THE TRUTH ABOUT SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Transcription

1 THE TRUTH ABOUT SPIRITUAL WARFARE ASR MARTINS

2 2 THE TRUTH ABOUT SPIRITUAL WARFARE BY ASR MARTINS

3 3 THE TRUTH ABOUT SPIRITUAL WARFARE Copyright 2015 ASR Martins All rights reserved. This publication may be reproduced or used in any form without the written permission from the writer or publisher. This book or any part of this book may be distributed but it may not be sold and the distributors may not remedy any distribution cost from the receivers of this publication or any part of this publication. The content or any part of this book may not be changed. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the King James Version. (Public domain)

4 4 Index Introduction 5 How does the devil oppress Christians? 19 Is Spiritual warfare dangerous? 26 How did Jesus Christ really conquer evil? 32 Common mistakes exorcists often make 43 Bibliography 55

5 5 Introduction Spiritual warfare. Ever since I was saved this term really bothered me. Just the sound of these two words clashed with my spirit since the first time I've heard it. This just did not make any sense to me. To the church, Jesus Christ Himself, the apostles and millions of Christians right through the ages tried to defeat satan but nobody could defeat him and his demons yet. The war goes on and on. Just the other day I saw a disgusting image of our Lord Jesus Christ engaged in an arm-wrestling contest with satan. Let us face the facts people, if there is still a war then satan is not yet defeated. Through the years though, I thankfully learned a quite different story. I was fortunate enough to be taught by Spirit-filled men of God who did not believe this lie one bit. These guys really studied the word of God. They were taught by the Spirit and in turn they taught God s people the truth. It is absolutely amazing how easily people are being deceived into believing all sorts of false doctrine without even realizing it. The fact is that these people do not know the Scriptures. If they knew the Scriptures they would have realized immediately when somebody attempted to teach them a false doctrine. The mistake that we made through the years and still make today is relying on pastors and ministers to teach us instead of relying on the Holy Spirit to teach us. It is quite a different story when you take up the word of God yourself to study. You will be amazed at the results when you study the word of God yourself. If you really ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and to teach you that is exactly what happens. It is then a totally different story all together because when the Holy Spirit starts to reveal the word of God and the will of God to you, you supernaturally understand God s will and God s word. What makes the difference? When you personally study the word of God you gain firsthand knowledge of the word of God. It is like planning your own trip to a really far destination. When you go through the detailed maps yourself you become familiar with all the information you need to know in order to reach your destination safely. If you rely on others to plan the trip for you though, you do not know anything except the directions that the person gave you. In such a case you just do not possess all the knowledge and information that you need to address all the difficulties and possible drawbacks that might cross your path. It is like being kept in the dark. You do not even know if the directions itself are correct in the first place. We cannot rely on other people when it comes to the will of God and the word of God. We really do need to have a personal relationship with God. We do need to communicate with God and we do need to allow God to communicate with us and to teach us His word. This book enlightens the subject of spiritual warfare but you need to be brave enough to proceed with your own studies if you really want to know the

6 6 truth. You cannot rely on others. So many people have been deceived and therefore they deceive many people in return. There is a Scripture that supports this statement to the letter: 2 Timothy 3: But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. This portion of Scripture makes it as clear as daylight. Verse 13 clearly says that there are people who are being deceived. It also says that these people also deceive others. Some of them might not do this on purpose but still, they have been deceived and they deceive others. Many exorcists fall under this category. I have devoted a whole chapter in this book on the damage they cause in terms of doctrinal issues when it comes to generational curses and spiritual warfare. Verses confirm that we have learned from God, if we allowed Him to, and that we do have the Scriptures which is able to reproof, correct and instruct us in righteousness. Each and every doctrine need to be supported by Scripture. If there is no Scripture to support it then it is just not true. An example is the false doctrine of generational curses. Did you know that there is absolutely no Scriptures that state or indicate that Christians are or can be punished because of the sins of their ancestors? Did you also know that there is actually Scriptures that clearly state that the sons WILL NOT carry the sins of their ancestors and that the ancestors WILL NOT carry the sins of the sons? Yet people believe in generational curses. Did you know that the only reference to generational curses was made only to heathen nations and people who hate God? Did you know that there are Scriptures that state that God even took generational curses away from heathen people and unbelievers? This implies that since the cross, even unbelievers and people who hate God do not have to carry the sins of their ancestors? Did you know that there is not even one Scripture in the whole Bible that says that we must repent of the sins of our ancestors? Did you know that there is not one Scripture in the whole Bible that says that we must

