Note: This article is not in full English language, some are in Afrikaanse.
by Nico Engelbrech
4.FOMULATING THE PROBLEM
Background
For the purpose of this study Spiritual Warfare will be limited to the Warfare against Satan in the spiritual realm.
Reformed Theology does have very little to say, practise and teach about spiritual warfare, and yet, it does have everything to say and teach about spiritual warfare. The main raison d'être is that the manner in which they interpret the Bible does not regard spiritual warfare as doing battle with Satan. The basis for this are quite obvious to the proponents of Reformatory theology with its eschatological view of Amillennialism. Proponents that deem militant type of spiritual warfare against Satan necessary spend millions to promote, practise and teach how to do this kind of intervention in the spiritual realm.
The Reformed Perspective
The Reformer does not find its knowledge of this strange intrusion in the spiritual territory subjectively in new enlightment, prophetic utterances, tongues and interpretation, new revelation or by means of informative intercession, but objectively in Scripture. Sola Scriptura. Sound exegetical methods of interpretation and the disregard of presuppositions, reveals that Christ is the One that did the warfare on behalf of the church. This was not accomplished by a physical battle but Christ’s triumph was brought about by servant hood, suffering and passiveness doing His Fathers will. He sets the example how the church should do warfare.
Christ did display his future victory, his overcoming Satan, by casting out devils to proclaim that the year of Jubilation has come, “The horizon of this hope is clearly the Messianic age, when all the nations of the earth will find blessing in the seed of Abraham”, (Pfeiffer, 1962). Christ demonstrated physically what was soon to happen spiritually in the spiritual dominion as a result of his servant hood, fulfilling his role as the ultimate High Priest. As High Priest this was for others, not for himself that He obtained the future victory because Satan is a subject and in God’s restraint from the time of creation. Christ did not need this victory for himself but to set free some of the depraved and for His creation. Ridderbos, (1962) rightly proclaim that the secret of the presence of the kingdom of heaven lies in Jesus’ victory over Satan, in his unlimited miraculous power, his unrestricted authority to preach the gospel, in his pronouncements of blessedness and the bestowal of salvation upon his people. He further notes that there can be no doubt that we are confronted here with the messianic, Christological character of the kingdom of heaven and that the entire fulfilment which Jesus proclaims as a present reality is base on the fact that he himself, Jesus, is the Christ. Luke 12:32, Matthew 12:28,29, Luke 11:20, Mark 3:27.
This display of the Kingdom that has come was not meant to be imitated by men and categorically not the means to overcome Satan. It was not only a demonstration of unlimited miraculous power in His proclamation that the Kingdom has come but it was the spiritual consequence exhibited in visible phenomena of this Redemptive Historical Act of God when principalities and powers were triumphed over. Col 2:15.
The Church need to follow Christ’s example of submission, suffering, servant hood and not try restore the physical signs which was but types, figures and shadows of the real spiritual battle that took place at his crucifixion and ascension and released cosmic power in the great cosmic revolution that shook the heavens.
Why did Christ come? To establish His Spiritual Kingdom by breaking the works of Satan and He accomplished that by dying, paying the ransom for sins of the redeemed. “It is finished”. No more to add to this sacrificial offer by man or God for the redemption of the chosen. In 1 John 3:8 John give the reason why Christ did come: “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil”. Berkhouwer comments that Christ’s battle and His servant hood are basically identical. “In de weg van sijn dienst, z’n offerande, heeft Hij de werken des duivels verbroken”. (Berkhouwer, 1953:372).
The Battle and subsequent victory is not peripheral but central to the message of the gospel and revealed the mystery of His work. Colossians 2:15 “And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it”. The mystery of Christ’s power is the salvation of others, Jew and Gentile alike.
The Amillennialists consider Satan bound in this dispensation when Jesus defeated him on the cross with the fulfilment of “the so-called protoeuangelion, as a type of unconditional royal grant treaty. Unlike the obvious conditionality of the first arrangement with Adam, (creation covenant) Genesis 3 promises Adam and Eve a messianic seed who will undo the damage they have caused in their alliance with the serpent.” (Horton, 2006). Genesis 3:15. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel”. The damage has been undone (when we broke the conditional covenant in Adam, also as we are breaking God’s conditional covenant at Sinai) through the fulfillment of that unconditional promise to Abraham and his seed when The Seed bruised Satan’s head. The Man the second Adam was the only way to restore unconditionally man to God by keeping all conditions and therefore fulfilling the covenant of works. In a sense we can now return to Paradise and the devil has no hold on those redeemed because he is a defeated enemy by the sole complete work of the Son of Man. Unlike the proponents of another gospel says there is nothing we can contribute to a work in which God alone gets the Glory.
The Reformers “believe that the millennium is a present reality (Christ’s heavenly reign), not a future hope (Christ’s rule on earth after his return)”.(Riddlebarger, 2003:11). Bavinck, 36, in his missionary series, summarises the Reformed theological view on spiritual warfare. “Maar wat het allermeeste geantwoord wordt, is wel dit: Jesus Christus heeft mij verlost van de angst voor de geesten, Hij heeft mij bevrijd uit de ban der demonen. Voordat ik Hem kende, leefde ik dag aan dag in vrees. Als ik mijn land bezaaid had, was ik er nooit zeker van, of niet boze machten mijn oogst zouden bederven. Ik was er nooit zeker van, dat niet die boze machten mijn eigen huis zouden binnesluipen en mij mijn kenderen ontroven of mijn eigen leven aanranden. Jesus heeft mij gezegd, dat Hij de Heer is over alle bose machte, dat niemand bij machte is Hem te weerstaan. Ik weet, dat ik in zijn handern veilig ben. De dood zal wel eenkmaal aankloppen aan mijn booze huis, maar ook dan weet ik, dat Jezus Christus de overwinnaar is, en dat ik niets heb te vrezen”.
The Holy Spirit as Exorcista.
Jesus Christ has conquered, is the Conqueror, and will be the final Conqueror. Christians are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus as they rest in His finished work on the Cross. We do not have to contribute to the victory on the cross. Matthew 12:28: “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you”. “The Holy Spirit is God’s great Initiator of the salvation-historical battle against Satan’s illegal rule over our world tragically fallen in sin and its woes. In this way the Holy Spirit is God’s big Exorcista, God’s Out – driver of Satan- the illegal occupier of people who were created in God’s image”. (Coetzee,1995:36-37).
In the salvation-historical battle the Holy Spirit working is sovereign, nothing can stop its work in the unstoppable progress of the evangelical preaching. Some will confess their theology that God is surprised at what man can do in tragedies like the September 11. A proponent of this spiritual poverty theology is a theologian like Andrio KÅ‘nig. In a newspaper article he states that God was surprised when the act happened and could not stop it. (Die Kerkbode, 21 September 2001. This interpretation however displace God from His throne and give glory to man as Berkhof: 125 refuted when Reformed theology was Reformed theology and not a watered down semi-palagian theology to attempt to put God in a better humanistic light. “Van verrast worden of machteloosheid aan de kant van God is geen sprake; alleen van een staken van de voortgang der Geesteswerking, om aan de antigoddelijke macht voor een ogenblik de volle kans oop ontplooing te bieden”.
Technically Amillennialism and Postmillennialism have the same understanding of the millennium. ”The differences of opinion between amillennial and postmillennial Christians centers on the starting point, character, and length of the millennial age”. (Riddlebarger, 2003:29-30). This difference in belief does have disastrous consequences in mission praxis.
Unbiblical Warfare.
Postmillennialism is the precursor of another gospel. According to Marcellus, 1971:4, the postmillenarian “looks for a fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies of a glorious age of the church upon the earth through the preaching of the gospel under the power of the Holy Spirit. He looks forward to all nations becoming Christian and living in peace with one another”. This will inevitably lead to some form of fleshly unscriptural spiritual warfare when the proponents of this gospel teaches that it is the church’s mandate to bind Satan. Their mandate is the same as the liberals, the panentheists and pantheists like the Jesus Seminar New Reformers who no longer believe (they never really had biblical God given faith) in Jesus’ death and resurrection. The only difference is that the Postmillennialist will do it miraculously as super so-called apostles and prophets overcoming Satan by warfare and the New Age church will do it evolutionary with self, science and evolution there being no Satan.
Another gospel Warfare
It must be understood that not everyone in the camp of Post-or Premillennialism does unscriptural Spiritual warfare. It is mainly those in the Charismatic movement that practise these unbiblical doctrines. The fact is that those two eschatological views make one susceptible for deception. It is also true that Amillinnarians that are not grounded in the biblical theology teachings of Reformed theology can also be deceived. The only safeguard one has is the grace of God to open ones understanding to what really took place in the cosmos at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
When you become trapped in the exiting world of doing spiritual battle you really consider yourself as co-creator, co-ruler and co-restorer of the Kingdom of God. In fact with the devil they are co-destroyers in warfare’s that are not found in Scripture.
This spiritual warfare take the form of binding, making war in the heavenlies, informed intercession, spiritual mapping of demon strongholds over individuals, people groups, cities and countries to name but a few of these new age shamanism. This so called Kingdom Now/Triumphant Utopian church that will triumph over Satan and the ungodly and thus establish God’s rule and only then will the second coming be initiated. The Latter Day Apostles and Prophets proudly comment that Paul and the church fathers at the Parousia will stand in line to shake hands with the new Apostles and Prophets of the postmodern ecclesia because of what they accomplished for the church.
Proponents of New Age type of Confronting Spirits and Powers
Well known proponents of such unscriptural type of warfare is Peter Wagner. In a symposium on power evangelism at Fuller Seminary he affirmed: "Satan delegates high-ranking members of the hierarchy of evil spirits to control nations, regions, cities, tribes, people groups, neighbourhoods and other significant social networks of human beings throughout the world. Their major assignment is to prevent God from being glorified in their territory, which they do through directing the activity of lower-ranking demons." (Robb, 1997: 1-8). Now they say, “it is the church’s mandate to do battle with Satan”, overcome him during the Triumphant procession of the church during the millennium which they interpret as being now. Preterists that consider it all happened in 70 AD has similar tendencies to induce this kind of warfare.
The Latter Rain movement and the Manifests Sons of God doctrine promote Joel’s army, which is a wrong interpretation that the church will accomplish this. Many refer this passage to Joel's Army as an army doing God's will through signs and wonders from the Latter Rain being poured out on them. Ironically however, the context in which we read about Joel's Army clearly shows that this army is destructive to Church. And that God will destroy it. Why would anyone want to be part of this army?
