstow, and souls would be flocking to Christ.

Not so.  After that alleged binding, a New Age Church was founded in Barstow which was a front for a coven which I later learned was doing human sacrifices.  The pastor of the guy who rented the bill board was arrested for driving around town in women's clothes, and  his church was crawling with queers who had contact with Metropolitan Chapel in LA.  We had to do warfare against the opening of an adult bookstore.  The ministerial council built up power in the city, and it included the witches from the New Age Center of Light.  One pastor's wife left him to shack up with a lesbian, and he started dating one of the witches.  This is exactly what you can also expect of Peter Wagner's SLSW program.

Queers Binding Satan

In one area where I pastored a church in the past, we had a number of queers who claimed to be born again, and they were the ones most eager and "gifted" in binding devils and wicked princes of territories.  Ironically, they were captives to Satan in their own hearts and libidos. Their guru got tossed into jail for driving around town in women's clothes. I suppose he was sneaking up on devils in cognito??? 

NORTHERN MICHIGAN--  1980s

Fundamental Baptist Pastor and Bindings--

I had a friend in Michigan who had a "deliverance ministry."  He seemed to be genuinely helping many saints and sinners. I believe much of his victory was in SPITE of some very questionable operations. I am convinced that God often shows mercy on us when we are doing some dumb thing in ignorance.  He, in love, allows us to have His victory. This does NOT mean our methods are confirmed by the evidence of victory. Not at all folks. Peter Wagner and his Charismatic buddies use their alleged victories to prove their methods. So did Ignacious Loyola, and he is now in hell screaming for water. Below, I list some of the activities that took place in the "deliverance ministry" of my brother pastor:

1. Bound devils from neck to toe.  

Not found in Bible. Jesus, and the Apostles, cast the devil right out.  There was NO binding and fooling around. The violence of departure was not always forbidden either.

2.  Michael the archangel wagging the head of a devil in a person.  

Not found in the Bible.  In  a particularly difficult deliverance, the devil in one person said he could not avoid the power of the event anymore.  "Why?" asked the pastor.  Answer: "Because of Michael" came the answer.  "Michael who" asked the pastor.  The devil answered. "Michael the Archangel."  The pastor could not get Michael to talk through the victim as did the devil, so he invented an arrangement, against ALL biblical precedent, whereby Michael would force the devil in the victim to nod his head yes or no.  After this a somewhat involved exchange took place between Michael the Archangel and my pastor friend.  This  was in total violation of all biblical evidence, and it was an exorcising of Michael.  I am forced to assume that the devil was putting on a show  to make a fool of my pastor friend.  For this reason, I believe many  of his sessions were long and terrifying.

3.  Discerners peeking into people to see devils.  

Not found in the Bible.  This was terrifying  to the church members.  The people tried to act merry, but the  idea of an elite guard of peekers hovering around the foyer was eerie to say the least.  My pastor friend absolutely trusted these discerners, and lady discerners might be used to peek into men who needed deliverance.  This cancels out all possibility that this was of the Lord.  It is interesting that Benny Hinn claims that he can see the devil also.

4.  Angels singing in head of victims.  

Not found in the Bible.  One lady had a particularly difficult deliverance, and during the session, she told my pastor friend that she heard a male choir singing Gospel songs.  Could angels do this?  Who knows?  Is there any record they ever did it in Bible times? No.  So, it is at best legend.

5.  Asking the devils for information on this and that.  

Not found in Jesus' or the Apostles' ministries.  Along with this was the practice of taking the devil before the throne of Grace to intimidate him to tell the truth.

6.  Asking  the devils to give their name.  

Thus, "I am the devil of lust."  "My name is Rebellion."  Not found in the Bible.  This legend type activity has been going on for years.  Rebecca Brown wrote a book on witchcraft and Satan which  lead many saints to believe devils had names like Mee Chang etc.  So, how did the devils in Michigan get English names when these angels fell from heaven long before English was even known?  And as to R. Brown's Mee Chang, where in the Bible do we get this exercise?  Never mind, Rebecca said it's true, and someone published it-- It must be true?

What do we do with "experience" theology?  Foremost, don't use it to justify ANY work for Christ.  It is now common to hear Bible believing pastors simply say, "Don't have anything to do with devils."  This is just what the devils want.  Those who sincerely want help have no place to go for help.  On the one hand, there is Peter Wagner with his Satanic myths, while on the other hand, there is the Fundamental Baptist preacher who will not get near a devil.  The devils are very secure in this situation.

Praying to Close a Bar by the above local church

The same pastor and the church he served prayed against a bar in town.  It was going "topless," and great evil was associated with the bar.  It burned to the ground shortly after the church declared a showdown by faith.  The bar was right near them, not in Timbuktu.  Warfare of the spiritual kind is fought right down the street from you or next door.  Jesus did none of this distant warfare.  He took care of ONLY those who appeared before Him.
A CHRISTIAN WITH A DEVIL--  1980s

ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA

Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

Demon possessed is a moot issue. Their heart was wide open to Satanic power. They were part of the local church, they were saved, and they had received Apostolic teaching about Satan and lying. Outside of this context, they might very well have TAUGHT a class on Satanic power.  But, on this occasion, Satan filled their heart, and they tried to lie to the Holy Ghost and the church. Possession? Who  cares at this point? They dropped dead for their sin.

PETER

Matthew 16:21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Possessed?  Pointless conjecture.  Peter was under full control of Satan.  He spoke the very words of Satan.  He  was so "possessed" in mind and mouth  that Jesus ignored Peter's person and addressed Satan in Peter.  Dave Hunt and various theological wimps are too insulated from reality to deal with these issues.  Or, they avoid these texts so they will not have to deal with the devil in the folks in  their churches  and board room.

SLSW has caught this and run with it.  What the Fundamental Bible believers are avoiding, the SLSW gang are using to make merchandise of the Lord's church.  Also, when a saint has given over part of his or her life to devils, who can they go to?  Most Fundamental Bible believers will try to get them unsaved again, as I already noted.  What a sorry situation.  They are forced to look for a Charismatic helper who is not in Brownsville, PK, Toronto, or SLSW.  Now, just meditate on that situation will you please.  The nearest help may be 300 miles away.

MEMBER OF A CHURCH IN MICHIGAN, USA

This man showed many of the marks of possession.  Lust, crying, loud voice, blasphemy, cursing, rage tantrums, psychiatric troubles. He also had had spiritual fruit that remained from past days, which meant we could not count him as an unsaved man.  He could discern many things from the Bible, had memorized vast amounts of Scripture, and he was almost totally transformed by joining a group of believers as long as he was momentarily with them.  I could not claim he was unsaved.  I had to conclude that he had allowed Satan  to take possession of part of his life, and he is still not willing to be delivered to this day.

BURNING FETISHES IN AFRICA

New Christians in Tanzania, Africa could not have complete deliverance until they burned fetishes.  Why?  Answer: The devils still owned some part of that person.  There was an aspect of territorial activity involved, since the fetishes were parked in floors, grass roofs, and hanging around their necks.  My Dad attended a fetish burning of an older lady who had been recently born again in Tanzania (circa 1960).  The Lady went all around the village fetching all sorts of weird bits and pieces.  The group of church leaders officiated, and they sang Power in the Blood as the fetishes burned.  All went well until the lady came to the last item.  Her tribe wore a piece of shell around the neck, which they procured from the coast, and they wore it all their life.  It housed the spirit of their ancestor.  This was the most powerful fetish.  The deacon asked her for it, and she took it off and handed it to him.  He laid it on a rock, and smashed it with another rock.  Just as the shell broke, the old lady shook violently.  Why?  Answer:  The devil in her had just lost his last bit of territory IN her.  The shaking was not in the grass roof-- It was in HER.

Mark 1:25 And Jesus rebuked him (a devil), saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.
26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.
27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

I fear that if Jesus returned to minister such deliverance to possessed saints in our age, many Fundamentalists, along with Dave Hunt, would claim that Jesus was practicing a "new doctrine."

MISSIONARY OF SIM IN WEST AFRICA

Sudan Interior Mission had a missionary in West Africa who came to show all the signs of possession with devils. The lady had previously had a wonderful ministry with fruit that remained, yet she became possessed with devils. She was quietly sent home to her home church in the USA where her pastor had to help her find deliverance. Because of this, a number of SIM leaders had to forget the clever things they were taught in seminary and sit down and study the Word of God. Conclusion:  Saints can have devils WITH them.

"WITH" DEVILS, NOT "OF" DEVILS

This truth is missed by all who deny Christians can he devilized.  Saints have devils, but devils don't have saints.  Jesus was not casting devils out of Philistines, rather; He cast them out of Jews.  And, Jesus did not accuse anyone He helped of being a non-Jew or being "unsaved" in the Old Testament model of salvation.  Check it out friend.  In the New Testament. King James Version, ALL people who had devils were said to be  possessed WITH devils, not BY devils.  Put another way, dogs HAVE fleas.  Fleas don't have dogs.  Saints are not possessed BY devils.  Devils are possessed by saints.  These saints come to us WITH  devils.  This myth of distinguishing possession, obsession, and oppression, is a trick some wimpy seminary PhD patented long ago.  It is NOT in the Word of God.  Check it out.

This issue will leave about 80% of Bible believers on the outside looking in when it comes time to help those caught up in Brownsville and SLSW.  A number of these victims who are devilized are certain they are born again.  They have the witness of the Holy Ghost on that.  Are we going to get them unsaved again, and give them a salvation retread?  What they need is repentance and deliverance.

So, saints need help from time to time with devils.  I went through all of this to show you that devils WANT into people, not into buildings and vacant lots.  Fallen angels, who are now devils, lost their bodies when they fell, or they lost the peace of heavenly angels who can get along without bodies.  So these fallen angels crave access to our bodies.  Some saints let them have access by gross sin or rebellion.  Thus, launching warfare against cities, buildings, and territories would be like your doctor going out back of your house and throwing cancer medicine around your yard instead of telling you to swallow it.  You would still have cancer, and  you would die.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE ON THE OFFENSIVE--  WHEN AND HOW?

By NON-NUT-CASE Saints
(Brownsville and Fuller are NOT Bible based sources.)

It is interesting that the ones initiating and perpetuating this alleged warfare are clearly filled with devils, for they are the very ones who are "slain" by falling backwards in a non-biblical way, they are rolling on the carpet and vomiting on themselves.  They are even making violent threats against children as did Kilpatrick and Benny Hinn.  They are having Holy Orgasms and Holy Kung Fu on Sunday morning, and they are binding everything in sight, including toilets and stop lights.  These are the fearless leaders of spiritual warfare?????  I dare say there is something just a bit amiss, old top.

According to the Need at Hand and to the Glory of God ONLY--  
Church services at Grant

During 12 years of pastoring a church in Grant, Michigan, I saw to it that we NEVER started a service without pleading the Precious Blood of The Lord Jesus Christ.  While we had a number of very devilish people attend from time to time, and while we had a couple of Roman Catholic agents who were sent  to us by Opus Dei, God always delivered us from open attack.  We did not always know of it at the time, but often learned of this later.  REAL spiritual warfare is not in taking a vacant lot for Christ yonder in Hang Chow in China.  REAL spiritual warfare is right in front of you about 95% of the time.  To perpetuate this myth of warfare at a distance is to put the saint off of dealing with Satan in his own life and in the local church.

Video on Gods of New Age--  
Methodist Pastor attacks

One Sunday evening in Grant, Michigan, we showed a video titled, Gods of the New Age by Jeremiah Films.  While it is now several years old, it is amazing how the presentation of the trends of mysticism in that video are being worked out in Brownsville and the Toronto Blessing.  We intend to show more on this in a coming article.  

When we showed the video, a Methodist pastor from the area, one who was known to be heavily into witchcraft and Freemasonry, phoned ahead of time to tell me he was going to come and straighten us all out.  He did come, and we plead the Blood of Christ against all devils present.  He did not say a word all the way through the video, and at the end, he got up and praised my presentation and complimented me profusely warning of the people-- like the girl in Thyatira praising Paul!  

