1. When it is time to fight we must fight.

The allies did not begin the battle without a mandate from the United Nations. Of course, the church does not get her mandate from the United Nations, but we do need a mandate from the Lord before we begin. We only have authority to the degree that we are under His authority. It is foolish to attack the enemy’s strongholds without a mandate. But when we get the commission we cannot be timid. If the time to fight comes and we do not fight the “paralysis of analysis” will quickly set in. Then we will be defeated by default caused by our own indecision.

The church has the general commission to “go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19). But this general commission does not give us the liberty to just go anywhere we want at any time. The Lord does give specific commissions; what He has not addressed specifically in His Word we are to receive directly from His Spirit, which is the biblical procedure (such as when Peter was first directed to go to the Gentiles, when Paul and Barnabas were sent out, when Paul was directed to Macedonia). As the allies have demonstrated, when we get a mandate or commission, we must go after the enemy’s strongholds with everything we’ve got, determined not to compromise on a single point of our mandate.

We are told that “the gates of hell will not prevail against the church” (Matthew 16:18). The gates of hell are the enemy’s access points into our lives, our congregations, our cities and our nations. The church has the authority to shut those gates—they cannot prevail against the church.

Just as some have sought to use the “anti-war” movements to derail our nation’s resolve in battle, there is a very subtle spiritual anti-war movement that the enemy would use to derail the church’s resolve in spiritual warfare. Idealism is the root of humanism; it is the good side of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and its fruit is just as deadly as the evil side of that same tree. The spiritual anti-war movement is rooted in this idealism and is combined with a subtle fear of the enemy. It is not biblical for us to fear the enemy; the only one whom we are to fear is the Lord. As if to specifically address this problem the Lord stated clearly: “Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you” (Luke 10:19).

This does not give us license to walk in presumption. Presumption means “to take for granted, to behave with undue familiarity, to believe something without conclusive evidence.” The higher one’s realm of authority or anointing, the more deadly presumption can be. What we may get away with in the Outer Court can get us killed in the Holy Place. Even so, the only true remedy for presumption is the fear of the Lord, not the fear of the enemy, as we will in fact serve that which we fear. That is why Israel was commanded not to fear the gods of the nations who surrounded them; those gods were in fact demons as Paul explained to the Corinthians (see I Corinthians 10:18-22).

The rallying cry for the anti-war movement has become “no blood for oil.” Oil represents energy or power. It is a biblical practice for us to anoint with oil because this oil represents the energy or power of the Holy Spirit. It is most interesting that the cry of the anti-war movement would be “no blood for oil,” because that is exactly contrary to reality, both in the natural and in the spiritual. If we are not willing to fight for that most strategic region, the primary energy and power source of the whole world would soon be controlled some of history’s most cruel and irrational despots. The price that we would then have to pay for the oil would be our freedom. Islam means “submission” and world dominion is the foundation of their whole religion. If we did not fight now we would end up submitting to them later.

The same is true in the spirit; there is no anointing (oil) without sacrifice. It was by the blood of Jesus that the anointing of the Holy Spirit was given. It is by taking up our crosses daily to follow Him that we are able to walk in the anointing. When we lay aside the cross and the blood we lose the oil. Just as the most contested region of the world is the location of the greatest oil reserves, the same is true in the spirit. Where the greatest controversies are presently found in the body of Christ is precisely where the greatest anointing is to be found. If we do not fight for those areas we will lose the oil, and we have got to fight now!

2. The air war must be implemented first.

This speaks of the fact that the war has to be fought in the heavenlies first, by intercession, before we implement the “ground assault” or we will sustain many unnecessary casualties.

The initial targets of the air war were the enemy’s communications, radar, nuclear and chemical warfare facilities and missile launchers. These should likewise be the first targets of our prayers—the enemy’s evil communications (what he is using to accuse, slander and malign the brethren), the sources he is using to generate poison (bitterness, jealousy, etc.) and what he is using to launch his “fiery darts” (missiles) at the believers.

It is significant that the Iraqi “scud” missiles were almost able to sidetrack the allied strategy. Large numbers of planes and missions were diverted to find the scud missile launchers, even though it was admitted that the scuds were “purely political and psychological weapons with no real military value.” Scud missiles appropriately represent criticism. Criticism can do a little political and psychological damage but really cannot hurt us strategically unless we let it divert us from our course. How many churches, ministries, and movements in history have been knocked off their course by such “scud” missiles that were not really doing any serious damage? We must not overreact to the “scud missiles” that the enemy throws which are purely political and psychological; we must keep our resources directed at the targets that are of true “military” value.