These false doctrines are more complicated than one realizes. Manifest Sons of God consider themselves the “Bride of Christ”, when Christ by His Spirit entered them in these last days. They are the New Age Apostles and Prophets and the Reformed Churches are the Anti-Christ because as they wrongly interpret the verse, 2 John 7. “Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist”. (Italics mine) According to them the reformers deny that Jesus came in their flesh, that is the new apostles and prophet’s flesh; so they
Let us look further: In Wagner’s book “Confronting the Powers”, He describes spiritual warfare as having three levels: "Ground Level: Person-to-person, praying for each other's personal needs. Occult Level: deals with demonic forces released through activities related to Satanism, witchcraft, astrology and many other forms of structured occultism. Strategic-Level or Cosmic-Level: To bind and bring down spiritual principalities and powers that rule over governments”. . (Wagner, 1991: 21-22)
"Incredibly, what may be the fastest growing technique-driven prayer among evangelicals today is known as "strategic-level intercession." According to its promoters it involves newer varieties of prayer such as "spiritual warfare," "territorial spirits," "prophetic acts," "spiritual mapping," "warfare prayer," "tearing down strongholds," "identificational repentance," and "remitting the sins of nations.” Explanations of these prayer systems are found in advocate C. Peter Wagner's book, "Confronting the Powers", along with definitions of other methods, including "four ways of praying in the community": praise marches, prayer walks, prayer journeys, and more wide-ranging prayer expeditions. Certainly, they were not known by God's prophets and apostles”. (The Berean Call, 1997). These, Wagner notes, "were virtually unknown to the majority of Christians before the 1990s..." (Wagner, 1991:130).
The strategies are endless as new informative revelation teaches. In the premise of the book Engaging the Enemy by C. Peter Wagner he reveals that it is, “ (a) that Satan and his demons are real; (b) that there is a spiritual warfare; (c) that Satan's hosts include territorial spirit-demons that may be identified by name; and (d) that Christians are to engage in battle with territorial spirit-demons by name in aggressive prayer.(Wagner,1991:206).MorrisMcDonald, http://www.wrs.edu/journals/jour298/engaging.html (also reviews this book)
This is but the tip of the iceberg on unscriptural theology and the outcomes that such another gospel can produce. These strategies are alien tongues to most of those Reformers that are not deceived by another gospel. I must add that not many Reformed church members has been duped into these unscriptural practices and do question whether there is a sound theological basis for these ungodly practises. Spiritual Warfare is the buzzword amongst Charismatic, Pentecostal and all they represent. Even among the orthodoxy one find a paradigm shift towards antagonistic type of warfare. Needless to say those that participate are not grounded in Biblical Reformed theology.
Why do Reformers dwell into these occult practises? For those that are deceived does it because it is popular, exiting, experiential and “spiritual”. They do not understand that true spirituality is synonymous with the five pillars of the Reformation, the five Sola’s. and do not come with extra biblical revelation. For others, deceived to do unbiblical practices there are probably two answers. One, if not the major reason is a lack of revelational knowledge by the correct interpretation of Scripture and as a result, do not come to grips with the Five Sola’s and the five points refuting Palagianism namely T.U.L.I.P.
The second reason is that Amillennialism is not promoted and taught as it should be. That Satan has been bound on the cross. This will give young theologians a sound biblical basis to defend their faith doing real spiritual warfare by taking down stronghold in peoples minds by preaching, rebuking and teaching sound doctrine. This point will be demonstrated by testimonies of Christians that became despondent with Charismatic “theology” and converted to Reformatory principles by God’s grace. That was a real spiritual battle for most. These strongholds of another gospel does not let go easy without refuting, teaching, rebuking, arguing with Scripture and spiritual healing out of this tremendous powerful deception. For once in deception one is delivered to drunkenness and a spiritual stupor that only God by his grace can remove.
As understanding brings the glorious light of the truth in Christ then utter shame will be present on those that realise how spiritually poor they really were with the fallacy of another gospel. Jeremiah 13:25-27 “This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.26 Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear. 27 I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? When shall it once be?” In these postmodern times, are we as Reformers true to our creed, “forever reforming”, or are we behind the times to cling to an era long ago, a theology no longer relevant? Or do we go back to the foundation of Jesus Christ and the Apostles that does not change because of Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Solus Christus, Sola Gratia, Soli Deo Gloria and (if we can add) Sola Ecclesia? The answer is obvious: it is a case of principles laid down by Scripture only and is not a case of new revelational knowledge.
Christ did a finished work to try to add to this work by any type of warfare is to be mislead. How blind can one be, how sad it is to see what people are up to with their unbiblical works? They all want to have power; they lust after power, to do the works of Christ that was symbolically results of what has been accomplished on the cross. When you separate the Holy Spirit from it’s task to reveal Christ then you lust after power. Words cannot describe the abhorrence in what “Christians” are doing when they do these unbiblical acts, except that it is monstrous blasphemy, occultic acts, spiritual adultery, workers of magic, witchcraft, charmers, taking the name of God in vain, they are robbers of the poor because they use the widows money working magic and fleecing God’s sheep for own gain. Deceivers will be punished as well as the deceived; they are all responsible for their deeds.
MacArthur, 1995, suggests one read the definitions on a dictionary to compare what is happening in the church, to occultic phenomena.
“The techniques they advocate resemble the apparatus of the occult. Read, for example, this list of definitions from a standard dictionary (Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary): Clairvoyance: The power or faculty of discerning objects not present to the senses . [The] ability to perceive matters beyond the range of ordinary perception. Divination: The art or practice that seeks to . . . discover hidden knowledge. Magic: An extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a supernatural source.Medium: An individual held to be a channel of communication between the earthly world and a world of spirits. Wizardry: A seemingly magical transforming power or influence.
“Are those the kinds of things Christians are to be dabbling in? Do self-proclaimed experts of spiritual warfare really know secret formulas and magic phrases for fighting the powers of darkness? If so, they have one up on the Apostle Paul: He obviously didn’t know how to “bind” the devil, because Satan hindered him! 1 Thessalonians 2:18 “Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us”. They rested in the sovereign will of God.
We cannot try to resurrect the results of the signs of what Christ accomplished for us in the spiritual realm. What spiritual poverty to try to resurrect the shadows and types by going about casting out demons and binding the strong man that has been bound. Is it not the same as Dispensationnarians promote and expect the resurrection of an earthly Temple and restoration of animal offerings, that was a shadow of the ultimate offering of the High Priest Himself, so does Postmillenarians with Charismatic propensities try to resurrect Christ’s sign and wonders that was but shadows of spiritual healings. How foolish to fight the Satan that has been overcome and are helpless to do anything unless he is allowed to do what the Holy Spirit wants, the Retainer, for the eschatological purpose, active in redemptive-history to bring everything to a final end.
The Relevance of Theology and its importance in preventing deception.
If one defines theology as our tongues of our faith about God, then theology matters. Theology is “the language of faith about God” (1994:3) van Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville Tennesee. If we expound on the concept- “it is the revelational tongues and it’s interpretation, or spiritual understanding that is given by the grace of God through God’s communication with us in the written Word and by the preaching about His Truth revealed in Jesus Christ”.
We express this spiritual understanding of faith, our Ratio, Oratio and Operatio in our Journey on this planet. Your mission praxis will be in direct relation to your theology. Be it unscriptural then your teaching, refuting and rebuking will not glorify God. According to some popular quotes in Modern Reformation, 2003:9, periodical, James Noel, professor at San Franscisco Theological Seminary told his audience at a Presbyterian conference that “those who say theology matters, I say, To hell with you!” I do not know who will go to hell but this is sad.
A sound biblical theology is of the utmost importance and the most unlearned can be a theologian par excellence, as every Christian should be in defence of their faith in this Postmodern “Ecclesia” and Charismatic Chaos times they are living in. How do we survive in the midst of all this? We are not only bombarded in the midst of Charismatic Chaos but theologian Sproul, 1992:1, stresses the importance of a sound doctrine, “Second Peter warns that heresies are destructive to the people of God and are blasphemies committed against God. They are destructive because theology touches every dimension of our lives. No Christian can avoid theology. Every Christian has a theology. The issue, then, is not; do we want to have a theology? That’s a given. The real issue is, do we have a sound theology? Do we embrace true or false doctrine?”
Theologian Michael Horton professor of apologetics and historical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary (Horton, 1997:2) exhorts the church to leave our lethargy and break open the rich treasures of Reformative teaching,
”If the Reformed movement is going to have anything to say to the disillusioned postmodern person, who has lost his faith in every institution, in every promise, in every fact, and in every belief, it is going to have to be able to convince that person what difference it makes. Justification by faith alone was such a radical rediscovery in the 16th century, not simply because a lot of people were relieved to know that they now had the correct definition, but because finally their years of wrestling in torment over the state of their own souls were brought to an end and they were assured of God's fatherly good-pleasure. It freed them to love and serve God and neighbour with genuine zeal and energy. All of these great doctrines will need to be similarly applied. If our evangelical brothers and sisters have been lazy in their unwillingness to carve the rich ore from the mine of Scripture, we will have to accept our own burden of laziness for not bothering to take the stones that others have collected for us and to place them in settings so that they may adorn the necks of our contemporaries.
So here we are, at one of the most dynamic periods in history, as one age--the modern--is giving way to another. Like the Reformation itself, our age is disenchanted with the old answers and is looking for a fresh encounter with someone or something beyond. Whether they pursue the plethora of spiritualities, evangelical or pagan, or at last find their hopes met in Christ will depend on God's grace. But of one thing we can be certain, it will not happen until we all repent of our laziness and break open the rich treasures for our unique time and place. May God grant us the grace to repent and the strength to push on, for the glory of Christ and the advancement of his eternal kingdom”.
Reformed ministers were invited by ministers from Zimbabwe to give a seminar. Why? To keep standing in a hurricane of Pentecostal, charismatic movements of a Prosperity-gospel, a second blessing, speaking in tongues, spiritual warfare and all types of manifestation. How do you keep the youth standing in the midst of this storm with the Reformed type of missiology? Ben vd Lugt, on his website comments that, “In Zimbabwe werden ds. Arjan de Visser en ds. Gerrit Riemer uitgenodigd om een seminar te geven aan de predikanten van de Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP). Een kerkgenootschap met imposante kerkhistorische wortels (Schotland en Zuid-Afrika). Zij wilden de Gereformeerde identiteit van hun kerken versterken en beter leren verstaan. En waarom? Om staande te blijven in de orkaan ('hurricane') van pentecostal-achtige bewegingen en stromingen. Concreet: hoe houd je de jeugd (en niet alleen de jeugd) van de kerk tegen om gehoor te geven aan het verleidelijke lied der 'charismatische' Sirenen, de bekoorlijkheid van een Prosperity-Gospel, de beleving van 'second blessing' , het spreken in tongen en de speciale doop met de Heilige Geest? Ondanks hun prachtige koren (wij hoorden een schitterende vertolking van het 'Halleluya' van Händel) en hun (in onze ogen) levende en swingende liturgie, kunnen de CCAP liturgisch de concurrentie met het nog vrolijker liturgische repertoire van veel andere Protestantse groeperingen niet aan. Maar vooral: het aanbod in veel andere kerken is zo toegesneden op menselijke verlangens - zo vergelijkbaar ook met het streven en het rendement van traditionele Afrikaanse religie. Hoe blijf je in die storm nou staan met je Gereformeerde boodschap van Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Sola Fide.
De kracht van Gereformeerde Theologie - dat is de kracht van het Woord van God”.
The power of Reformed Theology – that is the power of the Word of God.
Ds. Gerrit Riemer. Personal contact. This is what locals say after experiencing the Truth of Reformed theology in the context of their culture.