After the service, he parked in the aisle and made small talk with visitors who did not know who he was.  He spoke very "spiritually," until I came around to join his little program.  Then he turned on me in dripping sarcasm and asked if I was really loving.  I confronted him at once in the Name of Christ.  He began to rage.  A visiting sheriff took up a defensive stance.  My deacons were shocked.  The Methodist preachers wife jumped in and asked for peace in a manner that would make Henry Kissenger weep for joy.  So, I plead the Blood of Christ with authority, and... are you ready folks?  Someone we could not see literally DRAGGED the Methodist preacher out the front door of the church house-- while he was kicking and screaming and his wife was weeping.  When I get to heaven, I look forward to meeting the angel God sent to handle that Methodist preacher.  Some angel and I  will have quite a time talking about that one, to the Glory of God.

Now, I told this long story to point out a truth.  REAL spiritual warfare is with "spiritual" people and their devils, not with this and that chamber pot in Hong Kong, and NOT with some alleged luminary, from Satan's hierarchy, who is not found in the King James Bible.

GODS OF THE NEW AGE VIDEO NOW ONLINE HERE

Caryl Matrisciana, founder of Jeremiah Films, told me that when they were filming for the above movie in India, they visited an ashram there, and open sodomy was all around them on the lawns. She said they had loads of footage they just could not use because it was too perverted and evil.

The Word of God is the ONLY authority

Peter Popeye Wagner and  his buddies are very rich in tales from those who have had visions of angelic powers, complete with their names.  They are running very much on legend and myth.  This is what I call the Gospel according to Mother Goose.  What does the Bible say is our source in spiritual warfare?

2 Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)  
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

We do not need more high toned imaginations folks.  What the Lord's Church needs is action based 100% on the authority of the Word of God.

Psalms 56:4 In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto m

Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

1 Corinthians 14:36 What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?

2 Corinthians 2:17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

1 Thessalonians 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

2 Timothy 2:9 Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

1 John 2:14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

Revelation 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

I feel sorry for the pathetic Charismatics and Baptists these days who have traded off the Word of God for the words of some fluff head in the front row of one of these frenzied fellowships of devils.  They hear a few words of man, then they run forth with their little butter knives to face Satan.  I'll take the Sword--  God's Word-- the King James Bible.  I will be misunderstood now, but we need to understand that spiritual warfare is not based upon prayer as much as the Word of God.  Prayer is absolutely essential to this warfare, but the war itself is one of God's Word versus Satan.  Prove it?  Jesus spent a long time in fasting and prayer before His confrontation with Satan when He was tempted, but He did not start praying and binding against Satan when He was tempted--  He quoted Scripture.

TERRITORIAL DEVILS

Daniel Chapter 10

Before we trash the whole idea of "territorial devils," we need to look at the subject in the Word of God:

Daniel 10:7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.
9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.
10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.
11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.

There ARE territorial devils.  If Michael, the Archangel, was called a "prince" in the above account, then the other "prince" was angelic, but a fallen angel of Satan.  It is interesting however; that Micheal and the "man" that visited Daniel with revelation, two of God's holy angels, had to deal with the evil devil without any human intercession.  They got on just fine without Peter Wagner blabbing and grabbing, naming and claiming, etc.

All we know is that angels are finite, so they can only be in one place at a time.  In this respect, they are territorial, and we dare not adjust this fact to make it easier to deal with the counterfeit spiritual warfare.  Satan is an angel of light, so it is no wonder if these Brownsville and Toronto gang get a couple of facts right. 

Satan's Territory--  Luke  Chapter 4--  
Satan does have authority in this world.

Luke 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.
3 And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.
4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. 

"Kingdoms" relates to people, not rocks.  You can turn over rocks 24 hours a day for the rest of your  life friend-- You  won't find a devil under one.  Now, you might catch it from a scorpion.  And, if you go around telling folks you are looking for devils under rocks, a devil in the area may very well use your superstitious silly fears to take in your mind.  This is one way to become possessed WITH devils, and this is what the heathen do when they attach demonic or shamanic power to storms and strange occurrences.  Devils then use their fears to take them captive.  This is what Satan is doing through Peter Wagner and the SLSW gang.  They would do no different if they  were to carry a rabbit's foot.    

95% Legend--  

Devils don't primarily want to indwell territory--  Do you recall from the Bible the story man with devils-?

Matthew 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
|44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

The man, in the flesh, cleaned house (his body). The devils, who were evicted, were then in dry places, or geographical territory.  You see, evil devils do not have bodies as far as we can learn from the Word.  So, they want PEOPLE in whom they may live.  Spiritual Warfare will always involve people.  Rebecca Brown, a self-proclaimed expert on witchcraft, claimed her cat was spying on her when she tried to help people be delivered from devils.  BUNK!!!  No such thing is found in the Word of God.  Jesus discusses the state of the MAN, not his house, so if you want to be of any use in the battle, get ready to do warfare with devils IN PEOPLE.

Demoniac of Gaderra--

Luke 8:26 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
27 And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
29 (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
30 And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.
31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
32 And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.
33 Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.

And, the devils swan through the water, came up on the other shore, and put up a sign which read, "Here comes the River of Renewal."  Since when do devils stay in the territory they are in without seeking bodies.  Go pray for a vacant lot in Timbuktu if you like.  You are just playing the fool.  Devils want to control people like you, and they will do it by letting you play around the edges of reality as long as you never deal with real people and real devils.  Satan doesn't care if you go to church as long as you never hear any teaching of the Word.  He will pretty much leave you alone if you go down front and roll around the carpet and call it the work of the Holy Spirit.  Also, Satan will be delighted if you go off to fight with swine.  Devils will not be in them for long, for they will jump on YOU.

Certainly, Gaderra was devil's territory (wilderness, and pig country).  But, Jesus did not go there to chase hogs and devils.  He went there to deliver a MAN whom He loved.  The hogs and wilderness were secondary, but some of you folks will chase hogs for the rest of your life I fear.

Negussie-- A sincere seeker in Ethiopia

Negussie was a young man who attended every service of the Sudan Interior Mission church fellowship in a town where we lived in Ethiopia.  He seemed to really be eager to be there.  He was also very polite and helpful.  Why was he there?  Answer:  To escape from devils that had infested him.  When Negussie came to the mission compound, he reported after his deliverance and conversion, that the devils would check out at the gate to the compound.  They could not enter the compound.  We didn't know that.  We had not claimed any territory in some special Wagnerian fashion.  Rather; the Holy Spirit in us was salting the territory.  He was doing just fine without us transforming His work into an institution or program, complete with seminars and a study guide.  

Negussie had some Ethiopian friends who really loved the Lord, but they thought Negussie was really born again.  One day Negussie went stark raving mad.  His unsaved family took him to Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, and the family checked him into the only hospital in the country that did shock treatment.  Negussie's friends knew this would be the end of Negussie's brain, so they rushed to Addis Ababa, and they hustled him out of the hospital and around to the home of one of the fellows' uncles.  They placed Negussie in the middle of the floor, and they sang hymns of the Blood of Jesus Christ for about eight hours.  At the end of that time, Negussie suddenly raged and shook, and the devils fled from him.  The devils couldn't tolerate the hymn singing anymore.  Now, if Peter Popeye Wagner reads this page, he will probably try to patent this and develop a strategic level warfare seminar based upon hymn singing.  "Only $400, and we send you home with a deliverance hymn book and a CD ROM of anoooooointed piano accompaniment by Dino the Demon."  

You see, those Ethiopian Christians didn't read any of the late great books on deliverance, but they knew the source of power, and God honored their faith.

Spiritual warfare has nothing to do with anything but deliverance of people-- the people right there in front of you who need deliverance.  Also, spiritual warfare has to do with YOU.  The more you stray from the Word of God, the more Satan's helpers can suggest notions which you will mistake for biblical truth--  Just like old Peter blabbering on and on to Jesus about not going up to Jerusalem.

Balaam--  A possessed Prophet

Numbers 22:5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
8 And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.
9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
10 And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,
11 Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.
12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.

This story is the basis of the name of our Journal.  You recall that God finally had to use the jack ass to get the attention of Balaam.  Read the rest of the story.  You will be shocked that a prophet of God could be so dumb.  When the jack ass later talked to Balaam, Balaam went right to it and carried on a conversation with the jack ass.  Weird!  Now, if a sane person had his donkey start talking to him, he would run for cover at once.  Not Balaam.  He had been to a Peter Wagner SLSW conference, and he loved to talk to animals and jabberwokies.

Please note that Balaam did not set out to curse rocks and tents. He set out to curse Israel, in fact the text says, "this people."  Are you getting the point, or are you still trying to cast a devil out of a chicken bone in Liverpool? The real war is for the bodies and souls of PEOPLE!!!

Champlains in Surinam--

Darrell and Louise Champlain have been missionaries in Surinam, for many years, on the northern coast of South America.  This country has distilled the African paganism, from all the slaves brought there, into one of the most potent mixes of Satan's power found anywhere in the world.  The Surinam pastors and evangelists are always welcome to visit the Champlain's mission station for a rest time.  Why?  Do these Christian servants just need to get rest physically?  NO!  The mission station is a devil-free zone.  The minute you step over the mission station property line, you are delivered from spiritual attack from angry devils.  Why?  Not because of territory; rather; because of the Holy Ghost IN the Champlains and in the resident saints on the mission station.  

Spiritual salt preserves humanity, not warehouses, hams, and billiard tables.  Go on and cast devils out of your teacups if you like.  The devils are NOT there.  Devils are in YOU if you have such a profane and stupid doctrine.  Anywhere a saint is, one who is right with the Lord at that moment, the Holy Spirit has the territory.  It does not have to be claimed.  It will happen because that is how God works friend.

Matthew 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

The point here is not to preserve the greens-- leave that notion to Al Gore.  The point in these three parables is that MEN need to be salted with the Gospel, and YOU are the salt.  Stop salting tape recorders and Fords, and salt people.  Nothing turns the devil around and sends him out of town like old fashioned Gospel preaching.  Do you suppose Peter Wagner could be paid to go down town and preach in front of a Gay Bar?  Not on your life friend.  No. "Let's pray the devil out of the volcanos in Hawaii."

ANTI-CHRISTIAN WARFARE

By "anti-christian warfare" I am using the principle that Satan has many "anti's."  The Bible talks of antichrist.  We now see the Roman Catholic Church promoting their anti-Mary and their anti-christ in the cookie god in their Mass.  Thus, we have antichrist warfare. 

Acts Chapter Sixteen--  Girl announcing Paul as a servant of God

Acts 16:13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
15 And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.
16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Like Peter Wagner and Kilpatrick, this girl had learned the vocabulary.  But, she was possessed of devils.  Satan was tempting Paul to take help from Satan.  He did not, and he cast the devil out of her.  Are YOU taking teaching from the devils in Peter Wagner and Pastor Jerkawala Kilpatrick?  Satan's favorite man is not a drunk down in the gutter-- NO, Satan's favorite man is a preacher standing before a room full of saints telling them that they can play the fool and the Holy Spirit will help them.  Think about this please.

How do we know SLSW is counterfeit?

1.  They fail to pull down the most "strategic" strongholds--  Revelation 13 tells us there is a spiritual Whore Church in the end times.  For 1700 years, Bible believers have said that Whore is the Roman Catholic Church, and it is still true.  If your preacher is not still fighting the Whore of Rome, he is devil possessed.  To cast devils out your wash bucket, yet leave the devils alone who infest the folks down at the Roman Catholic church, is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.

2.  They fail to seek victory next door--  The Apostle Paul did not cast devils out of Hong Kong.  Nor did he teach the saints to look over the horizon for devils.  Paul and Peter dealt with devils right there in front of them-- nowhere else friend.  So who are YOU to start a world-class devil chasing program?