One of the most striking characteristics of the allied air assault has been the precision of the weapons. This is an issue we must understand in our intercession. We must know exactly what our targets are and be able to hit them with precision. The apostle Paul said that we do not “box so as to beat the air.” One of the first things that a boxer learns is that every time he swings and misses he will expend far more energy than when he hits his opponent. When we just flail away at principalities and powers that we do not understand we are doing less than nothing, we are exhausting ourselves to the point where the enemy can then throw an easy knockout punch at us. If you do not understand what you are doing in intercession against strongholds do not do anything, regardless of what you see others doing. Many immature believers try to cast out demons “by Jesus whom Paul knows” and end up fleeing wounded and naked. We are called to walk in the light, which says that we are supposed to be able to see where we are going. If you cannot see where you are going, stop until you can.

We must also have greater precision in our overall strategy. Presently, a massive amount of the church’s resources and energy are being sapped by projects with little or no true spiritual value. The church has got to start putting her resources into weapons that are not carnal and that are able to hit the targets.

Another relevant characteristic of the allied air strategy is that different types of aircraft were used for different types of missions. The stealth fighters attacked the enemy radar; the British had aircraft with weapons specially designed to destroy enemy runways; F-111s attacked missile bunkers, nuclear and chemical facilities; B- 52s carpet-bombed enemy fortifications; F-14s provided air cover protection from enemy fighters. The body of Christ is going to have to come to this same type of specialization and coordination if we are going to be effective in our purpose.

A congregation will not prevail against the gates of hell into that congregation until there is unity among the different members. The church in a city will not be able to prevail against the gates of hell into that city until there is unity among the different congregations in the church in that city. Likewise, it is going to take apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers who are able to work together in harmony for the church to be properly equipped. No single movement or denomination is complete and will not be truly effective in its commission until it learns to interchange with and function in harmony with the others. Each has its specific purpose but if they are not coordinating with each other they are at best falling far short of their purpose—at worst we will continue attacking and bombing each other. Presently we have far more casualties from “friendly fire” than from the enemy.

3. We must be patient in beginning the ground war (evangelism).

Until the enemy has been bound in heaven he will not be bound on earth. Only that which has been loosed in heaven can be loosed on the earth. Our evangelism will be far more effective when we learn to accomplish all that can be accomplished in the air first. Even so, the war will not be won until there is an effective ground assault. It will not happen with intercession alone; we have got to preach the gospel. We have got to send evangelists into the fields, with pastors and teachers following them to hold the ground that is taken. When the ground war begins the air war does not stop, but it does change its strategy. When the ground assault begins, much of the air force becomes subject to the ground forces, who call for specific attacks on specific targets. Those who go into the field should have the same kind of communication with intercessory prayer teams to give them specific directives for prayer.

Now “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds” (II Corinthians 10:4). “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). Wrestling is as close as you can get in combat. It is not true spiritual warfare if there is no encounter with the enemy. The ones that we are called to wrestle with are the principalities and powers. These are not low level demons. As Paul exhorted the Ephesians, we have to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might” and “Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the enemy” (Ephesians 6: 10-11). This is a very real conflict and it must be waged with the utmost seriousness, responsibility and care.

Concerning the physical war in the Gulf, it is Satan’s intention to escalate this conflict into a world war and to use it to destroy whole nations and millions of people. Syria is the pivotal nation that will determine if this happens. At the same time the Soviet Union is on the verge of anarchy that will also result in the deaths of multitudes and a worldwide economic panic. This is one of the most dangerous and possibly one of the darkest years the world has faced for a long time. The world needs to see a light in this darkness. Like Gideon, let us tear down the altars we have made to the gods of this world and build an altar to the Lord in their place. Let us pick up our little lights (truth) and trumpets (messages) and attack the camp of the enemy with what we have—it is enough to put his whole army to flight!

Part II

In the last issue of “The Morning Star Newsletter” I shared a dream that I had on November 3, 1990 about the impending Middle East War. That war has now become a fact and the rest of the dream is unfolding. The following is a brief review of that dream and the implications.

In the dream I saw multitudes of fighter planes departing at an amazing speed. I knew that they were going to war. As I looked in the direction that they were going, it was as if I were on a cliff standing over a large city by the sea shore. As I looked I saw six large sailing ships (windjammers) rise on the waves and come crashing down the streets of this city. As the ships tumbled down the streets they were being destroyed and were doing significant damage in the city. The dream then changed and I was standing in front of a doorway. A man came out of the door and gave me a cup, and said, “This cup is 1931.”

I knew that the planes taking off at such amazing speed represented the speed with which we were going to war. The sailing ships represented those who are blown about by the wind (unstable); they will be the primary casualties of this war and will do damage to even the more stable works (the city) as they begin to fall apart. The year 1931 was the year before the Great Depression began, and that is the cup we have been given to drink—we are on the very edge of a significant economic collapse.