"We have discovered the sweetness of Reformed Theology and will never let it go sour because it is built on the Word of God". (Wij hebben het goede ontdekt van Gereformeerde Theologie en wij zullen het niet laten verzuren want het is gebouwd op het Woord van God.) 'The sweetness of Reformed Theology'
Die laatste zin - een spiegel voor ons zelf!! In en vanuit het buitenland mogen wij opnieuw verwonderd zijn over het vele goede dat God ons gegeven heeft - de zoetheid van Gereformeerde theologie... dat is nou echt een eye-opener ook voor ons! Dat je er ook zó over kunt spreken! Laten we dan zonder schroom zijn en dankbaar verrast met deze waardering uit het buitenland. Laten we zuinig zijn op Gereformeerde theologie. En laten we de IRTT de ruimte gunnen om er vooral niet gierig maar gul mee om te springen in het buitenland! Opdat er zodoende gelijkheid zij... (2 Cor.8:14).
Zoals boven vermeld schreef BvdLugt een samenvattende evaluatie van de gehouden seminars in Zimbabwe, Kenya en Sudan. Zie door Ben vd Lugt.
Local tribesman in Zimbabwe understanding Reformed Theology and name it “sweetness.” And correctly reformed missionary Ds. Gerrit Riemer said that is an eye opener and a mirror for ourselves and to stand in awe over what God has given us in Reformed Theology. Let us be stingy in the sense of cherishing our Reformed theology and let us be so much more eager to bring the True unadulterated Gospel to the world.
Do theology matters? Francis Schaeffer said the following in Volume 4 book two “How Should we live then”, stressing the importance of the right theology;
“Pantheism is no answer for a proper view of nature, but one must understand that just any kind of Christianity is no answer either; not a Byzantine Christianity, nor a Christianity based on a nature/grace dichotomy. Neither will produce an answer. Nor is there any answer in the concept of nature and freedom held by Jean-Jacques Rousseau or Kant. In all these areas one searches in vain for the Christian answer, or any real answer (even if Christian terms are used), and this includes any real answer for a proper view of nature.
But of course there exists a different kind of Christianity. The Christianity of the Reformation does give a unified answer, and this answer has meaning not only in speaking about heavenly things, but also about nature. God has spoken; and because of this, there is a unity. This gave the unity of the Reformation, in contrast to the nature/grace non-unity of the Renaissance. It turns upon the fact that God has spoken and told us something about both heavenly things and nature. On the basis of God’s speaking, we know something truly of both universals and particulars, and this includes the meaning and proper use of the particulars.
This unity has not come from a rationalism, a humanism, in which man is generating something out of himself, gathering and looking at the particulars and then trying to make a universal, whether it be a philosophic universal, or Leonardo da Vinci trying to paint the “soul.” The Reformation believed what the Bible says: that God has revealed truth about Himself and the cosmos, and that therefore there is a unity. The Westminister Confession of Faith (of the seventeenth century) said that God has revealed His attributes, and these are true not only to us but to Him. We have knowledge, which is true both to us and to God. To us it is true but not exhaustive knowledge, as God is infinite and we are finite. But it is true, since God has spoken about Himself and about the cosmos and about history. This is the kind of Christianity that has an answer, including an answer about nature and man’s relationship to it.
One feels this already in the paintings of Dürer, who in fact was painting a few years before Luther spoke out. As the late Professor Rookmaaker of the Free University in Amsterdam pointed out, Dürer went through a humanistic period, and then he rejected the humanistic answer and came up with the biblical answer, and in that answer he knew what to do with nature.
One can also think of the post-Reformation Dutch painters, who painted nature beautifully and in its proper place. Without question, the greatest Dutch painting is that in which nature, the world as it is, had a tremendously important place. With the following of Van Eyck in the north (prior to the Reformation) and Masaccio in the south, Renaissance painting did not go in the right direction; it went into humanism that came to a dead end in modern man. Modern man does not have any answer for nature either in his painting or his use of nature in life — just as he does not have any answer for man. But the Dutch painters after the Reformation were able to give nature its proper place, the Reformation having restored a unity on the basis of the revelation of God.
It is well to stress, then, that Christianity does not automatically have an answer; it has to be the right kind of Christianity. Any Christianity that rests upon a dichotomy — some sort of Platonic concept — does not have an answer to nature; and we must say with sorrow that much orthodoxy, much evangelical Christianity, is rooted in a Platonic concept. In this kind of Christianity there is only interest in the “upper story,” in the heavenly things — only in “saving the soul” and getting it to Heaven. In this Platonic concept, even though orthodox and evangelical terminology is used, there is little or no interest in the proper pleasure of the body or the proper uses of the intellect. In such Christianity, there is a strong tendency to see nothing in nature beyond its use as one of the classic proofs of God’s existence. “Look at nature,” we are told; “look at the Alps. God must have made them.” And that is the end. Nature has become merely an academic proof of the existence of the Creator, with little value in itself. Christians of this outlook do not show an interest in nature itself they use it simply as an apologetic weapon, rather than thinking or talking about the real value of nature.
Reformed Amillennialism
This is one possible solution to the problem of falling into deception of another gospel. Reform creeds did not as yet add the dogma of Amillennialism to any Confession. Maybe it is time to do so in order to prevent further twisting of scriptures that has the potential to induce occultic type of practices. “Up to the present time, however, the doctrine of the millennium has never yet been embodied in a single Confession, and therefore cannot be regarded as a dogma of the Church”. (Berkhof, 1937:272)
Amillennarians understand eschatologically that Satan has been bound by Christ’s work on the cross, not with literal chains but spiritually and that the final battle will be a spiritual battle and not a physical war at Armageddon. Postmillenarians understand that they need to bind Satan and thus consider the cross not sufficient and has to add their own works. Both of these views technically view that the millennium are before Christ’s second coming and that the thousand-year reign is a period and not a literal thousand years.
Premillennarians and Dispensationalist understand incorrectly that the Millennium age is after a secret coming of Christ to remove the church, a seven year of extreme persecution of the church and then a literal reign of Christ with regenerated and ungodly on the earth. The godly will reign for a thousand years with Satan physically bound for that period.
It is not the aim of this research to expound on these millennial views except where it concerns its influence on spiritual warfare. It is ironical that Christians, whether they are Pre-, Post-,Pretirist or Amillennarians participate in some or other unscriptural warfare practices. This usually takes place in mass church gatherings of the ecumenical movement such as Promise Keepers, revival and transformation where proponents of the spiritual warfare come together.
If one research literature in reformational resources concerning spiritual warfare one is surprised to find not much from a reformatory perspective. However if one search the literature available from Amazon.com on “Spiritual warfare” you will get more than six hundred books and articles on the related topic on spiritual warfare. When you read down the list to seek spiritual warfare from a reformed perspective you might get one or two remotely related to Reformed theology. Of course there is a good reason why? It is not necessary to do battle because of a battle already won for us in Jesus Christ. The balance is not based on sound exegetical principles in fact they are unscriptural. The research will confine the study to the ideology of warfare against principalities and powers, to the warfare against the devil. The warfare we are all involved in the world and the flesh will only be mentioned.
It will be stressed a few times in this dissertation that without a sound theology man cannot stand amongst the onslaught of false doctrine against the truth. We do not have any choice but that every confessing Christian should be or become theologian. Theology is our language of our faith about God. It is impossible not to be a theologian. But the question is: is your theology based on sound exegetical methods or based on twisting the scriptures? Briefly we can say with conviction that any philosophy or theology based on anything but reformed theology as presented in an outline of Paul’s theology as well as during the Reformation is bound to have terrible consequences as we will see. The type of theology you have will be in direct relation to your mission praxis as we have mentioned before.
This bring us to the importance of practicing correct theology, it can either be biblically based or it can be unscriptural and based on lies and deception because of wrong interpretation of the Bible. The one will bring glory to God and the other blasphemes His name. If we preach a false gospel we have blood on our girdle around our waist and blood on our shoes. Because we do not bring the Truth as our girdle should have and our preaching and teaching does not bring the unadulterated truth.
There is hope in the fact that many Charismatics are despondent by their experience of the fallacy in Charismatic doctrine with its false teachings of so called name it and claim it faith, prosperity and new age types of signs and wonders experiential theology and unbiblical practices of warfare. Surprisingly many turn to Reformed theology and are exited about its truth because of its true spirituality based on Scripture. There is a movement back to the Reformation teachings, which is back to the Bible, and the teachings of the foundation of Jesus Christ and the Apostles and Prophets. New age type of unbiblical new age Prophets and Apostles and the restoration of the gifts do not bring life but death.
Man wants to take credit and work for his salvation. But throughout scripture God communicates with us through the Written Word. The progressive revelation of God and His communication through the Word in the redemptive-historical workings with men comes to fulfilment in Jesus. He is the ultimate Mediator, Reconciliator, Intercessor and Sacrifice. Jesus is the ultimate warrior and has slain the enemy. The fulfilment of types, shadows symbols with no new revelation, apostles and prophets in a future dispensation.
Throughout scripture we can clearly understand that Old Testament warfare has seen it’s fulfilment in the most important spiritual battle on the Cross. The Protoeuangelion, the eschatological promise in Gen. 3:15, the mother of all curses and promise in the same Prophecy, has come to pass. Satan’s head had been crushed and the consequences thereof clearly taught by Jesus in the gospels and by John in the prophetic apocalyptic letter to the church in Revelation chapter 12. Jesus’ was bruised in the process, his heel, the lower part, his humanity, has been hurt and the wounds he still bears. Only one final spiritual battle remains at judgement day, which will be over in a twinkling of the eye, and it will not be physical but a spiritual one, a judicial one, based on the Redemptive act of God.
Spurgeon in a salvation message titled “Satan a Defeated Foe” encourages the church as did John encourages the church in Revelation that, “The great battle in the heavenlies has been fought. Our glorious Michael has forever overthrown the dragon and cast him down. In the highest regions the great principle of evil has received a total defeat through the life and death of our Lord Jesus. For human sin atonement has been made, and the great quarrel between God and man has come to a happy end. Everlasting righteousness has been brought in, and the peace of God reigns in heaven. The conflict henceforth rages here below. In these inferior regions the prince of this world is warring mightily against the cause of God and truth. Much woe does this cause to the sons of men, woe which will never end till his power is altogether taken away”.(Spurgeon,2000:25)
Let us look at scripture and see how warfare has been done in Old Testament time, then we will have a look in the New Testament and lastly we will investigate the early church, the dark ages, the reformation, the enlightment and new age development on spiritual warfare.
The first warfare was a spiritual one taking place in the minds of man. Satan twisted God’s Creation Covenant of Works that He made with Adam and Eve. The Covenant was conditional and bears the mark as the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai, the marks of a suzerainty treaty. Adam and Eve were in a status integritatus and posse pocari. They were able to sin. They lost the battle and ended up status corruptionis and non posse non pecari. Totally corrupt, spiritually they died and are not able not to sin and we ended up in that status.
God in His Wisdom did not create sin nor did he allow sin but he made room for the ability of man to enter into disobedience. As Adam and Eve are the prototype and represent man, with man’s free will to enter into sin, it is not necessary for us to be in a status intergritatus because we will walk the same route. Therefore those who say it is unjust that we must be punished for someone else sin must re-think their logic. God made room for the inevitable that man will sin and die spiritually in that he provided for the expected in Jesus Christ who bore our sins on His body, who was smitten for our iniquities and by his stripes healed of our sin sick souls. We are all guilty and already judged because we lost the proto-spiritual warfare.
