Dimensions of Spiritual Warfare:
The Biblical Christian Perspective.
Spiritual Warfare takes different turns and means different things to different people. For some, it is what is done daily, staying alert and above water; to others, it is fighting enemies operating in the spiritual realm sometimes within the extended family. In many cases, the battles are fought through prayer fasting, and “night vigils.”
A close observation of prayer meetings in Africa and the West revealed a pattern of prayers distinctively unique to African churches and worshippers. Typically, there are more prayer houses in Africa than in the West. Most indigenous African churches originated and grew as prayer centers, with special appeal to the masses of the people.
Prayers are targeted first at problem removal and more importantly at warding off perceived malevolent spiritual forces behind the challenges of life confronting them. Thus independent Pentecostal churches led by charismatic individuals have exploited points of convergence of indigenous religious traditions and aspects of biblical truth to attract large followership.
One such convergence is the concept of spiritual warfare.
Traditional African worldview is shaped by faith in the participation of ancestral spirits in the affairs of the living. Hence prayers and sacrifices are offered to deified departed ancestors invoking their spirit to fight and protect them from spiritual enemies.
Fast forward to a competitive environment of conflicting interests, the world for them, becomes a battlefield where prayers are directed at overcoming the unseen forces arraigned against them. Believers in Christ are having to wrestle with such hangovers.
Directly or indirectly, churchgoers are under the influence of preachers and church founders who prey on people’s fears to fulfill personal agendas. It is little wonder that pastoral prayers are more often than not, focused on prophesying and commanding blessings on their congregants while pronouncing death over enemies standing in the way of their success and material prosperity.
It is fair to say that many people go to church not to seek and worship God for who He is but for what is in it for them.
In the West, spiritual warfare strikes a different note. There, three charismatic evangelical views dictate the tune. And although they seem to agree on most aspects of their teaching, they differ on points of interpreting relevant Scriptures.
For this article, we shall try to navigate through the Scriptures and critically examine two popular views on the subject.
One view holds that spiritual warfare primarily has to do with ‘territorial spirits.’ Principalities and powers are demonic spirits that rule over a geographic area, business, group of people, etc. It is maintained that Satan operates a network of territorial spirits to facilitate his work throughout every area of the world and segments of society.
Engaging these spirits is seen as vital in the context of mission - opening the way to greater effectiveness of the gospel. Some who hold to this teaching maintain that ‘binding and losing’ ministry is necessary to facilitate the conversion of each individual by freeing them to see the truth.
Thus spiritual warfare consists of identifying these principalities and breaking their power by binding them and taking authority over them in the name of Jesus.
Scriptures used to support this view include,
Isaiah 14: 12 - 15; Although this scripture speaks of an earthly monarch (the king of Babylon), the language used seems to refer to a spiritual power behind the throne.
Ezekiel 28:12-19 also uses a language seemingly referring to a spiritual power behind the earthly king.
Daniel 10:12-11:1-; References to the ‘Prince of Persia’ and ‘Prince of Greece’ suggest demonic spirits opposed to the purposes of God, hindering the response to Daniel’s prayer.
Psalm 149:6-9; An indication that high praise is the environment for spiritual warfare. The double-edged sword is the word of authority. Binding kings and nobles are interpreted as binding territorial spirits.
Ephesians 6: 10-18 - The language used implies close combat with spiritual powers.
2 Corinthians 10: 3-5 - We have been given divinely powerful weapons with which to demolish demonic strongholds.
Matthew 12: 25-29, 16:19, 18: 18-19 - Our prayers can bind the strong man over an area or individual and bring release to those previously held captive.
Observations and Comments:
Although the above interpretations contain some elements of truth, significantly it is difficult to find scriptural examples of these kinds of spiritual warfare in action.
Nowhere in the Gospel or Acts do we find Jesus or any of his disciples identifying the territorial spirits over an area/individual and then doing battle with them to win the territory for Jesus. If this was the way to minister on entering a new area it would have been recorded to instruct us.
Paul’s visit to Ephesus Acts 19: 23-27 shows that although the goddess of Artemis is depicted as the major territorial spirit, nowhere do we read of Paul engaging her or binding her power over the city. Yet the above verse records the concerns of her devotees that she is in danger of being dethroned. The account records that she was eventually dethroned as many people in public, turned from their idolatry to Jesus.
Daniel 10: 12-11:1 shows Daniel did not address the princes of Persia or Greece. As he was praying and fasting, the battle took place in the heavens without his direct involvement.
The binding of the strong man in Matthew 12: 25-29 occurs in the context of driving out a demon from a person.
2 Corinthians 10: 3-5:
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretensions that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Commenting on above passage, John Wimber writes:
“There is no hint here of some sort of super-spiritual warfare in which we come against Satan and his host in some mystical fight. It is rather that one of the enemy’s targets is our mind. If the enemy can gain control over our minds, he can rule us. He may not stop us from being believers but he can alter our effectiveness. We are to demolish these strongholds which are the thought patterns that the enemy has programmed into us, using people, culture, doctrine, experience, etc.”
However, we must recognize the existence of principalities and powers and that particular regions or cultures can be dominated by particular principalities. How we handle this is important. Our responsibility is to pray, preach the gospel, and cast out demons.
Our discernment of a particular evil principality dominating a culture - be it in the West, Asia, or Africa - would help us with how we pray, and what we teach.
“Christian Living and Spiritual Warfare” — To follow.