3.  They come from schools and associations which attack the Word of God--  Peter Popeye Wagner and Fuller Seminary are classic Bible mutilators.  No single seminary has contributed more to the destruction of ecclesiastical separation in the Lord's Church in the USA.  Fuller was never on the Narrow Way of Christ, and it has even got a "chair" in Roman Catholic studies filled by a Cardinal.  Harold Lindsel, who was NOT exactly your raging Fundamentalist, had to flee from Fuller to keep his conscience clear in defense of the Word of God.  I have met Fuller graduates, and they are the deadbeats of Christendom-- Arrogant and dull in the extreme.  How did this cesspool of spiritual vomit produce Peter Wagner?  He cannot possibly have any respect for the Word of God as an authority, and his pleas to justify SLSW, by experiences rather than the Word, are proof of his low regard of the Word of God.

4.  They come fresh from mocking the Holy Ghost in Holy Vomit, Laughter, Orgasm, and foolishness.  How can a man play the fool in these Brownsville type circuses, then claim power over devils?  The devils are in THEM.

5.  They are liars--  These clouds without water claim that Satan is "bound" here and there, yet his power is still very obvious.  They are lying.  Satan is going to OWN the kingdoms of this world until Jesus returns and Michael wraps the devil up in a chain and pitches him into a pit.  You are NOT the one who can do that.  God will not let you.  God has chosen to allow Satan to rule the kingdoms of this world.  The only time an acre of this world comes under the direct authority of Christ in the Church age is when YOU are there (IF you are born again).  So, if you want to take over a vacant lot for Jesus in New Orleans friend, you will have to pack up and move there.  What cheap religion it is for you to think you can do what God has not, in His sovereignty, chosen to do.  God should be learning from you, right?  You are doing what He has not called you to do.  Did you ever wonder if you could in fact get your fingers burned in this blasphemy?

6.  By dwelling on devils in lands, houses, the Bermuda Triangle, and in holes in the ground, these devil possessed men put people off of the devils of the Mass, Freemasonry, Brownsville, Rhema heresy, and Seminary scholarship, which take captive the minds of thousands of saints daily.

7.  By  giving their imagined Strategic Level warfare higher priority than the simple warfare of daily living, Peter Wagner and his sub-gurus are minimizing the importance of the battle inside each believer.  It suddenly becomes highly urgent to take a  grass hut in Tonga away from a devil named Albloonga Gazoonga.  What importance then is your personal battle with lust compared to that world shaking event?  Get on the Web and E-Mail a thousand people around the world so they will all pray to take that hut away from the Prince of Tonga.  So, these saints caught up in this alleged war become unaware of their own urgent needs.  Yet ironically, the personal battle with Satan is the only one which can be justified in the KJV Bible.  

In Romans 7 Paul is not groaning about some vacant lot in Athens into which a local witch has stuffed some chicken bones.  Paul groans over his own personal battle with the old nature.  I dare say Peter Wagner has NEVER worried himself about his old nature in his whole life.  Why?  Answer:  Because Peter Wagner is a false prophet.  

When one of these Brownsville groupies has run down front, rolled on the carpet, barked like a dog, and finally vomited on himself, his urgent need, as he cleans up his filthy clothes later, is to repent of "giving place to the devil."  Never mind, we have to open Calcutta for Christ, and there is a magic teaspoon in someone's cupboard there somewhere.  Pray that we can find it.  Bind that stop light, cast the calories out of the ice cream so we don't get the devil of fat.  Bla bla bla bla......

MOTHER GOOSE AND
STRATEGIC LEVEL SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Missionary to the Center of the Earth for Word for the World?

A Fundamental Baptist pastor who has a fellowship of soul winning zealous saints, and who witnesses fearlessly, told me one recently which was a real kick in the stomach.  He told me that Word for the World, a Baptist mission, asked him to go into the center of the earth to give the Gospel to Yannis, Reptillians, and Greys.  He told me that these are half angel and half human from way back in Genesis, and they need the Gospel.  They are permitted by God to persecute anyone who will not use the King James Bible, and the Federal Government decided to give money to anyone who would go preach to them because the Feds figured that this was the only kind of person who would be willing to go to the center of the earth.  The rest of the story is too strange to even repeat--  like the Reptillians needing human and animal parts which they dissolve in hydrogen peroxide so that they can swim in the solution to absorb the nutrients in the brew in order to get stronger.

What is this?  It is devils talking to my pastor friend.  It is, as they say in the UK, "crackers."  This is the kind of thing you can end up believing if you shut your Bible and start reading weird newsletters and watching screw ball videos.  AND, there are tons of these kinds of materials available to the saints today.  Satan has a myth or fairy tale for every one of us if we will just receive it.

Later: I learned from another pastor that the man wanting to be a missionary to Yannis and Greys has a serious problem-- He listened to Art Bell every night until Art's show ends, and then the preacher has to sleep in to 2 PM in order to get rest. Much of the preacher's accounts are the result of distilling his own notions together with Art Bells, and the finished product is pure devilment. NOTE: Again, this preacher DOES lead people to Christ and preach a sound message when he finally gets around to it. I believe he is born again and he is infested WITH devils.

Exorcising the Lock Ness Monster

An Anglican priest, some years ago, got into a row boat, complete with his robes and sashes, and rowed out to the middle of Lock Ness.  He then poured holy water into the lake, and he claimed that he had chased off the Lock Ness monster.  Now, there is one old Peter Wagner never thought of, eh?

Binding Stop Lights--  
Flushing Toilets under "The Power"--
Also known as "Privy Power"
Binding Calories

Yes, all of the above and more are claimed by Charismatics who have been devilized by TBN and the like.  

The young adults went bowling once a month in Barstow near where I pastored a church.  There was a Charismatic girl who liked to come along, and we all liked her because she was zealous for Christ.  One night after bowling, we all went to the Big Boy restaurant for ice cream sundaes.  Friend, those Big Boy sundaes are the biggest in the world.  Well, we all ordered these except the girl I mentioned.  She ordered carrot and celery sticks because she was on a diet.  How did she get overweight?  Well, she had been running around with some other Charismatic girls who had picked up on some legends of Charismatic foul doctrine.  She said that when they went to eat out, these girls would order rich fattening dishes, then they would join hands, and one of the girls would "bind the calories" in the food, in the name of Jesus, so that they wouldn't get fat.  Guess what?  They got fat.  Also, I think their counterfeit "Jesus" was a devil named "Jesus."

The girl who was with us asked me if that would really work.  Her tummy already spoke eloquently against the doctrine, but I gave her this text:

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

If you know that rich food will make you fat, you don't bind the calories stupid-- You just don't eat the stuff.  You act upon what you know.  If you know how God works, how he worked in the New Testament times, yet you run after Peter Wagner and the TBN gang, well you are going to get burned.  You may very well get overweight with devils also.

Seeing Satan--  Benny Hinn--  

A fellow sent me a letter after reading our Journal on the Toronto Blessing and Brownsville.  He said he went to a Benny Hinn rally "to see the power" etc.  Well, that night, Benny Hinn claimed that he was so under the power of God that he could actually SEE the devil.  This guy writing me said right there he got the feeling that something was wrong.  Seeing the devil is not a biblical concept, and he knew it.  Later, Hinn claimed that he had just gotten a call from a meteorologist in New England who told him a big cloud, shaped like a cross, was hovering over Hinn's church.  The guy writing to me said that he got so mad that he jumped out in the aisle, shook his fist at Hinn, and screamed, "That is a crock of Sh__."  

Now, that was not very nice language for in church, or anywhere else for that matter.  I must say though that the fellow certainly got the substance correct in his discernment.  What happened next is startling.  This fellow said Hinn and the folks in the assembly didn't show any sign that they even heard him-- never looked his way.  Friends, those who attend Hinn's, Kilpatrick's, and Peter Wagner's events are brain dead spiritually.  I know of another man who was blasted by God for not saying a word that was pleasing to God.  Yet here is what that man said:

Job Chapter Four--

I want you to read this whole chapter and see how spiritual and godly this man sounds. Later in Job God is very angry and rejects ALL the words of Job's three friends.  Keep that in mind please as you read this guy's vision:

Job 4:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking?
3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.
5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?
7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?
8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.
9 By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad.
12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.
13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,
14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.
15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:
16 It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,
17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
18 Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:
19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?
20 They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.
21 Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.

You  won't hear of a better vision in any Toronto Blessing or Brownsville meeting than verse 12 -16.  What a  convincing story, and what credibility it gave the speaker.  A private visit from God with special revelation--  just like Peter Wagner, Kilpatrick, Benny Hinn, Steve Hill, the Kansas City Seven (what ever happened to them?), and how about all of these SLSW visions of devils that need chasing all around the world?

Are you going to practice the daily battle like Jesus Christ and the Apostles, or are you going to run after the chicken bone gospel and the visions of Mother Goose?  To help you see what insanity has come creeping into the Lord's Church, I offer the following "doctrines of devils" about devils.  Be careful.  Keep your Bible handy as you read.

BACK TO TOP

CAUTION: The following is from the war manual of the enemy.
The following

Strategic Level Spiritual Warfare--
The counterfeit exalted by a disciple of Charismania

Balaam's Ass Speaks Journal offers this article
as an example of demonic Mother Goose Theology.

by Dr. Rev. Colin Warren

In Relation to the Threefold Commission

A Personal Testimony.

My entry into this field of ministry began 12 years ago, very much against my own choice. At that time I was principal of a lay training college of the Uniting Church. I had begun a course of Christian Psychiatry for lay practitioners of counselling, run by a Brisbane psychiatrist. He had included a segment of four one hour lectures on deliverance ministry. At the conclusion of that segment, the wife of a lay pastor came to me for counselling. At that time, God, through her then discovered gift of "words of knowledge", revealed she had problems resulting from oppressing spirits. In quite a remarkable way, God used me to set her free by giving instructions via the "word of knowledge".

By the same method, the Holy Spirit informed me that I was to preach on the topic of deliverance the following Sunday in our local church, and that she and her husband, together with my wife and I, were to meet one night a week for prayer. The Holy Spirit would teach us about deliverance ministry. I was not impressed, but reluctantly obeyed.

When I preached the next Sunday evening, many people came forward to receive ministry for deliverance. These were ministered to individually over the months that followed. The weekly prayer nights were the venue where we were given permission, after a time of worship, to ask questions and we received answers through words of knowledge as direct revelation. That period of instruction lasted eighteen months. I was then appointed to a parish too far distant for us to continue meeting, but the learning process has continued in various ways.

Uncritical speculation or reality?

In what follows, I will be dealing with what many would regard as uncritical speculation of an area of current fascination. But is this really an accurate assessment of the situation? I believe it has been clearly shown through the centuries that with respect to written word, revelations complete, the written word is unalterable. But it seems to me that to deny that God has yet much truth to break forth from His word is for us to exhibit a lack of humility and is a denial of the Basis Of Union of the Uniting Church. In clause on it states its willingness to "remain open to constant reform under His word". It is my aim in what follows, to show that as Westerners, we may be perceiving what is written in God's revealed word with tunnel vision as the result of our presuppositions which derive largely from our culture and previous teaching.

It is clear that the atoning work of Christ is a perfect and completed work. The power of hell is broken but the church has been left the task of carrying out a mopping up operation. Nobody is saved by a ministry of healing, deliverance, miracles or signs and wonders. All of these however are tools that God has given us in fulfilling the great commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel baptising in the triune name. It is my intention to have the church look at the possibility that there is another vital weapon available to us in fulfilling Christ's commission, which until recently has been unknown to many of us. I speak of what has been designated as "strategic level spiritual warfare".

In a recent book entitled "Spiritual Warfare", Dr Peter Wagner quotes Bernie May, Director of Wycliffe Bible Translators, "I have two major goals while I am home. One, I need to learn as much as I can about spiritual warfare. Our struggle out there is not against the climate, the malaria or false religions. Our struggle is against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places of Ephesians 6:12". (P13 Wagner)

In speaking of Christ's work on the cross, Paul shows that Jesus thereby delivered us from the remnants of the old Adam. Paul presents us with three picture of evil.