Those proponents of another gospel say that by His stripes we are healed physically. And He became poor so that we will be physically rich. This reminds us of the result of misinterpretation of Scripture. From the next dispensation after the lost battle of man he was incapable of winning any spiritual battle. He was totally depraved. From that age the battle was the Lords, in Gideon’s time and all the physical battles in the narratives describes the shadows, figures and types of the real battle that was to take place when the seed of the woman was to crush Satan’s head and suffer death on the cross fulfilling the first promise made to man that Someone will come to defeat Satan. No further battle is left for man to do but to rest in the revelational knowledge of what was accomplished on the cross. All instructions we now have are to stand, rest and militantly defend out faith with the Word of God and our tongues of our faith about God. That is Sola Fide, Sola Gratia and Solus Christus. Confirming all this by Sola Scriptura to the Soli Deo Gloria.
Types and shadows of Warfare in the Old Testament that was fulfilled in Jesus.
Gideon’s weapons of warfare were not carnal but mighty to tear down strongholds. The pitchers that they broke represent the container, the message of salvation, this treasure, the message of the gospel, the Light that has come into the world. The preaching of this message is the power of God unto salvation. It is God who done the work on the cross 2000 years ago we have to stand like Gideon, let our light shine and preach the gospel trumpet. We can take the spoils. The enemy is scattered and the nations overcome and some will be judged because they heard.
God confused the enemy, God destroys their strongholds and let them flee so that the nations be conquered. The Church cannot take the strongholds down by prayer fasting or spiritual battles that actually has been done 2000 years ago. All we have to do preach the gospel, the enemy has to let them go.
We stand like Gideon, let our light shine and preach. Then we take the spoils because the strong man has been binded. Don’t assume you can do something for God without him initiating it, nobody will get the credit. It is the Sword of the Lord; they did not have swords but their weapons of warfare to take down strongholds are the light and the preaching.
2 Corinthians 4:3-12 “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us”.
This is how the Lord showed Gideon how to do spiritual warfare, standing still, not attacking, trusting the Lord and preaching the gospel. This is not the end of the message in the narrative however. Vosloo, van Rensburg, 1999:272 in the commentary of this section says “that it does not primarily go about the military might of Gideon, but that this victory is the victory of the Lord. Unfortunately we are inclined to do warfare in our power as illustrated further in the narrative. During his second battle no mention is made about God”.
The glory goes to man and the end result is deception and becoming a deceiver, with the consequences that they served other gods. The same trend is apparent today, man wants to get the glory and do warfare in his own power, his own strategies and justifies it with the misinterpretation of Scripture.
The emphasis on the following scriptures is to illustrate that God is the one doing the battle.
Samuel 22:47-51 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation. 48 It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me, 49 And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man. 50 Therefore I will give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto thy name. 51 He is the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.
Chronicles 20:15-18 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
The narrative of The Lepers bringing the good news that the enemy has been overcome and fled without the Samarians lifting a finger is a excellent illustration of spiritual warfare that God instigated. Elisa prophesied that the famine would come to an end in Samaria. But the trustee of the King did not believe and sarcastically spoke whether God will make windows in Heaven. 2 Kings 7:5-9 “And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. 6 For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. 7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. 8 And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it. 9 Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household”.
The Battle was won, the good news has been proclaimed, those that believed that they can take the spoils of the enemy, had done so. Some still do not have revelational faith and still want to do battle with disastrous consequences. The trustee who did not believe that God finished the battle was trampled to death.
The Final Battle.
In Revelation the final battle is the Lords. On the day of the Lord’s second coming to judge the nations, is He the one that will do the battle at Armageddon. Zechariah 14:3 “Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle”. In Revelation this same battle is mentioned that will be fought by the Lord not by Joel’s Army.
Revelation 16:14-16 “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. 15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon”.
The church reign with Christ already but not yet for the thousand years. Revelation is a book with symbols, figures and numbers that does not mean literal monsters and times. “The already refers to the eternal blessings of the age to come which are realized in the present, while the not yet refers to the blessings of the age to come to be realized in the consummation”. (Horton, 2003: p. 84). Those born again are taking part in the first resurrection and reign with Christ for a time that is symbolically presented as a thousand years. Gog and Magog are the same as the nations spoke about in Zechariah, Revelation16 and 20. The same battle just before the great white throne judgement as Revelation 20 give us additional information about the battle in Zechariah and Revelation 20.
Revelation 20:5-11 “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever. 11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them”
2 Standing in the gap as mediator a type of Christ
The doctrine of Mediator is the foundation, and substance of the doctrine of the church. A Mediator is a person reconciling God to man, a peacemaker between God and man.
Adam and Eve before the fall needed no Mediator. After the fall they did and were promised a mediator that will be born from their offspring. Eve believed and confessed her faith in the names she gave her children having hope in a future reconciliation when the Holy Spirit revealed Jesus to her. Seth, appointed (Cruden’s Complete Concordance and in the NSAB Abal’s seed. She was righteous because she lived by faith.
All through the Old Testament mediators were use by God as types, shadows and figures pointing to the ultimate fulfilment of the true Mediator. The figures was to bring temporary reconciliation but always pointing to Jesus. Moses, Gideon, Job, Daniel, the prophets, Jona who preached to the gentiles, and many others. Jesus fulfilled these types and shadows the same as the tabernacle, the sacrifices, the earthly temple, the land of Canaan, the prophets and the mediators. Hebrews 1:1 “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hebrews 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds”.
Proponents of unscriptural warfare want to restore the physical ministry as they saw in the Old Testament, they want to be Elijah, Elisha or a Moses, they want power with God to twist God’s hand, to fast and intercede as new age intercessors, mediators, reconcilliators in order to bring about The Kingdom of God. They want to be super heroes. Where do this theology come from? Not from the example Paul set. We can say the Dispensatialism with its literal translation does have an influence. These actions are not true spirituality; taking cities for God these are fleshly actions, carnality and sin. There is no understanding of the Truth that Christ fulfilled the offices. It must be pointed out that there are Dispensatiannalists that will contest unbiblical warfare. Dave Hunt is one that refutes the scriptural authenticity of charismatic type of warfare.
Our Mediator, our only command is to bring that message that Christ reconciled God with man and has done reconciliation. There need not be any confession of anyone else’s sin, no identifying with the sin of the San and Bushman, or any other predecessor’s sin. We need not visit these primitive strongholds and physically claim that land for God. What a waste of time and energy and money.
“There is but one Mediator between God and man. The reason of this is, because no one but the Son of God can perform the office of Mediator; and as there is only one natural Son of God, there cannot be more than one Mediator”. (Ursinus, 1956) To claim that we have new revelation, new insight, new messages from God, informed intercession and restoration of Christ’s ministry is the abortion of a false gospel.
“With the exception of angels, such as Michael and the angels in Revelation chapter 12, and the witnesses in chapter 11. Contradictory to most popular interpretations Hendriksen, 1977:114 give the Reformed interpretation that, “The true church are represented by the symbol of the two witnesses. These two witnesses symbolises the church that deliver its witness by its servants and missionaries throughout the present dispensation”.
As we received the great Commission to bring the message of reconciliation. Christ brings in his own kingdom by his own power and through the foolishness of preaching. The Lord personally smites his enemies.
“The Two Witnesses are not individual men but the prophetic olive trees and lamp stand of Zechariah (therefore the priestly and kingly offices of Christ as embodied in the testimony of His church)”. (Alexander, 1965:241).
Dispensationalist teaches that the two witnesses are individual men, Moses and Elijah. This concept of miraculous phenomena in the end times brings false expectations whereas the urgency of being a true witness to especially the Jews are not considered so urgent anymore because of the concept that they will be saved in one day before the Lord Jesus comes back. This makes the warfare different. They do not think of the Jews dying everyday during the last 2000 years why does God have a special plan for the few alive during the time of Tribulation. As Dispensationalist see it will be after the rapture of the church because God will not allow his chosen to be punished with the ungodly as they wrongfully say.
As we can see through these few examples of spiritual warfare in the Old Testament that is done by God.
3 Spiritual Warfare in the New Testament.
Throughout the New Testament there is no evidence of any offensive attack on Satan in fact it is forbidden. Jude 8-10”likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. 10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves”. 2 Peter 2:10-12 “But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption”. Unlike the classic postmillennialists, these modern practitioners "bind Satan" with reckless abandon; Peter goes on to describe such people as "brute beasts," because they are dealing with powers far beyond their understanding.
Revelation describes how the victory has been won and how and in what timeline the final battle will take place.
“This defeat at the cross and empty tomb guarantees his eventual and final end. Indeed, the binding of Satan is a continuous activity through the preaching of the gospel in which Christ’s followers make disciples of all nations. (Matt.28: 19). It is the light of the gospel that exposes the darkness of satanic deception. It is the preaching of Christ crucified which sets men and women free and liberates them from the basic principles of their world (Gal. 4:9)”(Riddlebarger, 2003. p.212).
Kirkwood, 2002 in his book “The End times Judgment of the Bible” states:
“When Christ returned to heaven, He was "received up into glory" (cf. Rev 5:12). An important event in heaven then occurred, as Revelation 12 discloses: And she [the woman, national Israel] brought forth a man child . . . and her child [Christ] was caught up unto God, and to his throne . . . And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (Rev 12:5, 7-10)
After Christ was caught up to God and His throne, a great war was fought in heaven between Michael (probably Christ Himself) and the Devil (Satan).( 1 ) This resulted in the Devil's expulsion with his demons to earth.
It is not revealed how long this war lasted, but it probably continued for the full ten days between the Ascension and the day of Pentecost. (Christ's ascension occurred forty days after but including Easter Sunday, and Pentecost occurred fifty days after but excluding Easter Saturday – refer Chapter 2, Table 1, for exact dates.)
If there was any time that one could say Satan was "bound," it was after this war in heaven, on the day of Pentecost. Before then, there was neither an outpouring of the Holy Spirit nor were people coming to faith in any number, despite Christ's victory at the cross. But on Pentecost day, Peter preached one sermon and some 3,000 persons were saved. Clearly, with the expulsion from heaven of the demonic host, God's salvation plan could now proceed unhindered, as Revelation 12 confirms:
And there was war in heaven . . . And the great dragon was cast out . . . and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (vv. 7-10)”
4 Paul An Outline of His Spiritual Warfare
Paul understood the victory on the cross as a battle that we are in but yet in this battle that we seem to loose we are triumphant. This battle and victory motive is Pauline and Johnine spiritual warfare theology. Romans 8:36 “As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us”.
Colossians 2:14-15 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it”.
This offer of the High priest de-throned the Devil. The victory is in Him. What He accomplished, through suffering, as we should be encouraged in our battle in our suffering for the gospels sake. This paradox that we are victorious in the midst of a battle, that Christ was victorious as a Lamb, the world does not understand. The Judge is the same as The Crucified, The Lion of Juda is the same as the Lam. Revelation 5:5; 17:14 “And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful”.