7 7 break generational curses? Did you know that there actually are a number of Scriptures that say that we must only repent of our own sin? Did you know that there actually are Scriptures that say that the sins of the one who committed that sin will be on him and on him alone? Did you also know that there are actually Scriptures that say that the righteousness of a person can only save him alone? That implies that nobody can be made righteous by their ancestors just as nobody can be made unrighteous because of the sins of the unrighteous or ancestors. There are Scriptures for all the statements I made here. I am going to give you those Scriptures but first I need to discuss a very important Biblical principle with you. This principle is of the utmost importance. If you know and understand this principle you cannot be deceived. What is this principle? No matter how unbelievable Scripture might seem to you, it always is and always means exactly what it says! Apart from a few symbolic issues it is therefore quite easy to understand the Scriptures. The moment people ignore this principle, those people open themselves to deceit. The moment you expose yourself to believe something contrary to what Scripture says, at that moment you become a victim of deceit. Really! Does this principle always work with all Scriptures? Yes it does. There are no exceptions. You can test this principle if you want to. In fact, we call it the Deception test. It is quite easy to determine whether you have been deceived and whether you are still being deceived. This test proves these two facts beyond any doubt. The test is done in two easy steps: Step 1 will determine whether you have been deceived and step 2 will prove it beyond any doubt. This is quite easy. Are you ready for the test? Step 1: Just answer the following questions with a simple yes or a no : 1. Are there any scriptures that you know of that make certain statements, but you actually believe the contrary? This means you know of Scriptures that make some statements but you also know that you actually do not believe that those Scriptures are valid anymore. 2. Do you know of people who actually believe these Scriptures? This means that there actually are people who declare that they believe these Scriptures and that these Scriptures are true. They say that they do experience the results of what these Scriptures promise. 3. Do you believe the contrary without supported scriptures to prove the

8 8 contradiction? This means you do not know any Scriptures that actually directly contradict those Scriptures. Now that was easy! Did you answer these questions honestly? How do you feel about the following Scriptures? Mark 11:23-24 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. John 14:13-14 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. Matthew 21:21-22 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. If your answer on at least one of the three questions above was yes, then you probably have been deceived and are still being deceived. Step two of this test will prove the facts beyond any doubt. When the Bible makes any statements, those statements are true unless it has been overruled by another Scripture. In such a case the most recent scripture cancels the validity of the first or the former Scripture. You will probably recognize such Scriptures by statements made to this effect by the relevant writer or person that made that claim in the Bible. Jesus for instance brought up some Old-Testament Scriptures that were changed with the following words: It is written that then something will follow like

9 9 a tooth for a tooth and then He will say, But I tell you followed by the change or the correct statement. Remember God is always the same. He does not change but He does change things. For instance, in the Old Testament salvation could be obtained through the blood or the offering of a lamb. God changed this by substituting the lamb in the New Testament with Jesus Christ, the true Lamb of God. The above references are classic examples of Scriptures that have been changed. The Bible belongs to God because it is the word of God. He may change the word exactly like Jesus did in this case. If Scripture had not been changed then the first applicable Scripture still is the truth. This is why the Deception test is so easy to do. This test is absolutely foolproof and the reason why it is foolproof is the complete absence of contradictory scriptures for all the valid statements in the Bible. Let us proceed and complete the Deception test now. Step two: Just answer the following questions with a simple yes or no : Do you believe that Jesus Christ still heals people even today? Do you believe that people are still being baptized in the Holy Spirit today? Do you believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still functioning in peoples lives today as it did in Biblical times? Do you believe that we are living in the last days? Do you believe that according to the prophet Joel that in the last days the Holy Spirit will come upon people and that they will dream dreams and that they will see visions? Do you believe that people still see visions? Do you believe that people are still casting out demons, still laying their hands on people to heal them from diseases, still speaking in tongues, still prophesying and still functioning in all the other gifts of the Spirit? Do you believe that generational curses does not exist anymore as stated above in Ezekiel 18:20? If you answered no on any of these questions than you have been and still are being deceived. As a reminder; God followed a very important principle in the Bible that is very important for all of us to know. That principle is the following: All statements in the Bible made by God directly or by His prophets are in fact plain and simple the truth. It is exactly what it says and it means exactly what it says. That is why people believe these statements. Those who do not believe these statements are simply being deceived.