1. As it entered the world through Adam, who depicted the solidarity of the human race. (1 Cor. 15:22)

2. In terms of our human inclinations. (Romans 7:14-20)

3. As embodied in external principalities and powers against which we struggle. (Eph. 6:12)

The cross and the resurrection stopped Satan's rampage, his power has been broken, but sin is still there even though it is being rolled back. Gnosticism says, we will help roll back sin's power via knowledge. Jesus however declared that He gave us the means to defeat sin through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit whose fruit will be seen in our lives, and whose power will be seen in the gifts He anoints to defeat evil in its many forms.

The New testament assumes a preoccupation with principalities and powers and assumes its hearers are also living in that dimension. Paul for example does not teach his hearers about how necessary it is when on a journey to be guided by the Spirit, he assumes this as part of their normal existence. the changes in direction that were made by the Spirit during his missionary journeys are classic examples of this. (Acts 16:6-9)

Jesus' own ministry can be explained in spiritual terms. An example is seen in Mark:3, where, what he said, can be interpreted politically, or spiritually. In the first century spiritual issues were of great importance and were seen in terms of spiritual warfare. here the Qumran documents are of great value to us where they speak of the sons of darkness and the sons of light. Jesus lived in a world where the existence of spiritual powers was taken as natural. There was therefore no need for writers of the Bible to set about proving that principalities and powers had to be dealt with. Paul in Ephesians 6:12 example, was not proving their existence, he was merely reminding the Ephesian church that it was so.

It appears to me that in this regard, we have to either take the Bultmann view of demythologising the Bible, or accept the reality of the spiritual world in its entirety. It does not appear to me to be honest to accept half of each world. How else can a person explain such things as Jesus' spiritual body being able to pass through walls.

There may be those who ask, why must the names of spirits be sought? Does this not smack of gnostism, where certain knowledge is what gives power over them? My answer to that question is to suggest firstly that we look at Mark 5:1-13 where in verse eight Jesus commanded the spirit, "come out of this man you evil spirit!". It did not come out, so Jesus spoke to the spirit in the man again and said "what is your name?" to which the spirit replied, "my name is legion". It was then cast out by Jesus, he called them by their names. "You deaf and mute spirit", he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again". (Mark 9:25) One of those was a spirit whose name was "deafness", the other's name was "dumbness".

I have found the same procedure necessary at times before a spirit will come out and have to do what Jesus did. The critical thing in all this, is that it is the power of the name of Jesus that does the work. Paul illustrated this when he removed the spirit of divination from the slave girl by saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her". Discovering the name of the spirit and commanding its obedience is only achieved through invoking the name of Jesus as our authority. Calling the spirit by its name is merely identifying which spirit you are addressing. I have at times found that in casting out spirits, I have left one behind. When I commanded it in the name of Jesus to reveal why it had not gone with the others, its response was that I had not told it specifically to go, therefore it had a legal right to remain. Satan and his cohorts are legalists and cannot be treated as if they are human beings.

Venturing into deeper water.

During private devotions, I was reading Daniel chapter 10. It occurred to me that if there were prince demonic spirits over Greece and Persia that had the power to hinder the progress of God's angel bringing an answer to Daniel's prayer, could it not also be possible that this same power was still available to Satan's forces to hinder us from receiving answers to prayer? It was revealed to Daniel that a stronger angel of God had broken the demonic prince's power and brought God's answer.

What if there is an hierarchy of demonic spirits over countries, states, and cities as well as geographic areas within cities? When God was teaching us about deliverance ministry, He revealed that we were to pray for a particular church whose members were plagued by sickness. After prayer and fasting we were to cast from that geographic location, a "strongman" of sickness. Similarly, when we moved to Toowoomba, there was much division in the church. Prayer revealed that we had to remove from that geographic area, a "strongman" of hate. Subsequently, it was observed that there was no response to preaching. this was made the subject of corporate prayer, and God revealed that a spirit of resistance occupied the building. After prayer we believed God revealed that we were to cats them out. This was done. Immediately, it was observed that the climate changed. Those instigating division and criticism soon left the area and people began responding to the proclamation of the Gospel.

A new awakening.

These pieces of the jigsaw puzzle began to come together and form a composite picture as my worldview continued to grow into line with what saw as the biblical world-view.

Approximately four years ago, at a regular Saturday morning men's prayer meeting, we believed we were led by God to invite the whole church to participate in a day of prayer and fasting to determine the principalities and powers over the city and to discover how to bind them. We also felt that we were being called to invite the church to become involved in a public reading of the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation. Some elders felt this was going a bit too far, and could not see any point to it, but reluctantly agreed. A prayer group had for some time been seeking information concerning the powers over the city.

The twenty-four hours of prayer and fasting was held, with the church building open. Early morning, midday and evening sessions of worship and prayer were led by different elders. During this time, various ones believed God was calling the church to a further week of prayer and fasting. this was arranged to coincide with the public reading of scripture.

A week of prayer and fasting.

It is difficult to know how many people fasted for the full week, but it was obviously a number approaching one hundred, with many others engaged in a partial fast, public worship, prayer and scripture reading. The unity, love and growth that followed this period was universally seen and commented on by many. During prayer, towards the close of the week, four different people were given the names of Satanic powers over the city, and we were also told how to bind them. Confirmation concerning the naming of the powers was independent received from a prayer group in Brisbane who were praying at the same time.

Binding the powers.

During prayer, we were shown that we were to surround the city with prayer and praise, then four elders were to go with teams to four points outside the city and at the same time, bind the powers in the name of Jesus. The group I was leading were situated on a hill external to the city and when, at 2:30 pm one Saturday, we obeyed God's direction, one person in the group saw in the Spirit, a huge black dragon-like creature writing in chains. Another saw a long gate swing open to a rich green pasture.

Another saw angels coming down over all houses in the city, whilst a fourth heard the words, "this city is now freed. You are to be ready to minister to the people I bring to you.

Quantifiable results.

Since that time, there has been a big increase of people who have come for salvation, for healing and deliverance ministry and for other counselling needs. Many have been ministered to from other denominations, and from other towns, cities and states of Australia. We have had to train many more who have been released in the necessary gifts to assist in ministry. These have accompanied me on missions to other towns and cities in our own state of Queensland and also to other states. We have twenty-six people set aside for this work. Some of these are retired, but are now virtually working full time, whilst the remainder are spending much of their non-working time in this ministry. We are not yet able to keep up with the demand fro help and have a waiting list of several months.

Learning from mistakes.

Because of this strategic level warfare is so new and so little information is available, it is only natural that we should make mistakes. Recently, whilst we were in prayer, God revealed that the work of binding the powers over the city had to be repeated. My response was, "Why Lord? You revealed to us that if we prayed, they would remain bound". The question came back, "Who has been praying?" I had to acknowledge that I had not and had not instructed others correctly. God revealed that it takes much prayer over a long period of time by many people before He gives permission to bind the powers over a city, but once they are bound, one or more christians can keep them bound. The more who are doing the binding, the more tightly they are bound, but it has to be done daily. I was not aware of this need and the work had to be done again. Once more, we called a week of prayer and fasting, accompanied by the reading of the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation and redid the work.

Much has yet to be learned.

What I am about to write now must be seen as speculative, since it has yet to be confirmed. Recently, we believe we have been shown that Satan is in the process of altering the territorial boundaries of the powers of the city, so that others can be appointed.

The Biblical Support for this Concept

For some time, the only support I could see for what we were doing came from Daniel 10, but since then I have discerned other passages that have been helpful, have read the work of others working in this area, and have had helpful discussions with them. It is not my intention here to:

1. prove the existence of demons and evil spirits.

2. discuss where they come from.

3. speak about them in terms of how to remove them from people.

My intention is to discuss the need for strategic level spiritual warfare, the biblical support for such a concept, and to share our own experience and that of others.

The Old Testament.

When studying 2 Kings, I was given what I believe was a significant insight as I read verse 2. "King Ahaziah of Israel fell off the roof of his palace in Sumaria and was seriously injured. So he sent some messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of the Philistine city of Ekron." Just previously, I had been reading Matthew 12, where Jesus had been accused of casting a blind and mute spirit from a man through Beelzebub, the prince of demons. Further checking showed that Beelzebub and Beelzebub were indeed the same. Here disguised (from me) in the Scriptures, was the important key that showed there was more in the bible about territorial evil powers than I had realised.

When the old testament speaks about people of different nations serving or worshipping other gods, could it mean that they were serving and worshipping demon spirits that controlled particular regions? Hastings dictionary of the Bible refers to Baalzebub as another name for Beelzebub, "a Philistine god worshipped at Ekron, whose name in the form of Baalzebub (A.V. and R. V. Beelzebub) has been applied to the prince of devils." (Matt 12:24, Mark 3:22, Luke 11:15). In a book of Satan worship, called "The Book of the Sacred Magic", the writer refers to eight sub-princes of Satan and names one of these as:

Belzebub - also written frequently "Beelzebub", "Baalzebub", and "Beelzeboul". From Hebrew, BOL. = Lord, and ZBVB, = Fly or Flies. Some derive the name from the Syriac Beel d'Bobo = Master of calumny, or nearly the same signification as the Greek word Diabolos, whence we derive the modern French and English 'Diable' and "Devil".2

In a paper presented to the Lausanne 2 Congress on World Evangelization, July 11-20 at Manila 1989, entitled, "Areas of Satanic Influence", Rita Cabezas de Krumm identifies Beelzebub as one of six world-wide authorities of Satan.3 From the above evidence, it appears to be logical a deduction that what has been said about Beelzebub who was worshipped as a god by the Old Testament people, can also be said concerning other gos that were worshipped. They were in reality demon spirits. These gods were clearly recognised as gods of specific territories. In 1 Kings 20:23 the Syrian king Benhadad's officials said to him, "The gods of Israel are mountain gods, and that is why the Israelites defeated us. But we will certainly defeat them if we fight them on the plains". The prophet Ahijah told Jeroboam that God was going to take the kingdoms away from Solomon, because Solomon had rejected Him and worshipped other gods - "Astarte the goddess of Sidon; Chemosh, the god of Moab; and Milcom, the god of Amon". (1 Kings 11:33)

In her article, "Areas of Satanic Influence", Rita Cabezas de Krumme identifies Ashteroth as one of the nine satanic principalities. The New Bible Dictionary identifies Ashteroth with Astarte.4 In Babylon and Assyria, she was known as Ishtar and was said to be ruler over the spirits of the earth.

2 Kings 17:30-31 tells that with the resettlement of Samaria by the Assyrian king, each national group "made its own gods". The men of Cuthah made Nergal their god. the name comes from ne uru gal and means lord of the great city. If indeed in worshipping their gods, these people were in reality worshipping demon spirits, then we have another indication of spirits having control over a specific area. The particular city being referred to in this case is thought to be Babylon.5

The Amorites worshipped Milcom. This name is from the Semitic root malk or melek meaning king or prince.6 If it is able to be identified with a demon spirit, this also indicates there is an hierarchy among them. Israel from time to time served these foreign gods. The New Bible Dictionary states that these "deities who were served from time to time by Israel are no true gods, but are really devils".7

Paul appears to verify this when writing to the Corinthian Church. (1 Cor. 10:19f) "Do I not mean that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, nut sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons"

Prince Demons.

One of the most oft cited references to support the view that there are territorial spirits is that of Daniel 10, where it is believed that the angel princes over Persia and Greece which were referred to, are in reality, among Satan's prince spirits that have been entrusted by him to hinder the work of God in these territories. They proved this by hindering Daniel's prayers from receiving an answer until God sent His strong angel to defeat them. If the "gods of the heathen" that are worshipped, can indeed, be identified as Satanic spirits and the evidence seems very strong that they are, then there are many references to territorial spirits in the bible.

Lesser Territorial Spirits.

When addressing this subject, the assumption is often made that although the principalities and worldwide authorities of Satan are able to move freely to any part of the world, lesser territorial spirits are confined to specific geographical locations. This appears to be supported by Mark 5:10, where the demon, Legion, begged Jesus not to send it and its lesser cohorts to a place out of that region.

