Halloween. The origins of Halloween go far back into Celtic antiquity. It was known as Samhain (pronounced, "SOW-en"). It was a day when the veil between the earthly and the spirit world was regarded to be the thinnest, allowing "ghosts" and the demonic to more directly trouble our world. Many traditions evolved from this day, and although the Catholic Church tried to change its focus with the Feast of All Saints and All Souls Day, the day is still primarily associated with the forces of evil in the United and States and Europe. And so we have the modern day we know as "Halloween" with all the horror, spooky stories, revelries, and focus upon the forces of evil. And so the day reminds us who understand the spiritual and the supernatural that yes, witches are real, spells and curses are real, evil spirits are real. The horrors of the other side of death (Hades) are real. Satan and his host of demonic spirits are real.
Many Christians like to participate full bore. Some only choose to participate to a degree with church bonfires, trunk-or-treats, bonfires, hayrides, fall family events, etc. Others choose to ignore the day entirely. Most healthy Christians, regardless of how they deal with Halloween, aren't afraid of it. However, many Christians do fear the day and the spiritual forces involved. And, they aren't entirely wrong. There are evil forces unleashed and at work during this season. For witches, this is a time of renewal and empowerment. They often gather in covens, or as solitaries, to conduct spell work to advance their spiritual power and influence. They also lay curses, hexes, and form spiritual constructs to combat the Kingdom of God. There are massive organized rituals, black masses (among Satanists), and the ungoverned hedonistic debauchery of man's most base instincts are celebrated and unleashed with abandon. Yes, Halloween has a vile spiritual dark side to it that is no doubt celebrated by Satan himself.
And so, during this time I like to remind myself... spiritual warfare is real. I like to revisit what I was taught regarding spiritual warfare and revisit my own prayers for protection, healing, blessing, and salvation. I like to revisit what it means to cast out devils, to bind and loose, to call on the ministry of angels, and to have power and authority over all the power of the enemy through the name of Jesus. And as witches gather in their covens to perform their "spell work", I will find a place to pray... and unleash the power of prayer. Prayers to protect my family, my friends, my coworkers, those seeking souls I'm working with, and those oppressed or even possessed by the enemy. I see this time as a call to arms. A time to polish up the armor of God and prepare for the warfare before me. And I teach my kids that I do indeed believe in this warfare, and even take joy in it, for I know Him in whom I have believed.
"On the eve of All Saints Day
Jack-o-lanterns light the way
God's children need no longer fear
the ghosts & ghouls gathered here
For evil ghosts with icy breath
must bow to Him who conquered death."
Yes, Jesus conquered death and spoiled all the principalities and powers of darkness. Spiritual warfare is necessary because Satan’s will is set against God’s will, and our fighting as the church is to subdue the satanic will and defeat God’s enemy. In the spiritual warfare the most important thing is being in the right position: we fight not from the earth but from the position of ascension, in the heavenlies, one with Christ. We must identify ourselves as "in Christ".
In spiritual warfare one must maintain a balance through discernment. Jesus sometimes cast demons out of people; other times He healed people with no mention of the demonic. We must not "assume" that everything we encounter is demonic. We must pray for the gift of discernment and properly discern when we truly face demonic spiritual forces in our lives and the lives of others.
"Those who overcome satan will be required to use the power of the spoken Word." ~ T. B. Joshua
Spiritual warfare is one area of Christian prayer and practice that isn't designed to be quiet. In fact, one must understand and employ the power of the spoken word. The ancients understood this. In fact, the Bible states that there is power in the spoken word:
Proverbs 18:21
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”
Proverbs 12:18
“There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
The Bible begins with a demonstration of the power of the spoken word. God speaks, "Let there be light", and there was light (
Genesis 1:3). God created mankind in His image and likeness, meaning (among many things) that man had the ability to reason and... speak.
Think about it. When one considers every living thing on earth... only man has the ability to actually "speak". Words begin as thoughts, notions, and ideas. They begin as immaterial things in the very soul of a man. And when those things are spoken aloud, they stimulate matter. Through exhalation, with the assistance of our vocal cords, we form our thought on the very air we breath in the form of vibrations. Those vibrations are received through the anatomy of the ear and these vibrations transfer that very thought into the minds of those who hear us. This is the very power of creation itself. If I were standing before you and said, "Red ball", almost instantly the image of a red ball would appear in your mind. I just moved my thought into your very mind. I created something...in your soul. And it forever becomes a part of you through memory. And so we see the power of the spoken word. (Please remember this principle, it will be very important towards the end of this post.)
But this power goes even further...
Look around you. Look at your computer. Your monitor, your keyboard, your chair, your home, your walls, your clothes, your shoes, socks, eye glasses, cup of coffee... look out your window at your car, your truck, your garage, the light posts, the electric wires, the concrete street, the sidewalks, your child's bicycle, etc. Ever man made thing you lay eyes on began as what? A thought. And that thought was expressed through what? Spoken words. And those words not only entered the minds of those who heard them and read them, but those words shaped what those individuals involved would choose to do... and they created our cars, trucks, houses, civil infrastructures, toys, computers, clothing, etc. Everything man made around you began as a... "word".
Being on the only creatures on earth capable of such expression, this boarders on the very supernatural in and of itself. However, we've become so used to it we don't even pay any attention or heed to how truly miraculous it is. I just turned on a space heater at my desk. I didn't have to gather wood and light a fire. Because someone's words took on life and the space heater became a reality.
But the power of the spoken word goes even further...
A word is simply an expressed thought. And thought emanates from the conscious mind. So, the source of a word is... our consciousness. Physicists have discovered something very interesting on the subatomic considering the very nature of our material reality. Everything is essentially composed of particles or waves. They decided to shoot light particles through a barrier with a double slits in it and then chart how the particles passed through this double slit by hitting a second barrier. They anticipated that the light particles would show a particle patter reflecting the slits in the first barrier. But to their absolute astonishment, they saw a wave pattern. This baffled them. Because it implies that, at some point, as each photon traveled through the double slit they began to behave as waves and not particles. This would be like throwing a baseball through an open window and as it passed through the window, it became a radio wave. So, they designed a means of observing these particles as they passed through the double slit and guess what... the particles passed through the double slit and formed... a double slit particle pattern. They didn't act like waves any longer. So they tried it again without observation and guess what? They behaved like waves again! It is almost as though the tiny photons of matter knew they were being watched, and as a result, responded as expected. Why and how this happens is a mystery to physicists. But the fact reminds, the bearing of consciousness upon matter causes it to behave... as expected. This is radical! Imagine looking at a tree... and the moment you look away... it becomes nothing but waves... and when you look back in its direction... it suddenly becomes a tree again. Consciousness causes matter to behave as expected when dealing with subatomic particles. Now, this would imply that for the universe to remain a constant and not fade out of existence... something... or someone one... observes all and upholds its integrity so that it might appear as... expected by that consciousness.
What physicists don't know is that the Bible has already told us this:
Hebrews 1:3
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power...:
The very word, thought, mind, consciousness of Christ is what upholds the integrity of our entire reality.
When we consider this kind of power over the natural world... we see how Christ could walk on water, multiple the loaves and fishes, restore sight to the blind, and heal the lame. We see how He could calm the storm and even raise the dead. Reality itself is His to manipulate as He desires by His very thoughts!
And when physicists saw the material universe responding to our consciousness at a subatomic level... they demonstrated that even our consciousness can effect matter. I believe they unknowingly revealed that the entire universe as we know it is designed to respond to... faith.
Mark 11:23
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.
TO BE CONTINUED:
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