10 10 You can of course test yourself on a number of Scriptures. People who have been seriously deceived will find that there are quite a number of Scriptures or statements made in the Bible that they do not believe. They actually believe the contrary although there are absolutely no Scriptures that support their beliefs. These people will find that certain man made statements actually support their beliefs. This is where the deception comes in. If there is no Scripture that contradicts the original statement, another statement will do the trick. Example: Scripture or statement: Mark 16: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils;they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. Now some people absolutely believe this Scripture. Yes they do, even though some parts in this Scripture seem totally outrageous. They however believed Christ and they speak with new tongues, they cast out devils, they lay hands on the sick, they take up/away snakes (demons, the correct translations is not up but away ), deadly things do not hurt them, signs and wonders follow them. These people do not only believe, they also do these things. These people knows that if God says something then it is the truth no matter how ridiculous, outrageous or impossible it may sound. These people can therefore not be deceived. Now some people do not believe this Scripture and they do not carry out these things. Why not? Although they are Christians, in this case they have been deceived not to believe God s word. That is the bottom line. They do not have faith in this word. More recent Scriptures canceling this Scripture: None. There is absolutely no Scriptures that indicates that this Scripture is for some reason not valid anymore or not the truth anymore.

11 11 Alternative Statements made by people who do not believe this Scripture: Signs and wonders were only there to get people to believe. Well it happened. People did believe and therefore signs and wonders are not necessary anymore. (There is no Scripture that supports this statement) People were only baptized in the Holy Spirit in Biblical times in order to function in the gifts of the Spirit. This was necessary because at that stage they had no Bible yet. Well the Bible was eventually written and therefore we do not need the baptism in the Holy Spirit anymore. (There is no Scripture that supports this statement) These promises were only for the apostles. It was not for everybody. (There is no Scripture that supports this statement) God gave us the Bible. Therefore He does not speak to us anymore and therefore He does not perform miracles anymore. The speaking in tongues, the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge and other gifts of the Spirit are therefore not necessary anymore. In fact all the gifts of the Spirit are not necessary anymore. (There is no Scripture that supports this statement) God only wanted to establish the church with wonders and signs. Obviously after the church was firmly established signs and wonders were not necessary anymore. (There is no Scripture that supports this statement) Are there any Scriptures that support these statements? No. Now although there are no Scriptures to support these statements, people still do believe these statements. They will try to use certain Scriptures in the Bible to support these views whether those Scriptures are applicable or not. If they cannot find anything to support these views they just believe these statements anyway. Period. These people have been deceived to believe the doctrines of men rather than the word of God. This is actually nothing else than the doctrines of devils. You will be amazed to see how many Scriptures are either just totally ignored and how many times the exact opposite is believed. Well this is the world of the deceived. The ultimate Deception test The more Scriptures, like the one above, that you identify as being contradictory to what you believe, the more you have been deceived. This can be quite a shock for some people. The bottom line is that we should actually believe exactly what is written in the Bible. Not the contrary.

12 12 Now for those Scriptures on generational curses: First I need to give you some background on why these Scriptures on generational curses came into existence in the Bible: The Israelites did not really understand the concept of generational curses and so a lot of misunderstanding and a lot of myths came into being in Israel in the time of the prophet Ezekiel. There was actually quite a debate among the Israelites on this subject. They knew that something of this nature was written in the book of Deuteronomy but that was about all most of them knew about the subject. Remember that those days the Old-Testament was not available to the common man resulting in a lot of speculation about the word of God. God saw all the misunderstandings and He heard all the speculations so He decided to get involved in this debate with the sole purpose to set things straight. We read all about this in Ezekiel 18:1-32. Scripture: The son will not carry the sins of the father and the father will not carry the sins of the son: Ezekiel 18:17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. Ezekiel 18:19 Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Scripture: Even heathen nations and heathen people do not have to be punished for other people s sin: John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. The Greek word for world in this Scripture is кόσμος which means the whole world

13 13 and all its residents. This means that Jesus Christ was punished in our place. Even the sinner does not have to be punished today. This is called the time of grace. From the moment that Jesus died and got punished for the world on the cross, nobody is punished until of course an unbeliever dies without Christ. At that moment, when he dies, the curse of the law hits him with full force. That means that the moment a person dies without Christ he has to carry his own punishment. This is clearly stated in Isaiah 65:20. Isaiah 65:20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. This Scripture pointed to the time of Christ, the good and acceptable year, the time of grace when even sinners will live a full and a long life. However when his time of grace runs out, he will be cursed and he will pay the penalties for his sins. Galatians 3:13-14 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Scripture: Repent only of your own sin: Ezekiel 18:21-23 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? Ezekiel 18:26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.