“Het is de overwinning van het Lam, deze overwinning, die het licht is van de toekomst Gods”. (Berkhouwer. 1953:374)
Berhouwer explains that in the battle the church finds its greatest comfort in the victory of Christ. “Om deze overwinning behoeft men dan ook niet de onderscheiding tussen strijdende en truimferede kerk op te geven. De gemeente, die weet van de overwinning, left ook nog in de strijd en in de uitdrukking triumferede kerk worden we herinnerd aan het eschatologisch uitzicht, waarin niet allen de beschuldiging weg zal zijn, Rom. 8:34, maar ook de schaduwen, de vele schaduwen, zullen wijken. Ecclesia militans – in die strijd is de overwinning haar grote troost. (Berkouwer, 1953:380).
The idea of Paul identifying stronghold, doing spiritual mapping, the coming against Satan, binding him, casting him out, prayer walking and claiming the city for God then go in and preach the gospel is in antitheses of what he taught about spiritual warfare. The preaching of the cross, the arguments through the night, the preaching of the pure gospel in the midst of the most occultist city in Athens, that was real spiritual warfare. Paul never did any of this unscriptural warfare because his language of his faith about God was biblically based. He understood what really happened on the cross, that Satan is bound in the sense that he cannot prevent any of those in darkness from hearing and seeing the message of the cross. The land is God’s, we do not have to claim what belongs to God, we do not have to rebuke and bind a conquered enemy. We can take the spoils as the lepers in the camp because the enemy has flown. The strong man is binded and fell from heaven with his angles with him. The remnant is those he cannot touch. Paul understood that our godly mission is to bring the message that God has reconciled man to himself.
If one study Pauline type of warfare you find how he argued throughout the night to take down real strongholds in peoples minds lest the Holy Spirit will give them rebirth and revelation. We have the responsibility to keep our weapons sharp, knowing our fundamental theology so as to be able to answer anyone that asks us about the hope in us. This is not exiting though we need to be active walk around a tribal city, quoting Jeremaia that were our foot prints are left that is our land now, claiming the land back from Satan. As in India amongst the Hidu militantly from the Hindu perspective so they must physically fight back because the Christians are taking their land. How many Christians have been killed because of this madness.
MacArthur, J Junior 1992, understands real spiritual warfare. ”Paul said the Corinthian offender was to be delivered to Satan for “the destruction of his flesh” (1 Cor. 5:5). That may refer to illness or to physical death. In any case, Paul’s instruction certainly differs from the practices of the modern spiritual warfare movement. Rather than delivering people from Satan, he says that the church sometimes has the responsibility of delivering a person to Satan! Now that’s a form of “deliverance ministry” few speak about today”.
MacArthur John, 1992 interprets spiritual warfare as to uphold sound doctrine. “Paul said, “Fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience” (1 Tim. 1:18–19). Now in fighting this fight, note that Paul doesn’t specify that we’re to speak to, command, or cast out demons. God’s plan for spiritual warfare has nothing to do with exorcism, incantations, mantras, or mysticism. Fighting the good fight simply means that we are to keep the faith (uphold sound doctrine) and a good conscience (live holy lives)”.
Warfare in the Early Church 90 A.D. and onwards.
Warfare in the Early Church will be done to the Reformation times.
Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, with his Prescription against Heretics in 195 A.D, was a staunch defender and apologetic of the Christen faith as we see in his warning against Heretics. (1996, Kamel: 4). “Who are the false apostles but the preachers of a spurious gospel? Who also are the Antichrists, both now and evermore, but the men who rebel against Christ? Heresies, at the present time, will no less rend the church by their perversion of doctrine, than will Antichrist persecute her at that day by the cruelty of his attacks, except that persecution makes even martyrs, (but) heresy only apostates. And therefore "heresies must needs be in order that they which are approved might be made manifest, both those who remained steadfast under persecution, and those who did not wander out of their way into heresy”. For the apostle does not mean that those persons should be deemed approved who exchange their creed for heresy; although they contagiously interpret his words to their own side, when he says in another passage, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good;" as if, after proving all things amiss, one might not through error make a determined choice of some evil thing”.
2 PROBLEM STATEMENTS
“The Church is currently ministering in a context that is sufficiently different from the previous generation to warrant a reconsideration of how we’ve always done things. We seem to be in another age, Modernism and the Enlightment (1200-1600) era has passed we are now entering a thing called Postmodernism. How should the church change with the time? How can we be faithful to Scripture and our confessional commitment and still be relevant to a watching world’; Does it matter what we do as long as we are effective? The church has adopted the methods and messages of postmodernism with out considering their impact on the biblical and historic identity of the church. “Conversely, the stronger the hold that postmodernism exercises on the culture, the less incentive there is to read the Bible as an authoritative revelation. In that sense, biblical illiteracy may be one of the results of the impact of postmodernism on the culture” (Carson, 2003:14) He further states that Postmodernism is profoundly anti-foundationalist, they agree that there are many, many ways to “knowledge and truth”
“This easily translates into hipper-than-thou clubs passing for youth ministry, informal chats passing for sermons, and brazen marketing passing for evangelism, where busyness equals holiness and expository preaching is considered too intellectual…. give way to niche marketing and where churches become theatres of the absurd”. (Horton, 2003:18).
This includes seeker friendly church programs and music to entertain in order to bring in the lost. Where is the trust in the Holy Spirit’s strategies? The means of grace appointed by Christ as the Lord of his church are not sufficient anymore for the conversion of sinners and the edification of the saints. C. Peter Wagner argues, “Traditional church models no longer work in our fast-changing world. A commitment to reaching the lost is driving new apostolic churches to find new ways to fulfil the Great Commission”. This of course includes spiritual warfare. Willimon, 2003:28, in an essay refutes these new strategies. He says: ”Preaching is still a sign and wonder (see Acts 2:43 “And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.), a gift, miracle, irrefutable evidence of a sound from heaven; the only way this creative God creates new worlds”.
Theology is our tongues of our faith about God and is in direct relationship of our mission praxis.
Several key scriptures and the abuse, misinterpretation, eisogesis and unsound exegetical principles and the consequences of such on the hermeneutics and homiletics as well as mission praxis will be studied.
What the scriptures really say.
Sola Scriptura We can only rely on the objective interpretation of scripture the literal interpretation where scripture interprets scripture. Today, experiential theology with its subjectiveness determines how to interpret the bible. It is the bible plus experience, Jesus plus new revelation that is the standard of ones spirituality, whereas reformed theology will not read into scripture what it does not say.
Sound principles of exegesis will be done using semantic discourse analysis on some key scriptures: the binding of the strong man, in Revelation 12 and 20 and the warfare in Daniel
Results of another gospel spiritual warfare
The consequences of teaching another gospel, Gnosticism, mysticism, the influence of the eschatological view on the Missio Deo is far reaching and with eternal consequences.
· Does not honour God’s sovereignty but glorify man.
· Using God’s name in vain.
· The sufficiency of Christ’s work on the cross is not always understood when using the eschatological views of Postmillennialism and Dispensatialism.
· The sadness of this madness brings shame to the church of Jesus Christ
· Vast amounts of money spent in the promoting of another gospel, for a strategy that is futile.
· Becoming deceivers and being deceived.
· Time and energy spend where it could have put to productive use like teaching proper sound doctrine.
· Preventing despondency among members if the warfare does not produce any long-term effects.
· No lasting deliverance in peoples lives that Scriptural warfare will produce by teaching proper interpretation methods.
· Reformed churches are losing members that are deceived into charismatic chaos.
· Reformed churches are compromising into becoming seeker friendly churches and importing music, instruments strategies that are carnal in order to keep members.
· True evangelism among the Jews. Ambassadors for the Jews based on Dispensationalism prevent Christians to evangelise Jews because it offends them.
· And most of all they have to face the wrath of God
Nowhere in scripture is this type of warfare to be found.
“If it works it must be true” The subjective experiences often determines ones theology. Proponent of such unscriptural warfare will usually do the following methods in evangelising: They will identify an unreached people group. They will research the history of such people be it occultic practices or any major sins. They will then fast and pray and do informed intercession where they can get information imparted supernaturally, be it a word of knowledge, about the type of demonic stronghold above such an group of people. This will usually be named like the Queen of Diana or any other spiritual strongman that keep people in bondage. Then the verbal warfare to break this stronghold in a following exchange of attack. “You spirit of Forefather worship we take up our office in the heavenlies and come against you in the name of Jesus, we bind you and command you to go back where you came from. We break the stronghold and cast you out”.
The air will be clean and the team can move in to take the ground for God. Prayer teams will fly in and usually walk around the village, proclaiming the land for God, reading scriptures out of Jeremiah wherever they physically place their foot it becomes God’s property and Satan is cast out.
Then it is time for the real thing, the evangelist’s moves in to come and cast devils out, heal the sick, teach them they are poor because they do not have faith, sick because they have sin in their lives, teach them that Christians is triumphant, must prosper and their land healed. They will also ask forgiveness for their forefather’s sin against them and reconcile man to man instead of bringing the message that God reconciled him to man in Jesus Christ. They will lie on the ground and ask forgiveness of God for the people, identifying their sins in the following example. “We confess that we have sinned, I confess the sin of witchcraft, of ancestral worship please forgive” Again they are deceived because of wrong interpretation, who sets them up as a new age mediator and do not give credit for the real Mediator.
The subjectivity is of the result of this “warfare” is clearly demonstrated with an example McArthur gives of this false gospel that comes out of a book by Steven Lawson, “Defeating Territorial Spirits”. “In the heat of warfare, Nicholson names the city streets in the surrounding area. The spirit retorts, “I don’t want to give you that much.” In the name of Jesus, Nicholson commands the spirit to give up the territory. During the next three months the church doubles in size from 70 to 150, mostly from new converts out of witchcraft. Nearly all of the new believers must be delivered from demons.
This is what poor exegesis does to your theology, claiming land that belongs to God, taking scripture out of context or interpreting New Testament in the light of the Old Testament ending up with a literal Temple, literal land of Canaan and a literal City of God. It is horrifying to see what is going on in Israel with organizations such as Ambassadors for the Jews with their Dispensational theology of Darby and Schofield.
Chambers, 2002:2, a staunch Dispensationalist but also an outspoken Assembly of God minister against new age phenomena like the Toronto Blessing and TB Joshua miracle healing ministry relate the following in The End Times newspaper. “When the Rapture occurs, His saints will move to the balcony as we share in administering the final “Seven Year Tribulation” period. We will be elders during this perfecting time of finishing all things and then as His army establish His Kingdom on earth. After He and His armies have secured the nations of the earth, we will reign as kings and priests. What a day that will be!”
They forget about another day of Judgement coming, what a day that will be when eternal life will start and eternal damnation. But the expectation of ruling on earth with redemptive bodies over un-redemptive men and woman, overseeing the reinstitution of temple sacrifices (while Christ looks on at the shadow revived) and ruling for a thousand years is much more exiting apparently. Amillennialist says: “what a day it was and still is, but a greater day is coming”! This is an example of utter foolish theology when one reads scripture a literal way without any spiritual understanding. They misrepresent God.
Popular books with those that encounter and have the “ministry of deliverance” is the books by Peretti. MacArthur 1992:3, says that, “Frank Peretti’s recent best-selling novels This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness have added fuel to the fire of today’s spiritual warfare movement. His stories tell of Christians fighting with packs of demons that take over towns and infiltrate the government, educational system, and churches. Unfortunately, many leading advocates of the spiritual warfare movement seem to take such fiction as fact. They assert that believers are to seek out and confront demons associated with specific cities, neighbourhoods, and other specific areas and locations. They call this “territorial warfare.””