There is clear support for the contention that Satan has been given the right to move unhindered in the earth region, and also to appear before the throne of God to accuse God's people. This is seen in the account of Job's life. (Job 1:6-7 and Job 2:1-2). It is also seen in the vision of Zechariah 3:1, where again, Satan had the apparent right to accuse the high priest Joshua in the heavenly realm. The book of Revelation makes it clear that a time is coming when Satan will be cast out from the heavenly realm, and will no longer be able to accuse God's people. (Rev 12:10). Commentators differ concerning whether this is referring to a time that is already past, or is at a time yet to come. If it is still occurring, we have the assurance that if we are accused, Jesus is our advocate and is seated at the right hand of the father, interceding for us. (1 John 2:1). Was Jesus referring to Satan's removal from the heavenly realm as having already happened? Luke 10:18, as the seventy-two returned, rejoicing because the demons were subject unto them, Jesus said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven".

When I look at the Ephesians 6:12 passage, I find that there is an hierarchy of beings that opposes the Christian in this life, and there is a constant warfare being waged in the heavenly realm with forces of evil, unseen by the physical eye, but visible to the spiritual sight.

If the above is valid evidence and not just assumptions, then it could be expected that there is some sort of pragmatic evidence to support what is being said.

Some pragmatic evidence to support a belief in territorial spirits.

In a recent book, Dr C. Peter Wagner cites eleven contemporary examples supporting such a concept.8 these are from widely differing cultures and people groups. They include Thailand, Uruguay-Brazil border, Costa Rica, a Navajo Reservation, the Philippines, Argentina, Korea, Greece and Evanston Illinois.

John Dawson, the director of Youth With a Mission in Los Angeles, tells of similar examples.

He states:

All over the world, praying Christians are arriving at a consensus about the nature of the battle for individual cities. For example, the prayer warriors of London believe that they are battling a spirit of unrighteous trade that has influenced the world through that great city for hundreds of years.9

Floyd McClung gives examples of how, when territorial spirits were bound through protracted periods of prayer and fasting, he and his team were able to overcome sickness in the team that had become a serious problem.10

Dick Bernal tells of experiences that he has had in recent days, which have convinced him of the reality of territorial spirits and our authority over them. when we use the weapon of prayer coupled with research to identify them.

We first have to look at who and what kind of people settled in our area before we can determine what kind of spirit we must contend with. For it is they who invited the spirits which now dominate the community.11

An Urgent Need of our Time

In one of the most recent books on the topic, edited by Dr. C. Peter Wagner, nineteen different authors indicate that to address this topic is one of the most urgent needs of this time. Addressing the scope of the problem for society, Wagner writes-

We read in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that Satan has successfully blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot receive the gospel. This undoubtedly refers to individuals, but could it also refer to territories? Could it mean nations, states, cities, cultural groups, tribes, social networks?12

Deuteronomy 32:16-17 supports this reasoning. Moses is speaking and says, "they made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to demons which are not God - gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared".

Psalm 82 says, that "God presides in the great assembly; He gives judgment among the gods". This is a meaningless statement unless "gods" is referring to "beings" of some kind. Deuteronomy 5:7 brings us the ten commandments. The first commandment is contained in verse 7, "You shall have no other gods before Me". It has no meaning, unless, "other gods," refers to real entities.

Satan's Power versus God's Power

Moses' confrontation with the Egyptian magician shows by implication that their power was coming from their "gods". They could duplicate the miracle of the rod becoming a snake, the water becoming blood, the plague of frogs, but not the plague of gnats and subsequent plagues. (Exodus 7:11-8:20) If my assumption is correct, this shows that when we are looking at the satanic realm with its powers, we are not looking at a dualism, a second God, but a created being, as the Scriptures reveal, who has conveyed and is able to convey power to his underlings. However the story of Job (Job 1:6-2:7) and of Joshua the high priest, show his power is limited and governed by God. (Zech. 3: 1-2) Similarly, Nehemiah 9:6 declares concerning God's power, that "the heavenly powers bow down and worship you". A similar power encounter between God and the god Baal via Elijah, shows the limit of the power of the demon god. (1 kings 18:16-46) When referring to Deuteronomy 32:8 Dr Peter Wagner quotes the Septuagint rendering:

When the most high gave the nations their inheritance,

When he separated the children of men,

He set the bounds of the peoples

According to the number of the angels of God.

He then writes:

F.F. Bruce, who suggest that the Septuagint reading represents the original text, says, 'this reading implies that the administration of various nations has been parcelled out among a corresponding number of angelic powers..... in a number of places some at least of these angelic governors are portrayed as hostile principalities and powers - the world rulers of this darkness' of Ephesians 6:12'.13

"Gods" are Really demons

In the light of my thesis that "gods" as referred to in the Old Testament are really demons, Judges 3:7 speaks of the Israelites serving demons when it says, they "forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baals and the Asherahs". It can also be seen that these demon gods were limited to specific territories. This is shown by looking at Joshua 24:15, "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are now living".

The Old Testament often speaks of the gods of the high places on which people offered sacrifices to the god who was seen to live there. (1 Sam. 9:12-12, Kings 3:2) These high places were often associated with Baal (Num. 22:41) or other gods or demons. Different nations had specific demon gods that they worshipped. The Baals and the Asherahs are examples of this. (1 Kings 11:7-8, 2 Kings 17:16) Frequently national groups chose their own high places. (Judges 3:7) In 2 Kings 17:30-31, the following demon gods are named. Succoth, Benoth, Nergal, Ashima, Nibhaz, Tartak, Adrammelech, and Anammelech. It is noteworthy that these gods were seen to be carriers of evil. For example, Nergas was considered to bring "plague, war, flood. and havoc."14

Adrammelech was a god to whom children were sacrificed.15 (2 Kings 17:31) St Paul clearly is of the opinion that the gods of the heathen were in reality demons, when he says, "Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons". (1 Cor. 10:19-20)

The Intertestamental Period:

What was the worldview of the writers of the New Testament? What did they mean when they described someone as having an unclean spirit? What did they believe they were encountering when they conducted an exorcism? What did they understand by demon possession? A common Greek concept at the time was that they were dealing with a spirit of the dead endowed with supernatural powers, capricious and incalculable, present in unusual places at particular times, and at work in terrifying events in nature and human life, but placated, controlled or at least held off by magical means.16 Evil spirits were seen as fallen angels who opposed God's angels. (1 Enoch 15;8-12, 16:1, Jubilees 12:20; 1 QM 13:10-12) They were seen to be under the leadership of a being called at different times, Satan, Mastema, Beliar17 (eg. Jubilees 1:20, 11:4f; Enoch 54:6; 1QS 1 1:23f).

In Rabbinical Judaism:

"Belief in demons became wide spread, though the Jews never felt themselves as strongly threatened by them as did their neighbours. The Scribes also were steeped in belief in demons."18

Pseudepigrapha:

"They are sometimes called Satan's angels. They lead astray to magic, idolatry, war, conflict and bloodshed" (James 3:15).19 The heathen worship them Eth. Enoch 7:2ff; Jab. 5:1

Qumran:

"In these writings we find the concept of a prince of evil, controlling a kingdom of evil spirits."20

The New Testament Period:

Jesus and the primitive church shared the conceptions of their contemporaries about demons (dominion) but while the pagans and Jews of the contemporary world environment tried to drive out the demons by exorcisms and other magical practices, Jesus needed only his word of command. (Matt. 8:16) The driving out of demons was as much an accompaniment of his proclamation as were his acts of healing. (Mark 1:39) The demons had to bow to him and yield to his power, In his majesty, Jesus also gave to his disciples authority to cast out demons. (Matt. 10:1,8) His dominion over these powers was a sign that the Kingdom of God had come in his person.21 (Matt. 12:22-28)

TERRITORIAL SPIRITS REVIEWED:

A growing library of contemporary examples appear to verify the interpretation I have given, and also to validate our own experience.

When addressing the Lausanne 2 Congress of World Evangelization, on the theme of, "A Model for Discerning, Penetrating and Overcoming Ruling Principalities and Powers", Rom White quoted examples of the experiences of Pastor Johann Christoph Blumhardt, Charles Finney, and Rees Howells, as persons who had used the power of prayer to do battle with powerful Satanic forces. Concerning Blumhardt, he wrote:

After two agonizing years of battling with hell, Christmas of 1843 brought victory. Surprisingly, a powerful spirit manifested and spoke to Blumhardt through Gottliebin's sister Katharina. The being identified itself as a 'prominent angel of Satan, the chiefest of all magic' (p.55) It was arrogantly angry that because of Blumhardt's tenacious faith, a deadly blow to magic had been wrought throughout Europe. At two o'clock in the morning, the spirit departed with a roar heard throughout the community, 'Jesus is victor, Jesus in victor!' The battle for a human soul, and a greater battle for the gospel in Europe, was won.22

When writing of this same incident in his book, Thy Kingdom Come, Vernard Eller wrote:

Jesus' victory in the demented girl immediately triggered an in breaking of kingdom power that transformed the whole village of Mottlingen and attracted people from miles around. The congregation experienced revival to a degree quite beyond even the dreams - let alone the actual accomplishments of modern programs of modern church growth and renewal. There were many healings, conversions of some of the church's most determined opponents, and radical transformations of life and character. Marriages were saved, enemies were reconciled, and there was an outpouring of evangelistic zeal and missionary fervour all under the conviction that, because Jesus is victor, the kingdom of God has become a real possibility for life here and now.23

The Satanic Rulers.

In her paper that was read at the same congress, Rita Cabezas de Krumm tells of her experiences with powerful demonic forces. This led to her discovery of the names of the Satanic rules and strongholds with regard to their areas of influence over the people and nations. Although some have questioned the source of her information, because it came from a powerful demonic spirit, we have found the information very reliable, and can confirm that it fits our experience except for some minor details, and does not run counter to scripture, history or Satanic cult claims.

Rita claims that there are six powerful beings immediately under Satan, who are free to roam the earth and air above the earth. Under them are nine governors or authorities. In descending order of power, there are demonic powers with control over countries, states, cities, geographic areas with cities etc. She reminds us of Job 1:6-7 when Satan appeared before the Lord and was asked by God "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the Lord, "From roaming through the earth and going to and fro in it".

She reasons that if Satan has this freedom to travel, then we can assume that high ranking spirits are also free to do so.24 She points out that Revelation 20:2-3 speaks of the time when Satan will be bound for a thousand years and thrown into the abyss. The implication being that he and his followers are free to deceive the world until that time comes. It also reflects the knowledge possessed by the demon in the Gadarene demoniac (Matt 8:29) when he said to Jesus, "have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?". These evil powers have knowledge of their final everlasting punishment.

Spiritual Warfare in Argentina.

Edgardo Silvoso gives the account of recent evangelism in Argentine, where dramatic happenings in cities have occurred, when, to facilitate evangelism, strategic spiritual warfare was used. He indicates the methods used by Carlos Annacindia, a lay preacher.

1. He preaches the Word and invites people to come to Christ.
2. He confronts the demonic forces and binds them in the name of Christ.
3. Trained assistants carry to an "intensive care unit", any who have violent demonic manifestations, where deliverance ministry casts out these evil powers.
4. Prayer is made for the needs of the people and further prayer is made for those who come forward to dedicate their lives and be filled with the Holy Spirit.25

Results:

The results have been quite sensational. In La Plata forty thousand people professed conversion to Jesus Christ, while in Mar del Plata after four months of preaching close to ninety thousand public decisions were made for Christ. In San Justo seventy thousand, and in Cordoba (seen as the intellectual capital) fifty thousand decisions were recorded. Inter-denominational ministerial associations have been formed which have provided a channel of unity for the working of the Holy Spirit.26

Spiritual Warfare in other Cities and Nations.