14 14 Ezekiel 18:27-28 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Ezekiel 18:30-32 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel,every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. Scripture: People will be punished only for their own sin: Ezekiel 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Ezekiel 18:18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity. Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Deuteronomy 24:16 The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin. Scripture: The sins of a person cannot make another person unrighteous: Ezekiel 18: Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.

15 15 14 Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, 15 That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour s wife, 16 Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment, 17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live. Scripture: The righteousness of a person cannot make another person righteous: Ezekiel 18: Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD. 10 If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, 11 And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour s wife, 12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, 13 Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live:he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him. God really wanted to kill this false doctrine in its tracks. If you read the whole chapter of Ezekiel 18 you will see that God purposely covered all scenarios and all aspects from all angles in order to make it as clear as daylight. There is no such things as generational curses because everybody pays for his own sin. Because everybody pays for his own sin everybody must repent of his own sin. The accountability of sin is respectively upon each individual. God says a number of times in this chapter that the soul that sins, that soul must die. Even in Deuteronomy 24:16 he said that the son cannot be punished for the father s sin and the father cannot be punished for the son s sin. The Bible just cannot be more clear on this subject than this. Now there is absolutely no Scriptures that states the contrary. So what did the deceivers do to counter this problem? They made a lot of statements that contradict these

16 16 Scriptures. They even attempted to use some Scriptures out of context to support all these statements. Here are some of these Scriptures that were taken out of context: Deuteronomy 5: Thou shalt have none other gods before me. 8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: 9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, 10 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. Now this portion of Scripture has nothing to do with the church and nothing to do with believers. It has everything to do with people that HATE God. Verse 10 can be related to us though because we are people who LOVE God. It is however quite interesting to note that verse 10 says the same thing as Galatians 3:20. It also says that we are blessed and not cursed. This was God s way of telling Israel, whom He is about to make a covenant with, how He feels about heathen nations who hate Him. Verse 9 can only be related to people who HATE God. Unbelievers could have been brought into the equation here was it not for Ezekiel 18 which clearly states that the one (son or father) SHALL NOT help to carry the sins and iniquities of the other (son or father). This portion of Scripture does NOT support generational curses in a Christians life because it was at that time only applicable to nations and people who HATED God. It also does NOT support generational curses in an unbelievers life because of Ezekiel 18:20 which clearly states that the one who sins must carry his own punishment and that the son will not carry the father s iniquities. Lamentations 5:7 Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities. This Scripture has nothing to do with generational curses. It has everything to do with the nation of Israel. Just as we today as an Afrikaner nation have to carry the results or burdens of apartheid because of the decisions our nation s forefathers made. Apartheid was a sin. The Israelites had to carry the burdens of the mistakes and sins of their forefathers. Many nations all across the world were burdened and are still burdened because of the sins of their forefathers. Germany and Japan are classic

17 17 examples of this. Adolf Hitler and the German nation as well as the Japanese nation committed serious atrocities during world war two. Both these nations were severely punished for this in terms of war-penalties and discrimination through the years. The culprits were long dead while their descendants were still paying for their iniquities. This is what this Scripture in Lamentations is all about. It has nothing to do with visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. It has nothing to do with family or generational curses. Nehemiah 1:1-6 1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, 2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. 4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven, 5 And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments: 6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father s house have sinned. Again this portion of Scripture is all about the nation of Israel. Nehemiah fasted and prayed for the nation of Israel that was taken into captivity. He mourned over the walls of Jerusalem that were broken and the gates that were burnt. It has nothing to do with generational curses. Nehemiah also mentioned that he himself and His father s house also sinned against God. This was all about the judgment of God that came upon the nation of Israel. I used generational curses as an example to show you how people are being deceived. Although Scripture is clear on the truth people are being conned into believing a lot of things which are not Biblical. I sincerely hope that you are satisfied with the results of your Deception test. My