In China Open Doors Mission reports that after some Charismatic teachers had crusades and taught on Prosperity and the Christians right to claim literally their healing and reverse the curse of poverty by rebuking and binding it created confusion. The teachers quote scripture out of context with a literal understanding and some Christians became despondent because they thought that they are not Christians and left the faith because they do not have victory over sin, they are poor and sick therefore cannot be Christian.
Reformed Theology gives one security, rest in what Christ has done, peace in all circumstances, assurance of salvation and eternal life. “I am totally deprave, unconditionally elected, Christ died for me, I could not help myself but needed God’s irresistible grace, and God will make sure I will persevere to the end”.
What an antitheses this another gospel is with the teaching of Reformatory theology with its biblical gospel of Jesus Christ! Then people will still take hands, will tolerate false gospels, will not speak out for peace and the sickness of diplomacy sake and not do spiritual warfare by defending their faith. How is it that people can still say, “To hell with you”, who say theology matters. Calvin’s exposition of 1 Thess. 5:20 comments: “Since the Spirit of God enlightens us most of all by means of doctrine, those who do their utmost to deny doctrine its proper place quench the Spirit. Thess. 376. In his Pst. Epp. 224 he says: “If you once give entrance to false doctrines, they spread till they have completed the destruction of the Church” (Muller, 1992)
How is it that one of the most prominent theologians in the Lutheran Church of Norway, Ola Thorhom converted to Roman Catholicism? How is it that Bishop Charles Bennison, a proponent of Post-modern Christianity says, “Jesus acknowledged his own sin.” United Methodist theologian Theodore Jennnings explore texts from the Gospels and wrote a book: “The Man Jesus Loved: Homoerotic Narratives from the New Testament”,
This is shocking to us but it is not at all more shocking than the spiritual adultery that is going on in our own churches because of a lack of knowledge and our lack of positively teaching our young people the sweetness of Reformed theology and the false gospel on the outside and inside.
Our so-called office and authority in the heavenly/spiritual realm
Another pastor who writes often about spiritual warfare suggested different warfare prayers for his readers. Here’s one example:
“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I resist all of Satan’s activity to hold [John Smith] in blindness and darkness. Exercising my authority, which is given to me in my union with the Lord Jesus Christ, I pull down the strongholds, which the kingdom of darkness has formed against [John]. I smash and break and destroy all those plans formed against [John’s] mind, his will, his emotions, and his body. I destroy in prayer the spiritual blindness and deafness that Satan keeps upon him”. Bubeck, 1975:106.
“Who is he kidding? Does he think his words will be more effective than God’s Word against Satan? After all, only God can remove spiritual blindness. That’s why we “do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord” 2 Corinthians 4:5 “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake”. Are believers to destroy plans formed against another person’s mind, emotions, will, and body? That seems like some kind of telepathic effort. It is certainly not biblical prayer. To pray that God would use His Word to do a spiritual work in a person’s life is a far cry from saying, “ I resist, I pull down, or I smash, break, and destroy.” The truth is, prayers like that have no effect against the powers of darkness”. (MacArthur, 1992)
In his book Wimber, Springer, 1987:209-210 teaches on how to do spiritual warfare casting out demons. “In a prayer of rebuke we break demons’ hold on a person, contain their power, and eliminate their presence I usually say, “In the name of Jesus, I rebuke you, evil spirit. You have no part in Jane’s life” (John Wimber and Kevin Springer, Power Healing [San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987], pp. 209–10).
Rebuking and Binding.
MacArthur comments the following of spiritual warfare:
“The typical counsellor today would probably advise Job to say, “Satan, I bind you!” But though Job was the choicest of God’s servants, his sufferings were part of God’s plan. Surely that is also true of many who suffer today. Can today’s spiritual warfare “experts” simply bypass the Lord’s sovereign purposes and rebuke Satan? Of course not. Can afflictions from Satan actually benefit the true believer? Yes! Job, for example, came away with an increased awareness of God’s greatness and his own sinfulness, (Job 40:4-5) of submitting to God’s sovereign purposes no matter what the cost might be (42:2–6). Gleason Archer had this keen insight in his commentary on Job: What was the thorn? We really don’t know. Whatever it was, it was painful because the Greek word for “buffeted” refers to bone-crushing blows of the fist. Since Paul’s painful thorn was pummelling him, three times he asked the Lord to remove it (v. 8). Note that Paul didn’t attempt to bind, rebuke, or cast out this satanic messenger. He simply prayed to the Lord for its removal. Certainly God was able to do as Paul prayed, but He chose not to (v. 9). Jerry Bridges made this observation:
God in His infinite wisdom knows exactly what adversity we need to grow more and more into the likeness of His Son. He not only knows what we need but when we need it and how best to bring it to pass in our lives. He is the perfect teacher or coach. His discipline is always exactly suited for our needs. He never over trains us by allowing too much adversity in our lives (Trusting God [Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1988], p. 122).
If it were possible to remove the thorn in the flesh by saying, “Messenger of Satan, I bind you,” God’s plan could have been foiled. In the end, Paul was glad for this affliction because it helped him grow spiritually.
God used Satan’s afflicting hand for the spiritual benefit of Job, Paul, and Peter. None of them sought to command, rebuke, or bind Satan. For them the real issue was not the activity of Satan, but the accomplishment of God’s sovereign purposes. Our attitude should be no different.
Although Satan and demons cannot inhabit a true believer, God can use them to discipline unrepentant Christians for their sin. That clearly reveals God’s attitude toward sin and protects the purity of the church. How can you avoid judgment for sin? Not by saying, “Satan, I bind you.” Not by commanding demons, but by simply receiving the truth of God’s Word and reflecting the holiness of Christ. Paul expressed the same thought in this way: “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:28–29).
The same as in Revelation20. This Angel which is interpreted as messenger is the only Angel that has the keys and when the fullness of times the period of the symbolic 1000 years has come, Satan the strong man is bound so that he does not have the power to blind nations anymore. This is clearly the case when you preach the gospel to tell the people the good news that God has reconciled through Jesus Christ to Himself and they respond. We just need to take this message of reconciliation to them as Satan is bound in this time we live in, the period of the symbolic period the 1000 reign of the church.
It is blasphemy and a lack of understanding what Jesus has accomplished for us if we go around bind something Jesus has binded through His death on the cross by the forgiveness of sin for the world. If you believe a lie you are an unbeliever. In Matthew 12:28 “But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you”. Jesus claim to be the One that came from heaven that binded Satan.
This is not an event that is still to happen it has happened. Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ it says and signs and symbols communicate it.
1John3: 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
John 16:11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
Colossians 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Hebrews 2:14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil
Pleading the blood
This has been a popular magic wand for the last century. Where it originated is hard to tell. But the pleading of the blood, over your car, your journey, your finances your family is another form of bringing extra-biblical protection that is not necessary. It unfortunately exposes poor theology and tragically a lack of understanding Christ’s work. To use the name and blood the same as a magic wand for protection does not give protection. If one confesses that we have, the spiritual armour, that is clothed with Christ, knowing our eternal position in Christ as Christians then we are protected. To do extra biblical warfare does not bring glory to God.
(MacArthur, 1992:150–51) gives the following example; “I address myself against Satan and all of his kingdom. I take away from you and all your powers of darkness any ground you are claiming against me when I sinned in [name the offense]. I claim that ground back in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I cover it with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ”.
The Word of God say we must keep to the teaching of the Apostles, the doctrine of Christ. In order to present and show the unscriptural misuse of scripture as divination or as a magic wand for “protection” against powers of darkness or for power to use against spiritual powers let us illustrate the stupidity of creating our own doctrine with the following example:
Paul: “When I heard of the conspiracy against us that they want to stone us I plead the blood of Jesus over us, told them in the name of Jesus be gone, and boldly stepped out and preached the gospel.”
NO! Look what Paul did:
Act 14:5 “And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them, 6They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about: 7And there they preached the gospel”.
Nowhere do the Apostles teach us to plead the blood of Jesus over us. It has become tradition and the words must bring the power, the mentioning of the name the results, not any longer the knowledge of the meaning. Look at the following verse, a good opportunity to plead the blood over them or Paul, or did they forget to plead the blood over him before he was stoned and left for dead.
Acts 14:19 ”And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. 20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, 22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
It is Jesus Christ that we are clothed with, all Christians have the armour of God on, those that are saved by the grace of God alone, by Faith in Christ alone. They know they are protected, by revelation knowledge understand that their sins is covered by the blood of Jesus. Additional hocus-pocus will not bring protection. It is unbelief and a lack of knowledge in the completed sacrifice once and for all. “It is finished”.
Confessing forefather sins
In the same book MacArthur discusses in confronting the Enemy proponents of these strategies suggested warfare prayers for an adopted child. They believe demons can transfer or pass through generational bloodlines. To prevent that from happening, they encourages parents to have their adopted child say this warfare prayer:
“I cancel out all demonic working that has been passed on to me from my ancestors. As one who has been crucified with Jesus Christ and raised to walk in newness of life, I cancel every curse that may have been put upon me. MacArthur, 1992:148.
There is no evidence in the Bible that the people of this land are subjected to bonds and strongholds because of the spirit worship and witchcraft that was practiced by the ancestors of the Bushmen and the black people. Neither are we influenced by any bloodline curses because of the sins of our forefathers unless we condone these sins in our hearts and continue them. Even then, we are only guilty of our own sins. Every person, also the blacks and the ‘red’ people, only need to confess his or her own sins and sinful nature to the Lord and He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1:9). He will remove our transgressions from us as far the east is removed from the west. We do not need to address demonic strongholds in the air by trying to pull them down and break their power.
Reconciliation, our message that God reconciled the world to Him or are we reconciliators?
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation”. We have the message of reconciliation; we do not have an office of a reconcilliator like a mediator. We bring the message that God reconciled Himself to man in Jesus Christ that is the power of salvation.
Militant practices in India and Muslim countries. How they perceive these unbiblical practices.
Muslims and Hindu note the arrogance of evangelists and missionaries on short-term outreaches that do unscriptural warfare. What they perceive as we name it and claim their country for God is militancy. They need not to be reminded of the Crusades. For them it is a literal warfare to make converts of Muslims and Hindus. No wonder after such “crusades” the Hindu militant Hindutva set on fire an Australian missionary and his two young sons and burned them alive. Are we to be militant or just bring the good news that God reconciled man?
History of the Crusades
Nobody has clean hands when it comes to who persecuted who. Paul did not have clean hands although it could be said that he did not persecuted Christians per se but Jewish believers in Jesus. He dragged them out of their homes and stoned them to death. Paul one who should have understood the Scripture what the Prophets said about the coming of the Kingdom and the suffering Messiah. He was also deceived in expecting a Messiah that will militantly overthrow Rome and their enemies to establish an earthly reign in the land promised to their forefathers. RCC persecuted Muslims, Christians, Protestants, Anabaptist. The true Christian will turn the other cheek, will not take revenge, will not burn the Koran. The postmillennialists will take revenge or declare war on Islam because their mandate is a theocratic system ruling over all unbelievers if there are any left once they take over.