John Dawson tells of his experiences with Keith Green, during 1982, in cities of Houston, Memphis and St Louis. They are bound the satanic strongman in obedience to Matthew 12:29, so that they could plunder his goods. This resulted in a "marked increase in the number of people who came forward during the alter call".27

Floyd McClung speaks similarly when he writes, "when we prepare a team to go to another city from Amsterdam for evangelism, we first do research into the historical, cultural and spiritual background of the city. When the team arrives in the city, they walk the streets two by two, interceding until they sense that they have discerned the spiritual forces that are sat work in the city. Then they prayer specifically for a breakthrough in these areas.".28

Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho states that when he first started his church, nobody would come to the old tent in which meetings were held "because there was a great demonic oppression over the village"29 He said that "the key to breaking that bondage was the casting out of a demon from a woman who had lain paralysed for seven years. When, after months of prayer, the demon oppressing her was cast out an she was healed, our church exploded with growth".30

Richard Chiundiza has written that he not only believes there are demon princes over Zimbabwe, but they have been identified as Nehanda and Chaminuka. Next in prominence under them are the Mondoro or demonic rulers over the Shona clans who live in separate territories in Zimbabwe. These are consulted by the people in times of drought or calamity. Next in rank under these are the Mudzimu which are seen as the lowest ranking demons. They are the ancestral or familiar spirits.31

Dr. C. Peter Wagner tells of the experience of Lester Sumrall, who was used of God to be an instrument of spiritual revival in the Philippines. He attributes the spiritual breakthrough to the removal of demonic powers in the life of an inmate of Bilibid prison, named Clarita Villanueva.32 He then cites the work of Omar Cabrera who, when he is about to establish a new church, first secludes himself in a room and engages in prayer and fasting, first for his own cleansing by the Holy Spirit and to disassociate himself, and identify with Jesus. He thus enters into spiritual warfare for that place to learn the names of the Satanic ruling principalities and to break their power over the city. When he has completed this strategic spiritual warfare, "people in his meetings frequently are saved and healed even before he preaches or prays for them".33

Other examples could be given from recent writings in this area. These accounts are written by reliable authors whose work, unless proved wrong, must be heard.

Strategic level spiritual warfare and the mission of the church.

I feel that Peter Wagner is correct when he suggests there is a need for mission bodies seeking to evangelize countries like Japan, to engage in strategic spiritual warfare. The methodology he suggests is -

1. Seek God's power to tear down the barrier between the Christian factions.
2. Train Japanese pastors and lay leaders in personal deliverance ministry.
3. Look to God for directions as to how to identify, engage and break the power of the territorial spirits that have had Japan in their clutches for centuries.34

Many who are considered to be Church Growth specialists have noted that "seriously dealing with demonic opposition has been one of the distinctive marks of Pentecostal Church growth."35 Among these is Dr. C. P. Wagner who has concluded that exorcism was a key factor in the exploding growth among Latin American Pentecostals.36

Features of captivity by demonic powers in different societies.

In some primal societies these features may more readily be identified than in our Western culture. F.D. Pennyoyer has written that in their culture, household, village and territorial group leaders may all be under the control of demons, thus allowing the political and religious structures to be manipulated by demons. Many in these cultures are bonded to generational and familiar spirits and are kept captive in their minds and wills through elaborate rituals and culture induced fears.37

In our Western society, I believe that if the church is really serious about being involved in human and political institutions at a level that changes society for the better, there must be recognition that this will only happen as we enter into strategic spiritual warfare.

Alternative ways of viewing demonic powers.

When things of the spiritual realm, which are not consistent with the worldview of a person are encountered, there is often an attempt to account for the phenomenon in terms of the belief system of that person. This is so in the area of the demonic, as in areas such as the miracle accounts in the bible.

There are those who examine the undoubted phenomena of the demonic from within a psychological frame of reference and interpret what is seen in a deliverance experience from one of two perspective's. David W. Gelder, the associate professor of Pastoral Counselling at Erskine Theological Seminary, describes and analyses a case of demon possession experienced by a sixteen year old boy, saying that from a psychological perspective:

1. The group of people at the deliverance session were the subject of group hypnosis or group psychosis which was somehow induced by the sixteen year old boy.
2. The sixteen year old boy was actually undergoing a psychotic or epileptic experience which we did not diagnose, maybe even multiple personality.38

He then analyses these alternatives and concerning the first alternative states "It is nonsense to accept this explanation, given the professional levels of all involved".39 Concerning alternative 2, he considered it not to be an option given the fact that those involved in the counselling situation included four with doctorates, three people in master's level work and three college graduates.40 David Van Gelder then stated:

1. There are experiences in our culture which may parallel some biblical accounts but which are not necessarily to be understood in the way the spiritual world was understood in the bible.
2. There are evil spirits and there is the power of the Holy Spirit; and the war in the spirit world overlaps with the Christian's existence in the physical world. In other words, the most reasonable explanation is to believe that possession was present in the New Testament times and that the same or similar phenomenon is still with us.41

He concludes his article by stating that all mental health professionals need to re-evaluate their use of salugenic techniques. As a result of this experience, he sees himself "freed to proclaim the foolishness of the gospel without always feeing the need to legitimate it within a framework of modern presuppositions".42

A Different Option.

Another option is espoused by writers such as Walter Wink and Leslie Newbigin, who use words about demons, principalities and powers, but re-define them so that they have a totally different meaning to that given by the Bible.

Newbigin says that concerning Satan, hostile spiritual powers, rulers of this world, angels etc.

If I am not mistaken, most scholarly readers of the New Testament in the last 150 years have regarded all this language as something which we can, for practical purposes, ignore, because it belongs to a thought-world which we have grown out of..... the words refer to what we would recognize as human rulers and authorities - magistrates, priests, elders.43

He argues it is the role or office behind individuals that are the powers and authorities. These do not exist apart from the human agencies in which they are embodied. He is talking about a power which is exercised by individual human beings, but is not identical with them. It is a "something" which may be benevolent or malevolent, but is not a living entity with purpose and direction. He wants to claim the existence of evil, but not allow it to be directed by a living, purposeful, reasoning being or beings.

To me, those who reason in this stream, make nonsense of language, performing intellectual gymnastics to try to remain true to the presuppositions of a worldview which is totally at variance with Scripture. I, personally, do not know one practitioner whom God is using to set people free who espouses such a position.

A MODEL FOR STRATEGIC SPIRITUAL WARFARE:

This model is suggested tentatively, recognizing that there are few to whom we can turn for guidance. Each country, each location within a country, will have different needs resulting from background historical circumstances, curses that need to be broken, and blessings that have been prayed over the area. In general, there are guiding principles that need to be observed for this work to be done.

Guiding principles:

1. The person or persons upon whom God has placed a burden to free a particular area, town, city, state or country, must begin to pray for guidance concerning how to go about the task.
2. Prayer needs to include asking God to bring together a team of like-minded persons to covenant together to pray regularly, specifically and perseveringly for guidance.
3. Be specific. Ask God to reveal the boundaries of the area you are going to set free.
4. Research the area to discern the problem history of the location that allowed Satanic powers to have the legal right to oppress the place. Keep written records of discoveries, eg. is there an abnormal sickness statistic, death rate, etc.
5. Encourage discovery and use of gifts of the Holy Spirit of discernment, words of knowledge, seeing and hearing in the Spirit, wisdom, intercession etc.
6. Test all knowledge received through Spiritual gifts, do not act until there is adequate confirmation.
7. Recognize that those most gifted in spiritual gifts can be wrong. Remember we are all human and make mistakes. Be especially cautious of those who claim or imply that they never hear incorrectly through the Holy Spirit.
8. Covenant together to pray daily for each other for protection of selves, loved ones and family members through the covering obtained by Jesus' shed blood on the cross. Pray that God's angels will guard all who are involved.
9. When God reveals the names of the principalities, powers, governing spirits or strong men of Satan over an area, do not attempt to bind them until He Has given that authority. Much prater power in needed to prepare for this action.
10. When and only when, God has given permission to bind, ask Him how this is to be done. Note - This type of spiritual binding must not be attempted by individuals unless God specifically gives permission. It is dangerous. Our own experience and that of others, proves this.
11. Pray for unity of Christians in the area you are seeking to set free. Try to have those of like mind from other denominations with the same vision, join the prater team. Do not criticize each other for differing theological emphases.
12. Keep your major goal in focus. Jesus gave Peter (Matt. 16:18 and the whole church (Matt.18:18) the keys to unlock the door to let people into the Kingdom of God. Strategic spiritual warfare is one of the keys to facilitate the salvation of the world. It is not the only key, but it has been neglected for centuries.
13. As Nehemiah prayed and fasted and repented on behalf of himself and his people (Neh. 1:4-2:8), so God moved ahead of him and prepared the way for his return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city wall. We too, may need to add fasting and repentance to prater, to release god' power. Nehemiah also teaches the lesson of perseverance in the face of discouragement and opposition. Perseverance is essential.
14. One the work of discovering, naming and binding the power over a city or other area has been completed, thorough a sometimes long period of preparation, the binding must be done daily to keep those powers bound. One of our team believes God gave him the following ditty to help with the task.

I bind you and gag you and confound your prayers,

I blindfold your eyes and stop up your ears.

1. God has revealed that Satan can appoint others in place of those bound, but if the Christians remain strong in prayer, those newly appointed cannot gain any power.
2. Regularly, in Jesus' name, negate the prayers made against the church by those in Satanic covens in yours and other areas. You have this power, use it!

Issues to be borne in mind.

1. Expect opposition. Remember that Jesus' opposition came most strongly from the religious leaders who thought they were guarding the faith. Their presuppositions and worldview was such they could not believe that Jesus was fulfilling what they were guarding. Satan used them. His methods have not changed. Good theology is not only academic, it also works. I have personally seen over four thousand people set free from demonic bondages. I cannot say the same for those who continue to oppose this area of ministry. Jesus came to set the captives free. There are multitudes of Christians living in partial freedom.
2. One of Satan's major weapons to stop this attack on his territory is to induce fear into the situation. Remember, Jesus has been and is victorious. "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind".
3. Expect retaliation form Satan, but do not fear it. If you constantly avail yourself of the means of grace, your are perfectly safe.
4. Make sure all team members have come to total repentance. Support each other in all ways. Guard against moral attack.
5. Recognize the limitations we place on God through our Western worldview and theological interpretation.
6. Recognize that some "new" christians are able to operate in the gifts of the Spirit, But many have not developed "fruit" because of their immaturity. Do not press into leadership those with gifts, but lacking in wisdom and maturity.
7. Do not be arrogant, thinking you have all the answers. In this field there are no experts. We are all learning all the time.
8. Do not neglect the everyday affairs of your church and do no become unbalanced in you emphasis on this part of God's work.
9. Remember, Satan and powers may be working through such things as legal, governmental, commercial or religious institutions. Realize that people, whether knowingly or unknowingly, may be tools of Satan. Prayer will need to be mobilized to negate their destructive power. Finally, it has to be understood that to seek to bind territorial spirits without the preparation of prayer, and repentance with fasting, hard work and planning, is to engage in a dangerous and fruitless exercise of meaningless rhetoric. Lactantius has provided us with some words of wisdom which ought to be kept in mind. When he wrote about demons and spirits, he said, "They do indeed, injure, but those only by whom they are feared, who, the powerful and lofty hand of God does not protect, who are uninitiated in the mystery of truth".45

ENDNOTES.

1 James Hastings,ed., Dictionary of the Bible, (Edinburgh, T. and T. Flark, 13th impression, 1954), Baalzebub (Beelzebub)" p.78.

2 The book of the Sacred Magic

3 Rita Cabezas de Krumm, Areas of Satanic Influence, a paper delivered to Lausanne Congress on World Evangelisation Manila, Philippines, July 11-20, 1989, p. 15.