18 18 earnest hope is that people would not ignore this truth about God s word. It is a very important key that will prevent people from being deceived. It will set people free. The moment that people realize that God s word is written according to this principle they have a very good chance to be set free and not to be deceived again. I want to repeat this principle once again: All statements in Scripture are simply the truth exactly as it is written. When the Bible says God heals then He heals. Period. Is there a scripture that says that God does not heal anymore? No. Then He still heals. Period. Are there a lot of statements with all sorts of reasons why He does not heal anymore. Yes but if it is not in the Bible. It is statements made by men and because of that it is not the truth. Period. Please read this paragraph again. This can and will set you free if you decide to make it part of your life. The false doctrine called spiritual warfare came into existence exactly as I mentioned above. In fact the false doctrine of generational curses gave birth to the false doctrine of spiritual warfare. It was almost an automatic result of the generational curses doctrine. You will be amazed how many statements, sayings and war-cries, people who believe in these doctrines make and use daily that cannot be find in the Bible. Yet they believe these statements and these doctrines as if it is in the Bible. Paul used the term spiritual warfare as a metaphor but unfortunately people took it literally. Paul did bring the true facts about this subject into perspective in other portions of his letters but people missed that. I sincerely hope that this chapter thoroughly introduced you to that all important key that will protect you from being deceived in future. I want to say it for a last time just to emphasize it once again: No matter how unbelievable Scripture might seem to you, it always is and always means exactly what it says!

19 19 How does the devil oppress Christians? This just do not sound right! How on earth does he succeed doing this? When Jesus Christ still walked this earth this very thing kept Him very busy. He went through Judea and healed the sick right through His earthly ministry. He delivered people who were oppressed by satan. Yes I admit that those people were not Christians; they were Jews. But yet, even after the redemption work of Christ on the cross, this is still a problem for most Christians today. In the Bible we see that people were oppressed by satan although we clearly see that Christ redeemed us from that oppression: Luke 4:18 (NKJV) The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; Matthew 4:24 (ESV) So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. Now how does the devil go about oppressing people even after Christ paid the price for them and after He delivered them from sin and diseases? No, the devil does not have the power to go out and oppress people all over the world by inflicting them with all sorts of diseases. It does appear that way but it is just not the truth. He however does oppress people and this is why I am writing this post today. Christians need to know how he does that in order to understand how to resist being oppressed by him. Firstly we do need to understand the following about hell, diseases and the punishment of God: God created hell to punish satan, demons and unrighteous people if they die without Christ. Those who reject Christ cannot escape hell. God created sickness and diseases to punish people who sin. We however know that God the Father do not punish anyone anymore because of the redemption work of Christ. This includes the saved and the unsaved. Even the unsaved live in a time of grace. Anyone who dies without Jesus Christ however brings the curse of the law upon himself the moment he dies without Christ. At that moment he descends into hell where he must now carry his own punishment. Because he rejected the blood of Christ God the Father now punishes him for that. The point I want to make here

20 20 however is that God the father created sickness just as He created hell. Both came into existence because of a decision made by the Father. Both belong to Him. Only a God can punish. Only a ruler of a kingdom can make laws and force his subjects to live according to those laws. In order for such a ruler to make laws, to enforce those laws and to punish his subjects if they do not conform to those laws, he needs to be a lawful ruler. His ruler-ship needs to be legitimate. These are some of the reasons why satan cannot punish people. He is not a lawful ruler or a God who can make laws, who can enforce laws and who can punish people who do not conform to those laws. Satan cannot throw you in hell and he cannot put sicknesses and diseases upon you even if he wanted to. Firstly he is not God the Father and secondly a child of God cannot be punished anymore by anyone at all. Not even God the Father can punish you because of the redemption work of Jesus Christ. A child of God can legally not be punished and sicknesses and diseases are nothing but punishment. That is what it was created for. It serves and cannot serve any other purpose. Right through the Bible it is clearly stated that God punishes people with sickness. He also throws people in hell and He uses His angels to throw those people in hell. Does that make Him a bad God? Does that make Him an unjust God? No, that makes Him a fair God. This world is filled with bad, unholy people who murder and oppress women, children and good people! God always protects the weak. These people need to be punished. They need to pay for their atrocities! That is only fair and that must be done! God cannot allow people to do what they want and just get away with it! All righteous people do understand this principle of the kingdom of God. Don t you believe that this wonderful and loving God of us is able to carry out such violent and harsh acts? This does not make Him cruel you know. It makes Him just. Read the Scriptures below and see how God used to punish people and how He did it: Isaiah 45:6-7 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. 7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things The evil that God refers to in verse 7 is the punishment of God. That includes hell and it includes diseases, famine and all sorts of other ways of punishment in order to bring people to justice. Just read the following Scriptures as proof for this statement:

21 21 Deuteronomy 28: The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. 22 The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. 23 And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. 24 The LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. 25 The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. These verses are just a few among a lot of Scripture saying the same thing. It was a warning from God to Israel. He warned them but they did not listen. God then kept His word and HE brought all the evil described in this Scripture over the nation of Israel. He did not use the devil to do it for Him. No, He did it Himself. He is God and He does this when necessary. God uses angels to throw the devil, demons and even people in hell. Do you know what type of torment and afflictions people have to go through in hell? God is certainly capable of punishing people and He uses the good guys to punish the bad guys. When a man committed a crime the police arrest him and they, along with prison wardens, throw him in jail. It is the good guys who are enforcing the law. It is the good guys who bring people to justice. The government does not utilize criminals to bring other people to justice. God does not use satan to punish people. God even punished His own Son in our place there on the cross. He did not call satan to come and punish Jesus. No, He did it Himself. It is recorded in Isaiah 53: Isaiah 53:4,6,10 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken,smitten of God, and afflicted. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt

22 22 make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Now we know that God punished Jesus so that we may walk free. For this reason God does NOT punish anymore. After He punished Jesus Christ for the sins of all men, there is no more punishment except for those who die without Jesus Christ. The day a person dies without Jesus Christ, on that day God s grace runs out on that person. Isaiah clearly predicted that there will be a period of grace in the dispensation of the Messiah: Isaiah 65:20 There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. Please take note that the curse of the law is nothing else than punishment. When someone, according to Deuteronomy 27:11-26, declared a curse onto someone it meant that the law was broken and that the person who trespassed the law must now be punished. In the dispensation of Christ that cannot happen because all sins have been paid for by Christ when he took all punishment on Him. A person has to die without Christ before the curse can come over Him. The curse kicks into action when a person dies if he rejected the blood of Christ. Such a person must then pay for his own sins. This is a clear indication that God does not punish anyone anymore. So how can people believe the lie that the devil makes them sick. No, nobody confiscated or hijacked hell or God s methods of punishment or God s legal right to punish from Him. The devil cannot throw you in hell and he cannot put diseases upon you. He is not God! What caused the confusion in terms of punishment and diseases? It is clear from certain Scriptures in the Bible and from personal testimonies that there definitely is a connection between diseases and satanic oppression. Jesus referred to sick people as being oppressed by satan. One testimony that I heard was in the life of Kenneth Hagin. He testified that he once prayed for a lady with lung cancer for four evenings in a row. She just did not get healed in the healing services. The next evening, the fifth service that he held, she was in the healing-line again and Kenneth decided to pray for her again. The moment he started praying for her he suddenly saw in the spirit realm. He could see a small demon hanging onto this lady s lungs. Kenneth immediately knew that the cancer was caused by this little demon. He immediately cast it out and the lady was immediately and miraculously healed.

23 23 Now Scriptures referring to sick people being oppressed by satan and testimonies like the one above may bring us under the impression that satan can go around to randomly inflict people with diseases. This is however not true. Satan hasn t got that power. If he had he would have gone rampant on all mankind. He hates us so much that he would have killed us like flies. Exactly how does the devil oppress Christians? In order to answer this question we need to make it clear why people and even why Christians still get sick today. There are two very important reasons for this. Firstly sickness is a natural and a direct result of sin. That means any person using drugs, smoking or getting involved in any sin will eventually bring diseases into their bodies directly because of that particular sin. Smoking can cause lung cancer and so can drugs also cause a number of diseases. Even spiritual sin like unforgiveness can cause sicknesses like cancer. It is not God the Father punishing people. It is people naturally causes sicknesses to germinate and to grow inside their bodies because of sin. Secondly Christians get sick because of unbelief. They just do not believe that God can protect them against danger, sicknesses and any other acts and occurrences that can and may cause injury or damage to their bodies. Because of unbelief many Christians are exposed to this kind of thing. This is where satanic oppression gets to such people. Sin and unbelief open doors to satanic oppression. Satan s primary goal is to get Christians involved in sin. His secondary objective is to cause people to doubt in God s word of protection. This is how satanic oppression starts. Every sickness and every disease starts at the border posts of the kingdom of God. It starts at the border posts of your circumstances. It starts at the border posts of your life which is your own little kingdom that God wants you to have dominion over. Let me explain: Jesus Christ conquered over the devil on the cross. As a sinless human being He paid the price on the cross for the redemption of our souls. With this victory Jesus took the reign of the earth back from satan. He totally disarmed him and He gave us dominion over our own personal circumstances, the earth and over satan and his demons. We read about this in the book of Colossians: Colossians 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