Transformation and Spiritual warfare in South Africa.
We will now review five aspects of the current Transformations revival, which is spreading fast in South Africa.
1. Revival through unity
Churches are called together for joint actions by first convincing the local pastors to come together and join forces for the spiritual transformation of society and to pray against demonic strongholds in their town, city, province or country. From this ecumenical forum mass meetings are arranged for church members,
2. Redemption through spiritual warfare
Strategic spiritual warfare in ecumenical mass meetings, in prayer meetings and in prayer walks is practiced as a redemptive act. On these occasions the predetermined demonic strongholds and control by territorial spirits are broken down and the areas or cities taken over on behalf of the kingdom of God. The devil is driven away and his strongholds cast down. These strongholds have allegedly been established where people worshipped foreign gods, committed immoral acts such as prostitution and gambling, instituted oppressive ideologies, and also on historic battlefields where they killed one another and consequently gave rise to hostile feelings, racial intolerance and the despising of other groups. In various places in the country evil strongholds of this nature have been identified by way of spiritual mapping. They must now be broken.
A cleansing strategy for South Africa
Since February 2001 the office of NUPSA in South Africa (dr. Bennie Mostert’s Network for United Prayer in Southern Africa) is busy with countrywide preparations for a project called “Cleansing South Africa.”
1. Leadership through prophets and apostles. The new, ecumenical style of worship that flows from this “revival” will contribute toward the breaking of barriers among denominations. In this way, C. Peter Wagner’s “post-denominational church” of the 21st century will be founded.
The Theologos University is operated from Kempton Park and offers a one-year Certificate in Christian Counselling and Ministry. They have full-time, part-time and correspondence classes supplemented by seminars and video training. The University is under the leadership of Dr. Sarel van der Merwe, and its doctrinal approach corresponds with that of NUPSA. The diploma course is composed of the following six modules:
(1) Spirit Dynamic Life, (2) Emotional Healing, (3)
Spiritual Warfare, Demonology and Deliverance, (4)
Physical Healing, (5) Marriage Enrichment, and (6) Counseling Techniques and Prayer Therapy. They have various prescribed books, among which are works by Ray McCauly, Dirkie van der Spuy, Wilfred Kent, Peter Wagner, Bennie Mostert, Neil Gibson and Kenneth Hagin. Hagin is a well know World of Faith teacher.
In South Africa, people such as Dr. Bennie Mostert introduced the whole spiritual warfare paradigm to believers. He says that he borrowed many of his concepts from charismatic churches, as reformed theology has nothing to say about it.
How sad to see South Africa following the trend of compromise. No one speaks prophetically against such practices for the sake of peace. The church has lost its lamp stand. Not only do they not speak out they participate knowingly and unknowingly. The biggest Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa in Moreletta Spruit are adapting spiritual warfare with Bennie Mostert and Charismatic principles as well as Church Growth Movement strategies to be the Church in South Africa. It is easy to be The Church just go with the flow, jump in the river, forget about our heritage of scriptural reformed theology. We must have the numbers like David.
Spiritual adultery
Do we recognize how intense the desire is within us to chase after the latest religious fad, to believe comforting lies, to embrace the world? Scripture uses vivid sexual imagery to show how strong our passions are for these things. God is a jealous God, we are His, and He takes a dim view of our "lust" to fellowship with lies, sophistries, and the world. The word of God, the truth - even if painful - will set us free. Brace yourself.
Ezek. 16:30 (NIV) "'How weak-willed you are, declares the Sovereign LORD, when you do all these things, acting like a brazen prostitute!"
When Adultery and Prostitution are applied to Israel, Babylon, etc., clearly it is the symbolic sense. But because the images are so shocking and descriptive, it may take some effort not to miss the point by getting caught up in the "lurid"aspect of these texts. Please keep in mind that except where referring to specific people, adultery is being used in the spiritual, figurative sense in these studies.
Jer. 2:20 (NIV) "Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, 'I will not serve you!' Indeed, on every high hill and under every spreading tree you lay down as a prostitute." While much of God's revelation is on this subject, the following verses should make the point that God is serious about us being loyal to Him with our affections, and Scripture uses the strongest, most graphic language to warn us not to "play the harlot".
Jer. 3:1-4 (NIV) "If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be completely defiled? But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers - would you now return to me?" declares the LORD. "Look up to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been ravished? By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers, sat like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness... Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame."
Intercession and fasting to move God’s hand.
Is there such a thing as the ministry of intercession? Can we move God’s hand by enough fasting and prayer to move God’s hand in bringing about historically redemptive changes? Can we induce revival by our efforts or meritoriously bring God to listen” Do we, as we find in scripture pray for the message we bring to the unconverted that it will bring change without “preparing the ground” that is already prepared by Christ’s reconciliation, intercession continuously with the one sacrifice that cry out for reconciliation until the judgment day? His blood crying out for revenge like Abel’s for the wicked and for reconciliation for the righteous in Christ. Does Christ stay on his knees continuously interceding for us or is it symbolic of a completed act of Restoration? How is all this fulfilled in Jesus?
Music in Spiritual Warfare.
In an article by Banner Ministries 1997 “The Sound of Music” they made the following comments:
“Man's soul is wedded to the fallen world, and what it produces is equally tainted by sin. Even for a born-again Christian, the emotions are a minefield of sinful urges and powerful destructive forces. We do not always will to do good, but our nature can lead us towards wrongdoing and rebellion if not kept in check. The Lord intended for His Spirit to be the Lord of our souls, but that is not always the case. If we court the soul, inflame the emotions and let down the barriers that God has erected to safeguard our walk in Him, then we cannot assume that we will be protected from the consequences.
But in discussing the new music and its use in churches today, we are not necessarily even talking about born-again Christians because all too many who attend such meetings are unregenerate and impressionable younger people. Even those who have a basic desire to follow Christ are untaught, untrained in the ways of God, and caught up in the world. How can we expect such people to withstand the emotive, fleshy, seductive forces that exist in the music played today?
The dangers are not only to the flesh - although the scandal of such groups as 'Nine-o-Clock Service' where full-blown sexual immorality took over shows the path we are treading. But the more subtle danger is to the spirit, as powerful, deceptive and unstoppable forces manifest themselves as a result of the chanting, dancing, shouting, jumping, clapping, tongues-speaking and loud beat of the music. If things go on as they are, instead of "angelic" singing there will be lying signs and wonders on a much grander scale. May God deliver all who are in thrall to the new music!
Read the article on how to Worship God.
See what proponents of a false worship is promoting. “Music is called "the universal Language" because of its ability to cross almost every social and political barrier. Music is a spiritual language that can reach beyond the intellect to touch the heart. Those who know this "universal language" have a powerful weapon in the war for the hearts of men. The Lord is calling forth an army of musical warriors who will be used like spiritual artillery to bombard some of the enemy's greatest strongholds, such as racism, drugs, pornography and spiritualism. The Lord is going to anoint songs that attack these strongholds and their message will start becoming popular across society”.(Joyner, 1992)
The New Age Apostle and Prophet proponent of Manifest Sons of God and Joel’s Army Prophesy further, “The church must begin to recognize its minstrels as frontline soldiers in the battle for this generation. A new vision for music evangelism is going to arise so that many music ministries will become recognized as true missionaries instead of mere entertainers. These ministers and missionaries need to be spiritually equipped and supported like every other ministry. MUSIC WILL BE ONE OF THE MAIN SPIRITUAL BATTLEGROUNDS OF THE NINETIES AND HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR PROVIDING ONE OF THE GREATEST SPIRITUAL BREAKTHROUGHS IN THE WAR AGAINST DARKNESS.
From:
Battlefields Of The Nineties By Rick Joyner
THE MORNING STAR, September 1st, 1992
Biblical Spiritual warfare founded on sound exegetical principles
The incredible, illogical, unscriptural and carnal spiritual warfare at the order of the day defies logic and sound exegesis. But then man is left over to his sinful lusts as a judgement.
What is spiritual warfare, what is the definition of the different creeds that proponent hold? We shall attempt to define spiritual warfare.
Definition of Spiritual warfare:
1. Warfare in our own lives:
It is a defensive stand of peaceful trust through faith in the finished work on the cross, and the assurance of eternal life, submitting to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, resisting the influence, through the vehicle of our minds, the world the flesh and the devil which God utilize to build our faith, by the Spirit of the Word of God.
The influence of the poison, the snake,
Let us look at the scriptural references of the definition:
1. It is a defensive stand.
Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
2. of peaceful trust through faith in the finished work on the cross, and the assurance of eternal life
Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Peace is not for personal guidance but the restful assurance that it is well with my soul. 2 Thessalonians 2:16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
3. submitting to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
4. Risisting the influence through the vehicle of our minds.
2 Corinthians 10:5 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;
5. of the world the flesh and the devil.
Romans 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
6. which God utilize
1 Peter 1:6,7 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: James 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
7. to build our faith and character
Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
8.by the Spirit of the Word of God. With praying at all times
Ephesians 6:17,18 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Unscriptural Spiritual Warfare;
To identify those strongholds of Satan over all, remove them by their authority, bring the message of salvation in such a way that people can make the right choice in opening the door to Jesus to invite him into their lives by the sinners prayer, then to break the ancestral curses, cast the demons out, and teach the seven steps how to stay delivered then they must produce the faith in order to be reborn.
2.Spiritual warfare when we proclaim the Jubilee. (Preach the Gospel).
To bring the good news to all so that those predestined children of God will be given rebirth, regenerated and receive the gift of faith and imparted revelational knowledge by the Holy Spirit to understand that they are totally depraved but now their ransom paid and explaining the forgiveness of their sin on the cross to them. In this way they step from darkness into Light because the vail has been destroyed on the cross and the gates of hell cannot prevail against that Message which is the power of God unto salvation to free them from Satan who no longer has authority to keep them in his domain.
Let us look at the scriptural references of the definition:
1. To take those predestined children of God
James 1:18. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
1 Peter 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
2. will be given rebirth, regenerated, given faith and knowledge
Deuteronomy 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them
Romans 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Titus 3:4-7 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
3. tell them that their ransom has been paid.
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
5. and by explaining the forgiveness of their sin on the cross to
2 Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
2 Timothy 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
6. by the Truth through the opening up of their understanding by the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
7. and they step from darkness into Light.
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ
8. because the vail has been destroyed on the cross. Jesus destroyed the vail, Satan is binded in the sense that he cannot prevent those predestined from hearing and seeing Christ.
The vail is the “stronghold” or prison in Greek of deceit established in people’s minds by believing a lie, which in turn determines your destiny. It is not a gathering place of demons according to sound exegesis.
2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Isaiah 25:7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. 2 Corinthians 3:16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
9. and the gates of hell cannot prevail against that Message.
Matthew 16:18-19 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. See later the section on the exegesis of this portion where it explains the binding and loosing is the preaching of the Gospel to set people free or bind some for eternal damnation
10. which is the power unto salvation
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
What happened on the cross according to Scripture?
God’s accomplished work: The destruction of the works of Satan. The binding of the strong man Exegesis of Revelation 12, It is finished. On the cross what was finished biblical exposition.
The warfare and Satan's casting out
The sovereignty of God
Reformatory interpretation of God’s Sovereignty and Soli Deo Gloria.