4 J.D. Douglas, ed., The New Bible Dictionary, the (London:Inter-varsity Fellowship, reprinted 1967, p.96.

5 Hastings, Dictionary, "Nergal," p. 652.

6 Hastings, Dictionary, "Milcom," p. 617.

7 J.D. Douglas, Dictionary, "Devil," p. 310.

8 C. Peter Wagner, "Territorial Spirits", Ch.3 in Wrestling With Dark Angels, edited by Wagner, C. Peter, and Pennoyer, F. Douglas, (U.S.A.:Regal Books, 1990), pp.80-83

9 John Dawson, Taking our Cities for God, (Lake Mary: Creation House, 1989), p. 155

10 Floyd McClung, Spirits of the City, (Eastbourne, U.K.:Kingsway Publications 1989), p 30.

11 Dick Bernal, Storming Hells Brazen Gates, (San Jose: Jubilee Christian Centre, 1988), p. 29.

12 C. Peter Wagner, "Territorial Spirits," in Territorial Spirits, ed. Wagner, C. Peter, (Chichester, England: Sovereign World, 1991), p. 43.

13 Wagner, Wrestling, pp.78,79.

14 D.J.Wiseman, "Nergal", in the New Bible Dictionary, p. 877.

15 _________ . "Adrammelech", in The New Bible Dictionary, p. 16.

16 W.Foerster, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. p. 8.

17 James D.G.Dunn, and Graham H Twelftree, "Demon Possession and Exorcism in the New Testament", in The Churchman, 94 (1980) p. 216.

18 Colin Brown, ed. The New International Dictionary of the New Testament Theology, "demon," Vol.1 A-F, revised 1986, (U.S.A.:Zondervan, revised 1986), p.451.

19 Ibid., p.452.

20 Ibid.

21 Ibid., p. 453-454.

22 Frank Boshold, Blumhardt's Battle: A Conflict With Satan, (New York: Thomas E.Lowe, 1970). p.7. As quoted by White. T. in ' Model for Discerning Penetrating and Overcoming Ruling Principalities and Powers', P. 24.

23Vernard Eller, Thy Kingdom Come, in the introduction, p.xv111, as quoted by Dr Gordon Dicker in a letter to Rev. John Mavor, 7/6/88.

24Cabezas de Krumm, Satanic Influence, p. 10.

25 Edgardo Silvoso, Spiritual Warfare in Argentina and the "Plan Resistencia," as submitted to the Spiritual Warfare Track Workshop, (date unknown, possibly 1991) p. 3.

26 Ibid.

27 John Dawson, Taking Our Cities for God, p. 155.

28 Floyd McClung, Spirits of trhe City, p. 52.

29 P. Yonggi Cho, "City Taking in Korea", in Territorial Spirits, P.117.

30 Ibid., p. 118.

31 Richard Chiundiza "High Level Powers in Zimbabwe," in Territorial Spirits, pp. 122-124.

32 C. Peter Wagner, "territorial Spirits," in Territorial Spirits, p. 44.

33 Ibid., p. 45.

34 C.P. Wagner, Wrestlng With Dak Angels, pp. 89-90.

35 Ibid., p. 45.

36 Grant Clung, "Pentecostal/Charismatic Understanding of Exorcism," in /Wrestling With Dark Angels, p. 211.

37 Douglas F. Pennoyer, "Dark Dungeons of Collective Captivity," in Wrestling With Dark Angels," pp. 259-265.

38 David W. Van Gelder, "A Case of Demon Possession," The Journal of Pastoral Care, June 1987, Vol. XL1, No.2, p. 158.

39 Ibid.

40 Ibid., p 153.

41 Ibid., p. 159.

42 Ibid., p. 161.

43 Leslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, (Michigan, U.S.A.: Eerdmans, !989), p. 200.

44 C.P.Wagner, "Territorial Spirits." in, Wrestling With Angels, p. 87.

45 Lactantius, Divine Institutes 11,16. As quoted by Dr Alan Morrison in a paper entitled "Deliverance in the Church," submitted to the Synod Committee on Deliverance Ministry, of the Uniting Church of Australia, 1989, p.10.

CAUTION: The above, from the previous CAUTION statement to here, was from the war manual of the enemy.

BACK TO TOP

CAUTION: More Satanic hog slop follows:

Position Statement on the Philosophy of
Prayer for World Evangelization--  
C. Peter Wagner

1. The Mandate

The United Prayer Track of the AD 2000 and Beyond Movement was established in 1991 with the mandate of mobilizing and enabling the numerous prayer movements which God has been raising up on all continents and throughout all branches of biblical Christianity to focus their prayer ministries at least in part on accomplishing the task of establishing a Church for every people and making the Gospel available for every person by the year AD 2000.

With such a mandate, the United Prayer Track has been called to fill a specific niche within the broad and growing prayer movement of today's world. The definition of what this niche consists of begins with a recognition, with praise and honor to Almighty God, of a widespread interest in and enthusiasm for prayer throughout the universal Body of Christ unprecedented at least in living memory, if not in the history of the church.

2. The Role

In a spirit of humility and submission to God, the worldwide prayer movement can be thought of as a spiritual jewel with many facets, all of which glorify the Triune God in many different ways. The role of the United Prayer Track should be seen as only one of the facets.

3. The Essence of Prayer

The essence of all prayer is a personal relationship with God made possible through the redemption purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross and enjoyed by those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and been regenerated by the Holy Spirit.

In one sense, all prayer can be seen as an end in itself, the end of establishing and deepening relationships with God the Father. In fact, such a relationship of intimacy with the Father, which involves both speaking to and hearing from God, is nothing short of a prerequisite for all effective prayer in every facet of the prayer movement. It is an end in itself, because it pleases God.

When understood from this point of view, it is clear that prayer must not be regarded as a way through which human beings can manipulate God. To imagine that it is would quickly debase Christian prayer to the level of magic or sorcery. Rather, prayer serves to tune us in as individuals and groups to the will, purpose, and timing of God. We also recognize that the fulfillment of God's purpose for particular circumstances in history is, more often than some imagine, contingent, by His own design, on the effectiveness of believing prayer.

4. Prayer as Personal Spirituality

Through the centuries the saints of God have enjoyed the privilege of prayer as a way of deepening their personal holiness and spirituality. For many, nothing more was required. Countless classics of Christian literature on prayer have emphasized this contemplative "practicing the presence of God." Many have felt that their primary service to God consisted of a lifetime of personal waiting upon Him and bringing Him pleasure through praise and worship.

5. Intercessory Prayer for the Unsaved

While commending this type of prayer wherever it may be found in the worldwide prayer movement, the United Prayer Track's specific mandate goes beyond this. Recognizing the primacy of prayer as a relationship with the Father, the United Prayer Track joins other facets of the prayer movement which sense that intercessory prayer is their chief calling. We feel that we have been called to stand in the gap between God and particularly those unsaved people who have yet to restore their fellowship with the Father through Jesus Christ. In doing this we affirm that powerful praise and worship are a vital part of effective intercession.

6. Diversity of Intercessory Prayer

There is such a great breadth to intercessory prayer that some are uncomfortable with categorizing its many facets. Others, however, feel that such categorization helps produce clarity but only with the proviso that the intimate and ongoing relationships between all forms of communication with God are acknowledged at all times. For example there are many ministries of intercessory prayer which should be practiced by all Christians but which are, in fact, beyond the mandate of the United Prayer Track. Husbands should pray for their wives and vice versa; parents should intercede for their children; believers should pray for their pastors and their churches; citizens should pray for those who rule over them; just to name a few of some of the more obvious ministries of intercession. In today's prayer movement, many prayer leaders are called to specialize in one or more of these ministries, while affirming their relationship in the Spirit to those called to other prayer assignments. Valuable contributions to the literature on prayer are being made in all these and many other practices of prayer.

7. The Primary Assignment

The intercessory prayer ministry of the United Prayer Track is centered on prayer which will enable the lost to be saved, the unevangelized to be evangelized, the unreached to be reached, the unchurched to be churched. This is not seen as an elitist or an exclusive mandate, but it is a primary assignment for us. Many outside the United Prayer Track also pray for the lost to be saved. Many within the United Prayer Track also pray that families will not break up and for safer streets in our cities. Nevertheless, the activities of the United Prayer Track as a component of the AD 2000 and Beyond Movement are designed to mobilize the kinds of prayer which will specifically help open the way for the reality of a Church for every people and the Gospel for every person by the year 2000. Other equally valued segments of the Body of Christ are engaged in mobilizing intercessory prayer for any number of other worthy purposes and we applaud them all as part of our mutual desire that God's Kingdom will come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

8. Prayer for Revival

A goal of the United Prayer Track is to mobilize as much of the universal Body of Christ as possible to pray effectively for world evangelization. We recognize, however, that many churches in their present state cannot make a significant contribution to this united effort because they have left their first love and find themselves in a relatively powerless state. Because of this, prayer for what has been called revival or church renewal or awakening is essential. A desperate need of the hour is for massive spiritual revival within the churches throughout the nations. God's people themselves must be awakened to the urgent need to pray for the lost. To fill this need, powerful facets of the worldwide prayer ministry focus on intercession for church renewal. This type of prayer is made on behalf of the people of God. The United Prayer Track embraces this anointed ministry of prayer and indeed could not fulfill its own mandate properly without it.

9. Praying Churches and Prayer Ministries

At the same time there are many churches on all continents which, while not perfect, are indeed alive, adhering faithfully to their first love, impassioned for reaching the lost, hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches, and experienced in vital prayer for evangelism. Likewise, God has raised up large numbers of prayer ministries, related in differing degrees to local churches, which have sensed a special calling and anointing to pray for lost people to be saved. It is such churches and prayer ministries which naturally provide the initial candidates for active components of the United Prayer Track. Others may if so directed by God join when the prayers for church renewal are answered and a passion for praying for the lost restored in those churches.

Because spiritual power being released throughout the whole Body of Christ is so important, strategic level prayer for evangelism (see No. 12) must never be carried out apart from uniting in revival praying, because, to the degree God wins the battle inside the church and removes strongholds there, to that degree will all other prayer for the 10/40 Window ultimately prevail.

10. Identifying and Networking Prayer Ministries

It should be noted that the United Prayer Track does not assume the responsibility of stimulating prayer or creating new prayer ministries. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. Our task is rather to identify those prayer ministries targeted to world evangelization which God has already raised up and interconnect them in a way which will enhance the possibilities of each of them becoming all that God wants them to be. As such, we desire to provide a worldwide network of information and resources on prayer for the entire Body of Christ, serving also to broker the various prayer ministries throughout the network.

11. Degrees of Emphasis

The prayer ministries associated with the United Prayer Track exhibit differing degrees of emphasis on prayer for the lost. For some prayer evangelism may be only one of many good emphases. Others may be burdened chiefly, if not exclusively, for prayer for the unevangelized or the unreached. Some will be in between or will vary their emphases from time to time according to need or in obedience to divine guidance. Prayer summits, solemn assemblies, national days of prayer, and a network of prayer rooms are a few of the many examples of prayer ministries for which evangelism is an important, but not necessarily a primary focus. Examples of movements more exclusively targeting prayer for the lost are YWAM Cardinal Points, Generals of Intercession, Every Home for Christ "Jericho Chapters," Campus Crusade World Prayer Strategy and others. There are roles in the United Prayer Track for all these and many more, regardless of the degree of emphasis.

12. Strategic-Level Intercession

Some of the prayer ministries associated with the United Prayer Track, notably but not exclusively, the International Fellowship of Intercessors, Generals of Intercession, and Youth With a Mission, began in the decade of the 1980s to practice a type of prayer for the lost called by some "strategic-level intercession." Especially since the Lausanne II Congress in Manila in 1989 this ministry under additional identificational labels such as "territorial spirits," "strategic-level spiritual warfare," and "warfare prayer" began spreading through broader segments of the Body of Christ. It took organizational form with the creation of the International Spiritual Warfare Network in 1990.

13. Biblical Premises

Two fundamental biblical premises underlie the various approaches to spiritual warfare as it applies to evangelizing the lost. They can best be stated by quoting relevant biblical texts:

• The devil directly and explicitly attempts to obstruct the evangelization of the lost. "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them" (2 Cor. 4:3-4).
• Our weapons designed by God to help remove these obstructions to evangelism are spiritual weapons. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God..." (2 Cor. 10:4-5).