There were prophecies that there would be no war; the war came. The same will be true of the economic troubles; there will be many prophesying “peace and safety” for the economy, but a collapse is coming. Do not be deceived by temporary good news about the economy; everything that can be shaken is about to be shaken. But we do have a kingdom which cannot be shaken. If we are building our lives upon that kingdom we will be able not only to endure what is coming, but we will be in a position to take advantage of the conditions for the sake of the gospel. There are specific, essential efforts that we must make in preparation for what is coming. Briefly they are:

1. We must Seek the Lord. We should NOT seek Him for what we should do but because He is what we are to be doing. Our first calling is into fellowship with the Son, to be conformed into His image and to follow Him wherever He goes. We may know exactly what is about to happen in the world, but if we are not abiding in Christ we will almost certainly be in the wrong place at the wrong time and suffering the wrong consequences. If we are abiding in Him we will be in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing, regardless of whether we know what is going on or not.

READ: Matthew 6:25-34, Hebrews 12.

2. We must become an established, fruitful, functioning member of the body of Christ. No one is properly joined to the Head who is not also properly joined to His body, the church. Forget about trying to find the perfect church with the perfect leader(s); they do not yet exist on this earth. (Besides, if they did exist we would probably mess them up by joining them!) The only ones who can expect perfection are those who are perfect. Those who are blown about by every new wind of doctrine, every new movement and are moved more by dissatisfaction and impatience than by the Spirit are not going to make it through what is coming. Of course we must remain open to the new things that the Lord is doing, but we can only receive them properly when we receive them from a solid foundation of maturity and stability.

READ: 1 Corinthians 3:3-6,10:16-17, 11:23-30, Ephesians 4.

3. We must get rid of our excess baggage. We must get out of debt and get out of everything else that is entangling us, sapping our time, strength and resources and keeping us out of God’s will for our life. To the degree that the world and the prince of this world has his grip on us, it has been used to keep us out of God’s will. Debt is one of Satan’s most effective yokes to keep the church neutralized and powerless.

It does not matter how badly you are presently entangled, or how disobedient you have been to His previous warnings, if you repent now without compromise or wavering, He will help you. (NOTE: Our most recent book release, LEADERSHIP, Management and the Five Essentials for Success, includes the answers to many of the practical questions that are addressed to us on this subject. If you cannot afford our asking price for this book just send what you can with a note of explanation and we will send it to you.)

READ: Deuteronomy 15:6, 28:12, Proverbs 22:7.

4. We must go on the offensive spiritually. The Persian Gulf War is a parallel of what is about to happen in the spirit. The Persian Gulf War is a righteous war; it is one that we had to fight. If we did not fight it now it would have been far more costly later. Even so, we should not be as concerned about the war that is going on in the natural as the one that is going on in the spirit of which this natural war is only a reflection.

This particular war is against the Biblical “prince of Persia” whose contemporary name is “Allah.” This is the same principality that resisted the prophet Daniel. Its primary strategy is the subjection and then destruction of all who call upon the true God, just as we see in its schemes to destroy Daniel when he prayed to the Lord. This is not the only battle that the church is in but it is the major one that is raging at this time.

Our warfare is for the destruction of strongholds so that the people can be saved. It is time to pray for the destruction of the stronghold of Islam and the salvation of the Arab people. Before we can effectively launch a spiritual offensive against this stronghold, its grip on us must be removed. Strongholds are deceptions, or misconceptions. A part of the strategy of the stronghold of Islam has been to erect misconceptions about Arabs in the minds of Christians as well as the reverse. Presently this stronghold has a grip on Christians through fear, intimidation and misunderstanding. We must respond to the fears and intimidation with courage and boldness and cast off the misunderstandings we have about the Arab people. We tend to perceive them in the light of the more extreme elements in their religion, just as they tend to perceive Christians by the extremists in our midst (who have historically been just as cruel, intolerant and even murderous as any Moslem fundamentalists have). Generally, Moslems are kind, generous, hospitable and have the highest standards of honor and integrity. Our offensive against the stronghold of Islam is not an attack upon the Arab people. We are commanded to “honor all men” (I Peter 2:17). We must honor the Arabs for that which is honorable, respect them for that which is worthy of respect and above all, love them because God loves them and gave His Son for them.

King Solomon said that there is a time for war and a time for peace (Ecclesiastes 3:8). We must be discerning of the times if we are going to be effective in our calling. One who has been in a conflict or battle knows that there is no other sensation quite like the level of consciousness, intensity and focused vision that comes in the battle. Those who do not wake up to the circumstances when the battle begins will be in the most jeopardy. It is now time for war; the battle has begun. It is time to go after the strongholds of the enemy without relenting until the gates of hell have been shut.