Sin and the devil in God’s service.
God utilises sin, He curbs sin, and he punishes sin. Heyns. 1981:152. God curbs sin. Paul was prevented on his way to persecute the followers of Jesus and could not go ahead. Judges 4:23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel. God punishes sin: Jeremiah 2:19a Thine own wickedness shall correct thee”. God utilizes sin: Never and nowhere does God loose his grip on the world. Genesis 50:20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
True Spiritual Armour.
The armour of God Ephesians 6. Our position is defensive, stand in our faith and not offensive, a position of faith, rest and trust.
What do we have to contribute?
What is our role in this spiritual warfare debacle? How does a Reformer do Biblical spiritual Warfare and Evangelisation?
The unbiblical way of evangelising in Missions
Example of evangelising the un-reached. Spiritual Warfare tactics, binding and demonstration of power evangelisation. Short term and long term effects.
The biblical way of evangelising in Missions
Example of evangelising the un-reached. Preaching the message of reconciliation and teaching long term Reformatory theology.
The solution to the problem.
Sound teaching, rebuking and speaking prophetically.
- Training our young members the need for a sound theology.
- Speaking Prophetically warning and teaching about the false gospels.
- Teaching Amillennialism.
- Teaching TULIP and the Five Sola’s.
- Teaching sound exegetical methods e.g. Semantic Discourse Analysis. Teaching this method to Assembly of God church lead to a change in wrong theology.
- Reviving Reformatory Theology.
- Starting a Reformation Society to revive and promote Biblical Interpretation of Scriptural Truths.
Aim
- It is the aim of this research to fundamentalise reformatory spiritual warfare in terms of the victory obtained in order to clothe the Christian with the armour of knowledge and power with the scriptural concept of spiritual warfare resulting in a Christian that will be at peace, trusting God for the victory already won, and will not blaspheme God by his need to add to Christ’s work on the cross with a gospel of works.
- It is the aim of this research to inform the church member of deceptions in the church in terms of unscriptural spiritual warfare in order to prevent members from falling into another gospel.
- It is the aim of this theological dissertation under guidance of God’s Spirit in the new millennium to bring enlightment to the church member in terms of their knowledge and understanding of the biblical soundness of Reformed faith theories in times of New Age Theology that exists as a result of wrong interpretation of the Bible in order to keep them in the true faith, bring peace, assurance, true worship and evangelism, as well make them true defenders of their faith, give them true discernment of false gospels so that they will not be deceived and most important to find true rest in the sweetness of reformed theology which is the absolute true language (tongues) of faith about God supernaturally revealed to us in the Scripture by grace.
· To define Spiritual Warfare
· To scrutinize different views on Spiritual warfare and the influence of eschatological views
· To evaluate scripturally Prayer waking, Informative Intersession, spiritual mapping, rebuking the devil, claiming territory, identification with ancestral sins.
· To expose unscriptural spiritual warfare
· To give the scriptural type of warfare.
· To suggest solutions to problems associated with false gospels
· To give the reformed understanding and interpretation
Under the militant banner of “spiritual warfare,” growing numbers of evangelical and charismatic Christian leaders are preparing broad assaults on what they call the cosmic powers of darkness.
Fascinated with the notion that Satan commands a hierarchy of territorial demons, some mission agencies and big-church pastors are devising strategies for “breaking the strongholds” of those evil spirits alleged to be controlling cities and countries.
Some proponents in the fledgling movement already maintain that focused prayer meetings have ended the curse of the Bermuda triangle, led to the 1987 downfall in Oregon of free-love guru Baghwan Shree Rajneesh, and for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, produced a two-week drop in the crime rate, a friendly atmosphere and unclogged freeways.
This is not the cinematic story line for a religious sequel to “Ghostbusters II,” yet the developing scenario does have a fictional influence: two best-selling novels in Christian bookstores have heightened interest in spiritual warfare. “This Present Darkness,” by Frank Peretti, describes the religious fight against “territorial spirits mobilized to dominate a small town.” A second Peretti novel has a similar premise. (McArthur, 1992)
Fuller Seminary Prof. C. Peter Wagner, who has written extensively on the subject, led a “summit” meeting on cosmic-level spiritual warfare Monday in Pasadena with two dozen men and women, including a Texas couple heading a group called the “Generals of Intercession” and an Oregon man who conducts “spiritual warfare bootcamps” (“Evangelicals, Charismatics prepare for Spiritual Warfare,” 17 February 1990, F16).
6. CENTRAL THEOLOGICAL AGRUMENTS
- It is hypothesized that the literal interpretation of scripture as well as the expectation of an earthly Kingdom, be it the restoration of Israel and the expected restoration of the Temple and sacrifices or the establishment of a Theocracy by Truimphant/Kingdom now proponents of the gospel ruling over the wicked, will lead Christians into practices and actions that is not only unbiblical, sinful but a very costly exercise spiritually and literally.
- It is hypothesized that the spiritual interpretation of scripture as well as the understanding that the church find itself in the period of the millennium now when Satan has been bound on the cross two thousand years ago and the church is the witness for the good news without Satan able to prevent the progress of the church will not lead Christians in deception of another gospel where unbiblical practises are rampant but produce effective, militant Christians able to bring the unadulterated truth of the good news to break down all strongholds in peoples minds to set them free from sin and the devil.
Presupposition
Sola Scriptura. The research methodology in a study will be founded on a Scriptural basis, as this cannot be based on subjectivity. Sampling used in this study can only be subjective. Example: If one takes two groups of people groups and evangelizes the one group with spiritual warfare as is practised today and the other with reformed spiritual warfare the results will be totally subjective. How can one come to conclusions as to what method is more effective? This can only be assessed with the amount of converts and experiential theology. The short term outcome will probably be in favour of the unbiblical type because of the amount of converts coming forward at an altar call doing the sinners prayer. No one but God knows the true converts. Therefore the only true objective method is to evaluate, subject the methods to Scripture and this is what this study will do.
To illustrate the subjectivity of deductive methods of theology we can look at the following example. Recently in Brazil it was reported when Roman Catholics were baptised every Baptismal candidates name was clearly written in heaven as they were baptised. This was a sure sign that they were saved. Nothing was mentioned of the biblical assurance of salvation according to scripture but subjective miracles gave the assurance.
Sound exegetical principles namely Semantic Discourse Analysis will be used to refute unbiblical teachings.
Survey of relevant works
At least 400 articles of documents on spiritual warfare throughout a period of 8 years have been accumulated. Personal experience in Charismatic and Pentecostal strategies and participation thereof gave an understanding in the deception
Scripture searching and literature searches on relevant scriptural warfare with the foundation of Reformed theology.
Canonical process approach
Man wants to take credit and work for his salvation. But throughout scripture God communicates with us through the Written Word. The progressive revelation of God and His workings with men comes to fulfilment in Jesus. He is the ultimate Mediator, Reconciliator, Intercessor and Sacrifice. The fulfilment of types, shadows symbols with no new revelation, apostles and prophets in a future dispensation. Throughout scripture we can clearly understand that Old Testament warfare has seen it’s fulfilment in the most important spiritual battle on the Cross. The mother of all curses and promise in the same Prophecy has come to pass. The final spiritual battle when our Saviour returns will not be physical but a spiritual one.
The incredible, illogical, unscriptural and carnal spiritual warfare at the order of the day defies logic and sound exegesis. But then man is left over to his sinful lusts as a judgement.
9. REFERENCES.
- Alexander, C.D. 1965. Revelation Spiritually Understood. Liverpool: Bible Exposition Fellowship.
- Bavinck, J.H. In De Ban Der Demonen, Zendingreeks. Kampen: Kok. p.
- Berkhof, L. 1937. The History of Christian Doctrines. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
- Berkhof, H. 1962. Christus De Zin Der Geschiedenis. Nijkerk: Callenbach, p. 123.
- Berkouwer, G.C. 1953. Het Werk van Christus. Kampen: Kok. p. 372.
- Bubeck, M. The Adversary. Chicago: Moody. p.106
- Carson, D.A. 2003. The Dangers and Delights of Postmodernism. Modern Reformation: Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. (12): 4. p. 14.
- Chambers, J.R. 2002. The End Times. Dividing Jerusalem. Charlotte:Paw Creek Ministries. p. 2. Web site: http://www.pawcreek.org
- Coetzee, J.C. 1985. Keys to God’s Revelation in the New Testament. Orkney: EFJS Drukkers. Pp. 36-37.
- Harris, D. 2003. Toungues Are For a Sign. p. 145
- Heyns, J. A. 1981. Dogmatiek. Goodwood: Nationale Boekdrukkery.
- Horton, M.S.1997. Leading the Church in the 21 Century 2 Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. Web site:www.modernreformation.org
- Horton, M. 2003. Pop Goes Postmodernism. (12): 4. p. 18.
- Horton, M. 2006. God of Promise. Baker Books. p. 43.
- Hunt, D. 1997. The Berean Call, May/June
- Willimon, W. 2003. Peculiar Truth: Postmodern Preaching. (12): 4. p. 27.
- Joyner, R. 1992. Battlefields Of The Nineties. The Morning Star, September 1st
- Kirkwood, D. 2002.The End Time Judgments of the Bible. The Binding of Satan chp12, Modern Myths about Satan and Spiritual Warfare.http://mountainretreat.org
- MacArthur, J. Junior. 1992. How To Meet The Enemy. Victor Books: Illinois
- MacArthur, J, 1995. How To Meet The Enemy, Wheaton, Illinois: Victor Books)
- Marcellus J. K. 1971. An Eschatology of Victory. Phillipsburg, N.J. p.4.
- Modern Reformation, 2003. Say What? Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Philadelphia. 12(4) p.9.
- Muller, G. 1992. Calvin’s Wisdom. Avon: The Bath Press
- Pfeiffer, Charles F.1962. The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Old Testament, Chicago: Moody Press.
- Ridderbos, H. 1962. The Coming of the Kingdom. The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company. Philadelphia, Pa, p. 82.
- Riddlebarger, K. 2003. A Case For Ammillenialism: Understanding the end times. Grand Rapid: Baker Books.
- Robb, John D.1997. Strategic Praying for Frontier Missions, Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, Study Guide, Pasadena: William Carey Library. P.1-8.
- Schaeffer, F. How Should we live then. Volume 4 book two
- Sproul, R.C. 1992. Essential truth of the Christian Faith. Tyndale House Publishers. Wheaton, IL
- Spurgeon, RC.H. 2000. Satan, a Defeated Foe. (Electronic ed.). The Ephesians Four Group: Escondito, California.
- Kamel, M.N. 1996. The Early Church Fathers. The Prescription Against Heretics. (4). (Electronic ed.). Latin Christianity: http:/www.geocities.com
- Vosloo, W., Van Rensburg, F.J. 1999. Die Bybellennium Een Volumekommentaar. Goodwood: Nasionale Boekdrukkery, p.272.
- Wagner, C. Peter. 1991. Confronting the Powers. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, pp.21-22.
- Wagner, C. Peter. 1991.Engaging the Enemy. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, p.206.
- Wimber, J and Springer, K. 1987. Power Healing. San Francisco: Harper & Row, pp. 209–10.
[1]The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
Source: www.reformedtruth.co.za
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