Editor: Steve Van Nattan- This pompous snob used only two Bible texts to justify a worldwide campaign to turn every soul in Christendom into a devil chaser. A doctrine like this must stand on a lot more Scripture. I could come up with many more than he has AND in a lot better context. This is what comes of getting a PhD. These guys have a lot of degrees, but they are cold as mackerel inn the moonlight-- they shine and they stink.

14. The Spiritual Warfare Network

When the United Prayer Track was formed in 1991, the leadership of the AD 2000 and Beyond Movement agreed that the first and potentially largest sub-network associated with the United Prayer Track would be the pre-existing Spiritual Warfare Network (SWN). Since then many meetings of the SWN have been held on national, regional and international levels, surfacing some issues associated with strategic-level intercession on which there seems to be quite broad consensus and others on which there remain varying shades of opinion. In a statement of the philosophy of prayer of the United Prayer Track, these issues should be recognized.

15. The Lausanne Covenant

To begin, it should be pointed out that there is virtually no disagreement among those in the AD 2000 Movement on the importance of spiritual warfare as an essential part of the task of world evangelization. The AD 2000 Movement has officially reaffirmed the Lausanne Covenant. In it, Article 12, Spiritual Conflict, states in part: "We believe that we are engaged in constant spiritual warfare with the principalities and powers of evil who are seeking to overthrow the Church and to frustrate its task of evangelization."

16. Three Levels of Spiritual Warfare

In the work of the Spiritual Warfare Network a somewhat arbitrary but nevertheless useful distinction has surfaced between three levels of spiritual warfare: (1) ground-level spiritual warfare dealing with demonic deliverance of individuals; (2) occult-level spiritual warfare dealing with the powers of darkness operative through such as New Age, Satanism, Eastern Religions, witchcraft and the like; and (3) strategic-level spiritual warfare in which territorial principalities and powers are confronted. Since all three operate together in the unseen realms of darkness, it must be kept in mind that they are interrelated and that spiritual warfare on any one of the levels can affect the demonic forces on all levels.

17. Our Sphere of Authority

One of the most prominent unresolved issues among members of the Spiritual Warfare Network is on which, if any, of the three levels we are given biblical authority for intentional ministry. Some feel that because the principal biblical examples we have of spiritual warfare involve casting demons out of individuals, we should not advocate engaging spiritual forces which may be occupying buildings or animals or human social networks or churches or physical objects such as trees or mountains or idols. For them it is not advisable to do strategic-level warfare and name, rebuke or otherwise address so-called territorial spirits. Others prefer to give a literal interpretation to such sayings of Jesus as "Behold, I give you the authority...over all the power of the enemy" (Lk. 10:19) and do confrontive spiritual warfare on all levels.

18. Three Types of Encounter

It is recognized that several types of encounter with the Enemy are described in the Bible: (1) the "power encounter" illustrated by Paul's confrontation with the sorcerer Bar-Jesus in Cyprus (see Acts 13:6-12); (2) the "truth encounter" illustrated by Paul's preaching justification by faith in Antioch of Pisidia (see Acts 13:38-39); and (3) another less recognized encounter which some call the "allegiance encounter" illustrated by the Lystrans attributing the powers of Zeus and Hermes to Barnabas and Paul (see Acts 14:11-18). Many believers who profess to be Christians have not made the radical break with spirit forces that the Bible demands, maintaining a degree of allegiance with the Enemy.

19. Seeking a Balance

Among SWN members there are differing points of view as to how to keep the three of these in balance. All agree, however, that we must avoid overstressing one to the detriment of the others. Some have suggested, for example, that those who stress the power encounter may not be remembering that it is the truth which sets us free. Others suggest that relying too heavily on the truth encounter may shirk the responsibility of wrestling with principalities and powers. Practically speaking, some would interpret positive results in specific attempts at evangelism as a result of all or any one of the various approaches. Admonitions from all sides help to avoid potential excesses all around.

20. Inherent Dangers

Members of the Spiritual Warfare Network attempt to identify inherent dangers in strategic-level spiritual warfare and suggest antidotes to them. They realize that it is possible to become preoccupied with the demonic and exalt the Enemy; that some could naively adopt negative aspects of an animistic world view; that technique and methodology can substitute for the power of the Holy Spirit; that Satan would like to seduce the church and lead it astray. All realize that mistakes can and will be made in engaging the Enemy on any level, and we agree that they should be corrected whenever they happen.

21. Precedents for Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare

Some are concerned that as yet few precedents for strategic-level spiritual warfare for evangelistic purposes have been uncovered either in the history of missions or in the history of dogma. While recognizing this, others argue that it would not be contrary to the nature of God to do a new thing and provide relatively new spiritual approaches particularly for the unprecedented challenges to evangelism presented by the powers of darkness dominating the 10/40 Window. All are agreed that ongoing efforts need to be made to clarify biblical and historical concerns.

22. Spiritual Mapping

One of these relatively new spiritual approaches is spiritual mapping. By creating a Division of Spiritual Mapping, the United Prayer Track is committed to an attempt to provide the best possible spiritual intelligence information in order to help target the prayers of God's people for the lost. Paul seems to indicate that such a thing would be helpful when he says, in the context of resolving personal relationships, "Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Cor. 2:11). Satan uses his evil devices in many ways. Spiritual mapping attempts to expose the devices Satan has used to prevent evangelization and allows God's people to aim their spiritual weapons against them more accurately. The challenge before us is to do our spiritual mapping in a responsible, balanced way using agreed upon field methodologies with full accountability to the Body of Christ.

23. Interdenominational Standards

When we arrive at behavioral issues we find that our range of AD 2000 constituents including such as liturgical, traditional evangelical, Pentecostal, charismatic, postdenominational, Third Wave, and others requires all of us to make adjustments which will not be offensive to the rest. The United Prayer Track has developed a statement attempting to set forth agreed upon standards for interdenominational prayer events. The following four items are taken from that statement.

Editor: Steve Van Nattan- This man is a pacifist with Satan, not his enemy. He wants to wipe out all the differences with all of Christendom in order to warfare with the devil. Bah! The differences are one of the biggest causes of Satan getting into churches and into men. It is the difference in Charismatic practice of manifestations that invites devils into those people, and they will never be delivered until they are deprogrammed by the Holy Ghost. The cults and heresies of Christendom are the habitat of devils. What a fool.

Watch Wagner caution with regard to manifestations in "Body Language" below. The wimp! These people are almost always possessed of devils. Wagner is also, as far as I am concerned.

24. United Prayer

As our overall track philosophy, we are using a statement developed by Every Home for Christ with the permission of Dick Eastman:

Remember that the moment two or more of us unite in prayer we become a symphony. As such:

• We blend together in unity respecting the fact that we represent all of Christ's body;
• We realize that, like a symphony with its different instruments, there are a wide variety of traditions when it comes to prayer;
• We commit ourselves to accepting one another as we are, while disciplining ourselves to use wisdom and caution if we think anything we might do would offend a brother or sister.

We want all those who participate to be themselves. We must not quench the Spirit. There are no restrictions at all on prayer styles in prayer groups of like tradition. Yet some of these styles may not be appropriate in groups of mixed traditions.

Here are some of the specific areas in which wisdom, caution, spiritual discernment, and good manners need to be used:

25. Body Language

Body language is an important part of prayer. Raising hands, kneeling, and lying prostrate on the floor are not usually issues. Some pray with eyes closed and some with eyes open, some raise their chins, others lower their chins. Clapping, dancing, falling in the Spirit, unrestrained laughing, and roaring are not as widely accepted, however, and special caution should be used by those accustomed to them. Blowing, hissing, and physically "travailing" should be avoided. At the same time, spiritual travail in prayer, at times with "groanings which cannot be uttered" (Rom. 8:26), may be expected.

26. Prophecy

We encourage hearing from God and using the prophetic gifts. Prudence in communicating words from God in an interdenominational meeting will avoid such phrases as "thus saith the Lord" or using the first person for God. Prophecies can be prayed back to God: "God, we hear you saying..." or expressed to the group with statements like "I think God may be saying to us..." and expecting others to agree if it is a true word.

In all cases, care must be taken that prophetic gifts are not publicly used apart from the covering, permission and spiritual authority of the person designated to preside over the particular session. Prudence dictates that, particularly when the prophetic word has directional content (as opposed, for instance, to devotional content), explicit permission be sought from the presider before the word is given.

27. Tongues

It is no secret that the most sensitive issue is tongues. The AD 2000 Movement seeks to balance 1 Cor. 14:39 "do not forbid to speak with tongues" with the next verse "let all things be done decently and in order" (I Cor. 14:40). In our interdenominational Prayer Track meetings we feel that individuals may use tongues in a whisper or even in a louder voice when all are praying aloud in a concert and no one person's voice stands out above the others. But we feel it is not prudent to use tongues when one is audibly leading the whole group in prayer. We also need to agree that we will not use messages from God in tongues with interpretation.

28. Conclusion

A grassroots, networking structure like the United Prayer Track has both strengths and weaknesses. It stands or falls on personal relationships rather than on bureaucratic controls. Therefore good will is an essential personal characteristic for all who participate. This is a day in which we are seeing a visible spiritual unity of the Body of Christ which is unprecedented both in quantity and quality. We are bold enough to believe that it is an answer to Jesus' prayer "that they all may be one that the world might believe" (John 17:21).

C. Peter Wagner

United Prayer Track Coordinator [ The man now claims to be an Apostle ]

CAUTION: The above, from the previous CAUTION statement to here, was from the war manual of the enemy.

Comment by Editor of Blessed Quietness Journal

Steve Van Nattan:  It is interesting that prayer needs so much organization these days.  One is amazed that we never thought of all of these opportunities to hype prayer as a parachurch institution in past years.  I think these clowns are trying to do everything possible to warp the biblical teaching on prayer so that their lack of prayer life personally will not be noticed.  How can a man who teaches at one of the world's most compromised seminaries know ANYTHING about biblical prayer?  I also suspect that this new twist justifies a lot of publishing of books and study guides, which is verrrrrry good for making the mammon flow.  I am surprised Wagner has not tried to copyright prayer itself.   Thus, "Our Father which art in heaven... ©"

Later by Steve Van Nattan, Editor:
I am now hearing more and more about "loosing" of angels, the Holy Ghost, and spiritual power. This shows that the SLSW gang is getting more and more war like. They "bind" the wicked, and they "loose" angels or the Holy Ghost. This is the doctrine of "sic em," or treating the Holy Ghost like he is a pit bull you can send to attack the enemy. It is not WE who send the Spirit of God to do His work, it is HE who is in us and does of HIS good will and pleasure. This reversal of roles is 100% demonic. Also, there is NO example in the Word of God of God's people sending angels to do anything.

Read that again please.

So, when you hear people talking about "loosing" and "binding," you better stay clear of them, for they are possessed WITH devils and could draw you into the circle of power-- Satanic power. There is NO biblical precedent for any of God's people, from Adam to John on Patmos, waging warfare in this manner. Spiritual warfare is a matter ONLY of confronting some manifestation, RIGHT HERE AND NOW, just long enough to take the ground we are standing on. The procedure in NOT to act as the commander of God and his angels-- The procedure is to simply resist by faith and with the Word of God. That is what Jesus did when confronted by Satan.

Let me illustrate with a parable:
A burglar enters you home at night. You hear it, take you gun, and go forth to defend your family. You are blessed enough to get the drop on the burglar, but he pulls his gun. You have thought of this many times, and reflexively, you shoot him and kill him. As he falls to the floor, his last words are, "Harry, get out of here, the jerk has a gun."

Now, you know that the burglar has an accomplice. Next, you hear your back door opened and slammed shut. In a few seconds, you hear some neighbor's door open and slam. So, now you know the other burglar got away, and he has taken refuge in a neighbor's home nearby. What to do, Peter Wagner? Well, this is why you also have a box of hand grenades. You take the grenades, and you go to all the homes near to your home, and you throw a grenade through the front window of each home.

If you don't understand the parable, you are in deep trouble friend.

SPIRITUAL WARFARE BIBLE TEXTS AND SUGGESTIONS

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Another Counterfeit Spiritual Warfare Clone of the Chrismatic Heresy

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