24 24 Jesus won the battle for us. He openly triumphed over satan and He disarmed him. The devil really has no power over us. He is a defeated foe. For this reason we are not involved in a war with him. The instruction from God is to submit ourselves to God and to resist the devil. Resisting is a somewhat passive resistance like manning a border post. The sole purpose of a border post is to keep illegal people out. Yes, God did equip us with strong and potent armor in order to protect ourselves. We need to be ready for evil forces by clothing ourselves with the full armor of God. Although we are not involved in a warfare we do need to protect our borders and we do need to be strong. Like any nation we deploy our soldiers on our border posts, ready and clothed in full armor. At this border post our enemy arrives with lies and deception. He does not arrive at the border post with firearms, canons or bazookas. He is not even clothed in spiritual warfare armor because the Lord Jesus Christ completely disarmed him on that wonderful day. He however does have a very strong weapon! His tongue! He uses his tongue to deceive and to entice us into all sorts of sin and temptations. At the border post he seeks only one thing and that is entry. He wants an open door. He wants a place in our lives. In order to achieve this he starts to negotiate with us. He starts to reason with us. He tries all his dirty little tricks in order to persuade us to open the gate for him. He even tries to creep past us without us noticing. He entices us to open the door for him by allowing sin in our lives. He attempts to get us so far as to confess negative things over our lives. He lies and he deceives hoping that we will fall for those lies. Exactly what he did with Eve. And again, Adam and Eve were not involved in a spiritual warfare with satan. Even today the devil uses the same tactics as he did with Adam and Eve. He questions the word and the promises of God in order to make us doubt in God. There at the border post is where it all starts. As a result we sometimes start harboring ungodly and toxic thoughts. The more we give in to his lies, temptations and deceptions, the more we act and the more we say what he wants us to do and wants us to say. This leads to sin and sin brings death. We start smoking and drinking. We start despising other people and we start to be unforgiving towards other people. Sin is the cause of sickness. Smoking causes all sorts of lung diseases. Hate and bitterness (unforgiveness) causes cancer and other diseases. This is how we open the door for the devil. This is how satan slowly but surely starts oppressing a child of God. We allow him to influence us and that causes us to become sick. We sometimes allow demons to cause affliction in our bodies by giving them permission to do so. We give in to his ways, his will and the pressure that he puts on us. He cannot make you sick unless you open the door for him by getting involved in all these ungodly practices, disobedience and fear. The devil does

25 25 not oppress innocent Christians by putting all kinds of disease onto them. In fact, the devil can do absolutely nothing to an innocent Christian. It is the not so innocent Christian who picks up problems. People, we can never blame God because He does not tempt us and He does not punish us. We can never blame the devil because he just hasn t got any power over us. We can only blame ourselves because we got involved in bad thinking and sin because of the lies, temptations and deception that we listened to and adhered to. We accepted the lies of the enemy there at the border post and we allowed him to enter into our lives. We are absolutely NEVER a victim of circumstances outside our control. That is a lie from hell! We are always to blame for anything and everything that goes wrong in our lives. God gave us Divine protection, Divine healing, Divine provision and Divine maintenance. If we serve God the way we should we are totally protected. The problem is that we are not obedient to God and His word. We do not believe his word and we do not make his word part of our lives. We do not meditate on His word so that the Holy Spirit can use the word to build up our most holy faith. Stop blaming the devil and stop blaming God. Accept your responsibility to reign as a king in the kingdom of God and over your personal circumstances according to His will and His word. Do not give the devil any place in your life and do not open any door for him. Submit yourself to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. If you do this, he cannot do anything to you at all. What a wonderful truth this is? We can always be victorious in all circumstances in life. Praise God for the work he has done! With His blood he saved us! With His power He raised us! Praise God for the work He has done!